Chapter 41: Chapter 41

Jin’s POV
   While being pushed and pulled, Ayumi directs the rest of them to the dining hall. Iemitsu-san and an elderly woman whom Jin assumes is Ayumi’s grandmother, along with a few others are inside.

   “My, the place has become very crowded all of a sudden.” the elderly woman says with a smile.

   “Are you perhaps Ichihara-I mean Ayumi’s grandmother?” Jin asks her.

   “That I am. Ichihara Mayuri, at your service.”

   “Good evening. May I have you and your husband’s permission to bring Ayumi to a nearby restaurant or something so that we can have dinner together?”

   “Of course you can. Have fun.”

   “Grandmother, don’t you remember our rules?” Ayumi reminds her.

   Mayuri-san snorts.

   “Rules? You mean those that this old fart breaks pretty much all the time?” she asks while jabbing a thumb at Iemitsu-san.

   “Do you really have to word it that way, Mayuri?” Iemitsu-san asks.

   Mayuri-san glares at him.

   “Am I wrong? Well, am I?” she demands.

   Iemitsu-san averts his eyes guiltily.

   “Anyway, off you go.” Mayuri-san tells her granddaughter.

   “Yes, you shouldn’t be tied down by stiff rules. Just remember to have fun every once in a while.” Iemitsu-san agrees.

   “Just don’t end up like this failure.”

   “But-”

   “The two of them have given their permission, so let’s go already.” Jin interrupts.

   With that, all of them head towards the exit of the shrine. Ayumi made sure to change into her casual clothes since a shrine maiden isn’t supposed to hang around while still wearing her work uniform.

   “I guess we have to do something about your appearance before we head out. I’m not trying to be offensive, but you’ll definitely freak some people out if you just go out with your horns out in the open.” Jin says while looking at Meiko.

   “Please don’t suggest anything like breaking them off.” she pleads.

   “Don’t worry. I won’t even think of doing something diabolical like that.” Jin assures her.

   Jin mutters some words and snaps his fingers. Meiko’s horns disappear immediately. At least, they disappeared from sight. They’re actually still there.

   “That’s a nice Illusion spell you just cast. Even I have trouble seeing through them without using Eye of Truth.” Audrey compliments.

   “Thanks.”

   “Did something happened that I’m not aware of?” Meiko asks.

   “Just give me a second.”

   Jin accesses his Vault and brings out a hand mirror. He then hands it to Meiko. She takes it and looks at her reflection with it. Naturally, she’s surprised to see that her horns are gone.

   “What exactly is this sorcery?” she asks as she’s still being able to feel her horns with her empty hand.

   “It’s just a simple illusion spell that I cast. With this, you don’t have to worry a thing about being found out that you’re not really a human.” Jin informs her.

   “But, what about my clothes? Won’t they look out of place?”

   “Don’t worry about them. They’re not that out of season.”

   “Well, if you say so.”

   “So, where exactly are we going?” Estyshana asks.

   “I have no idea. I haven’t really try out the eateries nearby, so I can’t recommend any good places.” Jin says.

   “You’re a lousy guide.”

   “Well, sorry about that.”

   “How about family restaurant? There’s something for everyone there.” Aldenia suggests.

   “I guess it’s the best place to go other than fast food if you’re troubling over on what to eat.” Jin agrees.

   And so, Jin brings them to the nearest family restaurant. The place is only half-full, so they managed to get a seat right away. Somehow, Jin is sitting right next to Estyshana again, and Meiko is sitting together with Ayumi. From the look of the latter’s face, she’s not really happy about it.

   All the customers inside are sneaking glances at Meiko. Some are even staring at her in awe.

   “You’re probably being mistaken for an ojou-sama for a rich family.” Aldenia giggles.

   “Do I even look like one?”

   “Sure you do. You have the aura and grace, after all. If you learn how to talk and act like one, I’m sure that no one could tell that you’re not a rich lady.”

   “Right, let’s not teach her any unnecessary things. She’s fine just the way she is.” Jin stops Aldenia.

   “Who are you, her father?”

   “Her elder brother, if you don’t mind.”

   “Even though you already have a real younger sister?”

   “Ah, forget her. Meiko is so much better than her, you know?”

   Audrey giggles.

   “You say that, but you actually care about her, right?”

   “Nope. Not one bit.”

