"83: Are You Sure?"

In a forested area of Adachi Ward, East Capital.

Kneeling on a bed of rotting leaves, Sharon had been praying for quite some time. Her ears twitched slightly, as if she had just picked up a voice from the heavens.

"Chiba Prefecture... Bōsō Peninsula... limestone cave..."

"Capture after the failed transaction... ensure safety…"

As the soft murmurs filled the air, Sharon immediately stood up from the decaying leaves without a single speck of dust clinging to the white stockings on her legs.

Only after rising did the corners of her lips curve upward ever so slightly.

"Twenty minutes just to receive a reply? Looks like my dear god's condition isn't so great, huh~"

Sharon had her own vague suspicions about Luo Shu's current state.

But to her, such speculation was irrelevant. What truly mattered was carrying out her god's will.

That was the duty of a Saint maiden—her mission.

With that conviction, Sharon moved forward, leapt into the treetops, glanced up to confirm the sun's position for her bearings, and then vanished into the forest.

At the same time—

In Shibuya, East Capital, behind Meiji Shrine, within a traditional teahouse.

Wearing a fitted black gothic dress that clashed entirely with the surrounding priests, Natsuki Minamiya sat in her seat, a stack of printed documents in hand.

These documents were compiled intelligence from the Onmyōji Bureau regarding the recent Sharon incident.

The front portion of the report detailed the background and lead-up to Sharon's entry into the country. The latter half focused specifically on the demon sorcerer from Celestial Astronomy who had defected and offered several corresponding hypotheses.

Natsuki placed about seventy percent trust in this intelligence, which had been confirmed by various means.

After reading the report thoroughly, Natsuki set the documents down and looked at the elderly priests in their ceremonial robes sitting before her.

"According to the data you've compiled, there's a high probability that an unknown-level demon—possibly even a sealed one—has appeared within the country."

"Are you certain this intelligence is accurate?"

Upon hearing her question, a senior priest with deep nasolabial folds and snow-white hair bowed and replied, "Lady Natsuki, based on the results of the divinations, it should be confirmed."

'Lady Natsuki'—this was the title used to refer to Natsuki Minamiya.

Within the Onmyōji Bureau, among the ranks of national-level sorcerers, only a select few considered to be contemporary Grand Onmyōji were honored with the title of '殿' [Lord/Lady] appended to their surnames.

Although Natsuki herself didn't care for such formalities, the Onmyōji Bureau had indeed listed her among the ranks of Grand Onmyōji. In fact, thanks to the deliberate dissemination of her knowledge of the occult, which had already begun to spread, many of the old-school Onmyōji had even started viewing her as the modern-day equivalent of Abe no Seimei.

Of course, Natsuki herself found such titles utterly laughable.

With her abilities, she was undoubtedly among the top magic users in her world of origin, but even there, she was never called something so grandiose as to be revered for generations.

And yet, after arriving in this world—where occult knowledge had only existed for a few decades—simply by modifying some educational materials so that the students of the Onmyō Bureau wouldn't die from ignorance of the arcane, she had suddenly been elevated to this absurdly exalted position.

Sure, she understood that this was partly the Bureau's way of binding her to them. But even she had to admit—being praised like this was... strangely intoxicating.

It felt like she had somehow stumbled into a classic isekai protagonist script where the modern human becomes a sage in a primitive land... How did it come to this?

Even as she thought this, a small, indescribable spark of anticipation flickered in the back of her heart.

Perhaps in this world—a world that had only recently begun to awaken to mystical powers—her once hopeless wish... a wish for peace and coexistence among all races… maybe here, it could actually come true?

She shook her head and forcefully cast away these tangled thoughts.

"Lady Natsuki?" one of the elderly priests asked cautiously.

"It's nothing," she replied nonchalantly, brushing off the topic. Then she asked, "The family involved—it's the Yakushiji family, correct? Can that be confirmed?"

"Yes," replied the same priest in a steady tone. "However, we still can't determine whether it was the actions of an individual member or a collective effort by the family. But according to the Bureau's analysts, it is very likely a coordinated group effort."

Natsuki didn't even bother listening to the latter half of his sentence—she already knew that part was mostly speculation.

After all, in the past, even though priestly families held some status, they were still far weaker than the zaibatsu. In fact, priestly families were often nothing more than suppliers of marriage partners for powerful clans.

The zaibatsu—and the imperial family—had wealth and authority but lacked prestige and spiritual credibility. Meanwhile, the priestly families, poor and powerless, offered them exactly that. The two sides had long colluded in silent, self-serving deals, and Natsuki couldn't even be bothered to comment on that filth.

Now, thanks to the Abyss's emergence in recent decades, the priestly families' status had been elevated. Some believed the new power had outgrown the old institutions, and were now looking to challenge the social order set by the zaibatsu.

The Yakushiji family, being a long-established arms manufacturer in East Asia, wasn't on par with the mega-zaibatsu of the Americas but was just powerful enough to sit slightly above the priestly families—making them a convenient target.

Natsuki was certain that the reports she received had been padded with plenty of dirt on the Yakushiji family. That was precisely why she had placed only seventy percent trust in the intel from the beginning.

Still, regardless of everything else, one fact remained certain: someone in the Yakushiji family had their sights set on demonic power. Otherwise, these priests wouldn't have come rushing to her to kick them while they were down.

After all, you can't kick someone into a well unless there's already a well there to begin with.

With that thought, Natsuki looked down at the report on her table, staring at the red-marked photographs of various Yakushiji family members.

She gave a self-deprecating chuckle.

"No matter the era... humans always seem to harbor ridiculous fantasies about demons, huh~"

Muttering to herself, she picked up the file once more and stood up. Her voice cold and detached, she swept her gaze across the assembled priests.

"I'll take care of the demon situation. That's all."

With those words, her figure vanished from the teahouse, leaving behind a room full of elderly priests glancing at each other with subtle, complicated expressions.

On the rooftop of Toyosaki Academy, after the morning break—

Luo Shu stood there with a bewildered look, holding the documents Natsuki had just handed to him.

"You're telling me SDS is going to Chiba... to handle the demon seal?"

He looked up at her and asked in disbelief, "Are you sure about this?"