「Yes, I recruited them.」
When I left the facility where Saijo-san had been, I called Hime. She happened to be on her way to my house, so we decided to talk there.
When I asked about the White Keeper organization, Hime replied as if it were the most natural thing to do.
「Specifically, we took in 25 full members who are explorers, 13 support members, and one part-time worker handling odd jobs.」
「That many? That’s several times the size of our group.」
「Of course. They’re higher-ranked and more famous as an EPO organization. They had more members initially, but some were recruited elsewhere or retired, so that’s how the numbers settled.」
「So, are we diving into dungeons with 29 people from now on?」
「Of course not. Their base of operations is in the Kanto region. They’ll continue working there with a certain someone’s help.」
A certain someone—she couldn’t mean ‘that person’, right?
I glanced at the woman sitting in my house, eating curry with Tuna like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Her blonde, drill hair alone screamed ‘ojousama’, and she truly was an ojousama through and through.
Oshino Hi.
Hime’s older half-sister and cousin, since their mothers were sisters.
「This curry is exquisite. The curry itself is remarkable, but the lassi is simply divine as well.」
「…hmm, curry is supreme.」
「Ara, Tuna-san, it seems we share similar tastes. Would you mind calling the chef for me?」
「…If you want seconds, Tuna will have some too.」
I couldn’t help but think, ‘What is she even doing here?’
For the record, the “chef” in question, my mom, wasn’t home. I was the one who made the curry.
Using my cooking skills, I had prepared it with magic curry roux canteen, dungeon-grown onions, Almirage rabbit meat, and some umamushrooms. There was no way it could taste bad.
The lassi, too, was homemade with milk and yogurt made from the magic canteen, resulting in another perfect creation.
But that didn’t mean I was about to be summoned to the table.
「So, what’s going on here?」
「Allow me to explain.」
The person who spoke up was… Akashi-san?
「It’s been a while, Ichino-sama.」
「Ah, it’s you, Kimiyo-san.」
The Akashi-san who handles clerical work for us is one of six identical siblings, and this particular Akashi Kimiyo is the elder sister of Akashi Shoujo, who works for us.
Since they all look identical, I can’t tell them apart.
「To be direct, Hi-ojousama’s party, Tenka Muteki, has joined the EPO organization Tenka Musou, where Hime-ojousama serves as director. Following that, they merged with the members of White Keeper and will be operating primarily in the Kanto region.」
「Why the sudden change?」
「It’s for mutual benefit.」
Hime, looking slightly annoyed, answered.
「That idiot’s—her mother, my aunt—cut off her financial support.」
「What? Why?」
「Because the gap between us became too big. For someone like Hi or her mother, it’s easy to investigate the members of Team Messiah. After that, they must have decided she wasn’t good enough to stand next to King. They probably thought the daughter of the younger sister was more capable.」
「Just because of that?」
「Yes, just because of that. The name Hi* was given to her so she could stand beside Daddy, King. It’s a much clearer stance than just naming her Hime because she’s King’s daughter.」
TN: Her name might also mean queen, concubine, consort, or empress aside from princess.
So that’s what her name meant.
In other words, she swallowed her pride and “sold herself” because she was out of money?
This ojousama?
Doesn’t that seem out of character?
「Ara, I didn’t join this partnership because I was troubled by a lack of funds, you know.」
Hi corrected me, delicately referring to her joining under Hime’s organization as a “business partnership” while holding her curry spoon.
「When a little brother is in need, it’s the elder sister’s duty to extend a helping hand.」
「Little brother? Don’t you mean little sister?」
「Ara, I’m referring to you, Ichino Taira.」
She addressed me by my full name.
This time she didn’t mess up my name.
Wait, me!?
「Ara? Why, of course. Since you’ve married Hime, that makes you my little brother, even if only in name.」
「How do you even know about that?」
「With my resources, it was easy to uncover.」
Wasn’t that supposed to be classified government information?
「Between the law on dungeon explorers that Minister Uematsu’s faction is currently trying to push through the Diet, and the lovey-dovey bragging messages I’ve been receiving from Hime, I pieced it all together.」
「Hime!?」
「Hey, I didn’t say it directly!」
Wait, these two communicate over messaging apps?
And they’re close enough to discuss personal matters?
Could they actually be pretty good sisters despite appearances?
「So, what’s this about doing it for my sake?」
「To save the elf girl’s world. You need information for that, don’t you? But you and your team alone don’t have enough manpower or connections to do it properly. Am I wrong?」
「Well… I guess….」
「That’s why we’re offering to help you.」
「But the government’s already assisting Tuna with the investigation—」
「No, they aren’t.」
Hi declared this with utter certainty.
「The Japanese government has no obligation to go that far. Sure, they might pass along information that comes their way, but they won’t actively investigate.」
Hi explained it in detail.
