Jin’s POV
   Jin swears that he was sleeping on his bed back at his apartment. When he opens his eyes, he finds himself standing at a wasteland. It’s nighttime, and cold wind are blowing.

   There are two explanation for this. One, he’s dreaming. Two, he got summoned to another world again. If it’s two, he at least knows he’s not at Ifezan since this place doesn’t have one regular-sized moon and two smaller ones.

   He slowly raises his left hand. He puts it down and lift up his left leg. If this is a dream, it’s a lucid one where he can control his movements in it. Nice, he wanted to have one of these for a long time. If only his parents and Kajiwara his irritating former boss would appear, he can cut them down or torture them without suffering from any repercussions.

   “Abandon all hope…” a voice hisses behind him.

   He turns around and sees a man who’s wearing a monk’s robe. The man has long hair that reaches until his waist and his fingernails are sharp and are as long as his arms. Most disturbingly, the tip of his tongue is gone. Even the black aura he’s releasing from his body is a minor detail. Somehow, Jin could tell that the man is an apparition without activating his Eye of Truth.

   “You can never win. Surrender, and your death will be swift…” the ghost continues to whispers.

   “How are you even talking even though you don’t have half of your tongue?” Jin asks casually.

   “I have an army of death. Hero or no, you stand no chance…”

   “Why didn’t you cut your fingernails? Won’t they affect your daily life?”

   “Do you think that the oni will help you out of the goodness of their heart? Nay, they’re merely looking for a chance to betray you…”

   Jin clicks his tongue. Someone is really bad at keeping up with conversations.

   “Are you still being sour and butt-hurt over what happened, Your Former Majesty? It happened thousands of years ago, get over it.” he tells the ghost.

   The evil spirit Tengu, who was known as Emperor Sutoku when he was alive, clenches his teeth in anger.

   “HOW WOULD A BRAT LIKE YOU EVER KNOW MY ANGER AND HATRED? I SHALL BURN EVERYTHING DOWN UNTIL I SEE NOTHING BUT ASHES!” he rages.

   “Just take a hint and pass on already. Nobody wants you around back then, and we sure as heck don’t now.”

   “INSOLENT CHILD! BOWN DOWN BEFORE ME!”

   “Make me.”

   Tengu is so angry his rolls his eyeballs skyward. He then reaches out both his hands forward like he’s going to strangle Jin. He spews out some gibberish that Jin doesn’t understand one bit. And then, nothing.

   Tengu’s eyes roll back to their original position. He looks around in surprise, as if he was expecting something to happen. Jin couldn’t help but laugh at the dumbfounded expression that the supposedly scary spirit is making.

   “Did you really think I’ll sleep without protecting myself with magic?” Jin asks him.

   There are a lot of demons like succubi and mind flayers who prefer to attack their victims by entering their dreams. In order to counter this, a Level 3 Spell called Sweet Dreams were created. At the cost of constant concentration while asleep and using up lots of mana, its caster can be protected from dream invaders. Those who has high affinity on the spell like Jin can even control what the invader can and cannot do inside his dream.

   Tengu glares at him with a look full of hatred.

   “You may think you have won, but this is just the beginning! I may not be able to harm you, but the same can’t be said for those whom you hold dear!” the ghost threatens.

   “Go ahead. Those that I really care about can either protect themselves from you or have someone strong near them. I’d like to see you laying your dirty hands on them.”

   Tengu growls.

   “Your parents are vulnerable. So is your younger sister.”

   Jin couldn’t help but laugh.

   “You seriously need to do your homework. The thing is, I don’t get along with them at all. I genuinely couldn’t care less if they went up and disappeared one day. Boil them, fry them, whatever. You’re even doing me a favor by getting rid of them.”

   “What of that girl? The female demon. I’ll make her suffer in ways you couldn’t even imagine!”

   “You mean you’ll try. She may be an idiot, but she’s much stronger than you think. Good luck in even giving her a dent. And oh, we already know where you’re hiding.”

