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ED: LonelyMatter
Part 2
Yuzuki had shamanic powers, a secret only Teruyoshi and Yuzuki were aware of.
“We use different powers to exorcise demons, but ‘shamanic power’ is a force that only women can wield. That’s how I realized you were a woman—because I sensed that you possessed that power.”
“But… I should have been hiding it with ‘purification power’…”
Because Yuzuki was female, she possessed an overwhelming amount of “shamanic power,” which was equal only to “demonic power” among the forces used against demons: Spiritual power, demonic power, purification power, and shamanic power.
However, Teruyoshi had raised her as a boy and had sealed off her use of “shamanic power.” Instead, she was rigorously trained to hone her “purification power” to the utmost.
In other words, Yuzuki had attained her current high level of skill while her greatest strength, “shamanic power,” remained sealed.
“I suppose I noticed because, like you, I also possess strong ‘shamanic power.'”
“Then…then Sougen-sama must have noticed, too…”
“No, I think? Father probably hasn’t noticed. His ‘purification power’ is incredible, and he’s a far stronger practitioner of purification techniques than I am, but ‘shamanic power’ isn’t his specialty.”
“I-I see…”
Relieved that Sougen hadn’t noticed, Yuzuki’s expression immediately clouded over.
The order Teruyoshi had given Yuzuki was to seduce Mai and bring her into the Komyouin family.
However, since Mai already knew that Yuzuki was a woman, seduction was no longer an option.
What on earth should she do? Yuzuki was in a daze when Mai spoke up.
“You’ve got it rough, huh?”
“Huh?”
“Your dad gave you some instructions, right? Since you’re pretending to be a guy, he probably told you, ‘Seduce her!’ or something like that.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Deciding that she couldn’t hide it any longer, Yuzuki confessed honestly.
Seeing Yuzuki like this, Mai gave a wry smile. She led Yuzuki to a nearby bench and sat down beside her.
“Unfortunately, now that your secret’s been exposed to me, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“…I know.”
“Hey, can I ask you something? Why are you pretending to be a man?”
“Huh?”
“That whole pretending-to-be-a-guy thing isn’t just to get me, is it? It goes back much further, doesn’t it?”
Yuzuki was at a loss for words when faced with this question that hit the very core.
Because of Teruyoshi’s curse, she couldn’t speak about that sort of thing.
But…
“Don’t worry. Here, I can listen to your story.”
“Huh!?”
Yuzuki’s eyes widened at Mai’s unexpected words. Mai nodded confidently.
“Inside this shrine, a very special power is at work. You know, divine power? Thanks to it, various curses and occult restrictions are weakened within these grounds. Your father’s sealing technique is impressive, but it can’t stand up to divine power.”
Hearing this, Yuzuki focused her awareness on the curse embedded within her own body.
As Mai had said, while the curse hadn’t vanished completely, several of its powers were suppressed. She could now speak to someone about the secrets tied to her past.
Having grasped her state, Yuzuki, though hesitant, soon began to speak naturally about her secret.
“Actually, I’m the child born to that father and… a demon.”
“Huh!?”
Mai’s eyes widened at Yuzuki’s unexpected confession.
“A demon? You mean… a succubus?”
Yuzuki nodded in response to Mai’s question.
While many humanoid demons existed in this world, those who appeared nearly indistinguishable from humans were rare.
Therefore, when Mai heard that Yuzuki was born to a human and a demon, she could easily deduce what kind of demon it was.
“So then, your mother…”
“Of course, she was killed by Father right after I was born. Until then, Father hadn’t realized that Mother was a succubus. Apparently, she was exceptionally skilled at hiding her demonic aura. But as a newborn, I couldn’t hide my demonic presence. That’s when Father finally discovered that Mother was a succubus.”
“How should I put it? It’s all quite incredible.”
Hearing Yuzuki’s story, Mai’s cheeks twitched.
“Anyway, given my circumstances at birth, I should have been killed immediately. But when Father learned that I had inherited my mother’s succubus powers, he decided to use me instead.”
“Succubus powers…”
“Powerful seduction abilities. They’re usually sealed by Father, but here, they’re slightly loosened.”
“Huh!? I-it’s okay, right!?”
Mai shuddered at the unexpected confession, and Yuzuki chuckled cheerfully.
“It’s fine. The seal is loosened, but the final seal—the curse that makes my body explode the instant I try to use that power without Father’s permission—is still intact.”
“What’s fine about that?”
Mai recoiled at the utterly unsettling content of his words.
