Chapter 42: Mariya Yuri Conceals with All Her Might
Although there was a tiny flaw in the end, Hikigaya still managed to fulfill what he had promised earlier, which left him quite satisfied—especially considering that Kuhoutsuka Mikihiko was the kind of person he was least adept at dealing with.
That final moment had left him with a profound sense of what it felt like to be forcefully swayed by someone who wouldn't stop smiling.
Especially when that smiling guy was genuinely sincere from the inside out.
Once the agreement was reached, Kuhoutsuka Mikihiko politely took his leave.
According to him, he was going back to report to his family and re-discuss the matter of Mariya Hikari being chosen as the shrine maiden for the Guardian Deity at Seiten Palace.
Hikigaya, on the other hand, walked home with the Mariya sisters.
Since the walk was dull, he began asking Yuri about the Four Great Houses and the Mikihiko Shrine.
"The Seishuin family that you know Ena from, the Kuhoutsuka Mikihiko family where Mr. Mikihiko is from, plus the Sayanomiya family and the Renjo family—these are the Four Great Families that have been famous in Japan since ancient times," Mariya Yuri explained in a soft voice as they walked.
"Also, just like Ena, Mr. Kuhoutsuka is the heir to his family and is expected to succeed as head in the future.
The Historical Records Compilation Committee is also managed by these four families. The current leader is from the Sayanomiya family."
"Sayanomiya, huh..." Hikigaya stroked his chin. "There must be power differences between them, right? So Sayanomiya is the strongest?"
"Not quite," Yuri shook her head and smiled. "The four families each have different responsibilities. In terms of martial affairs, it's mostly handled by Seishuin now. Sayanomiya oversees the Committee's assets and acts as a liaison with the political world. The Renjo family has been in decline since the war due to a lack of talent."
"Oh, and what about Kuhoutsuka?"
"The Kuhoutsuka family has never been involved in actual Committee operations or external affairs. Since the Edo period, they've always been in charge of caring for and watching over the Guardian Deity.
When Japan is threatened by dragon-serpent disasters, they summon the Guardian Deity to dispel calamities. Normally, they suppress the nation's Demon Gate. It's an extremely important task."
"Sounds pretty amazing. What's that Guardian Deity?" Hikigaya's interest was piqued.
A "Guardian Deity" and a "Demon Gate" sounded seriously badass.
The Mikihiko family, responsible for them, gave off major behind-the-scenes mastermind vibes.
"That I don't know," Yuri shook her head. "It's existed since long ago."
This disappointed Hikigaya a little. He thought this hyper-vision girl would know everything.
"But the Seiten Palace is part of the Nikkō Tōshō-gū Shrine. Maybe the Guardian Deity has something to do with the shogun?" Yuri added quickly, seeing Hikigaya's disappointed expression. "It's confidential to the Mikihiko family—even the other three families don't know the details, and of course, they wouldn't tell us either."
"What kind of job doesn't even tell you what it is? I say screw it, not going," Hikigaya grunted unhappily, though he continued to mull over what Yuri had said.
That shogun was definitely Tokugawa the Old Turtle. If Hikigaya remembered right, after he kicked the bucket, his divine name became Tōshō Daigongen, and the Nikkō shrine was dedicated to him.
"But big bro, Mr. Kuhoutsuka's actually a good guy. Annoying, sure, but a serious one," Mariya Hikari suddenly said, a hint of embarrassment showing on her face.
"Hey, do you even have the right to say that?"
Hikigaya glared at her.
Don't back out halfway when you're already conning someone. What's with the sudden guilt trip?
"Aww, you're making me sound like the bad guy!" Hikari rolled her eyes playfully and started acting cute—but all she got from Hikigaya was a snort.
"Cut it out. You're just like my sister. I'm not playing with you." Hikigaya quickened his pace, refusing to look at her acting cute.
"Waaah, big bro's like a little kid. So funny!" Hikari giggled with renewed energy. She jogged to catch up with Hikigaya and grabbed his arm, shaking it. "Don't be so stingy! Come on, play with me!"
