Tokyo Ravens Volume 1 Chapter 3

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The Onmyouji commotion in the fireworks festival that evening quickly made the news.

There had been an increasing trend this year of magical crimes nationwide, but the majority of them were resolved 'internally' and most citizens knew nothing about them. On one hand, this situation showed the excellence of the Onmyou agency, but on the other hand it was proof that the scope of Onmyouji activity - other than activities related to repelling spiritual disasters - was basically outside the framework of ordinary society.

Current Onmyoudou was based on techniques invented for battles, and because of this their use had heavy restrictions. Other than some with exceptional convenience and versatility, most had extremely limited useful contributions to society.

Like spiritual disasters, current Onmyoudou was the heritage left behind by Yakou. Regardless of how limited and controlled it was, Onmyoudou - as well as Onmyouji - would occasionally run amok, becoming fierce and unruly. The event that happened this time could be said to be a typical such situation.

Two hours after it happened, the Onmyou Agency and the local police collectively held a press conference. In the press conference it was reported that there were many who had suffered minor wounds and none had received serious wounds or died, and a statement was issued saying that the Mystical Investigator Second Team was currently on the hunt for the criminal, and also that aid had been dispatched to their destination.

The media questioned the Onmyou Agency's oversight, but the representatives at the press conference stated that they were mending the situation with full force. Afterwards, these representatives took the reporters' questions without expressing a bit of hesitation, beginning with a firm statement that they would definitely capture the criminal.

There was only one question that was an exception.

When the reporter asked what suspect had led to this case, the Onmyou Agency representative paused for several seconds before giving a short answer.

"A researcher."

The firework festival had been the day before, and the sky was gray and hazy, completely lacking the beautiful weather from yesterday.

A typhoon seemed to be gradually approaching, and its effects were expected to be the greatest from the evening until daybreak. Thick clouds filled with moisture were right around the corner, and the wind was picking up, mercilessly blowing around the hair of pedestrians.

At eleven in the morning, before lunchtime, in an empty fast food store...

Harutora and Touji sat by the second-floor window.

Summer remedial cla.s.ses were still held as usual on this kind of day, but today they had been released from school very early. They sat on the cheap chairs, looking at each other across the table with a heavy atmosphere that didn't lose to the weather.

"So--"

Touji fingered his bandanna, staring at Harutora.

"You haven't reached Hokuto after that?"

"......Right, I sent her a text message but didn't get a response, and she didn't pick up the phone."

"But you confirmed that she was completely okay."

"......At the least, she was like that when I saw her last."

Harutora replied, his gaze beginning to move away from Touji.

Touji raised his head, looking as if everything had been wrapped up.

"Then that's alright."

He said that, and then reached his hand out to the iced coffee on the table.

"That was really a stormy night, and the typhoon hadn't even arrived yet."

Harutora lowered his head with nothing to say.

Indeed, last night had been an appalling night. Even if Harutora believed that his luck was definitely worse than others, last night could be called the worst night of his life.

First he had fought with Hokuto, and then been mistaken for someone else, threatened by a Divine General, and even involved in a magic battle, and finally had a nightmarish - and his life's first - kiss, and had been happened upon by Hokuto, who confessed to him while sobbing. He really wanted to yell 'what did I do wrong?'

...Hokuto......

Hokuto's sobs still resounded in Harutora's ears.

He didn't know much about love. Actually, even after a night, he still didn't know how to look at Hokuto's confession.

Harutora obviously liked Hokuto, but those feelings were different from love. Hokuto's manner of speaking was like a boy's and Harutora had naturally come to think of her as a male friend.

...No, it seems like it's a bit different.

Thinking back on it now, he hadn't seriously thought about whether the 'like' he had towards Hokuto was love or not. Whether intentionally or not, he hadn't tried unraveling the truth because he had been satisfied with his situation.

At the least, things had been that way until yesterday.

...What about now?

He asked himself, but he had no way of easily getting the answer. Unfortunately, his brain wasn't very good, and the more he thought about himself and Hokuto, the more he felt like his brain was a big mess, and the answer gradually became hazy.

All he knew was that he didn't want to lose Hokuto.

Because of the scene from yesterday night, the relationship between the two of them might change in the future. Regardless of what change happened, he wanted Hokuto to still be with him.

That mood was completely genuine.

...Yeah.

Harutora raised his head, shifting his thoughts to something else.

He hadn't spoken about the kiss or Hokuto's confession to Touji, just brushing over it, and telling Touji that Hokuto arrived, which led to his ident.i.ty being exposed, and Suzuka released him because of it, and then he and Hokuto had fought, and the two of them had split unhappily.

The whole thing had some unreasonable portions, and Touji seemed to be vaguely aware of some novelties. Harutora felt incredibly grateful at the fact that his friend hadn't asked any detailed questions.

"......Never mind Hokuto for now. You haven't reached that childhood friend of yours either?"

"I sent her a text message. She's the same, she didn't reply or pick up the phone."

"That arrogant devil won't let you go easily, and she doesn't seem like she'll be arrested."

"Yeah, I thought so too."

Natsume should have heard about this matter. The news hadn't brought up Suzuka's existence at all, but he had already told her via text message about the warning Suzuka had left behind, but he still wanted to meet with her and explain clearly in person.

Harutora had reunited with Natsume the evening before, but the two of them had disagreed, argued, and because of this, she might not have opened her phone to look at his text messages even though he had sent many of them.

"She shouldn't have returned yet, so I'll go to the main family's place to check later."

Unfortunately, Harutora's parents were away for business, and they were currently in Tokyo, so he couldn't communicate with the main family because of this - no one had answered the main family's phone - and there wasn't anyone else he could ask for help from. With that, he felt even more that he had to warn Natsume to be vigilant as soon as possible.

"It's better if you went, since, after all, that little devil feels like an unscrupulous individual."

"Unscrupulous, huh......"

Harutora murmured quietly upon hearing Touji's words. Touji looked curiously at Harutora, like he had noticed the sliver of doubt hidden in his voice.

"What is it?"

"Uh...... well......"

With Touji's questioning gaze and the chaotic state of Harutora's thinking, it would be best for him to bring his internal thoughts to light.

"That person - Dairenji Suzuka - when she was dealing with the Mystical Investigators, she had a big advantage, but she suddenly ran away, right? That was actually to keep a pair of kids who hadn't escaped in time from getting involved in the chaos."

-- '......I want to revive my brother.'

