Chapter 154: Trial

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After eating, they would train. When they were tired of training, they would discuss spells.

After a few days of this, before they received a reply from Koyasan and the Kyushu Shinto Lord, Itomi Sayaka suddenly contacted Minamoto Kiyomoto.

“My dearest:”

“I have one last mission to do in the Shinto sect. Please find a reason through the government to take Yuki out for a few days.”

“Any reason will do, as long as it doesn’t make my parents suspicious.”

“I plan to take her on a trial, to see the world. It would be best if you came along. As far as I know, you’ve barely left the Divine Medium’s side. You’re still a baby in swaddling clothes.”

“Your ex-girlfriend, Sayaka~”

Minamoto Kiyomoto thought about the letter and decided to go with them.

“No,” the Divine Medium refused without thinking.

“Still a baby in swaddling clothes,” Himegami Izayoi, who was on the side, read a sentence from the letter with cadence.

“You have a third woman,” Rikka sighed.

Minamoto Kiyomoto glanced at the white-haired girl and said to Kamibayashi Miko, “Miss Kamibayashi, please allow me to state my reasons for going.”

Kamibayashi Miko was silent for a moment, then glanced at him, “Speak.”

“Sayaka and Michiko are important combat forces. We can’t lose them. That’s one; with them and me, we’ll hardly encounter any danger. That’s two; three, I want to go on a trial. I’ve made a lot of progress in my spells recently, but if I don’t actually use them, I feel like there’s a layer between us.”

“Four,” Himegami Izayoi added with a smile, folding the letter, “to protect Itomi Yuki.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto turned his gaze to her. Before he could speak, the Hokkaido Miko spoke first.

“So there are four,” she said, nodding as if she understood something.

Minamoto Kiyomoto’s mouth was open. He paused for a second, then suddenly didn’t want to speak anymore.

He looked at Kamibayashi Miko, waiting for her approval.

Kamibayashi Miko didn’t speak.

“Let him go,” Himegami Izayoi threw the letter to Minamoto Kiyomoto. “Compared to dealing with yokai, what’s this little danger? Even Auntie Ayako isn’t as strict as you.”

Hearing her mention his mother, Minamoto Kiyomoto remembered that he hadn’t told her about the “Coral Demon Moth” yet.

Kamibayashi Miko thought for a moment and sighed, “If you want to go, then go. But I’ll be watching you the whole time.”

At this point, her tone changed to one of warning, “What you shouldn’t say, what you can do, and what you can’t do, you remember clearly.”

“I know what I can and can’t do. What shouldn’t I say?” Minamoto Kiyomoto was puzzled.

“Cursing.”

“…I forgot about that.”

“It’s okay if you forgot,” Kamibayashi Miko said faintly. “You’ve never remembered my words anyway.”

“That’s a false accusation!”

The next day, Minamoto Kiyomoto left Hakusan Shrine alone.

Inside Hakusan Shrine, before he had even left the secret realm, Kamibayashi Miko was already watching him through a shikigami.

She always felt uneasy. Even when Minamoto Kiyomoto was crossing the road, she was worried that he would meet with a mishap.

“If you control him too tightly, it will be counterproductive,” Himegami Izayoi reminded with a smile on the side.

Kamibayashi Miko ignored her completely.

Rikka was “learning” on the side and came to a conclusion: everyone had their own way of getting along with Minamoto Kiyomoto.

‘How do I get along with him?’ she thought.

◇

Minamoto Kiyomoto found the government of Chiba Prefecture and had them send a notice to the school. The school then sent a notice to the Itomi family, and Itomi Yuki was taken away on the grounds of “exchange study.”

“Is there something urgent?” Itomi Yuki asked Minamoto Kiyomoto, who was in a tracksuit.

Minamoto Kiyomoto unzipped his tracksuit, reached inside, and pulled out Itomi Sayaka’s letter.

“See for yourself,” he handed the letter over.

Itomi Yuki took the letter. By the side of Tokyo Bay in the cold season, she could clearly feel the residual body temperature on the letter.

For some reason, she suddenly wanted to smell the letter and see if it had Minamoto Kiyomoto’s scent.

‘How could I have such a perverted thought!’ she was embarrassed and annoyed in her heart, but she unfolded the letter as if nothing had happened.

Minamoto Kiyomoto waited for five seconds, then said, “That’s about it. I’ll go with you.”

“My dearest?” Itomi Yuki’s gaze moved from the letter, and she gave Minamoto Kiyomoto a sweet smile.

