Chapter 29: Explanation

“Miss Noa, are you hurt?” Minamoto Kiyomoto helped Amamiya Noa up, feeling apologetic.

This matter was because of him.

“No,” Amamiya Noa stood up and gave him a grateful look. “Thank you.”

“Sister!” Amamiya Mari replaced Minamoto Kiyomoto and supported Amamiya Noa.

“Noa-nee!” Asamiya Sakura also gathered around.

Minamoto Kiyomoto, who had been pushed aside, looked around the carriage. After confirming that no one was injured, he walked back to his seat.

Kamibayashi Miko was already sitting there, her face nonchalant.

“Shintoism is too rampant!” someone cursed loudly.

“Fortunately, it was the third group that came. If it were the first or second group, we would probably have died on the way.”

“These beasts, they are clearly cultivators too, but they are always holding us back!”

With a rumble, the Odakyu Romancecar continued to head towards Mount Hakone without hesitation.

“Do you understand the philosophy of the third group?” Himemiya Izayoi asked Minamoto Kiyomoto leisurely.

“Yes, it’s not so bad…”

Before Minamoto Kiyomoto could finish, he noticed that Kamibayashi Miko was staring at him.

“What’s with that look?” he asked her with confusion.

“The look of cleaning up the house.”

“Wait for me to finish—it’s not so bad, it’s just that I’m different from them.”

“If you were like them, I would have to righteously disown you.”

“Miss Kamibayashi, we’re not married yet.”

“Didn’t you say that I am the mother on your path of cultivation?” Kamibayashi Miko looked confused.

“…”

“Concentrate on subjugating the yokai for now. After we get back from Hakone, I will report to the Ogosho and launch an extermination campaign against Shintoism,” Kamibayashi Miko suddenly changed the subject. “That leader of the ninth group has already targeted you. We can’t let her live.”

Her expression was calm, and her tone did not change much, as if she were picking up a pen and lightly drawing a line through the name ‘leader of the ninth group’.

“Thank you,” a warm current surged in Minamoto Kiyomoto’s heart.

“Silly child, why are you thanking me?” Kamibayashi Miko’s beautiful and otherworldly face was full of motherly kindness.

“…I understand. You just want me to hate you. It’s useless. I love you to the point of no return.”

Kamibayashi Miko was noncommittal. After saying her five sentences, she rested her elbow on the windowsill and looked out the window at the receding scenery, just like she would in class.

“Everyone’s willpower is much stronger than I thought,” Minamoto Kiyomoto’s gaze turned to the cultivators in the carriage.

On one side was taking the ‘Romancecar’ to their deaths; on the other side was living a happy life with a high salary. In such a situation, only one person had defected.

“Have you forgotten?” Himemiya Izayoi said. “When one’s capacity awakens, one needs a guide. The guide can know this person’s character, so most cultivators are decent people.”

“Then what’s the deal with the anti-human cultivators?”

“Didn’t you say it yourself? Humans have multiple sides. And having a good character doesn’t mean you won’t turn bad. There are many flowers, and some bloom out of season. How much more so for people… I almost forgot, I swore I wouldn’t talk to you again.”

“Swore? When was that?” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at her with confusion.

“When you said ‘I love you to the point of no return’.”

“Big sister, big sister Izayoi,” Minamoto Kiyomoto pulled Himemiya Izayoi’s sleeve.

Himemiya Izayoi pulled her sleeve back and looked out the window.

“Big~ sis~ter~” Minamoto Kiyomoto pulled her sleeve again.

Himemiya Izayoi sighed as if she couldn’t do anything about him, “Tell me, what else do you want to know?”

“I don’t want to know anything. I just want you to talk to me, big sister.”

“You still have some conscience,” Himemiya Izayoi poked Minamoto Kiyomoto’s chest with her fan. “Your mother Kamibayashi, is she as good to you as I am?”

“Of course not… wait, you—”

“Hahaha!” Himemiya Izayoi laughed and fell towards Kamibayashi Miko, their two beautiful bodies colliding.

Minamoto Kiyomoto pretended to be angry, left his seat, and came to Amamiya Noa’s group of three.

Amamiya Noa’s mood had already recovered. She had experienced the line between life and death six times.

“Miss Kamibayashi said just now that after we get back from Hakone, she will ask the Ogosho to order an extermination of Shintoism, with a focus on that leader of the ninth group,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

“That’s great!” Amamiya Mari clenched her fists excitedly.

“Thank you, Lady Divine Miko,” Amamiya Noa nodded slightly in Kamibayashi Miko’s direction.

“Miss Noa, may I ask about the ‘battle’?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked.