The words Suzuka had spoken last night flashed through Harutora's mind. Maybe she had seen her past self back then in the pair of young siblings who almost got involved.

"She told me she wanted to revive her brother. I didn't believe it was possible, but she wanted to use Natsume to try."

"......Judging by the current situation, that's accurate."

"But......"

"What? Say it, if you have something to say."

Harutora honestly brought up the doubts in his heart.

Of course, he believed that he had to do whatever he could to stop Natsume from getting involved regardless of whether he owed Natsume or not, and he would obviously make every effort once she was in danger - even if it was no use at all - to stop Dairenji's attempt.

It was just that Harutora's eyes had seen the Suzuka that everyone else had, and had also seen her escape from the fight to help the children, as well as her vague unease as she expressed that she wanted to revive her brother. He didn't know what crimes had led the Mystical Investigators to hunt for her, but he believed that the goal she wanted to achieve - reviving her brother - shouldn't be condemned.

Touji listened, and didn't immediately reply to Harutora's question.

"......Honestly, I also did some investigation afterwards."

He leaned back in his chair, speaking leisurely:

"First, just like 'General', the 'Imperial Onmyoudou' that brat brought up is often termed 'Imperial'. This 'Imperial' is an ancient magic system that is no longer formally taught. That person also said, though it's ancient, it was used mainly for military purposes, and the majority of it is powerful-strength magic for actual wars. There are quite a few magics among it that are designated as forbidden magics, but some still survived to today."

"Is soul magic included in that?"

"No, that's another matter."

A cold smile flashed across Touji's face, and Harutora tilted his head in incomprehension.

"Is soul magic really that powerful? Isn't interaction with ghosts very much something that an Onmyouji would do?"

"That's a situation from folk tales and legends. At the least, in current magic there are no magics relating to souls. A basic pillar of 'General' is that we 'don't know' whether souls exist."

Touji's explanation surprised Harutora.

"Is that so? But aren't there things like aura and spiritual disasters?"

"Right, and that portion is the so-called gray area. The 'spirits' that 'General' concerns itself with doesn't mean 'spirits' like souls, but the 'flow' that composes everything - or perhaps which everything contains. The 'aura' and 'miasma' we always talk about are that kind of 'flow'. The so-called 'spiritual disasters' are actually disasters brought about by a chaotic 'flow'."

The foundation of Onmyoudou was the 'Onmyoudou five elements', and this doctrine prewar and postwar - the past and current Onmyoudou - interpreted things differently, with large disparities, but it still formed the foundation of Onmyoudou.

"The world is composed of Yin and Yang, and they are further divided into the five flows of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water - I think it would be clearer if you asked your childhood friend about these matters."

Saying that, Touji shrugged his shoulders.

"As for souls, of course humans are included in the things formed by 'flow', and so 'General' recognizes that human bodies possess spirit - they are 'flow'-possessing bodies. What's mixed is that there are also people who call these souls, and among them there are people who talk about residual spirits - it's already been confirmed that for some time after a person dies, the soul continues lingering in the human world, and that kind of thing is actually very much like a ghost."

Touji drank his iced coffee, explaining in a torrent. He had originally particularly understood Onmyoudou and the magic community because of what had happened to his own self, and it seemed that he had also put quite some effort into investigating this time.

"Though 'General' proposes definitions for spirits and residual spirits, it's a different matter once it touches upon 'human souls'. In the end, they don't resolve the question 'what are souls', so it's impossible to derive magic affecting souls when we 'don't know what souls are'."

"But, Dairenji Suzuka spoke of soul magic--"

"So I'm saying, that's not 'General', that's a magic belonging to 'Imperial'. I investigated this portion especially thoroughly, but unfortunately I didn't get a conclusive result even from the inside."

"W, Why?"

"Maybe many scholars believe soul magic exists within 'Imperial', but there are no records left behind to prove it. Not only that, but current Onmyoudou bans carrying out magical research related to souls."

"Bans?"

"Right, and it's not ethics-based, there are more practical considerations."

Saying this, a sharp grin emerged on Touji's face.

That kind of happy, cold smile was a smile that Touji showed when he was feeling excited. Harutora had a bad premonition.

"......What do you mean by 'practical'?"

"Harutora, you know about the final ceremony Tsuchimikado Yakou performed, right?"

"Huh? I, I know, it was in the textbooks, because the Tsuchimikado family was crowded out, the failure of the ceremony led to spiritual disasters appearing in Tokyo--"

Harutora stopped speaking, noticing the hidden meaning in Touji's words.

Touji looked at Harutora, nodding his head with a cold grin.

"Outsiders seem to believe the ceremony was like that."

Harutora was speechless.

There actually wasn't any related data left behind regarding Yakou's final ceremony. If it was a magic related to souls, he could understand why research into it was banned, and could also understand why Suzuka was being hunted by the Mystical Investigators, since it would be natural for that to happen. The spiritual disasters that repeatedly happened in Tokyo were a calamity brought about by the ceremony Yakou held.

"......And many Onmyouji believe that Yakou didn't fail."

"W, Why? Didn't Yakou lose his life because of that ceremony?"

"The Onmyouji who believe Yakou succeeded in his ceremony advocate that 'The prodigy Onmyouji Tsuchimikado Yakou held the final large-scale magic of his career, letting his soul reincarnate'."

"What?"

Harutora gasped.

--Yakou had reincarnated?

This was the first time he had heard about it. As active Onmyouji - Though branch family members, they were still Tsuchimikado - his parents hadn't even spoken of that matter with him, which he found a bit hard to believe.

The true shock was still ahead of him.

Touji looked at the stunned Harutora, composing himself suddenly.

A sharp light shone from his thin eyes.

"Your power of observation is still bad - Harutora, think carefully about that brat's words."

His tone was low and solemn. Harutora's heartbeat quickened.

The words Suzuka had spoken.

She had said......

...'There's only one reason I chose you, and it's because of your 'previous life'.'

...'It seems like the outside sources were right, you don't seem to have memories of your previous life. Or perhaps, the rumor was fake after all...... But I'll still give it a try, since, after all, you are the successful user of this magic - the 'Taizan f.u.kun Ritual'.'

"Ah......"

Harutora shuddered, his eyes widening.

Touji stared at Harutora, slowly saying:

"......Your dad probably didn't tell you on purpose. This is quite a famous rumor in the industry. It's said that Tsuchimikado Yakou's reincarnation did not happen at the time when there was a strong feeling of failure from the war, but would come when the Onmyoudou he created was prominent - he would reincarnate into the Tsuchimikado child that would succeed his bloodline. Of course, that kind of thing doesn't have a speck of proof, it's just hearsay."

