The Disgrace Of An Exorcist Family (8)

“Io!”

Io did not look back at Mei’s shout. He tried to drive his raised fist into the oni just as he had with the furball. But—

“Impudent.”

“What!!”

The oni stopped Io’s fist with a single fingertip. Ordinarily, the power surrounding Io’s fist should have burned his skin, yet the oni seemed to feel nothing at all and sent Io flying with a casual motion, as though brushing away a gnat.

“Uaaaaaah!!”

Io’s body sailed through the air before hitting the ground with a dull thud.

“Io!”

Forgetting her fear, Mei ran toward him.

“Io, Io!!”

As she approached his limp body, she heard him groan and let out a breath of relief.

“Why would you do something so reckless…?”

No matter how talented Io was, there was no way he could stand against an oni.

“Sh-Shut up!”

Io forced himself upright with a snarling shout. His face was deathly pale, and his entire body trembled, perhaps from fear.

“Oh? You can still stand.”

The oni gave a faint smile at the sight of him. The smile held the chill of a sharpened blade, making Mei’s throat tighten with a small gasp. She heard Io let out the same sort of hoarse whimper beside her.

“And after I was kind enough to hold back. It seems you truly wish to die.”

Blue light gathered in the oni’s outstretched hand as though he were grasping the empty air. It quickly took the shape of flames and began roaring with a terrifying sound.

“E-Eeeek…!!”

A pitiful scream echoed through the clearing. It had not come from Mei, but from Io standing beside her.

“W-We’re getting out of here…!”

Perhaps he had finally understood the difference in their strength, because Io spun around and bolted away at full speed. Mei instinctively started to follow, but then remembered Sakuma, who still lay collapsed on the ground.

Io’s retreating back and Sakuma’s motionless body on the ground.

Without hesitation, Mei ran toward Sakuma.

“Hey! What are you doing!? Hurry up and come on!”

“Sakuma-san is…!”

“You idiot…! Fine, don’t blame me!!”

Ignoring Io’s shout, Mei rushed over to Sakuma. His body lay facedown and unmoving, but she could hear shallow breaths. Relief that he was still alive was immediately followed by overwhelming fear.

What was she supposed to do now?

She could no longer hear Io’s voice. He had probably fled and left them behind. Mei did not particularly think of it as abandonment. If anything, she thought it was the sensible choice. If Io alone managed to escape, perhaps that would be enough.

“Hey.”

“…!”

A voice came from directly behind her, and Mei let out a soundless scream.

Trembling violently, she turned around and found the oni standing so close that she could almost reach out and touch him.

“Ah…”

She wanted to scream, but her throat quivered and no sound emerged. A thought crossed her mind that perhaps this was how an animal felt just before its life was taken. Sweat poured from her entire body at the certainty of an unreasonable attack from an overwhelmingly stronger being.

(—This must be punishment.)

Mei had failed to reach out to innocent Aberrations and had only ever offered them half-hearted help. Surely the heavens had decided not to forgive her for that.

(—Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.)

The tension drained from her fear-stiffened body.

“…I’m sorry.”

Mei placed both hands on the ground and bowed deeply.

“It was my younger brother who hurt your servant. Please forgive him.”

There was only one thing Mei could do now. She could take all the blame for what had happened here upon herself.

Io had a future ahead of him as the one who would carry West Suo forward. Perhaps even her parents would think a little better of Mei if Io came home safely. Perhaps they might even cry when they learned she had died.

Such sorrowful thoughts filled Mei’s heart.

“I’ll accept whatever punishment you see fit. So please, spare this man.”

At the very least, Mei wanted to protect Sakuma, who had tried to protect them.

“Please raise your head.”

“Huh?”

She had expected a threat or an attack, yet the voice she heard sounded almost gentle.

Still unable to understand what was happening, Mei slowly raised her head and found the oni smiling kindly.

“Um…”

What was happening? The oni was looking at her and smiling. Faced with something so completely at odds with the situation, Mei blinked again and again.

Was this some kind of trap? Was he trying to lower her guard only to plunge her into even greater terror? She had heard that Aberrations that deceived humans began by whispering sweet words before corrupting their souls. They would exploit a person to the very marrow of their bones, then cast them into hell at the end for their own amusement.

(—But would this oni have any reason to do something like that?)

An oni powerful enough to defeat Io with a single fingertip had no conceivable reason to deceive and exploit Mei, who possessed no real strength as an exorcist. And when she calmly looked back on what had happened, for some reason Mei alone had been completely unaffected when Io and Sakuma had been overwhelmed earlier.

(—Does he really mean me no harm?)

She sensed no hostility in the eyes directed at her. If anything, she almost felt a strange sense of familiarity from them.

“Master, this person, this person!”

“Huh?”

A high-pitched, childlike voice rang through the clearing. Mei looked around, wondering who had spoken, but there was no one there.

“Thank you, thank you!”

“Wah!”

The furball, which had been sitting in the oni’s hand, leaped onto Mei’s lap. It happily wriggled its fluffy body and rubbed against her like a kitten.

“…Are you the one talking?”

“Yep! Princess, thank you. Princess made the hurt go away.”

“Princess…?”

Mei stared in bewilderment at the grandiose title that did not suit her at all.

“You could talk…?”

“Probably because I am nearby. And this place is close to our world, so it is able to draw on a little more of its power here.”

“I see…”

Mei gently stroked the furball. The spot Io had struck earlier had been badly gouged. She raised her hand over the wound and slowly sent healing power into it, and the injury closed before her eyes.

“Thank you! Thank you, Princess!”

“Please don’t call me Princess. I’m nothing that important.”

When Mei told it that with an awkward smile, the furball tilted its body to one side.

“Princess is Princess!”

“Um…”

“…In our world, those capable of using healing power are called ‘Princesses.’ It is not mistaken.”

The oni told her this quietly.

(—So it was a word from the Otherworld.)

Surprised, Mei nevertheless found the explanation convincing. Since she would only be called that for now anyway, she decided not to argue and simply accepted it.

“Princess, thank you, thank you.”

Her chest ached at the sight of the furball desperately trying to express its gratitude.

“No. It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”

Even though she had known that healing it would only mean it would soon be hurt again, she had been able to do nothing but obey her parents.

Unable to hold them back any longer, tears spilled from her eyes. It did not need to thank her. Everything she had done had only been for her own self-satisfaction.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t cry, Princess. Everyone, everyone loves Princess.”

Alarmed by Mei’s tears, the furball rolled anxiously around on her lap. She wanted to stop crying because she felt so guilty, but the tears would not stop.

“…Don’t cry.”

Something warm and soft gently enveloped Mei’s body.