"Utterly Ordinary" Yotsuya Miko / The Shepherd

As he drank, the dispirited young man let out a sigh, then looked over at Yotsuya Miko again.

His memory was hazy. All he knew was that the latter had apparently performed a powerful ritual, which had left him and Takeda Mie unconscious. By the time they woke up, they were inside the fortune-telling shop. He had planned to find a way to contact Miss Yotsuya, but a few days later, this extraordinary exorcist had invited him and Takeda Mie over again.

"How did you find my contact information, Miss Yotsuya?"

Yotsuya Miko glanced at him and pulled up a YouTube subscription on her phone—Rom's channel. It wasn't especially popular, but it did have a decent following.

"That's how."

She set her phone down and looked over at Takeda Mie, waiting for the former Downtown Godmother to answer.

The old woman silently glanced at the Golden Twin-Tailed Girl sitting across from her, confirming what she already knew.

"Because of your teacher's lineage, Miss Miko can't pass on her skills to Miss Yuria?"

"That's right."

It wasn't that she couldn't teach her. It was just that the cultivation in the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record was hard for ordinary people to endure. The intense Soul Devouring Tribulation in the early stages, as well as the hallucinations caused by devouring Ghosts, tested one's willpower and endurance. Besides, even Yotsuya Miko herself only had a limited understanding of the techniques. She learned and used them by relying on the knowledge in the manual. Even if she wanted to teach Yuria the entire Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record, she couldn't actually provide her with the full contents. After all, aside from the cultivation methods, all the other miscellaneous material added up to several million words—perhaps even tens of millions.

Zhang Qiudao had written down every detail about the Xuanhui Realm in the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record and his other manuals. Leaving aside the essential teachings, they were practically encyclopedias of the Xuanhui Realm's geography, history, people, plants, insects, fish, birds, and beasts. Even though Yotsuya Miko had never been there, all that information was enough for her to speak with any cultivator from the Xuanhui Realm without making a single mistake.

And now, several thick "books" like these had been stuffed into her mind. But she couldn't stuff all that information into someone else's head. To do that, she would need to reach the realm where her Yin God transformed into a Yang God. Of course, if she didn't care whether the other person ended up an idiot, she could try it once she reached the next realm.

"So you want to ask an old woman like me to teach her how to cultivate Spiritual Power?"

"Exactly."

Miko nodded. The idea of having Yuria study under a cultivator from this world had occurred to her from the beginning, because she knew all too well the pain of being able to see something but being powerless to do anything about it. Even for a psychic like Yuria, who had been able to see things since she was little, life wasn't exactly easy. With a demonic cultivator like Miko at her side, Ghosts wouldn't be able to cause her trouble for now. But what if Miko wasn't there one day?

No matter what kind of relationship they had, even the closest people could be separated one day. That was what worried Yotsuya Miko. She wanted Yuria to gain the strength to protect herself, so she would be much safer.

"Yuria can see some weak spirits. They probably won't put her in any real danger, but even being pestered by weak spirits isn't a good thing. What do you think, Yuria?"

Yuria, who had been lost in thought, stared blankly at the two of them. It wasn't until Yotsuya Miko's question snapped her out of it that she glanced at Takeda Mie's expression and slowly managed to answer.

"I... want to learn."

This was something Yuria had always wanted to do: become an accomplished exorcist and protect the peace of human society. Even after hearing the three of them talk about their trip to see the Mountain God and realizing that Ghosts could kill exorcists, she paused only briefly before pushing her worries aside.

She, Futamido Yuria, would never die so easily. She would become a truly powerful exorcist.

"I want to learn. Please take me in, Master Takeda!"

The ambition in her heart finally overwhelmed her uncertainty and worry about becoming an exorcist, turning into hope for the future. Seeing her answer so loudly, Rom paused, then murmured, "It's nice to be young," and said no more. He had been young once, too, and had tried to help others with his own strength. That was exactly how he had ended up caught in the Mountain God's calamity. But he wouldn't say something so discouraging in front of Yuria.

"Hey, Granny Saegusa, this girl can see them, you know?"

"...Even if you say that... there's nothing I can do about it."

Takeda Mie sighed. Looking at the girl in front of her, she reluctantly nodded.

"Then you'll be my second disciple. I can't teach you very much, but there are definitely some things you need to learn."

"Yes, Master!"

