inking another demon’s name was mine. That is what happened. The real question is whether a witch who thought a Succubus would be a nice, safe option will be able to control a great demon that just barely did not rank on the level of a demon that symbolizes one of the seven deadly sins.”

“Ahh!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!”

She let out a tremendous cry.

And then a rumbling noise drowned out even that cry.

I doubted it was just due to my hazy mind that I did not know what was happening. I focused my entire mind on averting my gaze from something I must not see. I could instinctually tell this was something I was not meant to see. I was so weak I did not want anyone or anything to view me as an enemy, so the great intimidating atmosphere that ruled the entire area for a short while almost seemed a blessing.

Something had failed.

And as a result, something had happened to the witch.

Finally, I suddenly realized I was lying face up on the midsummer mountain road. The fog was gone. The witch who had produced the fog was also gone. Everything was back to normal. Everything except for an old Japanese camellia tree growing unnaturally above the asphalt.

The Zashiki Warashi and Succubus stood nearby.

Those members of the occult had easily deceived that witch who had fully used the intellect that was a human’s greatest weapon.

While leaning up against the Japanese camellia tree, the Succubus smiled and said, “She is not dead. Demons wish to make human souls their personal possessions, so we make sure not to destroy those souls. Of course, she will probably be begging for her life after spending 5 minutes in the same place as that monster.”

“...Why?”

“Are you asking why I saved you?” said that demon so readily so as to not let me imagine just what was whirling around within her heart. “That is what I asked about before. With my goal so close at hand, was it wrong of me to do this?”

Part 19 (Uchimaku Hayabusa)

The parachute fell and a kimono-wearing girl of about 10 was caught in the tree branches. We brought her into the back of the light truck and fled as quickly as we could. However, the SAS-style special forces Mai had mentioned never came. I had no idea what was happening.

And...

At some point, Shinobu had disappeared from the back of the truck. I was extremely worried about him, but Mai just kept saying I would know where he was soon enough.

It seemed she had used him in one of those traps or conspiracies she loved so much, but that only made me more worried.

Currently, Mai was talking with someone over her satellite phone.

“Yes, yes. Oh, so it worked? Right, right. So you haven’t killed them. Then get the names of the rest of the witch’s group from them. Once we have that list, we will overlook you as promised. Your wanted status within Hyakki Yakou will be removed.”

I glanced into the rearview mirror and asked, “Who are you talking with?”

“You don’t want to know,” said the mystery freak from the passenger seat.

After hanging up, Mai began speaking with the girl of about 10.

“What about the special forces acting on the witch’s behalf?”

“Hyakki Yakou controls the sky here. We have eight Generation 4.5 and Generation 5 fighters. They are multirole fighters, so they can easily attack ground targets. I doubt even a pro can stand up to them with only rifles and shoulder-fired missiles. They should quickly retreat across the mountain.”

“We should have the witch’s list before long. We can use that to at least handle anyone within Japan.”

“The ones that have taken root in Australia will be harder to eliminate, but we will apply as much pressure as we can.”

“This has worn down Hyakki Yakou’s 100 officers once more. Why don’t you use that to force it through?”

“Conflicts between organizations are not that simple. But I suppose all we need to do is prepare a situation in which the Australian government will abandon the witch’s group.”

“Do you have any ideas how to do that?”

“Australia’s large scale circular farms are having problems with cyclones and insect outbreaks, so what if we help them properly pacify this god? Instead of trying to turn a god into a demon, we can help them honor and revere the god.”

“I see. Once they have another way, the government will lose any reason to cover for the witch.”

“An excessive supply lowers the value of things. We call this the North Wind and the Sun method.”

This girl who was talking about things just as dangerous as Hishigami Mai was frightening me to the point of feeling chilled, but who was she?

“Don’t worry about it,” said Hishigami Mai when she saw me glancing nervously in their direction. “This is all over. Once we return to that thatch-roof house, everyone can go back to their peaceful everyday lives.”

Part 20 (Jinnai Shinobu)

If only it really could have ended there.

Unfortunately, the world was not that kind.

