Tomochika was speechless. Wrapped in a Japanese kimono, her own sister was floating in the middle of her luxury hotel room. While that in and of itself was strange enough, it was made all the more bizarre by the fact that they were in another world. There was no way her sister should have been there.
"You are Chiharu...right?"
Maybe she had been summoned to this world as well? Or had she died, and this was her ghost? Either case seemed equally likely. And how had she learned to float in the air that way? Her sister, Chiharu Dannoura, was an existence that defied common sense.
Please don't confuse me with her!
A voice echoed in Tomochika's head. But even as it said the words, she couldn't think of the voice as belonging to anyone but her sister.
"No, no, no, you have to be my sister, right? I don't know why you're wearing a kimono, but there's no way anyone else could look as strange as her."Short and wide, far exceeding what one could call plump — that was her sister. For someone so identifiable from her silhouette, seeing her clearly like this left no room for doubt.I am Mokomoko Dannoura! Wife of the son of the founder of the Dannoura School, the one who revived the family line! I am the Guardian Deity of the Dannoura School, your ancestor, your watchful protector, your guardian spirit!
"Slow down, please! I can't keep up like this! Uhh...if you revived the family line, you didn't really revive it too much, did you?"
Heh, pathetic! Your snark leaves me unfazed!
"Now my jokes are being criticized by a ghost?!"
At that point, Tomochika accepted that maybe this wasn't her sister after all. Chiharu was always one to play the fool, so she would never have complained about the quality of someone else's jokes.
"So...you really aren't my sister?"
I am Mokomoko Dannoura!
"Why are you here?" Even if she said she was Tomochika's guardian spirit, such things didn't usually appear without warning, did they?
As your guardian spirit, I'm usually limited to protecting you from the attacks of evil spirits. However, in a situation like this, such a restriction seems meaningless, so I thought I would help more directly. But there is no need to have this conversation standing up. Set down your luggage and have a seat.
With a sigh, Tomochika complied. As suspicious as this Mokomoko was, she found it hard to disobey her. Maybe because she looked like her sister, it was hard to think of her as a stranger. Laying the bags she was carrying on the floor, Tomochika took a seat on the bed.
"I have a lot of questions. Is that okay?"
Ask to your heart's content!
"Why did you show up now? If you were planning on saving me, shouldn't you have shown up earlier?"
I was waiting for you to be alone. That boy is truly dangerous!
"That boy...you mean Takatou?"
Correct. If I were to carelessly appear before him, he could erase me in an instant. So I would be very grateful if you could warn him of my existence in advance tomorrow."That's fine, but you're a ghost, right? How could his power even hurt you?" Yogiri's abilities were certainly impressive, but Tomochika wasn't so sure it would work against ghosts.
As a high-level divine spirit, I instinctively got a "this guy is dangerous" vibe. That is all. I felt it very strongly from him.
"Well, he'll understand if we just talk to him...I think. I'll let him know, so I'm sure it'll be okay. And what do you mean by 'saving me?'"
Ah, yes. If I were to put it into modern web novel terms, the title would be "My Guardian Spirit Is The Strongest, This World Doesn't Stand A Chance!" Or something along those lines, I guess.
"I have absolutely no idea what that means."
It was a rather bizarre example coming from a ghost from the Heian era.
I suppose I should make it clear that, as a spiritual being, I can't offer you physical assistance. My primary focus is on spiritual defense. Actually, I have already been doing just that. There was some strange system called the Gift, correct? I am the one who prevented it from reaching you."That was your fault?! Why couldn't you have just left things alone?!"
Oh? Were you interested in such a vague, suspicious power?
That put Tomochika at a loss for words. True, if she had received the Gift, she wouldn't have been split up from her classmates. But she had no way of knowing whether that would be better than her current situation.
Of course, it has its benefits. The Gift is a thing designed for battle. By having it installed, one becomes more aggressive, the fear of death is suppressed, and aversion to slaughter is reduced.
"Um, that actually sounds a bit dangerous."
Should a monster appear before you, being scared of every little thing will only get you killed, no? If you wish to live in this world, combat cannot be avoided. The main benefit of the Gift is that any fool can gain the ability to fight.
"So you don't think things like classes and skills are important?"
Little more than gambling. Even the Sages don't know what sort of abilities will arise when they hand out the Gift. There are some abilities which are truly detrimental.
"So, if those are the advantages, what are the disadvantages?"
It is a fundamentally untrustworthy thing. It eats into the depths of your soul. I do not know precisely what it does there, nor to what end. But the moment one accepts that power, the Sages have uncontested control over your life and death.
Tomochika had difficulty picturing something like her own soul, but it wasn't hard to grasp that being freely manipulated by someone else was a bad thing.
"Thank you. I suppose I should say that much, shouldn't I?"
Yes! Shower me with your appreciation!
Although she had started out by speaking politely, Tomochika's usual frankness was gradually slipping back into her speech. Luckily, Mokomoko seemed to have no particular qualms about that.
"Hey, does this mean that others who failed the Gift installation have guardian spirits as well?"
Such knowledge is beyond me. The only spirit that was able to accompany your class to this world was myself.
Mokomoko's expression became rather proud. It was hard to say at this point, but Tomochika wondered if there was in fact some reason that the installation had failed on those who died on the bus.
"You said you were the guardian deity of the Dannoura School, right? Doesn't it make more sense for you to be with my sister?" Tomochika's older sister Chiharu was the true successor to the Dannoura School. If Mokomoko was going to protect any of them, it made more sense for it to be her.
She is rather feeble, I'm afraid. Not suited at all to be a successor. It is therefore necessary that you return to our world alive.
The Dannoura School of Archery. A comprehensive martial art developed during the Heian era, it was still passed down through generations of the Dannoura family today. Tomochika was knowledgeable enough about it, but in a world with dragons, magic, and superpowered skills, she found it hard to believe that some ancient form of archery would be much help."Of course I want to go back, but right now all I can do is rely on Takatou..."
Well, with your current education in the Dannoura School, such a task seems almost impossible. So! I shall personally instruct you in the true arts of your family!
Mokomoko's smile was smug as she spoke. Tomochika was anything but reassured.
◇ ◇ ◇
Tomochika looked rather exhausted when she stepped into the lobby the next morning.
"Good morning. Couldn't sleep last night?" Yogiri had had no such difficulties and looked perfectly well rested.
"Something like that. It's complicated. So, what are we doing today? Information hunting to find out where the others went?"
Their immediate goal was to reunite with their classmates, who had headed to the capital. To do that, they'd need to find out how to get to the capital themselves.
"Well, about that. I kind of already did."
"What? When?"
"Last night."
"What, were you out walking around by yourself?"
"No, I just asked her. Apparently she's a concierge." Yogiri pointed to a corner of the lobby. Standing there was a woman wearing a suit. As Tomochika turned to look at her, she gave a short bow. Her flawless beauty made Tomochika feel a sort of irrational pressure.
"She looked up where our classmates were, showed me a number of ways to get there, prepared some items to help with the language barrier and hiding our Stats, and found a solution for charging my handheld, too."
"This concierge is too much! Is there anything left for us to even do?!"
All of the problems that Tomochika had been racking her brain over, this concierge had solved in a single night.