Miketsu looked at Yura in this state, feeling a wave of suspicion. She thought, "Isn't this girl eager to join the Onmyoryo, so she's been frantically taking on missions? What's wrong now?"
Facing Yura's abnormality, Miketsu didn't dwell on it. Instead, she went to the registration point set up specifically for this mission, which was the large crowd Miketsu had seen gathered together when she first arrived.
Wearing her kariginu, Miketsu smoothly made her way through the crowd to the Onmyo-sei in charge. Upon seeing her attire, the Onmyo-sei immediately approved her. Seeing this, Miketsu once again marveled at how useful the identity Fujiwara had given her was.
After confirming the mission was accepted, Miketsu left the Bumingtang. After arranging the next meeting time with Yura, she rode her little donkey back to Inari Mountain.
After making some preparations on Inari Mountain and instructing the foxes to guard the house well, Miketsu once again mounted her donkey, Ami, and set off for the mission location.
The mission location was quite a distance from Heian-kyo, estimated to be a two to three-day journey. Due to the long distance, Miketsu, unwilling to see her divine messenger so exhausted from running, decided to ride the donkey, keeping Tsuruha concealed on her person.
With water and dry rations packed, Miketsu embarked on another long journey.
Miketsu's target for this mission was Fangshan Castle. It was not literally a defensive city, but rather a military fortress built into the mountains, a mountain castle defense.
According to the mission description and information from the foxes, Miketsu learned that the castle was originally a subsidiary mountain castle built specifically to guard the newly established capital, Nagaoka-kyo. However, due to the malevolence of a vengeful spirit, the Tenno abandoned this newly built capital and relocated to the current Heian-kyo. Fangshan Castle, which was built alongside Nagaoka-kyo, was thus left unfinished. Since then, it has remained in a semi-abandoned state, with only a small garrison maintaining it, and occasionally serving as a temporary lodging for local gentry and provincial governors when visiting the capital.
Hearing this, Miketsu felt a surge of curiosity. The imperial court was forced to relocate its capital by a vengeful spirit? And none of the Onmyoji families could do anything about that spirit? This was truly a strange tale. Which vengeful spirit could be so powerful?
Along the way, Miketsu consulted Tsuruha for more information about the matter and learned that the vengeful spirit was named Prince Sawara, the Tenno's younger brother at the time, a member of the imperial family, who had become a vengeful spirit due to an unjust death.
Upon hearing Tsuruha's words, Miketsu couldn't help but complain.
"He's the Tenno's... relative?"
"Just because he's the Tenno's relative, he's that formidable? So formidable that even the Tenno himself and the Three Great Clans couldn't do anything? How unjustly did this Prince Sawara die? How strong was his spiritual power in life, that the vengeful spirit he became after death could be this powerful? This isn't logical!"
"I've seen vengeful spirits before, don't try to fool me."
In any case, after hearing Tsuruha recount the story of the relocation of Nagaoka-kyo and Prince Sawara, Miketsu felt a wave of confusion. According to the records she had seen in the Onmyoryo's documents, a vengeful spirit was a spirit that died with hatred and lingered in the world, harming the living. The strength of a vengeful spirit was determined by both the hatred it harbored and the spiritual power it possessed in life.
But how great could an ordinary person's hatred be, at its peak? And this Prince Sawara didn't show any abnormalities in the story during his life. Why did he become so powerful as soon as he turned into a vengeful spirit? This isn't scientific... nor is it fantastical...
In the story, Prince Sawara's vengeful spirit could cause droughts, unleash plagues, summon wind and rain, induce floods... these... were practically the powers of a god...
Miketsu swayed on her donkey, Ami, as she rode along the road, pondering the vengeful spirit's malevolence from centuries ago. The more she thought about it, the more illogical the matter seemed.
Yet, this very thing that Miketsu found so illogical was now widely accepted by the imperial court and the Three Great Clans. What exactly were they up to?
Because of the long journey, Miketsu spent the entire way pondering the matter of the vengeful spirit's malevolence to pass the time. However, after much deliberation, she couldn't make sense of it. Shaking her head and giving up on thinking, Miketsu continued her journey.
Since Fangshan Castle often served as the final resting point for many provincial governors and gentry from the Eastern Provinces on their way to the capital, there was a smooth road connecting it to Heian-kyo. This facilitated merchants traveling between the Eastern Provinces and Heian-kyo, and also made it easier for Miketsu to reach Fangshan Castle. However, even with a clear road, it was impossible to reach the destination within a single day, meaning Miketsu would need to spend the night outdoors.
Thus, as night fell and the moon rose high, Miketsu found a spot slightly off the main road in the wilderness to rest. After tying Ami to a tree, she and Tsuruha ascended into the divine realm. Tsuruha transformed, lying on the ground in a circle, and Miketsu leaned directly against Tsuruha's soft body, falling asleep. Tsuruha's fluffy large tail could even serve as both a pillow and a blanket.
Miketsu spent the night this way. When day broke, she continued her journey. After traveling for another day, night fell again, and Miketsu slept on Tsuruha just as before.
Then, in her dream, she heard a faint prayer...
"Oh god... please... hear... me..."
"Oh god... I... pray... here..."
"...seeking... help... to leave... this place..."
Rubbing her eyes, Miketsu awoke from her dream. She looked around blankly at the still dark sky and the myriad stars above.
"Lady Uka, is something wrong?" Sensing Miketsu's awakening, Tsuruha also opened her eyes and gently asked her deity.
"Tsuruha, I just heard someone praying, a prayer without a specified divine name." Miketsu said, frowning. "Praying? Is someone nearby seeking help?" Tsuruha asked curiously. She knew her deity could hear prayers from a relatively close distance, prayers that didn't specify a divine name, just like before at Ogura Pond.
"I don't know... This prayer was very faint, intermittent, ethereal, and disappeared after I woke up. I can't even confirm where it came from." Miketsu said, looking around in confusion. Compared to what she heard at Ogura Pond, this prayer was much weaker, so weak that she couldn't even extract more information from it.
The only thing she could confirm was that the prayer was a female voice, a devout and steady female voice.
Rate on N.U.
