Chapter 18: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes
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——A child was originally one part of Kakka’s plans for the future. Carrying a baby for ten months and giving birth to one for her beloved fiancé was something she found quite appealing.
Kakka was very afraid of pain. She knew perfectly well how agonizing childbirth could be, but when she thought of it as an effort made for the sake of their love, she was willing to endure it gladly.
The second young lady sincerely believed that the child she bore would inevitably be a crystallization of love—a testament to the process of offering herself to her beloved.
Merely imagining that moment made her entire body grow feverishly excited.
She took immense pleasure in this fantasy. In the future, she and her husband would cherish their child together. One would not be enough; she would have at least five children...
But this woman was different from her. From the very first moment, Kakka had sensed that Hagi resembled her own birth mother—a heartless, tearless monster.
Then again, the fact that she had become so fascinated with that person was strange enough in itself. Even if she married and had children, Kakka could not imagine this woman developing any deep affection for them.
If she gave birth to a sweet, innocent little girl and that “person” came to love her, she would surely bite her handkerchief in secret and grow jealous of her own daughter.
——There was no saving this woman’s nature.
“Let Yagaro Yamei be the surrogate mother. Now that she has become a woman, how could we fail to make use of her?”
Hagi continued explaining her plan.
“You really did find her.”
Kakka was also aware that Yagaro Yamei had been transformed into a woman.
After all, she had always kept a shikigami concealed within her protective charm to eavesdrop on that person’s circumstances. There was no way she could have been unaware of the secret.
Even so, Kakka had never expected the eldest son of the Yagaro family to become a clue waiting to be revealed here.
“You were right. That creature is my pet—my dog.”
The corners of Hagi’s lips curled upward in mockery.
“He and his noisy adopted sister, along with the household retainers, are able to remain in the estate because I have mediated on their behalf... But I have no interest in keeping an incompetent dog. Fortunately, this one has turned into a female dog. At least now she can be put to proper use.”
This woman—her half-sister—was truly evil, a hideous creature.
How was this any different from a cuckoo stealing another bird’s nest? She intended to make Yamei bear someone else’s child, then deceive her by claiming it was her own. It was utterly revolting.
And yet, even as Kakka hated the woman from the bottom of her heart, she secretly rejoiced.
After all, I am the same.
I, too, have the blood of the demon women of the Kurohimeyama clan flowing through my veins.
...
Yamei fled as though her life depended on it.
A nighttime meeting with one’s fiancée in her private chamber should have been something to anticipate—a scene filled with alluring intimacy and intoxicating romantic imaginings.
Yet all Yamei could feel was a bottomless chill, as though some of the blood had been drained from her body.
Within that lavish Japanese-style room, the air seemed to have turned frigid, like a terrifying icehouse.
She could barely breathe. Every one of her senses seemed ready to be torn apart by the oppressive tension in the room.
Then Yamei noticed the look in Kurohimeyama Hagi’s eyes.
In that instant, the grand princess’s eyes became clouded with madness. Those unfocused eyes stared straight at her like glass marbles.
Under that gaze, Yamei’s legs and body went weak.
When Hagi said, “Please give birth to our child,” Yamei froze where she stood.
——What!? What was she saying!?
Her mind raced desperately.
“What an extraordinary curse. It has given you such a fine body.”
“Please be sure to give birth to a healthy child.”
“Preparing for pregnancy will be difficult, but I will do everything in my power to assist you...”
The girl uttering those incomprehensible words shaped her scarlet lips into a smile.
——I... I have to get away.
The air and her body had both frozen with terror. Yamei could only struggle with all her might, forcing her consciousness to fight its way through the paralysis, desperately summoning every ounce of energy to thaw her rigid limbs.
At last, trembling with fear, she escaped the room.
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“Have... have me give birth to a child? But I’m a man.”
Yamei returned to the room where she lived. She had practically run all the way there, even falling once along the way and breaking the wooden clogs she wore.
She had twisted her right ankle. For an exorcist, it was no serious injury, though it would take some time to heal.
She crouched outside the door, her shoulders heaving as she gasped for breath.
“...Even if it were my own child, how could something like that possibly happen...?”
As she recalled her encounter with the eldest daughter of the Kurohimeyama family, a shudder passed through her heart. The sensation of Hagi stroking her lower abdomen in particular made every hair on her body stand on end, filling her with an intense feeling of rejection.
