Epilogue: Taixocu (Resignation)

Monday, June 1st, 2026. Edo, Japan. The Godoh family estate. Very much a property that screamed “old money”, with traditional Japanese sloping roofs, courtyards, and zen gardens spanning a whole ten acres; and it had been a surprise to many over the decades how it had passed through the hands of the Communist revolutionaries untouched, a feat in which not even the Tenno’s palace had succeeded.

As of Sunday, not even a few hours after the inexplicable rampage of monsters across Kokura, Satsuma in the early morning, the public had their answer. The Prime Minister of Japan and President of Satsuma had held a joint statement that day in the city, in which the respective heads-of-state declassified and confirmed the existence of the Bureau of Onmyo in Japan, the Alchemist Court in Satsuma, and the Knights of the Monad, an international cooperative between the two national agencies. Both heads-of-state also declassified and confirmed the existence of magic in their countries, making Japan and Satsuma the first countries in history to do so. Much ado was made about the long history of magic and mages on the Japanese Archipelago, and further promises were made to declassify and release more historical documents pertaining to those subjects.

And as of Monday, the news channels in Japan were still talking about it, nearly 24/7. Yawning and shaking off her day-long slumber, Noe passed through the parlor of the main house on her way to the dining room to get some breakfast. On a flatscreen TV, mounted high up on the wall, was playing the feed from Japan News Network (no relation to Satsuma News Network), where a so-called “onmyoji expert” was breaking down the impact famous onmyoji like Abe no Seimei and Ashiya Doman had had on Japanese history to a panel of morning-news hosts. Noe only glanced at it for a second before trudging on past and into the dining room, where a whole cast was gathered.

In the aftermath of the battle with Niiro, all of the Knights involved (and Noe, who had convinced her dad she was staying over at Miki’s again) had decided to take an airlift out of Kokura and sojourn here at the Godoh household—partly out of convenience, and partly out of concern. There was no telling, after all, how the public would react upon hearing that magic was real, but had been kept secret from them for decades at least.

Shunji, an expert in monitoring situations, noted that many of the voices online were quite inflamed immediately following the press conference, with many even throwing around the phrase “magic aristocracy” to describe the Knights; but that these had mellowed out by the afternoon, as more details of the Niiro incident were revealed. Some, of course, did not buy that Niiro had tried to destroy Japan by summoning an ancient demon, but no one could make themselves congrue fully to the general’s actions.

Thus, where there was briefly an air of anger before, there was now a buzz of great curiosity. Many were eager to put some names and faces on these “Knights”, to see what their “magic” was capable of, and whether, even, they could learn this “magic” for themselves. Already the heads-of-state of Japan and Satsuma had issued a challenge at the end of their statement: that “Anyone who knows and can use magic, wherever you are, come to us.” It was reasonable to assert, therefore, that there might be other magic users, or “mages”, out there in the world, living quietly among the masses.

And clearly the media had taken the hint. The first thing Noe saw upon entering the dining room was the matriarch of the Godoh family pacing about the table.

“Oh, have mercy… They just don’t stop coming…”

Saki Godoh, a woman close to sixty, though she looked a good ten or twenty years younger, was, in a word, dignified. Even nervous as she was now, she would not let it show in her physicality; her back was perfectly straight, her gait even, her kimono without a fold or crease, her face unblemished (save for a beauty mark on her chin), and her white hair neatly arrayed and tied up in a traditional knot. Even the hold she had on her tablet, with which she was watching a camera feed of the entrance to the estate, was delicate and balanced.

Meanwhile, Shunji, Merry, Justo, and Leonor were all seated around the low-lying table, taking their portions of rice, pickles, eggs, and miso soup. A space had already been prepared for Noe, next to Leonor and Justo, framed out by a bowl of rice and a cup of green tea.

“Mornin’, Noe,” Justo greeted her through a mouthful of rice.

“Morning,” said Noe back. “Did you tell my dad—”

“Ee-yup.”

“Thanks…” Noe took her seat on the floor. “Yowch!” she yelped as she felt a sharp ache in her ribs, where Niiro had slashed at her before.

“Aww,” said Merry, “does it still hurt, Noe?”

“M—Mm-hm,” Noe nodded. “But it’s gotten better. Thanks, Merry and Shunji-san.”

“Don’t mention it!” said Merry.

“Mmh,” grunted Shunji.

Noe surveyed the culinary options that were before her now. She spoke up, loud enough that the woman of the house could hear. “Uhh, I don’t really like tea, actually. Do you all have any coff—”

Before she could finish her query, Saki and Shunji shot her each an icy glare, cold enough to cool her tongue. Merry, who was sipping on her own cup of tea, giggled at Noe’s skulking.

