Chapter 117.1

Chapter 117.1

[Part 1/4]

"Ouch..."

"Miss, excuse the slight bleeding."

They were inside the encampment's ox-drawn cart surrounding Mayoiga. More accurately, they were inside Onitsuki's ox-cart carriage, which had transformed into Mayoiga.

In the cart, seated in the center of the room with tatami mats, was Akou Murasaki. Her body, as she loosened her armor, bore various small and large abrasions caused when she was thrown into the air and crashed into trees. A maid beside her tended to those wounds, warning about cleansing and disinfecting them with hot water and shochu.

"No, it's alright. Please proceed without hesitation. A person from Akou family to complaining over something like this... It's hot!? And it's bleeding!!"

"I'm deeply sorry, Miss Murasaki. Our second princess was impolite..."

Before she could finish her bravado, Murasaki screamed in pain, and in front of her, a member of the Onitsuki household, the servant Miyamizu Shizu, kneeled down and deeply bowed her head. With a respectful expression, she apologized on behalf of Onitsuki's second princess.

As relatives, it was only natural for them to apologize. Onitsuki, one of the three prestigious families in the Northern region, had a history of over 800 years. Compared to the ancient houses in the Western with a history of over a thousand years, they might have seemed slightly inferior. However, for some reason, they had suddenly abandoned their direct descendant in front of the public... Even for cousin relations, there were limits.

"To tell you the truth, I have already conveyed this to our second princess..."

Shizu suggested that they should immediately go and apologize to their own princess, but the princess herself seemed indifferent and had disappeared somewhere.

Despite searching frantically, she couldn't be found. Moreover, for some reason, the Onitsuki family's representative madam in charge of this matter didn't take it seriously. But requesting the distant first princess for help wouldn't work either, especially with preparations for a large-scale ritual.

As a result, Miyamizu Shizu was left with no choice but to apologize to the Akou princess alone. It couldn't be helped. At the very least, she wanted to avoid rebelling against her lord.

"Ugh... No, it's alright. These wounds are nothing more than scratches from playing around. There's no need to make a fuss about such trivial matters. Besides, there must be a deep consideration behind what my cousin did. ...And probably the reason she returned him was for that as well."

"Sigh..."

With tears in her eyes during the disinfection process, Murasaki tried to maintain as much dignity as possible as a representative of the Akou family. Honestly, she wasn't very good at it, and towards the end, her words were hard to understand, which left Shizu with doubts. But since that's how she expressed herself, there was nothing outsiders could say.

"However, when it comes to your treasured sword..."

"No, it's nothing significant. ...With this level of damage, it will be back to normal in ten days. Please inform the heads of the Onitsuki family that they don't need to worry too much about it."

Ignoring Shizu's attempts to gather material for the second princess's condemnation or to strengthen her rebellion, Murasaki lightly brushed off the apology. In fact, she even seemed to accept Shizu's words at face value. Shizu, on the other hand, glanced at the youkai sword, and responded.

"I deeply apologize once again."

Quietly feeling exasperated and disappointed by Murasaki's lack of intuition or political sense, Shizu couldn't help but be astonished. But at the same time, her gaze fell upon the matter of the sword, her breath caught in her throat.

What Shizu's eyes beheld was a black sword with a flexible blade. While it was partially broken from the middle, what Shizu felt was more like reverence, tension, and fear... almost awe.

"Foolish. Do you mean to say they entered the cart without being noticed, Miss? Including the outer perimeter's boundary...?"

"We should honestly admit the truth. But the more pressing issue is...!"

Before Shizu, still confused, could respond, the situation rapidly unfolded. Suddenly, screams echoed from the outside, followed by the clangor of swords and spears. The ringing of bells followed with a delay, announcing an attack on the encampment and there are sound of beasts growling sent shivers down the spine.

"It's too late...!? Shizu-san, protect the cart from there!!"

"Miss Murasaki!? Where should I...!!?"

"Do what you know, fulfill your duties as an exorcist!!"

As Murasaki answered Shizu's question, she quickly descended from the cart. The two actions were almost simultaneous.

'Roarrrrrr!!!!'

"'Butsu-giri Kizami (Swift Slash)'!!"

Right after that, the creature that leaped in front of her was bisected by Murasaki with her broken sword. She brushed away the blood clinging to the sword and surveyed her surroundings. In the blink of an eye, a thick fog had covered the area and there is presence of monsters.

"Kuh...!! I won't let them!!"

No matter what kind of beings they were, one thing was certain – she had lost her sword. Murasaki clenched her teeth in bitterness but swung her sword into the fog. She didn't intend to let the youkai run rampant while her eyes were black.

And she didn't want to let them to take away the place for him and her junior to return to.

Now, the time for the annihilation of 'Mayoiga' was already less than an hour...

* * *

There are several publicly available and privately recorded books that provide detailed information about 'Mayoiga' in Mount Hōraku.

Publicly, there are works such as the (Northern region Geographical Records), (Hakuei's National Records), and (Forbidden Territory Archives), compiled by the Imperial Court and stored in the Book Bureau. Additionally, there are (Northern region Youma Picture Scrolls) and (Northern region Exorcist Case Records, Volume 17), compiled by the Omnyouji Bureau, which record its characteristics and related incidents.

Privately, the existence of Mayoiga is mentioned in the travelogue of Myouan Rou, a tea master, poet, and prominent merchant who traveled throughout Fusō-kuni. The surrounding exorcist families also kept records that mentioned Mayoiga.

Among various books, the (Northern region Exorcist Case Records, Volume 17) contains extremely valuable and intriguing descriptions of 'Mayoiga of Mount Horaku' from page 144 to 180.

The author was a former servant of the Igarashi family. In the Imperial Calendar year 1260, she infiltrated the place as part of an investigation team and returned alive in the year 1352. After a physical examination to check for youkai possession or brainwashing, she was taken in by the Igarashi family and later by the Omnyouji Bureau.

There, she provided valuable information about the inner workings of 'Mayoiga.' She was not subjected to memory extraction or transcription with the intention of turning her into a vegetable, likely due to the wisdom and compassion of Emperor Gyokuro, who reigned at that time.

...In any case, she touched on the existence of the former Igarashi household member and traitor to the human world, Shishimai Asami, the lion-like creature that clashed with the leader of the investigation team, the servant team leader.

Shishimai Asami, the former Igarashi household member, became the name of the infamous half-youkai who continued to be active during subsequent investigations of 'Mayoiga'...