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Tokyo Ravens - Volume 10 - Chapter 2.1




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Chapter 2 - Visitors 
Part 1 
Seishuku Temple's gathering hall was an extremely spacious temple. 
It was a flat wooden building. Acala was enshrined at the center of the wall inside and the other Buddhas were enshrined along the other walls. The afternoon sunlight slanted as it entered to illuminate the floor, but the enshrined Buddhas quietly gazed into the hall from the darkness. 
The gathering hall had room for almost a hundred people, but right now there were only eight people here. These eight people were divided into three sides as they confronted each other. 
There were three bald robed monks. 
There was a scholarly man wearing a shirt and jeans, and a middle-aged woman wearing glasses. 
Slightly farther away was a suit-wearing middle-aged man and a teenager. There was also a twenty-some year-old woman. 
The last three people had come to visit the monastery. They were the envoys from the Onmyou Agency. The other five people were the leaders of the monastery, but they were split into two sides very strangely and glaring at each other in front of the guests. 
"We reached this conclusion long ago." 
One of the three monks said this. He was a man who gave off an especially overwhelming feeling, even among the three. Though he was past middle-aged, he still arrogantly looked down on the others. 
"Why don't you face reality?" 
The scholarly male said this, fearlessly meeting the pressuring gazes of the monks. The glasses-wearing woman next to him nodded approvingly while staying silent. 
"If this goes on, the monastery will have nowhere to go sooner or later. It's clear as day. Though it's a monastery that's fallen behind the changes of the times, we'll be able to continue existing as long as we change form. Isn't there no other opportunity other than this?" 
"Preposterous! The history of this monastery isn't something that the mere Onmyou Agency can compare to. Don't even mention accepting their authority." 
"That's why I said, you're already outdated! This has nothing to do with long history in the first place. What's important is right now and the future!" 
"The past and the future are all the same. This monastery has never changed since ancient times. No matter how this world changed." 
"No, the monastery was only able to exist to today because it was constantly changing! Even if this is a large change that has never happened before, there's no need to be so scared of moving forward!" 
"Your words are meaningless. These actions themselves are proof that your training is insufficient. There's no need to waste words with you anymore." 
The arguments of the two sides went along two completely parallel lines [22] of thought. In contrast to the sternly and coldly standing monks, the scholarly man desperately held back his own anger. 
"......" 
One of the Onmyou Agency envoys was expressionless, another concealed a cold smile, and the other frowned while staring at the leaders of the monastery in irritation. 
But the head monk also stared over at them. 
"I've shown you Onmyouji something shameful. Please forgive the poor welcome of us monks." 
"Don't worry, don't worry." 
It was the suit-wearing middle-aged man watching the situation unfold who replied like this. 
"We're not saying that your monastery has to come up with an answer right now. We've just come to bring a proposal to your monastery." 
"I see. But it will be the same no matter how many times you come. I fear that we will be unable to do as you wish." 
"Priest Jougen!" 
The scholarly man ground his teeth and shouted. But the head monk no longer even looked at him. 
"It's quite late. For now, our monks will prepare housing for you all tonight. But please be wary of disturbing our practice." 
Only saying that much, he leisurely left with the other two monks as his robes flapped. 
His lively movements made it impossible to estimate his age. The scholarly man and the woman standing next to him resentfully stared at the backs of the departing monks. 
The frowning young woman sighed - secretly. 
Not long afterwards, guides came to lead them to their rooms. 


 

"Though I already heard beforehand...... they really are a mess." 
Yuge Mari straightforwardly expressed her feelings in the lounge of the living quarters they had been led to. She didn't hide her displeased tone, since there were only colleagues in the lounge. 
Yuge was an Independent Exorcist belonging to the Onmyou Agency Exorcist Bureau. 
She was a National First-Class Onmyouji holding the 'Onmyou First-Class' qualifications, as well as one of the so-called 'Twelve Divine Generals'. Though she was a first-rate barrier user with the strange nickname of 'Binding Princess', she had even gone to this kind of backcountry place because of a verbal order about a 'special mission'. The coat she wore earlier was left in her own room, so right now she was dressed in a jacket. 
The living quarters and the monk's quarters looked relatively new for the monastery, like the added warehouse portions. But their design was pretty much the same as countryside hotels. Though it was fortunate that there was electricity, there was no heating, and the mountain chill seeped into the room. Though the monastery would have prepared a brazier for her if she just said the word, Yuge wasn't very confident that she could use a brazier so she had carefully refused. 
