Volume 10 Chapter 1 (1/2)

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”I believe that the essence of sorcery is what are called 'lies'”

”But isn't 'truth' sometimes more of a falsehood than lies?”

--Tsuchimikado Harutora

This occurred hts earlier--

That altar was on the roof of a building

Torii were erected on the four sides of a platform constructed from stone The north torii was black, the east torii was blue, the south torii was red, and the west torii hite

The platform had already been assembled on s Silver coins, white silk, a paper horse, a paper soldier[1], full arold, a koto[3], a lute There were also many vessels y by the onethe platform Next to theh bells, a hei[5], incense, a hand bell, a vodoo doll[6] and charms

The ritual had already been prepared properly The wind gusted across the top of the roof The sky slowly brightened and the all enco darkness was chased away by the sun It would be dawn soon The time when the sun and moon switched places was imminent

There were five figures on the platform In the center stood a boy wrapped in a black coat, his left eye covered with a cloth The hem of his black coat was blown aflutter by the wind

In front of the boy was a pedestal upon which laid a girl It was as if she were sleeping, but the uniforainst the girl, and the pink ribbon tying the girl's long black hair swayed softly with the wind

Behind the boy and the girl were two figures watching everything One was a woman with animalistic ears and a tail, and the other was aanything, quietly waiting for the co of that time

The final person was a s for them Her expression was cold as she stared at the attentive boy

The boy was looking around with his reirl waited for the boy to finish his inspection, then walked towards the boy, giving him a sheet of paper that had been folded multiple times This was the script for the ritual oration

The boy received the script and held it against his chest for a irl After the girl grabbed a hammer, she struck the taiko Boom-- Boom-- Boom-- Boom-- Boom-- Boom--, she struck it six times Then, she took the conch and blew it The sound contained radually perhout the area several times

The two figures watching everything frohtly

The black coat wrapped around the boy swelled as if it were breathing The boy held the script before himself and loudly chanted the incantation

”The Tsuchimikado Onmyoudou sect would like to address Taizan fukun, the lord of the underworld--”

That happened o

The wheel of fate that transcended time accelerated

The wind blowing towards the irl's sht the baether Theof winter earlier than at the foot of the mountain The breath that came from her mouth instantly became faint white mist

She cast her gaze above her, where the dark sky was covered everywhere by branches The bright red leaves had begun to fade these few days Ripened fruit occasionally left the tips of branches, dropping down freely Thanks to that, she wouldn't be able to sweep it clean no lared at the fallen maple leaves

Not long afterwards

”Akino! Are you still not done!?”

A roar cairl named Akino shouted ”Yeah--” after she heard that, and in the next irl's hair seemed to float upwards

The girl hastily covered her head with her hands, and in exchange the broolanced at the fallen broolasses on her face also slid doithouta beat In the end, Akino quietly wailed ”Uuu--” while holding her head with both hands and with her glasses askew She turned to look in the direction of the roar

Other than the reddened e cedar trees towered around her An old hall could be seen across the doorpost-like cedar trees A Buddhista black priest's robe over an antarvasa kasaya[7] He was an overweight ajari[8] of this monastery

”Ah, Priest Tadanori”

”The others all finished already, you're the only one always dilly-dallying”

”A-Ah Sorry”

Akino thought of fleeing while apologizing in a staized, her voice was almost inaudible unless one listened closely

Not knohy, thelook The ned expression, but Akino's eyes looked gingerly upward and the er

”Anyway, hurry up and finish We're going to prepare lunch, so go help prepare the food!”

”O-Okay”

Akino ilasses at the saain as if exhorting her, he walked back into the hall

Tadanori was the person in charge of the vihara[9] and was a ht now he had become cautious It wasn't just him, all of the adults in this ree

Even with that said, nothing like that truly ever happened Akino hastily swept all the leaves together into a basket After throwing the leaves into the incinerator behind the monastery, she walked towards the storehouse to help prepare lunch There was awith many rooms for monks There were also kitchens set up in the wooden monk rooms

Shouts sounded out the instant she entered

”You're slow! Akino! What were you doing!?”

”S-Sorry”

”Akino, there's not enough firewood!”

”O-Okay I'll go get some now”

Akino responded while sprinting to the right, carrying back the firewood stacked under the eaves of the building Probably because gasoline was very precious, its usage was restricted Hence, they basically used a wood-burning stove to cook food every day

But their fire lighting e indeed

The seniors of the vihara stood in front of the stove, for incantations with their eyes half-closed Not long afterwards, the firewood inside ignited into flame

This was ic

Moreover, it was classified as true first-class ic under modern Onmyou law

”Get the plates out now, Akino!”