In the past, when she had been a man, she had entertained fantasies about physical contact with women. Yet when Hagi touched her abdomen, all she had felt was a powerful urge to vomit.
“Whew... What has happened to me? In the past, I was clearly looking forward to becoming more intimate with the grand princess...”
The changes within herself felt utterly unfamiliar, and she was plunged into complete confusion.
Click.
The paper screen door was pulled open from within.
“Who is outside?”
Her adopted sister, Ayaka, poked her head out.
“Elder brother, what happened to you?”
Her voice was filled with concern.
“N-No, it’s nothing.”
Yamei’s voice was feeble.
“Elder brother, even if you say that, you look awful.”
Ayaka sighed. “How did you manage to make such a mess of yourself? You fell, didn’t you? Why are you still acting like a child...?”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
Ayaka wore an exasperated expression.
“Could it be that your conversation with the grand princess didn’t go well? Well, never mind. I didn’t think things would go so smoothly anyway.”
As though she had just thought of something, she clapped her hands.
“Oh, right. Matsudaira bought some ogi rice cakes and yokan for tea. It’s rather late, but that hardly matters. Elder brother, would you like some?”
“Yes!!!”
Yamei’s answer was emphatic.
“That was a very prompt reply.”
Seeing her elder brother regain his energy, Ayaka secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“All right, come inside quickly. You are the head of the household, Elder Brother. What are you doing standing outside the door?”
“Ayaka, you’re practically my mother.”
“I am not your mother~~!”
Her adopted sister stamped her feet in embarrassment and anger.
...
The following day.
Not long after sunrise, Saizo finished repairing the barrier and departed Inamori Village with the lower-ranking ninja corps.
“Um... excuse me.”
Half an hour after leaving the village, Hyakusuke raised his hand.
“I forgot to bring something with me. Could I go back and retrieve it?”
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“Oh? What was it?” Saizo asked suspiciously.
“The second young lady’s protective charm.”
Hyakusuke sighed. “It would be troublesome if I lost it.”
“All right.”
Saizo rubbed his cheek, looking somewhat troubled.
“Normally, this sort of thing is forbidden. But you are one of the old hands among the ninja corps, and I do not want to make an issue of it... Go get your things and return as quickly as you can.”
Finally, he lowered his voice and spoke in a whisper.
“Remember, the Frog Toad Curse Mark will activate in three days at the latest. No matter what happens, you must return to the Kurohimeyama estate within three days.”
“I know.”
Hyakusuke was deeply grateful for Saizo’s understanding.
“Thank you, Chief.”
“All right. Go and come back quickly.”
Saizo did not even ask many questions. He merely waved his hand and let Hyakusuke leave.
...
Hyakusuke sprinted toward Inamori Village.
However, he had no intention of going to the village itself.
He took out a tracking talisman and tossed it into the air. The paper transformed into a swallow folded in the style of paper-cutting and glided through the sky.
“The tracking is set. I hope it works.”
Tracking talismans were not especially reliable.
If the target was too far away, or if there were too many obstacles in the surroundings, the talisman could easily lose its trail.
Moreover, tracking talismans worked best on targets that emitted strong spiritual power or demonic energy—monsters that made no effort to conceal their aura were the typical example.
Conversely, they had great difficulty following ordinary people, who possessed no spiritual power, or high-level exorcists skilled at hiding theirs.
“This way?”
Watching the swallow-shaped scrap of paper flying overhead, he entered the depths of the mountains. The morning mist had yet to disperse.
“It seems to be heading farther into the mountains.”
Hyakusuke did not slow his pace. He followed the talisman through the air, advancing along an increasingly steep mountain path. At last, he found his target.
“...So it really is him.”
He had suspected it before, but only now could he confirm that the true culprit behind the destruction of Village Chief Kichijo’s family in the game’s storyline was the man standing before him.
“Kosaburo?”
It was the male servant of Chief Kichijo’s household.
At last, Hyakusuke connected all the clues in his mind.
——Kosaburo, the “loyal servant,” was the true mastermind behind everything.
Hidden behind a rock, Hyakusuke observed Kosaburo directing a group of mountain children as they carried goods out of an extremely concealed cave in the mountain.
Saizo had mentioned it as well: traveling merchants and wayfarers had been murdered, and their corpses stored as food, while their money and luggage alone had vanished. So this was what had happened!?
Kosaburo was clearly a “controller.” Using his identity as a servant in the village chief’s household to conceal his true nature, he had manipulated this group of monsters into attacking travelers and stealing their possessions.
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