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The senior responded bluntly to the junior’s question.

[How would I know about that?]

It was a perfectly reasonable answer.

Not having seen it with my own eyes, without any materials or clues, never having heard it from the person’s mouth, and not even being near the scene—how could I possibly know?

The senior let out a small sigh as if to say, “What kind of stupid question is that?”

The man flinched at the senior’s sigh and cleared his throat awkwardly to hide his embarrassment.

“Uh, what I mean is, I was just wondering if maybe you accidentally touched some strange thing.”

[Oh, you mean like messing with a seal and releasing it on your own?]

“Yes. That’s right.”

[Well, there is a possibility. Those shrine folks are strangely sloppy in that regard.]

The senior replied, as if agreeing with the man’s logic.

[They don’t work as meticulously with manuals like we do, nor do they have the long-accumulated know-how like temple folks. They just haphazardly pass down practices from generation to generation and kinda follow along. Sure, some shrines are really good, but others… well, they are downright awful.]

It seemed the senior had a lot of grievances about the shrines.

[Some of them are truly skilled, while some you’d think an amateur would do better. Without divine power, they probably couldn’t even make a living and would starve.]

Or they might be attacked and killed by angry ghosts.

The senior paused for a moment after saying that, signaling the man to respond.

“Right. That’s what I’m saying. Since we bought it from a shrine, we had to deal with it somehow, but if that handling was sloppy, isn’t that where the problem lies? It’s always the case that when amateurs get involved, seals get released or complications arise.”

[Hmm, yeah. That makes sense…]

The senior trailed off as if pondering something.

From beyond the smartphone, the sound of a pen tapping on the desk and the regular sound of a pen being capped and uncapped could be heard.

And with that rhythmic sound, the senior, having concluded his thoughts, casually tossed a suggestion to the man.

[Hey, why don’t you contact them and sort it out?]

That suggestion was to reach out directly to the current owner of the villa—who happened to be the shrine.

It could be seen negatively as offloading work onto the junior or positively as giving him a chance to gain experience since he was still inexperienced.

[This could work out well. It’s been a while since you’ve been with the Onmyoji Bureau… It’s about time to start building your connections and getting acquainted with others. I was going to introduce you to my connections and show you how to build a network, but since a good opportunity just came up, let’s start here.]

The Onmyoji Bureau is an agency where onmyojis are associated, getting involved in all sorts of incidents.

When magic-related phenomena are detected through the monitoring devices spread across Japan like a web, they are dispatched, and they also respond to incidents connected to the spirit world, as well as when artifacts or seals are discovered. Additionally, they participate as members during sealing services or rituals at shrines and temples, and they are sent to investigate magical records or divine objects.

It could be described as a powerful government agency dedicated to matters related to ‘magic’ and ‘spirits.’ Naturally, with such a broad scope of responsibility, there was a murderous workload, but the onmyojis within had little grievance about it.

That was simply the duty of the onmyoji.

They obtained the protection of a great power, lived a peaceful and prosperous life, and wielded authority within their reach as a price for it.

Thus, onmyojis proudly declared their identity, took pride in belonging to their collective, and joyfully contributed their all for a bright future of the onmyoji.

But no matter how mentally fortified they were, there were physical limits.

That limit came from the disparity between their broad scope of responsibility and the small number of people within their ranks.

The reason for this was the characteristics of the onmyoji profession, along with their sense of elitism and exclusivity.

Onmyojis, after all, are people who use magic.

To use magic, one must be prepared to pay a horrific and painful cost.

Naturally, very few were willing to take that on.

Moreover, not everyone who did so was accepted.

Onmyojis all thought of themselves as elites, irreplaceable beings.

They possessed abilities unfathomably beyond others. They were all-knowing beings who could foresee the future and look into the past clearly.

Yet their talents were so precious that it felt too trivial to be at the mercy of the government, so to maintain comfort and protection in the present, they chose to extend the ‘grace’ of their onmyōdō to the ‘unqualified.’

Most onmyojis were steeped in this sense of elitism.

And with that sense of elitism, discrimination naturally followed.

