Ouija Board?
Kondo Yūya frowned. "Sister Nanjō, I haven't heard anything about this."
"Because this was a half-star event." Nanjō Emi folded her arms and yawned. "The only supernatural entity involved was the half-star resentment spirit Kukuri, and by the time we arrived, it had already been exorcised."
She pointed at Uesugi Tetsu. "This Ouija Board was brought back because Uesugi-kun here noticed something was wrong and suggested that we take it with us."
Kondo Yūya was speechless. He usually barely concerned himself with events below two stars, let alone a mere half-star supernatural phenomenon.
"Perhaps this Ouija Board is extremely important to Ai Bielie, and she didn't know it was in our hands. That's why she sought out the two survivors of that event."
Nanjō Emi said, "That explanation makes sense, doesn't it?"
No one objected.
After all, there was no other explanation for Ai Bielie's bizarre behavior.
"So after all this time," Ririko asked, tapping the table with one finger, "has anyone told us what Ai Bielie actually is? A supernatural entity? A supernatural phenomenon? Or something else?"
Kondo Yūya was just about to refuse on the grounds that the less they knew, the safer they would be, when Nanjō Emi spoke first. "Have you ever heard of the Eight Sufferings?"
"Birth, aging, illness, death, separation from loved ones, meeting those one hates, not getting what one desires, and the flourishing of the five aggregates."
He slammed a hand on the table and stood up. "Sister Nanjō!"
Nanjō Emi remained expressionless as she confronted her superior. "If we don't tell them now, are we supposed to wait until we're standing before their graves?"
"They have already come into direct contact with Ai Bielie, Major Kondo." Nanjō Emi enunciated every word. "You have no right to deprive those involved of their right to know."
Kondo Yūya's face flushed with anger. "You—!"
But he couldn't refute Nanjō Emi's words, because this was one of the Special Affairs Division's basic regulations.
—[Anyone who has made contact may be informed.]
Watching this, Ririko fell silent. She remembered asking Nanjō Emi what the Friendship Club was back then.
But Nanjō Emi's actions now could be said to be the exact opposite of what she had done that night.
Therefore, even Ririko had to admit that Nanjō Emi was genuinely responsible, whether toward herself or others.
Nanjō Emi stared at her superior, her tone merciless. "Don't treat them like clueless brats, and don't assume you can protect everyone by yourself."
"—Major Kondo, has having too much power made you too arrogant?"
Kondo Yūya tightened his rough fists, unable to answer.
He slowly sat down and admitted his mistake. "I'm very sorry."
Nanjō Emi continued explaining to Uesugi Tetsu and Ririko. "The Eight Sufferings may be a concept proposed by Buddhism, but the negative emotions of humanity—or, more precisely, the people of this world—objectively exist and accumulate."
"When those negative emotions build up to a certain point, some circumstance will cause a large portion of them to separate and form one of the Eight Sufferings."
At this point, Nanjō Emi sighed as well. "That's also why the Eight Sufferings can never be killed."
Uesugi Tetsu, already numb from listening, guessed, "Because even if one is killed, at some point in the future, under the impetus of some circumstance, a new Eight Suffering will be born."
"Yes."
Nanjō Emi nodded.
Uesugi Tetsu didn't even know what to say. The name alone made it sound like a super boss. How had he run into one before even leaving the beginner's village?
Kondo Yūya closed his eyes. "This generation's Ai Bielie doesn't look newly born. May I ask how the two of you survived her?"
Uesugi Tetsu glanced at Nanjō Emi, who was smacking her lips nearby and occasionally reaching into her pocket to touch her cigarette pack for comfort.
If Sister Nanjō weren't standing here, he was certain Kondo Yūya would never have asked in such a polite tone.
So he had already thought through his wording on the way there.
"Because I brought along the treasured sword passed down through my family."
He placed Kaga Kiyomitsu, which had been leaning against the leg of his chair, on the table and slowly drew it halfway from its sheath.
