Leaving the dormitory, I went to the park where my mother told me to meet. Three black sedans were parked there, surrounded by men in black suits.
It was an obviously unusual sight, and with the late hour, there were no pedestrians around. Still, it was enough to make observers wonder if something was going on.
“…”
I watched them wordlessly, a feeling of wanting to turn back welling up inside me. But I couldn’t. Taking a deep breath to steel myself, I convinced myself that this would be easier than fighting my instructors and approached them. I subtly scanned my surroundings, wary of a sudden attack. As I got closer, one of the men in black, who had been on alert, noticed me and reached into his pocket.
“Stop! What business do you have here!”
As warned, I stopped. I intended to state my purpose, but before I could open my mouth, another man in black reacted, emanating a dangerous aura. Their heightened vigilance confirmed this was indeed the meeting place my mother had designated.
“Haa.”
I let out a small, inaudible sigh, thinking it was too obvious. I peered into the night, observing them. Judging by what he pulled out – not a baton, but an L-shaped object – a handgun, I quickly dropped into a crouch and reached into my pocket. If I were in a Magic Element state, I could handle a handgun, but in the real world, that was impossible. This was it, time to use my pendant. As I braced myself, wondering what to do,
“Please wait.”
“Sagami.”
“That child is someone I called.”
“Hah.”
But my concern was unfounded. Before the men in black could move, a car window rolled down. Though her face was hidden in the shadows cast by the streetlight, her clear voice carried well and halted their movements. From there, another man in black approached the rear passenger door and opened it, revealing a woman dressed in a Miko Outfit who emerged. Accompanied by the men in black, she slowly walked towards me.
“It’s been a while, Jiro-san.”
“It’s been too long, Kirie-san.”
“Yes, indeed. To think that the child who was so small back then has grown up so much.”
She then called me by name. How long had it been since I last saw the woman before me? I hadn’t seen her since I became an adult, at least. We were about three meters apart, close enough to see each other’s faces. It was then that I saw her clearly – Kirie Sagami, my aunt, my mother’s younger sister. She looked to be in her late twenties, or at most, early thirties. Her actual age had to be older than her appearance suggested… Just like my mother, all the female relatives I knew seemed so young. Dressed in a Miko Outfit, her straight black hair flowing, her graceful demeanor was that of a Yamato Nadeshiko. For me, her attire, her mannerisms, her aura, and the presence of the men in black confirmed that my maternal family was in that kind of business. I bowed to greet her, as it had been a long time.
“Now then, Kakunaka, Takamatsu, try them.”
“Hah!”
“Yes!”
Our conversation didn’t end peacefully. Though I wanted to ask what “now then” meant, I resigned myself to the fact that it was time for work. Kirie-san, her expression unreadable, sternly gave her orders to the men in black beside her, who then attacked me. They wielded police batons instead of handguns, perhaps out of leniency or for another reason. Regardless, they were a threat. The two men in black, clearly well-trained, approached me in an instant and attacked me with full force, showing no mercy.
“Ngh.”
For an untrained person, it was enough to break bones. Not fatal, but severe injuries would be certain. This was a controlled attack, allowing for no hesitation. Their coordinated movements suggested they were highly trained. It was an excessive response for a first encounter. The intent to subdue the opponent was palpable. In an instant, my thoughts shifted to combat mode. Consciously controlling my body, which felt heavy as I was outside the company grounds, I used my eyes to gather information and assess their abilities. The movements of the two men in black were refined, and I could imagine them easily fitting into the Self-Defense Force.
“Hah!”
“Nnch!?”
“Ugh!”
Compared to the instructors I faced regularly, their movements were sluggish. This was a situation where I didn’t need to exert my full strength. Though they likely felt they were moving swiftly, their speed felt slow to me. Even within the same domain of skill, I could handle them. My movement vision had been affected, and my abilities were lowered due to the absence of Magic Element, but that was based on the standards within a Magic Element-rich environment. Even in a space without it, my movement vision had been trained to be above average. Naturally, my reflexes, which kept pace with that movement vision, had also been honed. I precisely caught the movements of my opponents, grabbed the wrist of the first one as he swung down, and easily tossed him over with one hand. The first one tried to brace himself, but I countered. Instead of letting him get injured without taking a fall, I threw him in a way that only inflicted pain, slamming him to the ground and incapacitating him. The second one, unfazed by his comrade’s defeat, attacked during the opening.