”Okay”

”Hurry up a bit!? You, this again!”

”SSorry”

Angry and i lambasted the slow idiot Akino tearfully picked up the pieces of a shattered plate But she was still loudly scolded by her seniors after this Akino hastily cried out while dealing with her task The etarian, but this wasn't strictly followed Poverty was one thing, but eatingWhat they were roasting right noas the venison they had hunted several days earlier

Akino's stoer The lid clattered and started to shake as if responding to her

After finishi+ng lunch and cleaning up a bit, Akino had a bit of free time until it was time to prepare the dinner that they called 'slop' Akino surreptitiously watched her seniors, taking a smaller fire-starter fro to the terounds

Akino first dug a shallow hole in the ground After putting the sweet potatoes in, she put fallen leaves on top, then lit the that the leaves had ignited, she quietly sat at the base of a cedar tree that stood nearby

Since it hadn't rained recently, the leaves burned into ash very quickly Akino watched the ash get bloay by the hile quietly waiting for the sweet potatoes to finish roasting It was because she would be scolded by Tadanori if he saw her in her hiding place secretly roasting and eating food that she had snuck away Even if she were spotted by another senior, it would all be confiscated

The monastery Akino lived at was called Seishuku Temple It was a mountain monastery situated near the peak of ahere was extremely difficult and it was like a place isolated from the outside world

No, it wasn't 'like' that, it was intended to be secluded Even the surroundings of the monastery actively hid their existence from the world It was a place that had fallen behind the times It was a different world from beyond the foot of the mountain, a true mountainous alternate world

Akino was the youngest in this alternate world and also the weakest She was always at the botto aside appearances for now, she was in a position where she was denied everything Even in the lunch just earlier, none of the delicious venison had been shared with her Even though she had low expectations, she had ended up crestfallen So she had taken the opportunity she saw today to fill her growing appetite

The fire's heat had already vanished The cold air seemed to seep into her body bit by bit as she sat directly on the ground But it was fortunate that it wasn't windy Akino wrapped her ar into a sht that if this way could make the sweet potatoes become a bit war in the cold Her heart was also a bit happy, as well as tense, fro sweet potatoes was the only thing Akino had felt to be fun these past few days

”Sweet potatoes~ Sweet potatoes~ Are you done yet? Delicious~ Hot~ Piping”

It was unclear whether her ti was correct, but whether they were done or not completely relied on Akino's own intuition

”They're almost done”, ”Ah, I'll wait a bit more”

Right as Akino leisurely talked to herself

”Hey, Akino!”

A voice suddenly barked out froht She held her knees, and at the same time, her body went stiff Simultaneously, above her head - the area at the top, where there ought to have been nothing at all - a 'disturbance' occurred, a phenos hidden there materialized and revealed themselves

Two long ears protruded slightly They were two rabbit ears, covered in whitish-silver fur It wasn't just ears A short round tail also appeared on her bottoround It was a rabbit tail, just like her ears

The wide-eyed Akino was unable to move, and only her ears swiveled in all directions in a panic ”Haha” A dry laugh sounded out after Akino was seen like that After hearing this, her tension suddenly vanished and she relaxed, the ears on her head collapsing as if they had run out of energy

”Sen-jiichan[10]”

She looked back with an unhappy expression as an oldHis white hair hung in a vertical bun, and when taken together with his white beard, one kneas an elderly ely, he wore a worn-out white coat, patched-up hakaown But inexplicably, he looked unreliable at first glance, not just fro smile surfaced on his wrinkle-filled face as he revealed a childish, cutesy disposition

”Don't be so surprised, Akino You haven't had enough practice”

”It was Sen-jiichan who scared ed your voice”

”What do you think I a ears for?”

”I-I don't have them because I like them”

”Haha, you probably got happy fro the sweet potatoes Tadanori-san will notice you sooner or later if you're like that He's been in an irritableif you get caught”

Sen laughed loudly, but Akino frowned ”Uu--”, the ears on her head crooking into 'く' characters Actually, since Sen had noticed her, she couldn't assert that Tadanori hadn't

”Aren't they valuable ears? You always hide them, you should use them if they're effective”

”T-That's none of Sen-jiichan's business”

Akino pouted her cheeks, tightly hugging her knees and curling into a ball But she couldn't conceal her ears now

Akino was one of those ere called 'possessed'

