She Professed Herself The Pupil Of The Wiseman (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

THE NEXT MORNING, Mira laid a breakfast picnic out for herself on the grass outside the wagon. Fortified, she boarded again to continue her journey to the Isuzu Alliance headquarters.

Though she’d instructed Garuda to rest whenever it needed to, flying was the same as breathing to the massive bird. It had no need to rest. By midday, they were halfway there. Thanks to Garuda, Mira would arrive much sooner than expected.

The direct journey by sky was as smooth as could be. Mira read manga, practiced partial summoning tactics, and more in the cozy shelter of the wagon. The journey was pleasantly relaxing.

Another day passed by uneventfully, and the sun once again set below the horizon. The sky turned dark and began to wink with glimmering stars. As the last vestiges of sunlight disappeared, Garuda soared through the moonlit sky…and Mira’s stomach began to growl. A vast precipice came into view in the distance, standing like a tall, dark wall in the moonlight.

“Are we already there?”

Mira poked her head out of the driver’s door. Mountain ranges on the left and right collided and intertwined up ahead, creating a towering cliff. Its dark form was silhouetted by the starry sky at its back. Mira knew that this was her destination, the center of the Shiho mountain range.

She checked the time—it was past 7:00 p.m. It wasn’t too late in the evening yet, so Mira considered going straight to their headquarters. But after a moment she rethought it, deciding it would be sketchy to arrive after nightfall.

She asked Garuda to land next to a lake at the base of the mountains and set up camp for the night.

***

Wind rolling down the mountains washed the night fog away, filling the valley with chilly air that brought some temporary relief from the early summer heat.

Early in the morning, Mira awakened at the base of the ridge where the two mountain ranges met. She exited the wagon, yawning, and washed her face beside the lake, which reflected the surrounding peaks like a mirror.

“Phew…”

She wiped away her sleepiness and looked up at the enormous wall of stone before her. The tall cliff gave off a totally different impression in the light of day. It shone in the sunlight with a brilliant white luster, as if threatening to unleash an avalanche at any given moment. 

Mira turned her back to the mountains and strode back toward the wagon. Just then, three black forms entered her field of vision—upon closer inspection, they appeared to be the remains of tiger-like monsters called night raiders. Usually nocturnal, they hunted in packs to find prey. They were powerful enemies that the Guild Union designated C-Rank.

When she turned her head, she saw her unsleeping Holy Knight standing with a bloodied sword. Its massive, tower-like shield shone dully in the sunlight. It had done its job swiftly, yet quietly, while Mira slept.

How reliable.

Witnessing the utility of her Holy Knights once again, Mira thanked it—despite knowing the pointlessness of doing so—and dismissed it.

After completing her morning routine and eating her breakfast, Mira gazed at the faraway mountaintop where the Forest of Seasons lay. Clouds gathered around it like ever-present fog, and snow sparkled at the peak. It was even higher in altitude than the Celestial Ruins. But when Mira turned back to her wagon, she knew ascending to such heights was no longer a problem.

She entered the wagon, peeked out the driver’s door, and once again summoned Garuda, ordering the bird to fly to the Forest of Seasons.

As they rose gradually into the air, Mira ensured the wagon was airtight using the method described in the instruction manual. Even at high altitudes, the mist weed would prevent the cabin’s air pressure from changing, meaning she wouldn’t have to worry about altitude sickness.

Exulting in the feeling of overcoming her previous failures, Mira cheerfully watched the mountainside slide away below.

***

How far up had they gone now? While she waited idly in the wagon, Mira realized that things were suddenly rather loud outside. When she looked through the window, she saw a red ray of light shoot down from above.

“What was that?”

She pressed herself against the window and looked up in the direction they were heading. Near the summit, she could see a lesser wyvern. Now she remembered—this area was a habitat for wyverns.

Lesser wyverns were the lowest tier of flying dragons. They weren’t technically monsters, but as they were dragons, they were ferociously strong. By the Union’s standards, they were B-Rank foes despite the “lesser” tag. And unfortunately, they were extremely rowdy.

