I carried the great Summoner, Miss Misaki, in my arms and left that place.
In the end, I didn't wake those white-robed guys. The reason was that Miss Misaki fell asleep, and I didn't want to make noise.
At the very least, I should have asked what kind of group they were and what goal they had, doing a sacrifice-based demon summoning ritual like that. But oh well, all of that can wait.
I stuck fragments of 'Cloth Shadow'1 on some of them. These fragments are like little devices - if I focus, I can tell where they are right away, and I can eavesdrop and spy on them too.
On top of that, I can teleport to wherever a fragment is. Amazing, right? You'd call it a cheat, right? But among [Demons], it's actually one of the more modest [Authorities]2.
So anyway, those white-robed guys can't escape me now. Digging into the details can wait until after I find a place where Miss Misaki can rest. No problem.
"......Come to think of it, I don't know where Miss Misaki's house is. Even if I wanted to stay at a hotel, I've got no money......Huh, what do I do?"
Even if I make a wall out of 'Cloth Shadow,' I don't know if it has heating. I myself don't feel cold or hot, so I can't check.
So if it were just me, sleeping outside would be fine. But I don't want Miss Misaki to feel cold, so I want her to sleep somewhere with a proper roof.
"......Alright, if I look for a house nobody lives in, there's gotta be one."
Trespassing is a crime, but this is an emergency. To the owner of the house I'm about to stay in without permission: one day......I'll leave as soon as I can, so please forgive me until then. If the lock won't open, I'll give up.
With the plan settled, I walked toward the city where lights sparkled here and there.
"Ahh, how do I put it......this is a 'world.'"
There are mountains, there are rivers.
There are clouds, there's a moon.
There's night, and there's starlight and man-made light.
It's completely different from [Hell], where there's nothing but red earth and sky.
The night view of a "world" that has so many things. Just looking at it made my heart feel full.
--Misaki.
The mom who used to call my name so gently isn't here anymore after getting sick and dying.
Because she gave birth to a demon's child, nobody would help her. She wasn't taken to a hospital, and was locked in a room the whole time.
Because she gave birth to me, she died still unhappy.
The people who called me a demon's child said this to me:
"I should never have been born."
--That's not true. Thank you so much for being born.
I heard a gentle voice.
--Because you're here, Miss Misaki, I'm here too.
A man's voice, and I could tell he cared about me—it felt just like a mom's, and I felt safe.
--Rest easy now.
"--You calmed down, huh. I hope you're having a good dream."
Miss Misaki had been tossing and groaning, like she was having a nightmare. When I spoke to her, she started breathing quietly in her sleep.
She's the kind of kid who'd be used as a sacrifice. Before she met me, she must have had a rough life - maybe that's what she was dreaming about.
But that's in the past. Now that she's made a contract with me, I'll enjoy Japan with her and make her happy~.
I thought that, and chuckled like a demon—kukuku.
"But man, I'm glad there was a good house."
When I got to the edge of the city, there was a run-down one-family house standing all alone with no sign of people. I hoped nobody lived there and checked - I found the words 'Lot for Sale' and pumped my fist.
For now, I told myself it was just to let Miss Misaki sleep, and I went in.
Inside the house, tons of stuff was left behind, with a lived-in feel like someone had been living there until yesterday. But since there was no electricity, it looked like nobody lived there for sure. Maybe something sudden happened and the people who lived here were gone.
I remembered that in the Japan I know, empty houses like this were increasing, and people were worried they'd become hideouts for criminals.
That worry turned out to be true - proven by one [Demon] breaking in. Miss Misaki doesn't count since I brought her.
So I laid Miss Misaki down in a Japanese-style room with tatami mats. It looked like a lot of dust had built up from being left alone so long, but no problem. I spread out 'Cloth Shadow' and swallowed up the dust and trash, clean and neat.
I just thought of trying it, but I didn't think it would really work. I even put a bath towel inside 'Cloth Shadow' and took it out - when the dust and dirt came off perfectly, I couldn't help saying "so handy~" out loud.
When I put that bath towel over Miss Misaki, she didn't cough, and she curled up comfortably.
My [Authority] is way too helpful for the home—this is like one demon per household. At first I could only make shadows into 3D shapes, and now it's grown up so much!
--Isn't that the perfect [Authority] for you, "Fiction"?
......I remembered someone who kills my mood. I haven't seen that guy in a long time, but I hope he's dead. He probably isn't, though.
"......Alright, while Miss Misaki is asleep, let's gather some info."
I moved to the entrance. I opened the door and spread 'Cloth Shadow' outward.
"<Shadow Crow>."
Countless crows came out of the spread 'Cloth Shadow' and flew outside.