   “Remember the Cultural Festival at our school? You asked me to save her and her friends a seat.” she reminds him.

   Jin only shrugged at that. He still hates Shino, and heaven knows why he bothered to make things easier for her. There’s also the part where he ended up saving them from the hooligans too.

   “Enough about her. I’m getting Salisbury Steak rice set and an access to drink bar. What about the rest of you?” he asks the girls.

   “Chocolate parfait for me.” Estyshana answers.

   “Chicken karaage rice set with extra rice. And a glass of melon soda.” Aldenia says.

   “I will be having the Sirloin steak set. And hot black tea.” Audrey replies after some time.

   Jin looks at Ayumi and Meiko. Both of them are still looking at the menu and have hard time deciding.

   “Have a hard time deciding?” he asks.

   “Definitely. This is the first time I eat outside food, after all.” Ayumi answers.

   “It is the same for me.” Meiko says as well.

   “Say, Meiko. Are you able to eat, well, non-meat food?”

   “Yes. I have eaten human food before, and I did not have any issues with it.”

   Jin isn’t going to ask her about her usual diet, just in case her answer ends up ruining everyone’s appetite.

   “You could get the Napolitan pasta. You can never go wrong with that.” Aldenia suggests.

   “Pork cutlets are usually good too.” Jin also gave his suggestion.

   “I’ll have the pork cutlet rice set then.”

   “As for me, I’ll have the Napolitan pasta.”

   Now that everyone has made up their mind, Jin caught the attention of a waitress and placed the order. In the meantime, he cast Silent Bubble around their table so that they could continue with their strategy meeting.

   “As I was about to say back at the shrine, we should also help out in locating Tengu and Tamamo No Mae.” Jin says.

   Aldenia raises up her hand.

   “Can we call her something else? Like something that’s not a mouthful?” she requests.

   “Fair enough. We’ll call her Fox Lady, then.”

   “Actually, searching for them is a lot easier said than done. One is an evil spirit that can possess the living, while the other have the ability to reincarnate, thus becoming an entirely different person.” Ayumi says.

   “The reincarnation part is especially hard to deal with. Do you know how exactly it works?” Audrey asks.

   “That’s the worst part. We don’t. She could be inside this restaurant with us, and we won’t even notice.” Ayumi says with a troubled expression.

   “While the subject is brought up, I need to ask a question. When you find a possessed person, do you go all “Evil spirits begone!” and throw salt at the possessed person?” Jin asks curiously.

   “No. When we exorcist a spirit who entered the body of a person, we use talismans instead of salt. And we definitely don’t yell that.”

   “Aww.”

   “Besides, with a really strong evil spirit like Tengu, you probably can’t even tell if the person is possessed unless he shows an opening.”

   “Well, at least some of us here can use a spell called the Eye of Truth.”

   “How does it work?”

   “It’s quite simple, really. You activate it, and you’ll be able to detect magic and other stuffs that can’t be seen with naked eyes. Real convenient.” Jin explains.

   “Actually, it’s not as convenient as it sounds.” Audrey contradicts. “For one thing, you can’t detect traps with it if the said trap isn’t charged with mana. Also, it’ll fail you if the spirit has consumed the soul of the person it possessed, thus making the body its own.”

   “So it’s not really helpful in finding Tengu in case he’s possessing someone.” Ayumi concludes.

   “No. Also, there’s the fact that also a very limited number of people can use it. There’s no way that an effective search can be conducted.”

   “Say, is it possible to create a spell that we need at a time like this?” Jin asks curiously.

   “The possibility is there. However, it won’t be easy. All the spells that we have been using were created and modified over hundreds of years before their formulas and chanting were officially written on spell books.”

   “Even the Level 1 spells? ”

   “Especially those, for the easiest spells to cast are the hardest to be tuned. However, I can still try. I may be able to create a whole new spell, whether by accident or after thorough experimentation.”

   “We’re counting on you. For now…”

   Jin looks at Estyshana next.

   “Don’t look at me. Just so you know, Bloodline Magic have nothing boring like reconnaissance ability.” she informs.

   “Figures.”

   As far as Jin knows, the demons’ Bloodline Magic is something that they received when they were born which gives them unique abilities that no other demons have. They rely mostly on that and their brute strength for combat, with the occasional spell or two. He seems to remember reading from somewhere that demons had a part in creating the spells that the humans are using, but that theory is still up for debate.