"Ah......"

Harutora felt blinded, gritting his teeth together.

Natsume was...... Yakou's reincarnation?

He felt that this wasn't real but couldn't feel confident in that denial.

Natsume was indeed gifted, and thinking carefully, it had indeed been decided too early that she would be the next heir. Right now, she obviously wasn't at Yakou's level of Onmyoudou power...... Then was the current Natsume slightly inferior compared to the sixteen-year-old Yakou?

Harutora had heard much news regarding Natsume, but in the end Harutora didn't actually know anything specific about her talent.

Most importantly, Suzuka believed in this rumor. Suzuka, one of the Twelve Divine Generals, a researcher of Yakou, and the one recovering soul magic had judged - Natsume was Yakou's reincarnation.

Could her judgment be wrong?

Harutora couldn't say. Touji was silent and wordless, sipping iced coffee through a straw. A heavy silence pervaded the s.p.a.ce between the two.

Just then, Harutora's phone rang.

It was a text message. He reflexively checked the sender.

"Is it Hokuto?" Touji asked keenly.

"No......"

It was a message from Natsume. He hadn't been able to come in contact with Natsume since yesterday night, and when this text message came, it seemed as if she was watching from next to them.

Harutora's fingers pressed the b.u.t.tons, opening the message. The message's contents were very brief.

'I have something to talk to you about, are you free tonight?'

The first drops of rain before the typhoon lightly splashed against the second-floor window.

The rain had started in the afternoon, and gradually grew stronger as time went on.

Natsume met him inside an old cafe. He unfolded his umbrella, rushing into the store, and the entrance bell made a crisp ringing sound.

It was five in the afternoon. A dim light pa.s.sed through the shade, illuminating the store's rustic-styled interior decorations. Because of the effects of the weather, it was cheerless inside the store. Harutora looked around the store, noticing Natsume in a booth inside.

"Did you wait long?"

"......No, I didn't. Well...... I wanted to apologize to you for calling you out on the day of a typhoon."

"Don't worry, I also wanted to talk to you face to face."

After the two of them greeted each other, the store employee came by to help them order. Harutora randomly picked a cup of iced coffee, but Natsume silently stared at the black tea on the table.

Natsume wore a black chiffon dress, and the mature, fashionable dress was very fitting for her elegant beauty. Her long, jet-black hair didn't seem to have been blown around by the wind at all, and maybe she had ridden a taxi here. The black tea seemed already cooled, but she didn't even drink a sip.

He felt tense, as after all, he had just listened to the things Touji had talked about, and also the fight on the bridge two days ago still made him feel uneasy. He had been extremely anxious when he hadn't been able to reach her, but he couldn't say anything once he met her.

...Was she truly Yakou's......?

Natsume's appearance hadn't changed much from when he saw her two days ago.

...No, that wasn't right.

She wasn't completely unchanged either, and Harutora noticed that there was a discrepancy in Natsume's appearance.

Natsume was usually mature and calm, but today she was inexplicably impatient, sitting uneasily. For some reason her face was red and she refused to look directly at Harutora. Speaking of which, she had clearly been abnormally tense as well when she had greeted him just now.

What was it? Harutora couldn't help but wonder.

"I looked at the message, I'm sorry."

Natsume suddenly apologized, bowing deeply. Harutora's eyes widened.

"Huh? W, What?"

"It was all my fault, I put you in danger in yesterday's festival."

"W, Wait, why is it your fault?"

"You were found because the other person mistook you for me, right?"

Harutora finally understood why Natsume would apologize when he heard her say this. It was because Harutora had been involved in danger in her place.

"It's alright, you don't need to apologize to me, and more importantly I didn't say things clearly in the message. It was actually my mistake that that person stayed mistaken, since when that person made her initial mistake, I went with the flow and pretended to be you. In any case, that girl is the most to blame, it's not your fault."

Harutora hurriedly explained, and Natsume concealed her surprise upon hearing that.

"Pretended to be me? Why did you do that?"

"Uh, because that person said she wanted you to cooperate with her experiment, and I wanted to know what she was planning......"

Harutora spoke hesitantly.

"That's really......" Natsume showed a reproachful look for a moment. "You also knew that person was one of the Twelve Divine Generals - A National First-Cla.s.s Onmyouji, right? You're really too reckless to dare trick her."

"That's why I was so concerned, I felt it was very dangerous......"

"Since you noticed the danger, that's even more reason not to have done that! You're an outsider, and if you get involved in a dispute between Onmyouji, and something happens - Actually, you really did end up in danger, and it's lucky that nothing happened. Your actions are way too reckless!"

Natsume rebuked him, much like a cla.s.s president berating the nonsense of her cla.s.smates. "Sorry......" Harutora apologized to her, downcast.

Harutora had originally planned on stopping the danger before it reached his childhood friend. But, he couldn't retort with anything if one were to reprimand him for biting off more than he could chew. If it were Natsume who was wrapped up in the same crisis, she would definitely be able to deal with it more cleverly.

Seeing Harutora so depressed, Natsume hurriedly shut her mouth.

She lowered her eyes, embarra.s.sed.

"......S, Sorry, you only got involved with this business because of me."

"Didn't I just say, it's not your fault at all."

Harutora brought that up again, but Natsume didn't share his thoughts. She clenched her fists, bringing them close to her knees, her face flushing red and her mouth thinning.

She had been this stubborn since long ago. Harutora clearly realized that she believed that she had to bear the entire burden for this happening.

...An impulsive person.

Harutora muttered secretly. Just then, the iced coffee was sent over, but he didn't have any intention of reaching out for it.

"......You should care about your own safety. Maybe it's not very convincing if I say it, but this Dairenji Suzuka is truly very powerful."

Once Suzuka's name left his mouth, Natsume's head and shoulders suddenly trembled.

"......Yes, I know."

The tone of the reply was far different from her usual.

Harutora was a bit surprised. Her voice sounded like it was even angrier than Harutora himself, who had been caught up in that crisis.

"Do you know each other?"

"Of course I don't know her!"

"Th, Then why are you......"

"Th, That's because...... I, I heard evaluations of her from others. I recognize that she indeed has the power of a National First-Cla.s.s Onmyouji, but as for her personality - she's an extremely dislikeable girl."

Natsume spoke, her anger spilling over.

