The Grand Plan

After tying up the undercover agents in Choyo-machi and dumping them at Rajomon, the Onmyoryo finally recognized Owl's methods. They temporarily halted their investigation into Owl, and the corresponding subjugation was postponed indefinitely. Miketsu had achieved her initial goal; the Onmyoryo would not be bothering her for the time being.

After using Planchette to confirm that the Onmyoryo had temporarily abandoned their pursuit of her, Miketsu eagerly rode Konkiku to Choyo-machi. This time, her purpose for coming here was not just to eat, but also to handle the large sum of money obtained from Gonnosuke.

"Oh oh oh... so much money! So much money! In over a hundred years of living, this is the first time I've seen so much money! That cat will surely die of envy when she sees this!" Konkiku, in her white fox form, rolled around inside the money chest, burying her entire body within it.

Miketsu, dressed as Owl, looked at Nura Rihyon beside her and spoke slowly.

"If it were you, how would you use this money?"

Hearing Miketsu's words, Nura Rihyon thought for a moment and then spoke.

"I would distribute all the money to weak and struggling yokai. I'd use it to build prestige and become famous throughout the demon realm, then use that prestige to raise a team of my own and become their boss!" Nura Rihyon did not hide his ambition in the slightest.

"And you?" Miketsu said, turning her gaze toward Tamamura, who spoke without hesitation.

"I would go straight back to Shikoku and buy lots of good things to please the female tanukis. I want to take eighty-eight wives! And have eight hundred and eighty-eight children!"

"Don't you want to make a name for yourself in the world?" Nura Rihyon asked curiously after hearing Tamamura's statement.

"My making a name for myself is also to please the female tanukis. Having this money just makes it faster," Tamamura replied directly. His fundamental goal was simply to marry wives and have children.

What an ambitious guy... but can you really handle eighty-eight wives?

Miketsu complained inwardly, then turned her gaze to Yamausagi. She saw her chasing a butterfly around a tree in circles, not even glancing at the money. Compared to Nura Rihyon and Tamamura, she was exceptionally detached.

After listening to Nura Rihyon and Tamamura's statements, Miketsu remained silent for a while. She paced slowly beside the money chest while speaking, her eyes fixed on Nura Rihyon.

"You want to act with chivalry, distribute money to the weak, build prestige, and establish a power base while providing aid..."

"But... have you thought about it? In the world of yokai, the strong prey on the weak. Can the weak keep the favors you grant them? Can a single favor truly change the lives of the weak? And the subordinates you gather with prestige—how long can you maintain them with prestige alone?"

Hearing Miketsu's words, Nura Rihyon was stunned. After deep thought, the young yokai scratched his head and spoke with a slight hint of embarrassment.

"Your vision is truly broad, Excellency. The things you mentioned... I indeed had not considered them."

In fact, it was just three simple principles: possessing a jade treasure is a crime in itself, poverty alleviation isn't about helping the lazy, and relying on passion alone doesn't last. Miketsu thought this to herself as she turned her gaze toward Tamamura.

"You want a harem of wives and children..."

"But a heart won by money will ultimately only care about the money, not you. If you have a massive clan but lack matching strength and prestige, and rely solely on money to maintain your status, aren't you afraid of being betrayed by your own wives or children?"

After hearing Miketsu's words, Tamamura wanted to argue, but for a moment, he couldn't find the words. Finally, he could only mumble.

"Ugh... it seems I can't rely entirely on money..."

"Yes, what we want is not just money, but also power, prestige, and influence... these are the things that can truly realize your dreams... and the money we have now is precisely the catalyst to bring them about..."

……

After initially pacifying Nura Rihyon and Tamamura, Miketsu began to formally explain her ideas to them.

First, they established their common goals: acting with chivalry and helping the weak, which was Nura Rihyon's goal and something Miketsu approved of as a deity; and then increasing prestige and strength, which was everyone's shared desire.

To achieve these goals, Miketsu intended to use this money to formally establish a force led by herself. Her definition of power included more than just people or yokai loyal to her.

