Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Nekomata

Adam closed his eyes and entered into a state of tranquillity. His mind was clear like the waters of a flowing stream and free of any distractions. Numerous questions regarding onmyōdō that hounded him were gone like the wind. He took out the volume of the Onmyōdō Fundamentals with Water Walking and started studying the spell. This time, he easily learned Water Walking. He continued his study of the spell with the intention to reach level 1. However, just as he attained level 1, a thick fog clouded his mind.

"Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha!"

However, instead of entering the state again, the world started spinning around Adam and a nauseating feeling grew in his stomach.

"I wouldn't recommend using the Heart Mantra this frequently, especially for a beginner." The elderly monk grabbed hold of Adam to stop him from falling off the bench.

After resting for a while, Adam recovered from his lightheadedness.

"You're telling me these sutras are available everywhere?" Adam wrinkled his eyebrows. "Why haven't more people learned them then?"

"Not everyone is able to successfully use a mantra on their first try." The elderly monk shrugged.

Adam raised an eyebrow. He had a feeling the reason why he could use the mantra on his try was likely because of the "translation" function. When he saw or heard a word in another language, the words weren't translated into English for him. Rather, the meaning of the words was imprinted into his mind as if he had always known the meaning.

Just then, Adam heard footsteps coming from outside and a familiar figure barged into the library.

"Gikū rōshi, are you alright? I felt a disturbance in the—You!" The monk clenched his fists and readied a fighting stance.

"Calm down, Kaien." The elderly monk, Gikū, raised his hand to stop the monk.

"B-but…" Kaien took a deep breath and placed his hands together. "Yes, rōshi."

Gikū nodded with a smile.

"This, uh…" Gikū turned to Adam and stroked his beard. "What's your name?"

"It's Adam, rōshi."

"Adamu-san will be our guest for the next few days." Gikū turned toward the monk. "Kaien, please make the necessary arrangements for his lodgings."

"…yes, rōshi." Kaien bowed.

"Thank you for your hospitality, rōshi." Adam bowed to the elderly monk.

Gikū smiled and nodded.

Adam left the library with Kaien and followed him to the guest lodgings. It was in a different area from the sleeping quarters Izumi found earlier. He initially thought Kaien was planning to lure him to a remote area before attacking him. Inside the building, some of the sliding doors to the rooms were closed and he could sense the ki of humans inside. He was brought to one of the unoccupied rooms.

"This is your room. Breakfast is at 7 a.m. Hmph!" Kaien turned and left.

Before entering the traditional Japanese room, Adam went back outside to fetch Pumpkin. He made Pumpkin wait outside earlier before entering the monastery. Upon stepping into the room, Pumpkin leapt out of Adam's arms and dove right onto the futons neatly stacked on the side.

"Meow!" Pumpkin curled into a ball and made himself at home.

A low-legged table was positioned in the centre, with a kettle and a tray filled with neatly arranged teabags and porcelain cups.

Adam sat down on one of the cushions next to the table and made a cup of green tea for himself. Based on the number of cushions, each of these rooms was meant to house around four guests. It was tiny compared to the apartment he rented here in Tokyo but he actually found the room more comfortable.

The next morning, Adam was woken up by Pumpkin sitting on his face as usual. He fed both Pumpkin and Izumi before heading for breakfast at the dining hall. During the meal, he met the other guests staying at the monastery. The breakfast was a surprisingly tasty meal with rice, tofu stew, seasoned, nori, miso soup, pickled radish, and strawberries. However, the quantity was not enough to even serve as an appetizer for him. He finished the free meal and headed out for a more satisfying meal at a restaurant nearby.

After breakfast, Adam returned to the monastery and went to the library. Some of the other guests were copying scriptures. Not wanting to disturb them, he got permission from Gikū and brought copies of the sutras back to his room. This time, however, he failed to use the mantras on his first try. He had to read through the sutras and contemplate the meaning of the words before he could use them. Even then, the effects of the mantras were negligible compared to the Heart Mantra.

For the next few days, Adam focused all of his efforts on the Heart Sutra. Not only were the effects of the Heart Mantra similar to the training grounds back in Twilight, but it was also free of charge. Once he was more familiar with the sutra, he might even be able to sustain the effect of the mantra for a longer period and not even need to use the training grounds.

A week later, Adam had just returned from dinner. He surveyed the room but Pumpkin was nowhere to be seen. He took out a bag of treats and poured the content on the tatami mat.

"Meow!"

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One by one, the treats quickly vanished into thin air. Before the last treat disappeared as well, Adam reached out and picked up a cat with two tails sticking out from his rear end.

Adam raised an eyebrow. Pumpkin didn't have the extra tail before he went for dinner. He opened Pumpkin's status screen and saw the following information.

***

Name: Pumpkin

Level: 0

Race: Nekomata

Traits: Imperceptibility

Skills: Stealth (Level 0)

***

For the past few days, Pumpkin had been occasionally disappearing right in front of Adam, so he had anticipated this was going to happen. Furthermore, not only was he not able to see or hear Pumpkin while Pumpkin was using stealth, he was also unable to sense the ki of Pumpkin.

Just then, Adam heard footsteps stop outside his room.

"Edamu-sama, the preparations are complete."

Adam opened the sliding door and saw Nezuminosuke standing outside. Nezuminosuke backed away slightly after seeing Pumpkin in Adam's arms.

"Meow!" Pumpkin licked his paw while staring at Nezuminosuke, causing the latter to flinch.

"Let's go."

Outside the monastery, Adam goggled at the monstrosity in front of him. It was a horse-drawn carriage the size of an elephant with a giant human-like face at the front. Its mouth was wide open and its tongue stretched to the ground to serve as steps.

Once the two and Pumpkin were on board, the carriage yōkai barrelled down the streets of Tokyo. The oboroguruma was a type of yōkai called tsukumogami, which were objects that gained sentience over a long period of usage. From weapons used by samurai to common household items like a teapot, anything could become a tsukumogami.

Adam and Pumpkin looked out of the carriage window. The oboroguruma was travelling so fast that the scenery before their eyes became a blur.

Just then, a car approached from the opposite direction. As if the driver couldn't see the massive carriage, the car continued moving forward without any indication of stopping. Adam held Pumpkin tightly in his arms and braced himself for the collision. To his surprise, the oboroguruma passed through the car like it wasn't there and continued on its way.

"I'm almost tempted to ask Kuzunoha-san to change my payment to this oboroguruma."

"I am afraid it would be highly unlikely for Kuzunoha-sama to agree." Nezuminosuke shook his head. "This oboroguruma has been passed down the clan since the Heian period."

Adam shrugged.

"So, what're we heading?" Adam turned toward Nezuminosuke while petting Pumpkin.

"We've located Sadako in the Suginami ward of Tokyo."

"She's not within Ukiyo?" Adam raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, neither Karasuma nor his subordinates are in Ukiyo. Kuzunoha-sama is on her way to the peak of Mount Kurama to deal with Karasuma as we speak. She has sent others to handle the other three Heavenly Kings as well."

"I see." Adam nodded.

While the two of them were chatting, the oboroguruma came to a stop. Nezumininosuke took a look outside and turned toward Adam.

"We've reached, Edamu-sama!"

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