True Magician

Chapter 168

Kyoto.

- "That bastard..." I snarled and hissed, emptying another cup of coffee, which I had stopped counting after the thirtieth. "But it's okay, I'll get you... I'll personally shove a full released Excalibur into every hole in your body and blow you to hell... Yes... You'll regret you ever did this... Ha... Ha-ha... Ha-ha-ha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA..."

- "I-I'm sorry, h-honorable visitor..." A frightened female voice suddenly rang out near my table.

- "Huh?" I turned sharply toward the source with a frozen, maniacal smile, causing the bakeneko working there to jump up, let out a terrified squeal, and tuck her tail and ears between her legs. "Do you need something, Kana-san? I'm a little busy right now, if you haven't noticed."

- "N-no! I-I don't need anything! I'm sorry to bother you!" She quickly shook her head and disappeared in the blink of an eye. And it was at that moment that I noticed one small detail...

Nurarihyon's establishment, where I was sitting at the farthest table, was completely empty. Only the cook, the bakeneko, who was now hiding behind the counter and peeking out cautiously, and I remained. At that moment, I looked at myself and realized why all this had happened.

I was surrounded not just by miasma... oh no... It was pure, pitch-black, all-consuming darkness that even the devil himself would envy. The mirror I had created showed me my own expression, which no one, not even me, could call human.

I took a few deep breaths and began to calm down little by little, although it was difficult, and my aura gradually dissipated.

- "I apologize for this, I will compensate you for the damage," I said to the staff. "And please call the owner. I will apologize to him personally."

- "O-okay," Bakeneko cautiously emerged. "We will contact Nurarihyon-sama."

- "Thank you," I said and looked at the huge pile of empty coffee cups, then cleared them away and created a large pile of money in front of the chef as compensation, placing a small order and thinking about the situation that had upset me.

So, Goetia had acted wisely. That bastard knew about my situation and took full advantage of it. In other words, in his revenge, he had involved the entire Underworld, which I was physically unable to counteract.

Large-scale memory erasure, Noble Phantasm, or something similar simply didn't work, because the next arc of the story affected all the inhabitants of the Underworld in one way or another. And although I had some freedom of action, such a feat was impossible.

I clicked my tongue and, unable to restrain myself, created another cup of coffee.

At the moment, the entrance to the Underworld is closed to me, unless, of course, I want to feel Goetia's revenge. The funny thing is that this clumsy brat chose not violence, but something more subtle and... extremely irritating to me. Therefore, the most effective plan would be to wait without revealing my location. And Kyoto fit that criteria perfectly.

Yasaka wouldn't mind if I stayed with her for a while, right?

With these thoughts in mind, my order of meat and a couple of salads was brought to me, and just as I was about to start eating, a familiar figure appeared at the entrance.

- "You sure know how to cause trouble, Romani," Nurarihyon shook his head as he walked inside and sat down across from me.

- "Well, it wasn't intentional," I sighed and conjured a bottle of sake in front of him. "Sorry about that, old man."

- "I figured as much when Kana-chan contacted me. You know yokai are sensitive to emotions, don't you?" said Nurarihyon with a smile as he took a sip. "I don't know how long my customers will avoid this place."