Chapter 97: Placing the Pieces, Fanning the Flames, the Scheme Begins

Tokyo, Japan, Higashiozu Combat Zone.

On the road leading to the combat zone, rows of police spike strips were laid out to prevent all vehicles from passing.

The roads were completely sealed off, surrounded by three layers of Self-Defense Forces personnel, strictly guarding every checkpoint, with patrols constantly moving back and forth, banning all unauthorized personnel from entering the combat zone.

Upon close inspection, one could see many footprints on the ground; the grassy field of the combat zone also bore signs of damage—patches of grass appeared chewed, other areas looked as if they had been dug up.

Not long ago.

When Director Takahashi ordered the Self-Defense Forces and police to secure the area, a continuous stream of frantic civilians arrived alongside them.

The scene at the time was spectacular, unprecedented.

Men, women, children, and elders surged forward, pouncing on grass, trees, flowers, and soil—biting at grass, plucking flowers, eating dirt, and when they couldn't swallow it, they dug it up and stuffed it into their pockets.

Their frenzy resembled a zombie siege, like zombies bursting from the dawn in a movie.

Director Takahashi spent over an hour clearing the civilians and extracting the dirt from their mouths.

Unfortunately, a large number of civilians had already swallowed the soil.

Director Takahashi, helpless, waved his hand and ordered them taken away.

They had already eaten it—it had reached their intestines and was pressing against their stomachs; they couldn't vomit it out, so they could only be taken back for research, which conveniently skipped the step of finding live subjects to eat soil and moved directly to the testing phase awaiting results.

At the same time, he ordered personnel to cut and collect portions of the grass, flowers, and trees for research, while leaving the rest to be properly cultivated on-site.

"Director Takahashi, the Tsuchimikado Shinto Priest has arrived."

Morita Takeshi stepped before Director Takahashi and whispered in his ear.

Some time had passed since Master Konghai departed; Tsuchimikado Xia Mei had left with him and had not returned, so Tsuchimikado Kenji worried for her safety and requested permission from the police to come over.

The government had placed high importance on temples and shrines, especially the Tsuchimikado family, classifying them as transcendent; as soon as Tsuchimikado Kenji made his request, the police immediately agreed—after all, it was merely transporting him over, with no loss, and it could even earn goodwill. Why not?

"Director Takahashi, has my Xia Mei returned yet?"

Tsuchimikado Kenji cut straight to the point without preamble; the government now valued him, and Xia Mei was tied to the transcendent, so he had no need to be polite to the government—in fact, he must stand firm, or the government would think he was deceiving them.

"Tsuchimikado Priest, I have instructed all personnel to notify me immediately if they spot Tsuchimikado Shinto Priestess."

As Director Takahashi spoke, he recalled the incident at the villa and apologized again, when a subordinate reported that someone had seen Tsuchimikado Xia Mei at another location in Higashiozu, some distance away, and she was currently being driven over.

Not long after.

"Grandfather." Tsuchimikado Xia Mei, seeing Tsuchimikado Kenji, was delighted.

Seeing Xia Mei unharmed, Tsuchimikado Kenji sighed in relief, but he did not ask where Master Konghai had taken her or what they had discussed in the combat zone—whether because the other was a figure from a thousand years ago or simply because inquiring into someone's private conversation was impolite.

Director Takahashi and the others also refrained from asking; after all, if their conversation involved secrets, their inquiry would amount to prying into privacy, and no one could bear the consequences of angering Master Konghai.

But that did not prevent them from courting the Tsuchimikado family.

"Tsuchimikado Priest, Tsuchimikado Shinto Priestess, the Prime Minister has notified us that we are preparing to establish a committee for shrines and temples, specifically responsible for promoting and constructing shrines and temples, as well as government funding. We sincerely invite you to join as committee members.

Our government has also established a Future Yokai Response Bureau; if you are willing, we would be delighted to have you serve as our advisors."

Tsuchimikado Kenji agreed; these matters did not endanger life, and accepting brought only benefits.

Hearing this, Director Takahashi was delighted.

Back home.

Before Tsuchimikado Kenji could say anything, Tsuchimikado Xia Mei spoke first:

"Grandfather, you were right—I have no spiritual power."

Tsuchimikado Kenji halted mid-step, startled—he had not expected Xia Mei to say this.

Earlier, no matter how hard he tried to convince her, she had refused to believe it; now, why had she suddenly accepted? Could it be…

He had told her, and she hadn't listened; but if the transcendent Master Konghai had said it, that was different—surely such a powerful transcendent could not have missed that she had no spiritual power.