   “...What?”

   “It’s true. We’re just letting you stay at this world for now. Once we find you to be too annoying, we’ll come and exterminate you. Enjoy your freedom until then.”

   “You lie! If what you said is true, you would already have paid me a visit!” the spirit hisses.

   Jin shrugs.

   “You got me.”

   “Perhaps you think that I am some kind of weakling who would succumb to pressure and believable lies. However, I was an emperor when I was alive. Even though it was only a short period of time, I managed to survive by fending off assassins before they even made their move.”

   “If you’re so tough, why are you trying to convince me to surrender?”

   Tengu snorts.

   “You pitiable fool! Can’t you recognize mercy when one is given to you? This is my first and only act of kindness, and you threw it away.”

   “I don’t want it. By the time this is over, it’s either you’re forced to pass on, or we’ll all be enslaved by you. There will only be one group of winner.”

   “Agreed. Take good care of yourself, Minase Jin. For I can be everywhere, even the place where you least expect me…”

   With that ominous words of warning, Tengu disappeared. It’s a shame that while Sweet Dreams can protect Jin from receiving non-physical damage, it doesn’t allow him to use his weapons or spells inside his dream. Otherwise, they could have settled things right here, right now.

   Jin wakes up not long after Tengu left his dream. He got up frmo his bed and got changed into his school uniform. Yup. There are a crazy spirit seeking bloodshed and a fox woman who’s planning to absorb her other half, but the daily life must go on. Such is the way.

   As Jin is preparing breakfast, Nyri got out of her room.

   “Morning…” she mumbles sleepily.

   “Good morning. I’m surprised that you actually managed to wake up considering the fact that you stayed up late last night.”

   When Jin got back home from the banquet, it was already ten at night. Nyri was at the living room playing the new game Demon Hunter 6 that Jin bought last week.

   “Actually, I stayed up until this morning. Late until two in the morning, to be exact.” she corrects.

   “...Wow. Was that game that interesting?”

   “Way interesting than you gave credit for. And I’m already at S Rank Quest.”

   “Must be nice to be able to play video games for the whole day without having a single responsibility.” Jin mumbles drily.

   “Hey, you were the one who wanted to continue school even though you’ve constantly complained that it’s pointless.”

   “Yup, I really shot myself in the foot there.”

   “Speaking of which, how was the dinner last night? Did you managed to finish all those bean curd skin and rice?”

   “We coped somehow, thanks to the onis who appeared out of nowhere.”

   Jin did ask Nyri whether she wanted to have some of the inari sushis last night, but she disconnected the call the moment she heard about the ingredients.

   After Nyri has done eating, she heads straight to the gaming console and turns it on.

   “Hey, I’m not saying that you can’t game for the whole day, but make sure to rest every once in a while.” he tells her before she leaves.

   “Don’t worry, I’m already planning to do that.”

   Jin has a feeling that the only time she rests is when she’s going to the toilet or having her lunch, but he decides to stop nagging since he doesn’t want to be called a mom.

   On his way to school, Jin checks his phone for messages. There are several of them inside the group which Ayumi has created.

   “Did a creepy looking man who doesn’t have half his tongue and wears a monk’s robe visit you guys in your dream?” Aldenia asks.

   “I’ve always slept while being inside a barrier to prevent myself from getting uninvited visitor, whether in the dream or real life.” Ayumi writes.

“Lucky you. He bugged me for some time while showing me all sorts of disgusting images.” Aldenia writes.

   “What sort of images did he showed you?” Jin asks.

   “I don’t want to sound too graphic this early in the morning. Let’s just say that those images are about where we lose our lives in the worst possible way if he ever got our hands on us.”

   “Sounds delightful.”

   “Didn’t he show you something similar?”

   “He was probably trying to, but he can’t since I was protected by Sweet Dreams.”

   “Oh, right. There was that spell.”

   “What about you, Audrey?” Jin asks.

