Returning to the story, the Traveler and Paimon went to the Grand Narukami Shrine to find Yae Miko, as when it came to light novels and strange tales, she was the expert.
Whether it was light novels or spooky stories, she was the go-to professional.
However, when the Traveler and Paimon arrived, they found someone else already seeking Yae Miko's help.
[Paimon: "Uh, Miko, are you busy right now?"]
[Yae Miko, smiling: "Hehe, not busy, not busy. It's no big deal."]
Hearing this, the person who came to see Yae Miko grew anxious and hurriedly said:
["Lady Yae Miko, how… how can you say it's not a big deal?! Please, I beg you, you must save my brother!"]
It seemed his brother was in serious trouble, enough to seek out Yae Miko. People already guessed it was likely a case of being "possessed," much like what happened to the Meikyou Shisui Art's headmaster, Domon.
Sure enough, the man named Yohei Kato explained his brother's situation, and it was indeed a case of being "possessed."
Even more coincidentally, his brother had once trained under Domon, the head of the Meikyou Shisui Art school.
Great, first the master went "mad," and now it's the disciple's turn.
If the people of Inazuma didn't know the reason behind Domon's madness, they might start suspecting the Meikyou Shisui Art school had bad feng shui.
Yohei Kato explained that Domon had looked down on his brother, saying he wasn't cut out for swordsmanship.
Afterward, his brother, refusing to accept this, trained diligently every day and eventually defeated Domon's prized disciple. Following this, the brothers had the idea to establish their own school.
But before they could act on it, his brother suddenly seemed like a different person. Yohei Kato suspected he was possessed, which is why he came to Yae Miko.
Hearing this, Domon recalled the person. His brother must be that Kato Shingo, right?
That man had indeed recently approached him to become his disciple, but Domon didn't want to take him on because he truly wasn't suited for swordsmanship.
Swordsmanship requires relentless daily effort, but his brother was extremely lazy and unwilling to train hard.
Yohei Kato claimed his brother trained diligently every day and defeated his prized disciple? How was that possible?
If his brother was that dedicated, Domon wouldn't have said he wasn't suited for swordsmanship.
Even without talent, it wouldn't matter—the Meikyou Shisui Art values temperament, but sadly, he lacked that too.
Could it really be a case of "thirty years east of the river, thirty years west"? Someone looked down upon suddenly turning over a new leaf and changing their nature?
Yohei Kato passionately pleaded with Yae Miko to save his brother, as he was about to establish their school, and they couldn't afford problems at this critical moment.
[Yae Miko: "Hold on, I'm a bit confused. Are you trying to save your brother, or are you trying to fulfill your dream of founding a school?"]
Yae Miko had already seen through him. This man wasn't genuinely worried about his brother; he was worried about not making money.
No wonder Yae Miko said it wasn't a big deal—judging by Yohei Kato's attitude, either he didn't care about his brother, or his brother wasn't in much danger.
It wasn't clear yet, so Yae Miko decided to probe further.
[Yae Miko continued: "Oh, by the way, have you heard any interesting rumors lately? Care to share?"]
[Yohei Kato, voice trembling, seemingly flustered: "Wh-what rumors? I… I haven't heard any!"]
Fox Lady's gaze sharpened, and the two fox ladies in reality had already pieced things together.
This matter was definitely related to that strange rumor about granting wishes, combined with the two lines of incantation Junichi recited. The two foxes understood.
An old friend had awakened, though it wasn't clear which one this time.
Ei remained expressionless, leaving it unclear whether she had figured it out. As long as she kept her cold face, no one would know she was actually clueless.
What, you didn't think I was that clueless, did you?
In the story, Yae Miko had naturally heard the rumor and, after seeing the incantation, knew what was going on, so she didn't take it too seriously.
In the end, she pushed the task onto the Traveler, conveniently letting the Traveler gauge the "severity" of the situation, so they could "help her" later.
But Yae Miko still tagged along. Though she said she didn't care, her actions were honest.
The Traveler didn't mind. Adventurers solve commissions, after all—who they solved them for didn't matter, as long as there was a reward.
When the group arrived at Konda Village, they found that Yohei Kato's brother wasn't there.
Speaking of which, Konda Village was quite the "feng shui hotspot." Why did so many things keep happening here?
Yae Miko told Yohei Kato to go find the "tools" needed for an exorcism, while she and the Traveler asked the villagers about the Kato brothers.
[Nobumori: "Oh, are you here to collect debts? Yohei said not to worry, that they'd pay back soon after taking on disciples…"]
Right off the bat, they assumed the Traveler was there to collect debts, showing that the Kato brothers owed quite a bit and were no strangers to debt collectors.
The Traveler asked about Kato Shingo's training in swordsmanship. Nobumori confirmed it was true, but because Shingo was notoriously lazy, Domon had expelled him from the school.
Shingo held a grudge, saying Domon had no eye for talent and vowing to defeat his disciple in a duel.
Domon sighed helplessly. He really had been too soft-hearted, causing this trouble. Fortunately, he hadn't taken Shingo in yet.
Nobumori continued, saying that Shingo did defeat Domon's prized disciple, but most villagers didn't believe it. Shingo was always lying around grumbling—how could he beat anyone?
One person's word wasn't enough, so the Traveler asked someone else.
The second person, Kenji, was a know-it-all who had been present during Shingo's duel with Domon's disciple.
He confirmed that Shingo had indeed won. No one expected it—once Shingo drew his sword, it was like he became a different person. Domon's disciple wasn't weak, but he was no match.
After drawing his sword, Shingo truly seemed transformed. He became much more diligent and suddenly couldn't stand tofu.
The mention of hating tofu reminded readers of someone—Arataki Itto.
In Arataki Itto's quest, it was mentioned that he couldn't stand beans. It wasn't clear if this was unique to him or common to all oni.
If all oni shared this trait, could Kato Shingo's sudden change mean he was "possessed by an oni"?
But Inazuma's oni are a species, not actual "ghosts"—how could one possess someone?
Could Kato Shingo have somehow switched species and become an oni? That's even more absurd than switching genders!
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice · Arataki Itto: About "Kato Shingo"
"Man, what a shame I didn't get to face off with him! I'd love to show him the might of this generation's Oni King!"