Harutora was truly frightened in this moment. It was his first time hearing Natsume belittle someone like this, so this showed how bad of an opinion others had of Suzuka.

But.

"......But, she's the youngest one to attain the rank of 'National First-Cla.s.s Onmyouji', known as the 'Child Prodigy' Onmyouji. If she found me, I would be helpless. I want to take countermeasures as soon as possible."

"Helpless...... It's the same even if you face her?"

"Of course, the opponent is an Onmyouji possessing power among the top of the nation."

"Ah, yeah, that's true......"

But you're Yakou's - Harutora swallowed those words that he had almost spoken. Natsume's quizzical gaze drifted towards him, and he hurriedly coughed lightly a few times, smoothing things over.

"What will you do specifically? Have you told your family members?"

"No, I haven't...... My father is in Tokyo right now."

"Your dad too? How unfortunate, my family's the same."

"......My father went to Tokyo together with Aunt and Uncle."

"Huh, is, is that so?"

The Aunt and Uncle Natsume spoke of meant Harutora's parents. Harutora didn't know that matter at all, and his face flushed slightly.

"So that's why I returned."

She spoke honestly. Harutora was tongue-tied for a moment, unable to reply with anything.

Natsume's mother had already died, and her father was the only parent left. Before she had gone to Tokyo to study, it had always been the father and daughter together.

Natsume didn't seem to get along that well with her father. Actually, Harutora wasn't too clear on the situation, but he occasionally would hear one or two things from his parents. He had heard that they almost never spoke since they had started living together.

Even so, the current situation was more critical than usual.

"Since our family is all in Tokyo, it would be safer for you to return there as soon as possible."

"I can't......"

"Hey hey, think about your current situation. However bad your relationship with your dad is, doing that is too dangerous."

"No, it's not because of that......"

Once Harutora said this, Natsume seemed perplexed for a moment, looking like she didn't know what to say.

"She...... The 'Child Prodigy' said that she was going to hold the 'Taizan f.u.kun Ritual', right?"

"Huh? Oh, I didn't hear very clearly...... Could it be that you know what that is?"

"I know."

"Really!? She said it was soul magic, isn't that forbidden? Is it very famous?"

Harutora asked in surprise, and Natsume looked back at him, not expecting that.

"The 'Taizan f.u.kun Ritual' was originally a ritual held by the Tsuchimikado family."

"......What?"

Those unexpected words stunned Harutora.

Natsume said:

"The Taizan f.u.kun Ritual originated as a ritual held by Abe no Seimei, the ancestor of the Tsuchimikado family, and afterwards became a national secret held by the Tsuchimikado family for many years. She should be planning on holding the 'Imperial Taizan f.u.kun Ritual', which has undergone drastic changes, but the two are fundamentally similar."

"S, Similar?"

"Right, in the courtyard behind my home - actually, a good distance away - there is a hill known by us as the 'Imperial Hill', and the altar for the Taizan f.u.kun Ritual, guarded by generations of the Tsuchimikado family, is there. She will probably hold the ritual there. In that case, as a member of the Tsuchimikado family, I must guard the altar, and so I cannot leave this place."

"What......"

"Holding the Imperial Taizan f.u.kun Ritual requires taking great risks, and I definitely cannot give her that opportunity."

Great risks. Harutora couldn't help but cringe when he heard that. The 'Imperial Taizan f.u.kun Ritual' had indeed brought huge spiritual disasters in the past, and Natsume obviously knew that as well.

Though that were so...

"Even so, you can't guard the altar as a one-man army, right? Didn't you also say that you couldn't face a Divine General just now?"

"......It has nothing to do with whether I can do it or not, it's a problem of responsibility. My father is not here right now, so only I can bear the responsibility of guarding the altar."

"Wait, this doesn't solve the problem at all. Since you can't guard it, isn't it the same whether you're there or not?"

"That just means that I did not complete my responsibility as a descendant of the Tsuchimikado family."

Natsume was a bit haughty, proclaiming indignantly. Harutora was distressed but could do nothing.

Maybe this was the mettle of a main family member, but if she couldn't guard the altar in the end, it couldn't count as completing her responsibility, Harutora thought.

On the other hand, because of this, there was even less of a reason to act irresponsibly. It wasn't like he couldn't understand Natsume's stance.

Since she was small, Natsume's sense of justice and sense of duty were stronger than other peoples', and she was the kind of person to seriously proclaim 'sometimes one has to fight battles with no chance of victory'. If he heard her say that kind of thing, Touji would probably laugh coldly in disdain, but Harutora would nod his head to express agreement.

In particular, if Natsume was truly Yakou's reincarnation, the Taizan f.u.kun Ritual was a rite connected to her fate. If Natsume herself knew that rumor, then it was no wonder she was trying to stop the holding of the Taizan f.u.kun Ritual however she could.

"Nn......"

Harutora crossed his arms, creased his brow, and stared up at the ceiling.

Then.

"......I know. But, I still need to persuade you to return to Tokyo."

"Harutora-kun, how many times do I have to say it for you to realize, that--"

"Dairenji Suzuka's target is you. Also, the ritual needs you to be carried out, right? Just guarding the altar is meaningless, your safety needs to be guarded just like the altar."

Harutora spoke carefully, and Natsume inadvertently went silent. Her lack of an immediate retort proved that she believed Harutora's words were reasonable.

"But...... If we overlook the altar like that......"

"I'll guard the altar."

Natsume's eyes widened as she heard Harutora speak.

How long had it been since such an expression had appeared on Natsume's face? Normally, she would always wear an ice-cold face like she was slightly angry, but once she was caught off guard, she would show a childish look.

Harutora continued speaking, a bit embarra.s.sed:

"After all, it's dangerous, and since a descendant of the Tsuchimikado has to guard the altar, I'll guard it for you."

"......You, what are you talking about? You don't know magic......"

"The opponent is a Divine General, and even you don't have a chance of winning, right? In that case, it's the same no matter who guards the altar. Unless you have some way to hold the altar from a Divine General?"

Harutora spoke calmly, and Natsume's lips trembled, speechless.

Natsume was overbearing when it came to strict guidelines, but she was unexpectedly poor at coping with other unexpected attacks, and she was particularly at a loss when she understood the reasoning behind it. That childhood weakness hadn't changed at all when she grew older, and Harutora couldn't help but smile.