That red light had been the lesser wyvern’s fire breath.

“Picking a fight with my Garuda, hm? How bold,” Mira muttered.

Just as she was about to order Garuda to kill the aggressive wyvern, however, the red fire breath roared through the air again. Something was off—the lesser wyvern up above wasn’t shooting at her. What was going on? She strained her eyes to search the sky.

It seemed the lesser wyvern was fighting something else. It tore through the sky and shot fire over and over before gliding in for an attack.

Is that…a person? No, I’ve never seen anybody who moved like that.

Looking toward the area of the sky where the lesser wyvern was directing its assault, she saw something human-shaped. Indeed, a human-like figure was floating in midair. It was moving as fast and freely as the lesser wyvern was, so she really had to strain her eyes to see it.

The only one I know who can perform such feats is Flonne…but that fighting style is too plain to be her. What is going on?

Wise Man of Ethereal Magic, Flonne the Supernatural. Mira knew of nobody who could fly unassisted as well as she could. If the figure was a spirit, then a mage like her ought to be able to tell from afar. If it was a fairy, then she would see glowing wings. One could perform similar feats with Immortal Arts, but that was simply running on the air. The figure fighting the wyvern out there was maneuvering like a fighter jet.

Who was it? As Mira wondered, the battle above came to a close.

The lesser wyvern fell powerlessly from the sky, and the figure slowly pursued. Based on their distance and angle, it seemed they were both falling toward Mira’s destination, the Forest of Seasons.

“What in the world?”

Whoever that figure was, they’d defeated that lesser wyvern with ease. Not a human, not a monster—Mira had never seen magic like that, either. All that she could say was that whoever they were, they had real skill.

And given where she’d encountered them, they were also likely related to the Forest of Seasons, home to the Isuzu Alliance’s headquarters. If so, she’d have to proceed with caution to avoid angering…whatever it was. 

Mira ordered Garuda to continue on—cautiously.

***

“Now what should I make of this?”

She crested the mountain range and emerged in the skies above her destination. Mira’s eyes widened in shock at the sight below.

The snow-capped mountain range below was divided into four sections by a large depression in the earth that looked like a volcano’s caldera. It was as if a titan had gripped the world, leaving its mark behind.

The deep hollow was surrounded by the highest precipices, and inside lay the Forest of Seasons—or it should have.

The Forest of Seasons was, as the name implied, a paradise where all four seasons were simultaneously at their peak. Mira remembered its beauty well, which only made the sight below her even harder to stomach.

Where the forest had been was now nothing but a thick bamboo grove.

Have we flown off course? Mira wondered. She looked around and checked her map again, but all signs pointed to this being the Forest of Seasons.

She continued to glide over the Forest of Seasons, gazing down curiously.

But then, suddenly, it came. The person she’d seen before—no, more of them, hundreds—erupted from the bamboo and surrounded Mira’s wagon in the blink of an eye.

“I see. These are…shikigami, then?”

They were indeed human-shaped shikigami. Sheets with pentagrams were affixed to their faces like seals. The shikigami, wearing Shinto garments and woven kasa hats, slowly circled around the wagon as if searching for something.

This magic must have been invented in the past thirty years. Human-shaped shikigami hadn’t existed back in Danblf’s day. Animal-shaped ones were the best they could do.

So even Celestial Arts have advanced quite a bit…

She could tell they were wary of her. But she was so interested in these human-like shikigami that she couldn’t help but stare.

Immediately after, Garuda’s ear-piercing cry echoed through the sky. It was trying to intimidate them in order to protect Mira. The shikigami immediately backed away slightly. Mira snapped out of her musings.

“I don’t think they mean any harm,” she said to Garuda.

It may look different now, but this should still be the Forest of Seasons. If it was, then the Isuzu Alliance’s home base should be here. These must be a defense mechanism of some kind. With that thought, she ordered Garuda to suppress its wind—that would hopefully prove they meant no harm.

After a moment of waiting and watching, it seemed to do the trick. One shikigami broke out from the group and slowly approached the wagon window.

