Yamiyo no Hotaru

Chapter 41

From the beginning, it was clear we would not be able to shake off the pursuit. After all, they had three men and were fully armed, while we had no weapons and were outnumbered, and even had a target to guard. The situation was overwhelmingly unfavorable for us...

　'That's why you had to make a short battle to get a head start, but this was a mistake from the very beginning.'

　The shikigami declares over my shoulder as she hides. The tone of the shikigami voice is indifferent and devoid of emotion, but it makes me feel a little annoyed at this situation. Of course, it's just a reflection of frustration...

　For my part, I was facing one of the lackeys, a young man called Iruka. I searched the warehouse for a weapon, but I only found a piece of lumber that I could use, so I reluctantly tried to hit him with it, but... he saw through my attempts at concealment and other deceptions and we were back to hand-to-hand combat.

　(I wish I had more time...!!!)

　If I had had a little more time to search inside the warehouse, I might have found a saw or a hammer, not to mention a weapon. After all, it seems all the warehouses in this area seem to contain lumber for building materials, and if so, there should have been some tools.

　"There is no use in asking for something that is not there. More importantly..."

　'What are we going to do with that?'

　I turn my attention to the front when the shikigami says this. There is a lackey with a sword in one hand and claws as sharp as a beast's in the other. No, not like a beast. He is literally a beast... with youkai's arms grown out of him.

　'It's tricky, but in a way, it's a good match. The strategy... is the 5th one we decided on beforehand, correct?'

　"Yes. Please do. I'll leave the timing to you."

　'Then, same to you. Play your cards right. If it looks like you're not going to make it, I'll let the girl appear first.'

　With these words, the bee shikigami leaves my shoulder without being noticed. Well, it depends on my effort to do well... I never thought I'd use that strategy. If I fail, I'll be beheaded for sure.

　"...I don't know how you managed to sneak into the capital looking like that. There should be some kind of boundary around it, right?"

　I ask the lackey in front of me, partly to buy time.

　The so-called boundary that repels youkai energy in the wall and the entrance/exit gate of the capital, in order to fool it, it is necessary to block youkai energy. In my case, it was a pill that tasted like sh*t, and in the case of Shiro, it was necessary to put a talisman on her whole body every time she went in and out of the place. Of course, the man in front of me should have had his arm caught in the boundary as it was... But then, I don't know how he did it...

　(I'd like to hear him say a few things, including about the other two who didn't show...)

　"Oops, I'm not going to fall for that trick, okay? I know you're trying to gather information like that!"