"You go evacuate, I'll stay behind to deal with her. With that, not only can we stop Dairenji Suzuka from holding the ceremony, we'll also uphold the responsibility of guarding the altar. We'll see how things turn out. Maybe there's not a high chance of smoothly guarding the altar, but it's better than ending up with you getting captured if you stay behind to guard the altar."

"But......"

"Come on, stop worrying. More importantly, you don't have the time to worry about others right now, Dairenji Suzuka is heading towards the altar, and she'll probably try to find you first, so you're in danger too."

After saying this, Harutora took out a leather case fastened to his waist.

It was a commercial box of charms several times larger than a cell phone case, a box that Harutora had picked up from his house before coming here.

He opened the strap on the top of the box, took out the charms inside, and placed them on the table.

"These are healing charms I took from my dad's clinic, and there are also some talismans inside. These are all expensive charms carefully crafted by the Onmyou Agency, and I'm not sure how to use them, but having them should be very convenient for you."

If they clashed with Suzuka face-to-face, the chance of winning was small. But since this situation had gotten on the news, the Onmyou Agency would certainly be thinking of a way to make this crisis subside, and Harutora and Natsume just needed to smoothly escape from Suzuka's grasp.

Just as Harutora was thinking this method could work......

"......Harutora-kun, you're too crafty."

Natsume silently lowered her head and murmured, unable to retort.

"......You only treat yourself as a Tsuchimikado during this kind of time."

Saying this, she raised her head, eyes resentfully staring at Harutora. Her small voice carried a rare awkwardness, different from her normal tone, and it really seemed like a child's anger. Harutora was stunned upon hearing it.

...First she called me a liar, and now said I was crafty.

He felt that he might truly be a crafty person, after hearing her say that. But, it was different from when she had branded him a liar, as Natsume didn't have any intention of blaming Harutora now, and Harutora felt pure joy at the difference between the two.

"......I guess you could say that, but rather it should be because it's this kind of critical juncture."

Saying this, he put on a light smile.

It was a smile that completely couldn't compare to Touji's and was unsuitable for his face, but Natsume burst out into a smile alongside.

For some reason, he felt his cheeks were a bit hot after seeing Natsume's smile after so long, and he hurriedly averted his gaze.

"In, In any case! Don't worry about me, my luck's bad, but I'm always able to avoid the worst outcome. Look, didn't I get dragged into a magic battle yesterday, but I returned safe and sound, right?"

He spoke lightly.

"...Oh, also, that Dairenji Suzuka doesn't seem as bad as the rumors say. She's indeed headstrong and arrogant, but she actually has her cute points. If she truly comes to the altar, I think I should be able to convince her and stay alive--"

Crash - A dull noise sounded, and Harutora hastily closed his mouth, frightened.

Looking carefully, Natsume's right hand that had originally been placed on her lap had pounded the table next to the black tea, tightly clenched into a fist.

"......I see, so she's pretty cute, huh?"

An abnormally cold voice seeped from her mouth. Harutora was extremely astonished, but with her lowered head, he couldn't see her expression from under her bangs.

Natsume suddenly took out her phone.

"......h.e.l.lo, I called for a car just now. I'm leaving the store now, could I ask you to pick me up at the store entrance? ......Alright, thank you."

After she finished speaking, she hung up the phone.

"Huh? You're leaving?"

"Right, since continuing to talk would be useless."

Harutora felt that Natsume's tone was especially heavy when she mentioned the word 'useless'. His face couldn't hide his confusion at the sudden change.

"Uh...... But I still don't know the precise location of the altar......"

"I don't want to trouble you, please don't intervene."

"What, wait, wasn't I going to guard the altar?"

"Who said I would let an outsider like you guard the Tsuchimikado sanctuary? Please don't think of the proposal you brought up yourself as the answer."

Not only had the situation completely turned backwards, she was filled with some sort of unapproachable imposing force.

Natsume put away her phone and took out her purse, put her share of the money on the table, and silently stood up.

"Hey."

Harutora unconsciously stood up as well, but he was looked at by an icy gaze that could freeze with a touch.

He clearly felt a shiver. Comparing her with Suzuka that he had met yesterday night, at least Suzuka was a child. He felt that his hands and feet were stiff, and his cheeks were taut. What did I do wrong? The intimidating feeling that Natsume gave off almost made him reflect on his own life.

Natsume stared at the frozen Harutora.

"......She must be understanding because she's pretty cute? It would just make more trouble to let you guard the altar with that halfhearted att.i.tude. You should just sit tight at home."

She forcefully suppressed her emotions, but her voice seemed like it lingered in midair. Her jet-black hair swayed as she left her seat, walking towards the cafe entrance. He knew that Natsume was definitely giving off a strong aura right now, even if he wasn't a sight-seer.

But, he couldn't let her go like this.

"Slow down! Wait, let's talk calmly, Natsume!"

Harutora dashed out as if he were leaping out of the booth, desperately shouting at the back of Natsume, who had one hand on the door handle--

Just then, something strange happened to his body.

...Huh?

Harutora hadn't noticed, this was a 'first' for him. Since he had entered the store - more accurately, since he had parted with Suzuka yesterday night - this was the first time he had called Natsume by her name.

Even if he hadn't felt it originally, he noticed magic now. After the set conditions were met, a will sleeping deep within his body rapidly awakened.

Wriggle.

He staggered, falling on the floor. The store employee screamed, and Natsume inadvertently turned around.

...W, What, what's going on......?

The sudden abnormality caught him unprepared. He struggled to make a sound, and forced an intense cough out of his throat. He laid on the ground, holding his chest, and something thrashed around inside him.

"......Harutora-kun?"

Natsume called out to Harutora, and her tone wasn't filled with the anger just now, perhaps because she noticed Harutora's bad condition. Ahh, that's great - Even in this condition, he couldn't help but let that thought flash through his mind.

In that same moment.

Cough--!

Harutora spit something out. No, something had flown out from inside his body.

It was a piece of paper.

It was a crumpled corner torn off of a page of the scripture. The moment it rushed out of his body, the soaked page twisted like living creature, folding into a 'shape'.

The page became a bee.

Harutora's eyes widened.

--That person!

"Shikigami!?"

Natsume immediately took up a stance to guard herself.

Unfortunately, the shikigami was a step faster.

The bee-shaped shikigami danced through the air like an arrow, approaching silently and slipping into Natsume's blind spot in an instant, then piercing its stinger into her neck that was smooth as silk.

"--Uuu!"

