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 4: Father

I was seen using magic. This was quite the major incident. A baby not even half a year old yet producing flames from their hands. My mother’s panic was considerable, and she immediately called for the housekeeper in a loud voice, making a commotion.

The housekeeper had an expression on her face as if she couldn’t understand what my mother was saying about me producing flames from my hands, but then she looked at the ceiling.

Well… using flame magic without thinking, I was a bit amazed at my own incompetence. I hadn’t considered even slightly that the ceiling would get scorched. At this rate, even if no one had seen me, it would have been discovered immediately.

“…I-I can’t believe that you’ve been using sorcery since you were a baby. Has your innate technique awakened? No, but… judging from the traces, it seems to be a general-purpose technique…”

“Doesn’t that just mean our child is a genius?”

“Well, it’s not that simple…”

I was spotted at noon and the current time was night. My mother and the housekeeper were still debating about me producing flames from my hands.

“I’m home.”

While I was watching this scene from my baby crib, a new thin man entered the scene. Despite being only in his thirties, gray hair was prominent on his scalp, his build was thin and lanky, and the suit that his body was wearing was wrinkled. This unremarkable man was my father.

My mother was surprisingly beautiful, so various things seemed mismatched… but this person was my father. While he was quite an unremarkable person in various ways, I already respected this person quite a lot.

This father was someone I’d never seen during the day except for the day I had been born.

Except for one time when I’d been wandering around at night and he’d come home and went straight to the bath, I’d truly never seen him inside the house. I suspected that my father had a considerably busy job. As a father, he worked late every day and supported our household that even had a housekeeper. He was the breadwinner.

I could only respect him. Was he a doctor? Or perhaps a profession unique to this world… could he be an onmyoji, which I saw in the title of a book I haven’t read yet? It was about time I started gathering information about this world beyond just increasing my magical power. Actually, normally, this would be the top priority.

“…Is it true that he used magic?”

“Y-yes. That’s right. I certainly saw it, didn’t I? Flames rising from Touya’s hands.”

“Master. Please look at the ceiling. That is a scorch mark made when Young Master Touya activated sorcery.”

“…How do you see it?”

“It’s definitely scorching from sorcery.”

“You didn’t do it, did you?”

“I swear I didn’t.”

“…I see. So magical power is already overflowing within that body.”

“Most likely.”

Indeed. My body was overflowing with magical power, you know? Tap tap. I’d already surpassed the housekeeper’s and father’s magical power levels.

“…No good. I tried to lightly check the magical power level, but it didn’t go well. As expected, I have no talent. Kanzaki-san. Please answer me honestly. Do you think the ritual should be performed right now? I think it should be done.”

“Yes… it should be done. The daughter of the Tsuchimikado family, who is three years older than Young Master Touya, apparently had an early ritual performed due to her magical power level. Yes, it should be done.”

“Thank you… I’m sorry for being such a pathetic head of household who has to ask a servant for their opinion.”

“No…”

“I’ve made preparations… Shizue, are you prepared?”

“I’ve been ready since I married you.”

“Thank you… I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I understand your suffering too.”

Having finished their discussion, my father quietly knelt down and placed a wooden box on the tatami. The atmosphere in the room completely changed. A breathtaking silence enveloped the surroundings.

“Suuu…”

And then, father took a deep, quiet breath.

“We will now perform the ritual of shikigami descent.”

The housekeeper spread out the prepared cloth on the floor. On the pale grayish-blue cloth, ancient patterns overlapping in circles, which were magical formula patterns woven in multiple layers, were drawn in ink. A ritual board for summoning spirits, binding power, and inheriting souls. At its center sat a mirror stone about the size of a palm. I was laid there, placed at the center.

Um… excuse me, what are you about to do? There seemed to be a fairly major event about to begin.

“Light the flame.”

Fire was lit on the candlestick. The flame was neither red nor gold, but a deep indigo blaze. The magical flame swayed soundlessly, casting shadows of the technique on the ceiling. Father sat in seiza and took out a small black lacquered box from his pocket. Inside were three sacred wands wrapped in divine paper and one talisman. All of them had ancient Japanese writing that I’d seen in classical texts but couldn’t possibly read.

“I ask for a name. Who is the one to inherit the formula?”

A low, resonant voice shook the air, words that came from my father’s mouth. It was unmistakable, but that voice was not father’s.

“Touya, my child and inheritor of blood.”

Next were my father’s words. With that declaration, he raised the sacred wand high and began weaving an incantation. It was a voice that didn’t reach the ears but seeped into the depths of consciousness. Eventually, my father took out a piece of cloth. It was thin white cloth with countless Sanskrit-like seals sewn into it.

“Open the soul seat. Bind connections, summon power. But will your soul choose this? Let us test.”

Father gently placed that cloth over my chest.

In that instant…

Tinnitus ran through me. There was a strange sound as if space was warping. The ceiling visible to my eyes distorted, and the candlestick’s flame swirled backward. Invisible power flowed in a vortex toward the center of the ritual board, right toward my body.

I suddenly felt overwhelming spiritual pressure, like a mountain breathing.

(…This is bad!?)

Something stirred within me. It wasn’t my own magical power. The power flowing in from outside penetrated to the marrow of my bones. It was like having a hand thrust deep into the depths of consciousness and having a name carved there.

“Soul, show your dwelling place. If you exist here as a ‘formula’, carve your name.”

As soon as my father’s words ended, the mirror stone emitted a pale light. On its surface, a single character appeared, but I didn’t have the composure to look at that character.

“…!?”

The large amount of magical power that had come from outside began rampaging inside my body. What had once gone deep was now surfacing to shallow depths again, causing a major rampage.

“Uh…”

Bad bad bad bad bad. Wait!? This was actually really bad!? It was rampaging in a no joking matter! It was eroding my magical power!

…Wait, wait, wait. This was really dangerous! If I did nothing, would I be taken over? Whoa! Whoa! WHOA! This was bad!

“Waaaaaahhhhh.”

Stop, stop , stop. This was seriously no good…

At the edge of my vision, I could see my arm rotting away. I was definitely being taken.

“Touya-chan! Here, have some milk. Drink the milk.”

“Come on, drink it!”

“Wait!? Young Master Touya!? Please open your mouth!”

I wouldn’t be defeated like this! I was a hero! Don’t underestimate magical power manipulation, you bastard!

First, I needed to isolate my magical power that was being eroded, consume and erase it, then use tightly defended magical power to inversely erode the magical power rampaging inside me.

Don’t underestimate me, the hero, the brave one~ This much was easy.

“Wh-why won’t you drink!? Was it too early after all!?”

“No, that shouldn’t be related! I’ve never heard of that being an obstacle…!”

“Please! Touya-chan! Drink my milk!”

I had no composure to pay attention to my surroundings. I devoted everything to the magical power erosion battle taking place within myself.

…

………

At the end of it all, my consciousness was somehow led to a dark place.