“The school teaches these things very clearly,” the girl named Asamiya Sakura said.

“I heard!” before Minamoto Kiyomoto could speak, the younger sister, Amamiya Mari, said, “Brother Minamoto is an ordinary person found by Lady Divine Miko. He has only cultivated for a month.”

“A month?” Asamiya Sakura’s gaze became sympathetic, thinking that he should have gone to enjoy himself with Shintoism just now.

Minamoto Kiyomoto smiled, roughly understanding the personalities of these two young women, and asked them, “How long have you been cultivating?”

“I entered school at the age of six. I’m eighteen this year. How long has it been?” Amamiya Mari replied.

“Twelve years,” Minamoto Kiyomoto thought about what it would be like if he had cultivated for twelve years.

It was hard to imagine. He felt that he could become invincible in five years—one year less than Shakyamuni.

He wasn’t sure about the specifics. Perhaps he would have already died, but one thing was certain: he would definitely not be kicked into Sanshiro Pond by Kamibayashi Miko.

“How is school life? Is it hard?” he asked again.

“It’s hard, but you get used to it,” Asamiya Sakura replied. “We study cultural knowledge in the morning, practice curses in the afternoon, and meditate to cultivate divine power at night. We have branch practice twice a week.”

“Branch practice?”

“Brother Minamoto, you don’t even know this?” Amamiya Mari said, taking the opportunity to look Minamoto Kiyomoto up and down, like a man with sunglasses on a beach.

She was wearing an off-the-shoulder short-sleeved shirt, with two thin bra straps clearly visible on her shoulders. Beside her was a kendo bag commonly seen in the kendo club.

“I’ve been cultivating hard this month. I only learned the name Shintoism today,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

“I see,” Asamiya Sakura nodded. “In every ‘battle,’ the cultivators are divided into different departments.”

“There’s the repair department, the barrier department, the rescue department, the guard department, the volunteer department, and the combat department,” Amamiya Mari said, counting on her fingers.

Asamiya Sakura continued the topic:
“The repair department is for transmitting divine power to the ‘earth spirits’ to prevent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and the like;
“The barrier department is mainly for restricting the movement of yokai;

“The rescue department is responsible for rescuing injured cultivators, and sometimes they also rescue ordinary people;

“The guard department is responsible for protecting the people in the three groups above;
“The volunteer department goes wherever they are needed; the most—”

“The most important is the combat department,” Amamiya Mari interrupted.

“Yes!” Asamiya Sakura’s face was full of admiration. “The adults in the combat department are the main force in fighting the yokai head-on.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto’s gaze turned to Amamiya Noa and he asked her, “Does Miss Noa belong to the combat department?”

“How could I?” Amamiya Noa was at an age where she needed the nourishment of a man and had a very good impression of Minamoto Kiyomoto. “I belong to the rescue department.”

“We are too,” Amamiya Mari immediately agreed.

“Lady Divine Miko didn’t assign Brother Minamoto to any department?” Asamiya Sakura asked curiously.

“No.”

“Maybe he’ll be in the combat department,” Amamiya Mari guessed in a low voice.

“Can someone like me be in the combat department?” Minamoto Kiyomoto was a little amused.

He had self-awareness. Although his talent was not bad, and he usually worked extremely hard, he couldn’t even beat Amamiya Noa. How could he possibly be in the combat department?

“Generally speaking, which department a person enters is basically determined when they choose their curses in school. But in reality, according to the regulations, the members of each department are selected by the department head.”

After Asamiya Sakura finished, Amamiya Mari continued:
“The department heads are all cultivators who have survived more than twenty times. The combat department is even more powerful. At the very least, they have to be Kosen-level adults. But this time, it should be Lady Divine Miko, so Brother Minamoto might be selected for the combat department.”

“Is the combat department safer?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked.

“No,” Amamiya Noa shook her head desperately. “The combat department is the most dangerous.”

“Then I hope she doesn’t choose me.”

“Come to the rescue department and team up with us,” Asamiya Sakura said expectantly.

“That’s right, that’s right. We’re short one person!”

“I don’t know any healing curses,” Minamoto Kiyomoto gently pulled his hand back.

“What?!” The three of them were very surprised.

“What’s wrong?”

After the three of them explained, Minamoto Kiyomoto finally understood.

During their time in school, all minor curses could be learned freely. With excellent grades each semester, one could even learn more profound medium curses, and even great curses.

Under normal circumstances, if one was in the barrier group, they would choose barrier-type medium or great curses.

But if one planned to join the combat group after their cultivation was high, they could also choose attack-type curses.

“I’ve only received a reward once and learned one medium curse,” Amamiya Mari said aggrievedly.