What were generally called the 'living quarters' were probably lodgings where people wrote or meditated to purify their spirit and ate sophisticated, spiritual cuisine in the evening, a recreation that ought to be popular among women. Though that was just Yuge's personal opinion. But this time - though she had long since prepared herself for it - that impression became far removed. Because of work, Yuge had almost never left Tokyo. It might not be bad to take the trip as an opportunity to experience the feeling of traveling. Though she had thought this and had originally been looking forward to that, her expectations had easily crumbled - though she had long since prepared herself for it. 
"Come to think of it, it's already pretty inexplicable that there's electricity here. I don't remember us seeing anything like power lines on the mountain road up here, right?" 
"......On the neighboring mountain is a transmission line tower. It's drawn from there." 
The person who replied to Yuge's question was a man sitting with his feet up in the lounge's wicker chair and reading a book. 
He was about forty. His carefully arranged hair was mixed with a bit of white on the sides. 
He was tall and lean, well-dressed in a double-breasted suit with a handkerchief stuck in his chest pocket. But his expression was poor and his face looked slightly displeased. Though he spoke smoothly, his tone was dim. He sounded like he was deliberately suppressing his tone, or rather like he was purely speaking in a businesslike manner. 
Though he belonged to a different department than Yuge, he was also her senpai in the Exorcist Bureau. He was the Special Senser of the Intelligence Department, Miyoshi Tougo. He was also a National First-Class Onmyouji. 
"Officer [23] Miyoshi, are you familiar with this monastery?" 
"It's my first time here. Just like you. Though I heard rumors beforehand." 
Miyoshi focused on the words in his book while replying without looking up. "I see." Yuge replied. 
"It's quite a strange place. It looks like a big and impressive monastery from the scale of things...... But I never would have thought an outdated way of life like this would be able to persist till now." 
"I see. Well, there's electricity and water here, and you can get phone reception. It's nothing to be shocked at, is it? Rather, isn't it quite nice to be able to be close to nature?" 
"R-Really?" 
"The air's extremely fresh too. It has a calm feeling of being distant from the hubbub of the city and troublesome civilization." 
"......Hah." 
Yuge smoothly minced her words, faced with a thought that she couldn't approve of for a while. Come to think of it, although Miyoshi usually spoke indifferently, it was hard to immediately tell how serious he was. 
But Miyoshi lightly flipped the pages of the book, 
"Of course, I can't say that it's calm after seeing its 'spiritual' aspect." 
While adding that sentence. 
This time Yuge also nodded in agreement. The mountain top territory of Seishuku Temple was enclosed in a giant barrier. Just that was probably already a large-scale magic. But it seemed that different barriers of various sizes were placed in other places as well. For example, there had been quite a tough permanent barrier set up at the gathering hall they had just been in. Perhaps that gathering hall was used as a 'magic practice field'. More importantly, it wasn't just barriers. Most of the people in the area were practitioners who could use first-class magic. 
"Come to think of it, which sect did this monastery come from? Vajrayana? Or Shugendo?" 
"Neopaganism." 
"Eh?" 
"More accurately, it was the Shingon Seishuku Temple. Like its name implies, it was originally a branch belonging to Shingon [24] , but it became independent after the war. In other words, they're Shingon neopaganists. This is their home mountain." 
Yuge's eyes widened in surprise. But Miyoshi unconcernedly continued reading his book. 
"Hence, the look that this monastery gives off is very similar to Shingonism. But their doctrines and trivial rules and such can be thought of as things exclusive to Seishuku Temple. For example, didn't the ajari just now - those monks - call each other 'Priest'? Originally, Shingon monks ought to call each other 'Monk'. Though it looks very similar on the surface, the two are actually no longer the same. 
Indeed, among the leaders that came to the monastery gathering hall just earlier, the other two in addition to the three robed monks had also been ajari. They had been called 'Priest' as well. 
"Perhaps anyone whose power is recognized can obtain preaching empowerment [25] - though I'm not sure if that's the case, at least the system is that one can become an ajari. A kind of neopaganist ajari who constantly trains and learns magic in place of 'dharma', one faction of Seishuku Temple. That's what's going on." 