It see spirits' recently The so-called 'living spirits' originally referred to people who had been possessed by 'oni' and ould therefore become oni But in modern times, when it was believed that oni were a kind of spirit, it seemed that people possessed by spirits other than oni were also collectively called 'living spirits' In that sense, living spirits weren't any rare occurrence in this Seishuku Te aside how norh it couldn't be said that there were ah here[11]

But unfortunately, Akino wasn't an ordinary living spirit

She was the living spirit of a 'rabbit' not often seen in this world

”No matter how much you want to hide it, it looks like they'll pop out every ti to hide its tail with poor transformation ability”

”You don't need to worry about that Though I' as I practice more”

”Noto know about your ears soon enough”

”That doesn't matter I want to hide them”

Akino, in a bad mood, became a bit mouthy

Those long rabbit ears were the root of Akino's inferiority complex

She didn't knoant to knohat other people thought, but to Akino, having 'these kinds of things' bouncing up and down on her head only felt upsetting and truly useless

There were people who called her bunny girl, and there were people who avoided and disliked her

More importantly, Akino herself definitely didn't have the talent to becoreat - rather, since she was an idiot and because of the counterproductive attention of her rare rabbit living spirit, she had ended up being treated as an idiot and was ordered around

Other people also treated her like an exotic animal

To Akino, these hateful ears were the sy treated as a useless object

”I myself think they're a pair of pretty cute ears”

”That isn't true”

Akino curled into a ball while deliberately denying his compliment

But while she slowly replyed, the tips of her ears happily ju her ears was that they would fully express her hidden feelings But the fact that Akino didn't hide her ears in front of Sen nonetheless was proof of how close Akino ith Sen

The way Sen teased Akino's rabbit ears without reservations wasn't like the feeling of how other people talked about them with contempt and malice

In contrast, Sen treated the useless Akino like his granddaughter Sen was the only person Akino could relax around in the monastery

Akino's long ears shook as she asked Sen: ”Sen-jiichan, are you watering again?”

”Yeah, that's right' Sen replied while turning to face the temple next to them

The temple was almost completely dilapidated Its walls and roof were covered in holes, and also, it was coh as the floor It seemed it had been called the Tachibana Hall[12] and was still spacious as a broken-down rooht in pots with saplings planted in them and carefully raised them by himself

Akino was also often nearby killing time In any case, she could feel the most at ease in the place that Sen often was in

”Is your work going okay?”

”I finished it a long tio”

”Aahhh ”Unwittingly saying” You I heard that Sen-jiichan's always like that How can you finish it so easily?”

”I' as you have Finishi+ng that level of work quickly is natural”

Sen was athe monastery's chores, just like how Akino was in the vihara Even though he did work that was difficult for his aged body, this kindly old man was always floaty and leisurely Akino couldn't help but think that he was used to such things However, to Akino, she couldn't is at all

”It feels like I could do a lot of things if I were able to finish a bit sooner”

She tried quietlywords that didn't sound realistic at all

Akino looked twelve or thirteen, but even she didn't know her true age

She had lived at the Seishuku Teoing to the foot of the mountain as an envoy, she never went anywhere else She lived this uninteresting life every day along with the changing of seasons Even she didn't kno ine that there would be any change if she tried doing a bit more

But--

”Well will this place still exist when that time comes?”

Sen s in an uncharacteristically clear voice The tips of Akino's ears slightly twitched in response, and she looked up at Sen above her head with an ”Eh--”

”Sen-jiichan? What does that mean”

”Hey, Akino”

”Yeah?”

”Are the sweet potatoes done?”

”Sweet potatoes? Ahh!?”

She had co the sweet potatoes out of the ash Just like she had anticipated, their outer skin had been baked black Akino wailed while Sen laughed ”haha--”

”Well, alright, I'll be going, the food will be gone soon”

After saying this, Sen walked into the Tachibana Hall to water the saplings

After that, Akino got rid of the outer half of the roasted sweet potatoes and only ed to eat the center portions But she was very fortunate as the un-burnt parts were roasted very well, Akino ed to console herself

After she destroyed and concealed the evidence of her sneaking food, she strolled around appropriately - cautiously hiding her ears - and then returned to the warehouse

Preparation for dinner would start soon, before twilight

Dinner was called 'slop' in the monastery because only two meals were served at the monastery, breakfast and lunch They didn't eat food at dinner, but ate 'slop' instead Of course, in Seishuku Temple where even meat was scarce, it was just a forain and sca for dinner

Partway through, there wasn't enough firewood again, and she went outside to bring some in