“Is this your new name for me?” Minamoto Kiyomoto was stunned. “Although I don’t care what you call me, this kind of thing that will cause misunderstandings…”

Itomi Yuki pinched the letter with her fingers and held it up to Minamoto Kiyomoto like a wanted poster.

“‘My dearest’?” she pointed at the beginning of the letter and repeated.

“…Your sister is just a flirtatious big sister who likes to tease innocent boys. You should know that.”

“If I find out that you still have a relationship with my sister—” Itomi Yuki glared at him and put the letter in her schoolbag.

How should I understand this sentence?

‘Forget it,’ Minamoto Kiyomoto thought. ‘Listen to Miko and talk less.’

“Let’s go. You go home and change first,” he said.

“I have a question. I’ve always wanted to ask you. Why are you wearing a tracksuit?”

“I just grabbed it.”

“It’s very ugly.”

“I did it on purpose. If I’m too handsome, people will associate me with me.”

“You’re really optimistic. Your looks are only slightly above average.”

“The second young lady’s standards are really high. By the way, what do you consider handsome?”

The back of his head hurt a little.

“This is where you’re lacking. You’re always talking about looks. It’s so boring. You’re just like those shallow men who greet every girl they see.”

“…”

“Why aren’t you talking?”

“It’s cold,” Minamoto Kiyomoto breathed on his hands.

Itomi Yuki hummed happily and smugly, and with her straight legs under her school skirt, she walked towards home.

Minamoto Kiyomoto waited for her on a walking path not far from the Itomi house.

The soapberry trees, which were used as street trees, had turned golden yellow. The camphor trees, which were still green, had their black fruits fallen all over the ground.

It was a day that was both late autumn and early winter.

“Alright, let’s go,” Itomi Yuki walked over.

Minamoto Kiyomoto withdrew his gaze from the leaves and sized up her attire to see if there was anything that would reveal her identity.

“Why are you also wearing a tracksuit? Isn’t it very ugly?” he said.

“What can I do? The only clothes at home that can hide my identity are tracksuits. I’ve erased the name,” Itomi Yuki was a little embarrassed.

Minamoto Kiyomoto’s tracksuit was blue, and hers was red. All the high school students in Japan wore similar tracksuits, but at this time, perhaps because they were outside of school, she felt a sense of shyness as if they were wearing couple’s clothes.

“Let’s go,” Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t waste any more words.

The weather was clear, and the white clouds were arranged like fish scales.

Minamoto Kiyomoto flew all the way, leaving Honshu and coming to Kyushu.

On the surface of the Osumi Strait, Itomi Sayaka, Yagyu Michiko, and Hanyu Chika were chatting.

“Sayaka,” Hanyu Chika urged, “when Minamoto Kiyomoto comes later, you must seize the opportunity. The Divine Medium and the Ise Miko probably won’t come this time.”

“What if he’s just sending Yuki?” Itomi Sayaka was still in a windbreaker and skirt.

“Why don’t you two just knock him out? Sayaka, you sleep with him first.”

“Sister Chika,” Yagyu Michiko’s pale face flushed.

Itomi Sayaka knew her friend was joking and was about to expose her when suddenly, a strong wind blew in her face, the seawater churned, and a red-gold dragon swooped down.

Close to the sea surface, the high-speed dragon stopped in an instant and hovered in front of the three of them.

The red-gold dragon scales refracted the sunlight, sacred and charming.

“Big sister,” on the dragon’s back, Itomi Yuki spoke.

“Yuki, long time no see,” a smile appeared on Itomi Sayaka’s face, and then her eyes suddenly lit up. “I haven’t ridden a yokai yet!”

Saying this, she prepared to jump up.

The red-gold dragon flapped its wings, creating a hurricane, and a high wall-like wave rose from the sea surface.

Hanyu Chika’s divine power flickered. It was like walking in a storm. She was shocked by the terror of the yokai.

“My sister can ride, but I can’t?” Itomi Sayaka waved her hand and threw the huge wave into the distance.

With a loud bang, the waves of the sea rose and fell.

“I’m a person, not a horse. If it weren’t to save time, I wouldn’t carry anyone,” the dragon’s voice was clear and pleasant, making one feel good just by listening to it.

“Big sister, don’t mess around,” Itomi Yuki said on the dragon’s back.

“My sister, my boyfriend, they’re not mine anymore. I’m so pitiful,” Itomi Sayaka said pitifully.

Itomi Yuki’s face was full of unhappiness, and a strange feeling arose in her heart.