First, Miketsu needed manpower at her disposal—not just Nura Rihyon and the others, but more people who could conveniently operate over a wide range to lay the groundwork for what was to come. This could be done by recruiting directly within Choyo-machi.

After the incidents with the leopard cat yokai and Fangshan Castle, Owl already had very high prestige within the demon realm of Heian-kyo, especially among the yokai who chose to settle in Heian-kyo after being released. Thus, Miketsu first had Nura Rihyon take a portion of the money to recruit yokai. Given Owl's prestige and the promise of payment, many yokai would be willing to serve. Since Miketsu was not often in the demon realm, she also handed over the specific management of these yokai to Nura Rihyon, which would serve as good practice since he wanted to be a boss in the future.

Once they had manpower, they needed a base. This base would also be in Choyo-machi; with so much money, it was enough to buy a sufficiently large building.

Next, they needed information sources. After all, to act with chivalry, one needs to know where chivalry is needed. Regarding this, Miketsu intended to perhaps secretly develop several yokai or even covertly buy a yokai izakaya to serve as an intelligence point. This time, Miketsu immediately thought of the Cat Izakaya. She wondered if the Cat Shop Owner would be willing to cooperate.

Then, they couldn't just sit and eat until the resources were gone. Meaninglessly consuming the capital was pointless; they had to find a way to keep the money coming in. Miketsu had some ideas in this regard as well.

The most direct way was to buy some commercial facilities in the human realm. While continuously earning money, they could also expand the range of their intelligence sources.

Miketsu also realized that there was a possibility for trade between the human realm and the demon realm. She noticed that Onmyoji families captured yokai largely to obtain certain parts of their bodies as materials. Often, these parts were not particularly vital and could grow back quickly for yokai with strong regenerative abilities. Therefore, they could operate by buying at low prices in the demon realm and selling at high prices in the human realm. Once such trade was established, it might even reduce the hunting of innocent mountain yokai by Onmyoji families.

To accomplish this, they would need a channel of communication with the Onmyoji families... which meant an Onmyoji family willing to cooperate. This could perhaps be achieved by using the identity of Asakura Hao to pull some strings with the Fujiwara clan.

After drafting the preliminary plan, Miketsu left the specific implementation to Nura Rihyon and the others, and sent Konkiku as her proxy to act alongside them. In any case, Konkiku enjoyed mingling with yokai all day long.

In this way, Miketsu's actions to establish a force in the demon realm finally began to formally unfold. However, Miketsu did not want it to be an organization that served only the interests of yokai.

"What? You're saying we shouldn't just help innocent yokai, but also protect humans?" With a look of surprise, Nura Rihyon looked at Miketsu.

"Didn't you say you wanted to aid the weak and restrain the powerful? To make a name for yourself in the world? Then, aren't innocent humans also part of the weak? Isn't the human realm also part of the world?" Miketsu responded calmly to Nura Rihyon's words.

"But, but we are yokai... Between yokai and humans..." Although Nura Rihyon felt no ill will toward humans, he still subconsciously felt the divide.

"There is no completely irreconcilable conflict between yokai and humans. We are all sentient beings, the masses under the gods." With a faint smile, Miketsu looked at the young yokai before her.

"We are all sentient beings..." Hearing Miketsu's words, Nura Rihyon murmured to himself, his mind wandering through unknown thoughts.

"Think about it. If one day, whether they are humans or yokai, they can all coexist in harmony under your rule, and they are all shouting your name, and your fame spreads through both the human realm and the demon realm... wouldn't that be much better than just being a yokai boss?" Miketsu continued. At this moment, her tone toward the young yokai seemed somewhat inclined toward guidance.

In Miketsu's words, Nura Rihyon seemed to truly be imagining such a scene. Before long, a smile appeared on the corners of his mouth.

"Heh, thank you for broadening my horizons, Excellency. What you said indeed makes sense and is truly tempting."

"Then, in the time to come, let me witness it—this path of coexistence between humans and yokai that you described. For that, I will assist you."