Sighing, I directed my attention toward my own estates. They were all located in the desolate Ukyo district. If I hadn't previously deduced that a disaster was imminent and ordered my stewards to prepare, I'd actually be quite worried. This was my wealth in this world, after all. Not a single piece of it could be wasted.
I began to move in a semi-suspended state, floating a few feet above the ground. The power of an Onmyoji was a tangible thing, and to fly rashly over the territory of other public nobles would be seen as a provocation. As I officially stepped into the Ukyo area, I noticed the number of corpses on the road had multiplied. Patrols were active, however—surprisingly so, given the district.
I was cooperative whenever I was stopped for questioning, but I quickly noticed a problem. Both the Outer Guard Office and the Procuratorate of Non-Violations were on patrol. It was interesting, to say the least. Many official institutions in the capital had overlapping responsibilities, and both these agencies were responsible for public security. But during a torrential downpour, they should have been prioritizing the eastern Sakyo district, where all the dignitaries lived. Their heavy presence here felt less like public service and more like a yakuza turf grab.
A closer look confirmed my suspicions. The Outer Guards' uniforms were embroidered with the Sasa-rindo crest of the Genji clan, while the Procuratorate's men wore the vine crest of the Fujiwara. It was a direct confrontation.
When I passed the manor that had once belonged to the Qin clan, I glanced over unconsciously. I happened to see the big-eyed girl who had spoken to me before. She was sweeping the ground in front of the gate, wearing a loose straw raincoat that dwarfed her petite figure. Our eyes met, and she bowed from a distance. I smiled and nodded in response before continuing on my way.
"Eru, are you in love with that Onmyoji?"
The girl nearly jumped out of her skin, a hint of panic flashing across her innocent face. "Uncle," she said, turning with a helpless look, "the Onmyoji-sama is far more noble than I. We are not a good match."
The smiling old man, her uncle Jun Sekiya, shook his head. "He smiled at you. That is proof of your charm, little Eru." He sighed, and as he turned away, his smile vanished. He was one of the few who hadn't been driven out of the manor, kept on by the new Fujiwara masters because of his skill as a steward. But he worried constantly for his niece. In this era, women were tools, and the marriages of serfs like them were arranged by the lord of the manor. Was his niece to become a mere reproductive tool? He couldn't allow it.
I yawned, the sight of corpses floating in the flooded streets having become mundane. Compassion was a luxury. In a world of political struggles, monster invasions, and the trials of snake gods, a person with too much sympathy would simply break. As the saying goes, when you are poor, you can only take care of yourself. I had no illusions that I could challenge the rules of this world with my limited strength. Even showing a bit of kindness to an untouchable in public could draw the ire of those in power.
Rumble!
The heavy rain intensified, pouring down as if the Milky Way had burst its banks. I felt a shift in the air and sighed. "I must let Miku give me a back massage later." With that, I shot through the sudden rainstorm.
I arrived at an estate on the banks of the Kamogawa River. The dam had burst. The fields were flooded, and the manor was being swallowed by the rising water. The screams of humans and animals were drowned out by the roar of the deluge.
"Saga Munoer, Honnagaer Duozhinian…" I floated in the air, my voice a low, indifferent chant in the storm.
A huge tornado materialized, its funnel sucking the river and rainwater up into its vortex. A rainless zone miraculously appeared under the dark sky. The tornado then gently separated people, animals, and debris, depositing them safely on the ground.
As I continued my chant, a wet, pink-haired girl slowly floated up to my side, unconscious. Nino. Her eyebrows were furrowed, her eyelashes trembling. Water dripped from her soaked clothes, which clung to her body, revealing the full moon of her chest.
"Hmm…" She tried to open her eyes, but my gentle, soothing voice was like a lullaby, and she slipped back into a deep slumber. She doesn't have the look of one who will die young, I noted privately. She probably would have been fine even if I didn't come.
I glanced at the others on the ground, then raised my hand and drove the tornado back into the Kamogawa River. Finally, I put my hands together and clapped. A massive earth wall rose from the mud, quickly replacing the original dam.
My eyes fell upon the ruins of the manor. A wall bearing a dynamic vine pattern was still standing. So this was the estate of the nobleman who had given me Yukinoshita. I wondered if this good deed would earn me another favor. Daydreaming aimlessly, I casually scooped up the girl floating beside me.
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