Onmyou 6: Question Part 2

“Since you have more questions than I, would it be okay for me to ask first?”

“That’s fine.”

“Then, firstly, who are you? You say you’re not an Onmyouji, yet you’re using Onmyodou.”

“I’m a Sage, and what I used was not what you called Onmyoudou, but magic.”

“Magic?” Hyoka looked at me confused, as if she didn’t believe my words.

“Yup, Magic.” I said as I lit a small fire on my fingertips.

“I used mana to create spells to be used in both daily life and for combat.”

“Completely different from Onmyoudou.”

“How so?”

“For onmymoudou, we have to channel our spiritual energy into a talisman, shikikami or weapon. Plus, onmyoudou is solely used for combat or protection.”

“Interesting.” I wonder if I could use onmyoudou. No, it’s not that I want to expand my already wide variety of arsenal, but it does seem cool, like you know… those cringey lines do look kinda cool.

“I/m still curious about magic, but next get to the next question. Are you a threat to us?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you working together with the Ayakashi, or are you our ally?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I did help you defeat Akari yesterday.”

“You did. But, what if she’s not part of your group? You could be part of another group of Ayakashi.”

“I don’t even know what’s an Ayakashi, how can I be a part of their group?”

“You could be lying.”

“How about me saving you? If I were one of those Ayakashi, wouldn’t I want to kill as many of you onmyouji as possible?”

“...you’re right. I’ll take that you’re an ally?”

“I won’t call myself an ally. Just a neutral party who will fight those who harm my peaceful life or my family and friends.”

“I see. I suppose that leaving you alone should be fine then. But, if you caused any trouble, I won’t be able to help you, especially if you get caught up with a high-ranking onmyouji.”

“Got it.”

“That’s all of my questions for now. It’s your turn to ask questions.”

“Then, what are you? What’s an onmyouji and Ayakashi?”

“I’m Rokuoin Hyoka, a member of the Rokuoin Main family, one of the twelve houses with the highest authority in the onmyouji world, directly behind Head exorcist himself.”

So like royalty, but for onmyouji, that means she’s quite an important person, especially since she’s part of the main family.

“Each house represents one of the Chinese zodiac, and as you can guess from my family name, the Rokuoin family represents the snake.”

How ironic that the ayakashi we fought yesterday was also a snake.

“As for the second question, Onmyouji are those who practise Onmyoudo to protect the world from Ayakashi. Though onmyouji are called different around the world, but the most common word would be exorcist, and Ayakashi would be called demon.”

Demon… Akari does resemble some of the demons in my world, though much weaker compared to them.

“Ayakashi comes from another realm, but only rank 4 and above onmyouji are allowed to enter the realm for missions.”

“Rank?”

“That’s right. Each onmyouji is given a rank, from 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. Of course, the head Onmyouji is the highest rank one can achieve, but only one can hold the title at a time.”

“Tell me more about the Ayakashi.”

“Like I said, they come from another realm to come and cause chaos in this world, but we don’t know what their real goal is. Not all of them are like Akira, who has a human form. Just like Onmyouji, Ayakashi are also given ranks based on their spiritual powers.”

“How strong was Akira?”

“Rank 3. Her ability to create Katashiro is what increased her rank; otherwise, she’ll be rank 2 at best.”

“Katashiro? You mean those weird doll-looking things you destroyed?”

“Yes. Katashiro is basically a substitute. Whenever one receives damage, the Katashiro will take on the damage instead until it’s destroyed.”

That’s strong! I guess there’s a limit to how much damage it can take, but having multiple of these katashiro means you’re nearly invincible!

“Wait, but wasn’t Akira Regenerating?”

“That’s right. There are different kinds of Katashiro, like the one Akari uses. But that one is more commonly used by higher-ranked Ayakashi, since we humans are incapable of regenerating that fast.”

“I see.” That’s a lot of info to take and I still have a few more questions to ask, but it’ll be fine. I’ve memorised a whole bunch of spells. This amount of information is nothing compared to that.

But, in this body, I don’t think my brain can take in any more information.

“Any more questions?”

“I have a few, but I don’t think my brain can handle any more info for the day.”

“Don’t worry. There’ll going to be way more chances for you to ask.”

“Eh?”

“I’ll be going to your school starting next week.”

“......Eh?”

“Don’t worry. My grades are good enough to join any university, so even if I change to a normal public school, it’ll not affect my future.”

“No, that’s not what I want to know! What I want to know is why?”

“An Ayakshi is hiding within the school ranks.”

“!! Is that why Ichirou was there?”

“Nope. He’s an actual student, a first year.”

Yeah, that makes sense… even an onmyouji needs to study and get into a good university and get a job, in case being an onmyouji doesn’t work out, I guess.

“We still don’t know who, so a few onmyouji around our age are being transferred into your school.”

“...Is the Ayakashi that strong?”

“With how well he’s hiding, we assume that it’s a rank 4.”

“I see. Then, good luck.”

“You’re not going to help?”

“As I said, I’m not going to fight. I just want to live a quiet life with as little fighting as possible. I’ll only fight if my life is being threatened or my friends or family are in trouble.”

“...What if I’m in trouble?” Hyoka said as she tilted her head with her emotionless expression on her face.

Cute! But, no matter how cute she is, I have to respect my old self’s wish!

“...Still a no…”

“Please.”

Resist! Just because a cute girl is asking you doesn’t mean you have to accept it!

Remember me! As a sage, all sorts of girls were after me, but I resisted all of them and stayed single for my entire life!

Resisting one girl is nothing!

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure that you get to live the quiet life you want, as long as you help me when I’m in trouble.”

“......”

“Still a no? Then, how about a reward on top of that? If anything happens to me during this mission and you come to help, I’ll reward you.”

“......What kind of reward?” I asked curiously. No matter what sort of reward she’s going to give, I won’t be tempted by it.

“10 Million yen.”

“I refuse.” Imagine bribing me with money. That’s not going to work.

“Then, how about a limited edition ‘K*m*n R*de* B*i*d figure?”

“!?” What did she just say!?

“Full set, with B*i*d, Cr*s*-Z, Ro*g*e and Gr**se and exclusive Bottles.”

“...How… did you know that I’m a fan of that series…?”

Hyoka pointed to my keychain, which I have hanging on my bag.

“Plus, your phone wallpaper, and I even checked your social media and saw that you posted your collections.”

She had everything planned for the worst, and even provided the perfect bribe!

“Fine!” I gave up! The limited exclusive set she was talking about is limited to only 200 in the world, and was released 8 years ago, so it’s practically impossible to find, let alone for a cheap price.

“Looks like we’ve got a deal.”

“Yeah. You better keep your promise about not having me involved with anything relating to Atakashi.”

“That’s a promise… looks like we’ve arrived.”

As the car halted to a stop, Hyoka dispelled the barrier and stepped out of the car.

“Come on, any slower, the place’s going to be full.”