The scene shifted as the surroundings were painted over once more.
Michizane and Seimei rode on the back of what appeared to be a ginormous pitch-black crow, one which distinctly possessed a pair of golden eyes that were like miniature suns as well as three legs, with the third leg situated between the other two.
The crow flew high among the clouds, higher than the rain below could pour down on them as the four-armed boy struggled to hold onto its back.
His two faces naturally displayed a great amount of panic from this as he barely held on.
Seeing this, Seimei could only chuckle.
“The Three-Legged Crow is an emissary of the Heavens.
You don’t need to worry about falling, Michizane.
It would rather stab itself upon a pike than let a passenger fall to their death.”
“That’s rich coming from you.
You’d be fine even if you fell from this height,” the boy snapped back, gnashing his teeth in frustration.
“I certainly wouldn’t!”
The Three-Legged Crow cawed, seemingly taking offense, which caused Michizane to struggle even harder as the fear of death was put into him.
As for myself, the Simulation Gu fortunately did not apply gravity to me as I looked around in fascination.
The scenery of the Heian era was vastly different from that of modern times.
It was breathtakingly beautiful.
The sky was as clear blue as the ocean’s surface and the greenery below was abundant with vitality.
Modern Fuyuki had its own beauty, but against this, it would be like comparing a random ditch to the Niagara Falls.
Of course, this was to be expected.
Pollution was a driving force even in my old world, so it would naturally be much more so in this one, which was already predestined to crumble.
The Land of Steel was this world’s inevitable end, the result of humanity reducing this planet to a desolate wasteland.
I briefly pondered whether I should do anything to prevent that, but quickly abandoned the thought.
Unless I managed to defy logic by refining Lifespan Gu in a world without Heaven’s Will or somehow achieved Divinity in the modern era, I wasn’t going to live that long.
This meant it wasn’t my problem.
After all, unlike the cultivators of other works, Gu Masters do not actually gain additional lifespan from cultivation as even the Venerables had ordinary human lifespans.
They instead had to rely on the many scattered Lifespan Gu created by Heaven’s Will to momentarily nullify their old age.
That was the case in the novel’s setting, which I could not make use of.
Heaven’s Will did not exist in this world and I doubted that its closest analogue, the Counter Force, wanted any immortals popping up in the modern era…
As they crossed numerous mountains and rivers, the pair of master and disciple eventually found themselves overlooking the outskirts of a great city.
Michizane gasped as he took in its immensity.
This city was built atop myriad hills, integrating the natural waterfalls and springs into its architecture.
Giant sakura trees grew about, and placed atop the tallest peak was an immaculate palace, peerless in its beauty and grandeur.
Overall, this city resembled less an actual settlement from this antiquated era and more a fantastical reconstruction the likes of which could only be found in fiction.
Yet this was not fiction, at least not anymore.
The only reason I called it so was because my sense of normalcy was still based on the history of my old world and not this one.
In this world, such wonders were akin to exotic flowers you’d occasionally stumble upon in a garden. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Far from common, but certainly to be expected.
“Is this Heian-Kyo?” Michizane asked his mentor, who was perched atop the Three-Legged Crow’s neck, referencing the capital of Japan during this time.
“Great guess,” the Onmyoji nodded as he smiled.
“This is indeed the capital of peace and tranquility, or as you said it yourself, Heian-Kyo.”
“There seems to be a celebration going on right now,” the four-armed boy noted as he glanced down at the busy streets, which were full of cheerful folk, both the peasantry and nobility alike.
“Well, it’s actually related to the matter that has kept Yasunori-san preoccupied,” the Onmyoji explained before he continued.
“His Imperial Majesty, our Emperor Toba, lives in that place,” Seimei revealed as he pointed at the palace that sat atop the tallest peak.
“Good guy, really.
But he’s rather fond of younger girls.”
‘Wow, what a sentence.’ I lampooned with an inexplicable expression as I heard that last part.
I was far from surprised, however.
This was the Heian era and such proclivities were almost to be expected from the men in power.
At least, it wasn’t ancient Greece, right?
Not that I approved, but it would be foolish to not acknowledge the difference in our societal values.
