The Disgrace Of An Exorcist Family (2)

“I’ll leave right away, so please eat something.”

Mei bowed her head to Io, who would not even look at her, and quietly left the kitchen.

She might be scolded later for failing to set out the chopsticks, but that seemed far better than having Io skip breakfast.

As she hurried down the long corridor, she saw a group of young men approaching from ahead.

Thinking she had made a mistake, she hurriedly pressed herself against the wall to let them pass, only to hear someone click his tongue as they crossed paths.

“Tch, running into the Rakshasa first thing in the morning. What rotten luck.”

Mei shrank in on herself at the irritated voice.

She braced herself for more, but apparently they were in a hurry.

“If we don’t get to the dojo soon, we’ll get chewed out again.”

“Just because the young master’s fired up this early, the rest of us have to suffer for it too.”

Grumbling with obvious reluctance, they disappeared in the direction of the dojo at the far northern end of the estate.

Mei remained frozen in place until their footsteps had completely faded away, and only after confirming that she could no longer sense anyone nearby did she finally release the breath she had been holding.

(──So Io was at the dojo from early this morning.)

Realizing from their words why Io had been so on edge since morning, Mei let out a small sigh.

The dojo at the far northern end of the estate served as a training hall for the exorcists who lived in this household.

As the name suggested, an exorcist made a profession of driving away “evil.” To exorcists, that evil took the form of beings known as Aberrations.

Ordinary people did not know it, but another world known as the “Otherworld” existed alongside this one.

Over there lived otherworldy beings who existed according to laws entirely different from those of humanity.

For the most part, they had no interest in this world, but on rare occasions, some wandered into it by mistake. Possessing vicious natures, they caused harm without the slightest hesitation. The exorcist clans collectively referred to such beings as “Aberrations.”

Mei was a daughter of the prestigious Suo Clan, a renowned family of exorcists.

In addition to the main Suo household, whose head came from the direct bloodline, there were also branch households led by collateral lines.

Mei had been born into the branch responsible for the western district, which the clan referred to as “West Suo.”

Most Aberrations that appeared in the west were weak, beastlike creatures incapable of understanding human speech, so exorcising them did not require exceptional power.

As a result, West Suo had gone many years without any notable achievements and held a low position within the clan.

Mei’s father, the head of West Suo, was desperate to make the main family and the other branches acknowledge them, and he was extremely strict with both the exorcists under his tutelage and his blood relatives.

Even the smallest mistake on a job was met with severe reprimands and punishment.

The West Suo estate was always filled with a taut, oppressive atmosphere.

Io, the designated heir, possessed remarkable talent and instincts as an exorcist, and his abilities were said to rank among the very best in all of West Suo’s history.

Her father believed Io was the one who would elevate West Suo and eventually allow it to supplant even the main family. Because of that, Io had been subjected to harsh training from childhood and, despite not yet having completed the ceremony that would recognize him as an adult exorcist, had already been sent into actual combat.

Io was always desperately trying to live up to their father’s expectations.

The young exorcists who lived on the estate, like the men who had just passed her, were constantly compared to Io and resented it.

Mei suspected that was why their treatment of her had become all the harsher.

(──It’s not like I chose to be born a Rakshasa.)

The words they had thrown at her echoed deep in her ears.

Rakshasa. To exorcists, it was the name of the most dreaded and ill-omened day of all.

On that day alone, even the most powerful exorcists were weakened, while Aberrations conversely became far stronger.

Whenever a Rakshasa Day came around once every several decades, exorcists from across the country were expected to gather in advance and erect a powerful barrier to suppress the rampaging Aberrations.

Mei had been born on one such Rakshasa Day.

Children born into exorcist families were immediately examined to determine what kind of power they possessed. This was so they could receive an education suited to their abilities.

Mei’s parents had apparently placed great hopes in their long-awaited first child. They had expected her to someday become a worthy heir who would carry West Suo on her shoulders.

But the power Mei had been born with was something utterly unforgivable in an exorcist.

“…M-Mei!”

“Ah—yes! I’m here!”

A hysterical voice called Mei back just as she had begun sinking into a sea of dark memories.

“What are you doing standing around in a place like this?!”

When Mei hurriedly answered, she saw her mother, Sayuri, rushing toward her from the far end of the corridor. Though already past forty, her mother possessed breathtakingly glamorous and striking features, and strongly resembled Io.

“I’m sorry.”

“Simply apologizing does not make everything all right. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. You should be grateful I was the one who found you. Just imagine what would have happened if it had been your father.”

“Yes…”

“Honestly, you’re so much trouble. Listen to me. Don’t inconvenience other people. Only do what you’re capable of doing.”

“Yes.”

“…Good grief, you’re such a gloomy child that it’s exhausting. I risked my life to give birth to you, and not only are you useless, you don’t even have the sense to anticipate what needs doing.”

Mei mindlessly nodded and answered as Sayuri rattled off one cutting remark after another.

If she showed any other reaction, the scolding she received would be more than ten times worse.

Sayuri genuinely seemed to regret having given birth to Mei.

This was far from the first or second time Mei had been forced to hear words like, “After I risked my life to give birth to you.”

“The more incompetent you are, the worse it reflects on me for having given birth to you. If you care about me at all, then make yourself a little more useful. If you do that, perhaps your father might even soften his attitude toward you somewhat. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mother.”

Sayuri was convinced that she alone truly cared about Mei.

She never once doubted that her harsh words and treatment were meant to guide Mei onto the proper path and protect her.

“Everything I do is for your sake, you know.”

Apparently satisfied after saying everything she wanted to say, Sayuri looked refreshed.

“Um…”

“What?”

“Why were you looking for me, Mother?”

Sayuri almost never sought Mei out at this hour. Though Sayuri was weak for an exorcist, she used her fearless personality and glamorous appearance to handle customer-facing work selling talismans, protective charms, and other products made for ordinary people, which kept her quite busy.

“Oh, that’s right.”

As if she had just remembered, Sayuri clapped her hands.

“Apparently Io overdid it, and the younger ones said they can’t practice now. Go to the dojo and fix things the way you always do.”

At the casual tone with which she gave the order, as though merely telling Mei to sweep the entrance, Mei quietly clenched her fists.

“Hurry up, all right? Io wants to get back to training too.”

With that, Sayuri abruptly turned away and hurried off.

She was surely going to fuss over Io. Unlike Mei, Io had a promising future as an exceptional exorcist, and Sayuri doted on him so completely that the old expression about loving someone enough to put them in one’s eye without pain seemed almost literal.

When she was little, Mei had envied that treatment, but once she realized that Sayuri treated Io much like a young girl cherished a favorite toy, she had stopped longing for it.

To Sayuri, Mei had simply been a broken toy from the very beginning.

Mei stood there with her gaze lowered to the floor for a while, then gave a small shake of her head as though casting something aside and trudged toward the dojo as she had been ordered.