A newbie's anime life diary

"Headless, right? We met once before."

Yukiteru nodded to the man in front of him. It was Kubinashi, a member of the Nura Clan whom he had met once before in Chiba Village.

Shiyu was also the first yokai to appear after arriving here, and she was very surprised when she saw the other's head floating on her shoulder.

Shoumu also sensed Shiyu's gaze, nodded kindly to her, and said, "Please come in, both of you. The Commander-in-Chief is already waiting."

"Sorry to bother you."

Following behind Kubinashi, the two entered the Nura Clan's headquarters.

Although this is also in Tokyo, this is Yukiteru's first time here. It seems that Shiki came here once during the Shikoku Yokai Incident, which I heard from Saeko Busujima later.

Walking along the path leading to the house, Xuehui sensed some faint gazes. Turning his head, he saw several small heads peeking from behind a tree not far away. They were all small monsters, but he couldn't tell their exact species because he couldn't see them in full.

After observing for a moment, Xuehui said to Kubinashi, who was leading the way, "Isn't Rikuo-kun here? School should be closed today, right?"

"Young Master went out with his friends from school today. Um, they said they were going to look for monsters or something. Well, I have to keep an eye on things to prevent any accidents." Shouwu explained carefully, while also showing a hint of helplessness.

"Hmm... I see. Well, I'll definitely see him eventually anyway." Xuehui thought for a moment, but didn't care much.

By this time, Shiyu had gotten used to the intermittent yokai figures around her and asked Kubinashi in front of her, "Um, Kubinashi-kun?"

"Miss Kasumigaoka Utaha, is there anything I can help you with?" Since both of them were guests of the Commander-in-Chief, Kubinashi was very polite.

"Um, you don't have a neck, how do you eat?"

"Ahem... well... I can only say that I can eat normally, but as for the detailed explanation, that's a bit complicated." Shouwu never expected the other party to ask such a question, and was momentarily taken aback.

Xuehui smiled slightly as he listened, thinking that Shiyu really could always find something to criticize.

At that moment, a figure that was not a monster appeared not far ahead. It was a woman wearing a kimono, with shoulder-length hair, a youthful face, and a cheerful smile.

"Oh dear, have the guests arrived?"

The woman looked at Xuehui and Shiyu with a friendly smile.

"You must be Mrs. Wakana. Hello, I am Hiratsuka Yukiteru."

"Hello, I am Kasumigaoka Utaha."

Before them stood Nura Wakana, the deceased wife of the second head of the Nura family, who was also Nura Rikuo's mother—a pure-blooded human.

"Hello, we rarely have human guests at home, so please do stay for lunch." Although Nurarihyon Wakana is just a human, she has lived here for a long time and knows a lot about things, especially Yukiteru. She knows Ryougi Shiki and is familiar with this disciple of Ryougi Shiki.

"Then I'll take my leave. Please have Madam share these small pastries with the rest of the family."

Nodding, Yukiteru picked up the large box of high-end pastries and handed it to Nura Wakana. The members Yukiteru was referring to were naturally the yokai.

"Thank you so much for your trouble." After accepting the box, Nura Wakana didn't disturb the others and walked away in another direction. Yukiteru and Utaha also saw that several short youkai followed behind Nura Wakana after she walked away.

"That's amazing! Those monsters really like her." Shiyu couldn't help but say as she watched this scene.

"Even the militant faction within the Nura Clan deeply respects Lady Wakana," Kubinashi said slowly after hearing Utaha's words. Without her, the Second Hokage wouldn't have gradually emerged from the shadows, and there wouldn't be the current Third Hokage.

The three continued down the corridor and finally stopped outside a room.

Standing at the door, he knocked on it without any respect.

"General, the two guests have arrived."

"Oh, please come in." An old voice came from behind the door.

Upon hearing this, Shouwu nodded to Xuehui and Shiyu, then opened the door, gesturing for them to come in.

Then, Xuehui took Shiyu's hand and led her into the room.