Yuria smiled happily and agreed to everything Takeda Mie said. Only then did she catch what the old woman had said.

"I have another senior disciple?"

"Look, there's Prodigy Rom."

Yotsuya Miko pointed at Rom, who had no intention of joining the conversation. She already knew the story, and it didn't take much thought to figure it out.

"That's right. He's your senior, but he went down a completely different path."

She had watched his videos on YouTube, too. She had to admire the way he blended tradition with modern technology. He put Ghost-killing chemicals in drones and sprayed them around, doing something that was utterly lacking in aesthetic appeal but incredibly effective.

"You?"

Yuria looked at Rom in disbelief. After all, she had watched his videos.

"So... this is how exorcism is done?"

"That's just how he does it."

Miko patted her on the shoulder. She didn't think much of this modern approach to exorcism. If anything, her own methods as a demonic cultivator were the real heresy. She not only destroyed Ghosts but collected their remnants as resources or materials, treating them like crops to be harvested.

"But it's pretty efficient, isn't it?"

"...I can't accept it."

Yuria answered that way. Imagining herself someday holding several remote controls, while drones sprayed Ghost-killing chemicals in every direction and she wore an exorcist's trench coat, carried an exorcist's magic mirror, and wore an exorcist's ring—even using artificial rain to kill Ghosts—brought on an indescribably strange feeling.

Wasn't a real exorcist supposed to have a few dolls tied around their waist, wear a stylish hunting robe, don a traditional hat, put on a stern expression, and have a few shikigami at their side?

However, she had never actually seen how Yotsuya Miko killed Ghosts. If it had been the old Yotsuya Miko, she might have given an answer like this:

Take out the metal box. Open it. Grab a handful of Talisman Iron Pellets (hand-launched), then toss them all over the place and carpet-bomb the area.

Very efficient.

"Unremarkable" Yotsuya Miko

After officially becoming Takeda Mie's disciple, Yuria received a title. Just as Takeda Mie was called the Downtown Godmother and Rom was called Prodigy Rom, Yuria's title was—Blood-Eyed Yuria.

"...It sounds so lame."

As she walked along, Yuria wore an expression like she was about to die. She was beginning to think she had been too hasty in becoming a disciple. Her master, Takeda Mie, seemed perfectly normal and traditional, but after learning that her first disciple was Rom and that her own title was Blood-Eyed, she had begun to doubt her decision.

"Master Takeda... are you really reliable?"

"Don't worry, don't worry."

Yotsuya Miko tried to reassure her. But when she thought of the little blonde girl who had been eagerly anticipating her title, only to freeze up after receiving a name like "Blood-Eyed," she couldn't help laughing.

"Pfft."

"...Go ahead and laugh."

Yuria glanced at her. Remembering that this powerful psychic went to the same school as her, she couldn't muster any anger. All she felt was gloom.

"Why couldn't it be something like 'Truth-Seer,' 'Ghost Slayer,' or 'Spirit Shatterer'?"

"You could have one of those, but you probably aren't strong enough to earn a title like that, are you?"

"Then what about you, Miko? Do you have a name among psychics?"

Yuria looked at her. She didn't know much about this psychic, and she hadn't been able to participate in an incident like the one with the Mountain God. Yotsuya Miko still seemed mysterious to her.

"Me?"

Miko pointed at herself, then shook her head. She wasn't part of this world's cultivation system, so she hadn't entered its circles, and she didn't need to.

"No. And I don't need one."

"Then how did you meet and talk to those psychics?"

"I don't need to, and I don't want to."

She answered with a smile, looking at the puzzled Yuria.

"Whether it's the Silver Ball or the Mountain God, I'm just an ordinary high school girl. I have absolutely nothing to do with any of it."

This was...

Yuria, in her chunibyo phase, quickly caught the main point and looked astonished.

The protagonists in stories often grew tired of their lives, went into hiding, and chose to live as ordinary people. They had extraordinary status and immense power, but no one knew who they were because they kept their identity secret. When their friends were in danger, they would step in without hesitation, only to worry that someone would recognize them. They would beg their companions to keep their secret, but those companions would betray them all the time, demanding to know why they had kept it hidden. What the hell kind of strange light-novel plot was this?!

So... I'm that companion?

"So, I'm just an ordinary person."