“Come with us,” a voice said.

With that as their signal, the rest of the horde of shikigami formed an orderly line and descended into the bamboo. Mira ordered Garuda to follow their lead. The massive bird and the wagon with Mira inside descended under the watchful eyes of the shikigami on either side.

They passed through the canopy of bamboo leaves and landed on the forest floor. Despite the early hour, it was dark and dreary inside the forest. Before Mira knew it, her guides had vanished. What now? Mira emerged from the wagon and surveyed the lonely forest, which made no sounds even when the wind blew.

I doubt they trust me yet.

Suddenly, Mira found herself encircled by spirits.

Spirits usually looked happy and were glad to help when one met them in the forest, but something was different about this group—the dozens of spirits present here kept their distance and sized up Mira with glassy eyes. Their caution was evident. Some even manifested their power in an attempt to intimidate her.

This was the home base of the Isuzu Alliance, enemy of the spirit-hunting organization Chimera Clausen. These spirits were likely affiliated with them. Even though Mira tried to show she was no threat, she still must have seemed suspicious, appearing out of the sky. But Garuda couldn’t stand idly by.

The wind died down and silence filled the grove, broken only by the noise of Garuda digging its powerful legs into the dirt. The massive bird stood protectively next to Mira, colorful feathers standing on end as it glowered at the enemy. Faced with the overwhelming power of the ruler of the air, the spirits froze and held their breath.

“Garuda, we’re all friends here.” Mira’s even voice reverberated through the quiet air. She looked up and raised her arms to Garuda. The bird calmed its aura and put its beak between her hands like a sword sliding into its sheath. She accepted its loyalty and dismissed her protector.

“You’ve nothing to worry about,” Mira declared to the spirits.

The disappearance of the bird calmed the guardians. Fragments of the spirits’ power that had been fluttering about now dispersed. Mira bowed slightly in thanks as she turned her attention to the spirit who seemed to be the strongest.

“Apologies for scaring you,” she announced.

The spirit before her stepped forth and bowed in return. “We apologize, too. It is rare for humans to visit us.”

The one who seemed the most authoritative among the gathered spirits looked like a long-haired ghost. Her clothes were as shabby as a white bedsheet, and hair as green as the sunlit bamboo leaves fell to her knees. That veil of hair only offered the faintest glimpse of her face. Her voice was low for a woman, and it had little of the amiable tone common to most spirits.

Even if people didn’t visit often, spirits were usually affable. Had Chimera Clausen changed the ancient relationship between humanity and spirits so much?

“You’re the leader of this group?” Mira asked.

“I am. That you can tell means you’re no ordinary mage,” the green-haired spirit responded emotionlessly.

Mira shook her head; she had merely seen that this one had the most vibrant particles of spirit power.

“Let me assure you that I mean you no harm,” she declared. Then she got right to business. “I’ve come to find the home base of the Isuzu Alliance.”

The spirits began to murmur amongst themselves. They sounded surprised, and their attention turned to the green-haired spirit.

“May I ask your name?” The green-haired spirit’s eyes peeked cautiously between her long locks. Her gaze was both inquisitive and oppressive.

“I am known as Mira.”

The instant Mira answered, the pressure that seemed to be bearing down on her from all sides relaxed at once.

“Ahh…you. And you have a letter of introduction?”

“Indeed. Right here.” Mira produced the letter Solomon had entrusted her with and handed it over.

It seemed Silver—the man from Isuzu she had met some days ago—had already informed them that she would visit.

The green-haired spirit checked the seal and signature. “All appears to be in order. Wait here, please.” She bowed politely and disappeared, as if fading into mist. All that remained was a scent like young leaves in the spring.

Half of the spirits here had been saved from Chimera Clausen’s attacks by the Isuzu Alliance. Their friendly personalities were overshadowed by fear created by the acts of heartless people. But once they knew Mira was a friend, they became curious and observed her keenly—even if it was still at arm’s length.