I had vodka splashed on my stomach and a huge piece of gauze wrapped around it. After receiving that love-filled Succubus-style first aid, I somehow made it back home.

The Nekomata immediately said, “Your father wishes to speak with you. I think he wants to lecture you.”

“Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!”

While I was receiving that lecture (that included a fist or two), it seemed the situation continued to develop. My uncle, the twintailed girl, Hishigami Mai, and the kimono-wearing girl had used a large transport helicopter prepared by Hyakki Yakou to quickly leave Noukotsu Village.

“They said a helicopter is the most relaxing.”

“S-so what? I don’t see how that could be true.”

Also, that kimono-wearing girl and Hishigami Mai were one thing, but why had my uncle left on the helicopter prepared by Hyakki Yakou? I guessed he must have been very busy with his work.

That evening, I chased around the Succubus a bit after she said going to the hospital would do nothing to help. I then had that Okinawa-born thing call out to me from the yard.

“I am Shisa.”

“Hm? What happened to your friend? That Kijimuna thing.”

“He is fighting with the Furutsubaki over his place in the yard. I was surprised when a second Furutsubaki suddenly appeared.”

Well, it would have been a nuisance if it had stayed on that asphalt mountain road.

I followed the Shisa’s gaze and expected to find some trees moving around violently, but instead found three small kimono-wearing children fighting. It seemed to be a traditional competition to see whose Youkai transformation ability was the best.

“I had the Yuki Onna make it snow and made a snowman and igloo. I have no regrets. If I do not return soon, my family may grow worried.”

“I see. They aren’t going to think the decoration on their house’s roof was stolen, are they?”

The Shisa ignored my worries and called out to the Kijimuna still fighting in the yard. The Youkai ran over to the Shisa while still in the form of a small child.

The Shisa said, “Goodbye. Visit us if you are ever in Okinawa.”

I watched the Shisa and Kijimuna walk away. With the sunset behind them, it was a somehow lonely scene.

The Succubus (now wearing a T-shirt) called out from behind me.

“Having somewhere to return to sure is nice.”

“You may be trying to make it sound nostalgic, but I don’t want to let something as dangerous as you back into the European Security Force.”

“Heh heh heh. I will take that to mean you want me all to yourself.”

We chatted as we returned to the Japanese-style living room.

“Are you really okay with this?” I asked.

“With what?”

“Well...I’m glad you saved me, but didn’t you want a large country filled with plenty of witches where you could do whatever you wanted?”

“Given their situation, it was not a very attractive invitation.”

“Come to think of it, I understand how the witch’s group knew you were here due to having people inside Hyakki Yakou, but how did you know what was going on in Australia? You’ve been in the attic the whole time.”

“Oh, that. I am the demon that controlled the European Security Force. I constructed a defensive network for any potential enemies from various areas of the world: North America, South America, the Far East, Eastern Europe, etc. In the process, I had them investigate Australia because it holds the most influence in Oceania. ...Anyway, due to various circumstances, Europe and North America have no reason to want the occult techniques of Japan, so I figured it was probably Australia this time.”

“Hm. So why was it not an attractive invitation?”

“They had taken on various burdens to make up for how far they had fallen behind.” The Succubus waved her arrow-shaped tail back and forth. “For example, this witch used a Furutsubaki she had turned into a demon. But where did she get the Youkai?”

“Eh? Once she arrived in Japan, I would assume.”

“She would not have made it in time. Remaking a paranormal existence may sound simple enough, but even at the quickest, it takes three years. If she had been hiding in Japan that long, Hyakki Yakou would have noticed.”

“But Japanese Youkai can only be found in Japan.”

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” The Succubus grinned. “Have you heard of the International Plantation Project that uses circular farms and plant factories in Australia’s deserts? It’s famous enough to even be used on quiz shows.”

“I saw it on that rerun you and the Yuki Onna were watching. What about it?”

“Each individual farm has a special environment prepared for it so that it can produce the special crops of another country, but that is just a front. Preparing a special environment sounds innocent enough, but what if that ‘environment’ included aspects of the occult?”

