Yamiyo no Hotaru

Chapter 144

 In the culture of the eastern region, not only in Fusō-kuni but also in other areas, the family is considered the most important. This applies not only to noble families and warrior (samurai) families but also to exorcist families.

 In warrior families, the system of eldest son inheritance became highly valued as a means to protect the family. Instead of dividing the inheritance equally among siblings, the majority of the inheritance is monopolized by the successor. This prevents the fragmentation of assets and helps avoid the decline of the "family."

 Exorcist families, influenced by the culture of Fusō-kuni, have also formed their own unique values. The most important thing for them is spiritual power, regardless of gender. While special abilities are considered, they are not stable enough to be inherited by the next generation. They have learned from long experience that the total amount of spiritual power is the most stable thing to pass on to the next generation, and this increases with each successive generation by carefully choosing a spouse.

 After all, they are risking the prosperity and survival of their own clan. The spiritual power of the children born is the most important thing to consider. In some families, those who cannot inherit spiritual power or those with weak inherited spiritual power are either culled, treated as slaves, or even abandoned.

 Especially before the founding of Fusō-kuni, those with spiritual power were a wandering mercenary group. Among them, superior beings were present, but due to the scarcity of land, even the bare minimum of resources was not readily available. Therefore, they desired power and considered those who wasted grain as hindrances or disposable pawns. The lower class of this clan is also the origin of the so-called "servant group" established by many exorcist families in later years.

 During the peaceful era, while the traditional warrior families sharpened themselves by eliminating the useless branches to maintain their "quality" and "reputation," the influential families, led by the Onitsuki family, adapted flexibly to the changing times. They used the number of their branched clan as a weapon.

 Even the weak ones who would have been eliminated in the past were reused by them. If they had talent, even those who were not suitable for exorcists were given positions in the clan's administration, behind-the-scenes work, or provided with funds to become landlords or merchants. As can be seen from the downfall of slave dynasties, exorcists originally could not focus on secular politics or economic activities due to the nature of their duties. So, they established an absolute hierarchical relationship through curses with these branch families, utilized them, and used their connections to obtain funds, leading to further prosperity. Occasionally, individuals with sudden mutations born into non-spiritual families were also highly valued.

 ...It would have been fine if they were recognized by the main family or major branch families. Not everyone can be lucky.

 It's still acceptable to be born into a branch family. It's still acceptable to be born from a concubine, a mistress, or even lower. It's still salvageable if one is not recognized, and it would be fortunate if one had a large amount of spiritual power or none at all. The tragic situation is when one has a moderate amount of spiritual power...

 Rarely, members of the Onitsuki clan are assigned to the Hidden Group, and even more rarely, they are assigned to the servant group. Many of them are the offspring of the clan born from disreputable backgrounds. The purpose is simply to make effective use of their spiritual power instead of simply eliminating them. Even the individuals themselves do not know their own origins, and only a few members of the clan are fully aware of the situation.

 ...And very rarely, even talents are assigned there. To the semi-independent group of the Hidden Group.

 The role of the Hidden Group's Owl Inspectors, directly under the head of the Onitsuki family, is surveillance and purification of the Onitsuki family and its subordinate organizations. They are assigned tasks that cannot be publicly disclosed, one of the dark sides of the Onitsuki family.