Jin’s POV
   As promised last night, Fox Lady has told the world about the existence of youkais in a press conference held by her and some other onmyojis. It was held at the morning, so Jin’s classmates is watching the recorded version with their phone. Watanabe too is doing the same as her, Wakaba and Estyshana are having their lunch at Jin’s table.

   “...apologize deeply for hiding the truth from all of you until now.” Fox Lady told the gathered news reporters.

   After she said this, her and those onmyojis who were with her bowed.

   “Pardon me, Yamauchi-san. Why did you took this long to tell us about their existence?” one asked.

   “We did not want to worry the people over nothing.”

   “Since you have boldly admitted it, does that mean that you’ll be doing something about the youkais that are seen around the country?”

   “Yes, we most definitely will.” she assured.

   “This world is getting more and more dangerous, huh? I wonder if we’ll be safe.” Wakaba says with a worried tone.

   “No need to worry, Chifuyu! I’m sure that Silver Wolf will do something about this!” Watanabe assures her with sparkling eyes.

   “Is it me, or have you been a huge fan of his ever since he rescued your mother?”

   “I was always a huge fan of his. It’s just that I appreciate him even more after that incident. Besides, he used the nickname I chose for him. How can I not like him?”

   “Isn’t that nice? You have a fan now.” Estyshana says drily to Jin by using telepathy.

   “Do I look like I care?”

   Watanabe suddenly looks at Jin.

   “Oh, right. There’s something I noticed about him when I talked to him that day.” she tells him.

   “Yeah?”

   “The way he talks, and his overall atmosphere. He kind of remind me of you, you know? It’s as if the two of you are the same person.”

   “I’m pretty sure that you’re mistaken.”

   She narrows her eyes and stares at him intently.

   “Am I, really?”

   He stares back with his usual poker face. After a while, she finally gave up and look away.

   “I guess I’m wrong.” she admits.

   “You definitely are. Me, a super-powered being? You must be joking.” he agrees.

   While they’re talking, the video is still ongoing.

   “...you think the number of people that have been missing have to do with the youkais?” someone is asking Fox Lady.

   “It may. Or it has something to do with the creatures that came from another world.”

   “Speaking of which, where were you and your subordinates when those unfamiliar creatures were attacking the innocent civilians?”

   “We were busy keeping this world safe from youkais. I won’t go into details, but that’s what we have been doing these past thousands of years. Do you have any issue with that?”

   Fox Lady gave a look of challenge, as if daring someone to tell her off on her decision. Naturally, no one did. Then again, it’s probably because Maebara wasn’t there.

   “Youkai or whatnot, it sure is scary to hear that people are missing.” Wakaba says with a shudder.

   “No kidding. There were two students at our school who went missing too. I don’t remember their names, though.” Watanabe agrees.

   Jin raises his eyebrow in surprise.

   “Your brain only works properly on this kind of thing, And you’ve forgotten anyway?”

   “I can’t help it. My head was filled with the stuff I need for exam these past few weeks. Was it Fukuda? Or Tetsujima? Hmm…”

   She freezes.

   “Wait a minute. Did you just call me stupid?” she accuses him.

   “No, I definitely didn’t.”

   She growls at him for a moment before turning her attention back to her lunch and the video.

   “Whatever their names, are you sure that they didn’t elope together or something?” Estyshana asks curiously.

   “Who knows? Maybe they did. It’s really hard to say nowadays.”

   Despite the fact that the demon has supposedly stayed up all night, she doesn’t look sleepy at all. This surprised Jin since she’s not a morning demon.

   “I drank coffee today. Somehow, that managed to keep me awake.” she tells him through telepathy.

   “You actually drank that disgusting stuff?”

   “That’s right. And I drank it black too.” she says while showing him a smug look.

   “Why are you trying to be condescending? Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who think that drinking black coffee makes you more matured.”

   The smug expression immediately turned into a surprised one.

   “...It won’t?”

   “Of course not. Where did you even get that idea?”