   “What about you, Meiko? Do you know any oni that can help us out?”

   “Um, I don’t think so. At least, I haven’t heard of any oni that could help us. I’ll ask my father once I got back.”

   “Thanks.”

   This is bad. Their side is on a complete stalemate right now. Forget defeating Tengu and Fox Lady, they don’t even know where they are, or what they’re doing right now.

   Wait, there’s one more person that Jin can try to rely on. One dragon, to be precise.

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   “Do you mind if I call someone?” he tells the girls.

   “Of course not. Please go ahead.” Ayumi says to him.

   He takes out his phone and calls Nyri.

   “Hello~?” she asks when she picks up the phone.

   Her voice sounds kind of muffled, as if she’s talking while there’s something inside her mouth. Jin gets straight to the point.

   “You dragons use different types of spells than humans and other species, right?”

   “Yup. Just so you know, I can’t teach any of them to you. Ancient laws.”

   “I’m not asking you to. I just need your help in using one of those spells of your to look for the enemies that my allies and I have to fight.”

   “...You? With allies?”

   “Is it that surprising?”

   “Absolutely. I didn’t know that there’s someone out there who’s willing to work together with someone twisted like you.”

   “Mind you own business. Do you know any spell that might help us out or not?”

   “I do.” she confirms.

   “Great. I’ll bring over my allies over to my apartment once we’re done having dinner. Make sure you clean up after you’re done eating.”

   “Don’t you mean our apartment?”

   “No, I don’t.”

   Jin disconnects the call and puts his phone away.

   “Who did you call, Minase-kun?” Ayumi asks curiously. “You mentioned a dragon just now.”

   “You already met her when she came to our class during Cultural Festival. You know, the girl with silver hair and blue eyes?”

   “Oh, you mean Nyri-san? Yes, I’ve met her. Chifuyu told me that she’s your cousin, so that was a lie?”

   “Yup. I can’t go around and tell people that she’s a dragon, can I?”

   “I suppose not.”

   “Anyway, she mentioned that she might be able to help us out. Until then, I guess the meeting has to be paused.”

   “Either way, we have to pause it for now.” Audrey says while looking to her right.

   Jin looks towards the direction she’s looking and understood the reason she said that. A waitress is pushing a cart with the food and drink they ordered placed on it. Jin quickly deactivates the Silent Bubble that he cast.

   The waitress place all the things on their table and leaves after bowing. If she found something unusual about the group, she didn’t show it on her face.

   “Well then, time to dig in!” Aldenia says with her hands already on her chopsticks.

   “Mind your manners, Al.” Audrey chides while putting her hands together for an ittadakimasu.

   “Oops, my bad nee-san. Ittadakimasu!”

   Jin, on the other hand, gets up from his seat with his empty glass. He goes to the drink fountain and fills up his glass with literally every single drink available. When he goes back to his seat, he was met with mostly horrified stares. They all probably saw what he did at the drink fountain. Aldenia is the only one who looks very excited.

   “Is that the mix-every-drink-you-find-at-the-drink-fountain thing you commonly see in mangas?” she asks.

   “Yup. You can’t say that you went to family restaurants if you didn’t do this.”

   He takes a sip. He saw his entire life flashing by him in a single second.

   “How’s the taste?” Aldenia asks.

   “To sum it up in a single word, it’s awful. Anyone wants to try?”

   Estyshana reaches out her hand. Jin passes the glass to her. She takes it and takes a sip. She then starts having a coughing fit.

   “W-What on Devil is this abomination?” she wheezes.

   “I bet none of you demons can come up with something remotely this disgusting.”

   “And I totally agree…”

   With trembling fingers, she hands the glass back to Jin. He looks around expectantly. Aldenia raises up her hand real enthusiastically. She takes a sip and almost spits out the entire thing.

   “Oh lord, this is beyond disgusting!” she giggles. “Do you want to try, nee-san?”

   “No, thank you. I don’t think I’m curious to know about the taste.” Audrey declines without a second thought.

   In the end, Jin finished that vile drink all by himself. When he got back from his second trip to the drink fountain, he sees Ayumi teaching Meiko on how to use her fork so that she could eat her spaghetti.

   “Just take it slow and try not to dorp the noodles. That’s it, almost there.” Ayumi encourages.

   Under the shrine maiden’s encouragement, Meiko could finally lift up some of the noodles with her fork. Her eyes widen when she puts them inside her mouth.

