The only known human shikigami, the rarest and most invaluable of all the forms, in Obsidian High was Hazuki’s. The moment word got out that Hana was served by not one but two human shikigami, she would no doubt be fast-tracked to a future as a practitioner.
That was a fate Hana wanted to avoid at all costs, which was why she had no choice but to be strict with Aoi and Miyabi.
“No, you can’t!” Hana said in response to Miyabi’s plea.
Miyabi laid a palm against her cheek with a deeply disappointed expression. “Are you sure? I should think that it’s possible…”
“I think so, too,” Aoi interjected.
“I said no!” Hana insisted.
“That’s too bad. How dare those cowards look down on my lady. I wanted to make them suffer…,” Miyabi said.
“I could crush them in the blink of an eye if you said the word…,” Aoi added.
The two grumbled their complaints as they faded out of sight again.
“What am I going to do with them…?” Hana said with a wry smile, but secretly, she was slightly pleased by their reactions.
One day, Hana had returned home from school and was watching TV in her room, popping rice crackers into her mouth with one hand.
The newscast featured a distressing story that had Hana grimacing.
“Apparently, a bunch of dogs have been found dead. I heard something similar just the other day about a dog killed the same way,” Hana said to her shikigami. “Who would want to harm such cute animals? Some people are so heartless. Scum like that should just go to hell.”
“That’s true. The scene of the crime isn’t far from here, either,” Miyabi said, her face grim. She had been listening to the news as she brewed tea for Hana. She placed a cup of the hot tea in front of Hana. “You should be careful, too, Master.”
There were countless examples of spirits with deep grudges turning into shades.
This incident had happened nearby. It was possible that a shade with a deep resentment toward humans could form at the crime scene.
Aoi was concerned that Hana could run into the shade, but she thought his worry was unnecessary.
“Oh please. Why should I be careful when you’re with me every second of the day, Aoi? If I saw it, you’d deal with it before it got a chance to attack, right?”
“Of course!” Aoi replied instantly with a stubborn jut of his jaw, as if daring Hana to find a problem with that.
“That’s all well and good, but make sure you don’t do anything where people can see you,” Hana cautioned.
“I know,” he said.
“Are you sure about that…?” She was dubious.
She had run into a shade recently on the way home from school. Aoi had killed it in the blink of an eye before she could stop him.
The pillar that the Ichinomiya clan swore to protect was somewhere near where Hana lived. All sorts of shades aiming for the pillar flocked here, so the chances of encountering a shade were high.
Shades were fundamentally invisible, and they didn’t attack normal humans who were unaware of their existence. Shades grew stronger by absorbing the power of practitioners.
Kids who were talented enough to produce shikigami usually enrolled in schools dedicated to raising practitioners, like Obsidian High, where they also learned how to destroy shades. However, quite frankly, few practitioners were strong enough to attract the attention of a shade, since the shades knew the best source of power was the pillars themselves.
But Hana was an exception. Even though she actively suppressed her power, shades could still sense it, and they often came for her when she was alone.
Thanks to that, even though she wasn’t in Class A, she had accumulated a wealth of practical battle experience.
She had originally created Aoi and Miyabi because she had been fed up with having to deal with the shades herself.
The two of them acted according to Hana’s wishes. In fact, they were so exemplary that lately she had begun to worry that her own skills were going to rust if she didn’t occasionally get the chance to use them.
But so what? A practitioner’s skill set was useless to Hana, who had resolved to leave that life behind her and live as a normal human being instead.
Hana continued watching TV since it was already on, but out of the blue, she sensed a human presence coming her way. Aoi and Miyabi blinked out of view.
The only people who came to Hana’s detached residence were Sae and the other servants. Hana was close to them, but she still had no intention of revealing Aoi’s and Miyabi’s existences to anyone. Therefore, the two shikigami were under orders to disappear the moment they sensed someone coming.
Just as Hana expected, her visitor was none other than Sae.
Hana glanced at the clock and realized that it was almost time for supper, so she found it strange that Sae had come empty-handed, looking troubled.
“Miss Hana, you’ve been summoned to the main residence for supper,” Sae said.
“Huh? Are you sure?” Hana asked.
“Yes. You will dine with the master.”
For a split second, Hana thought that she had misheard. This was the first time something like this had happened since she had moved into the detached residence.
“My father called for me?”
“Yes. He must have something of import to speak with you about.”
What strange turn of events was this? What could have happened to make her father call for her?
Hana went to the main residence, praying to herself that it wouldn’t turn into anything troublesome. She arrived to find that, for once, even her brother, Yanagi, had come home. After he had graduated Obsidian High and become a practitioner, he had been swamped with work. Hana didn’t know the details—the two of them didn’t talk.
When was the last time they’d had a conversation? It had been so long that Hana didn’t remember.