Natsume reflexively swatted with her hand, but the bee rapidly evaded, flying out from the gap in the door that Natsume had half-opened and into the heavy downpour outside the store, where the tiny figure vanished. Everything had happened in the blink of an eye.

--d.a.m.n!

Harutora coughed as he stood himself up, and he saw Natsume stagger and collapse.

"Natsume!"

Natsume's face was pale, and her dress spread outwards as she slumped gently against the door. Her eyes were dazed and couldn't focus, and Harutora frantically ran over to her.

"Natsume! Stay strong!"

"H......Harutora-kun......"

Natsume's body trembled slightly, and Harutora held her shoulder, cursing his scared self.

d.a.m.n, that bee!

That bee couldn't have been poisoned, right? Natsume seemed as if she noticed Harutora's thoughts, and reached out her hand, lightly touching Harutora's arm.

"......My spiritual power...... was stolen......"

"Natsume, you're alright? Your spiritual power was stolen - then what do we do?"

"Never mind that for now...... That shikigami just now was......"

Natsume asked painfully. Harutora couldn't respond, and Natsume knew the answer long before she had asked.

...They had been played.

That was Suzuka's shikigami, and Harutora had completely played into her hands.

☆

Harutora paid their bill and carried the half-conscious Natsume to the taxi she had called for.

When one's spiritual power disappeared all at once, resistance to magic would be weakened significantly, and though her life wasn't directly in danger, it would require a very long time to return to normal.

The main family's mansion seemed to have a tool that could recover her spiritual power, and after Harutora learned this, he decided to go to the main family residence together with Natsume.

The typhoon closed in step by step, and a stormy scene emerged outside. Large drops of rain splattered randomly on the windshield, and the car sometimes shook from the wind's fury, as if expressing Harutora's state of mind.

...It's all my fault. I hurt Natsume......

He had originally believed that Suzuka had kissed him just to taunt Hokuto, to make her unhappy. But, it hadn't been that simple at all, and Suzuka had actually used magic at that time, setting a trap.

Thinking about it now, Suzuka had warned him in a very strange way. She had deliberately repeated three times to 'definitely tell Natsume face-to-face'. In the end, Harutora hadn't thought deeply about it, and had brought the enemy's shikigami right in front of Natsume.

Natsume was still unable to easily speak. Beads of sweat stood out on her pale forehead, and her always-sharp eyes were half-covered by her eyelids, her entire person seeming extremely weak. Her face had lost its color, and her body sank into the chair, breathing weakly.

...d.a.m.n.

His childhood friend's painful appearance made Harutora gnash his teeth. He had been blinded by his stupidity.

"......I couldn't tell...... It's my fault......" Natsume spoke, as if to console Harutora.

Natsume hadn't opened her mouth, and these words made Harutora hastily rise.

"Sorry, it's all because of me--!"

"......No, she's a Divine General...... Even if you were under her spell, it would be hard to tell......"

"But!"

"Forget about it for now...... With this, she has obtained 'me'. We have to stop her...... from reaching the altar."

Suzuka had said that she wanted Natsume to cooperate with her experiment. From her seizure of her spiritual power, it was very likely that she didn't need Natsume herself, just her spiritual power. Since she had the spiritual power, maybe Suzuka would immediately move towards the altar and hold the ceremony.

"We have to return quickly...... and prepare to fight......"

"I, Idiot, how can you fight in this condition?"

Natsume didn't reply. It seemed that the short conversation just now had already depleted her strength, and she closed her eyes in exhaustion.

Her pale face had somehow recovered its normal unyielding look. Even though she knew it was a war she couldn't win, she still wanted to fight to the end. That strong will didn't need to be put into words, as her firm look already showed it.

...What should he do?

Just as Harutora was troubled, his phone rang.

'Harutora, are you alright over there? Did you deal with that childhood friend smoothly?'

The phone call was from Touji. He could hear the shrill sound of the wind whistling behind him, so he was probably outdoors.

Harutora glanced at Natsume. Her eyes were closed, head resting on the seat.

She looked like she was deeply asleep, and though her breathing was still laborious, it had finally stabilized. Harutora explained the situation as quietly and quickly as possible without rousing Natsume.

The shrewd Touji grasped the situation very quickly.

'I see.'

He uttered those words softly, some excitement discernable in his voice. Maybe his bad habits were showing, as he clearly showed some happiness in his demeanor.

'No wonder that brat let you go so easily. Or maybe she's just extremely careful, or you're extremely stupid...'

"Both of them. Never mind that, I have something to ask of you. Could you call the Onmyou agency or other related units and tell them about the Mystical Investigators yesterday? I don't know whether they will believe us, but I think they won't ignore you if you bring up the Tsuchimikado name."

As the news expressed, the Onmyou agency was deploying additional a.s.sistance from Tokyo, but at the moment, only the team from yesterday was here. They might not be enough to deal with Dairenji, but they would be much more useful than Natsume in her current condition and him.

But...

'Actually, I called you about the Mystical Investigators. They seem like they've found the brat, and they already started moving just now.'

"What? Really? Why do you know that?"

'Well, how should I describe it, I have a stupid friend who got caught up in this trouble after all, so I'm using a few channels to see whether I could help him out.'

His friend replied calmly from the other end of the phone.

Harutora couldn't help but smile bitterly. He said it was for Harutora, but he was definitely complaining in his heart about how he wasn't involved. However, the power of his actions was surprising, as Harutora never would have thought he would know about the actions of the Mystical Investigators. How had he done it?

"Huh, but first, did the Onmyou Agency's a.s.sistance arrive?"

'It hasn't. It might be late because of the typhoon.'

"In that case, they'll definitely be defeated again, right?"

'Are they that stupid? They're professionals, and they don't fight unwinnable battles. I'd guess they'd prepare an ambush after noticing that kid.'

However incredible he was, Touji didn't know what kind of actions the Mystical Investigators were taking. But, Suzuka would logically head towards the altar, and the Mystical Investigators hunting her should also move in the same direction.

After Harutora gave his opinion, Touji expressed agreement from the other side of the phone.

'Next, it's up to how the Mystical Investigators prove themselves. What about you, what are you going to do?'

"I'm taking a taxi to Natsume's - to the main family's home, it seems like there's a tool that can recover spiritual power there."

'I know, but won't that person be behind the main home looking for the altar? You might be caught up in a magic battle again.'

"Don't joke around, I can't get any more unlucky--"

Before he finished, the taxi suddenly screeched to a halt.