   “This is delicious.” she marvels.

   “If you stay in the human world long enough, you can eat a lot more delicious food like this.” Jin assures her.

   “That’s very nice to hear.”

   After she takes a few more bites, he notices some sauce on her mouth. Just as he was about to tell her, Ayumi takes a napkin and wipes it away for her.

   “I know the food is delicious, but you should take care not to make too much of a mess.” she tells the oni.

   “Yes, I’m sorry. And thank you.”

   Ayumi nods with slight warmth in her eyes.

   Ayumi notices Jin staring.

   “...What?” she demands.

   Jin could barely stop himself from smiling.

   “Nothing.”

   Once all of them are done with the eating, they asked for the bill and leave the family restaurant. Next, Jin guides the girls to his apartment.

   Nyri didn’t do any clean-up at all since she’s still eating. From the mountain of take-away boxes that are piled up on the dining table, Jin predicts that she ordered takeouts from at least seven different restaurants. He could only shakes his head at the pile.

   “Welcome back~.” Nyri greets in a half-hearted way as she’s munching on a slice of pizza.

   “Exactly how much of my money did you end up spending?” Jin asks her.

   “At least 20,000yen, I think.”

   “...That’s it. This is the first and last time I’m letting you order take-out all by yourself.”

   “Say, Minase-kun. Are you sure that she’s the same girl that visited our class during the Cultural Festival?” Ayumi asks.

   “Indeed. They do look alike, but the one before us is so much younger.” Audrey agrees.

   “This is her energy-saving form. She eats less food while she’s in this size, so I need her to be in this form as often as possible so that she doesn’t eat too much.” Jin explains.

   He sees Estyshana takes out her phone.

   “What’s the phone number for calling the authority in this world again?” she mumbles to herself.

   “Hey, don’t you dare! And why are you acting like you don’t know this? You know she has this form!”

   Jin clears his throat.

   “Ichihara, Meiko, this is Nyri the Ice Elder Dragon. Due to a really complicated situation, she’s living with me now.” he introduces Ayumi and Meiko to Nyri. “Nyri, this is Ichihara Ayumi and, um, just Meiko. Ichihara is technically an exorcist, while Meiko is an Eastern demon. You’ve met the others.”

   The two of them bows at her formally.

   “Nice to meet you.” Meiko tells Nyri.

   “You may or may not remember me from the Cultural Festival when you came to our class.” Ichihara reminds her.

   Nyri waves at them with her small hand.

   “Hello there. And yes, I do remember you.” she greets.

   “Now that we’re done with the introductions, can you help us out?” Jin asks.

   “Sure. But I don’t know what any of your enemies look like.”

   “Well, neither do we. We’re hoping you could find a particularly strong spirit and a fox demon.”

   Nyri raises her eyebrow.

   “I don’t remember any fox demons existing in Ifezan.”

   “She’s local, so is the spirit.”

   “They are? I have so much to learn. Anyway…”

   Nyri points the space right in front of her with her right index finger. A holographic map of Japan appears at mid-air. It’s made of aurora, and it looks quite pretty.

   Meiko gasps.

   “Is this, well, Western magic?” she asks Jin softly.

   “I guess you could say that’s it in a way.”

   “By the way, you need to tone down the requirement a bit. How strong is that ghost, exactly?” Nyri asks Jin.

   “Actually, I have no idea. Ichihara?”

   “An onmyoji who fought Tengu has wrote in his journal that the spirit is worth 500 of his kind. I’m not sure whether the description helps.”

   “Well, we’re about to find out. Let’s see, a ghost that’s as strong as 500 ghosts combined together and a fox demon...”

   After a while, several red arrows appears out of nowhere and hovers above certain parts of the map.

   “Blimey, it actually worked.” Nyri mumbles.

   “Why are there several readings?” Jin asks.

   “I have no idea. It’s meant for the ghost. Maybe he split himself?”

   “And all the arrows are of the same color. Does that mean that you can’t find the fox demon?”

   “Afraid not.”

   “Great. I guess we have to take care of them one at a time.”

   Jin hears Ichihara gasp loudly. He looks at her and see that her face has gone pale.

   “Is something wrong, Ichihara?” he asks.

   “Yes. All the arrows are pointing at the onmyoji shrines found across Japan.” she whispers.

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