Tokyo Ravens - Volume 12 - Chapter 2.4

Part 4 
The new office building of the leading consumer magical tool manufacturer, Witchcraft, was in Nihonbashi. The old office building was in Waseda. 
The old office building was now used for the development of magical tools, and its name had been changed to the 'development center'. But the company members called it the 'workshop', since it had been an automobile and motorcycle factory before. Even now, traces of its past could be seen in its exterior. 
The development center was quite small compared to the new office building. But Tenma felt that the old office building was nostalgic. When he was small - when his parents had still been alive - the two of them would often bring him here to play. 
He hadn't visited this place for a long time since his parents had died. 
But recently, he had been showing his face here every month. 
"Oh, Tenma, you're here. Come in, come in." 
"Morning, Tsuru. Sorry to bother." 
A man wearing work clothes came outside to welcome Tenma. 
He was just over forty, with a tall, strong body without an ounce of extra fat. He had skin bronzed from the sun and, unexpectedly, had his hair in a pompadour. This man who didn't look at all like an Onmyouji was the manager here. 
His name was Tsuruta Kameo. The name sounded like a joke [11] , but it was his actual name. But it had been none other than Tenma's parents who had hired him here just on the basis of his name. He was also an old entrepreneur who had been at the Witchcraft Corporation for a long time like Tenma's parents. 
After Tsuruta led Tenma in, they walked straight on in. 
The employees they passed by all cheerfully greeted Tenma when they saw him. This was probably an effect of the manager Tsuruta as well. Also, he had come here so many times that everyone easily recognized him. Maybe some of them had also heard about Tenma's situation. Tenma greeted each and every one of them as he entered the corridor with Tsuruta. 
He was brought to Tsuruta's office, the manager's office on the second floor. But though it was a manager's office, it was actually a car warehouse with a work desk installed. Tools and magical implements were scattered everywhere. Even the top of the computer was opened, and one could tell at a glance that it was self-assembled. 
Tenma was dazed by visiting after so many years. Everything had changed greatly from when his parents had been in charge. 
After Tsuruta let Tenma have a seat, 
"Want a cup of coffee? Though I just ran out of sugar." 
"Thank you very much." 
"Want milk?" 
"No need." 
"Haha, you can even drink black coffee now. When you drank black coffee as a kid, you spat it out so dramatically, remember?" 
"It was a long time ago, so I don't remember it." 
"What? I even cleaned it up for you." 
Tsuruta smiled as he poured coffee into the plastic cup. Tenma thanked him and accepted the coffee he handed over. He changed his originally formal demeanor to keep from upsetting Tsuruta. 
Witchcraft was the company that Tenma's parents had managed. Tenma only had some vague memories from when he had been small, but he clearly remembered the young man that his parents had affectionately called 'Tan Boy'. Tsuruta hadn't forgotten about him either. During the summer two years ago, the Momoe family had suddenly gotten a call from Tsuruta asking whether he wanted to come to the workplace. 
It seemed like Tsuruta had been worried about Tenma losing his parents. It seemed like he knew about Tenma being admitted to the Onmyou Academy and had considered it a good time to say hello to him. 
"I have a lot to thank your parents for." 
Tsuruta said this to Tenma after their long-awaited reunion. 
"Though a lot of things have changed, your parents would be happy if you worked here." 
To be honest, he had been confused at first. But a great joy had immediately followed that. That was because he hadn't imagined there was still someone who so respected his parents. And with his nostalgia about the old office building, being able to come back and see it practically moved him to tears. Tenma accepted Tsuruta's goodwill and accepted a tour of the 'workshop'. 
"So how are things? Can you pass the Second-Class Onmyou exam?" 
"Hmm - Will I pass?" 
"Hey hey, don't be too lax, the test is next month." 
"It was always supposed to be a hurdle, so it won't be that easy." 
"Work hard. Even with my authority, I can't accept anyone who hasn't passed the exam." 
He poured coffee for himself, boldly laughing at Tenma's timidity. 
In contrast to how Tsuruta enthusiastically invited him to Witchcraft, Tenma himself didn't have any clear plans. Though he was living with his Momoe grandparents, the two of them hadn't gotten along with his mother and had almost been estranged. 