The driver screamed, and the sound of the brakes was ear-piercing as the car slid on the wet road.

Harutora reflexively covered Natsume's body.

Gooseb.u.mps rose all over his body, and terror grasped his heart, but fortunately there were no other cars and there was no immediate disaster. The taxi made a ninety degree spin before it finally stopped safely.

"What is it?"

"M, Monsters!"

The driver cried out to answer Harutora's question, and then, Harutora also saw that thing.

On the other side of the window that had fogged up due to the temperature, there was a group of beasts on the road that looked as if they had been made from paper.

Those were Suzuka's shikigami. Harutora couldn't help but doubt his eyes.

--Impossible!

He glanced at Natsume, who was beneath him. Natsume hadn't woken up because of the chaos, but her face was slightly twisted and she was panting fiercely as if she were having a nightmare.

"d.a.m.n......!"

'Harutora, what happened!'

Touji yelled from the other end of the phone, noticing something was wrong. The big group of shikigami ran along the road, seemingly on a rampage...

However, they suddenly returned back to paper without any warning.

"......Huh?"

Harutora hadn't even had enough time to feel shocked before the pieces of paper were immediately brought down by the rain, as if the scene from yesterday were reenacting itself. Not long after, all of the shikigami disappeared, becoming sc.r.a.ps of paper scattered along the asphalt road.

"......What's going on?"

Harutora worried for a moment, deciding in the end to leave the unconscious Natsume, and walked alone out of the taxi's backseat.

The rain battered his body as soon as he walked out of the car. This place was on the outskirts of a large paddy field, and it was very far from the city. Black clouds gathered above his head, and heavy rain poured everywhere.

Right now, the sun had already set, and the surroundings were dark. There were dim streetlights on both sides of the road standing out among the darkness and rain. To his right was the paddy splashing with rain, and to his left was a rusty iron railing, with a factory construction site behind it. The shikigami had appeared from the direction of the construction site.

He could hear the sound of breaking objects and roars coming from the construction site amidst the sound of the rain.

Harutora remembered yesterday's magic battle. There were people locked in a battle of magic behind the construction site, and the people fighting were definitely Suzuka and the Mystical Investigators.

Touji's worries became reality.

"......How bad is my luck, really?"

He muttered blankly as he stood in the torrential rain.

In any case, he had to leave quickly...... Harutora thought this--

--No, wait!

Escaping would be to no avail. Today's situation was different from yesterday's, and in Harutora's current position, he had to do whatever he could to stop Suzuka's actions, especially since Natsume was bound to insist on it and definitely wouldn't listen to Harutora struggling to persuade her.

In that case.

Harutora grimaced.

"......Touji."

'Harutora? What happened?'

"I ran into her."

Touji gasped on the other end of the phone. That was obvious, as he hadn't even dreamed that Harutora would actually run into another magic battle.

'......d.a.m.n, are you sure you haven't been cursed?'

"Maybe. But fortunately, Natsume's alright, and I'm planning on having Natsume return home in the taxi first, and I'll go observe the outcome."

'What? Hey hey, don't speak nonsense, who would go looking for trouble on their own.'

"You aren't allowed to tell me that."

At the same time as Harutora remarked, he also quickly collected his thoughts.

What Touji said was right, the Mystical Investigators couldn't have fought again with Suzuka without thinking of some countermeasures. Then there was even more of a reason for him to confirm the outcome before escaping. Of course, he wanted the Mystical Investigators to win, but if they lost, he would have to know as soon as possible to be able to ready the following plans.

Even if he was actually already helpless.

'Don't go, Harutora. The enemy's an Onmyouji, what can you do?'

"I can't do anything, all I can do is go see who wins. Also, even if Dairenji Suzuka wins, maybe there will be an opportunity if she's exhausted her strength or drops her guard."

'What opportunity?'

"......An opportunity to sneak up to her and beat her up."

'Alright, Harutora, I get that you're an idiot, now listen to me and get out of there.'

"Shut up, I was just joking."

Touji wanted wholeheartedly to stop Harutora, but Harutora just briefly told him his destination and hung up the phone.

He returned to the taxi, asking the driver to send Natsume back home. This driver seemed to be a dedicated taxi driver of the main family, and had many dealings with the main family. Even if his face was pale, he still answered Harutora's request.

"......Natsume."

Natsume's consciousness still hadn't recovered, and Harutora quietly called her name.

Seeing Natsume's current appearance, he actually didn't want to leave her, but considering that he wouldn't be of any use by Natsume's side either, it would probably be more useful to her for him to confirm who won.

He took out a healing charm from his charm box.

The healing charm was one that treated injuries using spiritual power, and it couldn't restore spiritual power, and Natsume's current spiritual power was weak, so the charm's magic wouldn't have much effect.

"......I wish I could use this thing......"

It was too late to say that now. But, even if Natsume's spiritual power was weak, his own spiritual power might help a bit. Harutora chanted in a mutter, holding the charm tightly.

Natsume still slept deeply. Harutora said 'I'm counting on you' to the driver after sticking the charm to Natsume's chest, and watched the taxi leave.

Harutora crossed the iron railing that the shikigami had crushed, entering the construction site.

Buildings were lined up before his eyes, and it became noisier and noisier. He clumsily splashed through puddles, his entire body soaking, as he ran.

He ran towards the back of the construction site.

There was a parking lot in the back of the construction site, and there was a big truck stopped there as well as two armored vehicles with their lights on.

In addition, there were big and small human figures fighting in the rain.

Those people were Suzuka and the Mystical Investigators who had showed up yesterday.

There was a big difference between the current state and the battle yesterday, and Suzuka had been tightly surrounded, with only two shikigami present - giant, three-meter tall shikigami being manipulated by the Mystical Investigators. Suzuka's shikigami that had displayed overwhelming might yesterday was not present.

No, looking carefully, there were scattered sc.r.a.ps of paper covered with mud on the unpaved surface of the parking lot. The scene by the taxi just now should have been mirrored here, and the wreckage of the scripture could even be seen by Suzuka's feet as it was battered by the rain.

...But, why?

Harutora was a bit confused, but he soon found the answer to that question.

There were ten Mystical Investigators surrounding Suzuka, and among them there were only two fighting Suzuka directly, with the other eight continuously chanting incantations as they encircled Suzuka.

An intense light was rising from the ground around the Mystical Investigator chanting incantations. The sound of the incantation and the sound of the wind and rain formed a unique melody, following the oscillations of the light.