But if that was true, why had Master Konghai taken Xia Mei away? To teach her transcendent arts?!

Tsuchimikado Kenji's breathing quickened, both delighted and anxious.

On one hand, he was delighted that Xia Mei might become transcendent, bringing honor to the family; on the other, he feared that if she became transcendent, she would have to face terrifying yokai and might get hurt.

At the same time, he began to understand.

Perhaps Master Konghai had sought out Xia Mei not because she had pretended to be a Shinto practitioner so convincingly that she attracted transcendent attention, but because her ancestors were Abe no Seimei, and because of her deep devotion to Shinto.

"Grandfather, Master Konghai told me…"

As Tsuchimikado Kenji had suspected, Tsuchimikado Xia Mei had learned she had no spiritual power from Master Konghai himself.

When the six-eyed yokai destroyed Higashiozu, Kamikawa Mitsu, in his guise as Master Konghai, arrived on the scene and happened to spot Tsuchimikado Xia Mei standing in the combat zone.

At the time, Kamikawa Mitsu was curious—why was Tsuchimikado Xia Mei standing there, not moving, as if waiting, even carrying a bow and a shrine satchel?

He recalled his morning conversation with her about Shinto, seeing her obsession with it, and a possibility occurred to him.

Out of curiosity and speculation, Kamikawa Mitsu spent 1 script point to ask the system: What was Tsuchimikado Xia Mei's purpose here?

The system's answer confirmed his guess: Tsuchimikado Xia Mei had believed herself to be transcendent and intended to kill the yokai; even though she had already realized she was not, the arrow was already on the string and had to be released, and for her family's sake, she had to do something.

Immediately, Kamikawa Mitsu spent another 5 script points to learn about Tsuchimikado Xia Mei's background, and suddenly understood why she was so devoted to Shinto, and why she had approached him that morning—not because she had discovered his secret, but simply because she cared for him.

Such a good girl reminded Kamikawa Mitsu of his sister, Kamikawa Chie.

Kamikawa Chie had always been an innocent girl; if she had grown up with Shinto education, she might have become just as obsessed with Shinto as Tsuchimikado Xia Mei, and done exactly what she did today.

Kamikawa Mitsu decided to be a do-gooder once—save Tsuchimikado Xia Mei. He told her she had no spiritual power; after all, he was here to kill the six-eyed yokai anyway, so it was convenient, and there was no cost.

But how to tell Tsuchimikado Xia Mei she had no spiritual power? He could not say it directly—that would make her feel her entire life had been watched, and cause discomfort.

No one wanted their entire life monitored and spied upon.

Therefore,

After resolving the six-eyed yokai and the Void Demon Realm matter, he used the excuse of borrowing something from the Tsuchimikado family to take Tsuchimikado Xia Mei to a secluded place for a private talk.

In his guise as Master Konghai, he asked Tsuchimikado Xia Mei why, despite having no spiritual power, she had come with the intent to destroy yokai—was it because she believed herself to be a descendant of Abe no Seimei?

Upon hearing this, Tsuchimikado Xia Mei clearly understood she had no spiritual power.

If a transcendent had personally told her she had none, no matter how delusional she was, she could no longer deny it—Tsuchimikado Xia Mei finally accepted that she had no spiritual power.

Then, he chatted with Xia Mei for a while over borrowing something from the Tsuchimikado family.

He needed Xia Mei's identity to help him indirectly accomplish something.

To make the public believe in yokai and other creatures, as well as the grand mythos of the Ghost and monster world he had constructed, he needed to reveal some information—but he couldn't keep revealing it himself; he needed someone to stir the pot.

This person to stir the pot could not be chosen lightly; they must possess immense credibility, so that whenever they spoke, everyone would naturally believe.

And who had the greatest credibility?

The government!!

The government was the embodiment of a nation's credibility; if the government believed, ordinary people would follow suit.

So, if he leaked information to the government and the government believed it, the citizens would believe too—and for the government to leak it was far more direct and simple than him spending ages crafting and performing elaborate scripts, and crucially, it cost no script points.

But to get the government to leak information, Kamikawa Mitsu obviously couldn't go himself; he needed a middleman.

And Xia Mei was the perfect middleman!

He would speak to Xia Mei as Master Konghai, leak her some information, and have her pass it on to the government.

As a member of the shrine, the government would inevitably come to her eventually—especially after today's incident—and they would surely seek her as a consultant; then she could leak the information to the government, achieving the indirect leakage he wanted.

……