The Momoe family on his mother's side had been a family of Onmyouji extending back to the Edo period. Originally, her husband ought to have inherited the Momoe family, but his free-spirited mother had been unable to accept the Momoe family's traditional ways and had left with his father, never coming back to her old family even once before she died. 
After his parents died, his grandparents accepted him when he had no family to belong to. 
During his life with his grandparents, Tenma had started to understand their true feelings towards his mother bit by bit. They didn't resent or hate his mother for betraying the family. But they were surprised, hurt, and didn't know what to do about his mother's betrayal. 
Forever losing any opportunities to reconcile, his grandparents' thoughts about his mother were forever unrequited and stuck in the past. 
Witchcraft was actually the company that his mother had established after betraying his grandparents. Tenma couldn't resolve himself to work there. Catching wind of this, Tsuruta didn't push the invitation any further. 
...Also...... 
Before he was able to obtain qualifications or not, he still didn't know 'what to do'. If he wasn't careful - no, it was actually quite possible - the Onmyou Agency would investigate him. If he were in that company, he would definitely trouble the company and Tsuruta. 
...Or maybe it's already very dangerous...... 
Tenma had received that message from Natsume last month and mixed a large amount of materialized shikigami into the shikigami group dance of the Onmyou Agency's New Year's Celebration. His goal was to secretly inform his friends about Natsume's return under the Mystical Investigators' noses. 
The shikigami he had used at the time were the blue, swallow-shaped 'Type WA Swallow Whips' produced by the Witchcraft Corporation. The Swallow Whips were the most suited to convey the information that Tenma wanted. 
But manmade shikigami charms were expensive, and they weren't things that Tenma could easily buy dozens of with his own means. And more importantly, the Swallow Whips were binding-type shikigami. Witchcraft's main customer for them was the Onmyou Agency Mystical Investigators, and they didn't sell to many others. It was very difficult to obtain that many. 
It was Tsuruta who had acquired so many shikigami charms for Tenma. He had gotten his hands on some unused old charms claiming that they were for study, but actually the true goal was for 'that event'. 
Fortunately, no one had investigated who the main culprit behind the commotion was, and they just took it as someone's prank. But as soon as someone felt that something felt wrong and started investigating the Swallow Whips, it was very possible that Tsuruta would get in trouble. Tenma hadn't thought things out carefully at first since he didn't have enough time, and now he was upset with his lack of forethought. 
But...... 
Though he realized it was heartless, if someone asked him whether he was conscious that 'using the Swallow Whips would bring Tsuruta trouble' and whether he would have stopped his plans...... The answer was 'no'. Even if he brought great trouble to the person who had always taken care of him, Tenma would work towards his foremost priority. 
...That was pretty heartless. 
If he thought that way, how was he different from a terrorist? In the end, he would do anything 'for his goals'. That was why he didn't know what to think. If he didn't draw a line somewhere, some day Tenma would no longer be Tenma. 

......He had thought so much about it, and still ended up coming in to bother him and drink coffee. How thick-skinned. 
In any case, he was happy about meeting Tsuruta. Even if it had now become the 'workshop', every corner was still filled with beautiful memories with his parents. It was a nice feeling. 
"Right, Tenma, I have some more useless shikigami charms. Do you want to bring them back with you?" 
Being asked this as he was still introspecting made his heart pound. 
He forced a smile and replied: 
"Ah, thanks a lot. But I've already figured it out, so I won't need them this time." 
"Hey, no need to be polite." 
"I still haven't used all the ones I got last time...... And you know, I, uh, I'm still working hard to prepare for the exam, so I won't have time to mess with them even if I bring them back." 
As he refused and shied away, Tsuruta smiled with a strange expression and said, "Ahh, I see." 
...Speaking of which...... 
He really wanted to ask Tsuruta whether he knew about the New Year's Ceremony incident. In this field of work, and especially for someone with a position like Tsuruta had, people would naturally look to the Onmyou Agency to discover new talent. Actually, there were many graduates of the Onmyou Academy in Witchcraft. 
Also, even if Tsuruta himself didn't know, there had to be a couple workers who did, right? The commotion had been a very popular topic in the industry. They definitely knew. 