"Hikari! That's rude! You can't treat Hikigaya like that! Let go!" Yuri was clearly panicking.
Right now, all Yuri wanted was to drag her little sister away—not because she disliked Hikigaya. On the contrary, she was only grateful toward him.
But to Seiten Palace, a Godslayer is someone who must be kept at a respectful distance. It had nothing to do with personal feelings.
Unfortunately, Yuri's fears were well-founded.
Because the next thing she heard was her clueless sister saying to Hikigaya: "Hey, big bro, why don't you come with me?"
"No!" Yuri shouted reflexively, then immediately realized she had screwed up.
Not only her sister, but even Hikigaya was now staring at her strangely.
She felt a chill run down her spine.
Yuri didn't know Hikigaya all that well, but she believed she understood how he operated.
He was headstrong, impulsive when an idea came to him, and prone to overthinking. If he really went to Nikkō, it would be trouble.
Seiten Palace was simply too important.
Japan is a land of demons and spirits, but ever since the Edo period, while monsters still existed, ghostly apparitions had become increasingly rare.
By modern times, even the legendary Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of a Hundred Demons) had vanished. The reason was that the Guardian Deity's power had sealed the Demon Gate, keeping it closed.
Compared to the once-in-several-centuries dragon-serpent disasters, suppressing the Demon Gate was the Palace's primary duty.
Back in the day, Abe no Seimei summoned the Twelve Divine Generals using only Kyoto's Demon Gate, but the Demon Gate guarded by Seiten Palace was far beyond even that—it was the Demon Gate of all Japan.
"Sis, why can't big bro come?" Hikari's voice brought Yuri back from the terrifying vision she'd just imagined.
Then she saw Hikigaya's eyes full of curiosity.
If fainting on the spot would help, Yuri would've gladly picked up a rock and smacked herself over the head.
"Of course not! We can't trouble him like that!" Yuri put on a stern face, pretending she didn't see Hikigaya's curious look. "Hikari, your training is something you must handle yourself."
"Tch. Stingy!"
"Hikari!"
"Alright, alright. She's just a kid. Let her grow up a bit," Hikigaya said casually, seeing the sisters about to argue. His fleeting curiosity faded. He turned to Hikari and added, "Be good, don't keep making your sister mad. And I don't have time to go to Nikkō with you, okay? Settle it on your own."
"You're spoiling her too much, Hikigaya," Yuri sighed in relief but still forced herself to say the line for the sake of appearance.
"Spoiling my ass. I've already got one like her at home—it's a pain," Hikigaya muttered. "Anyway, since you're here, I'll treat you both to a meal—no refusing! Thanks to your sister, I haven't even had breakfast yet! I'm starving!"
With that, he strode off toward a restaurant he vaguely remembered being nearby.
Chapter 43: Hikigaya Hachiman Begins Studying Magic
To Hikigaya, the affair with the Mariya sisters was merely a trivial episode, not worth mentioning.
He soon returned to his usual life—with a new pastime: discussing Egyptian magic and divine lore with Egyptian wizards.
To understand Egyptian mythology, one must first understand Egyptian history.
According to World History, the earliest recognized human civilization emerged in the sun-scorched Mesopotamian region around 3500 BCE.
This area, composed of several desolate plains south of the Persian Gulf, saw the rise of agricultural communes that transitioned from Neolithic tribal culture to civilization.
By 3000 BCE, twelve independent city-states had appeared in Sumer.
Around the same period, the ancient Egyptian civilization was also born. The mighty Nile River acted as a natural link, binding the Nile Valley and the delta into a stable and unified whole, initiating the chapter of Egyptian civilization around 3100 BCE.
Due to a relatively stable political environment, the Egyptians did not face continuous waves of invasion like the Mesopotamians.
This gave them ample time to develop their spiritual world—deities and religion.
