Osakabehime and Jacques de Molay

Because Himeji Castle was protected by a barrier, its rules forbade entry anywhere but through the gate.

A moat surrounded the castle, and it had only one gate: the main entrance, which could be crossed only when the drawbridge was lowered.

So anyone who wanted to enter Himeji Castle had to use the front gate.

Manaka Sajyou and Alice approached it from the side and ran into Aoko, who had arrived late.

The drawbridge had yet to be lowered, so they could not enter. Above the gate, three large characters on the castle wall read "Himeji Castle."

"Himeji Castle! I know this one," Aoko said. "We learned about it in history class."

"It's also called White Heron Castle. It was first built in 1346, the first year of the Shōhei era. Most of the surviving structures date from the early seventeenth century. The castle has eighty-three buildings and is known as Japan's finest castle."

Aoko looked proud of herself. Her grades were among the best, after all, but she did not get the praise she wanted.

Manaka Sajyou kept smiling, looking as though she had given it no thought.

Alice, meanwhile, frowned. The source of a realm like this was usually closely tied to an important structure within it.

The appearance of Himeji Castle likely meant that someone who had once lived there had created this realm.

A supernatural being from six hundred years ago would not be easy to deal with. This might even be the work of a Greater Monster.

And when it came to Himeji Castle, one name came immediately to mind: the White Egret Princess, Osakabehime.

Osakabehime—called Lady Osakabe in Saikaku's Tales of the Provinces and Nagakabe in The Illustrated Hundred Demons Continued—was a monster worshipped as Himeji's local guardian deity.

If that was true, they