Tengen

"...What exactly did you two do?"

At the sight before him, Uraume froze as though struck by lightning. Words could not describe how he felt.

All kinds of meat lay piled in mountains. The stench of raw flesh mingled with the aroma of roasted meat, sweeping toward him on the fierce wind, while bloody water congealed into dark red patches on the ground.

Aside from the narrow, overgrown trail leading to the mountain behind it, not even a trace of the estate's mountain-shaped perimeter wall remained visible.

Food had burst beyond the confines of the entire property, and the overflow had attracted plenty of uninvited guests. Vultures and crows circled low overhead, screeching after their feast, while several stray dogs from who knew where happily gnawed on chicken legs.

"Ice Formation-Frost Calm!"

Furious, Uraume raised a hand to his lips. A frost-laden storm blew from his palm, carrying great sheets of ice on its freezing winds. Everything within sight became cloaked in snowy white.

Before the stray dogs and crows could even cry out, Uraume had frozen them into ice sculptures.

Seeing Lord Sukuna's residence reduced to this, Uraume desperately wanted to push open the doors and check what had become of Lord Sukuna's room, but he could not even make out the outline of the house.

Lord Sukuna had only gone out to fight monsters. He had been away for just one day, and already something had gone so horribly wrong...

Uraume's mind went briefly blank, and his vision began to darken.

"Little Ume, Nanika brought over all the meat in Heian-kyō~!"

Alluka clapped her hands together and spoke in a very cheerful voice. At her movement, the golden bells dangling from her hair ribbon chimed brightly.

Nanika liked to feed on emotions steeped in desire and on people's souls. Her diet was different from Sukuna's.

When Uraume had said he wanted the best meat, she had not really understood what "best" meant.

She remembered the adults at the shrine saying that only the nobles had the best food, so she had brought over everything that broadly met that description, hoping Uraume could pick out whatever best suited Brother's tastes.

"...Lord Sukuna is only going to be away for two days. What are we supposed to do when he comes back?"

Uraume muttered to himself and thumped his aching chest, unsure how he could explain to Lord Sukuna why the house had ended up like this.

There was not even anywhere to stand now, let alone room to pick out ingredients that suited Lord Sukuna's tastes.

"Oh, right."

Alluka blinked and answered with a touch of innocence.

"Let's go down to the town."

Uraume desperately wanted to restore the estate to its original state, but he knew that was no longer possible.

It was early winter, and the temperature had not dropped very far yet. He could freeze some of the food with his cursed technique, but he did not have enough cursed energy to freeze such an enormous quantity. He dared not imagine how nauseating the stench of rot would be when Lord Sukuna returned in two or three days.

Fortunately, Lord Sukuna was not particularly demanding about his accommodations. What Uraume needed to do now was find a better house before Lord Sukuna returned, making absolutely sure his lord could live comfortably.

"Okay!"

Alluka smiled sweetly and followed Uraume down to the town at the foot of the mountain.

The streets bustled with people, and vendors' cries rang out without pause. Now and then, peddlers carrying their wares approached passersby to ask whether they wanted to buy anything.

These people knew that the demonic god Ryomen Sukuna lived in the nearby mountains, but as long as they did not see him in person, they deluded themselves into pretending he did not exist.

Unlike Sukuna, whose two faces and four arms made him easy to recognize, Uraume and Alluka were unknown to the ordinary people as they walked through the streets. One vendor even recommended sakura mochi to Uraume.

Uraume was in no mood to eat, but he casually bought two and gave them to Alluka anyway. He took her straight to the town lord's residence. Before he could even explain why he had come, the town lord put on an ingratiating smile and declared that Lord Sukuna must have been dissatisfied with the previous estate, and that he would prepare a better residence at once.

Very pleased, Uraume took Alluka for a stroll around town.

The town was quite prosperous. The commoners were all visibly neat and clean in their dress, making it clear that this year's harvest had been very good.

Besides shops selling jewelry and food, there were also clothing shops that offered made-to-measure garments.

Thinking of Lord Sukuna's kimono, now buried under food, Uraume decided to go into a shop and order another batch for him.

Just then, a little stall selling enamel figurines caught Alluka's attention.

The childish Alluka and Nanika loved these cute little trinkets.

Uraume noticed. He wanted to pay for everything on the stall and take it all with them, but he and Alluka still had other things to carry. They simply had no room for it all.

Seeing that the stall was right across from the clothing shop, he said, "Wait here a moment. I'll come out as soon as I've given the shopkeeper the measurements."

Uraume did not think anyone would be foolish enough to try anything here. Besides, at this distance, he could rush out very quickly.

"You don't need to worry about me, Little Ume."

Alluka looked up and gave him a sweet, well-behaved smile.

Reassured, Uraume turned and entered the clothing shop. What he had not expected was that, barely a moment after he left, someone else would appear in the very spot where he had stood.

A shadow fell over the things before Alluka.

Alluka tilted her face up slightly and saw a silver-white figure standing before her, silhouetted against the light.

"...?"

Under Alluka's puzzled gaze, the newcomer remained silent for a while before speaking. "I am Tengen. Perhaps you've heard my name."

Tengen was a woman who looked quite young. Her long, silver-white hair hung untidily down the back of her kimono, but for some reason, her voice sounded aged and somewhat strange.

"Dao Long told me your name."

Alluka answered softly, a bright sparkle in her gray-blue eyes.

"I came specifically to find you."

Tengen turned her face toward Alluka, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on the girl's innocent, childish face.

"Curses are growing more rampant in this era. As it happens, I'm quite skilled in barrier techniques. If my barriers could cover the entire country, far fewer ordinary people would die."

"So...could you make a demand of me?"

Tengen looked calmly at Alluka as she explained her reason.

The Black-Haired Boy did not understand people's hearts, nor did he understand what these so-called barrier techniques were.

But she understood that the woman before her wanted to make a wish.

So she lifted her head slightly and slowly spread both hands.

"Tengen, could you give me the little finger on your right hand?"

An invisible contract formed between them. Just as Alluka thought Tengen would either accept or refuse, the woman before her merely smiled faintly, then turned and left without another word.

Alluka watched her retreating figure in confusion, not knowing what she intended to do.