Onmyoji, a nobleman in Heian-kyo

Page 1533

However, that's not the case. After all, the actual person in charge of the Yokai Market—Kuro Seimei—is a top-tier Onmyoji who is both powerful and willing to use his methods.

It would be more accurate to call him "Great Onmyoji".

Kuro Seimei was still Seimei after all.

Even those in the know are more inclined to believe that Seimei was real.

In fact, the two people who were separated from their original bodies due to the "Yin-Yang Separation Technique" have the same personality; they are just different in their beliefs and have been separated.

"Divide" is the word that Kyosuke Kosaka thinks is the most appropriate.

"We've done things we didn't dare to do before... The original Seimei was probably already struggling with this, but now that we're split into two, it's like having two clones, each doing their own thing. We've definitely improved efficiency, but our strength has weakened."

Kousaka Kyosuke, already at Kuro Seimei's residence and waiting for his arrival, was thinking about all sorts of random things.

To be honest, he was quite curious about the original Seimei.

Unfortunately, at present we can only see two more distinct half-body Seimei characters.

One is "goodness," and finds it difficult to ignore people and monsters in trouble.

One is "evil," but in reality, he hasn't done many evil deeds, at least not now. In fact, he takes better care of weaker monsters, meaning he's not exactly friendly to humans.

Even so, Kuro Seimei would not harm anyone without a reason.

Calling him "a good person in the monster camp" would be more appropriate.

"...How did you get here?"

The Great Tengu, who was in charge of entertaining the group, politely had his servants serve tea and snacks to everyone.

The pastries were grayish, but they were small and delicate in appearance, and the presentation wasn't bad either.

Upon smelling that familiar fragrance, Kyosuke Kosaka immediately knew that these were dumplings made from millet flour.

Mixing millet flour with a small amount of glutinous rice flour and kneading it into a dough results in almost no flavor, and the texture is soft and fluffy. Perhaps because not enough glutinous rice flour was added, the smooth and chewy texture is less pronounced...

To be more precise, it tastes like eating a regular dumpling at first, but the moment you bite into it, the round dumpling breaks apart under the force of your bite, spreading out in a rustling sound.

This definitely wasn't made using ordinary methods, right?

"It tastes 'magical,' but I feel like they're trying to save on that little bit of glutinous rice flour."

Kyosuke Kosaka thought to himself.

He wasn't trying to find fault; he simply sensed a hint of wind element in the dumpling and guessed who made the dessert.

Then, I felt a strong sense of incongruity.

In my mind, I can already picture a Great Tengu wearing an apron, earnestly making dumplings and meticulously calculating every penny.

No, the imagery is getting stronger and stronger...

While Kousaka Kyosuke was thinking about random things, the situation became tense.

"Minamoto no Yorimitsu, do you believe that the Yokai Market has become a threat?"

"This fact is self-evident, isn't it?"

"I will stand with Lord Kuro Seimei to protect this place. You don't need to meddle!"

The Great Tengu said coldly to Minamoto no Yorimitsu.

He knew that this hawkish Onmyoji, who had never been friendly to yokai, would definitely not come with good news.

Now that has been proven.

"Are you guys the only ones protecting a bunch of burdens?" Minamoto no Yorimitsu said again, a playful smile already on his face.

The Great Tengu was furious upon hearing this, but he managed to suppress his anger.

"If you're only here to make these sarcastic remarks, then leave. You're not welcome here!"

After regaining his senses, Kyosuke Kousaka silently watched the drama unfold.

"Just take Minamoto no Yorimitsu as an example. None of us fellow travelers, the Great Tengu, have mentioned him. It seems like they're targeting us... Well, that makes sense. We're more like background characters here."

From the very beginning, Kyosuke Kosaka understood that he probably didn't need to say anything.

Because no matter how you look at it, Minamoto no Yorimitsu's arrival seems like he's looking for trouble.

Now that this has been confirmed, what more needs to be said?

"Great Tengu, a guest is a guest, even if he is an unwelcome guest. Perhaps it is still necessary to let him finish explaining why he came here."