That Tsuruta would definitely notice the truth on the spot after learning about the New Year's Ceremony incident. After all, they were the shikigami charms that he had given out himself. 
But Tsuruta didn't mention a word of the New Year's Ceremony in front of Tenma. 
He didn't know, then. Or maybe he had noticed but deliberately didn't say anything. If it were the latter, then what were Tsuruta's motives? 
Was he secretly colluding with the Mystical Investigators? He wasn't willing to think that way. But Tenma had to think about every possibility right now, including this one. Whether he believed them or not was up to his judgment. 
It would be best to keep his distance from him. 
But Tenma had chosen to trust him. 
The more dangerous the crisis, the more he had to believe in his friends. 
"Well, I won't force them on you if you don't want them. Instead, you should hurry up and see if you can make your own shikigami." 
"To join Witchcraft?" 
"Naturally, that would be the best. But actually it's not important. I just want to see a shikigami that you made with your own hands, Tenma." 
"I'm not as talented as my mom and dad." 
"Do you think only talented people can make interesting shikigami? You're too naive, Tenma. Actually, the shikigami that idiots make are the monsters that you can't underestimate. And didn't I say? No matter what your mom was like, your dad was a complete and utter idiot." 
An unexpected reply. "Really?" He asked back, and Tsuruta answered with a reddened face. 
"Or else he - Ahh, no, never mind." 
He hastily shut his mouth before he got carried away and waved it by. 
Tenma's mother was actually famous in the industry. She had invented the popular Swallow Whip and had been an ace designer of the Witchcraft Corporation. 
But the biggest legacy she left was starting the trend of shikigami 'for a specific purpose that anyone could use with the same effectiveness'. The general-type and binding-types that shikigami were divided into now were all started from various types of her shikigami. She was a notable figure who could be included in magic history textbooks. 
Concealed by that brilliance, the work of Tenma's father was not very well-known. Even Tenma didn't understand it. 
He only remembered him tinkering with machines in the workshop wearing the 'Ace Engineer' badge on his shoulder. Now that he recalled it, he had been making vessels of mechanical-type shikigami. But the impression his father gave off was more like an engineer than an inventor. 
"Did my dad make shikigami?" 
"Of course. In terms of numbers, he made several times more than your mom, you know? Though the number he made that could actually be used was less than half that of your mom's...... But who knows. They were all mysterious things." 
Tsuruta smiled as he said, 
"Why don't you come look at an actual product? We still have some of his test products left behind." 
"Ah, sure, okay! Thank you." 
After he actually saw them, they really were stupid and mysterious things. 
There were ones comical enough to provoke laughs, and there were ones that made him speechless. But he could see that every vessel was a product that his father had poured his heart into. The vessels his father had created were all infused with the creator's painstaking effort. 
"......You really didn't throw these away and held on to them until now, huh." 
"Hmm? Well, it's all my good management. No matter how shoddy the craftsmanship is - the sentiment, it's the sentiment that's the most important. After all, this is the company that your parents built up together." 
Tsuruta spoke happily about the past. It wasn't clear how much of it was a joke. 
Time passed without him noticing as he looked back and forth among his father's inventions. Realizing that the sun was about to set, Tenma hastily prepared to leave the 'workshop'. 
"Thanks. Today was really fun." 
"Oh, it was nothing, is that enough to satisfy you? Someday I'll show you your dad's best work." 
"It's even more 'out there' than what I saw today?" 
"A man doesn't go back on his word! I guarantee it!" 
Tsuruta guaranteed, full of self-confidence. Tenma smiled. 
Just then, 
"Ah, right. Tenma, I have to bother you with this. Throw these away for me on your way back." 
Tsuruta gave him a paper bag. 
Tenma took the paper bag and opened it to look inside, and his eyes widened - inside were shikigami charms. 
"Hey, Tsuruta-san......" 
"Don't grumble, I have to get rid of the old stuff to make space for the new. They're already recorded as discarded, and our company won't sell them. Sentiment's very important." 
He looked at the perturbed Tenma as he spoke. 
Tenma had been at a loss before, but with this it truly felt like he had 'lost'. It was worth a long laugh, but all that came out of him was a short word: 
"...Yeah."