Chapter 48

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“So, after all, what kind of relationship did Tendou-san’s master and I have?”

It was the day after they had put Amanojaku back in the Collected Records, that Shouma asked this question.

Fuyuka wasn’t there either, so it was just the two of them in the office.

The scars on Shouma’s wrists had been healed by his new kaii friend, the Kappa’s elixir, so there wasn’t even a scar left.

Tendou too, was in his usual human form.

There weren’t any horns on his forehead, his eyes weren’t red either.

“What kind of relationship you two had…you say. Hmm, to put it simply, my master was Shouma’s ancestor.”

“Ancestor?”

Shouma repeated Tendou’s words like a parrot.

“He’s not close enough to be your grandfather or great-grandfather, so ancestor would be more appropriate, wouldn’t it?

“So, was he a kaii after all?”

If that was the case, Shouma would no longer be an indistinguishable human being. Although, that would explain his unusual ’ability to see’ that most people didn’t have.

Tendou shook his head.

“No, he was just a human being. If there was anything that told him apart from the average person, it was that he was a man who could see us, just like you, Shouma.”

Tendou half-closed his eyes, a fondly-remembered expression shone through his face as he spoke.

Shouma’s ancestor, Masaroku, had the special ability that allowed him to see the kaii from an early age.

For this reason, he was haunted by many kaii, and lived for a long time like how Shouma was before he got his protection charm.

Masaroku was a man of kind heart and great capability. He thought of the kaii as if they were his family, and even though he was a human being, he was often asked for advice by them.

The number of kaii that gathered and followed around Masaroku grew year by year, and by the time he reached adulthood, he became such a well-known person, that it was said, there was no kaii in the vicinity who didn’t know about him.

However, people were terrified of and felt uncomfortable with Masaroku, who could see the inexplicable.

At first, he was able to get away with being a ’freak’, but as the number of kaii surrounding him increased, the people began to treat him more and more harshly.

He was the only one who was constantly surrounded by what one calls unexplainable occurrences.

To Masaroku, who could see, it was a matter of course, to those who couldn’t, it was extremely unnatural.

Things floating in the air, moving from place to place. Hearing shapeless voices from an empty area. Sometimes, even a fire would appear or water would come out of nowhere.

This was more than enough reason for people to stay away from Masaroku. Gradually, the man lost touch with people.

In the end, he himself came to be called a ‘kaii’ and was completely driven out of the human village.

At that time, the name of him as a kaii became Nurarihyon.

“He was the kind of person who moved back and forth between the kaii and people. He was not completely rooted for any of these worlds but he lived well in both of them. I admired his way of life and came to look up to him as my master. As for the case of Shuten-Douji, his father was a kaii but his mother was a human. Maybe, that was the reason I felt a strange empathy for him.”

“Hee, you are a half-breed then, Tendou-san?”

“You could say that, but it would be more appropriate, that I have some other components. I am a child of a kaii and a human, but I’m completely a kaii in nature. The only human element I have is my appearance.

It was true that his looks as a kaii was more closer to a human-being than an actual oni. It was no exaggeration to say that his only advocacy as an oni was his horns.

“So, what happened to Masaroku-san in the end?”

“I don’t know too much about it. I was away from his house for a while at that time. When I came back home, he was already dead. According to the rumours, he seemed to be massacred by the kaii he called his friends.”

Tendou lowered his gaze sorrowfully.

It may have been ten or hundreds of years ago, but for him, it was the past he still couldn’t overcome. As a proof, he treasured and protected the Collected Records left by his master, and committed to managing it.

“Come to think of it, Tendou-san. I wanted to ask you, but you met me when I was a child, didn’t you?

Tendou looked surprised by hearing Shouma’s words.

“Oh? By any chance, do you remember it?”

“I remembered, but only some parts of it. I mean…your reaction! You knew from the beginning when I took a step into your office, that I was the kid from that time!”

The mysterious man at his grandmother’s house. The horns on his forehead and the sweet fragrance.

He could understand it now, it was the scent of sake.

Right after that, Shouma received the protection charm from his grandmother. And was told never to take it off. It must have been made by Tendou, given the timing. Now that he thought about it, it was no wonder that Tendou was able to fix the disrupted amulet so easily. He made it in the first place.

“Does that mean you took three million yen from my grandmother too?”

“No, I made it for free, of course! She was a precious descendant of my master.”

“Then what about me?”

“Shouma… I wanted to tease you a little bit…” He smiled, without any shame.

Teasing or not, three million yen was a bit over exaggerating, At least, thirteen-thousand yen maybe. No, even that was a bit too much. Common sense tells him that three thousand would be a rip-off too.

Tendou was looking at Shouma with a smile on his face.

“So, you can leave anytime you want.”

“Huh?”

“Shouma, you had no debt to begin with. The new amulet is free too, and of course I’ll pay for your part-time job up until now.”

It was there that Shouma learned that ’leaving’ was meant for his unusual part-time job.

“So, it would be better for you Shouma, if you stay out of this. As I said before, you’ve got no benefit from getting involved in our side. There might be something like you experienced yesterday, in the near future, too. That’s why…”

“Tendou-san. I told you before, didn’t I? I’ll decide for myself how and who to get involved with.”

Tendou blinked at that line.

“I’m glad I’m out of debt, thank you very much! But I’m not going to quit my part-time job!”

“No, but…”

“Tendou-san, so are you asking me to just die by the roadside?”

In response to these words, Tendou also held his tongue.

“Because if I quit this job, I won’t find another one. Even if it has the best paying rate, it would suck. I can barely make ends meet with my other part-time job I have at the moment. If Tendou-san’s place is gone, it will be a serious damage for me!”

Shouma crossed his arms. As if he was trying to underline that he was unbending in this subject.

“And, if you are driving me out? I’ll transform into a ghost after I die to haunt you!”

Tendou burst into laughter, even his shoulders shook violently.

“Hahaha. Alright, I surrender. Even if I force you out of the office, it seems you are just going to be involved with the kaii nonetheless. If that’s the case, it’s better for you to stay where I can see you and come to the rescue. If I were to let you die helplessly, my master would be very angry with me.”

“Tendou-san!”

“But this doesn’t mean any special treatment! I need you to keep giving it your all and help me catch more and more kaii.”

“Right on it!”

To Shouma’s answer, Tendou’s lips lifted while his face transmitted an unusually joyous expression.

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