Curse Returns: What did the human-shaped wishing machine do wrong this time?

"Lord Alluka..."

Looking at the boy in front of her, Uruko Kenko was speechless for a moment.

"I said, how about I just kidnap you?"

Ignoring Uruko, Sugawara Satoru pulled a folding fan from the sleeve of his hunting robe and waved it vigorously, his azure eyes shining brightly in the candlelight.

He doesn't have a strong sense of justice to save others, nor is he able to empathize with the weak. He suddenly said this because all sorts of things are wrong and have affected his family.

Compared to the two-faced, four-armed demon that appeared later, he felt that the rope man incident, which resembled a natural disaster, was more like a work by Alluka and the Fujiwara family.

After all, they couldn't even be bothered to cover it up.

"..."

Hearing what the intruder said, Uruhiko glared at him and then looked at Alluka with some concern.

In this shrine, besides her as the squad leader, there are ten other members of the Sun, Moon and Stars squad, dozens of maids and servants, and countless monks who reside here.

If Lord Alluka is truly swayed by the persuasion of this Sugawara family member, all of them will be sent to their deaths.

When Uruhiko was first assigned to be a guard, she was resentful. She felt that those people were wasting her abilities, and she wondered if she had unknowingly offended someone and was being secretly ostracized.

But once she arrived here, she realized that all her worries were unfounded.

Alluka is the most well-behaved child. She studies the lessons set by the monks diligently and applies medicine to her with a worried expression when she is injured during training.

He never complained about his unpleasant environment, and whenever adults came to make a wish, Lord Alluka would listen to their wishes with the utmost seriousness.

His presence is like the warm, harmless afternoon rainbow, possessing a comforting power.

Uruko really liked Lord Alluka. She believed that the deaths of people were caused by the entity within Alluka's body and had nothing to do with him personally. However, she never said this aloud, knowing that Lord Alluka would be unhappy if she did.

"Umori Raidan!"

With that thought in mind, Uruko crossed her wrists and turned her palms outward to unleash her power.

This is one of her techniques; it doesn't attack the person in front of her, but rather the plane of space.

"Why are you getting angry and embarrassed?"

Sugawara Satoru took a step back and began using his own unscrupulous technique.

The girl's spell distorted their space, affecting a wide area. Alerting the enemy was not the outcome he had anticipated.

As he dodged, the magical implement hanging at his waist glowed with a fluorescent yellow light.

This was the signal he had agreed upon with his friend who was skilled in barrier magic. If anything unexpected happened outside, his friend would activate the spell to allow him to evacuate quickly.

Sugawara Satoru paused in his dodging motion. He chuckled softly, "I forgot to consult the oracle before going out today."

Before going out, nobles would invite a diviner to cast a divination for them. If the divination result was inauspicious, ordinary nobles would not go out.

Sugawara no Satoru usually doesn't believe in this, but today he seems to find some truth to it.

After saying that, he turned and left without waiting for anyone else's reaction.

Uruko, of course, did not want to let him go, and tried to chase after him by folding up her space, but the person in front of her teleported to the corridor not far away at an extremely fast speed.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to wave provocatively at Uruhiro.

She was so angry she almost vomited blood. When she returned to Alluka's bedchamber, it was already heavily guarded.

Her spell woke everyone at the shrine, and even servants rushed to the Fujiwara family's residence overnight to inform the adults.

Everyone was fully awake, and people were coming and going in the corridor. Torches and lanterns illuminated the night as if it were daytime.

They were all afraid that the attackers would come back and harm Lord Alluka, but Alluka herself, who was at the center of the incident, rubbed her eyes sleepily.

Through the shoji doors, the light from outside shone faintly in, and a wave of exhaustion washed over her. Alluka collapsed onto the bed without warning.

As soon as he fell asleep, the others became even more terrified, fearing that the intruder might have done something to him.

When he woke up again, a thin, middle-aged man was sitting in front of his bed. His deeply lined face was that of Fujiwara no Michitaka, the head of the Fujiwara family.

This time when we met, he looked at least ten years older than the last time.

"Lord Alluka..."

Seeing that the black-haired boy had woken up, he let out a long breath and his body slowly relaxed, but his expression was far from relaxed; instead, it gave off a sense of dejection.

"You're alright, that's wonderful."

The sudden incident last night frightened him so much that he rushed to the suburbs overnight. Even the court meeting he was supposed to attend was canceled by the Emperor, who claimed to be ill. They were worried about what that person might do to Alluka.

Despite Urohiko's swearing that nothing had happened, they didn't want to believe her.

Alluka, who had just woken up, rubbed her eyes and looked over in a daze.

Whether it was a misperception or not, as Fujiwara no Michitaka looked at Alluka's face bathed in the morning light, he suddenly felt a momentary relaxation in his recently tense emotions, and he felt a desire to confide in someone:

"Lord Alluka, why is everyone against me...? They... those useless Five Hollow Generals were actually defeated by a country woman..."

And also, that monster is heading towards Heian-kyo! Is this revenge?... And that woman named Tengen plans to establish some kind of cleansing realm within the territory... She even said she wants to assimilate the astral bodies. Are they all planning a rebellion?

Fujiwara no Michitaka's resentment had been building for quite some time.

Despite their outwardly glamorous appearance, the Fujiwara Kita family was not harmonious internally.

His father had five sons, each of whom had their own ulterior motives.

He merely occupied the position of eldest son and happened to inherit the position of clan leader. He was the clan leader but did not trust the clan members. His brothers and nephews were all eyeing his position.

He wanted his younger brother and nephew to obey his orders, and did not want to turn his clansmen into emotionless puppets.

However, those people secretly met time and time again, coveting the position of their clan leader and the power they held.

With the power of Lord Alluka, if he hadn't fought back, wouldn't his own thoughts have been extinguished at some point?

Fujiwara no Michitaka felt like a withered leaf underwater, unable to shake off the fear and unease pounding in his heart.

"Daolong, everything will be alright."

Alluka smiled slightly, gently closed her eyes, and prayed for the other person in a sacred posture.