***

Ten minutes and change after the green-haired spirit left, a great bird with crimson wings descended from the canopy. A kimono-and-headdress-clad woman clung to its legs. When it landed, the bird seemed to erupt into flames and disappeared like smoke. A talisman appeared in the outstretched hand of the woman.

“What exactly is going on here?” the woman demanded of the green-haired spirit, who had returned with her.

But the spirit was just as clueless. “Not sure,” she admitted.

The grove appeared to have become some sort of concert venue. The performer was Leticia, the emcee was Mira, and the audience was made up of the spirits and animals present.

The spirits had been interested in Mira, yet couldn’t bring themselves to approach. Noticing they were acting strange, she racked her brain for how she might make them relax. Then Mira realized: if humans made them nervous, why not have a fellow spirit bridge the gap?

Music had no boundaries, and the invisible wall between parties vanished when Leticia’s song, Ode to My Master, filled the grove. The tune was so beautiful that it threatened to steal the hearts of listeners and make them beat to its own rhythm.

Mira’s plan had succeeded, and she was now surrounded by a bevy of happy spirits.

The kimono-wearing woman pushed through the listeners to approach the small summoner. “You are Miss Mira, I understand? I’ll need to see the medal to prove your identity.”

“Hmm… This one?” Mira took out the medal Solomon had given her and handed it over.

The woman looked over both sides. 

“Thank you.” She handed the medallion back to Mira. “Your identity is confirmed. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Acadori, captain of the Forest of Seasons patrols.”

The woman wore what one might call a minimalist version of a green kimono and headdress. It sort of resembled long-sleeved ninja garb. Her inky black hair was tied behind her in a long tail, which only made her look more like a ninja.

“Captain Silver has given me a rough summary of events. The Isuzu Alliance welcomes you, Miss Mira.” Acadori bowed and retrieved a crystal bell from her kimono. She rang it once.

The gloomy bamboo forest seemed to disappear like an illusion. In its place stood the paradise-like Forest of Seasons that Mira remembered.

“What in the world…?” Amazed by the change, Mira breathed in, and the scent of lush greenery filled her lungs. She slowly exhaled and gawked at the forest before her and the lake behind her.

All the seasons were on display at once. A rainbow of flowers bloomed all about, heralding the birth of spring. Summer was evident in the lush, strong growth of leaves and stems. Lovely-smelling round fruit hung from trees, representing autumn’s bounty. And finally, winter’s rest could be seen in the dormant, closed buds. All four seasons jumbled and grew into each other. Though chaotic at a glance, the wonderful array of colors repeated with subtle order, like a visual poem that spread across the forest.

“I’m relieved that we could reveal it without issue,” Acadori said.

According to her, the bamboo forest from before was but a hex, a visual barrier cast by the grand master of the Isuzu Alliance and dispelled by the ring of her crystal bell. However, if someone had come into the forest with malice in their heart, the illusion would only have grown stronger. Their only way out would be death.

“That’s…terrifying,” Mira mused. It wasn’t clear how the barrier could distinguish good from evil, but she breathed a sigh of relief that her concert had not counted as evil.

It looks like somebody here is capable of using incredible barrier magic. Anticipation swelled with her. Perhaps Kagura was involved in this after all?

“Now, Miss Mira, we would like you to meet our grand master. Are you willing?”

“Oho! I get to meet your grand master now? I couldn’t have asked for a better welcome.”

One of Mira’s reasons for coming here was to find out whether the shikigami Meowmaru was from Isuzu. But she also had a letter from Solomon to deliver to their grand master. It seemed like the ideal opportunity to get some of the answers she sought.

“Erm, well…” Acadori glanced at Leticia, who was using this rare chance to sing her song on an endless loop.

Mira took the hint and dismissed a satisfied but also somewhat sad Leticia. She’d only just met all these spirits, and now she had to part with them.

“Now, shall we go?” Acadori said.

The gathered spirits said their goodbyes to Mira and scattered into the woods. The wounds dealt to them by humanity had yet to heal, and their smiles before had shadows cast over them. But now, they smiled gently and infectiously—it was these very smiles that the Isuzu Alliance hoped to win back.