It was a fairly large but also quite empty room, with only a bookshelf on one side of the back of the room, and no other decorations.

In the center of the room, a short old man in a kimono sat holding a teacup. His long, alien-like head immediately caught the attention of the two men.

Nura: Nurarihyon, the leader of the Nura Clan.

Nurarihyon put down his teacup, looked up, and met Yukiteru's gaze at the doorway.

Despite being an elderly man, Xuehui still felt the pressure.

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Chapter 129: Gathering Material, and Another Group of Guests

Although Yukiteru remembered that Nurarihyon's strength had been greatly reduced due to Hagoromo Gitsune removing his internal organs, and he was far from the powerful lord of demons he once was, Yukiteru still found that this great demon who had lived for hundreds of years was not to be underestimated.

Fortunately, Nurarihyon's aura release was only momentary after sensing Yukiteru's power, and the target was focused on Yukiteru; Utaha, on the side, didn't sense it at all.

"It's rare for us to have guests. Please come in and have a seat. The tea will be served shortly."

Looking at the two of them, Nurarihyon always appeared as a kind and amiable old man.

Well, although his hairstyle somewhat ruined the atmosphere.

Shiyu, who was initially a little surprised, relaxed after thinking that there are all sorts of monsters. Besides, the other party was obviously a kind-looking old man.

"Excuse me, General."

Holding Utaha's hand, Yukiteru sat down on the cushion in front of Nurarihyon.

"There's no need to call me General. Thanks to my age, you can call me Grandpa or Old Man. I'm one of the oldest monsters in Kanto."

Nurarihyon, being naturally outgoing, greeted them with a smile.

"Then I'll call you Grandpa. Thank you so much for your help today." Yukiteru had always treated the Nura Clan, who were considered to be on the friendly side, with a friendly attitude, and responded with a smile.

Nodding, Nurarihyon looked at Utaha beside him: "Is this the child who wants to gather material? Novels about yokai and humans, these days there really aren't many that are realistic. Well then, ask whatever you want. Although there aren't many humans who have seen yokai in this society now, this is a way to prevent people from forgetting us yokai in the long river of history as time goes by."

"Then I'll leave it to you, sir." Shi Yu was very polite now. After getting permission, she took out her voice recorder. Of course, it was impossible to record everything in one take. Recording was the safest way and would also make it easier for her to organize the recordings later.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and a beautiful woman in a kimono knelt down and opened it, with a tray next to her containing two teacups and tea.

"Excuse me, please excuse the tea for the two guests."

After they entered, the woman in the kimono brought two cups of tea to Yukiteru and Utaha.

"Thank you." Taking the teacup, Shi Yu looked at the woman in front of her and felt that she looked familiar because the woman had very beautiful long hair. Shi Yu felt that she had seen her somewhere before.

Upon seeing Shiyu's face, the other person exclaimed in surprise, "Ah! You are... Ms. Kasumi Shiko?"

"Have we met before? I can't quite remember." Shi Yu looked at the other person, trying hard to think, and vaguely remembered something.

"I was there in person at your book signing! I bought every single one of your novels," the older woman explained with a smile, then said, holding a tray, "Let me introduce myself, I'm Mao Changji."

"Hello, thank you for your support." Looking at Mao Changji in front of her, Shi Yu finally remembered that she had indeed seen her at the book signing event. She had stared at her long hair for several seconds back then.

They didn't chat much; after serving the tea, the prostitute left the room.

Nurarihyon watched this scene quietly, and was even more welcoming of Utaha's visit: "Even a picky child like Moshoji reads your novels, so I think your works will definitely be more popular in the future."

"Thank you for your kind words," Shi Yu replied with a smile. Meeting a fan in a place like this was truly a joyful thing. If it weren't for the fact that ordinary people wouldn't believe it was about demons, Shi Yu could brag about this for the rest of her life!

Even monsters read my novels, can you do that?