"No, but...... If this monastery only rose as neopaganist after the war, then hasn't its history as the so-called dark temple started only recently? Judging from what the monk called Jougen said just now, this monastery seems to have an extremely long history......" 
"This 'temple' was here since long ago. However, it's unsure whether it's been here for hundreds of years. Similarly, just like they said themselves, the monastery belongs to the Shingon faction but actually exists in the world as a 'dark temple'. As halls for 'magic' surpassing doctrines and sects. That kind of need exists regardless of the age." 
"......I see......" 
Yuge also knew that the dark temple was related to the magic community. Moreover, Yuge was also clear on the fact that the dark temple was a place that accepted practitioners who couldn't stay in society for various reasons. Seishuku Temple and its role as an independent temple for the darkness of the magic community were certain. At the same time, it was a 'necessary evil'. 
Just then, Miyoshi and Yuge's conversation broke off. 
Then, 
"...Officer Miyoshi. Do you know of the other side's 'fighting power'?" 
It was the young man who had been silent until now who asked this. Yuge glanced at him. 
The young man stood a bit further away from the two of them, his back against a pillar. 
He was a young man with a keen, intellectual attitude that made the word 'sharp' instantly emerge in one's mind. He was well-proportioned and had handsome features. But more important than that was his impressive, cold gaze. 
In any case, one could tell that he was very capable with a single glance, and he was extremely domineering, vaunting his own ability rather than concealing it. 
He was also very young. Yuge's recalled that he was only nineteen. Though he wore a suit like Miyoshi, what he wore was just a single-breasted suit, so it was a bit more casual. And he had already loosened his tie. 
Yamashiro Hayato. He was a young National First-Class Onmyouji who had obtained 'Onmyou First-Class' qualifications this spring. 
"It's enough if we have a rough estimate of their capability. Please let me hear your opinion. Because it might be 'useful' information later on." 
Though Yamashiro's words were very polite, Yuge frowned slightly. The teenager's expression and voice became a bit strangely rude since they were tinged with excitement. 
Even at Yamashiro's question, Miyoshi's gaze didn't leave his hands. 
He just read his book while speaking to Yuge first. 
"Yuge-shi. You have work to do." 
"Eh? ......Ah, yeah." 
Yuge realized Miyoshi's intent upon seeing him point to his ears with his index finger. She put up a barrier around them. 
This was to eliminate any magical surveillance and eavesdropping from the outside. It was unclear whether it was because he hadn't considered that much or because he didn't think that doing this was necessary, but the questioning Yamashiro momentarily showed a displeased expression. 
At that point, Miyoshi still hadn't lifted his head from his book for a moment. 
"There are forty-two people around other than us. Among them, there are thirty-nine who can be identified as practitioners. Though there are several shikigami, I can't get any accurate numbers because high-level ones have stealth capabilities." 
He indifferently reported like that. 
Yuge's heart beat when she heard the words of the Special Senser. Miyoshi had instantly grasped the spiritual situation of Seishuku Temple in a place with so many barriers, and moreover in the lair of these practitioners whose friend-or-foe status couldn't be ascertained. 
The people who could be appointed as Spirit Sensers were all people with especially outstanding spirit-sensing ability even among Onmyouji. Though an exorcist like Yuge was recognized as a representative of modern Onmyouji, the position of Spirit Senser put more emphasis on innate ability - or in other words, on born talent. More importantly, he was a Spirit Senser who had obtained 'First-Class Onmyou' qualifications, known as the Special Senser. That kind of person was an irreplaceable talent to the Exorcist Bureau. 
There were only three Special Sensers in the Twelve Divine Generals who had obtained 'First-Class Onmyou' qualifications. Among those three, it was undoubtedly Miyoshi with the nickname 'Divine Eye' who was the best among them in qualifications and power. Though outside knowledge of him was low, he was a secret powerhouse in the Exorcist Bureau. 
"About forty practitioners...... Though they're still in training, it would be very tricky if they grouped together." 
"......Anyway, aren't they just a mob? Rogue practitioners who haven't even received true training aren't worthy opponents no matter how many there are." 
Yamashiro quickly shattered Yuge's worry. His voice didn't just reveal pure arrogance, as a calm, steady self-confidence based on knowledge could also be felt from it. 