That warmed Acadori’s heart as she looked on, facing the lake.

After Mira said farewell to the spirits, she rapped her knuckles against the wagon sitting on the lake’s shore and asked Acadori, “Mind if I park it here?”

Acadori was rather overcome by emotion after seeing the influence Mira had on those spirits. After shaking her head a bit harder than was necessary, she came back to reality. “Huh? Yes, it’s okay. No problem. Shall we go?”

A few minutes’ walk later, Acadori stopped on the shore of the lake. The wagon was still visible off to their right.

“Please wait here.” Acadori produced the crystal bell again and rang it toward the lake. The peal of the bell, sharp as glass, disappeared into the wind without an echo. Yet in the water at their feet, ripples spread out dramatically.

They began at the edge of the lake and rose up, drawing an arc toward the center. As the ripples collided, they formed an ephemeral line on the surface of the lake. Then the line sank into the surface and tore the lake in two, as if some invisible wedge had been slowly driven into the water.

“Now this is incredible…” Mira muttered in astonishment as she watched. It seemed the legend of Moses was within the realm of possibility in this world.

“Come this way, please. There will be a staircase at your feet. Tread carefully.”

“Hrmm, understood.”

The water on either side of the passageway flowed upward, blowing in the wind like liquid curtains. The staircase was translucent blue and seemed to melt into the water. It looked like something that had fallen from the sky in a downpour of rain.

They descended into the misty spray, and their surroundings changed from blue to white.

I never dreamed I’d enter a lake like this. Inside a lake, which is inside a barrier hex! Magnificent. Mira admired how strict their security was. No doubt the Isuzu headquarters lay up ahead.

Suddenly, Mira remembered something. “By the way,” she asked, “there was a horde of human-shaped shikigami on my way here. Are those your grand master’s magic, too? I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Acadori confirmed her suspicions with a nod, obviously proud of their defenses. They were indeed a new type of shikigami the grand master had developed. The ones Mira had seen were defensive fighters that could use various Celestial Arts.

“Oho, shikigami using Celestial Arts? That is quite incredible.”

Animal-like shikigami had a much more limited selection of abilities. Acadori added that the mana consumption of the human-shaped shikigami was much greater to compensate, but they were the pinnacle of versatility.

Surveillance shikigami had also been stationed throughout the forest. When monsters or people approached, they would automatically alert the grand master.

If anything entered the forest, the grand master would personally take control of the shikigami and respond appropriately. And the barrier was on top of that. The Isuzu Alliance headquarters was so strictly guarded that it rivaled a royal castle.

However…using such shikigami and maintaining the barrier at the same time—their leader could almost certainly not leave headquarters for long.

“Given the level of magic, there’s nothing that can be done about that,” Mira mumbled.

Even for Mira, a Wise Man standing at the pinnacle of her field, the magic used in this defense system was so complex and difficult that it brought Kagura to mind. She wasn’t surprised that their leader couldn’t leave.

Impressed beyond measure, Mira chuckled as she watched Acadori. Should she be talking about such important things so casually?

***

They talked as they descended the stairs for a few minutes. The sound of the rushing waters grew louder as they went farther down. Mira looked ahead and saw that the staircase came to a stop at a small gate.

Looks like the end of the road.

She gazed at the endless waterfall. The bottom of the lake was lower still. Somehow, the liquid surface below caught the falling spray without ever rising in elevation.

The gate stood in the middle of the lake, as if floating atop the water. Acadori touched it with her crystal bell, then pressed her fist against it. There was a quiet yet sonorous metallic clink as the gate opened.

Mira followed her through the gate, and suddenly, a small city lay before her eyes.

The city seemed an imitation of ancient Kyoto, but much more magnificent and dramatized. The people strolling about here and there looked foreign, and spirits with hair and clothing in all colors of the rainbow added to the unusual allure of the place.

It’s very Japanese, isn’t it?

