Expectations

Watching the crow flap its wings and fly into the sky, quickly receding into the distance, Miketsu let out a sigh of relief. From the current situation, her plan was proceeding smoothly. As she had expected, Minamoto no Mitsunaka had a strong desire for the Golden Feather, which was the foundation for the success of this transaction.

After clarifying that the Minamoto clan was the one behind the scenes, Miketsu thought of exchanging the Golden Feather for intelligence on the Onmyoryo. After all, for the Minamoto clan, what mattered was not Asakura Hao or Owl, but Itsumaden and the Golden Feather.

Miketsu first established coordinates on a map of Heian-kyo and drew a grid. Then, using the Planchette method of trial and error, she positioned herself on the map coordinates. Ultimately, she determined the time and route of Minamoto no Mitsunaka's return from the Onmyoryo to his residence. After placing the box containing the down from the Golden Feather and the note written by Tsuruha into a bag, she left it on the road he was traveling. As he passed by, she used a tiny paper shikigami carrying a stone obtained from Konkiku that could emit demonic energy to fly to the bag's location, allowing it to be noticed by Minamoto no Mitsunaka.

After successfully attracting Minamoto no Mitsunaka's shikigami to the predetermined location, Miketsu reached a deal with him.

"Phew... to think he'd sell out his own colleagues just like that."

At the moment the deal was struck, Miketsu felt a chill in her heart alongside her joy, feeling that it wasn't worth it for those onmyoji and shikigami serving as undercover agents for the Onmyoryo in the demon realm.

Working diligently in an extremely dangerous environment to protect the human realm, only to be ruthlessly sold out by their superior due to greed.

In a normal script, these betrayed undercover agents would surely meet a miserable end. The yokai in the Ghost Market of Heian-kyo appeared harmonious on the surface, but once provoked, their ferocious side as yokai would immediately be exposed.

Thinking of this, Miketsu secretly felt fortunate that she wasn't a real yokai; at least those undercover agents could keep their lives in her hands.

With the information in hand, what Miketsu needed to do now was take specific action. Since the undercover agents were keeping watch in Choyo-machi, it was inconvenient for her to show her face, but the unexpected harvest from Fangshan Castle last time would make this operation easier.

...

Late at night in Choyo-machi, above the brightly lit riverside streets, the bustling yokai night market was as usual. However, beneath the calm appearance, undercurrents were surging.

"Ka-ka... have you heard... about that Owl..." several withered Gaki gathered together and discussed secretly.

"...What? Released the yokai captured by the onmyoji? No wonder there are so many new faces lately..." near the railing on the second floor of a building in the Hanamachi, several fox and cat girls were whispering behind their hands.

"Gurgle gurgle... is this the water of Heian-kyo? It feels pretty good. I'll live here from now on... If only I could see Lord Owl one more time..." in the river, a newly arrived Kappa was lying in the water looking up at the sky.

"Ahhh... Lord Owl hasn't come for a long time... I wonder what he's doing?" The Cat Shop Owner rested her head on her hand, watching the customers coming and going in the shop, her large, flickering eyes full of melancholy.

The new rumors about Owl, along with the rescued yokai, quickly spread through the demon realm of Heian-kyo, becoming the most hotly discussed topic of the past few days.

Now, countless yokai were eagerly awaiting Owl's reappearance in Choyo-machi. Since the incident occurred, Owl had not yet appeared.

Of course, it wasn't just yokai watching; the shikigami and onmyoji who had received orders were also waiting for their target under the guise of yokai.

On the edge of Choyo-machi, within the dense woods, Nura Rihyon and Tamamura were advancing bit by bit into the depths of the forest under the guidance of Yamausagi.

"Ho~ ho-ho~ we're going to find Mr. Crane~"

Riding on top of Mr. Frog, Yamausagi spoke cheerfully while hopping along.

"Hey, hey... little missy, do you really know where Owl is?" behind Yamausagi, Tamamura, who was holding a sake jug, asked.

"Of course~ Usagi has a special way of talking with Mr. Crane!"

"A special way of talking? What on earth..." Tamamura muttered a few words and then stopped talking, while Nura Rihyon spoke up curiously at this time.

"Little Miss Yamausagi, why do you call His Excellency Owl 'Mr. Crane'?"

"I'm not telling you! That's a secret between Usagi and Mr. Crane~" Yamausagi said, waving her small fist.

Seeing that he couldn't get an answer, Nura Rihyon didn't say anything more. They silently followed Yamausagi all the way, and after a while, they arrived at a clearing in the forest.

"Are-re... Mr. Crane should be here?" putting her hands over her eyes, Yamausagi looked around curiously.

"Heh... see, this little missy is just playing around. That special contact method is probably something she made up herself," Tamamura chuckled, then patted Nura Rihyon beside him.

"This Lord Owl told us to wait for him here, but he hasn't shown up for several days. I reckon he's probably forgotten about us. Nura Rihyon, why don't we just divide the stuff among ourselves?"

Just as Tamamura finished speaking, before Nura Rihyon could respond, a deep voice rang out.

"What are you going to divide?"

Tamamura immediately froze on the spot. When he mechanically turned his head toward the direction the voice came from, Owl was slowly stepping out from the shadows of the forest.

"Ahaha... it's our din— for tonight..."

"It's the treasure Mr. Crane left behind, we've successfully transported it back~" Yamausagi answered first, cutting ahead of Tamamura, which left him stunned on the spot, while Miketsu was completely bewildered.

What? The treasure I left behind? When did this happen? Why didn't I know!

...

Inside the woods of Choyo-machi, in a hidden thicket, Miketsu stood frozen on the spot, staring in stunned silence at the chests of coins and the small chest of gold ingots before her.

Did I actually miss out on this much money?! This is practically a divine punishment!

"Just like that, not a single chest missing, all brought back. After Your Excellency dealt with the guards, you left these things there; I assumed you intended for us to handle them."

"Ahaha, yes, yes, all brought back, not a bit missing! No one dared to lay a finger on them, I'm exhausted!"

With a smile, Nura Rihyon patted the money chest closest to him and spoke; beside him, Tamamura was also laughing and agreeing, which caused Mr. Frog beneath Yamausagi to roll his eyes at him.

"I'm clearly the one pulling all these things, how are you tired?"

At this moment, Miketsu once again felt grateful for her hood and bandages, which once again concealed her loss of composure before everyone. Faced with so much money, even a god would find it hard to maintain control!

"Indeed, this money has an important use for us..."

Although she didn't know how the other party assumed she knew about this money, it didn't stop Miketsu from putting on an act to play along at this moment.

"What do you plan to do with this money, Excellency?" Turning his head, Nura Rihyon asked Miketsu.

"We'll discuss that later. For now, I have a mission for you."