The day after I opened the otherworldly coffee shop “Tamamo Shop”, I immediately opened the story mode screen and tried to log in to the other world.
“I’m off then. I borrow Momoji for a while.”
“Yeah, you take care of that stupid girl. She looks like she could be useful in a pinch. Well, in other words, she won’t be of any use to you until the time comes! Fufufu!”
It was a terrible thing to say, but it was true.
But it’s strange because even in this way, I can feel the love that Nine-Tails has for her as a mother.
As a side note, in addition to the Fox family, Kuroko-san and Genzo Oldman were also there to see me off.
In other words, they all knew in advance that I was going to the other world, but there were a few special circumstances.
First of all, I couldn’t hide the fact that I was going to a different world from the Kuroko-san, and although I didn’t clearly tell her that the world existed in a different galaxy, I think she’s starting to get an inkling of my situation.
She probably recognizes the dungeon-crawling adventure with Jean as an undiscovered world of other dimensions, such as the demon world and the youkai world, which Onmyoji has always been aware of, rather than a unique world created by my special abilities.
It’s the same with Genzo.
He seemed to have made a rough guess that it was a world of other dimensions adjacent to this earth, by analogy with the Demon God of the demon world that he had discovered through the connection with me.
I guess he’s not too far off from the truth.
The other world created by the app is a different galaxy, that is to say, it’s not a different dimension just because it exists in a very distant place, but he seems to have realized that it’s different from the unique world of the Nine-Tails, which is a barrier-like space created by her ability.
And with that in mind, he seemed to have come to observe what kind of transition I would make when I departed.
In addition, both the old man and the young lady Kuroko seem to have been worried about my safety and have kept this matter to themselves, so the truth has not spread outside the Togami family.
This is why the two of them were the only ones to see my off.
Well, with regards of Kuroko-san, I can see her desire to follow me, but not this time.
I’m sure she’ll be a great asset if we can raise her level in another world and raise her, but we can’t just take her out without explaining the situation to her parents.
After all, she’s a minor.
It might be possible to get some help from the old man, but I feel that it would be wrong to ask for help in such a situation, so I decided that if she wanted to follow me, she should win her freedom by herself.
“Thank you, Saito-dono. You’ve been a great help this time.”
“No, that’s my line, Genzo-san. If it weren’t for you who summoned that demon, Jean. We may not be able to make it on time. It was really helpful.”
Harry and the old man were both wounded at that point, and they were grateful for Jean’s efforts.
However, it was a little questionable that Harry, a mercenary who had been beaten to a pulp, seemed to have some room without feeling a sense of crisis.
Perhaps he had a trump card or something, but I have no idea what it was.
I guess, like most adventurers in other worlds, he doesn’t reveal his cards.
“A demon, hmm. I’m sure that’s it, Saito-dono. …… You’re actually a demon from the demon world, aren’t you?”
“Demon? No, no, that’s not.”
“Hmm.”
I don’t have to tell the old man that my occupation is [Akuma] here, as he starts to think about it.
[Akuma=Demon]
Well, I can’t say I don’t understand why he would think that, since the dimension he found after tracing my connection was the demon world of another world.
And it doesn’t really matter what kind of existence I have.
I’m just an uncle, after all.
“Well, since that’s the case, I owe you all for the week. I’m off!”
This is what I said, and without waiting for an answer, I tapped the start screen of the story mode.
◇
The mysterious man in the world.
Witnessing Kenji Saito’s departure, Genzo Togami sighed.
“That brat. He just went away.”
“He’s gone. Togami Oldman.”
After seeing him off, I thought back to the days I spent learning about the legend of the Nine-Tails when I was a young man, and the days I spent repeatedly studying the Nine-Tails since her revival was revealed in the last ten years.
The longing for the Onmyoudou that I once aspired to as a child.
As I grew older, I learned about the legend of the Nine-Tails in the Togami family.
This is where I arrived at the true identity of the Great Yokai, the Land God of Trials.
That’s why I made up my mind and promised my wife, who had already passed away, that I would protect my daughter no matter what it took.
I think back to the days of torment that I went through after my grandchildren were born and I learned of the hopelessness of the return of the Nine-Tails.
“It’s a strange thing, but after I’ve finished the battle with you, which is the great goal of my life, somehow everything has led to happiness. I never thought that I would be able to protect my granddaughter without having to pay with my life, without having to kill you, my great enemy.
As Genzo spoke, Tamamo, the god of the land, kept her eyes downcast.
“That’s strange thing indeed, Oldman. But that is what human potential, the future, is all about. In the past, I too longed for such a future for human beings. Human beings have a future, they have emotions such as love and hate, and they have freedom. They were tiny beings who had nothing, but they had everything that I, the god of the land, could not have.”
──── Ah, I remember now.
Come to think of it, the fact that I fell from one of the pillars of the sub-gods and became a great demon, as well as the fact that I created my daughter, was because I envied such humans.
It was because of my obsession with such a tiny existence that I accepted the role of being Land God of Trials.
As if reminiscing about the past, Nine-Tails began to dig up memories.
“It was a time long, long time ago. As I recall, I envied mankind, and I wished to the God of Creation, who created me, that I could know mankind. ‘I want to know humans. I want to know humans and be close to them. And sure enough, that wish was granted.”
“…………”
She became a great youkai and learned about freedom by deviating from the rules and frameworks that were set as land god.
She gave birth to a daughter and learned about love.
She learned hatred by becoming human enemy.
“I’m not sure if it’s all because of my wish to the God of Creation or because of …….”
She remembered that much and suddenly let out a laugh.
“No, it’s not. No, it’s not, is it, old man?”
“Yes. It is not a predetermined wish that has resulted in this outcome because you have gained your freedom. It is we humans, you and ……, who have made this happen.”
“And it’s due to the work of each of them, including that mysterious greenhorn. …… Kuku, that’s right.”
The two of them, Togami Genzo and Tamamo Gozen, thought to themselves as they finished their story.
It has to be this way, otherwise it’s not interesting.