“Hmph!”
I quickly released my grip on the first man’s wrist, kicked off the ground, and met the second attacker in mid-air. It was a “Flying Swallow Kick.” Leaping from the ground, I twisted my body at high speed and kicked the baton out of his hand with my right foot. As his right hand was disarmed, he was left open and instinctively tried to defend himself with his left hand. But it was too late. Slipping through the gap in his defense, I lightly kicked his chin with my left foot. He staggered back several steps before collapsing to his knees. He tried to get up, but couldn’t manage it. It seemed I had incapacitated them successfully without overly severe injury. This all happened in less than ten seconds. I had subdued two grown men in the blink of an eye.
“…Was my sister right? Your abilities are beyond what I imagined. I won’t say it’s thanks to the person you’re related to, but it’s probably because of him. I apologize for testing you like this.”
“No, from your perspective, you are employing an unknown young man. This is not a problem.”
Besides, I was fine with fights that weren’t intended to kill. Such fights no longer bothered me. I told Kirie-san, who looked apologetic, to lift her head and said that we were short on time.
“Yes, we are short on time. Regarding the previous fight, and from what my sister said, you are quite capable. For this matter, I will be relying on you. We will discuss the details as we travel.”
Without further pleasantries, I was told to get in the car. The man in black who had been helped up by his comrade was taken to another car. Guided by other waiting men in black, I got into the same car as Kirie-san.
“To explain the circumstances of this incident, I must first speak of our Sagami family’s history… but time is insufficient, so may I omit it?”
“Yes, please do.”
Even if she spoke of my mother’s family, I wouldn’t understand, so I just wanted the main points for now. Kirie-san nodded at my reply and began her explanation, preface her words with “Well then.”
“I do not know which organization they belong to, but it is a fact that they acted with planning. They intend to achieve their goals through a bombing incident. There are several points of concern, but the largest is the potential for many souls to become intertwined if many people die at the scene. Therefore, we need you to prevent this.”
“The intertwining of souls?”
“To put it simply, if many people die there, it would result in a proliferation of earth-bound spirits. Is that easy enough to understand?”
“Yes, I suppose. But what’s the problem then? The fact that many people die is certainly an issue, but I don’t think that’s what you’re saying, is it?”
“Yes, that is correct. The residual thoughts of the deceased are the problem in this case. Our Sagami family has, for generations, protected several special seals. This time, they are targeting one of those seals, the path to the land of the dead.”
“The path to the land of the dead? Is that the path to the afterlife?”
“Yes, the land of the dead. However, it’s not the main path like Izanami and Izanagi’s journey, but rather a shortcut or a back road. The path is narrow and rough, but it undeniably connects to the land of the dead.”
Speaking of the underworld, it’s the place mentioned in Japanese Mythology. The world of the dead. A famous story is of Izanagi pursuing his deceased wife Izanami to the underworld. In other words, it’s said to be the place even gods go after death. If this were in the past, I would have dismissed it as an unbelievable tale and ended the conversation. However, given recent events, I couldn’t laugh it off as a joke. Of course, hearing that a path to the afterlife might open would make me break out in a cold sweat.
“Our ancestors’ role was to prevent and monitor the calamities that would spill forth from there, and that remains the same even in modern times.”
I never imagined such an extraordinary event hidden so close by, but I couldn’t dismiss it now. After all, I had been interacting with Undead, Oni, and beings similar to Japanese yokai. I didn’t have the nerve to dismiss what Kirie-san was saying as a lie.
“If this incident escalates to the worst-case scenario, it will result in calamities being spread throughout Japan. Therefore, we are taking all necessary measures to seal the path that should not be opened to the mortal world. However, due to recent circumstances, the number of people who can use Onmyodo and divine powers is decreasing. We are left with no choice but to, truly, no choice but to summon my sister, who has left our employ.”
She then clenched her arms, which were crossed on her lap, indicating how important this matter was that they would call upon my sister, someone they were reluctant to involve.
