Kintaro's Gourd / Shuten Douji's 'invitation'

[Looking at Kintaro's excited appearance, you realized that the "child" he mentioned was probably very important to him.]

[But you didn't know what it was.]

[You decided to find out what was going on.]

"Kintaro."

Ian looked at the sturdy man beside him and asked again.

"I might be able to help you."

"But first, you have to tell me what this 'child' you mentioned is all about?"

Hearing Ian say he could help, Kintaro became excited.

He hugged the gold in his hand and pointed outside, looking very excited.

"Over there! Over there!"

"Child is over there!"

Ian followed Kintaro's finger and saw the road leading out of Kyoto.

He immediately realized that Kintaro's "over there" referred to a place outside Heian-kyo.

In other words, he wanted him to take him out.

To be honest—

This was a bit risky.

After all, it was very easy to stop Kintaro in the capital.

But if they went outside, there would be many more variables than expected.

However, was it really necessary to doubt him?

After thinking it over, Ian decided to give it a try.

After all, if something really happened, he could handle it.

"Then—"

"Kintaro, can you take me to see?"

"Yes! No problem!"

Hugging the gold, Kintaro was very excited.

[After briefly explaining his whereabouts to Minamoto no Yorimitsu, you and Kintaro left Heian-kyo the next day.]

[You didn't know where his destination was, so you could only let him lead the way.]

[Fortunately, Kintaro was a very simple person.]

[He had no bad intentions and was just leading the way.]

[You came to the foot of a mountain with him.]

[It was where your adopted son Usui Sadamitsu had fought.]

"..."

As soon as he stepped into the forest, Ian frowned.

Because he saw the forest full of signs of destruction.

The tall trees had shocking claw marks, and the fallen leaves almost filled the entire path.

Obviously.

The battle was not as simple as Usui Sadamitsu had said.

He had deliberately omitted a lot of things to avoid worrying him, only reporting the good and not the bad.

Ian realized that his relationship with his adopted sons was not just a pure exchange of benefits.

He cared about them.

They also cared about him.

"This way, this way!"

After saying this, Kintaro ran towards a path in the mountain.

Although he looked like a burly man, he was as lively as a child at this moment.

Ian had no choice but to follow quickly.

[You wandered through the forest.]

[Kintaro, who had returned to this mountain, was frighteningly excited.]

[Perhaps for him, this was his native environment.]

[You followed him around for a while.]

[You finally stopped in front of a wooden house.]

"This..."

Looking at the wooden house, Ian was a little surprised.

It didn't look like a mountain where people would live, but there was such a house.

It was too strange.

Before Ian could figure out why, Kintaro had already revealed the answer.

He happily pushed open the door and shouted inside:

"I'm back!"

However—

There was no response from inside the house.

Kintaro looked at the empty room, looking confused.

Seeing this, Ian asked:

"Was someone supposed to be waiting for you here?"

"Yes." Kintaro nodded, hugging the gold.

"Grandma should be waiting for me here."

"..."

Ian realized that something was wrong.

He hesitated for a moment and asked softly:

"Kintaro, is the grandma you're talking about like this?"

[You described the oni Usui Sadamitsu mentioned to Kintaro.]

[You hoped the result wasn't what you thought.]

[But unfortunately, it wasn't.]

After listening to Ian's description, Kintaro clapped his hands happily.

"Yes! Yes! That's her!"

"You know Grandma!"

"..."

Ian didn't know what to say.

He didn't want his description to match the "grandma" Kintaro was talking about.

But now it seemed that they were the same person.

This also meant a painful fact.

The oni that his adopted son Usui Sadamitsu killed was the "grandma" who lived with Kintaro in this mountain.

She was indeed doing evil.

But at the same time, she probably did it for Kintaro.

And he didn't know that.

After learning that Ian seemed to know his "grandma," Kintaro became very concerned.

"Where did Grandma go?"

"..."

Ian wasn't sure how Kintaro would react if he told the truth.

He decided to gloss over it for now.

"Oh... she went to a very far place and won't be back for a while."

"That's why I asked someone to take you back to Heian-kyo."

This was a lie.

But Ian knew that if he didn't do this, things would become more complicated.

"I see!"

Kintaro didn't doubt Ian's words.

After all, for him, Ian, who had gold like him, couldn't be a bad person.

"Hope! She comes back soon!"

"Maybe."

Ian knew this wasn't a topic to continue.

He quickly changed the subject.

"Then Kintaro, where is the child you mentioned?"

"Child!"

Kintaro looked around, as if looking for something.

Soon, he found a gourd in the corner of the room.

"This is?"

Looking at Kintaro and the gourd in his hand, Ian was a little confused.

"Child gave it! Good thing!"

Kintaro looked at the gourd in his hand, as if he was treating the gold he had obtained.

Obviously, this was something he thought was very important.

But in Ian's eyes, this gourd had other uses.

"Kintaro, can I take a look at it?"

"..."

After hesitating for a moment, Kintaro nodded.

"Here."

[You took the gourd from Kintaro.]

[Talent Great Onmyoji++ activated: You began to examine the gourd with your onmyoji techniques.]

[Just as you thought.]

[This gourd was not a simple gourd.]

[You could feel the aura of "oni" on it.]