“Time is tight. The Coral Demon Moth will appear in Kanto at any time. Let’s get down to business,” the dragon ignored her sister’s joke.

“Are you coming with us?” Hanyu Chika confirmed.

The dragon nodded.

“Then I’ll have to trouble Minamoto-kun to protect Yuki.”

“No problem.”

Itomi Sayaka glanced at her best friend. This seemed to be different from what they had agreed on at the beginning. How did it become a matter of setting her up with her own sister?

She didn’t have the mood to care about these things. Their time was indeed very tight.

“This mission is to find Amatsumara,” she said.

“Amatsumara?” The dragon suddenly shrank, and a handsome and tall figure, carrying the slender Itomi Yuki, landed on the sea surface.

Amatsumara was in Kyushu, so there was no need to travel any further. Minamoto Kiyomoto retracted his demon form.

“Can you do it on your own?” he asked Itomi Yuki.

“Mhm,” Itomi Yuki released her misty white divine power and stood steadily on the sea surface.

Minamoto Kiyomoto let go of her and continued to ask Itomi Sayaka, “What are you looking for Amatsumara for?”

“You took one of the Demon Dragon Nails that control yokai. The remaining seven are very difficult to control town-level yokai, so the Shinto sect is looking for him to see if he has a way to enhance the power of the Demon Dragon Nails. This mission was given to me.”

“What about the other piece of the Yellow Springs Demonic Dragon’s remains?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked.

During the Izumo competition, the Shinto sect member who had turned into the “Yellow Springs Demonic Dragon,” his body was taken away by the Shinto sect, and that piece of remains was naturally recovered.

“The people in the sect are still fantasizing that someone can turn the demonic dragon into a demon body,” Itomi Sayaka said sarcastically.

Minamoto Kiyomoto was indifferent to these things. He sighed and said, “Finding Amatsumara is no trial.”

“You’ve already come. You’re not going back, are you?” Hanyu Chika said.

Minamoto Kiyomoto gave her a strange look, feeling that something was not right with her. The two of them had never spoken like this before.

Has she forgotten the grudge of her brother? Or is there some conspiracy this time?
Thinking of a conspiracy, Itomi Yuki was brought here by him. Kamibayashi Miko and Himegami Izayoi were not here. It was a good opportunity to deal with him.

He trusted Itomi Sayaka, but one could never be too careful.

He didn’t pat the back of his head. What if she didn’t plan to harm him? It would create a rift in their already solid alliance.

“Then let’s go,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a smile, his arm around Itomi Yuki’s waist.

If it really was a conspiracy, it would indeed be a trial.

Itomi Yuki, who was being held by him, her face turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

She twisted her body uncomfortably, but she didn’t break free.

“What are you doing?” Itomi Sayaka was stunned for a moment, then stared at Minamoto Kiyomoto, whose hand was on her sister’s waist, and asked.

“Isn’t this good?” Hanyu Chika pulled her friend. “With Minamoto-kun’s protection, you can also rest assured.”

Itomi Sayaka gave her friend a strange second look.

Can she rest assured?

Minamoto Kiyomoto also gave Hanyu Chika a second look, feeling that things were indeed not right. His hand on Itomi Yuki’s waist tightened a little.

The force on her waist was not heavy, but Itomi Yuki felt as if her breathing was blocked.

Amidst the sharp pain in the back of his head, Minamoto Kiyomoto, carrying Itomi Yuki, followed Itomi Sayaka and the others towards Kyushu.

It was almost December, but the lowest temperature in Kagoshima was still above 10°C. It wouldn’t feel cold wearing a tracksuit.

Amatsumara was not from Kyushu. In order to forge divine artifacts, he stayed in Sakurajima, Kagoshima.

Above Sakurajima, volcanic clouds floated all year round.

More than a hundred years ago, a giant lava turtle crawled out of the crater. With one spit, a thick fog shot up eight thousand meters into the sky, and the lava that flowed out exceeded 3 billion tons.

The nearby villages were swallowed up, and the sea was filled in.

Between Sakurajima and the Osumi Peninsula, a connection was formed.

In the days without yokai, the wind blowing from Sakurajima still carried black lava dust, and smoke up to two or three thousand meters high was spewed out.

When the five of them boarded Sakurajima from the bottom of the sea, Minamoto Kiyomoto and Itomi Yuki had already put on their masks.

Minamoto Kiyomoto’s was a fox mask that matched Kamibayashi Miko’s. Itomi Yuki was wearing her sister’s previous white cat mask.