“Ah, so? What do you want me to do? To be blunt, I’m confident in my fighting abilities, but I don’t have any supernatural powers like those you speak of.”
Though her expression hadn’t changed, I could sense her anger. So, before the conversation went off track, I decided to steer it back.
“We don’t expect that from you, so please don’t worry. What’s needed this time is your physical strength. We will make preparations for the seal in case of any unforeseen circumstances. Therefore, Jiro-san, along with your sister, will be asked to subdue the culprits using sacred implements that we have prepared.”
“If that’s the case.”
She then gently picked up an old wooden box that had been placed by the seat, untied an ornate cord, and opened the lid, presenting it to me.
“What is this? Is it Tabi?”
“Yes, they are the Tabi of the god of speed, Idaten.”
“…Are they real?”
“I would like to say they are real, but these are replicas. However, their effect is not inferior to the real ones, and it is guaranteed. With these, you can run at speeds many times your normal pace.”
“No, if that’s the case, then why don’t you use these to subdue me instead of someone else?”
“If there were anyone to use them, I would have had them do so.”
“Meaning?”
“As I mentioned earlier, the number of practitioners is drastically decreasing these days. Frankly, even that sister of mine is considered too valuable to part with, even disregarding her personality, due to the shortage of personnel.”
My mother was being quite candidly criticized, but considering her free-spirited nature and how she got away with things, I figured she would have received such complaints and remained silent, listening.
“There are very few individuals within our control who can use these. However, those few individuals have been dispatched to other sites and are unavailable. We are short-handed here.”
And so, the choice fell upon me. Though it didn’t look particularly divine, it exuded a pure aura. I heard it was a replica, but still, it was an item related to a god.
“Originally, we intended to have my sister use them, but since Jiro-san can use them without any problem, we entrust them to you.”
I silently accepted them and examined them closely.
“The other equipment will be provided at the scene. For now, please look through these documents.”
“What is this?”
“This is information from the police, along with the composition and deployment of the culprits ascertained by Shikigami, and diagrams of the bomb’s structure.”
After that, she handed me a tablet, which was commonplace nowadays, but felt slightly out of place in the hands of Kirie-san, dressed as a miko. As I slid through, information about the scene was laid out. The more I read, the more I realized that a bomb could not be neutralized by conventional means. That’s why they needed sacred implements, a sort of “cheat.” The documents also noted the effects of the Tabi used by previous individuals. At a conservative estimate, they achieved speeds of ten times, and up to nearly thirty times, normal. However, the power imbued in these Tabi seemed to be battery-powered, with a limited duration. I had to keep that in mind when acting. And so, we arrived at our destination.
“Is this… a landing and takeoff strip?”
“Yes, we will rendezvous with the police here. The plan’s… before that, they’re here.”
If the plaza with the helipad was the destination, then our travel from here would be by helicopter. As I was receiving the explanation with a slight sense of foreboding, Kirie-san, who had gotten out of the car, became sharp-eyed. She looked up at the sky, indicating someone’s arrival. Before I could ask who it was, a single helicopter approached and landed on the helipad.
“Kirie! My son! Are you doing well! Hey, Ichiro, how long are you going to lie there?”
“No. Wait, I’m feeling a bit sick.”
Emerging from the helicopter were my parents. I see, so they had indeed arrived. And Kirie-san’s mood had definitely soured. I thought that my mother, who didn’t so much ignore the mood as disregard it, and Kirie-san certainly didn’t get along. As I approached my mother, who was dragging my father out of the helicopter,
Today’s thought:
Now then, what will happen from here on? Is it truly a case of only the gods know?
This concludes today’s entry.
If you found this interesting, please leave a review, rating, bookmark, etc.
*The first volume has been decided to be published by Hayakawa Bunko JA.
It was released on October 18, 2018.
The e-book version was released on October 31 of the same year.
The second volume was released on December 19.
The third volume was released on February 20, 2019.
The content has been revised and supplemented from the original submission to Shousetsuka ni Narou, and includes an additional unpublished interlude. Please also check out the new releases!!
A manga adaptation has also been decided for Kodansha’s “Young Magazine The Third.”