   “Unlike Al, I have activated Sweet Dreams as well. I wanted zero interruption while I’m sleeping, so I didn’t even let him come inside my head.” Audrey writes.

   “I didn’t sleep for an entire night, so I wouldn’t know anything about any dream invasion or whatnot.” Estyshana writes.

   “The whole night? What were you doing?” Jin asks.

   “Training.”

   Jin is slightly curious as to what kind of training she went through until she forfeited her sleep, but she’s not going to tell him anyway, which is why he just let it pass.

Estyshana’s POV
   While they’re eating the mountain loads of the overly sweet sushis, Esty notices Meiko looking around anxiously.

   “Is something wrong, Meiko?” she asks the oni.

   Meiko flinches before looking at Esty sheepishly.

   “Do you know where the toilet is, Esty-san?” she asks in a small voice.

   “Here, I’ll bring you there.” Ichihara tells her while getting up herself.

   “It’s fine, I’ll bring her instead. I needed to go as well anyway.” Esty says. “Come along, Meiko.”

   “Y-Yes.”

   Esty doesn’t have the urge to urinate at all. Nor did she volunteered to guide Meiko to the toilet out of the goodness of her heart. Well, not completely anyway.

   “So, Meiko. You mentioned that your parents were the one who taught you how to fight.” she begins.

   “Yes.”

   “What kind of training have you gone through?”

   “Well, I was taught on how to use my club, given close-combat training, and I had to do lots of endurance training to increase my stamina.”

   “I see.”

   Esty thought that Meiko was just going through regular training until she brought up something really interesting.

   “Also, I was given a you-jutsu lecture by father.”

   “...You-jutsu?”

   “Yes. I guess it’s the equivalent of spells that you use.”

   Esty grabs both her shoulders with her hands.

   “Tell me more.” she insists.

   “I don’t mind but, um, can I tell you after I’m done with my, well, business?”

   Esty let goes of Meiko’s shoulders at once.

   “Right, I’m sorry.”

   Esty waits patiently until Meiko got out of the toilet.

   “I’m sorry. I acted like I was going to bring you here when my true motive was ask you about how you got strong.” Esty confesses and apologizes.

   “It’s okay. Motive aside, you did brought me here. That’s all that matters. So, thank you.”

   Meiko bows at Esty gratefully.

   Oh, Devil. She’s such a nice girl.

   “As for you-jutsu, father told me that he harnesses the energy of his surroundings whenever he’s using it.” Meiko informs.

   Esty tilts her head in confusion.

   “How exactly does that work?”

   “That’s the part that I couldn’t understand. He only gave me this clue and told me to figure out the rest by myself. I’m sorry that I couldn’t help beyond this.” Meiko says apologetically.

   “It’s okay. Rather than that, can you keep the fact that I asked you about this you-jutsu a secret from the others?”

   “Why is that?” Meiko asks with a puzzled look on her face.

   “Well, there’s a certain person I want to defeat no matter what, so I want to train in secret until I’m ready.”

   “Is it Minase-san?”

   Esty flinches. She was already trying to be careful with her words, and she got found out anyway.

   “...That’s right.” she admits.

   “I see. Well, I won’t ask for the details, but please know that I’m always here for you if you ever need someone to talk to. I don’t know whether I can help, though.”

   “Oh, you silly girl. You’re already helpful enough by offering to listen to my problem.”

   Naturally, lots of eyebrows were raised when they got back since they took so long.

   “Did you get lost?” Ichihara asks.

   “Not at all. We just had some things to talk about.” Esty tells her ambiguously.

   Eventually, the banquet is over, and most people are preparing for their trip home.

   “How are you planning to go back to your home, Meiko-san?” Audrey asks Meiko.

   “My father most likely came here by using his Wanyudo cart, so I’m hitching a ride from him.”

   The Hero whistles while looking slightly impressed.

   “Your father actually managed to tame a Wanyudo?”

   “He managed to tame two, actually.” Meiko says modestly.

   “Even better.”