『 Warriors are nothing but barbaric beings who kill people with swords. Their sword skills can make them decent hunting dogs, but by the world’s logic, they can never rise to high positions. 』

『 Wizards are a lot of lowly folks who have no pride as they kneel before ‘foreign devils’ and lick shoes to learn magic. Their skills could be useful, but with such low roots and pride, they are incomparable to onmyojis. 』

『 Summoners are no different than caretakers of somewhat special animals. The ease and power with which onmyojis handle their familiar spirits are far more difficult and formidable, so those folks’ skills don’t measure up to onmyojis. 』

…

…

…

Onmyojis looked down upon other capable individuals with discriminatory eyes and maintained a high-handed attitude towards those who lacked power…

In other words, those who ‘could not obtain power.’

And that high-handedness was also reflected in those who aspired to become onmyojis.

It was a matter of course.

Someone who cannot learn onmyōdō is just an ordinary person without power or skills.

They were still ‘unselected’ insignificant beings.

Onmyojis meticulously filtered potential applicants like a sieve, only accepting a handful into their ranks. Those who made it through the brutal conditions were caught in the mindset of, ‘I became an onmyoji despite these conditions, so I must be a special person,’ and, having that thought, they treated others with a blatantly superior attitude.

It was a vicious cycle.

And yet, onmyojis and the Onmyoji Bureau could thrive in power because, as they say, their abilities were incredibly valuable.

[ Some decent folks among the shrine people are worth being friendly with. Of course, most of them are inept, though. ]

And they were friendly and accommodating to those they deemed ‘worthy.’

Onmyojis, burdened with their strong sense of elitism, treated those they recognized with special regard, often employing their own power and that of the Onmyoji Bureau to facilitate things for them. From small benefits in business to overlooking criminal activities, they offered various supports.

This was what they referred to as ‘consideration exchanged among refined individuals.’

[First, I’ll connect you, so meet them. If you have recognizable skills, you can get close, but if not, you can just act like a piece on a chessboard, right? Don’t feel too burdened by it.]

Of course, the standards were high—very high—making it difficult to be recognized as their ‘connections.’

If one was not recognized, they would naturally be treated as nothing more than a hunting dog or chess piece, and failing even that would have them disregarded as mere pebbles on the roadside, completely erased from their minds.

[Just wait a moment. I’ll have a word first and then call you.]

The senior said this with an excited tone and abruptly hung up without another word.

How much time had passed?

ジイイイーン—

With a vibrating sound, the man’s smartphone rang.

[Hello, this is the next Shinto Priest of Saigo Shrine. I’m calling after hearing from Onmyoji Shiraki Naokatsu.]

“Thank you for calling.”

When the man answered, he heard the voice of a young man.

The way he spoke indicated his youth, but his oddly resonant and rough voice reminded one of a wolf with a scar near its eye.

“Mr. Next Shinto Priest of Saigo Shrine. I’m not sure if you’ve been informed in advance, but the reason for my call is that there has been an incident.”

[Ah, I was informed by Onmyoji Shiraki Naokatsu beforehand. I was told you have a troublesome situation. By coincidence, I happened to have an issue arise at this very moment, and I was wondering if it might be related.]

The man, identifying himself as the next Shinto Priest, said with a tinge of sympathy in his voice.

[I had planned to host a party after purchasing a villa with a notorious reputation and confirming its safety following purification, but… ]

The next Shinto Priest began his explanation of the current situation.

He explained how he had purchased the villa and conducted purification.

After the exorcism, he held a gathering with friends, where one individual did something strange and became possessed by a ghost.

He detailed how, despite their attempts to resolve the situation, that person fled into the mountains.

They wanted to find him and perform an exorcism before matters escalated.

He even mentioned that the fleeing individual was a celebrity frequently seen on TV.

After listening to the next Shinto Priest’s words, the man spoke.

“Don’t worry. I have him protected.”

[Oh, really! That’s a relief. Thank you so much.]

The next Shinto Priest expressed his gratitude, seeming truly moved by the man’s assurance of safely securing Yasaki.

The man closed his mouth and savored the thanks, then slowly opened his mouth again.

“However, it seems issues may have arisen since a ghost possessed him…”

[Ah, that’s true, but it’s not a major problem.]

“Hmm. Would it be alright if I came to check on the situation?”

In short, it was a question of, ‘I’m thinking of investigating your villa. What do you think?’

Interpreted maliciously, it could imply, ‘If you’re making such mistakes, then your skills are questionable. I’ll verify it personally and intervene if necessary.’

Yet the next Shinto Priest didn’t take offense at the man’s words.

Instead, he responded with delight.

[Certainly! I will eagerly await your visit.]

The voice on the smartphone brimmed with excitement, clearly looking forward to his arrival.

 

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