Kondo Yūya's pupils contracted, and he blurted out, "Kaga Kiyomitsu?!"
Hearing the name of this historically famous uchigatana, Nanjō Emi couldn't help looking over as well. "The one used by Okita Sōji? But wasn't it said to have been broken?"
Uesugi Tetsu answered smoothly, "That's why it's a replica. Even so, it can still inflict considerable damage on supernatural entities. I've been carrying it with me lately."
His explanation was perfectly reasonable. Kondo Yūya's attention successfully shifted to the uchigatana, which he examined and handled while repeatedly praising it as a fine blade.
Kaga Kiyomitsu, however, remained utterly motionless, as if it had no interest in Kondo Yūya whatsoever.
After returning Kaga Kiyomitsu to Uesugi Tetsu, Kondo Yūya reluctantly withdrew his gaze.
Swordsmen were like playboys. Even if they already had a beloved blade, no swordsman would ever complain about having too many good swords in hand.
Thus, the pressure fell on Ririko next.
Uesugi Tetsu looked over as well.
He was actually quite curious how Ririko had subdued Ai Bielie's avatar without suffering a scratch. Judging from the soul ash the avatar had released upon its destruction, it had been nearly as powerful as a one-star supernatural entity.
Even though Ririko's swordsmanship and realm completely crushed his own, her physical abilities were still within the range of an ordinary person.
Ririko said, "I didn't kill that avatar. She dispersed on her own after realizing that she couldn't affect me."
"Impossible." Kondo Yūya interrupted her. "Even using only an avatar, Ai Bielie could control dozens or even hundreds of ordinary people at once. Only someone who has reached the Clear Sword Heart, a state beyond ordinary people's abilities, can avoid being controlled."
"So I'm not an ordinary person."
Ririko raised her eyes, calm and deep as an abyss, and met Kondo Yūya's gaze. "Clear Sword Heart? I have that too."
The meeting room instantly fell silent.
Uesugi Tetsu held back a laugh. Ririko's flex was both impressive and satisfying—You think Clear Sword Heart is difficult? Sorry, but I have it too.
Kondo Yūya had no need to determine whether Ririko was telling the truth.
The instant their eyes met, he had already glimpsed the girl's brilliant sword heart, constantly tempering itself and slowly expanding.
It was practically like a vibrant newborn star!
Unlike his own "Into the Minutiae," which allowed him to see through all things in the world, this Miss Tokugawa Ririko seemed to cultivate her sword heart in a more self-oriented and purer direction.
"Become stronger."
That was all.
Such purity drove her spirit and consciousness to become more refined and immense with every passing moment.
But if it was not controlled and allowed to keep expanding—
Then her excessively powerful spirit would not only destroy her, but also destroy everyone around her who was drawn in by that dazzling radiance.
Somewhat worried, Kondo Yūya shifted his gaze away from Ririko's eyes. When he saw the girl's immature face, he froze for a moment.
He suddenly realized that Tokugawa Ririko was only a high school student.
"May I ask, Miss Tokugawa, how old are you this year?"
"Eighteen."
"Who was your teacher?"
"If I had to name one, our school's Kendo Club instructor, Kondo Hideya, would probably count."
Hearing his elder brother's name in such an unexpected place, Kondo Yūya's thoughts stalled.
He remembered that his brother, lacking much talent in the supernatural arts, had become a physical education teacher instead. Even now, he had only reached the stage of Man and Sword as One...
—In other words, Tokugawa Ririko had broken through this insurmountable barrier that had stifled countless people entirely on her own, without ever coming into contact with supernatural techniques?!
And she was only eighteen.
Realizing this, Kondo Yūya swallowed with difficulty, and his voice unconsciously softened.
"Miss Tokugawa, would you be willing to join the Special Affairs Division? I can be half a master to you."
Upon hearing this, Tokugawa Ririko frowned.
Before you continue