   “Pray tell, what exactly is a Wanyudo?” Audrey asks curiously.

   “It’s a type of yokai. Please try to imagine the head of a bald man being trapped inside a burning wheel. That’s what Wanyudo is.” Meiko explains.

   “I see. That sounds terrifying.”

   “Meiko! We’re leaving!” Shuten Douji shouts.

   “Coming, father!”

   “Well, then. I’ll be taking my leave. Please have a good night, everyone.” Meiko says to them with a bow.

   “You too. Stay safe.” the Hero tells her.

   Meiko walks to her father. Right before they head to the portal, Meiko looks back at them and waves while smiling sweetly. All of them wave back.

   “Can you open a portal so that we can get back to Kameda, Audrey?” the Hero requests Audrey.

   “Certainly. Please wait a moment.”

   Once they’re back at Kameda, all of them go their separate ways.

   “I’ll be seeing you tomorrow, Minase-kun and Esty-san.” Ichihara says to Esty and the Hero.

   Esty groans.

   “Right, it’s Monday tomorrow. How time flies when you’re having fun.” she mumbles.

   When Esty finally got back to the Wakaba house, Chinatsu is playing video games at the living room.

   “Welcome back.” she greets Esty without looking away from the television.

   “I’m home.”

   Esty goes nearer to Chinatsu in order to see which game she’s playing. It’s the new Demon Hunter 6.

   “Hey, why are you playing it already?” Esty complains.

   “So that I can spoil the story to you instead of the other way round.” Chinatsu smirks.

   “And I have school tomorrow too! That means I need to wait even longer to play it!”

   Esty suddenly has a brilliant idea.

   “Don’t you dare.” Chinatsu says all of a sudden.

   “What? I haven’t said anything.”

   “I’ve known you long enough to know that you’re thinking of skipping school just to play games all day.”

   Esty averts her eyes guiltily.

   “...I won’t do that.” she promises.

   “Good.”

   “...Thanks, Chinatsu.”

   “What’s that all of a sudden?”

   “You know, for not asking me any questions.”

   “Don’t mention it. Just promise that you’ll be home safely and I won’t be nosy. Now go to sleep.”

   “Okay.”

   When Esty entered the room she’s sharing with Chifuyu, the latter has already slept. Esty goes to her own bed and sits down quietly. She then patiently waits until it’s midnight. Once it’s time, she leaves a clone to pretend that it’s her just in case Chifuyu woke up in the middle of the night. She then leaves her room through her window, making sure to close it right before she flies away.

   Her destination is a small hill near the Wakaba house. She has found it by accident when she was looking around for the Hero not long after she got here. Ever since then, she comes here every once in a while in order to hone her skill. Naturally, she comes here at night while casting Invisibility on herself to prevent herself from being seen.

   When she got there, the hill is empty. It’s starting to get cold, so not even crickets are heard. She sits down on the cold ground to think of what to do for tonight.

   She wants to try practicing using you-jutsu, but it’s much easier said than done considering that the tips she received isn’t really helpful.

   Harness the energy of one’s surrounding. What the heck does that even mean? Is she supposed to be like a wind turbine that changes wind energy into electricity? Is she supposed to eat the air around her like a hermit she saw in a Japanese drama?

   Maybe she should back up a little bit and try to find out what you-jutsu is. According to the internet, it’s the name of the spells that youkai can use.

   Well that was a complete waste of time.

   She barely managed to stop herself from calling the Hero. There’s no way that she’s sharing this secret to him, of all people. He might be able to help, but he’ll end up learning the way to use you-jutsu as well. Esty wants to avoid that at all cost.

   Let’s think it over. She can use spells by drawing mana within her body. Using you-jutsu is probably the same thing, except you’re drawing mana or whatever it is from your surrounding. The problem is, again, how?

   She opens her mouth and takes a really deep breath. She then reaches out her right index finger. As she has expected, nothing comes out from it. This is going to be more difficult that she thought.