A leisurely voice rang out.

Unsurprisingly, it was Kuro Seimei, the leader of the Yokai Market, the leader in name only—Kousaka Kyosuke had heard that Kuro Seimei's identity had been brought into the open since the trial ceremony.

Perhaps it was for the sake of making things more convenient?

Besides, all the demons already know about Kuro Seimei's deeds, so hiding it won't make any difference.

"An unwelcome guest?" Minamoto no Yorimitsu smiled as he looked at Kuro Seimei approaching. "If I say I am, then you're preparing to make your move?"

"Minamoto no Yorimitsu!"

After Minamoto no Yorimitsu began to speak, Onikiri, whose brows had been furrowed the entire time, finally opened his mouth.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu chuckled and said, "I'm just stating the facts and I've come here to inquire about the situation in the yokai market. Don't start shouting for war."

"If that's the case, then you can rest assured, I will protect this place." Kuro Seimei waved his folding fan, his expression still calm.

"Protect? That's a familiar term."

"In this world today, aren't you and all the ghost kings acting in the same way?"

"Whatever you say, I'm just doing my job."

Uh.

Kousaka Kyosuke watched Minamoto no Yorimitsu and Kuro Seimei's conversation in silence, and suddenly wondered if their identities had been switched.

How come one of them became frank, while the other became dishonest?

Or is this just my imagination?

"Enough of this small talk!" Kuro Seimei, seated in the main seat, calmly looked at Minamoto no Yorimitsu. "I already know the purpose of your visit—in short, I can guarantee that nothing unexpected will happen here."

He knew very well why Minamoto no Yorimitsu had come here to protect Kyoto.

The concern was that the monsters in the city area might completely revolt and eventually become a force that would destroy Kyoto.

This concern was not unfounded, and Kuro Seimei understood it. Of course, he was also very unhappy, but that was all. He wouldn't act rashly just because of this dissatisfaction.

"Not only that……"

"What do you mean? Do you expect me to show some kind of sincerity?"

Kuro Seimei's expression began to turn hostile.

The Great Tengu also picked up a fan, ready to strike at Minamoto no Yorimitsu at any moment.

Seeing the atmosphere becoming tense, Kyosuke Kosaka, no longer wanting to be just a background figure, had to speak up to ease the tension.

"The purpose of this trip is to achieve mutual benefit and assistance. At this time, even though humans and monsters are at odds, they are ultimately on the same side. The main enemy is still those evil gods."

Kuro Seimei laughed: "Really? I can't tell."

“At least if you ask me for help, I will definitely come to help, provided that I have time, because I may have to do other things to deal with evil gods soon, and then I won’t have time.”

Kyosuke Kosaka said it very directly.

His character is impeccable, especially in the world of monsters!

“I mean, I can’t tell from Minamoto no Yorimitsu,” Kuro Seimei continued slowly.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who was mentioned, smiled and said, "I am very sincere. I have come here to invite you to move to Kyoto together."

"...You mean you want me to give up here?"

“This place is not a suitable stronghold for defense, so I have come here to sincerely invite all the yokai in the city to go to Kyoto. There is a place there that you can stay temporarily.”

"No need!"

Kuro Seimei refused firmly.

He seemed to have guessed why Minamoto no Yorimitsu had proposed this plan.

In fact, Kyosuke Kosaka had guessed it too, and his expression gradually became strange.

"Could they be planning to send these monsters ahead of them? They're really keeping the risks firmly under their control!"

What risks? Can't we just eliminate the risks directly?

If this is indeed Minamoto no Yorimitsu's suggestion, then that's roughly the gist of it.

"Why reject it so quickly? This place will eventually disappear, and relocation is the best idea."

"I wouldn't mind moving to Kyoto at all."

Kuro Seimei sneered.

Upon hearing Minamoto no Yorimitsu's admission, he genuinely wanted to chase him away like the Great Tengu had done.

He's nothing but a lackey who lives for humanity.

There's nothing to say to Kuro Seimei.