An Old Man Restaurant Owner Is Unparalleled by Relying on His Old Tricks. It Turns Out, He’s the Legendary Dungeon Conqueror. - 96

Chapter 96: Because of Copyright

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

『…Do-… DOOOOORYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!』

The motion of swinging an axe downward was accompanied by Koto’s loud outburst. The sheer volume of her voice made the other members in the studio cover their ears in haste.

『Hya—128 decibels!?』

The popular comedian acting as the MC was left stunned by Koto’s record-breaking result.

『『『Whaaaaaaat!?』』』

The entire studio erupted in shock as Koto easily surpassed the target of 100 decibels.

『Wha-What an incredible voice!? This is seriously championship-level, isn’t it!? A plane engine is around 120, right? Huh? The world record is 129 decibels? No way! If you practiced, you could totally go for a world record! Sudou, you’re amazing! I never knew you had this kind of talent!』

Koto, catching her breath, muttered,

『I… I did it… Uu… Uuuu…』

『Wait, why are you crying!?』

The comedian let out an awkward laugh as Koto suddenly burst into tears.

『M-Miku-senpai… I absolutely couldn’t… Let her get stuck with the punishment game… Uuuu… Uuu…!』

『I see… That’s why you tried so hard. It’s for your senpai, huh?』

The comedian nodded in understanding.

Meanwhile, Miku Kanamoto approached Koto and patted her head gently.

『Thank you, Koto-chan. You were so brave. You really did your best, huh?』

『Mikuuuuu-senpaiiiiii!』

Koto broke down in full-on sobs while clinging to Miku. The studio was now enveloped in a touching atmosphere.

“…Yeah, yeah, Koto, you did great. You really made an impact… sniff.”

I sniffled, almost tearing up myself.

“I don’t quite understand it, but thanks to this one’s niece, that girl was spared from becoming a sacrifice, correct?”

“No, I wouldn’t say it’s anything that dramatic. It’s just a game, not something where actual lives are actually on the line.”

“A mere game? And yet, they weep?”

“…Indeed… This era is… Vastly different… From my own…”

Even after the program ended, I remained immersed in the afterglow, taking in the sight of my niece’s growth. Then, it seemed like the next show had started, as an upbeat opening song began playing. It was an anime. And not just any anime—one filled with nothing but cute girls. It was what they call a moe anime.

『Welcome home, Master~!』

A sweet voice echoed through the late-night room, spoken by a girl dressed in an adorable maid outfit. The title appeared to be “Maid Cafe!”, seemingly an anime about high school students working part-time at a maid café.

“Another strange spectacle has begun…? What is this? The pictures are moving? And yet, they are speaking?”

“It appears to be something called anime. They likely animate the pictures and have people provide voices for them.”

Masako Hojo explained to a skeptical Himiko. Still, it was impressive… Among the three Heroic Spirits, Masako had been in the modern era the longest, but even so, she was only here a month earlier than them. Yet, she already had a good grasp of modern media.

“Th… This is…!”

On the other hand, Abe no Seimei, who was also watching anime for the first time, suddenly trembled.

“What’s wrong?”

He ignored my question, his expression looked unusually stern as he stared intently at the television screen. Could there be some kind of problem from an onmyodo perspective? Different times meant different common sense, different values of good and evil. For someone like Abe no Seimei, who had mastered onmyodo, perhaps this kind of anime was something truly blasphemous.

“Sorry, I’ll turn it off right away.”

“…Wait…”

Just as I was about to use the remote to change the channel, Abe no Seimei hurriedly stopped me.

“…T-Truly magnificent…”

“Huh?”

“What are these moving painted maidens…? Their expressions shift so seamlessly, their gestures evoke a deep affection, their voices are sweet enough to melt one’s ears… And astonishingly, each one of them is uniquely distinct. More than anything, the interplay between them is incredibly harmonious.”

He suddenly became so eloquent!?

“No… perhaps ‘sacred’ is the better word…! Could it be that these five painted maidens represent the five elements—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water!? And the occasional silent moments… They serve as Yin, accentuating the presence of Yang…! This… This is truly the essence of Yin-Yang philosophy! Ah, here lies the very core of onmyodo…!”

I had no idea what he was talking about, but apparently, this anime was a masterpiece from onmyodo point of view.

“Uh… Well, I’m gonna brush my teeth and go to bed. If you wanna keep watching, be my guest.”

Unfortunately, I wasn’t particularly interested in anime. Himiko and Masako Hojo also looked bored, so I dismissed them and left Abe no Seimei alone as I went to sleep.

◇　◇　◇

The Next Day.

The shikigami that Abe no Seimei had created… Had taken the forms of the anime characters he had watched last night.

“From today… I shall proceed with these forms… It is not yet… A perfect reproduction… But in time… Their expressions and movements…Shall become identical to the originals… And eventually… Their voices as well…”

It seemed the anime had truly moved his heart deeply. 

“No, no, no, this is seriously bad!”

“W-Why…?”

Given that the characters were from a café setting, they were actually perfect for serving the customers, but there was one massive reason why I couldn’t let this slide.

“Because of copyright laws!”

“Co…py…right…. Laws….?”

Yeah, I figured he wouldn’t understand the concept of copyright laws.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー