I nod my head in understanding her words. Okayu and her people are exiled people. They want to join back, and they need my help. They did not ask much and only asked me to ask Yasaka to come and give them a chance to join the Youkai Faction.
"I can do that. I don't know if I can tell her to accept you guys but I can ask her to come here to give you a chance."
Okayu bows at me and says.
"Thank you, Lord Jordan. That is all I can ask for."
"Don't thank me yet. Do that when you are accepted into the Youkai Faction."
After saying that, I took out a phone Yasaka gave me and called her. After waiting for a few seconds, Yasaka answered my call.
"Jacob? What can I do for you? Are you getting into trouble in the Wizarding World? I can send someone to take care of it if you want."
"No. No. No. Nothing like that, Yasaka. I want to inform you that there is a village filled with Nekomata who want to rejoin your faction."
"Ah, the one near the Wizarding village, right?"
"Huh?"
"Are you currently near them? Luckily, the phone in your hand is special and can block anyone who tries to listen. Jacob, can you press the power button three times quickly? It will create a small bubble of privacy barrier."
I look at Okayu and give her an apologetic smile, then press the power button three times. I can feel an energy coming out from the phone and creating a small bubble around me.
"Done."
"Thank you. Anyway, I want to say that I already know about them. The reason why I did not help them is because of an agreement between Nurarihyon, the leader of the East Youkai Faction, and me regarding their betrayal."
"Betrayal?"
"You might not know it, but their leader sells forbidden information about the barrier in Kyoto and Kanto to the Devil when they decide to join the Devil race. Because of their affinity that is closer to the Devil, just like Oni, they are more comfortable living in the Underworld. Without asking us for permission, the leader of their race decided to accept the Devil's offer and stole that forbidden information for a piece of land in the underworld."
"I see… This is a punishment, huh?"
"That's right. We are angry that the Devil dares to butcher their race but not only because we cannot afford an all-out war against the Devil but also because they are not worth it. When Nurarihyon and I notice them making a village in that place, we decide to ignore them. We can only help them when they decide to be the first ones to apologize and beg for acceptance from me."
"And lucky for me, that is what they want. They ask me to call you not to ask me begging to you to accept them but rather to ask you to come here and let them beg themselve."
"I see. I will be there in ten minutes. Please wait for me, Jacob."
"Of course."
~Ten minutes later~
When I hear a commotion outside of the building, I get up and open the door. When I open the door, I can see Yasaka arriving in this village, and a dozen Tengu are coming with her. When she sees me, she ignores the others and quickly walks toward me.
"Jacob. I have arrived. What do you want to talk about?"
Huh? She decides to act ignorant, huh? I see. Why? I shake my head and say.
"I think we should discuss this inside."
I take her and her guard inside the library and see Okayu and a group of elderly people following her from behind. When we are inside, I blink for a second when I see the inside of the building has changed.
There is now a round table in the middle of the room, complete with a chair for us to sit. Okayu suddenly takes the lead and lets Yasaka sit in the biggest chair while her guard stands behind her. I also try to stand behind her, but Yasaka grabs my hand and looks at the chair beside her.
I can only sigh and sit next to her.
After I take a seat, Okayu sits in the opposite direction of Yasaka, and the elderly people stand behind her. After they sit on the chair, Okayu looks at me, and I can only sigh.
"Yasaka, this is Okayu, the current leader of this village of Nekomata. The reason why I call you here is because she wants to ask you for something."
After I say that, Okayu nods and says,
"Thank you for coming here, Lady Yasaka."
"It is because of Jacob I came here. Please make it quick. I'm a busy woman."
"Of course. We are asking… no. We are begging you to accept us back into your pack. We are sorry for what our previous leader did to the Youkai faction, and we want to be given a chance to redeem ourselves."
"And why should I do that? Do you know what kind of crime your previous leader did to the Youkai as a whole? He stole information about the barrier around Kyoto and the Kanto region. Because of his actions, many Youkai lose their lives or get enslaved by the Devil."
I can see Okayu and the rest of the Nekomata in the room looking down in shame.
"Not only that, look at this."
Yasaka takes out a scroll from her bosom and rolls toward Okayu. The Nekomata opens the scroll and starts to read it.
"T-This is…"
"Disturbing, right? Your previous leader decides that selling his fellow Youkai is not enough and decides to sell his own kind to the Devil to be experimented on. The one he sold to the Devil experience many kind of horrendous torture and it keep going for years."
"If you know this, why don't you help us?!"
"You don't think I don't help the one who that bastard sold? We help them, and some of them are too afraid to get out of their hiding place after we rescue them from that place. However, before we can rescue them all, one of your kind snaps and kills her so-called master to protect her little sister."
"Kuroka…"
"That's right. The only reason why she is still out there is because we did not actively hunt her. We can easily hunt her, but we choose not to as she is a victim of that bastard's decision. Sadly, it is poor timing for us. If she can hold for a little longer, we can rescue her."
I can see Yasaka take a deep breath, and I can feel her start to release a tremendous amount of energy. Also, her tail sways dangerously behind her, making her even more menacing.
"So, tell me one good reason why I should accept your people?"