Those crows are just pieces of 'Cloth Shadow' cut to look like crows. They're not living things, so they fly anywhere without eating or drinking, and they become my eyes and ears.
The reason they look like crows is that a few hundred years ago in [Hell], I hit my limit wanting to go to Japan so badly, and I wanted something that would let me feel Japan even a little.
Thanks to that, they probably don't stand out anywhere in Japan, so it's all good in the end!
So I started gathering info using the <Shadow Crow>s. First of all, I want to know the date—I hope it's Reiwa3, because I want to play on Swi◯ch2.
After a little while, I shared my sight with a <Shadow Crow>.
What I saw was a cityscape of buildings lined up from above. Lots of people were walking on streets lit by streetlights. Among the letters I could see around, I confirmed three kinds: hiragana, katakana, and kanji.
--No tears come out, but I almost cry. It really is Japan.
From how many people there are, is this Tokyo? There was a big display on a building, showing late-night news.
<<--Today, a "Oni" appeared in the forest area around Mount Fuji in Yamanashi Prefecture. There were no injuries to climbers or others, and as of now, it has been subdued by the onmyoji who were dispatched.>>
......Oni? Onmyoji?
Is that code for a bear and a hunter?
As I watched the news, footage from the scene was shown.
There, a guy who looked exactly like an Oni I'd recognize was lying fallen, and beside him, people who looked exactly like onmyoji were standing with swords and talismans.
For a second I thought it was a drama, but seeing it move straight to the next news item, it looked like that was real footage.
I brought a crow closer to the ground to see how people in the city reacted. Among them, two office workers were talking about how that kind of news has been increasing lately.
--Demons are fictional......but you are different from other 'non-human beings'......
When I heard the white-robed guy's words, what I thought was - it looks like I wasn't mistaken.
"......Is this place different from the Japan I know?"
In the Japan in my memories, Oni were only fictional, and onmyoji were just......some traditional thing that's been around since long ago.
But here they really exist, and they fight as part of everyday life.
Yeah, this is a Japan I don't know.
"......Well, whatever! It's still Japan!"
Even if it's not the Japan I know, it's Japanese, so no problem at all!
Well, what bothers me is - those things like Oni, 'non-human beings' or whatever? I wonder how many monsters like that, and guys like those white-robed ones, there are.
"I hope it's peaceful......Oh, the screen changed. Did something happen?"
The <Shadow Crow>s are set to send me info from their side when they catch any aggressive movement in their sight. Flying <Shadow Crow>s tend to become fun targets for [Demons], so I installed this function to punish them.
I checked the changed view.
No people around - is this inside a hospital or some abandoned facility like that?
So a youkai or a ghost is fighting an onmyoji here?
--No, no matter how you look at it, that's a girl running from a monster.
Trivia:
- The protagonist's Authority is called Cloth Shadow, and it has evolved far beyond his original ability to only make shadows into 3D shapes - he now uses it for storage, cleaning, spying, and teleportation.
- The name "Fiction" is dropped by an unseen voice that addresses the protagonist directly, suggesting a past relationship or a higher entity that knows him well enough to mock his Authority.
- The protagonist's crows are shaped like crows specifically because he was homesick for Japan while in Hell - his longing for Japan literally took physical form in his power.
Translation Notes:
1 ↩ The protagonist's shadow-based Authority. The name literally means "Cloth Shadow," suggesting it behaves like fabric that can be spread, shaped, cut, and stored. This localization preserves the textile metaphor central to how the power works, which would be lost if translated as "Shadow Cloth" or similar.
2 ↩ A term for a demon's innate power or domain of authority. Translated as "Authority" to convey that these are not just skills but inherent rights or jurisdictions tied to a demon's nature. The protagonist notes his is "modest" among demons, implying a ranking system.
3 ↩ The current Japanese era name, beginning May 1, 2019. The protagonist's hope that it is Reiwa reveals he is from a modern era and is checking how much time has passed or whether he is in a familiar timeline.
Notes:
• Misaki - A quiet young girl held as a sacrifice by a group in white robes. Small enough to be picked up. May have been raised by the white-robed group. Given the name "demon child" by them. A ten-year-old girl with black eyes and black hair, wearing an all-white shrine maiden outfit. She summoned Yamato into a concrete room covered in talismans. Soft-spoken and unsure of the situation. She is Yamato's contractor, linked to him by an invisible thread. A young girl used as a sacrifice in a demon summoning ritual. Called a demon's child by others. Her mother died from illness after being shunned for giving birth to her. Now contracted to the protagonist. Sleeps peacefully after being carried from the ritual site. Quiet and traumatized but comforted by the protagonist's voice.