   “Chinatsu always looked so mature whenever she was drinking that stuff, so I tried to do the same too.”

   “Honestly, there’s no point in trying to act like an adult when you have the mental capacity of a kid. Quite ironic, considering the fact that you’re 1,116 years old.”

   “I told you that I’m only 116 years-old! You’re one thousand years off!”

   “100 years old. 1,000 years old. Who’s counting? Either way, you’re a pedophile for having a crush on someone who’s way younger than you.”

   She starts blushing furiously.

   “Why are you bringing that up now? And it’s your fault for being so young! I-”

   “Is everything all right, Esty?” Wakaba asks Estyshana all of a sudden.

   “I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

   “That’s because your face looks kind of red.”

   “It really does.” Watanabe agrees. “Do you have a fever or something?”

   “No. I’m perfectly fine.”

   Suddenly, Watanabe’s eyes is glued to the screen of her phone.

   “...cooperating with Silver Wolf on this. With his help, I’m sure that we can solve the problem soon enough.” Jin hears Fox Lady says at the screen.

   “I knew it! He’ll do something about this!” Watanabe says excitedly.

   However, she’s the only one who’s enthusiastic about Silver Wolf’s participation in exterminating the youkais.

   “Are you sure that relying on Silver Wolf is a wise decision?” an unseen reporter asks. “He is not really the best people to cooperate with.”

   “Please believe in us, and in him as well. He may be a little rude, inconsiderate and selfish, but he’s still a good person at heart.” Fox Lady replies.

   A pause.

   “Most of the time. I mean, he’s actually not fond of inari sushi! Can you believe him? What kind of demented human being is not fond of the food created by God Himself?” she demanded by slamming the podium continuously with both her hands.

   Whoa whoa whoa. What kind of ridiculous way is she using to judge his character? And he’s pretty sure that God has nothing to do with creating the inari sushi. After all, He has better things to do.

   “What exactly does inari sushi has to do with someone’s character?” Watanabe asks out loud.

   “Your guess is as good as mine.” Jin mutters.

   “Um, you’re getting a bit off topic here.” another reporter told Fox Lady.

   “What do you mean I’m going off topic?” she screeched. “How dare you-”

   “Shuzo-sama, we’re in front of the public.” one of the onmyoji next to Fox Lady cautioned her.

   She gasped as she realized that she’s acting ridiculous. She quickly clears her throat to calm herself down.

   “Anyway, we’re cooperating, and that’s final.” she insists.

   The video ended a few minutes later. Naturally, she didn’t reveal that she’s a youkai herself, nor the fact that they’re also cooperating with the onis. One news at a time, Jin guess.

   “Say, I just remembered something.” Watanabe says all of a sudden.

   “Yeah?” Jin prompts.

   “Ayumi’s family runs a shrine, right? I mean, you actually asked me where it is.”

   Oh, boy. This could be bad.

   “...And?”

   “Which would mean-”

   Watanabe looks at Ayumi, who chose the worst possible moment to look over here. Watanabe gets up from her seat.

   “Finish your lunch without me. I need to talk to Ayumi for a bit.” she tells the others.

   Perhaps sensing danger, Ayumi gets up from her seat and proceeds to leave the classroom at lightning speed. Naturally, Watanabe isn’t someone who gives up easily.

   “Come back here, Ayumi!” she shouts.

   “I forgot to water the cactus in my room!”

   “Just leave it to someone from your family! I just want to talk for a bit!”

   Ayumi shouted something that Jin couldn’t hear due to their distance. It was probably something along the line of “You sure don’t look like someone who just wants to talk!”

   And they’re gone. Wakaba lets out a sigh.

   “Always the high speed bullet train…” she mutters.

   “You probably got this a lot, but you have my deepest condolences for being her childhood friend.” Jin tells her.

   “It’s honestly not that bad. It’s just, well, tiring.”

   Jin sneaks a glance at Estyshana.

   “And it got worse recently.” he mutters.

   “If you have something to say, Jin, just say it straight to my face.” the demon growls.

   “Nope. No comment.”