Miko said that because she was afraid someone might investigate her. What would people do if they learned she had created the Silver Balls and that she—probably—had dealt with the Mountain God? Just imagining it made her realize she might never be able to live a normal life again. And if people found out about the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record, a cultivation manual that devoured Ghosts, things would be even worse. That was another reason she didn't want to pass it on to Yuria.

"Can you understand, Yuria?"

Miko thought that Yuria, who had been treated as an oddball by her classmates because she could see Ghosts, would understand why she had to keep her identity secret.

And Yuria really did understand.

"Um... I don't know anything."

Yuria said that, her gaze toward Yotsuya Miko burning even more intensely. When she read those stories, she had been frustrated by the companions who acted like idiots and leaked the protagonist's identity. But only after putting herself in that role did she finally understand why they couldn't help themselves.

Wow. So this was what it felt like to have a powerhouse hiding right beside you?

She wanted to tell everyone about her theory, then gradually uncover the protagonist's true identity. The process was as wonderful as solving a mystery. Watching the powerhouse beside her slowly reveal her strength and status, before finally laying everything bare, was undeniably thrilling and delightful. And she was sure that this powerhouse beside her was the reincarnation of a god. The Silver Balls were the best proof.

This was a god, after all.

Yuria quickly filled in the "truth" behind Miko's secret and reined in her excitement, deciding not to be one of those idiotic companions.

"Weren't we talking about what to eat today?"

Although she had promised Miko to keep quiet, she had never promised not to ask about her identity.

For now, she could fish for information to her heart's content, until Miko refused to say any more.

"Speaking of which, the legend of Guardian of Silver Pellets was really popular a while back. Have you heard of it, Miko?"

"Silver Pellets?"

"Yeah. Apparently, these Silver Balls somehow show up beside people who need help and solve their problems. I wonder how they do it. Do you think it really is a god?"

"Maybe it is?"

"If so, that god must be really powerful. I heard that a lot of patients in a hospital recovered because of the Silver Balls. That must be a powerful and benevolent god."

"Uh... is that so?"

Hearing someone say things like that made Miko feel embarrassed. She responded awkwardly, trying to steer the conversation elsewhere. But Yuria wasn't about to let her off the hook. She enthusiastically started praising the "Deity of the Silver Ball," the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.

Looking at the streets around them, Yuria felt the gloom from her strange initiation ceremony fade away. There were quite a few spirits around here, though.

She glanced at the Ghosts passing by and paid them little attention. The trinket Yotsuya Miko had given her had already taken care of them. Yotsuya Miko hadn't even looked at the Ghosts; she was busy trying to change the subject. She thought Yuria was teasing her on purpose.

"Lately... I heard there's a nice clothing store. Want to check it out together?"

Yuria merely gave her a knowing smile.

"Don't you think this god..."

"Whatever else, it has nothing to do with me, right?"

"Did I say it had anything to do with you?"

"..."

Yotsuya Miko surrendered.

"Leave me alone. I'll buy you cake."

The Shepherd

Kawamori wasn't a particularly famous place. What it could boast of, however, was that a renowned calligrapher had once come from that region. His family had relied on their ancestor's reputation to establish their business there.

Yamanaka Saigawa narrowed his eyes, lifted the teacup in front of him, and silently looked at the old man. He carefully chose his words and continued trying to persuade him.

"The competition is being organized by the Kawamori Calligraphy Association and jointly hosted by the local government. Naturally, we'll make sure everything is handled with the utmost care. But for an event of this importance... it would be a shame if your family didn't take part, Mr. Tengo. After all, you should be the most renowned calligrapher in Kawamori."

Old Man Tengo simply held his teacup without speaking. He considered what the event would mean for his family, then slowly nodded.

"Since you've put it that way, President Saigawa, the Amamiya Family will have to take charge of the competition."

Just as Yamanaka Saigawa wanted to use Tengo's prestige for the competition, Amamiya Tengo also needed the event to promote the Amamiya Family. The Amamiya Family had lost a great deal and couldn't afford to remain unknown any longer. This calligraphy family, which had gradually faded from the public eye, needed a new opportunity to grow—even if it meant becoming increasingly commercial and profit-driven.

Thinking of that, Amamiya Tengo couldn't help sighing. No renowned calligraphers had emerged from the family for a long time. He was the only one who still had any reputation, and even that was hardly enough to make him a respected authority. For now, the family could still rely on his name. But what would happen after he died?

"Then I'll be counting on you, Mr. Tengo."