Yamashiro was a Mystical Investigator who had been assigned to the Onmyou Agency Mystical Crime Investigation Department right after he became a First-Class Onmyouji. Though Yamashiro didn't have any special abilities like Miyoshi, nor did he have a strong spiritual power or special techniques like Yuge, his ability in anti-personnel magic against practitioners was first-rate. Actually, he was treated as a promising future leader by the Onmyou Agency higher-ups. 
But, 
"Just in case, let me say a bit more." 
Miyoshi supplemented with extremely businesslike words. 
"There are also quite a few people who were born in independent temples like Seishuku Temple in the Onmyou Agency. They are especially numerous in the Exorcist Bureau. Independent Officer Miyachi is one of them. Of more recent people, Independent Officer Kagami is as well. Though I remember that Kagami-shi was only born in an independent temple." 
"Eh? The Director was that kind of person?" 
"Oh my, you didn't know?" 
She had never thought of that. Though Yuge's boss Miyachi had told her of this mission himself, he hadn't mentioned such a thing at all. 
Another secret, just like before. Yuge momentarily became unreasonably angry as that bearded face emerged in her mind. 
"I-In that case, why did Director Miyachi send me as an envoy? Isn't this place like the Director's old home, then?" 
"He sent you because this was just to make a proposal. If we sent a negotiator who looked like he might burn the entire mountain down, wouldn't the monastery be unable to calm down?" 
Miyoshi replied straightforwardly. But actually, he wasn't too sure why - or rather, he didn't feel any interest in it at all. One could also think that it was even less convenient because it was like his old home. 
Even so, it was still maddening. Yuge frowned as if saying 'that beardy', but didn't give it voice. 

On the other hand, the face of Yamashiro who had stayed calm and composed after hearing of the numbers turned sinister after he heard about the topic of peoples' origins. 
"'Ogre Eater' was from a dark temple......" 
After unconsciously murmuring like that, Yamashiro quickly came back to his senses and clicked his tongue after becoming aware of his own words. Though he instantly wiped off his expression, he was visibly more serious than before. 
Miyoshi continued speaking in an indifferent tone. 
"The dark temple's environment is overly cruel to a practitioner. But in comparison, there are often monsters born from there who are unbound by the common sense of the world. Everyone has their own opinion about environments that can make peoples' talents bloom like that." 
"......That might not be certain. If there really was a practitioner on the level of Director here, it definitely would have reached our ears. Are there people on that kind of level in the current Seishuku Temple?" 
"How should I put it? I'm not too sure about their skill levels. But at the least, the several ajari we met just now had quite the spiritual powers. Each one had a spiritual power that several ordinary exorcists wouldn't be able to match. Especially the man called Jougen. Though he might not be on Miyachi-shi's level, at least he's far superior to us. Of course, the comparison is just limited to spiritual power." 
Yuge became speechless after hearing Miyoshi's opinion. 
Indeed, she had felt that all of the monastery leaders who had gathered in the gathering hall were outstanding practitioners. But exorcists were elites even among professional Onmyouji. An assertion like several exorcists being unable to compare was impossible to believe instantly. Though a practitioner's excellence wasn't decided by strength or weakness of spiritual power, but it was the truth that spiritual power had a very important role in magical battles. 
"But in the first place, if, more accurately, we're appraising 'fighting power', it's meaningless to just pay attention to the practitioner. This is their home [26] . There are a lot of things they can do, like sneak attacks while we're asleep or burning the place we're in. Yeah, there's also assassination with poison. In addition, there's......" 
"Hey, Officer. Don't say such unlucky things, alright?" 
Yuge put on a bitter face towards the calmly speaking Miyoshi. 
Then, Miyoshi suddenly raised his head away from the book he had been reading and looked in the direction of the nearby Yamashiro. 
"In any case, this mission is to 'advise' Seishuku Temple. Even if we can't convince them, we will not take any forceful measures. There's no need to be reckless." 
Though his tone was businesslike as always, for now he seemed to be trying not to portray himself as lacking in force. 
Yamashiro didn't reply yes or no. But he took on an extremely businesslike smile like Miyoshi's as a reply and moved away from the pillar he leaned on. 
"I'm going to go walk around." 
"Yamashiro." 
"I know." 
Yamashiro dealt with Yuge without thinking as he left the lounge. 
