The Reincarnated Onmyoji Who Returned From Another World ~ I Was Reincarnated Into An Onmyoji Family On The Verge Of Decline, But Thanks To My Experience As A Hero Who Fought In Another World And The Magical Power Training I've Been Doing Ever Since I Was Born, This Life Seems Like It Will Be Easy ~ - Chapter 11: Birth

“Come on, shall we draw some pictures?”

“Yeah.”

“Here are some paper and crayons, okay?”

I was still three years old. From my mother’s perspective, I was still her adorable little child. Paper was spread out on the table, and I was handed crayons, which I spun around in my hand.

“Mm.”

I didn’t actually dislike drawing, therefore, to meet my mother’s expectations, I drew with the crayons.

“Wow~ How skillful! Is that a kitty?”

“…Yeah! A kitty! Isn’t it cute?”

“Yes, it’s very cute.”

No, it was not a kitty. What I drew wasn’t a cat, but a yokai I had seen on TV a little while ago. I thought I had properly captured its monstrous feel… but damn, it turned out looking like a cute little cat.

“…It would be nice if we could go outside to play too, wouldn’t it?”

As I was silently moving my crayon, trying to draw properly this time, my mother suddenly let out these words with distant eyes. It seemed that children of onmyoji were easily targeted by yokai. To protect a child’s life, the basic policy was to not let them leave the house until they had grown to a certain extent. Because of this, I had hardly ever left the house.

“It’s okay, Mama. I’m having fun even like this.”

“Really? Well, if that’s the case…”

Just as my mother showed a small smile at my words—

“Shizue-sama!”

The housekeeper came tumbling into the room where we were.

“Wh-what’s wrong?”

Seeing the housekeeper in such a desperate state, my mother revealed her anxiety.

“Please take your son and evacuate from this mansion immediately! There are signs of a yokai, a yokai being born! And, and… it’s happening here, in this very place!”

“Wh-what did you say?!”

At the housekeeper’s words, my mother stood up in shock.

…Ah, so it had finally started moving.

As of this moment, my father was dealing with a powerful yokai that had appeared in the town, a yokai born from the unpleasant cursed energy that had been lingering amongst the people. I could sense the fierce battle taking place some distance away.

The yokai was naturally strong, but not so overwhelmingly powerful that it was hopeless. The onmyoji were fighting with the advantage, but it would still take quite a while before victory was achieved. I had expected the birth would be today. Right now, when my father was away from the mansion and many onmyoji were gathered in one place, this was when it would naturally happen.

“L-let’s run away immediately!”

My mother picked me up and tried to flee from the room, far away from the mansion.

“…No.”

We couldn’t move carelessly. I used my magic power to forcibly stop my mother’s attempt to escape. That was the moment when…

Crack.

A fissure appeared in space.

“…Ah.”

The crack in space spread wider, and magical light began pouring out from it.

“…! I-is it already coming?! The birth is too early!”

A yokai was about to be born in this place. This was the precursor. Once this happened, we couldn’t simply run away as yokai actively targeted those who fled.

“Wh-what’s going to happen… what should we do?”

My mother, who wasn’t an onmyoji but instead came from an ordinary family lineage, began looking around frantically, not knowing what to do in this situation.

“…Shizue-sama. For now, please stay calm. Until the master returns…”

It was impossible. The onmyoji currently present in this town were all occupied with another yokai. There was no way they had any spare capacity to send reinforcements here.

“!!!”

And then it was finally born. It came into being.

The crack in space grew larger, and from it emerged a single yokai. How should I describe its form? A lizard-like monster with red skin covered entirely in scales. If I extracted only the elements that could be easily explained, that’s what this yokai was.

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

It was a single yokai, yet from its mouth resonated the voices of three people. That voice, that scream, was packed full of magical power.

“…Ah.”

“Mama?!”

A roar infused with magical power had destructive force just by itself. My mother, who wasn’t an onmyoji but just an ordinary person, lost consciousness from hearing that voice and collapsed unconscious on the spot.

“Touya-sama! Please, at least you must escape!”

In this situation, the housekeeper stood in front of the yokai and shouted loudly toward me.

“You’re clever, so clever that surely you alone could escape…! You who didn’t lose consciousness from that roar and can maintain such strong awareness… Touya-sama is this family’s hope. Please, from this place—”

The housekeeper showed her resolve to defeat the enemy with desperate determination.

“Hup.”

“Kyah?!”

I kicked the housekeeper’s knee, forcibly making her kneel with a surprise knee-buckle.

“Just wait a moment, okay?”

Then I reached around from behind the housekeeper and covered her eyes with my hand. The housekeeper couldn’t defeat this yokai. If I were to flee from this place alone, both my mother and the housekeeper would die together. There was no way I could allow that.

“You made my mama faint… don’t think you’ll get away unharmed, okay?”

I heightened my magical power and took a battle stance in front of the yokai.