However, Egyptian religion and customs were exceedingly complex, comprising various components: the worship of natural forces, local cults for city and regional gods, growing reverence for priesthoods, and foreign influences—especially from the East.
The Egyptians generally lacked interest in the origins, traits, and relationships of their gods, making their mythology and theology incoherent and lacking in moral content.
Though in later dynasties, a belief slowly formed that the righteous and kind could obtain eternal life.
The Egyptians believed they could avoid or manipulate gods for personal or collective benefit—whether for moral or immoral purposes.
Hence, the complex religious rituals of Egyptian temples were both acts of worship and methods of invoking divine power.
Through these practices, some of the earliest forms of magic emerged.
Therefore, Egyptian magic was always inseparable from divine power.
Osiris was considered the highest embodiment of white magic, while Set represented the pursuit of black magic.
Ancient texts even record competition between Egyptian magicians and Moses of the Bible.
There are legends of priests parting lakes in search of lost rubies long before Moses parted the Red Sea.
Having slain both Set and Osiris and obtained their essence, Hikigaya saw no reason not to delve into Egyptian magic.
If Egyptian ritual magic could so closely mimic divine power, then as a godslayer, he had every reason to surpass it.
Under these circumstances, an Egyptian wizard named Hazazi became his frequent consultation partner—one of the few Egyptian mages still in Chiba.
Hikigaya had a good impression of Hazazi: his magical knowledge was advanced and clearly explained. The only issue was his bizarre obsession with learning how to drive—a passion matched only by his terrifyingly awful driving skills.
The guy would rather crash than hit the brakes! He even scared his instructor to tears!
In the practice lot, he would passionately shout, "A true warrior never looks at red lights!" Was all his IQ spent on magic or what?
Hikigaya felt that if anyone ever let this guy on public roads, it must have involved a shady deal.
A sane world would keep him flipping cars in training lots forever.
That aside, Hazazi was a good teacher.
Roughly a month after sending off the Mariya sisters, Hikigaya could skillfully wield Egyptian ritual magic and even begin modifying it using his divine authority.
His current experimentation method was amulet-making. Across cultures, there are two main ways to make amulets:
Writing sacred texts on parchment or hard materials, like inscribing Bible or Quran verses onto trinkets Using symbols or images
Hikigaya could now craft simple protective charms in this way—but he wasn't satisfied with simplicity. He decided to attempt a more advanced one.
This happened on a Wednesday, in the Service Club room—because doing it in the classroom would probably draw a crowd like a panda exhibit.
After school, he rushed to the clubroom, dropped his bag on the table, pulled out a rectangular wooden block and a carving tool, and sat by the window to begin carving.
He chose one side and began to carve an image representing Osiris.
This wasn't easy—his art skills were lacking. But he had to do it; this was the core of the amulet.
The amulet he was creating was the Djed Pillar—originating before the dynastic period, but later associated with Osiris as a symbol of his spine.
As the scraping sound of carving filled the room, Hikigaya focused, not even reacting when someone entered.
Until he smelled a familiar scent.
"Hachiman, is today wood magic?"
A voice came from very close by. He could feel the person's breath and strands of hair dancing in the breeze near his ear.
He looked up—it was Yukinoshita Yukino's delicate, fair face.
Her again… And what was wood magic supposed to mean?
"It's an amulet," he said, continuing to carve. "For the dead."
"Oh…" Yukino nodded, then stepped away.
Moments later, she returned with two cups of black tea.
She placed one beside him, pulled up a chair, and sat opposite him in silence, watching.
Hikigaya had turned the wood over to carve the other side.
The Djed Pillar amulet represents the four cardinal directions in Egyptian ritual magic. The pillar itself symbolizes the sacred center, connecting heaven and earth. The four sides correspond to the four directions, with East and West being the most important—representing sunrise and sunset.
He had just carved Osiris representing life and sunrise. Now he carved Osiris symbolizing death and sunset.
His goal was for the wearer of this amulet to resurrect after death.
If successful, he planned to gift it to the Yukinoshita sisters.