Tuna’s unique value lies in being the only elf in the world and her ability to issue quests.
While saving her world or returning her there could earn goodwill from her, the benefits for the Japanese government are minimal. Connecting worlds brings nothing but complications.
From their perspective, it’s much easier to keep Tuna comfortable here, leveraging her quest-issuing ability while avoiding any troublesome entanglements.
Hime didn’t deny Hi’s analysis.
「We did need capable personnel. Even if the workload increases, our capacity to handle it will improve as well. And besides, while I’m putting up with Hi—」
「Putting up with me? What exactly do you mean by that?」
「Akashi Kimiyo is excellent. She’ll manage the White Keeper members flawlessly.」
Ignoring Hi’s interjection, Hime continued.
「In any case, Taira, you wouldn’t want to see others suffering because of an incident you were involved in, would you? Accepting the White Keeper members was inevitable. And having someone to manage them was essential.」
Hime’s words seemed to see right through me.
I don’t think of myself as some saint, but… it did ease a burden on my mind, at least a little.
「Hi-san, I leave the White Keeper members in your capable hands.」
「Of course. Oh, and I’ll grant you the special privilege of calling me ‘Oneesama.’」
What? No, thank you.
※ ※ ※
「So, that’s what happened.」
After Hi left, Milk and Ayame joined us, switching places with her. The four of us explored the PD as I filled them in on what transpired.
Both Milk and Ayame had been concerned about the fate of Saijo-san and the White Keeper full members. They seemed relieved to hear that everyone was safe.
We were currently grinding levels on the 22nd floor, a recreation of the Tenshiba Dungeon.
Milk precisely aimed her shots at the Bronze Lizardman, hitting it squarely in the forehead.
Her marksmanship seemed to have improved even further.
I wanted to stay focused on the battle, but something was nagging at me since a while ago.
「Ayame, what are you doing?」
Milk asked.
Ayame was repeatedly putting her hand in and out of the pocket of her bag beneath her robe.
Her attention was clearly on whatever was inside.
What’s in there?
「Ehto, it’s nothing… no, actually, it is something.」
So there is something.
It seemed like something she found hard to share with us.
After a moment’s hesitation, Ayame finally pulled a piece of paper from her bag. It was shaped like a person.
「That’s a katashiro, isn’t it?」
Hime was the one to identify it.
I didn’t recognize the term, but the shape was familiar—it was one of those paper figures that onmyoji use in rituals.
「Ayame, are you an onmyoji?」
「No, not officially. My grandmother was knowledgeable about that kind of thing and said I had some talent for it, but… I can barely do anything myself.」
Now that she mentioned it, Ayame had said before that it was her grandmother who first sealed her curse.
「The only time I ever managed to successfully create a shikigami using a katashiro, it disappeared almost immediately.」
「Even succeeding once is impressive.」
In a world where magic and dungeons exist, it wouldn’t be surprising if onmyoji existed as well.
Onmyoji Girl Ayame, huh?
「My grandmother called me yesterday. She thought that maybe I’d be able to control a shikigami better inside a dungeon. But I wasn’t sure if I should share something like this with all of you…」
That makes sense.
If a random girl suddenly told you, ‘Oh, by the way, I’m kind of an onmyoji! I’ve even summoned shikigami before—not that I can now,’ you’d think she was either joking or out of her mind.
But we knew Ayame.
「That’s amazing! Show us!」
Hime’s face lit up with excitement.
Given her current ninja-like appearance, it wasn’t hard to imagine she harbored some admiration for onmyoji as well.
「Do onmyoji use some kind of spell? Like rin, pyō, tō, sha, kai, jin, retsu, zai, zen?」
Hime deftly formed intricate hand seals as she spoke.
Where did she even learn to do that?
It was probably anime-inspired, but her accuracy was uncanny.
「That’s called the Nine Syllables Protection Method. I’ve heard of it, but I’m just a beginner. All I can do is imbue a katashiro with power, like this.」
Ayame held the katashiro in her hand and threw it forward.
The paper figure stopped mid-air.
Is this an onmyoji technique!?
But just as I thought that, the paper fluttered gently to the ground.
A failure, probably.
「Ugh, I guess even in a dungeon, I still can’t do it.」
Ayame sounded disappointed.
「Don’t worry, Ayame. You were amazing up until that point—I thought it was going to work.」
「Thanks, Milk-chan.」
Honestly, I thought so too.
The fact that it stopped in mid-air meant some kind of power was at work.
But Hime wasn’t ready to give up.
「Why not consult a specialist?」
「A specialist? Do you know a practicing onmyoji?」
「Not an onmyoji, but we do know someone who’s probably well-versed in that kind of thing.」
Ah, she must mean that deity.
If anyone would know about onmyoji, it’d be her.
Next Chapter: 「Teach Us, Mikoto-sensei!」
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