"......Is that a barrier? Are they using that to seal the shikigami?"

Of course, Harutora didn't know it was named the 'Eight-Point Barrier', a powerful technique of exorcists that was prohibited in combat. It was mostly used to seal spiritual disasters third phase or higher, and normally wouldn't be used against humans. This time, the Onmyou Agency had specially permitted those in charge to take the same measures as for a spiritual disaster in order to deal with the rebellion of a National First-Cla.s.s Onmyouji.

The use of that prohibited move proved that the Mystical Investigators' ambush was successful. Suzuka had used Harutora and obtained Natsume's spiritual power, and the Mystical Investigators had taken advantage of her putting all her effort into seizing that spiritual power.

"......Stop right there. Even if you're the 'Child Prodigy', you can't destroy the Eight-Point Barrier from the inside. Listen to me and surrender."

One of the Mystical Investigators persuaded Suzuka with a strict tone.

Afterwards, the two giant shikigami standing on both sides of the Mystical Investigator moved forward. They were the heavy-duty law enforcement shikigami 'G1 Emperor', and they seemed colossal compared to Suzuka's small body.

...Had they won?

Harutora hid behind a building, holding his breath as he watched the situation unfold.

"......Don't think you've won......"

Suzuka murmured inside the barrier.

Her tone was breathless, and her thin shoulders were heaving up and down, she was soaked, and her originally tied-up golden hair drooped down heavily. Her appearance as she stood in the rain was like a child who had been abandoned by her parents.

But, her round eyes were still shining with light, and her small body gave off a dangerous air.

"To think you treat humans like spiritual disasters...... But unfortunately, you should have taken the opportunity to shoot me quickly or taken some other actions. I see that you guys don't have enough real battle experience."

The rain dripped down the girl's face.

She didn't wipe off the rain, but showed an appalling sneer.

"Do you know what my research specialty is? I'll let you experience the original creation, not by me, but by Tsuchimikado Yakou - The military-use shikigami that he created!"

Saying this, Suzuka turned around, casting her gaze on the truck stopped in the parking lot.

She shouted at the container on the truck:

"Spell release! Come, Tsuchigumo[1]!"

Crash - A heavy sound rang out, and the container was destroyed from the inside.

Crash, crash, the container was destroyed, torn open, split into fragments, and fell to the ground.

Immediately after, a strangely-shaped form appeared in the rain.

It was a spider.

It was a giant spider made of steel. It had eight long legs, and its body was far larger than the container. Samurai armor was affixed to the top half of its body, around its head, abdomen, and the muzzles of the cannons that poked out from both sides.

It wore an ancient conical samurai helmet with a flashing golden pentagram on the front, and a dim flame shone in the rain from the half-covered eye holes.

"......A, An 'Armored Juggernaut[2]'!?"

The Mystical Investigators voiced their surprise one after another, and the chanted incantation paused because of this, the light of the barrier vanishing accordingly.

Suzuka laughed loudly.

"Go."

The steel spider moved.

Its outer appearance was like a heavy machine, but its movements were about the same as a normal shikigami, as if it were just a living spider. It moved on its eight legs, closing in on the Mystical Investigators step by step.

"......Ugh!"

One Mystical Investigator among them opened fire on Tsuchigumo. The bullets sparked and were easily repelled. Guns were useful against man-made shikigami, but they were worthless against a steel shikigami.

"d.a.m.n!"

The Mystical Investigator who had just been speaking to Suzuka sent out the two Emperors, trying to suppress Tsuchigumo's movements.

However, the movements of the modern Emperor shikigami were inferior to the Armored Juggernaut built for war. Tsuchigumo leaped up, kicking aside an Emperor and piercing through the body of the other.

The Emperor that had been pierced through grew blurry as if its body were being tampered with, showing 'lag' effects. The Armored Juggernaut slashed out again with a huge blade.

The blade flashed in the dim lighting.

As Armored Juggernaut swung the knife, cleaving the giant shikigami in two, the shikigami's charm tore in half, falling onto the rain-battered ground. Tsuchigumo speared the other Emperor with a fluid movement.

The Mystical Investigators were in disarray.

Gunfire rang out, and countless charms flew through the air, but none of these attacks were effective.

"What kind of monster is that......"

Harutora muttered, dumbstruck.

Regardless of whether it was fire or shikigami generated from charms, magic would become 'ambiguous' upon coming in contact with material, and though the laws of physics were unable to affect them fully, receiving a strong external impact would wound its materiality and lead to a 'lag' phenomenon.

Since the Armored Juggernaut had a steel body, it was directly imbued with 'hardness', and the spells engraved on the inside of the armor upped its strong defensive power against magical attacks.

It had been crafted 'flesh' through oil and metal, and had compensated for its 'ambiguity'. It was a shikigami that had true destructive force and defensive power.

The Armored Juggernaut was a military shikigami.

...H, How could they defeat this kind of thing?

The parking lot of the construction site turned into a burning battlefield of magic.

Flames spread and engulfed the darkness, torrents of water swept up the rain, fragments of metal danced through the air, and sharp spikes of earth flew from the cracked ground.

Tsuchigumo's movements were nimble, like an armored vehicle fighting infantry. There seemed to be no ammunition in its cannons, but even without firepower, there was an overwhelming difference between the fighting power of the two sides.

Spider silk shot from the mouthpiece of the wrathful-looking samurai armor on Tsuchigumo.

One Mystical Investigator after another was captured by the spider silk, quickly becoming weak and unable to resist. It was a similar scene to Natsume when she had been stung by the bee-shaped shikigami, and he knew at a glance that their spiritual power had been absorbed.

Tsuchigumo drove off the resistance of its enemies one by one, continuously spitting silk to constrict the Mystical Investigators.

Then, its feet stomped down forcefully, and the final Mystical Investigator collapsed.

The noise of the rain became more apparent in the inadvertent silence that fell. Harutora clenched his teeth, but he could do nothing at all other than hide in the darkness.

...What the h.e.l.l.

This was truly the worst possible situation. Since the manpower a.s.sistance from Tokyo hadn't come on time, they had basically announced that they could no longer stop Suzuka, and of course it wasn't at all possible for there to be an opportunity to sneakily beat her up.

...What should I do?

Harutora couldn't think of a single clue as he stood blankly in the rain.

Just then, a phone rang again. It was Harutora's phone that rang, not someone else's.

The lively sound of the ringtone echoed through the post-battle parking lot, and he actually felt his own heart leap.

"W