“Don’t worry, Noe,” she reassured her, “you’ll get used to their tastes in time. It took me forever to start enjoying tea!”

“…Thanks,” said Noe once again. But it was not only the forced consumption of tea and the lingering pain that were weighing her mood down. “So, are we all safe to go back home, or…?”

“We would be,” cut in Leonor, “if it wasn’t for all the damn news vans outside.”

“News vans…?!”

“Yup,” said Justo. “Looks like they got all the local channels out here. Plus a couple national.”

“Honestly!” shouted Saki with a harrumph. “I could think of a million things these professional agitators should be covering before they go snooping into an ordinary family’s home life!”

Shunji pulled a fuda slip out of his robes, crumpling it beneath his fingers as he death-gripped it.

“Would you like me to scare them off, Mother?”

“No, Shunji,” said Saki, “the last thing we need to do now is provoke scandal. But do keep our lawyer on speed-dial.”

“Understood, Mother.”

Shunji pocketed the fuda slip again. Then he turned to Noe, sizing her up as she scrunched her face up, having just taken a swig of the Godohs’ green tea.

“Numasaki—”

“Bleh!—Just Noe’s fine,” Noe said, cutting Shunji off.

“…Noe-san.”

Noe gave Shunji a most quizzical look.

“What part of ‘just Noe’ do you not understand? We’re not as uptight about our names as you all are, you know. See me calling Merry ‘Anjos’?”

“Now, now, Noe,” chimed in Merry again. “Remember. Just tastes.”

Noe gave an apprehensive sigh.

“Right,” continued Shunji, “Noe. It seems like you’ve lost the aura of Chigadaira completely. Might I say…you’re finally free of your curse.”

Noe nodded softly, braving another sip of the tea.

“Mm-hm. I figured. I could never really feel his presence before unless I was fully possessed, but…it feels like there’s something missing. I just don’t know what, and I’m kinda scared to test and find out. And the sword’s not doing anything weird anymore, right, Justo?”

“Nope, nada,” answered Justo. “I can pick it up and swing it around just fine, bare-handed.”

“Interesting…” mused Shunji. “Did this change happen when…”

“When I was fighting Niiro?” Noe finished. “Mm-hm, I think so. He knocked the sword out of my hands, and then he tried to pick it up himself. Said something about ‘Killing my ghost with his own blade’, but before he could do anything he started burning up.” She winced, likely seeing the image of the general’s skin and muscles boiling and peeling away afresh in her head. Even if it had mostly happened while he was surrounded by the aura of the majin, it had still been quite a gruesome scene. “And…and then Chigadaira said something about having an ‘honorable battle’ and that he could ‘be at peace’. That was the last I heard from him.”

Shunji nodded. “That’s good. It means his soul has most likely passed on to his next life.”

Noe still looked uneasy. “I’d hate to see what the next life of someone like him looks like,” she remarked.

“Hmm…” said Merry, leaning into the table. “Well, God can make all sorts of miracles happen, you know! Even as his soul was being called away from your body, he might have had a chance to repent.”

“I’ll…I’ll keep thinking that, thanks.”

Shwrrrr…

The screen door slid open once again.

Enter Sachiko and Teresa—er, Fuku-chan and Cocoro-chan? Dressed in their blue and red robes and fully made-up, they struck a pose for all in the dining room to see.

“…Good heavens,” exclaimed Saki. “What is with those gaudy outfits?”

Sachiko gave an affable smile. “Ni hao, Ma! (Heh-heh, see what I did there?) These are our idol costumes! You know, the ones we wear when we perform!”

“Yes, Sachiko, I know. But I certainly hope you’re not thinking of going outside like that. It’s camera crews and paparazzi as far as the eye can see!”

Sachiko’s grin slowly morphed into a smirk. “Aiyah? You mean the camera crews that I called here?”

“You WHAT?!”

“I called the media here!” Sachiko stuck her tongue out and winked, in feigned innocence.

“Wh—Why would you do that?!”

“Because,” Sachiko made her way around the table, stopping in front of her mother. “Fuku-chan’s got an important announcement for the whole world to hear! But first for you, Mom!”

Sachiko dug into her robes and produced a traditionally-folded envelope. On the front side, in big, bold strokes, it read:

退職願

That is, “letter of resignation”.

Saki’s eyes widened, but, upon realizing the implications of this message, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“I see,” she said. “You’ve finally gotten tired of all the showbiz and realized what’s truly important in life, have you? Well done, Sachiko.”

Sachiko stood still for a moment, wide-open grin frozen on her face.

“NOPE!”

“…Excuse me?”

“Fuku-chan’s quitting being an onmyoji!”

Saki’s eyes widened once again.