Yuge sighed. Young people these days - though she thought that, Yuge instantly shook her head in a panic after realizing that those thoughts were like an old person's. Even her thoughts had started to become like those of an old person's after spending a life immersed in work every day. That was irritating. 
"......It seems like Yamashiro-shi was the Kurahashi family protege." 
Miyoshi murmured that sentence. At the same time, his gaze was still aimed in the direction Yamashiro had left. 
"He was brought into the Kurahashi family's care during childhood and even received Chief Kurahashi's personal tutelage for a while." 
"I heard something like that too. Well, the higher-ups are expected a lot from him, right? Though he talks and acts like a bigshot, he might feel unexpectedly stressed." 
Come to think of it, his looming arrogance could also be forgiven. Rather, if she thought carefully, an arrogant kouhai was always much better than her colleague Kagami Reiji. 
"His power is the real thing. Are we being too worried?" 
Yuge smiled while summarizing things to Miyoshi. But Miyoshi casually lowered his head to read his book. Yuge unconsciously became irritated. Miyachi was like this too. It looked like men of this age - especially single ones - made her unsettled in the way they always went about their own ways. 
"......Actually, what do you think, Officer Miyoshi? Do you think Seishuku Temple will accept the Agency - the Onmyou Agency's proposal?" 
"Ah, I'm not sure." 
"It's alright, just say what you think. For me, I feel like what that man who opposed the monk called Jougen in the gathering hall before - was he called Priest Rian? - was right. It's true that maybe the dark temple existed up to this point out of 'necessity', but the situation will change with the Onmyou law legal reform. The Onmyou Agency won't continue letting the dark temples be, and if the monastery continues their passively-resisting attitude like this, then we'll have to seriously contend with them. The monastery has no chance of victory no matter what if things become that way." 
The proposal that Yuge and the others had made to Seishuku Temple this time was a contract to make the Seishuku Temple become an official 'practice ground' for the Onmyou Agency. Of course, needless to say this was just on the surface. It was a strategy to slowly turn Seishuku Temple into a division of the Onmyou Agency. Plainly put, it was an exhortation that they would overlook all of the assistance that Seishuku Temple had given to magic criminals in the past, and in return, Seishuku Temple would fall under the Onmyou Agency's management. 
From a different point of view, it was a so-called 'surrender treaty'. But it did have safeguards for the people of the monastery. The people with power would be given qualifications as Onmyouji. No matter what had happened, the current Seishuku Temple was legally a 'criminal organization', and that was the truth. To Yuge, the Onmyou Agency's proposal was already an exceptional discretionary favor. 
But Miyoshi's opinion was slightly different. 
"Even in front of matters of life and death, people can never make an objective and impartial judgment. Rather, it's even harder to make a suitable judgment in that kind of situation." 
Was that the case? Yuge had trouble agreeing for a while and kept her own personal opinion. 
In any case, Yuge and the others had only been ordered to advise them. No matter what outcomes would come of the choice the monastery made, they weren't the responsibility of Yuge and the others. 
In that case, next was...... 
"......What now? What do you plan on doing from now on?" 
"Oh, what do you mean, from now on?" 
"The other thing. The 'Tsuchimikado' business. When are we going to move?" 
"......" 
Miyoshi stopped reading his book, lifting his head. 
Though his expression hadn't changed much, he rolled his eyes a few times - at least, that seemed to be what he was doing. Yuge didn't know what he meant at first, but her eyes widened after she realized. 
"......Eh? Eh? Officer Miyoshi? Could it be that you've forgotten......" 
"No way. I remember very clearly." 
Miyoshi looked in a different direction while speaking assertively. Yuge felt irritated. 
"In that case, why didn't you bring up that topic from the beginning in our meeting before?" 
"Well...... isn't it obvious? It's because it wasn't the time to talk about that topic. In any case, they started the infighting on their own." 
Though that was reasonable for now, Yuge still shot him a barefaced suspicious gaze. Miyoshi didn't look at his colleague, pretending to cough. 
Yuge and the others had another mission this time other than conveying the Onmyou Agency's proposal to Seishuku Temple. 
That was regarding the information they had gathered about Tsuchimikado Harutora. 
Tsuchimikado Harutora was a boy born in the Tsuchimikado branch family, a famous Onmyoudou family. He had originally been an inexperienced Onmyouji studying at the Onmyou Academy Onmyouji training institute, or in other words, just a student. 