[Talent Eternal Hidden Secret+ activated: As before, you once again drew the image of the oni in your mind.]

[It became more and more clear in front of you.]

[You finally got a name.]

"Shuten Douji."

Ian subconsciously said the name in his mind.

"Ah!"

Kintaro looked at Ian, even more excited.

"Good friend! Do you know her?"

"...Maybe."

After confirming that Kintaro's "friend" was an oni, Ian felt a little complicated.

But he knew that as an onmyoji, he could not hesitate in such matters.

Oni were born from "thoughts," and even a slight hesitation was a crisis for the onmyoji himself.

"Kintaro, can you find her?"

"No need to find!" Kintaro laughed.

"She will come by herself!"

"She will come by herself?"

"Yes." Kintaro nodded. "Fill the gourd with water! She will come!"

[You realized this was an excellent opportunity.]

[As an onmyoji, you would not miss any chance to kill an oni.]

[You decided to make good use of this gourd.]

"Then Kintaro, let's fill the gourd with water now?"

"Okay!"

Clear mountain spring water was poured into the gourd.

Ian also began to place layers of spells around it—something that ordinary oni could not withstand.

Kintaro waited for Shuten Douji's appearance.

Ian observed everything in the dark.

As the most powerful onmyoji in Heian-kyo, he had absolute confidence in killing this oni on the spot.

But things didn't go as smoothly as expected.

Although the gourd was filled with water as Kintaro requested, Shuten Douji did not appear as he said.

Ian didn't think Kintaro would lie—his mental state was not enough to support him doing such a thing.

Then there was only one possibility.

This gourd did not have the effect he said.

"Why doesn't she come out..."

Kintaro looked a little disappointed.

It was obvious that he had used this thing to find Shuten Douji many times before.

"Maybe it's not time yet."

Ian comforted Kintaro, and then took advantage of his relatively stable mood to start looking for something nearby.

This was a very simple principle.

Since Kintaro's gourd had no real effect, and Shuten Douji could always appear in front of him, then—

There must be some means nearby that allowed her to do this.

Perhaps she was nearby.

[Talent Great Onmyoji++ activated: You began to use your onmyoji techniques to investigate the surrounding area.]

[You did find some traces of "oni."]

[But you quickly realized that these were probably remnants of Usui Sadamitsu's battle with the mountain witch.]

[This was not something that could be cleared up quickly.]

[Even an onmyoji like you would need a lot of time.]

[However, things soon took a turn for the better.]

[Because you heard an unfamiliar voice.]

"Hey, mister, are you looking for me?"

An unfamiliar voice.

Ian turned around and saw a petite figure.

She stood barefoot on the forest path, her whole body covered by a large cloth.

She exuded a faint scent of wine, as if she were a natural bottle of fine wine.

Her cute face was accompanied by a playful expression.

But the most striking feature was the pair of angry horns on her head.

"Are you Shuten Douji?" Ian asked directly.

"Oh my, you recognize me."

Shuten Douji crossed her arms.

"It seems you're quite knowledgeable, mister."

"But why would a mister like you—"

"Be hanging out with that golden-haired kid?"

Even without confirming, Ian knew that the "golden-haired kid" Shuten Douji was talking about was Kintaro.

But to be honest.

It was a bit comical to hear such words from someone of her stature.

"That's none of your business."

Ian replied coldly.

He never had any good feelings towards oni.

"Don't say that." Shuten Douji was still as frivolous as before.

"Even an onmyoji should let me ask a few questions, right?"

"..."

With just this sentence, Ian knew that the Shuten Douji in front of him was on a completely different level from the oni he had encountered before.

To be able to hunt down oni, he had deliberately concealed his onmyoji aura—if he let it radiate freely, even the weakest oni would flee in terror.

And now, Shuten Douji had seen through it.

However, despite this, Ian was not afraid of her.

After all, "oni" were still just "oni," and there was definitely a way to kill her in front of him, who could manipulate the five elements and control yin and yang.

The surrounding aura began to surge.

Shuten Douji quickly noticed that the ground around her was twisting, as if it would swallow her feet.

But she didn't avoid it, letting it all happen.

*Rumble.*

Shuten Douji's feet were "locked."

In this way, the oni's most skilled escape was no longer possible.

Ian took out his blade.

It was a weapon that had ended many oni.

It was perfect for killing Shuten Douji.

He walked towards her step by step, but heard a sigh.

"Oh dear, can't you let me say a few more words?"

"At least tell me what's going on between you and that golden-haired kid before you die, right?"

"You don't need to know."

Ian never said useless words.

He raised his blade and stabbed Shuten Douji.

She didn't make any attempt to dodge.

The katana pierced her chest, but no blood splattered.

Shuten Douji began to laugh.

"Mister~ you didn't really think that would kill me, did you?"

"If you did, I feel underestimated."

It was a clone.

Ian immediately realized this.

No wonder she didn't dodge any attacks—there was no need to.

And that was why she had appeared so brazenly in front of him.

But...

Why didn't she appear in front of Kintaro earlier?

"Hahahaha~"

Shuten Douji laughed even harder.

In the last moment before disappearing, she said:

"Mister looks very unconvinced."

"How about this~"

"Since the golden-haired kid said he wanted to see where I live, and you seem so eager to kill me."

"Then come see me on Mount Oe—!"