   It didn’t take Watanabe long to drag Ayumi back to the classroom. The shrine maiden were surrounded by most of their classmates the moment they got back. All of them were probably curious about her true profession, but was too polite to ask her about it. Now that Watanabe is leading “the talk”, they’re no longer restraining themselves.

   “Come on Ayumi, ’fess up and things will be easier for you.” Watanabe tells the poor girl.

   “I-I have no idea what you’re talking a-about…” Ayumi stutters.

   “Fine, I’ll get straight to the point then. Is your family part of the onmyoji business like that Yamauchi Shuzo lady is? More importantly, are you?”

   “No, I’m not.”

   “Are you sure? She did say all the shrines are involved in this. That means the one your family owns as well, right?”

   “...Maybe.”

   “Does that mean you’re an onmyoji too, Ichihara-san?”

   “Don’t worry, you can tell us!”

   “Yeah! We won’t tell a soul!”

   “Tell us! Tell us!”

   Jin looks at Wakaba.

   “Are you sure that you don’t want to stop that?” he asks her.

   She sighs and gets up from her seat.

   “I guess I should. Hey, you guys! Stop bullying Ayumi!”

   “This isn’t bullying, Chifuyu. Like I told you just now, I just want to talk to her.” Watanabe tells Wakaba.

   “Well the feeling isn’t exactly mutual, right? Now leave her alone.”

   “And there she goes again. Mama Chifuyu in her mother mode.” Watanabe pouts.

   “Stop calling me Mama!”

   With the authority of Wakaba has as the class representative, the mob has been dismissed.

   “Thank you, Chifuyu. You really helped me there.” Ayumi tells her gratefully.

   “It’s fine. I’m the class representative, after all.”

   “Also the class mother.” Estyshana whispers.

   “I heard that, Esty!”

   With this solved, all of them went back to eating their lunch. Naturally, a lot of the classmates are still curious about Ayumi’s background, but none of them bugged her since Wakaba is around.

   Nothing special happened during the second half of the school hour, and it was over in a flash. Ayumi packed her things and ran away the moment the bell rang so that she won’t be pestered. Jin wonders whether that’s how she’s going to spend her days at school until they graduate. Well, he’s pretty sure that she can take care of herself.

   It’s time to go for grocery shopping again since as usual, Nyri empties out the fridges in the apartment at an astonishing rate. Jin knows that there’s such a thing called online shopping nowadays, but he prefers to use his own judgment when it comes to choosing ingredients.

   The trip this time took a bit longer than usual since there was a sales at the supermarket that he frequents. By the time he got out, it was already dark outside since the night arrives earlier during fall.

   …Wait a minute. Something’s not right. The streetlights, the electrical sign boards and other sources of light are all turned on, but none of them are letting out any light. And then Jin saw them. Shadowy apparitions similar to those he fought at the Fushimi Shrine.

   The ghosts are wearing ancient Japanese clothing dated back at least five hundred years when topknots were still a thing. Some are wearing armors made of bamboo, some are wearing light clothing, most carry katana with them. And all of them are eager to drag some of the living over to their side.

   The pedestrains have already notices them and react in all sorts of ways. Some panic and run, some are just standing there, a few stops and takes pictures like this is a concert or something.

   Jin was about to let his clone handle this until he notices a ghost that’s far different from those other ghosts around him.

   Clothing and appearance wise, he’s around the same as most of the other samurais: having a topknot hairstyle, wearing a blue kimono, a pair of gray hakama and a pair of sandals made of straw. On his right hand is a katana of standard length. However, the atmosphere around the samurai as well as the katana is giving Jin a very bad vibe.

   He activates Eye of Truth to check out the katana. Yup. It’s bad news. He can’t tell what exactly, but it has a really sinister aura around it. For all he knows, that katana was given to the samurai by Tengu himself.

   The ghosts start to chase down the civilians with the full intention of killing them. Those who’re taking pictures finally realized the seriousness of the situation and decides to run away.