In modern times, there are still a lot of men like that in power, but they usually hide it well, aside from a few.
I listened attentively as Seimei then pointed down at the city.
“The festivities are to celebrate the Emperor’s upcoming matrimony with an adopted daughter of the Fujiwara Clan.
I believe her name was…
Nariko or something similar to that, though most people know her by her famous childhood nickname, Lady Duckweed.”
“Lady Duckweed?” Michizane repeated with a furrowed brow.
“What a weird nickname.
What could she have possibly done to earn it, eat duckweed?”
“Beats me,” Seimei readily admitted his ignorance.
“She was already called that by the time I came to know of her existence, which was a few months ago.
You’ll have to ask around if you want to find out the true reason as I frankly do not care.”
“Fair enough, I guess…”
Now it was vital to remember that the Simulation Gu translated their words into English for me.
This included certain terms as I was quite confident that the giant bird they rode wasn’t just called the Three-Legged Crow originally.
Some terms did not get translated, like Yakan, Oni, and Kitsune.
However, this was probably to avoid confusion as the literal translations for those three words, jackal, demon, and fox, were commonly used.
With this in mind, I concluded that this Lady Duckweed nickname must surely be one of those translated terms.
…Or it might not.
I wasn’t really sure as I sadly could not just ask the Simulation Gu like I would an actual author.
Nevertheless, I didn’t have a single clue about this Nariko person.
The two began to descend upon the city as many people glanced up in surprise.
At first, they were afraid and agitated, but after witnessing the crow’s three legs, they were put at ease.
It appeared that this bird was a signature mount of the Onmyoji.
Michizane apparently had a similar thought as he asked, “Where did you get this Three-Legged Crow?”
“Oh, I hatched her myself,” Seimei replied, patting the crow’s head.
“Despite her size, she’s barely a decade old, younger than you, Michizane.
I received her egg not long after I paid my first visit to your clan’s territory.”
“So you stole her from her nest?” Michizane jabbed as Seimei gave a wry smile.
“Come now, it’s not stealing when I’m not the one doing it,” he laughed.
“She was a gift from a friend, and I’m not one to look too deeply into the specific origins of strange gifts.
I just appreciate what’s given to me.”
“Is that so?” Michizane hummed as he nodded, moving into another line of questioning.
“Where are you from, anyway?”
“I’m from nowhere and everywhere at the same time,” the Onmyoji answered cryptically with a slight smile.
“Like wind in autumn, or a drop of water in the heat of summer.”
“Alright, gee.
You were a homeless orphan that had to make ends meet by selling your body, got it.” The boy snorted as Seimei’s slight smile vanished instantly, replaced with an expression that looked like he wanted to cough up blood.
“I-I didn’t say that, you brat!” The Onmyoji said, all flustered as a visible forehead vein bulged from anger.
“Take it easy, you’re the one who was acting all mysterious like.” Michizane answered with a smirk, much to Seimei’s dismay, as he found he couldn’t refute the boy’s words.
He sighed, “What’s there to say?
I am, as my surname would suggest, a member of the Abe Clan.
My clan hails from the Settsu Province, but I’ve spent the majority of my life here in the imperial capital.”
“There, that’s more like it.” Michizane playfully grinned as he patted the Onmyoji’s arm since he was currently too short to do the same to his shoulder.
The bird began to land and did so in the middle of a rather vacant street compared to the busier ones from before.
Seimei leapt off the Three-Legged Crow’s back as his disciple soon followed.
Seimei reached up and gestured at the building before them, smiling as he introduced it, “This is the Bureau of Onmyo building.
Consider it your new home from now on.”
(Please be patient about the pacing.
It is meant to be slow in the beginning.
Volume 1 will end with chapter 40 or around that, and the next volume will immediately start with the Fourth Holy Grail War.
By then, it will be straight peak, trust)
(Also, please have some media literacy.
The simulations are clearly more than what they first appear to be and I’ve already shown hints of their true nature)
(By the way, do you guys prefer the cover to be his current simulation or just Sakura?
I’ve been changing it periodically to see which one attracts more readers)