“You don’t mean...”

“Just think of them as the occult version of Chinatown or Little Tokyo. The Furutsubaki was likely forcibly brought over from Japan to be replanted and then grown on one of those farms in the desert. They make a farm for each Youkai or fairy and regulate the environment specifically for them. ...Although, this occasionally causes some bugs and they transform into some strange UMA or crop circle.” The Succubus gave a simple smile. “It seems Hyakki Yakou mistakenly viewed the natural disasters as the anger of the land’s god, but that is not what is happening. Gathering convenient parts of the occult such as fairies, Youkai, and spirits from around the world and preparing a spiritual foundation for them has created conflicts and repeated accidental activations that have ultimately led to the natural disasters.”

This was not the same as a carefully-regulated Intellectual Village. That was artificial land that Youkai would find uncomfortable. When I imagined those circular farms spread out across the desert, it gave me a horribly cramped impression.

“That country’s government wanted the blessings of sacred land, but their techniques could not keep up with their desires. This was like something unpleasant beginning to live in a church or temple that had fallen into disarray due to lack of maintenance.”

An inescapable prison.

A demon that could not leave the magic circle that summoned it.

That was what the idea made me think of.

“For a demon like me, it may have been like inviting me into a birdcage. I would have a decent living environment and plenty of food, but nothing else. Now do you see why it did not sound like much fun? With that little freedom, I doubt I would have a chance to achieve my goal. ...But with such a heavy blow to their grains market and the failure of the witch’s project, their government will likely run crying to Hyakki Yakou to quickly fix it all for them.”

“...”

Her goal.

Had what the Succubus said after stabbing me with the ice pick been true? Or had that been nothing more than another act to ensure the witch named Marguerite Steinhols let down her guard?

Also...

If she was going to deceive that witch, couldn’t it have been after killing me? For example, she could have pretended to go to Australia but disappeared after leaving Japan. After escaping Hyakki Yakou, she could have created a new kingdom like the European Security Force.

“Do you find it strange?”

“...Um.”

As a demon, she may have been good at noticing negative emotions because the Succubus seemed to have read my doubts from my expression alone.

She then said, “My old master spoke a few words just before he was burned at the stake. I am merely obeying them.”

“What did he say?”

“I will keep that a secret. It is not often you find something more important than a contract.” The Succubus grinned. “Well, I just wanted to lay the trap at the time, but it would have left a bad taste in my mouth if I killed you after those words.”

At that point, the glamorous Zashiki Warashi entered the room. She must have been playing video games in my room because she still had the 3D goggles on.

“Everything has smelled very Western today.”

“Oh, is that so? Well, whether Japanese, Chinese, or Western, it can kill me just the same.”

“I was talking about dinner. Something seemed off, so I peeked into the kitchen. As usual, your mother has been stirring a pot for hours creating some kind of sauce.”

“Not good!! That isn’t Western; it’s a new invention! And her inventions have never turned out well!!”

“...Yes. And I think she has started to suspect she has left the path leading to a success. But she seems to be desperately hoping she can fix it by adding more seasonings. I am going to force my way past this even if I have to insist that I will simply make myself a sandwich for dinner.”

“Simply? I can’t even imagine you making a sandwich, you good-for-nothing Youkai. And from what you’ve said, she has grown desperate to not waste all the effort she’s put into this. I doubt she’ll listen to what we say when she gets this stubborn.”

“In a case like this, it is more effective to place out the proper ingredients without the target noticing and wait for the target to notice on her own. Now then, leave this to the demon who specializes in temptation.”

And so a human, a Youkai, and a demon began putting together a strategy to avoid that night’s crisis.

It may have seemed a complete waste, but we did not see it that way. No matter who it was putting their heads together, an “incident” of this level was just perfect.

In fact...

Those gigantic incidents we had been dealing with before were what did not belong.

Notes

1. ↑ Noukotsu refers to the process of placing someone’s cremated remains into a funerary urn.

2. ↑ In Japan, putting out filled plastic water bottles is thought to keep stray cats away.