“Wh—Why…?” she began softly, before raising her voice. “WHY?! After everything your father and I did to raise you as a proud Godoh onmyoji, you…you spit on your inheritance?!”

“Fuku-chan just likes being an idol more! In fact, Fuku-chan’s hated all this onmyoji stuff since Fuku-chan could remember! Bu-hao! Fuku-chan figures you probably have plenty more onmyoji to spare, anyways!”

“I…I… SHUNJI!”

“Yes, Mother?” asked Shunji.

“What do you have to say about this?!”

“…Only that I respect her decisions, and that I’m proud to be her brother no matter what.” Shunji took a long sip of tea.

“You…You…You CONSPIRED against me, did you?! Who else?! You, ragamuffin ALCHEMIST!”

Justo shrugged. “I’m cool with it. I know her limitations better than anyone else here, I think. ‘Sides, I still got a couple years to find me another syzygy.”

“…! Then how about you, fellow idol?!”

“Cocoro-chan looks forward to working with Fuku-chan for the foreseeable—”

“Nnnngh… BLONDIE!!!”

“IREFUSETOSPEAKUNLESSINTHEPRESENCEOFANATTORNEY!” Noe shouted.

“CHURCHGIRL!!!”

“Suck my—”

“LEONIE!” Noe shouted again.

Hooooo… Haaaaa… Hooooo… Haaaaa…

Saki struggled to calm herself down, clutching her chest lest her palpitations return.

“Anyways,” butted in Sachiko, “it’s time to let the whole world know! Come on, everyone! Lai, lai!”

Sachiko and Teresa strutted out the dining room, into the main hall and out the front door. Justo and Merry got up to follow them.

“W—WAIT, SACHIKO! GET BACK HERE!” Saki screeched, dropping the tablet on the table and rushing after them, which prompted Shunji to rush after her in turn.

Clop-clop-clop…

From the front gate to the Godoh estate, shotgun mics picked up the clicking and clacking of wooden sandals within the house. Cameras started rolling, microphones were primed, and reporters prepped their questions.

Once Fuku-chan and Cocoro-chan were spotted, all hell broke loose. A cacophony of shouts and camera shutters flooded the front lawn. Across the street, a local radio station even started blasting “Love Kiong-Si” from a promo van souped up with subwoofers. But the two idols took it in stride, smiling and waving as they always did.

“Fuku-chan! What are your thoughts on the—”

“Cocoro-chan! Can you confirm rumors that—”

“Fuku-chan! What have you been doing since—”

Heedless of what the reporters wanted to hear, Fuku-chan stepped up to the cluster of microphones awaiting her and began to speak.

“Ni hao! Ni hao, everybody! Yes, yes, can Fuku-chan get everybody’s attention?”

The questions died down in a matter of seconds, though the music across the street continued to play.

“Hsieh-hsieh! All right, it’s time to make my BIG announcement! As you can see, we’re here in Edo, in front of the Godoh family estate—which just so happens to be my family! And yes, I can confirm the rumors! My name is Sachiko Godoh, and up until this morning, I was an onmyoji and a Knight of the Monad!”

If they had surged before, the questions erupted now, and Sachiko and Teresa were more than happy to begin answering them. Meanwhile, Saki finally made it onto the lawn, raving something about private property and lawsuits. Shunji attempted to hold his mother back, but to little avail. Justo tried to get the attention of any reporter, but none would even let him give the time of day. Merry simply stood in the grass, smiling for the cameras, though she was tempted now to scoot behind a bush or tree and out of sight.

Noe, meanwhile, watched and heard all this unfold from the comfort of the dining room, with the tablet that Saki had left behind. She sighed, exasperated.

“Not the same world as it was yesterday, is it?”

“Nope,” answered Leonor, her head in her hand. “Oh, they do have a coffee maker, by the way. They just don’t like it when someone ‘insults’ ‘their’ tea. I’ll go make you a cup.”

“Oh, thanks!” said Noe.

Sure enough, Merry had ducked behind a bush. Shunji had, along with wrangling his own mother, succeeded in pulling Justo back to at least a sensible distance. Meanwhile, more vans, trucks, and even a chopper pulled up to the scene. Noe looked over at the TV in the next room. The chopper’s feed was being broadcast out live.

Thunk.

Leonor placed the cup on the table. Noe thanked her and took it in both hands.

“You know, though,” began Leonor, “with the organization going public and all, it wouldn’t surprise me if they start opening jobs up to the public. You should totally look at applying if you wanna stick with this. Hell, I might myself, if the money’s good enough.”

Noe took a sip and sighed again.

“Really, Leonie,” she said, “I think I’m good, thanks. I’ll see you all at school tomorrow. …Or, uh, maybe the day after.”

THE END