But last summer, after the trigger of a certain event, he had suddenly raised a banner of resistance against the Onmyou Agency. 
He had raised a commotion in the agency building where he had been in custody, and then vanished while hiding himself. Afterwards, he had led to various incidents and opposed the Onmyou Agency in Tokyo. Moreover, he was suspected of casting forbidden magic not long after he vanished. Soon afterwards arose voices of a group that wanted to treat him as a terrorist. 
But if those were the only accusations, the problem of Tsuchimikado Harutora would just be within the jurisdiction of the Mystical Investigators. 
Actually, it was the Mystical Investigators who were tracing his whereabouts. 
But in addition to the Mystical Investigators, the Onmyou Agency higher-ups - no, the entire magic world - also had to pay attention to Tsuchimikado Harutora because of a certain matter. 
The rumor that Tsuchimikado Harutora was 'Tsuchimikado Yakou's reincarnation' had spread everywhere as if it were the truth. 
Moreover, even worse, the believability of this rumor was 'very high'. 
For example, the incident during the summer of last year that had become the trigger for Harutora's disappearance. The cause of that incident was a manmade shikigami called the Raven's Wing that had been designated as a forbidden magical tool. It was also said that a mere student had changed so drastically because he had been possessed by the Raven's Wing. But the Raven's Wing was originally a magical tool created by Yakou. It wasn't too much of a leap to think that Tsuchimikado Harutora had 'awakened' as Tsuchimikado Yakou because of the effects of the Raven's Wing. 
More importantly, the even larger problem was that after his disappearance last year, Tsuchimikado Harutora had appeared in front of the Onmyou Agency doors, and at the time, two shikigami had been confirmed by his side. 
They were the two legendary shikigami that Yakou had once controlled, Hishamaru and Kakugyouki. 
Of course, it wasn't to say that was already certain. But it was a doubtless fact that the two shikigami were extremely powerful individuals and that one of them had been a 'one-armed oni' like the legends that they had received reports about before. The fact that Tsuchimikado Harutora brought around those two powerful servant shikigami - defensive shikigami - was a huge driving force further propelling the rumor that he was Yakou's reincarnation. 
The rumor that Tsuchimikado Yakou would reincarnate into the bloodline of his descendants had already been spread for ten years. The Twin-Horned Syndicate secret society formed by Yakou fanatics had also tried to come in contact with Tsuchimikado family members before to spur on Yakou's awakening. Although the Mystical Investigators had cleaned out the Twin-Horned Syndicate afterwards, the rumors surrounding Yakou's reincarnation hadn't vanished. 
Tsuchimikado Harutora was currently continuing to lay low in order to avoid the Mystical Investigators' pursuit. 
And this Seishuku Temple, the 'underground' of the magic community - was a gathering place for information. It was highly probable that they could pick up clues related to the still-fleeing Tsuchimikado Harutora. 
This was another mission that Yuge and the others had been assigned. 
"Well, if you really have to say, this mission was just incidental, but it's certainly a mission although it is incidental. Officer Miyoshi, I'd be very troubled if you didn't do your job properly as our representative." 
"That's why I said, I didn't actually forget. First off, this isn't something we can ask to their face. Because it's a touchy topic. We need to carefully observe the situation while considering the other party's attitude." 
"Why?" 
"Does that need explanation? Because the dark temple is connected to Yakou." 
She truly hadn't thought of that. But considering what had happened before, she really couldn't believe it immediately. Yuge looked at him silently, but Miyoshi just helplessly closed his book. 
"Yuge-shi, how much do you know about the principal deity of Seishuku Temple?" 
"I don't know much...... You aren't saying that it's Yakou, are you?" 
"Though you're not right, that's not too far off." 
"Please don't joke around." 
"I'm not joking with you. I went over and had a glance secretly, and the board installed in the main hall here reads 'Hall of Magic'. Even the main deity in the temple is a guardian god of magic - Myouken Bodhisattva [27] . Though he's called a bodhisattva, he's actually a deva [28] and was also called the North Star Deity." 
"I know that much. The Myouken bodhisattva was called the deification of the North Star--" 
Yuge shut her mouth right there. 
Tsuchimikado Yakou was called the 'North Star King' by his worshippers. The North Star referred to Polaris. Yakou was figuratively honored as such for his importance with regard to Onmyoudou. [29] 
"......Isn't that just a coincidence? Didn't the dark temple have hundreds of years of history, making it more ancient than Yakou? Or did it change its principal deity during Yakou's time?" 