Then, when Akino was picking up the firewood stacked under the eave with an ”uurgh”, she heard Tadanori's voice

”You're so iain The identity Yeah, if it's there”

She looked over He had a sad expression on his face and held a cell phone with one hand while walking from the temple

”Here already? Understood For now, I'll send people over Will you be here tomorrow?Yeah Nn”

He replied several times over the phone and then turned off the phone after the conversation ended Akino quietly stared at Tadanori Rather than being interested in the contents of the conversation, she was more interested in how Tadanori had a phone

Because of the work in the monastery, there was cell phone reception deep in the mountain, and there were also cell phones But Akino naturally didn't have one, and she hadn't even touched one A cell phone was one of the things Akino wanted the most

After Tadanori noticed Akino staring wordlessly at hi lazy, Akino hastily turned away, carrying the firewood and walking away

But Tadanori called out to Akino as she turned her back and prepared to leave

”Akino--”

”Y-Yes? I-I wasn't slacking I' for dinner”

”Yeah That's enough of that I just wanted to ask you to be an envoy”

”An envoy?”

”Yes Go to the Front Hall right now for me”

Upon hearing that, Akino inadvertently revealed the ears she had originally hidden - though she was surprised, there was some joy in that

Just like its narounds - it was a Seishuku Temple hall erected in an area at the foot of the mountain

It had been re before Akino had been born, and it had been used by the town as a storehouse to store purchased o out, that place was like a connection to the outside world

”Go down the ets dark, if you can It would be best to coo”

Akino's heart beat even faster when she heard that she could stay overnight She could spread her wings and soar high tonight - and play to her heart's content No azines froh there were azines, televisions, and internet-enabled computers in the monastery, Akino couldn't monopolize any of them Her small freedom in this moment was like a momentary breather that she felt ecstatic about

Then,

”I-If it's right now, then what about dinner?”

”Go find some afterwards There's fast food”

She couldn't help but feel amazed She almost thren the firewood to raise her arms and cheered She could eat cup noodles there To Akino, this was a blessing that she hadn't had in a year Were the thoughts in her mind reflected on her face? Tadanori's face became overcast Akino hastily put away her childish expression

Only then did she notice that she hadn't heard so important

She carried the firewood back while asking

”Then, Priest Tadanori? What exactly am I an envoy for?”

”Haven't you heard? I'you-sama now It seems like there will be a new disciple It seems that the person is already at the foot of the mountain”

Just then, there was a bit of a 'disturbance' above her head, and Akino hastily pressed down on her head The eyes behind her glasses became wide and round

”He[13] has to leave soon So to that person to the ht?”

Tadanori frowned and Akino returned to the te Akino the key to the Front Hall, he returned to his work On the other hand, Akino, as left behind, was still in a state of shock after accepting the key

Tadanori said to bring the disciple to the monastery

Anyway, there would be a new person at the monastery

Anticipation and uneasy emotions churned in her heart It had already been several years since a newcomer What kind of person would it be? A entle person or a bad-hearted individual? Would that person mock Akino if he or she saw her rabbit ears?

”Ah, hmm? Wait! If that person's already at the foot, that means”

'Living at the Front Hall and bringing hiether with the newcoht

Suddenly, the uneasy feeling rapidly swelled in comparison to her anticipation It would be fine if he or she was soht be too nervous to sleep What should she do!?

Akino, whose sorrow seeathered on her face, heard the caw of a crow from the distance as she left alone The sky was already coradually sank Though Akino had confidence in her speed, it was overly dangerous to walk the ht So she had to hurry down the mountain before the sun set completely

She hastily returned to the warehouse, explaining the situation to her seniors

Originally, it had been a busy time, but Akino wanted to leave, so her seniors were extremely sarcastic with Akino, but it couldn't be delayed since it was a ized and then left the warehouse in a hurry

The red-tinted maple leaves swayed with the wind and then quietly fell

☆

Since it had been a long time since she had the opportunity to cos had been shrouded in darkness by the time Akino finally walked down the mountain

She went through the mountain woods via terraced fields on thefah the vast depths of the gorge

Then, the hills that surrounded this area spread out above her head just as it turned to night The clouds in the sky were unusually eye-catching, and she could feel a heavy at iht scattered froave the deep blue sky a different color The clouds that floated froed their shapes bit by bit as they slowly flowed

Akino normally lived surrounded by a tall cedar forest In that world, Akino would occasionally co of vastness upon seeing the sky Like a rabbit that crawled out froht of herself as extremely miniscule, even petty, an existence like a pebble or a weed

But on the other hand, she suddenly thought of running to some corner below that sky and suddenly had an inexplicable feeling

Even if she didn't knohere to go - even if she could just go to so and she had thoughts of single- forward The others in the s

Akino hadn't left the mountain

Even Akino knew of the outside world She had only received the h azines, television, internet - of course, it wasn't complete - she had understood normal societal practices about the world outside the mountain

But that was just knowledge, and it was the knowledge about another world Though she wanted to go son world after all

Akino was a foreign body herself, as she had experienced personally all this ti spirits were very valuable, it was just a rabbit living spirit How many people who had lived in such an enclosed place since as far back as they could reh theto her

But why did she really want to run out and see the scenery across from the monastery?