“You don’t work hard yourself. Your capacity is about the same as Sakura’s, but she has received it four times,” as her older sister, Amamiya Noa reprimanded.

Amamiya Mari snorted, not taking her sister seriously.

Asamiya Sakura quickly said, “It’s nothing, really. After leaving school, for every battle you participate in, you can get three medium curses and one great curse! I have four medium curses, but I can only use one proficiently now.”

“That’s right, that’s right!” Amamiya Mari’s mood immediately recovered. “After Konohanasakuya-hime, I learned the great curse I’ve always wanted to learn!”

“With your level of mastery, it’s better to use minor curses more in battle, combined with the medium curses you learned in school. The possibility of survival will be greater,” Amamiya Noa said, discouragingly.

“So it sounds like the official benefits are not bad?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked.

“Yes,” Asamiya Sakura nodded affirmatively. “But what the people from Shintoism said is also true. It’s very difficult to buy a high-end apartment.”

“Who would waste money on a house when they could die at any time? And who doesn’t have a house?” Amamiya Mari said dismissively.

Minamoto Kiyomoto’s old home in Shikoku had an inn, and he had also built a detached house in the hidden realm of Tokyo.

He had a house.

“500,000 yen a month, and 10 million yen for one battle. Compared to a house, it’s better to save money to buy a divine weapon,” Amamiya Noa said.

A divine weapon, a weapon made from the corpse of a yokai.

Yokai were huge. After they died, most of them would dissipate, leaving only a small part of their remains.

“Brother Minamoto is covered in divine weapons, even his clothes,” Asamiya Sakura said with envy.

“Miss Kamibayashi compensated me for all of them,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said. “Your base salary is 500,000 yen, but I only get 500,000 yen for participating in one battle.”

“So poor!” the three of them once again showed a surprised expression in unison.
“…I am poor.”

But thinking that even the Divine Miko owed the bank money, Minamoto Kiyomoto felt a little better, but also a strange sadness.

He was paying off Kamibayashi Miko’s inheritance tax and loan.

◇

Walking on the beautiful Mount Hakone, from time to time, he would hear a rumbling sound, as if a giant beast were turning over.

This was an anomaly caused by a large amount of divine breath gathering to a certain extent. The real yokai would suddenly materialize at a certain moment.

Minamoto Kiyomoto’s group of three, under the guidance of the staff, stayed in the best hotel.

“If you need to practice curses, please go to Lake Ashi or the golf course on the mountain.”

“There is a pre-battle meeting tonight at 9 o’clock. The location is the hidden realm of Hakone Shrine. Please be on time.”

After listening to the staff’s arrangements, Minamoto Kiyomoto walked into the assigned room, sat cross-legged on the bed, and immediately began to cultivate.

Along the way, there was the light of divine power everywhere. Everyone was making final preparations for the battle.

“Knock, knock!”

Minamoto Kiyomoto opened his eyes. The splendid divine breath was like a firework extinguishing in the night sky. The air in the room was already tinged with dusk.

“My son, it’s time to eat!” Himemiya Izayoi’s coquettish voice came from outside the door.

“How dare you!” Minamoto Kiyomoto stood up abruptly.

He strode to the door, opened it, and reached for Himemiya Izayoi’s waist, tickling her.

“My beauty!”

“Don’t, Young Master Kiyoshi!” Himemiya Izayoi twisted her waist and easily dodged Minamoto Kiyomoto. Her bell-like laughter echoed in the corridor, which was bathed in the setting sun.

The door to the next room opened, and Kamibayashi Miko walked out.

“Always fooling around,” she said casually, like a young mother who didn’t want to bother with her child.

“You’ve all rebelled!” Minamoto Kiyomoto couldn’t bear it anymore and reached for Kamibayashi Miko’s waist.

“Wait, wait, wait. I was joking. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Miss Kamibayashi, I was wrong!”

The ‘Divine Miko’s Raiment’ appeared out of nowhere and tied Minamoto Kiyomoto up tightly.

He didn’t like this game.

The restaurant was on the first floor. The ingredients included hardhead trout caught from Lake Ashi, and so on. Outside the window, one could see the Hakone mountains soaked in the setting sun.

“By the way,” while eating, Minamoto Kiyomoto remembered something. “I heard that in a battle, everyone is assigned to a department. Which one am I going to?”

“Which one do you want to go to?” Kamibayashi Miko asked back.

“The combat department?” This was said by Himemiya Izayoi.

“I want to go, but I want to live even more. The key is that I’m not of much use,” Minamoto Kiyomoto took a sip of wine.

If he relaxed, this trip to Hakone was equivalent to a free trip. If he had seventeen or eighteen cultivator wives, it would be quite happy. There was no need to defect to Shintoism at all.

