Chapter 12

"We've arrived, this is the venue."

"Quick, let me down..."

I had a terrible experience. I’m not afraid of thrill rides, but flying above the clouds while clinging to the back of an unstable giant cat without a safety belt... it was pure hell. I had no time to enjoy the scenery at all.

After such a hellish journey, I arrived at the Sapporo Civic Center, 'Tudōm,' carried on the back of a black cat.

"Why Tudōm?"

"The space is large enough and can be rented cheaply, or so I heard."

"Wow... even the world of yin-yang practitioners is tough, isn't it?"

'Tudōm' is a fairly large dome often used for events in the city. It’s easy for spectators to watch, and if you rent it out, no one else can enter. Indeed, it might be a pretty suitable place for a match.

"Who would have thought a yin-yang practitioner's match would be held in a place like this..."

While muttering this, I entered Tudōm and was greeted by the people from the Mizukami family I was supposed to assist.

"Is this the practitioner we were talking about...?"

"He seems to have defeated the Kinen from the Hinoyama family."

"Is he distorting recognition with that face? I can't really tell what kind of person he is."

They were saying various things, but I just smiled and let it slide. They can't see my smile, though.

"Nice to meet you, I am the head of the Mizukami family, Mizukami Ryūkai. The Cat God has strictly ordered us not to pry into your background or circumstances, so I have no intention of questioning you about the attack on the Hinoyama family. Instead, I am truly grateful for your assistance in this matter."

A well-built, dapper middle-aged man in a kimono greeted me. This is the head of the Mizukami family, I shook hands with him, but up close, he exuded an even more imposing presence. He has a commanding presence.

Still, an attack? They must be mistaken about someone. Oh well.

"I'm sorry for the late greeting."

Pushing through the welcoming crowd, two shrine maidens appeared.

"We will be fighting together. I am Mizukami Junya."

"I am her sister, Mizukami Junna."

"M-Mizukami-san!!?"

What the heck!!? The Mizukami family is the class president's family! And if she's participating in the match... Mizukami-san is a yin-yang practitioner!?

"Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong."

Crap. I blurted out her name, but she doesn't know it's me. She’s already looking at me suspiciously, so I need to be careful.

After the greetings, I was briefly told about the events leading up to this match.

Apparently, someone had been tormenting a black cat that is close to the Mizukami family and then provoked the Hinoyama family, blaming it on the Mizukami family. It’s a complete frame-up. The mysterious attacker might even have set it up themselves. I’ve seen such tactics in manga. It’s pretty bad.

I was thinking of not pushing myself, but I might have to go all out to win.

...Wait a minute?

"Actually, I just thought, why not let the black cat participate?"

I whispered to the black cat.

The black cat is now about the size of a lion. In fact, it’s almost a lion. Even in this state, it seems quite strong, and it was even stronger when it carried me.

"Despite appearances, I am a fairly well-known youkai. Participating in a divine match would undermine the fairness, so I cannot."

So, undermining fairness means it’s too strong, right? Also, the injury from the trap was because the Hinoyama family had been tormenting it. I thought it was destroying nearby fields, but it was a complete misunderstanding.

"By the way, can’t the head of the Mizukami family participate?"

"Ryūkai is suffering from a serious illness and cannot exert himself. There are no other practitioners in the family with the appropriate level of skill for this match."

"What about those two?"

"The daughters of Mizukami. With Ryūkai unable to fight, they are the strongest practitioners in the Mizukami family."

Seriously? The class president is such a powerful yin-yang practitioner. I had no idea... and her sister is strong too.

"I’ll do my best too."

"I’m really sorry. Please take care of the Mizukami shrine maidens."

"Sure thing."

It’s almost time. I checked the contents of my waist pouch and headed towards the match venue set up inside the dome.

◇

"Mr. Hinoyama, are you ready?"

"Kazegoroshi, I’ve been ready for a long time. I’ve been looking forward to this moment!"

Kazegoroshi frowned, knowing that the news of Kinen's defeat had reached the Hinoyama family. Despite this, Mr. Hinoyama showed no signs of unease about the divine match. Kazegoroshi was troubled by this.

The participants in the match are the head of the Hinoyama family, Hinoyama Gyou, the chief yin-yang practitioner, Kazegoroshi Yūen, and Kinen Gōki.

Even without the head, Kazegoroshi was confident that he and Kinen could defeat most yin-yang practitioners. However, if the practitioner who defeated Kinen is on the other side, the outcome of the match is unpredictable.

"Hehehe, I’ll make Junya taste my true terror."

Kazegoroshi held his head in his hands, frustrated by his optimistic master.

"Kinen, follow the plan when the match starts."

"Tch. I don’t like it, but I trust your strategy. I’ll do it."

Hearing these words, Kazegoroshi regained a bit of his spirit and advanced towards the match venue.

◇

"By the way, where is the white crow?"

"What, I didn’t bring it?"

"What!?"

"I’ll be back, then."

At the entrance on the opposite side of where Kazegoroshi and the others were, a golden lion with a pale face was seeing off Yūki.

The overall rating has exceeded 10,000! I’m really happy!

Thank you so much to everyone who wrote reviews, pointed out corrections, and gave ratings!

When I started this work, on the first day of posting, I had 1 bookmark and a total rating of 2. At that time, I thought if the 10 episodes I had written didn’t get 10 bookmarks, I would quit... but I never imagined it would come to this.

I wouldn’t have made it this far without everyone’s support.

It feels like a final farewell, but the story is still in its prologue. I hope you will continue to support me!