“No. He inherited his unusual appearance from his father. People immediately found out that he was Gensou Izumo’s son, and it was no stretch for them to see what he planned to do. It would be too much trouble if they failed at capturing him and he escaped. People living in the capital would be harmed if some large-scale effort was initiated.”
“That’s true. A major hunt in the city wouldn’t have been smart. So—”
“The court decided to let him be and watch him for a while. In terms you can understand, they meant to quietly eliminate him at an appropriate time.”
“Instead of catching him and putting him on trial…?”
“The outcome would have been the same. The court had to get rid of any potential threats to the capital with certainty,” Shino said casually and added, “Tokifuyu was given the task of finishing off Gentetsu.”
“Alone? Why didn’t the entire bureau handle it? It was a major crisis, wasn’t it?”
“For one thing, the chief priest had been ill at the time, and many spiritual mediums were busy praying for him to heal. Another is that Gentetsu was a very cautious man. He might have quickly turned tail and gone into hiding again if too many people pursued him, in which case the court would have had to wait until he made his next move.”
“Aha!”
“To finish Gentetsu off, they needed someone inconspicuous who didn’t flaunt his abilities and had no desire to move up in the world… Besides, Tokifuyu must have owed a lot of money and favors to many people in order to make me his apparition. He could never refuse if he was ordered to give it all back.”
Shino glanced at the empty teacup. Masamichi pulled the thermos and teapot toward himself to make a fresh cup and prompted Shino to continue.
“Oh…I see. So that’s why Tokifuyu had to take covert action. And?”
“Tokifuyu and I kept an eye on him and waited for him to put his plan into action. One night, he finally made his move. We followed him to Shinsenen. It was in front of the large pond that he built a simple but genuine fire altar and burned incense to the gods.”
“He burned incense… That’s what you do when you cast a spell, right?”
“Yeah. Humans also burn incense that way when they’re celebrating something. Tokifuyu and I appeared before him after confirming his intent to attack the Imperial Court. Naturally, he and Tokifuyu engaged in battle…and a heat haze suddenly manifested to protect Gentetsu. It was his shikigami…Kagiroi, that gagaku musician who you know. To our dismay, neither Tokifuyu nor I had been aware of that heat haze until then.”
“He was like a secret weapon?”
“Right.”
Shino was getting to the climax of his story, and Masamichi suddenly stopped after half opening the lid of his thermos.
“It would be pointless to tell you how Gentetsu and Tokifuyu fought. Naturally, I was ordered to assist my master. We absolutely had to finish off Gentetsu. It was the appearance of the heat haze that made my participation inevitable.”
Masamichi did not notice that he had shifted from sitting up straight to hugging his knees. It was an unconscious move, and Shino chuckled at the childish reaction.
“As Kagiroi said when we ran into him by the Kamo River, I was extremely powerful a thousand years ago—much more than I am now. Even after Tokifuyu took away my strength, it still far exceeded Kagiroi’s energy. Meanwhile…Tokifuyu’s skill with curses was definitely pushing Gentetsu into a corner.”
“You’re making it seem awfully simple when it sounds like a super climax. Anyway, did you and Tokifuyu defeat Gentetsu and Kagiroi?”
Shino lowered his gaze.
“We captured Gentetsu. However, the heat haze didn’t stay with his master to share his fate. At least, not then. He saw they were at a disadvantage and took off.”
“Huh?! He did? Alone?”
“I am leaving. I have done my duty to this master of mine. You are going to kill him, are you not? At least bury him. He may be unworthy, but he is still my master. It should be all right for me to ask that much.”
Shino probably hadn’t been intending to imitate Kagiroi’s words. But what he said was in a slightly different tone than how he usually spoke, and it sounded remarkably realistic to Masamichi.
“My name is Kagiroi. It is pointless for you to chase me, since who knows if I actually exist? Do not bother. Oh yes, I will ask you what your name is, though, in case we should run into each other again someday.”
A thousand years after the words had been spoken, Shino still recalled them precisely. It had to be because the exchange had been etched deeply in his mind.
Masamichi squeezed his knees tightly.
“I told him my name, and then he disappeared into the darkness. It was a spectacular escape, leaving not a trace of him behind.”
“Even you, a powerful specter, couldn’t go after him? He must have been super quick.”
“I tried to chase him immediately, but Tokifuyu stopped me. He said it was more important to get Gentetsu in custody.”
“That’s true. So did Tokifuyu kill Gentetsu, then?”
Shino answered without lifting a brow.
“He didn’t take his life on the spot. He bound Gentetsu with a curse and took him back to the Bureau of Spiritual Mediums. He must have felt sorry for Gensou and his son’s situation. Tokifuyu was quite complacent, and I believe he thought they would at least allow the man a chance to plead for his life. But as it turned out, Gentetsu was killed that night, which was to be expected.”
“…I see.”
Masamichi exhaled heavily. A thousand years may have passed since, but it was a ruthlessly bloody story.
Shino, on the other hand, looked irritated. “I’ve recalled a stupid event because of you,” he spat, then pointed to the half-open lid of the thermos.
“Go to the kitchen and make another cup of tea. That hot water is no longer good.”
“Oh!! S-sorry. I’ll get right on it!”
Gasping as he returned to the present, Masamichi jumped to his feet as though he had been flicked off the floor.
He still wanted to ask many questions about Gentetsu and Kagiroi, but he worried that pressing Shino too much might put him in a bad mood and cause him to clam up.
“I’ll make regular green tea. And…I was going to finish my sandwich.”
“Did you say something?”
“No, nothing!”
With a regretful glance at his plate, which had only crumbs left on it, Masamichi filled an iron kettle with water and put it on the stove…