Great Sage 22 – Various Senses of Value

I pull out two knights to search the building but the second and third floors are enclosed in a special barrier and I get no response.

Instead I receive a message from the rooftop.
“I’ve secured the area up here darling”

“I see, did everything go alright”
“Of course, don’t worry I made sure to properly follow our accord and didn’t kill a single person. They should all be seeing pleasant dreams right now”

“Thanks, the boss seems to be right below you. It’ll be helpful to pincer him later so can you watch over the sleeping kids for a bit”

I cut our connection and reassess the situation.

On the first floor is two figures thought to be from the demon army, eight monsters under their control, and one man monitoring them all.

Having finished transporting the injured, Samon, Umon, Maya-chan, and Haruka are ordering the mafia to retreat while helping to defend.

“So how are we making our entrance”
Yuikuu stands by my side.

“Do you know the man at the back who’s observing?”
The man behind the demon army is wearing the same priest garbs as Yuikuu.

“I recognise his face but we’ve never spoken. Perhaps he’s shy, whenever I get close he would run away. While we’re at it, are those monsters in the front your acquaintances? I’ve never seen anything like them”

“I know them very well, they’re also very shy. Whenever I get close they flee”
“Then for starters, how about we go deepen our relationship with our respective friends?”

As Yuikuu says, the best plan is to deal with the opponents we are familiar with.
Plus it’s a practical chance to understand the quirks of different techniques.

Yuikuu must be thinking the same thing,
“Let’s make our introduction as flashy as possible”
His body begins to be wrapped in flames.

I turn to Maya-chan and Haruka,
“Once you’re done evacuating, find a safe place and wait on standby”

I pull out Nyoi and three pawns,

“My name is Yuikuu, an anti demon warrior bestowed with the power of vajra as a guardian of Buddhism. Inhuman being who inflicts harm upon humans, I declare that I will neither advance nor back down from this position”

Clad in a splendid cloak of flame, Yuikuu charges into the center of the monsters.


　　　×　×　×　×　×


I use the three pawns to set up an automatic defense.

While following after Yuikuu, I thrust Nyoi towards a three meter tall ogre carrying a greatsword and despite feeling my blow connect, with a puff of white smoke, it vanishes.
The pig faced orcs I finish also react the same way.

“I see, that’s why there’s no monster corpses despite the battle being this intense”

I send the pawns against the two fleeing demon army members.
“Restrain them”

While ordering the pawns, I compose a sealing spell with Nyoi. The men from the demon army grit their teeth and point their handguns towards their heads.

“Stop!”

At the same time as my panicked shout, the men pull the trigger and, just like the monsters, vanish.
Looking towards Yuikuu, he’s engaging in combat with the hidden monk but…..

“It’s so one sided it won’t be of use at all huh”

It seems that the title of the Kashizu Sect’s greatest firepower isn’t just for show.
Before the enemy monk can do anything, Yuikuu throws and restrains him with a judo chokehold-like move.

“We’ve seemed to get to know each other”
Yuikuu looks back to me and laughs.

I rush up to him and the monk glares at me,
“Abominable invader from another world, perish alongside the [Eyes of Calamity]”

He tries to chew something in his back teeth but,
“As if I’d let you”

Yuikuu takes the towel hanging on his waist and shoves it into the monk’s mouth.

“I haven’t washed it in a month, sorry about that”
He brings out rope from his sleeves and ties the monk’s arms and legs.

“These have vajra woven into them. You wont be able to break them like that so give it a rest”

With the battle over, Maya-chan and Haruka come running.

“Master, the transport of the injured has finished. The remaining mafia are waiting at Inari while the handsome longhaired brothers are guarding the transfer gate”

I give her a nod,

“Should I interrogate this guy”
Maya-chan walks up to the restrained monk.

In this situation, Maya-chan’s ability to read information from the eyes is useful but…..
It’s not like I can’t do it too.

Besides, there’s something that’s been bugging me.

Earlier when Haruka was asking about sacrifice, Maya-chan forced her way into the conversation and translated it as [Sacrifice] in a somewhat forced manner.
And she knows I can read minds but still stepped forward to block me.

“I’ll leave it to you, Maya-chan”

I step back behind Maya-chan and deploy a spell that allows me to read their thoughts.
As if noticing my magic, Yuikuu steps back like me.

“You’re the one said to rival Yuikuu, [Frozen Aran] aren’t you”

At Maya-chan’s question, the man known as Aran tries to avert his eyes but Yuikuu quietly recites a Buddhist prayer.

“Young lady, you can question him without reserve. Indeed he is called by Aran”
“From what I saw the fight was one sided, is this guy really a commander of the Kashizu’s anti demon warriors”

“It appears the new members lack guts”

Yuikuu slowly shakes his head side to side. Maya-chan sighs before peering into Aran’s eyes.

What we learnt from the questioning was…..

1. The neutral faction of the Kashizu and the Shimogami we’re gathering forces on the rooftop, aiming to attack me when I teleported along with the Shimogami’s Science-Magic weapons.

2. An onmyouji known as [Yuugen] has taken hostages on the second floor and has prepared a trap to put us at a disadvantage.

3. Then on the third floor is [Ashiya Yuuman], with Alona-san and the others as hostages to negotiate with me.

Apart from those three points, it seems he wasn’t informed of the details of the plan.

“Why do the Shimogami want mom’s eyes”
At Maya-chan’s question, Aran tries to frown but Yuikuu’s magic prevents him.

“Sorry, I don’t know the details of that either”

Maya-chan shakes her head and Yuikuu taps my shoulder and winks.
It seems Yuikuu has noticed Maya-chan’s lie as well.

That being said, receiving a wink from a man gives me a complicated feeling.

“Thanks Maya-chan, in many ways, I understand what’s going on better”

“Then Master! Let’s leave this monk to the handsome long haired Onii-sans and move onto the second floor. Yuugen was my former superior so I know his tricks well”

Haruka looks up to me,
“Some of them will be controlling ayakashi like Reina and I. So….. please take me along”

She has a strong look in her eyes.

“I more or less understand the two ladies’ situation now, so should the four of us head on together? Also the maid outfit is a great look”

Amused, Yuikuu hits me on the back.
No, the maid outfit was their idea though…..

I was about to object when,

“Understanding the appeal of moe is also the mark of a man”
Yuikuu brings his face close and murmurs.

――It appears I have yet to understand modern japan’s sense of values.