Corroboration

Looking at the sight before her, Miketsu couldn't help but furrow her brows. She had never imagined that the restoration of this talisman would yield such a result.

Even though Miketsu's Onmyojutsu was rather poor, she had still been active in the Onmyoryo for over a decade, possessing all the necessary Onmyojutsu common knowledge and fundamentals. She could recognize simple talismans.

With Princess Kaguya's restoration, Miketsu clearly saw the complete appearance of the talisman picked up by Makoto at the “Beast’s” escape site. Unlike what she had previously expected, it was actually a fire talisman that could only emit blue flames. This also meant that the flames that vanished with the “Beast” might not have been the kind produced when a shikigami disappears.

What exactly was going on? A thread of doubt lingered in Miketsu's mind. The current result seemed to subtly negate the previous judgment that the “Beast” was a shikigami, yet the successful restoration of the talisman fragment further testified that Onmyojutsu power was indeed involved.

“What troubles you, Mother? Is there something wrong with this ordinary talisman?” Seeing Miketsu's perplexed expression, Princess Kaguya asked directly, full of curiosity.

“Indeed… this problem is quite significant, and growing increasingly complex…” Miketsu mused, then looked at the divination tools on the table in their Onmyojutsu study room. She immediately picked up a copper coin from the table, held it in her hand, and silently pondered.

‘Was the man-eating beast that appeared south of the capital yesterday afternoon an Onmyoji's shikigami?’

Miketsu flicked the copper coin, setting it spinning on the table. Miketsu had now learned several new divination methods, and could now perform divination without the troublesome setup of a Planchette.

The spinning copper coin on the table gradually slowed down. Princess Kaguya and Miketsu both watched it, awaiting the final result. However, to their surprise, the coin ultimately stood upright on the tabletop, without falling to either side.

“This is… a failed divination. Is it because Mother doesn't have enough information?” Princess Kaguya said, slightly astonished at the sight. Miketsu, unwilling to accept failure, picked up the coin, changed her divination query several times in her mind, and spun it again a few times. Each time, the result was the same: it stood upright. This phenomenon made her frown deepen even further.

‘Unable to divine a result. Is it insufficient basic information, or is there an issue with my query? But usually, this level of information should be enough for a successful result.’

Looking at the wooden table before her, Miketsu couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

...

After this, Miketsu temporarily gave up pondering these questions, choosing instead to spend a day with Princess Kaguya, her adopted daughter. This was a promise she had made to her earlier.

Soon, the daylight hours swiftly passed, and night once again descended upon Heian-kyo. After Princess Kaguya fell asleep, Miketsu, dressed in plain clothes, sat alone in the quiet room of the Asakura Residence. Seeing that most of the household servants had gone to sleep and everything had settled into tranquility, Miketsu looked up at the bright moonlight outside the window. Then she threw out a white paper shikigami. The paper figure expanded in a burst of ethereal blue flames, and finally, Makoto's form emerged from within.

“Lady Uka…”

“Hmm, Makoto, how are things over there?” Looking at the shikigami who bowed respectfully to her, Miketsu nodded slightly. Makoto, having received a response, looked directly at Miketsu and spoke.

“As Lady Uka commanded, I returned to the location where we encountered that monster yesterday and inspected the spot where it disappeared. Sure enough, just as you predicted, I found anomalies. There were very clear digging marks on the soil beneath the grass… That monster, perhaps, escaped our sight by burrowing underground…” At this point, Makoto's tone shifted, and she spoke with a hint of dejection.

“I apologize, Lady Uka, we were momentarily negligent and failed to notice the unusual spot, leading to this incident remaining unresolved to this day!”

“It's alright, you don't need to blame yourself. Some mistakes are unavoidable, and we hadn't anticipated this matter would be so deep and complex. Our vigilance wasn't high enough.”

Miketsu waved her hand, comforting Makoto, and then began to ponder again. She now needed to clarify her thoughts to find new clues.

“The blue flames might have originated from a talisman, and that creature might have escaped by burrowing underground. If that's the case, the conclusion we reached this morning might not be entirely correct. After all, the basis for our conclusion was… hmm?”

Miketsu thought back to the scene in the Onmyoryo this morning. At this moment, her eyes suddenly flickered as if she had realized something, and then her gaze turned towards Makoto.

“Makoto…”

“Yes, Lady Uka…” Seeing Miketsu's call, Makoto responded.

“Last night, you delivered my letter to the Onmyoryo, didn't you? And it was after you informed me about that monster that I started writing it.” Miketsu said, recalling some details from her memory.

“Yes, that's right. After we encountered that monster, I flew back to Choyo-machi alone and first informed Lady Uka of the information. After that, you instructed Konkiku to begin writing the letter on your behalf. Just as I was preparing to deliver the letter, Slippery Nura arrived with that wild god, so there was a slight delay.” Listening to Miketsu's words, Makoto, slightly puzzled, also spoke while recalling the events. The two of them were now corroborating the circumstances of that time.

“Yes, when Slippery Nura brought those people, I almost forgot to give you the letter… It was only after they left that I gave you the letter to deliver. Because of that wild god, I also had you carry an additional verbal message. Did you deliver both the letter and the verbal message accurately?”

“They were all delivered. When I arrived at the Onmyoryo, Onmyo Taiyu Abe no Seimei was still in the Astronomical Pavilion, so I directly brought the letter to him. Absolutely foolproof!” Makoto said earnestly, with a very confident tone. Although she wasn't entirely sure what Miketsu meant by these questions, she still recounted every detail precisely.

Listening to Makoto's words, Miketsu's expression suddenly became extremely serious. She frowned and stroked her chin, a hint of disbelief appearing on her face.

“Could this be…”

Just as Miketsu seemed to have realized something and was pondering it further, a sudden rush of footsteps came from the corridor outside the door. Then a figure stopped before the quiet room's paper door and knelt down. From the figure's silhouette, Miketsu knew it was a household servant.

“My Lady!”

“What is it?”

“Reporting, My Lady… An urgent message just arrived from the Onmyoryo, stating that the serial man-eating yokai in the capital has reappeared and committed another crime. Please go there quickly!”