Mob Yandere

[Part 4/4]

remnants of an old town, or maybe a street—

and a beast path, overgrown with thick vegetation.

It had long been abandoned and erased from maps... or so it should have been.

"As expected..."

The traces of wheels are not that old.

Moreover, there were signs of concealment.

Upon closer inspection, the bushes were also fabricated.

Mobile, installed grass clumps....

I took a copy of the map out of my waist bag and compared it.

Three maps from different origins and eras, layered over each other as a replica.

It was a discrepancy not easy to notice.

Around 80 years ago, toward the end of Emperor Rei's reign, the administrative and tax reforms established by the wise Emperor Gyokuro became outdated after 30 years of change.

Emperor Rei, having broken free from the puppet rule of the Kanpaku (regents) and taken real power, conducted a large-scale land survey, rezoning, and the merging or abolishing of districts, towns, and villages. This also included the confiscation of hidden fields and an investigation into tax evasion, all to realign the system with the changing reality.

The series of great reforms, known as Rei's Dedication Protocol and Rei's Governance Reform, were an extension of those started by the previous emperor who had died suddenly. He aimed to push forward reforms abandoned midway... but due to opposition from conservatives and the emperor's tragic death from illness, they were abandoned in the midst of chaos after only two years.

The imperial court's administrative overhaul got cut short because of rumors that it was a curse meant to downplay the previous emperor's achievements.

This still affects things today, indirectly causing population imbalances and inequality in the tax system.

The confusion left its mark, even on the map.

Five settlements and two stations along the boundary between the Juuyaku family—who had been ordered to relocate for reasons like productivity issues, defense concerns, maintenance costs, and politics—and the Shikimiya family, along with the town roads connecting them... These places are still shown on both the old Juuyaku family maps and the district's library records.

It's not classified or hidden in any way.

It's a public record.

Even if someone dug it up to compare, no one would bat an eye or feel suspicious.

...Unless you read the records of the planned abandonment from that time, you wouldn't realize there were supposed to be 4 abandoned settlements.

The fifth settlement, Kibaki Village, was said to be a half-workshop that supplied equipment to the nearby official farm.

Since the official farm was abolished and the craftsmen relocated, that place has turned into a small village due to the drastic population decrease... However, if you read the records, it definitely should not have been subject to any abandonment or consolidation.

And the traces of use remaining on the town road leading to that village are this...

"Looks like a 2-out situation. Is it a hidden rice field?"

The sarcastic mutter was filled with hope.

This kind of tax evasion is a common tale.

Similar suspicions have previously been lurking around at various work sites.

If this time were the same kind... it would be cute, wouldn't it?

...Ah. I knew it. That it was a pointless hope, perhaps?

"W...!!!!"

I turned around and leaped, grabbing onto a tree just in time as three arrows struck the spot where my feet had been moments before.

Looking around, I sensed multiple presences also sticking to the trees... Hidden Group (Juuyaku).

And then, I saw the familiar figure of a girl.

"I'm sorry for prying into your information, but could you at least give me a warning? We're not strangers, are we?"

"Haha. Sorry. I never thought that someone like the Household Member Coordinator-dono would be sniffing around like a dog."

Juuyaku's daughter responds cheerfully to my request.

Kaya.

She has a carefree and easy-going attitude, but the powerful bow she carries is pointed at us with clear hostility.

"Please surrender. The investigation should be over by now, and this is an act of overstepping your personal authority. It's an infringement on the sovereignty of my family."

"Excuse me. ...So? What will happen to me after I surrender? Can you at least send a letter to the person who will be my guarantor?"

"Haha, I'm rejected. Unfortunately, you'll have to disappear."

The answer that came back when I checked about future measures was unexpectedly within expectations.

"...Are you really going that far for just a hidden field? I'm going to compensate, so please go easy on me?"

"Nya ha ha ha! Don't play dumb! ...You must have already figured it out, right?"

"Exactly right!!"

I threw it as if to wrap up the conversation.

An arrow was shot in response.

Or maybe the order was reversed.

In any case, the smoke bomb that had been shot through exploded, filling the air with white smoke and blurring my vision.

I charged forward, attempting a forceful breakthrough.

As I passed by a few Hidden Group members emerging from the smoke, I knocked one out with an elbow and another with a hand strike.

I made my way through the smoke screen.

...Just before an invisible thrust launched from a young girl hiding behind the tree trunk, I ducked my head and avoided it.

"No mercy, huh!!!? Huh!?"

I shuddered at the ominous feeling that my skull would have been crushed if it had hit, but I didn't have the luxury to dwell on it.

The girl who had been lurking close by used the trunk as a foothold and now charged at me.

"Huh!!!"

The tree trunk exploded, splintering from the impact as we brushed past each other.

A strange sound sliced through the air.

I quickly protected myself, taking the blow with my spear.

The loud noise made my ears ring. The shock hit me hard. My gauntlet cracked.

