Yoshihide Hasaba

Suguru Geto stood in front of the house, watching the villagers below without expression. They had begun gathering to head to the village chief's house together and demand an explanation. The only villagers left were Komaiwa, who had passed out from the pain, and his mother, who was tending to him.

"Master Exorcist...! Will my son be all right...?" Komaiwa's mother cradled her unconscious son. Her face streaked with tears, she cautiously addressed the [exorcist] beside her.

"He will be fine. The truth will soon come to light. Once it has been confirmed and he receives the [divine children's] forgiveness, he will recover." Suguru Geto glanced at Komaiwa's mother and spoke evenly.

"Thank you, sir..." Sensing the exorcist's mood, Komaiwa's mother asked no more questions and dragged her son aside to lay him down.

"Creeeak-" The old wooden door opened from within, and Sakurada Niji stepped out.

"...? Geto... where are the villagers?" Sakurada Niji was puzzled. He had heard a commotion outside and hurried out, afraid Suguru Geto might lose control, only to find just two people left.

"They went to find the village chief... They now believe he killed the girls' family member." Suguru Geto activated Cursed Spirit Manipulation, releasing several cursed spirits into the village.

"The girls' family member was probably a low-ranking jujutsu sorcerer. He died a couple of days ago, leaving no one to exorcise the cursed spirits in the village. Villagers started disappearing, so they decided the whole family were demons..." Suguru Geto gave Sakurada Niji a rough account of what had happened.

"By the way... how are the two girls...? I mean Nanako and Mimiko. Let me check one more time... the blonde one is Nanako, right...?" Suguru Geto asked Sakurada Niji earnestly, his expression serious.

"Yes~ The blonde one is Nanako~ The dark-haired one is Mimiko~ You've asked so many times these past few days..." Sakurada Niji replied in exasperation.

"How are they...? They'll need to see the villagers next..." Suguru Geto hesitated. He did not want the girls to face their abusers so soon, even if his ultimate aim was to help them put their trauma behind them for good.

"They're doing fairly well. They had some external injuries, but I treated them with reverse cursed technique," Sakurada Niji said.

"All right, the villagers are coming. Go inside and keep the girls calm. Once I send a cursed spirit in, bring Nanako and Mimiko out." Suguru Geto sensed the cursed spirits he had sent to follow the villagers heading back toward him and concluded that the villagers had returned.

"Mm, got it..." Sakurada Niji replied somewhat reluctantly and went back inside. He realized he rather enjoyed role-playing.

Suguru Geto straightened his clothes, set his face into a solemn expression, and waited where he stood for the villagers to come and face judgment.

Inside the house

"Nanako? Mimiko? Don't be scared. It's your big brother~" The sound of Sakurada Niji opening the door seemed to frighten Mimiko. The timid little girl immediately hid behind her older sister and refused to peek out.

"Big brother! How did it go...? How did the other big brother's talk with them go...? Is there anything we need to do...?" Nanako had pressed herself against the door earlier and overheard Suguru Geto and Sakurada Niji's conversation, so she had some idea of the situation. She seemed eager to prove herself, as though afraid this hard-won hope would vanish.

So mature it hurts... sigh... Looking at the sensible child before him, Sakurada Niji felt an ache in his chest, almost enough to bring him to tears.

"Do you remember who in the village hit you?" Sakurada Niji asked Nanako. He had noticed that, of the two sisters, Nanako was clearly more mature and sensible. She understood things and actively sought opportunities, while Mimiko seemed withdrawn and was the one being protected.

"The village chief and his mother... and big brother Komaiwa... He used to be really nice to us... Then his father disappeared in the mountain behind the village... He thought we did it... Everyone was usually really nice... Only the village chief argued with Father a lot... Then Father died in the mountain..." Nanako had to think for quite a while before she managed to explain everything clearly.

Did we arrive earlier this time? The girls have been locked up for less than three days, and the village chief hasn't come to abuse them yet because he's injured...

"Okay, I understand. In a moment, you and Mimiko will need to come outside~ The village chief tricked everyone~ Now they're going to apologize to you..." Though Sakurada Niji could not be sure whether this would count as a genuine apology, or whether the villagers truly believed they had done anything wrong...

A commotion sounded outside. It seemed the villagers had brought the village chief and his mother.

Suddenly, a cursed spirit slipped through the wooden door. Its appearance could almost be called ugly-cute...

So... Geto was looking for good-looking cursed spirits to give the girls as toys...

"All right~ We're going outside now~" Sakurada Niji told the two little girls, who were staring curiously at the cursed spirit.

At his words, both girls walked over to Sakurada Niji and each took hold of one side of his uniform jacket's hem.

Having never looked after children before, Sakurada Niji could only shorten his stride to tiny steps and slowly walk toward the door.

Outside the house

"Master Exorcist! We've brought the village chief and his mother!"

"Someone saw the village chief following Master Hasaba on the day he disappeared!"

"..."

Every [clue] the villagers offered pointed to the village chief, and his panicked expression seemed to confirm something as well.

"Everyone, quiet." Suguru Geto waved a hand at the villagers and released Rainbow Dragon into the air. The presence of the high-level cursed spirit silently subdued the chattering crowd.

"Blasphemer, you had better tell the truth... Otherwise, even death will be a luxury beyond your reach." Suguru Geto walked up to the village chief. His calm, cold tone filled the chief with fear, and instinct told him he had better not lie.

"I'll talk..." Not daring to meet Suguru Geto's eyes, the village chief hastily lowered his head and began recounting what had happened.

"Yoshihide Hasaba... was those two children's father. Their mother died long ago... Yoshihide Hasaba had been raising them alone all this time..."

"A strange exorcist came to the village before. He said that if we found any children who could see monsters, we should keep them for him. He would pay a high price..."