Chapter 15

The next morning, after a victory without a fight.

I was in the forest behind the mansion.

“Haa… haa…”

The mountain, without even a trail, was tough.

Especially with my current body.

Fortunately, the destination was clear.

“…Finally made it.”

I caught my breath and looked up.

In front of me was a giant human lying in the forest.

A towering man, perhaps as tall as fifteen meters, with a muscular build.

He wore a massive rosary around his neck, and the only clothing was a tattered mountain skirt around his waist.

This being lay on his back, facing the mountain.

“Hey!”

I called out to the giant, raising my voice.

The giant’s bald head turned around.

A single eye in the center of his face.

It turned to me, fixing its gaze.

The giant began to rise.

The single eye that caught me opened wide.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

It was a roar.

Birds startled by the noise flew out of the trees one after another.

The giant leaned forward.

He placed his hand near me and brought his massive bearded face close.

His mouth opened.

“OOOOO! Long time no see! It’s been so long, Haruyoshi-sama!!”

I looked up at the rugged bearded face and smiled.

“Ho, Nyudo. You can recognize me in this form?”

“What a question! The ominous curse patterns, who else could they belong to but Haruyoshi-sama?”

The giant shed tears from his massive single eye.

“Oh, how wonderful, oh, how wonderful. I can serve Haruyoshi-sama again….”

“Hmph, Nyudo. Don’t get too cocky. I was the first one called, remember… Nyudo! Are you listening, Nyudo!”

“Mmm? There you are, the pipe fox girl! It’s been a long time… I see you were called too. How nice, how nice.”

“Hmph, of course. I was the first one, remember!”

I listened to the spirits’ banter and let out a sigh of relief.

In this form, I was worried I might be underestimated and attacked… but it seems to be fine.

“Sorry to call you so suddenly, Nyudo. You must have been confused without me.”

“It’s fine, Haruyoshi-sama. But… what do you need me to do?”

Nyudo looked puzzled.

“The place I ended up isn’t even Japan, let alone the capital. I followed Haruyoshi-sama’s ritual, wandering here and there, but I couldn’t proceed further due to a barrier. I didn’t know what to do, so I just lay here… What should I do from now on?”

“No, your job is done.”

I said.

“Just following the ritual and wandering the mountains was enough—just to drive away some monsters from their homes.”

“Monsters?”

“Like spirits. They were probably insignificant to you. Didn’t you see any? ——Like a large salamander?”

“Oh, yes, I saw something like that. It was strange, but very timid and ran away immediately… Was that what you wanted?”

“Yes, it was very helpful.”

I recalled what Gurai had said about how it would be funny if the monster just happened to appear and just happened to not be defeated.

It was laughable.

It couldn’t have been a coincidence.

I entered the mountains, flew the ritual, investigated the monsters, hid Nyudo’s form with a barrier spell, and set up a door.

I had been preparing for this for half a year, all to achieve my goal at the right moment and have my father recognize my wishes.

There were some accidents, like the monster heading towards the town, but overall, things went as planned.

Incidentally, the human-shaped curse with Gurai’s hair was just one I had prepared long ago. I had made human-shaped curses for everyone in the mansion, including the servants, just in case. Of course, I had one for Eifa too.

Nine years since my reincarnation.

I had plenty of time to prepare.

“Nyudo”

I told the one-eyed giant.

“In the final battle of that world, I lost a lot of power. My current body is still that of a child. The once mighty Onmyoji is a mere shadow of his former self—yet, I want to surpass that me in this world. I want to command a million spirits and be feared even by the gods.”

“Huh… huh-huh!”

“Accompany me on this path of dominance in this life, Nyudo. I need your power.”

“Huh-huh—!!”

The one-eyed giant prostrated himself.

“Fearful, oh so fearful! How wonderful. Those days, so long ago. When Haruyoshi-sama scattered thousands of armies, subdued powerful evil gods, and slew the heroes of foreign lands. Those days are coming back. I am boiling, I am boiling.”

“I will show you new sights. Look forward to it.”

I opened the door behind Nyudo, which I had sent the human-shaped curse through.

Light leaked out, the space distorted, and it enveloped the giant.

“I will call you again—until then, sleep in the phase again.”

“Huh-huh, Haruyoshi-sama. I will be ready whenever you call…”

Nyudo was sucked into the distorted space.

When his massive form completely disappeared and the human-shaped curse returned to my hand, I finally caught my breath.

“Phew, finally a break.”

I tore up the barrier spell I had attached to a nearby tree. The paper fragments fell and blended into the undergrowth, becoming invisible. The other spells I had linked to it should have met the same fate.

Now, all the cleanup was done.

“Still, you took quite a roundabout way, Seika-sama.”

Yuki appeared and said.

“In this lukewarm world, with powerless humans. I thought Seika-sama could have everything as they wished.”

“Did you forget, Yuki? In my past life, I was killed by those powerless humans.”

“Mm, that’s… true.”

“Yuki, I… in this life, I want to be on that side. The majority, the weak. One of them.”

I’m sorry, Nyudo, but I don’t intend to follow the path of violence as I did in my past life.

To be inconspicuous.

To maneuver skillfully.

And to somehow end up with what I want.

I think that’s the smart way to live.

This time, it was just practice.

The cunning I lacked in my past life—maybe this is what it’s all about, right?