This guy, dodged my spear and hit me...!

No, what's the distance anyway?!

"Ugh! So that's a kind of magic wand!"

I could certainly sense that the invisible weapon had changed its distance at this very moment.

Perhaps her weapon is of variable length, like certain monkey from India.

Because it was invisible and flexible, it was extremely difficult to defend against or avoid it, even for Tengu's Hagoromo, who could fly in the air to some extent.

"But...!!"

"What?! You want me to cut the meat...?!"

"That's it!!"

I destroyed the gauntlet and grabbed the invisible object that was probably still there.

Even if I can't see it, if I grab it, it's mine.

Through the invisible possession, the user is on the straight line.

I can't escape.

Therefore...!!

"Well, try and avoid it!!"

Continuous throwing of kunai from the chest with a time lag.

Hana immediately chose to throw away her possessions.

That was a logical decision.

"And throw it!"

I took the weapon, but I didn't know how to extend it.

I didn't need to know.

I just threw it behind me.

It caught a few members of the Hidden Group approaching from behind and sent them flying.

My goal was to strike my pursuers and make the weapon untraceable.

"Sorry, but you're going to get hurt!!"

Even though I didn't intend to kill, I was prepared for them to be seriously injured as I closed in on the one who had lost their weapon.

"I didn't want to use this"

Right after that, the girl in front of me opened her mouth while murmuring.

Her palate was exposed, as if it might split open.

Confusion washed over me.

And then, a chill ran down my spine!!

"Ugh!!"

I defended myself with the Tengu's cloak.

Immediately after, I felt a shock as something sharp pierced into Hagoromo's cloak in large numbers. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

As I was pushed away by that impact, I jumped back and landed.

I landed and brushed off the cloak.

Something long and sharp that shouldn't have been able to penetrate the Tengu's Hagoromo was shaken off.

Needles?

No, that's not it.

"What the...!!?"

I was shaken by the unexpected counterattack, but there was no time to be leisurely about it.

A presence rapidly charging at me from behind.

I swung my spear as I turned around.

A sharp thrust intended to strike at the height where the opponent's neck should be.

That was an act born from a certain kind of trust.

Kaya, approaching me, lowered her head and narrowly avoided the spear.

She glared at me with a sharp, intense gaze, her hands holding three bows.

I was pulling hard on my weapon.

In one of her bows, I saw an arrowhead with a sinister barb and a waxy sheen—poisoned.

A powerful bow, loaded with a poison arrow from a dangerously close range, one that I couldn't avoid.

I could feel it...

I could read her next move...!!

"There's no way the other hand is left untouched!!"

I pull out the cherry-colored Tanto hidden inside my cloak and swing my arm.

The sword in my hand is the one I received from Princess Aoi—my trusted partner.

With a swift motion, I cut off all the arrowheads of the bow before they could even be fired.

Since archery requires 2 hands, Kaya was practically unarmed.

And they are so close that you can see the whites of each other's eyes.

It would be much faster for me to land a blow than to pull out the Wakizashi hanging from my waist...!!

"What!?"

Just as I were about to attack, I heard a cry of anguish and it took me a count to realize that it was my own.

I felt a pain in my side, so I lowered my gaze.

Something was stuck in my stomach.

"Ah"?"

"Carelessness is the enemy, you know?"

I heard the carefree voice of a fool as I faced her.

Something was growing behind Kaya.

"What...?".

Before I could finish my sentence, something extended from behind her and pierced my body.

It wasn't deep, but I could feel something being injected into me.

I knew it was something unpleasant.

My senses started fading from the point of impact, a creeping numbness taking over.

"Gah!!?"

"Your back is unguarded"

And then, I felt it—something touched me.

A sharp, jarring sensation, like a blow thrust into my back.

Before I could fully process it, Hana's calm voice echoed nearby.

It carried an eerie sense of control, as if she was unfazed by the chaos.

Her relentless counterattack came swiftly, precise and unyielding.

Oddly enough, it felt almost satisfying—an act so fitting of an exorcist, as if this was how things were meant to unfold.

My legs rapidly weakened, and I fell.

My consciousness was fading away.

"W-what, haah...!? Huh, could you be, a little more gentle...!? We're, supposed to be close, right...? You're being so merciless!!?"

Lying down and struggling to breathe, my requests were half-hearted and desperate.

I pleaded with a thin thread of hope.

"I'm being gentle, okay? I thought this would be enough to settle it."

"I'm being merciful. I won't do anything bad to you. So, don't worry."

The responses of the two looking down at me echoed, drifting away.

In my hazy vision, their vague outlines seemed somewhat different from what I knew... ah.

I must have been careless.

I should have known better.

In this neighborhood, I should have at least one or 2 trump cards up my sleeve.

But looking at the state of these two...

"Haha. I can't feel at ease..."

Just before I lost consciousness, all I could do was utter those parting words....