The world of Type-Moon starts with saving Altria!

"..."

Kiyono Hachiro didn't say a word.

But judging from the cigarette butt that had become even redder, his mind was extremely confused at the moment, otherwise he wouldn't need to resort to this method to calm himself down.

"You must be joking... If that's the case, doesn't that mean that Kyoto's ghost story is true?"

"Kyoto's ghost stories?"

Souji Okita gradually realized that something was wrong.

"Master Ba, could you please be more specific? What exactly is going on?"

"If we knew what was going on, we might be able to provide you with more information."

"..."

Kiyono Hachiro's throat was moving slightly, as if he had swallowed something.

He knew he had no choice, so he quickly continued.

"Do you know... the legend of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons during the Heian Period?"

"..."

Ian nodded, not that he wanted to show off how much he knew in front of others.

But the shrine's head maiden and her master Kondo Shusuke had both mentioned this matter.

It's just told from a different perspective.

"That was the attack launched by the demons from Mount Oe, led by Shuten-douji and Ibaraki-douji, on Heian-kyo, now Kyoto, right?"

"Yes……"

Taking a deep puff of cigarette did seem to have a calming effect, and Kiyono Hachiro's expression became noticeably more relaxed.

"This is something that ordinary people can't achieve... After all, ghosts and monsters are not something that ordinary people can deal with."

"Indeed it is……"

Okita Souji nodded, indicating that he fully agreed with this statement.

After all, whether it was Yan Luo in her youth or Yu Nu that night, they were both indelible memories for the girl.

The feeling that if you take a wrong step, you will lose everything is really too scary.

Not to mention the ugly Gozen who showed an absolute crushing momentum later on.

"That……"

Kondo Isami scratched the back of his head.

"If the ghosts are so powerful, and there's a Hundred Demons Night Parade and all that, how will this disaster end?"

"I just can't think of it."

It's not that Kondo Isami is ignorant, but she has never experienced anything like this.

Naturally, there was no possibility of any explanation for this matter in the girl's mind.

"It was suppressed by the Onmyojis, right?"

Ian gave the correct answer based on his memory.

"On the night of the second One Hundred Demons Night Parade, someone organized a massive ghost hunt, and nearly all the monsters were wiped out that night."

"However...it was later stated that the action was just a superficial formality. The ghosts continued to be active in Heian-kyō at that time, until at some unknown time, they all disappeared."

"but……"

Ian looked confused.

"If these things are not wrong, I don't understand why Mr. Ba is so panicked."

"Isn't this something to be thankful for? Even if it's not good enough, it still fits the records of the inheritance, right?"

"..."

"..."

Ian's words once again focused the attention of the other two people on Kiyono Hachiro.

Because what Ian said was indeed correct, whether it was the cause of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons or the end of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.

The meaning at this moment is actually not that important.

Even though his master Kondo Shusuke once said that the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons might not be over yet, it did not mean much on the ship to Kyoto.

however--

At this moment, Kiyono Hachiro suddenly sighed.

He took a long drag on his cigarette and began to explain.

"Sure enough, no matter what kind of words they are, as long as they are spread widely enough, some of them will eventually disappear."

"People outside of Kyoto really have a misunderstanding about Kyoto's ghost stories."

"..."

"Mr. Ba, what do you mean? Can you explain it in more detail?" Ian asked.

"It's very simple."

Kiyono Hachiro flicked off the ash.

"Because the truly important part of this strange story isn't the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, but..."

"Genji."

"what?!"

[Genji, a surname you've heard before, even back when you were at the shrine.]

[But for some reason, you always feel that your connection with this surname goes far beyond that moment.]

[To be more precise, you always feel that you have come into contact with this surname a long time ago.]

【When exactly... was it? 】

【However, at this moment, you don’t have the mind to understand this idea more deeply.】

[Or should I say, everything that Kiyono Hachiro said at this moment is more in line with your needs.]

"Genji...what's wrong?"

Souji Okita asked Ian what he was thinking about.

And Kiyono Hachiro was not vague. He quickly began to explain:

"Actually... the demon-killing operation back then was organized by Genji."

"You probably don't know this, right?"

"Eh?"

Okita Souji was stunned for a moment.

"Wait, Master Hachi, are you saying... that it was actually Genji who ended the One Hundred Demons Night Parade?"

"Correct."

Kiyono Hachiro nodded.

"If we really want to trace it back to the source, it is indeed their clan."

"Isn't this a little bit off?"

Kondo Isami's expression turned confused.

"According to this statement, shouldn't this be a great achievement?"

"Why is it not only not recorded in the legend, but it seems to have completely disappeared? This doesn't make sense no matter how you think about it, right?"

"According to common sense, this is indeed the case..."

"but……"

Kiyono Hachiro blew out a small smoke ring.

"The problem is that the final result of this ghost-killing operation is said to be very bad."

"Not only did the legendary Onmyoji Abe Yasuchika vanish completely that night, but even Minamoto no Yorimitsu, the renowned female general of the Genji clan, fell into a state of madness... Leaving behind a letter of only a few words, she vanished from the then-Heian-kyo."

"After that, no one mentioned it again."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The scene fell into deathly silence.

No one would have thought that there was such a story behind Genji.

After a while, Kondo Isami spoke again:

"Why, Master Ba, do you know so clearly?"

“It’s like being there…”

As soon as he finished speaking, Kondo Isami realized that this seemed a bit rude, and quickly added:

"I'm sorry, I'm not doubting you, Master Ba. I'm just wondering why this happened—"

"You don't have to say that. Your suspicion is normal."

Kiyono Hachiro threw away his almost finished cigarette, stomped it out again, and then lit another one.

It seems that for him, this is the best way to find himself.

"My ancestors were not originally called Qingye, but Taira—"

"..."

Souji Okita was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly remembered something.

"Wait, could it be the Taira clan from the Heian Period's Taira-Gen conflict?!"

"Ah... does anyone know this?"

Kiyono Hachiro leaned his hands on the railing of the boat, and the cold wind blew across his face, as if it was a trace of history.

"Yes... If we don't win the fight, we'll just disappear in Heian-kyō. And that's not enough. We'll have to change our names to avoid extermination."

"So this is the reason why the Kiyono family appeared..." Kondo Isami understood everything.

"A clan that was purged from the government and the country?"

"Hahaha!" Kiyono Hachiro laughed. "Your interpretation is quite interesting—but if you put it that way, shouldn't they be called the Nogaru clan?"

"But maybe that's exactly what you meant—who knows what our ancestors thought?"

"But if that's really the case, it's a bit ironic that the Seino clan ended up returning to Kyoto after all these twists and turns."

"..."

After a long silence, Ian finally spoke again at this moment:

"Then...what does Minamoto no Yorimitsu's disappearance have to do with Ugly Gozen?"

"Master Ba, I... don't understand this."

"If you're not from Kyoto, you really can't understand it." Kiyono Hachiro looked towards the distant sea.

"In fact, there was a rumor a long time ago that Ugly Gozen and Minamoto no Raikou were actually the same person."

"same person?"

"Yes." Seino Hachiro nodded. "The one who attends the court to discuss politics is Minamoto no Yorimitsu, and the one who leads the troops on the march is Uzumaki."

"It's just that the two people are so similar that people often can't tell them apart."

"This……"

Kondo Isami couldn't help it.