"Incorrect. The mountain the Seishuku Temple is on was originally called the 'North Star Mountain'. It's doubtless that it was seen as a place to worship the Myouken bodhisattva since ancient times." 
"Then what?" 
"It's just the opposite." 
"Hah?" 
"It's said that it was this Seishuku Temple that used the 'North Star King' metaphor for their principal deity as Yakou's nickname." 
"...!" 
Yuge stared at Miyoshi incredulously. Though Miyoshi's attitude was just like always, she didn't feel like he was lying. 
"Didn't I say? Yakou's connected to this monastery. Well, it also has relations to his defensive shikigami as well as his name. But in any case, although the records are very vague, it's believed that he obtained a lot of help from Seishuku Temple when he established Imperial Onmyoudou at the military's request." 
"That Yakou?" 
"Yes. I've said it before, it's because this place has existed as halls of 'magic' that 'surpass doctrines and sects' since ancient times. 
Yuge groaned upon hearing Miyoshi's explanation. 
Though the General Onmyoudou that the Onmyou Agency currently used was Onmyoudou, it was actually a magic that roped in a large amount of magic used in other religions. It was because the Imperial Onmyoudou that had been used as the basis of General Onmyoudou had been an enormous system of magic, that had been established by including all of Japan's various magics and superhuman powers at the time. 
In that case, it was impossible to imagine that Yakou, who had established such a system of magic, had been unrelated to the dark temple where various kinds of practitioners gathered. 
"Originally, worship of the North Star was a unique faith that could be seen in Babylon, India, and China. As the symbol of the North Star, the Myouken bodhisattva was not only related to the Seishuku Temple, it also had deep relationships with Onmyoudou, Sukuyoudou [30] , Vajrayana, Taoism, and more recently Nichiren. Though I can't imagine how exactly it became the principal deity of the dark temple, it's indeed a suitable principal deity to be worshipped in a monastery where practitioners of different backgrounds gather. Moreover, in the age that Yakou established Imperial Onmyoudou, the ajari in the monastery who knew of his ability all couldn't help but praise him as the incarnation of their principal deity...... Well, that was just an old rumor." 
"......" 
"But putting aside the origins of the name 'North Star King' for now, at the least, Yakou has worked together with the dark temple before, that's absolutely certain. I don't think this kind of place would honestly answer us if we came to ask them for information regarding the rumored reincarnation of Yakou as the people who issued an arrest order for Harutora. Hence, we have to carefully observe the situation while considering their attitude." 
Miyoshi restated the same conclusion again, opening his book and starting to read. 
Yuge sank into thought. 
If what Miyoshi said was true, then it was possible that Seishuku Temple was in the 'Yakou faction'. But Tsuchimikado Harutora, who was viewed as Yakou's reincarnation, was currently waging war against the Onmyou Agency. 
Then if they were reckless, they might cause Seishuku Temple to move to Tsuchimikado Harutora - that kind of development was very possible. 
"......Honestly." 
Miyoshi suddenly murmured that word. Yuge, whose attention was absorbed by a new possibility, unconsciously replied to him with an inquisitive "Eh?". 
"Right when we got here. For an instant I thought we 'found him'...... But it looks like 'that' wasn't him. Well, whatever. 'That' seems more like a reforged [31] soul than a reincarnation......" 
What was he saying? Yuge silently looked at Miyoshi. 
The Special Senser stayed staring at the book in his hands. But Yuge noticed that the focus of his gaze was slightly off. 
"......Also, it seems like it's sealing something...... No, it's keeping something maintained...... Is that the only way it's able to 'stay alive'? It feels too unnatural for anything someone in the monastery would do...... More importantly, I don't think the higher-ups would fail to notice forbidden magic of such a level. Then......" 
Miyoshi had already started talking to himself at some point. Yuge troubled herself over whether to speak up or not. But it really was an incredibly curious monologue. 
"Officer Miyoshi? What have you been saying since just now?" 
Miyoshi closed an eye when Yuge spoke up to ask. He replied "It's nothing......" while shaking a head as if it were nothing at all, continuing to read his book. 
"I was a bit interested because there was someone 'dead' here. As expected of a place like this monastery."



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