The entrance was an observation point above the city. Mira looked down at the town from this vantage point until her eyes came to rest on an especially conspicuous pillar. The meticulously planned city had stone pillars extending into the “sky” at equal intervals. There were twelve pillars altogether, each one reaching higher than the gate. Mira followed them upward with her eyes and saw the rippling water above held overhead like a sky.

Sunlight reflected off the distant water’s surface and diffused as it permeated through, piercing the water barrier and pouring down onto the city like early summer rain. Mira looked down at the ground and saw the refraction of the rippling water up above. The light undulated like an irregular kaleidoscope.

Mira followed Acadori down a spiral staircase and into the city. As they made their way toward the most imposing building Mira could see, Acadori gave a quick introduction of the Izusu Alliance headquarters. She mentioned that the personnel here and there weren’t just Isuzu Alliance members—some were outside collaborators or spirits under their protection. The young spirits were especially weak in battle, so they had to be proactively taken in and sheltered.

That made sense, of course. No matter which direction Mira looked, she found at least one nearly naked young spirit. It was a sight that made her question her own morals.

As for the collaborators, Acadori explained that most were involved in building and developing technology. They could do especially good work with the spirits’ help, so the city was popular among artisans.

Whenever they passed Isuzu’s soldiers along the way, Acadori would exchange a quick greeting with them. Some asked if the girl at her side was Mira. It seemed the tale of the first-ever Chimera Clausen arrest had spread.

But even under these circumstances, what stuck out most to Mira was a young man holding hands with a spirit. When she asked, Acadori said such sights weren’t rare. Humans and spirits fell in love and got married. They may have been born to different lives, but love brought them together.

Their walk ended at the deepest part of the city, where two gatekeepers bowed to Acadori. In Heian Kyoto, the place would have been called the outer palace. It was surrounded by roofed mud walls, but the front gate was open, and through it, Mira could see several palace buildings. While Acadori and the gatekeepers spoke, she peered around to get a better look.

“Miss Mira, let’s first head for the main temple,” Acadori said, stifling a grin as she noticed the small summoner’s curiosity.

“Ah… Right. Sure,” Mira, who had been squatting and cocking her head, assented with a guilty smile.

Inside the gates, more roofed mud walls divided the area into sections. As Acadori guided Mira deeper into the complex, the number of people and spirits they passed went down drastically. The place seemed lonely, yet solemn and dignified at the same time.

Their footsteps continued on quietly. They took a right at the second turn and arrived at another gate.

The grand main palace stood beyond. Mira and Acadori took off their shoes and proceeded down the wooden hallway until they stood in front of an audience chamber. Here, it seemed, Acadori’s journey came to an end. She opened the sliding door, took a step back, and kneeled seiza-style.

“Please go in, Miss Mira. Our grand master awaits.”

“Thank you for guiding me here.” Mira thanked her and stepped through the door.

From there, another long hallway led to a large room. The floor was polished wood, while the walls were painted a clean white. In the center of the room was a long, low table that stretched the room’s length. On the floor near the end closest to herself was a sitting cushion. A person sat at the far end, and two others—likely aides—sat on opposing sides of the table.

“Please sit,” one of the aides said with a gentle smile. Mira did as she was told and approached the low table. She sat on the cushion with legs crossed.

She looked down the long stretch of the table at the figure opposite her. They were dressed in purple and wore something like a bamboo hat with a thin, white veil draped over it. The veil hid their upper half completely, making it impossible to see their face. Nevertheless, Mira was certain that this was the individual at the top of the Isuzu Alliance.

No doubt about it, this person must be from Japan.

The aesthetics of the city left little doubt in her mind, but the person behind the veil was still a mystery.

“Allow me to welcome you to the Isuzu Alliance’s central headquarters. My name is Uzume. You are Mira, I presume. I heard you put great effort into capturing a member of Chimera for us. You have my thanks.” A woman’s voice came from behind the veil.

“It was nothing. I only happened to interfere in one of your fights,” Mira answered.

“How modest,” Uzume laughed softly. “By the way, the letter of introduction mentioned you were searching for someone? And that they might be one of ours? May I ask for the details?”