“Then let’s begin.” Shiyu composed herself and began to ask, “Because my new work is about the daily romance between a yokai and a human, I heard from Yukiteru that your wife is a human, right?”

"Is that so? I think so. After all, what I did back then was widely known among the monsters of that era, especially what happened between me and Sakura-hime. At the time, most of the group members opposed it."

After sighing, Nurarihyon looked at Yukiteru and said, "Is it alright to say this? After all, it will inevitably involve matters of Kyoto, and this child is just an ordinary person."

Xuehui shook his head, not caring much: "That guy's reach isn't that far. If the Huakaiin family can't hold on, we won't escape either, will we? The curse on your lineage, old man, must also be resolved."

Shiyu listened to the two of them speaking in riddles, but she wasn't in a hurry, because she knew she would hear what she wanted to know soon. Moreover, the words between the lines—Kyoto, Kakai-in, the curse—seemed to be some secrets that couldn't be discussed too much.

After thinking for a while, Nurarihyon looked at Utaha and said, "I can tell you what's going to happen next, but I hope you will make a lot of changes when you organize it into your own content, since this can be considered to overturn some of humanity's understanding."

After Utaha nodded, Nurarihyon began to recount his story with a hint of reminiscence in his eyes: "It all started four hundred years ago. Back then, yokai lived arrogantly in front of the world. My Hyakki Yagyō (Hundred Demons) had just been formed and was waging war everywhere, trying to win the title of Lord of Yokai. And naturally, I encountered a great yokai in Kyoto, Hagoromo-Gitsune, and it was at that time that I met my wife, Sakura-hime."

After that, Nurarihyon recounted the series of events from back then, and Yukiteru, having already gained a rough understanding, only focused on listening to the part about Hagoromo Gitsune.

When it was revealed that the legendary Onmyoji Abe no Seimei was actually a half-demon, Utaha showed a shocked expression, finally understanding what Nurarihyon had meant earlier.

After recounting the Battle of Kyoto four hundred years ago, the story then shifts to the Nurarihyon and Sakura-hime's past, which is what Utaha most wanted to know: how yokai and humans with unusual behavior interact and get along.

Yukiteru wasn't very interested in these things, so he told Nurarihyon that he was going out for some fresh air and to chat with the yokai.

After coming out, Xuehui moved around and walked along the corridor back to the courtyard he had come from. He remembered that the little monsters seemed to gather here.

Sure enough, in the courtyard with a tall cherry blossom tree, several little monsters were playing and frolicking, eating the pastries that Yukiteru had brought.

"Ah, it's the human guest!" The group of little monsters were no longer afraid after seeing Xuehui. One of them, whose head was wrapped in straw and only one eye was showing, ran over and said with a smile, "Young man, you are so polite to bring such nice pastries."

“Natto-kun, is that right?” Yukiteru smiled and glanced at the little monster who only reached his calves, saying, “After all, I have a favor to ask of your commander-in-chief, so a small gift is necessary for me to be a guest.”

"Whoosh~~"

With a splash, a head topped with an eggshell-like object emerged from the small pond under the cherry blossom tree, revealing a boy's face below.

He is a kappa.

"A member of the Ryougi family?"

This kappa clearly knew a lot about the inner workings of the Nura Clan, and must have heard the name of the guest and known Yukiteru's identity.

Xuehui also arrived at the pond and looked at this kappa. The aura emanating from this guy was much stronger than the kappa he had seen before. He was a powerful kappa.

Xuehui asked him, "Do you know any kappa (water sprites) in Chiba who are responsible for managing the river's water quality?"

"I've heard of it, but I don't like that kind of troublesome work, so I don't have much contact with them." The kappa shook his head, then sighed, "But their income is indeed very high."

Of course, that's right. After all, it involves water quality management, and using technology would require far more resources than hiring kappa. So hiring kappa and paying them high salaries is worthwhile; it's a win-win situation.

The monsters around here are all quite active and talkative, and Yukiteru had a very pleasant time interacting with them.