Volume 4, Chapter 41 – The Truth

“Hehe, Fiene, you really are cute. To think you’d panic, overdo your magic, and just collapse like that.”

I am lying on the floor, with my head resting on Ade’s lap.

Her enormous chest gets in the way, blocking my view of her face, but judging from her voice, she seems quite pleased with herself.

Just to be clear, I am not envious of that, nor anything of the sort. Absolutely not, so please rest assured.

“…Ade?”

“What is it?”

“Um, what was all that about? Someone becoming Dragonkin, Shizuku-san growing animal ears and a tail, and someone else becoming an ogre?”

“I didn’t see the ogre part, so I don’t know about that, but Suikyou and that Black Fox Possession-chan over there are different.”

“Is that so…”

“That Black Fox Possession-chan has a Yokai possessing her. Well, in this country, they use that term to lump together spirits, ghosts, and all such existences. That is the ‘Spirit Descent Technique’ passed down through the women of her lineage, the Mieshiro Family. However, I’ve heard that you don’t know what will possess you until you actually try it. Because of that, in the worst-case scenario, one might be possessed by an evil spirit or a Yokai with destructive impulses, go mad, and never return.”

“…Then what about Shizuku-san?”

“Right now, I wonder who has the stronger will—the Black Fox or the girl herself? But this is my first time seeing it too, so I’m not entirely sure.”

“Ah, Shizuku-san!”

I try to move toward Shizuku-san, but Ade stops me and pulls me back into the lap-pillow position.

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“No, don’t move yet. You need to let your body rest a bit.”

I wonder if that’s true. Or maybe she just wants to keep me on her lap?

“Geez, you’re doubting me, aren’t you? Honestly.”

As she says this, Ade picks me up in a bridal carry and brings me over to Shizuku-san’s side.

She lays me on the floor, but the lap-pillow continues.

“There, is this better?”

“…Th-thank you.”

“Hehe, good. Are you that grateful?”

“Yes. But I’m not marrying you!”

“Boo.”

Ade makes a deliberately pouting sound, but her voice is bouncing with high spirits.

“Hehe, so anyway. The one who took an interest in the Mieshiro Family’s ‘Spirit Descent Technique’ a long time ago was the King of this country.”

Ade resumed her story.

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“Not just Suikyou, but they’ve been performing sacrifice rituals for that long?”

“At first, it wasn’t a sacrifice; they apparently used the ‘Spirit Descent Technique’ haphazardly to hear the voice of the Gods and do things like fortune-telling. Also, the family name ‘Mieshiro’—in the ancient script of this country, it’s written as ‘Divine Vessel,’ meaning a vessel for a noble deity.”

“So… a Divine Vessel…”

“Yes. And the one who took notice of that was the Eight-Headed Dragon God sealed here—also known as the Water Dragon King Valortina.”

“Eh? The Water Dragon King? The legendary one who was defeated by the Great Demon Lord and became a monster?”

“He’s not a legend or a fairy tale; he’s a real monster.”

“Why would they offer sacrifices to a monster like that?”

I honestly voice the question on my mind. If such a famous monster was sealed there, surely the legends should have been passed down properly.

“That was where the Water Dragon King’s cunning came in. It seems he interfered with the outside world through a tiny crack in the seal. At first, he manipulated the spirits of small animals. Then, over a long period, he continued to interfere with the ‘Spirit Descent Technique’ used by the Mieshiro Family, gradually transforming the fortune-telling ritual of hearing the Gods’ voices. The Eight-Headed Dragon God was originally an imaginary deity worshipped in various regions by people who feared floods and landslides. He cleverly rode that wave, replacing the Eight-Headed Dragon God and rooting the culture of sacrifice rituals in this country. All to regain the power to break the seal by devouring the souls and strength of those offered as sacrifices.”

“H-how could he do such a thing…”

“And so, as the Water Dragon King gradually regained his strength, he began incorporating sacrifices while they were in a state of Yokai possession. To absorb as much power as possible at once.”

Ade paused for a moment to take a breath. Then she spoke again.

“And that bore fruit in an unexpected way exactly fifty years ago. A woman of the Mieshiro family offered as a sacrifice descended a Mizuchi—a dragon-like creature that dwells in water. Instead of killing the woman and sipping her power, the Water Dragon King apparently pulled her inside the seal. Then, some ten-odd years later, Suikyou appeared from the other side of the seal and became Queen.”

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“Does that mean…”

“I don’t know the truth. This is just my guess, but considering the ten-year gap, I suspect he forced her to bear a child. Since she had descended a Mizuchi and her body had become close to that of a dragon’s kin, it might have been possible. Then, he used that child as his puppet to move the country as he pleased. Suikyou likely stabilized the country just to maintain this arrangement until he could break the seal and emerge.”

It seems we have stuck our noses into something absolutely terrible.

“Probably, I think he saw a path to breaking the seal this time.”

“Eh?”

“Because with this, it’s the end. For the Mieshiro Family.”

“Um, what?”

“I mean, you guys defeated all the Mieshiro relatives, right?”

“Ah, yes. I think so.”

“Then that Black Fox Possession-chan is the last survivor of the Mieshiro Family. Once she’s offered as a sacrifice, there’s no one left. For someone who went to such elaborate lengths to do this, it must have been checkmate.”

“Ah, I see. That certainly makes sense.”

How should I put this… yeah. I can’t believe we managed to pull through.

“Well, I heard this history of the Mieshiro Family from an old man napping by those stairs, so I don’t know if it’s all true. Human legends tend to get distorted, after all.”

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“Eh?”

“Hehe. I wanted to get ahead of you and surprise you. That’s why I was chasing after that Black Fox Possession-chan. Then I thought things were getting interesting, so I looked into it. That old man told me everything once I looked him in the eyes and sincerely asked him. Apparently, he can’t forget a woman of the Mieshiro Family who was sacrificed when he was young. Um, I think her name was Kikyou. Truly, a devoted love is wonderful, isn’t it? Right, Fiene? Don’t you agree?”

With that, Ade laughed joyfully.

Author Note

By the way, I wonder how many of you noticed that the Kanji for Mieshiro is “Divine Vessel”.

If you did, did you notice it from the start? Or did you realize it at some specific point?

I’d be happy if you could let me know in the comments. If it was too easy to notice, I’ll have to think of something more elaborate next time (sweat).

Translator Note

About the Mieshiro name: the author revealed at the end of this chapter that ミエシロ (Mieshiro) was originally written with the Kanji 御依代.

The interesting part is that 御依代 is read as “Mieshiro”, the same pronunciation as the family name written in katakana.

While ミエシロ itself is just the family name, 御依代 means something like a “divine vessel”—a vessel for a god or spirit to descend into.

This ties directly into the Mieshiro family’s 【降霊術】 and the role they played in the story. It’s a wordplay that was hidden in plain sight until this reveal.