“Still, the head of the Komyouin family having a child with a succubus would cause a huge scandal. I don’t care, but if it got out, wouldn’t it completely overturn their standing in the underworld?”
“Yeah. That’s why Father is hiding it so thoroughly. The reason I’m being raised as a boy is that it’s convenient for him to use the succubus’s power to acquire talented children from other families.”
“True. In a normal family, they might take in a son-in-law or have other options. But in our world, women almost always marry into families, so if you were to marry into another house, it would grow stronger. That’s why your father is raising you as a man, as the next head of the family.”
“That’s right.”
“You really have it rough…”
After hearing Yuzuki’s story, Mai grimaced sympathetically.
In response, Yuzuki gave a wry smile.
“Thanks. Having someone listen to me like this for the first time feels really good.”
“I see.”
However, Yuzuki suddenly remembered something, and her expression clouded over.
“Ah, but there’s one thing I feel bad about…”
“Oh?”
“Actually, I’m attending school on my father’s orders to bring a certain person into the Komyouin family.”
“So, the person is a woman?”
“No, it’s a boy. My father told me to investigate his abilities and bring him in if he could benefit the Komyouin family. He said to use my true abilities if necessary.”
“Wow… Raising you as a man, then ordering you to bring in a powerful man as a woman if one appears… Your father is outrageous.”
“Ahaha.”
Yuzuki laughed at Mai’s blunt words.
Then, immediately, her expression darkened again.
“…And then, when I met that boy… I felt like he was living his life incredibly freely. Yet, he possessed every ability my father desired. Suddenly, I wondered what my own existence meant. I ended up being harsh with him. Even though my family’s circumstances had nothing to do with him.”
Yuzuki laughed bitterly and lowered her gaze to the ground.
“So now… I want to apologize to him. That’s what I’m thinking.”
“…I see. I hope you two can make up.”
Mai gazed at Yuzuki with a gentle expression. Suddenly, she thought of something.
“I know!”
“Huh?”
“Yuzuki, come here!”
“Whoa!”
Mai stood up suddenly, grabbed Yuzuki’s hand, and led her to a certain spot.
There, countless ema were on display.
“These are… ema?”
[T/N: Small wooden votive plaques found at Shinto shrines (and sometimes Buddhist temples). Visitors write wishes, prayers, or expressions of gratitude on them. They are then hung on special racks at the shrine for the gods to receive.]
“Yes. Have you ever written one?”
“N-no, I haven’t, but why all of a sudden?”
As Yuzuki seemed confused, Mai handed her an ema and a pen.
“Like I said earlier, our shrine has a powerful deity working here. That’s why it’s famous for granting all kinds of wishes, more so than other shrines.”
“Wishes…”
“Yeah. So, you should write your wish here, too.”
“Huh?”
Yuzuki was startled by Mai’s unexpected words.
“It’s fine. If I sneak it in here, your dad won’t notice. Go ahead and write it.”
“…”
Yuzuki suddenly glanced at the ema on display.
She saw a wide variety of wishes written on them and just as many ema displayed in gratitude for wishes that had come true.
Then, Yuzuki looked at the ema handed to her and soon began writing her wish with a pen.
“(My wish…)”
──I want to live freely.
The ema bearing those words was newly displayed at the Kagurazaka Shrine.
＊＊＊
“──The Komyouin and Kagurazaka families together, huh?”
In the woods near the Kagurazaka family shrine.
A man wearing a crow mask stood there, a strange rift behind him.
“I intended to deal with the Kagurazaka family this time, but this is convenient. This is the moment. The Komyouin family will vanish here as well.”
Saying this, the man took a sheet of paper from his robe.
On the paper was a pattern resembling a magic circle, like the one engraved on the floor of the stone chamber earlier.
Then, as the crow-masked man channeled his power into the paper, the magic circle began to glow eerily.
“I believe it was called a teleportation circle… Ideally, the shadow would have transferred with us, but perhaps because it’s an entity from another world, that wasn’t possible. This is the alternative method created instead. Who would have thought they could create something like this by applying that summoning circle? The technological prowess of that other world is truly beyond measure.”
As he muttered these thoughts, the light gradually grew larger. Eventually, three shadows emerged from it.
Facing the shadows, the crow-masked man wore a slightly skeptical expression.
“So these are the shadows of beings stronger than those monsters. They don’t look particularly powerful. But this operation will reveal if that’s truly the case.”
Convincing himself of this, the crow-masked man turned his gaze back to the three shadows.
“Well then… go on a rampage to your hearts’ content.”
Finally, he gave this command to the three shadows before vanishing into the rift behind him.
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