Onmyoji, a nobleman in Heian-kyo

Page 974

"..." Kousaka Kyosuke and Kagura looked at each other.

So I chose to continue on.

Before long, the two saw a woman with slightly dark skin and a pair of black wings laughing as she tossed the monsters around like toys.

Some of the monsters that tried to escape had their knees injured by the black feathers flying towards them, leaving them too weak to run. They will likely suffer the same fate of being treated as toys in the future.

"Oh? Humans?" The black-winged woman's eyes lit up when she saw Kousaka Kyosuke and Kagura, and she casually tossed aside the monsters she was holding in her hands.

Kyosuke Kosaka asked, "Are you a tengu?"

Tengu can be considered among the top-tier yokai.

With naturally powerful wings and the innate ability to summon wind, there is a considerable chance that they can become a great demon.

The most famous of them all is the Great Tengu under the command of Kuro Seimei.

This is considered the pinnacle of the Tengu clan.

After all, even great demons are divided into different levels, and it's normal for some to be strong and others weak. It's even more normal for top-level demons to easily defeat those of average strength.

The Great Tengu, who was able to fight against top-tier demons like Ibaraki-dōji and Shuten-dōji, could almost be said to represent the entire Tengu clan.

"Haha, you recognized me! It's a pity I was expelled from the clan a long time ago. Those rigid, righteous types consider me taboo."

The shadowy figure, filled with fear, transformed into countless sharp blades as the tengu flapped its wings, piercing towards Kousaka Kyosuke.

Kyosuke Kosaka slightly raised his eyes and stared intently at the tengu, the attack vanishing without a trace.

Countless pieces of information flashed through my mind.

[Tian Ni Mei... disdains following righteousness and transforms the fear in people's hearts into his own strength...]

In the blink of an eye, Kyosuke Kosaka had learned all the basic information about the female tengu.

He lowered his head and began to think—

"The current situation is that the demons on the Oni clan's side have been wiped out one by one by Tian Ni. Should we send Tachibana Michizane to finish them off, or should we talk to them and get them to leave on their own?"

After a moment's deliberation, Kyosuke Kosaka decided to follow the Mother Teresa principle.

He realized from an objective perspective that bringing these demons back to Mount Ooe was in his best interest.

First of all, they were cooperating with the Oni clan of Mount Ooe before, and now they've wiped out a large number of them? Even if there's a reason for that, it's easy for it to create resentment between them.

In the future, the main storyline will be about humans and monsters cooperating to fight against Yamata no Orochi.

Therefore, we should do our utmost to avoid unnecessary conflicts.

Moreover, normal Onmyoji pay attention to the issue of killing. Apart from the hawkish Onmyoji of the Minamoto clan, a considerable number of Onmyoji use methods such as repelling and warning to subdue enemies.

The most typical example is Seimei.

This is a warning.

If they repeat the offense, then physical punishment will be the appropriate course of action.

This can be considered quite mild.

Well, so let's choose a gentler approach.

"Kagura, look around and see which one might be the leader?" Kousaka Kyosuke said to Kagura.

I had absolutely no intention of paying attention to the female tengu.

After controlling the female tengu, he became too lazy to bother with her anymore. It was pointless to bother her anyway, so he just ignored her.

The main purpose of coming to Izumi Province was to establish a large barrier to prevent the spiritual energy here from being absorbed.

Although it was an unexpected and chaotic incident involving a monster attack, he still prioritized completing the mission immediately.

That is, first persuade the monsters here to leave, then establish a barrier...

That's roughly how it happened.

"It's the one wearing red armor; the staff he's holding is much bigger than the other monsters'."

Kagura, with her keen senses, quickly identified the yokai that was most likely the leader.

Kousaka Kyosuke looked in the direction Kagura pointed and saw a demon with horns on its head and an ugly face standing out.

What makes him "conspicuous" is that his injuries are more severe than those of the other monsters.

Especially that face.

It's swollen just like the pig demon from before!

That's terrifying.

Kyosuke Kosaka stared in astonishment at the still motionless Tensei Mei.

"This woman hits people all over the face; she's really ruthless."

The saying "don't hit someone in the face" stems from the fact that one's face is considered a person's dignity.

Similarly, the same applies to monsters.

But this female tengu only wanted to trample on the dignity and face of the monsters.

In a certain scenario, someone would be injected with special energy by a bunch of fat, greasy creatures.

Naturally, Kyosuke Kousaka had no interest in this kind of plot.

Therefore, ignore it.

“Then let’s have a chat with this demon.” Kousaka Kyosuke said casually, then walked up to the demon who was probably the leader, used magic to awaken him, and began to communicate harmoniously.

A quarter of an hour later.

Kyosuke Kosaka had a very friendly conversation with the demon who was indeed the leader of the demon clan.

To express his gratitude for the monster's cooperation, he specially placed a paper doll on it, signifying that it could save his life in a critical moment...

"Alright, the matter is resolved. We'll go back after establishing the barrier."

After sealing each of the Tennis Reversal items into a bottle, Kousaka Kyosuke said to Kagura.

Kagura nodded her little head with great enthusiasm.

She was happy just to be able to work with Kyosuke Kousaka.

It was evening.

After taking care of everything, Kousaka Kyosuke and Kagura went to the Kokushifu (Prime Minister's Office) in Izumi Province.

Tachibana no Michisada, whose identity was Izumi no Kami, had prepared a grand feast well in advance, with many local powerful figures present.

Knowing all along that this would happen, Kousaka Kyosuke sent Kagura to the location of the back residence.

The noble lady they had previously rescued was there.

When Kyosuke Kosaka learned the news, he was quite surprised.

They were even more amazed when they learned that this noble lady was the daughter of Izumi no Kami.

However, Kyosuke Kosaka was certain that this noblewoman was not the daughter of the famous talented woman.

After all, Izumi Shikibu had only been married to Tachibana Michisada for a few years, so how could she have given birth to such a grown daughter?

This is true.

The noble lady saved by Kousaka Kyosuke was one of the less favored ones.

at this time.

Kagura, who was meeting Tachibana Michisada's daughter, greeted her naturally.

"My name is Kagura."

"...Sagiri".

"Then I'll call you Sagiri?"

"……Um."

Kagura then had a brief chat with the silver-haired girl named Sagiri.

The maid standing nearby was quite surprised to see this.

The young lady, who should have been difficult to communicate with, was surprisingly easy to talk to; in her eyes, this was nothing short of a miracle.

"Kyosuke...sir..."

"If he wants to come over, he'll have to discuss it with your father, but doing that would be tantamount to him wanting to marry you, wouldn't it?"

Kagura didn't seem to be just going through the motions.

Because she never lies.

"Can……"

There was a moment of silence.

Kagura still heard those words that were difficult for ordinary people to hear.

May I?