Along the coast of Sakurajima, the rocks were strange and rugged, all formed after the lava solidified.

The sky was full of smoke, and the air was full of the smell of sulfur.

The temperature was not high. The heat was collected by Amatsumara and used to melt and cast divine artifacts. Therefore, the outer periphery of the volcano was also open to the public as a tourist attraction.

The five of them entered the volcano through a secret passage.

At first, it was pitch black. Then the temperature gradually rose, and the sound of flowing lava could be heard. Finally, they could even see the orange-red light of the fire.

Itomi Yuki looked at everything along the way with curiosity. Minamoto Kiyomoto had also never seen such a “petty” spectacle.

The firelight became brighter and brighter. They came to the inside of the volcano, stood on a cliff, and below their feet was the all-consuming lava.

Feeling the volcanic divine energy that occupied everything, Minamoto Kiyomoto’s divine power circulated faster, and the red-black remains of the Hakone fire dragon in his sleeve emitted a dark red light.

“You have to jump in,” Itomi Sayaka teased her sister.

Itomi Yuki’s small face was flushed, it was unclear if it was from the reflection of the lava or because the temperature was too high.

The five of them jumped into the lava. Minamoto Kiyomoto propped up a blue qi shield to protect himself and Itomi Yuki. The remains of the Hakone fire dragon began to heat up.

It was all red in front of them. The five of them, like swimming fish, plunged straight down.

After descending for more than a thousand meters, they suddenly left the “water surface,” and a cold air hit them.

In this cold air, in the very center of the volcano, a light more dazzling than the sun was burning a piece of yokai remains.

“Fire up for half a quarter of an hour!”

“Blow the bellows after one minute and twenty-one seconds!”

“Bring in a new batch of shikigami!”

Countless figures and shikigami came and went at the bottom of the volcano, a scene of bustling activity.

Snakes, cows, half-human half-snake, children, old women, cows, lizards, all kinds of shikigami, in circles, in layers, stood on the cliff wall, spitting fire spells at the dazzling light.

The practitioners wearing the embroidered Amatsumara family crest would occasionally throw materials into the firelight, sometimes record, and sometimes command the shikigami.

The five of them floated in the “air.” Above their heads was a thousand-meter-thick layer of lava, and below their feet was the scene before them.

Someone saw them, their face changed, and they handed the pen and paper in their hand to another person and flew over.

“What are you doing here again,” before he had even gotten close, that person said with a grim face.

“I’m looking for Amatsumara,” Itomi Sayaka said.

“The transaction is already over. The Amatsumara clan will not—”

“I’m looking for Amatsumara,” Itomi Sayaka interrupted him and repeated.

That person’s face changed. He looked at the other four, his gaze lingering on Yagyu Michiko’s pipa for a few seconds.

“Follow me,” he said.

Amatsumara was even deeper.

Minamoto Kiyomoto estimated that their current position was probably level with the ground, and they were now beginning to enter the seabed part.

After passing through two more “forging rooms” like the one just now, they finally saw Amatsumara.

It was a pitch-black dark room, and the surrounding walls could not be seen clearly.

He sat upright by a jar. Above the jar, a drop of liquid like the night sky was suspended, about to drip but not dripping. It was the starry sky liquid that had been offered to Himegami Izayoi at the Summer Festival.

“The transaction should be over,” he looked at Itomi Sayaka.

Itomi Sayaka put her hands in the pockets of her windbreaker and said, “It’s a bit despicable, but I’m threatening you.”

Amatsumara lowered his eyes and said nothing.

“It’s not a difficult matter,” Itomi Sayaka spoke again. “How to enhance the power of the Demon Dragon Nail?”

At this moment, the originally pitch-black dark room was suddenly illuminated by colorful lights.

Eight practitioners holding divine artifacts walked out of the darkness.

“Did you think I would always be threatened by the Shinto sect?” Amatsumara looked at the five of them through his lowered eyelids.

He slowly stood up, and his volcanic ash-like divine power scattered in the darkness.

“Originally, I was threatened by that kid Minamoto Kiyomoto and had to deal with the Coral Demon Moth. Who knew you would deliver yourselves to my door today? Today, I’ll take you down, and the remnants of the Yagyu clan, and make up for my mistake to Her Majesty.”

Boom!

It was as if the seawater was pouring in, and also as if the snow mountain was collapsing.

Countless rays of light shot towards the five of them from all directions. The entire seabed seemed to be trembling.