“I haven’t decided either,” Kamibayashi Miko showed a thoughtful expression. “I’m not at ease no matter where I send you, but it’s too dangerous to keep you by my side.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto felt that this was very strange, but seeing her serious face, it didn’t seem like she was joking.

“I have an idea,” Himemiya Izayoi suddenly said.

The two of them turned their heads to look at her at the same time. The three extremely outstanding faces complemented each other.

“The one leading the team from Kansai this time is the Venerable Manjuan of Mount Koya,” Himemiya Izayoi said in a low voice. “Young Master Kiyoshi, you go find the Venerable Manjuan and say you want to join the Buddhist formation.”

“Big sister Izayoi, I didn’t understand a single word you said,” Minamoto Kiyomoto also said in a low voice.

“Stupid!” the two were like they were whispering. “When the monks of Mount Koya participate in a subjugation, they will form a ‘swastika’ wheel of light. You can mix in, which is both safe and allows you to join the combat group, and you can also be of use.”

“How do I convince this Venerable Manjuan?” Minamoto Kiyomoto quickly asked.

“That’s your own business,” Himemiya Izayoi said with a smile, her voice returning to normal.

Actually, there was no need to lower her voice, but this witch liked to use this method to create an atmosphere of a very close relationship between the two.

Minamoto Kiyomoto fell into deep thought. After thinking for a while, he raised his head and said, “Izayoi, you’re also from Kansai, and you’re the illegitimate daughter of the Lord of Kyoto—”

“Don’t get any ideas about me, big sister,” Himemiya Izayoi glanced at him in annoyance. “I’ve found a way out for you, and you still want me to pave the way for you? I’m not your mother. Figure it out yourself.”

“Is there a way?” Kamibayashi Miko asked Minamoto Kiyomoto.

“No, but you always have to try. Based on my experience, as long as you try, a way will come to you.”

After dinner, Himemiya Izayoi explained the origin of Mount Koya to the clueless Minamoto Kiyomoto.

Mount Koya was surrounded by peaks. With the Shingon esoteric Buddhism founded by Kobo Daishi as the center, there were more than 120 temples scattered around.

The numerous temples were united against the outside world. Whether it was against anti-human cultivators or subjugating yokai, they all went into battle together, forming a huge ‘swastika’ wheel of light like a mountain.

The ‘swastika’ wheel of light was formed by the combined capacity of many monks.

Its divine power was as vast as the starry night sky. It had once single-handedly exterminated a “small yokai” that had appeared in Wakayama.

In Japan, since the Jomon period, even the smallest yokai was a natural disaster. So far, only the Divine Miko had ever sealed a “small yokai” by herself. From this, one could see the power of the ‘swastika’ wheel of light.

The monk who created the ‘swastika’ wheel of light was Kobo Daishi.

Kobo Daishi’s Buddhist name was ‘Kukai.’ He first studied Confucianism, then entered Buddhism, and later went to the Tang Dynasty, visiting high monks everywhere. He received the orthodox transmission of esoteric Buddhism at Qinglong Temple in Chang’an.

In just three years, he obtained the honorary title of ‘Henjo Kongo’ and became the eighth-generation successor of orthodox esoteric Buddhism.

Back then, at the Hanshan Temple’s Zen competition, he amazed everyone with his ‘swastika’ wheel of light, defeated the successor of Hanshan Temple, and was allowed to enter the sutra library to observe the “Diamond Sutra.”

As a foreigner, he left a bronze statue at Hanshan Temple, which showed the depth of his capacity.

Returning to Japan, he was summoned by the Lord of Kyoto and was granted Mount Koya. From then on, Mount Koya became the main mountain of esoteric Buddhism in all of Japan.

“This time, it’s your turn to amaze everyone,” after telling the story, Himemiya Izayoi showed an expression of preparing to watch a good show.

“I can only do my best,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

But there was a fire in his heart.

Xuanzang could bring back the true scriptures from India, and Kobo could become a ‘Vajra’ in the Tang Dynasty. Although he had only just started cultivating, the thing he had to do was just to join the ‘swastika’ wheel of light.

If he couldn’t even do this, how could he surpass Shakyamuni, who had attained enlightenment in six years?
Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t know if he could surpass Shakyamuni, but that was not important at all. The important thing was to demand of himself that he ‘must surpass’.

Only in this way, by demanding of himself to a cruel degree, could he become one in ten thousand, and could he really possibly surpass.

If he admired Shakyamuni in his heart, then in his lifetime, he would only be a Buddha or some Bodhisattva. At worst, he would be a second-rate Vajra.

(End of Chapter)