   Without wasting any more time, Jin makes his clone appear at the space way above the cloud equipped with the usual armor. Jin then casts Switch which allows him to switch place with the clone. Now he’s the one up in the air and inside the armor, while the clone is the one that’s down there and holding the plastic bags that’s full of the stuff he bought. After steering the clone towards his apartment, Jin clashes down to the ground where the samurai ghosts are waiting.

   Some of the ghosts stop moving the moment they see him, including the one with the dangerous katana whom Jin shall nickname as Topknot. He realizes that the nickname isn’t very original, and it might cause confusion later, but it’s the best one he can come up within such short notice.

   Jin reaches out his left hand and makes Felfarthen appear. He charges towards Topknot and clash swords with him. The ghost blocks the incoming attack calmly. And then, the gimmick of the katana is revealed.

   Jin can feel his life force being sucked out by that katana by just standing near it. The amount isn’t enough to bug him, but it’s best to cut the fight short in case things got dangerous. He jumps backwards and fires a few Ice Shards at Topknot. Instead of reaching the target, however, all the spells got sucked into the katana. So it sucks in both life and magical force. This is going to be troublesome.

   Jin feels a random ghost somewhere behind him about to attack him, so he strikes first by throwing Felfarthen at the ghost without looking. A single second later, Jin hears a soft cry of pain. He gestures Felfarthen to return, and the sword did so without any trouble.

   For the next few minutes, Jin keeps on doing the same thing: trying to strike down Topknot with a single strike. If he fails, he backs down and vanquishes a ghost other than Topknot.

   “Is everything all right, Silver Wolf-dono?”

   Even without looking, Jin knows that this voice belongs to Iemitsu-san.

   “Please help me to clear out the other ghost and leave this one to me!” he tells the Head while pointing at Topknot with his sword.

   “Understood. Let’s go, everyone!”

   Good. Now that the onmyojis are here, he can concentrate on Topknot. And he definitely needs to concentrate since Topknot is no pushover.

   Based on the look of the ghost, he was probably in his early twenties before he died. Whatever his age is, he’s a master at using the katana. He has no wasted movement, and his movements are swift and precise. His eyes can see each and every one of Jin’s movement. The moment Jin shows any opening, Topknot proceeds to do a counter.

   The katana is an even bigger problem than Topknot. Jin realizes that the more life force it sucks out from him, the stronger Topknot gets. Since it only sucks out life force, it makes the perfect weapon for someone who’s already dead. This really can’t drag on.

   Well, time for some quick-thinking.

   Topknot is very skilled with his katana, but his strength is just average. He needs both his arms to swing his katana and block attacks. By contrast, Jin has been swinging Felfarthen with only his left hand. All this while, Topknot had been wary of his right hand just in case he tries something.

   When their swords are clashing again, Jin made sure that his sword is vertical. He then reaches out his right hand as if to cast a spell. Seeing that, Topknots quickly pulls back his katana and moves it so that its angle is the same as Jin’s right hand. While the ghost is distracted, Jin twists the hilt of his sword, making the second half of the sword falls.

   However, it didn’t fall to the ground as Jin’s right hand was there to catch it. Then, he positions the sword on his right hand as if he’s going to stab Topknots with it. Seeing that, Topknots tenses up to brace himself for the impact. And that’s where he made his mistake. He was so caught up with the sword on Jin’s right hand he completely forgotten about the one on his left. As a result, Jin managed to behead Topknot.

   The fallen samurai vanished without making a single sound. His katana, however, remained and falls to the ground with a soft “clang!”

   Jin points the katana with the sword that he’s holding at his left hand. He then freezes the katana and turns it into a huge popsicle. Only then he stores it inside the Vault. Now then, for the rest of the army of ghosts-

   His phone vibrates twice, indicating that he just received a message.

   Man, it’s such a pain to bring out his phone since his greaves reach all the way until the pocket of his trouser that he wears inside it. To take it out, he has to store it inside the Vault, then takes it out again. It’s a message from Estyshana, and the entirety of the message consists only of two words.

   “Help me.”