Yamiyo no Hotaru

Chapter 96

　"Huh...?"

　Ako Murasaki, who was performing her duties as the head of the surveillance team in the study of the provided dormitory by the Governor, felt a presence without any warning. She was perplexed first and then astonished. Impossible, could it be her imagination? What is happening?

　"Th-That's absurd... No, more importantly!"

　Setting aside her uneasiness for now, Murasaki first took the actions she was taught by her father and brother. That is, the visual sharing with Shiki and confirming the truth of her doubts.

　Connecting her senses with the Shikigami that was hovering over the county capital, she quickly recognized the scene projected onto her retina. Her face turned pale instantly, and in the midst of her confusion, she shouted these words.

　"We're under attack!! Prepare for immediate deployment!"

　With her declaration, Yona (her attendant) and the other maids, holding their belongings, hurriedly rushed into the room. They tehn opened the Tang (Traditional) chest right in front of her eyes. The contents were armors.

　"Miss, your clothes, if you'll excuse me."

　Saying so, she untied Murasaki's attire, and the maids dressed her in the exorcism armor specially prepared for her with fluid movements.

　"Please summon Tamaki-san and Shirowakamaru-san immediately! Also, report the attack of the youkai to the Governor and the commander!"

　"We have brought your bath, miss!"

　As she changed clothes, a tea bowl was handed to Murasaki. It was a dish called "yuzuke," with rice topped with hot water and pickles on the side.

　"Hurry up and bring it here!"

　Yelling those words, Murasaki quickly took hold of the tea bowl, as if grabbing it forcefully, and ate the rice hastily. She swallowed it all and then gave the empty bowl to the maid. She felt contented as her hunger was appeased.

　...As a side note, it would have been lucky for her to not experience any harm in this situation, considering the chance of being poisoned by a youkai who had switched places with a maid and dying in pain, struggling to breathe while choking on pickles, or having her head cut off by a monster that suddenly appeared just as she was about to eat the rice. In a way, it was fortunate that she managed to get away safely from all of this.

　"Miss MurasakiMurasaki-sama, we are under attack."

　Immediately after finishing her meal, Muja from the Hidden Group rushed up behind Murasaki. It was around the time Murasaki had counted about a hundred since recognizing the enemy. Murasaki frowned slightly at this fact.

　"You from the Hidden Group are rather slow to react! What on earth have you been doing!? It's negligence of duty!"

　"I apologize. I skipped the ritual and conducted reconnaissance. Currently, I sense the presence of youkai demons only to the west. The distance is two ri (3,927 km/4,88 mil), and their number is not more than a thousand. However, there is an unsettling aura from the deeper parts."

　In reality, not only the reconnaissance but also the whereabouts of the servants who had been secretly followed and monitored for the past few days had become untraceable after losing contact with Shiki, which was one of the reasons for the delay of the Hidden Group. However, that was not important now. The problem was the presence Muja sensed.

　"...From the deeper parts?"

　"I couldn't visually confirm it as the Shiki was destroyed right after sensing the presence. However, judging from the density of that youkai aura, it is likely to be at the level of a calamity youkai."