Of course, her slow self definitely couldn't give an answer to such a thing no ht

”Ah, I'ry”

It would already be time to eat dinner at thetowards the Front Hall

The front Hall was the junction between Seishuku Temple and the county road, situated in the center of a patch of narrow, flat land

Even though it was called a hall, it looked like an old warehouse from the outside Normally there was just an autoht by the entrance for iht

There were two figures beneath that light

One was a familiar face, and the other was an unfamiliar face Akino's heartbeat beat violently

”Ah, aren't you the rabbit? You were the er?”

”P-Priest Kengyou!? Please don't call me that! I've always told you!”

”Well, even with your hips and chest, you look like a rabbit You've probably grown since then, right? Hmm?”

”T-T-That”

What was he saying so suddenly in front of a newco you

Though Kengyou was an ajari of Seishuku Temple, he didn't wear priest clothes nor was his head shaven bald He was alorking outside the ood in various aspects

This wo depraved monk would be evaluated very badly in several aspects as a disciple Akino seee, so she was accustomed to this banter

”Anyway, did you hear about everything? This person is someone who hopes to enter the monastery, which we haven't had one of for many years”

Kengyou lightly stroked his chin, speaking with an arrogant tone Before Akino readied herself to face hiyou's side

It was a girl

And she was very young But she was older than Akino Perhaps she was already a high school student Her long black hair reflected her snohite skin She had a slender body and a beautiful figure As soender, Akino was also taken aback This was an outstandingly beautiful girl in both features and figure

But she gave off a very cold impression

Was it the ht she was i rese like or dislike in her eyes that stared at Akino That expression too, as calave off h impression than an indifferent one She was more hardened and solitary than dispassionate

She wore a short coat, shorts, and long stockings She wore fingerless gloves and soe pattern was slung over her shoulder Rather than being boyish, it was more like she was dressed completely for efficiency and without embellishment So, that discrepancy was clearly evident as if it doirl's characteristics

But there were exceptions in that utilitarian outfit

There was a pink ribbon tying the girl's long black hair

”Um”

Just as Akino was about to greet her, she immediately noticed that she didn't knohat to say

She judged her to be the type that wasn't very easy to talk to and even felt scared

But though she wasn't sure of the reasons, she felt a strange sense of wrongness Other peoplepalpable, gloo ominous

Even so, she couldn't aze away from her

The girl also wordlessly looked back at Akino, who couldn't say anything and just stared intently at her Then, the aroether and a faint scent surfaced to float through the surroundings

It was the scent of incense she had never smelled

Then,

”Nice to meet you, I'm Hokuto”

The girl opened her mouth

Flat words, but a pure voice

”A-Ah, yes! I-I'm, um, uh, Akino, so!?”

She suddenly becaue-tied This was definitely a very bad iyou had just said, this was the worst first i treated like an idiot by the girl who still didn't make any particular reactions

Kengyou was rather unconcerned about the red-faced Akino, reanized attitude

”Then, that's done, right? Akino, I'll be leaving, so I'll leave everything else to you”

”Eh? Y-You're already leaving?”

”You got here too late, I already finished everything I have to return to the town today”

Kengyou checked his watch while speaking without politeness, but Akino was quickly overwhelmed by panic

”But, you didn't really introduce us”

”Just do whatever you like over the evening Come to think of it, I'”

Kengyou shot a sideways glance at the girl with a cold gaze, saying that The girl was still responseless

Akino's sto

”Then see you later Don't do anything troublesome”

Kengyou selfishly left those words, explained nothing further, and left Just like that, he walked towards the car stopped on the county road Akino seeirl before her as Kengyou left behind their backs

Then,

”Ah, right”

Unexpectedly, Kengyou stopped and turned back

”Akino, Hokuto, you guys will get along in the ht? Since the two of you are comrades with the same nature”

”Eh? Wh-What does that mean?”