“Right. I met a shikigami protecting a wind spirit…about three weeks ago now, I believe?”

Given the unique name of that shikigami, it was likely that one of the former Wise Men was involved. With that preface, Mira explained what had happened on her way back from Karanak.

“Karanak, hm? Tell me one thing before I answer: why are you searching for this person?” Uzume asked after Mira finished talking. They may have been indebted to her, but they weren’t about to sell out an ally.

Of course, that was not Mira’s intent at all. “I wanted to discuss something with them. I’m actually searching for a different individual, but I thought they might be related. Honestly, even the clue in the shikigami’s name is a tenuous one. But as I have no other leads, I’ll take what I can get.”

“I see. Searching for someone to help you find someone else does sound tedious.”

“The one I’m looking for is annoying, so it fits.” Mira let her true feelings slip for a moment. One of the aides glanced at Uzume quizzically. Uzume, who had been staring deeply at Mira as if trying to see into her soul, finally relaxed and nodded.

“Wait just a moment.” She took a document from her aide. “We have a few people around Karanak right now. And since you’ve mentioned a shikigami, the person you’re seeking must be a medium. Perhaps it’s one of these two here?” Uzume flipped through the documents and confirmed the names of two mediums currently out in the field.

“Oho, two? Do either of them give their shikigami bizarre names like Meowmaru?”

If not, this would be a short conversation. But two candidates raised the probability greatly. The moment Mira said the name of the shikigami aloud, the two aides shuddered and slowly turned their eyes to Uzume.

“Meowmaru? …Bizarre?” Uzume’s voice was lower pitched than before as she repeated the name. Her two aides visibly trembled.

“I know, right?” Mira confirmed. “The name is somehow both uninspired and weird, isn’t it? A name you can’t forget.”

“Yes, I know who uses Meowmaru. But is it bizarre? It strikes me as rather wonderful, no?”

Mira swelled inside—finally, a solid lead! If she recognized the name Meowmaru, one of those two people was definitely the person she was looking for!

“Oh, so you know them! Where might they be now? May I meet them?” Mira asked rapidly, without pausing to receive answers.

“They’re probably out in Grimdart on business. More importantly, though, do you really think it’s bizarre? Don’t you think it’s just the tiniest bit cute?” Uzume only answered Mira’s questions with more of her own. Her voice was also starting to sound more like a normal girl’s than a mysterious woman’s. The grand master of Isuzu slammed both palms on the table and turned her veiled face to Mira in what was unmistakably a glare.

Was it something I said…?

Uzume’s obsessiveness and anger seemed oddly nostalgic…Mira felt as though she’d met someone like her before. Now that she was looking at the figure at the other end of the table with new eyes, the memory in Mira’s brain overlapped slightly with Uzume before her.

Mira smirked. “I know somebody who gives their shikigami names like Tweetsuke, Kushellge, Henryu, and Growlta.” She rattled the names off the top of her head. “Do those familiars seem…familiar?”

Uzume pointed an accusatory finger and rebutted, “They’re simple and cute! Gold-star names, in my humble opinion!” Her voice leaked with raw emotion.

Now this conversation was going places… With her eyes fixed on that white veil, Mira made her next move.

“The cat café siege,” she muttered like a curse. Only one person would know the meaning of these words from her dark past.

The phrase had an instant effect. Uzume’s back arched as if she’d been struck by lightning, and she jolted out of her seat. Realizing what she’d done, she cleared her throat awkwardly and quietly sat back down.

“You may leave us,” Uzume commanded calmly. Her two aides stood, bowed, and left without a peep. Remembering the one person she’d shared that story with, she asked incredulously, “Mira, huh? Is that really you, Gramps?” 

Bingo.

“It’s been a while, Kagura.”

A high-level defensive battalion using Celestial Arts, quirky shikigami names, and most of all…the way she slammed both hands on the table in anger. That was one of Kagura’s personal quirks.

In an underwater palace in the style of Heian Japan, two long-lost friends were reunited.