Coreal
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[C.G] Ch 22: Fujiwara-kyo
🕑 Added 2025-04-17 12:17:05 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
Compared to names like "Little White" or "Big White," which were honestly kind of lazy...
The name "Inukimi" that Veyron came up with was enough to leave the dog stunned for a whole year.
As a dog yokai who was scared that this guy might get bored and actually slap on a name like "Little White" for real, there was really no reason to say no.
...
Veyron was in a pretty good mood and decided to take a stroll through the city.
He'd heard the married old couple rave about Fujiwara-kyo like it was heaven on earth.
Now that he was actually here, he figured he might as well check out what the fuss was all about.
A few minutes later—
"Hmph~" (Not even close to measuring up to our territory~)
Strutting down the street, Inukimi looked down on what was supposedly the grandest human city in all of the Eastern lands.
If you looked closely enough, you'd notice a faint cloud-like aura under each of her paws, keeping her from touching the ground directly.
"Well duh," Veyron muttered. "If humans really could build cities like yours, you think they'd still be running the show down here?"
The Western Dog Clan—or more accurately, the royal bloodline of dog yokai—had a palace up in the clouds, at least in the anime version he remembered.
And not just now.
Even if you pushed the timeline forward another thousand years to his original world—where humans had already built space stations in orbit. If someone figured out how to build stuff in the clouds? Forget winning a Nobel Prize. They'd just name a whole new award after you.
From what he'd seen since arriving, this version of Fujiwara-kyo seemed way more fantastical than the historical one. Maybe it was because this world really had supernatural stuff like yokai, exorcists, and shrine maidens with actual powers.
The city felt more like something straight out of a Japanese historical drama than something the people of ancient Japan could've built for real.
Still, from his seen-it-all perspective? Meh. It was alright.
"Alright, that's enough sightseeing. Kinda interesting, but not worth sticking around. Let's head home."
He'd already asked around and found out there was a big bamboo forest near one side of Fujiwara-kyo. So Veyron gave the dod Princess a pat and started heading in that direction.
They moved through the streets.
And as they passed, everyone—from street vendors to random passersby—automatically stepped aside to make way.
Not because he threw some kind of "Make Way for the VIP" spell or anything.
It was the same reason he'd had smooth sailing ever since coming from the Western lands. Decked out in fancy clothes, carrying a sword, and walking a yokai dog—who the hell would think this guy was just some average guy?
The people of Fujiwara-kyo, whether locals or outsiders trying to make a living, had a very deep understanding of what "noble lord" meant. Way more than your typical bandits or hillfolk.
Thanks to his sharp hearing, Veyron even caught an old man muttering to someone else, saying that the dog he was walking probably ate more in one meal than he did in a few days.
Veyron: "..."
Try weeks, old man. Heck, back when those yokai were active, they could probably swallow a few of you in one bite.
After making it through half the city and almost reaching the gate closest to the bamboo forest, Inukimi suddenly barked. She said she smelled someone familiar.
Following her lead, they turned down a few alleys.
And sure enough, behind a crumbled wall that looked like it had been smashed by something huge, Veyron saw a familiar figure.
"Miss Midoriko, fancy running into you again."
He greeted her first.
"Lord Veyron?"
Midoriko turned around, recognized him, and gave a polite nod. "Were you coming to this area too?"
"Not really, just passing by. Inukimi said she caught the scent of someone she knew... Oh, right."
Veyron gave a little scratch to the dog head poking halfway through the broken wall: "This is Inukimi—the name I gave her after you left. Sounds pretty good, huh?"
"It does." Midoriko nodded in agreement.
"So, this is the house that got wiped out by a yokai?"
Veyron gestured toward the scorched remains of the building behind her.
"That's right."
Midoriko sighed, then turned to the little kid beside her. "Would you mind telling us the story again?"
"Not at all! If it helps you, Midoriko-neesan, I'm happy to do it!"
The child shook their head and began to explain.
About a month ago, the head of this household and a few noble friends had gone hunting in the mountains. While they were out, they supposedly ran into something terrifying. Two of them died on the spot.
When the families finally found the bodies, they were torn apart—half-devoured by some unknown creature. The others were badly injured, and they all rushed to the Onmyo Bureau the moment they got back.
The Bureau, maybe because these folks had some status, sent an onmyoji to each family to help out. But it didn't stop the disaster.
People living nearby said they first heard a loud boom that night, followed by screams, then flames shooting into the sky.
The next day, everything went quiet.
A few brave souls pried open the gates—or like in this case, just peeked through the broken walls—and found nothing but wreckage.
"Pretty standard case of someone messing with a yokai and getting their whole household wiped out in return," Midoriko concluded after the child finished.
"What the hell?" Veyron was a little stunned. "Isn't this like… the capital of the country or something?"
"The Onmyo Bureau's only been around for maybe thirty years. At the beginning, they weren't even focused on exorcising yokai—they were more into astrology and divination. So you can't blame them too much."
Midoriko shook her head.
"Want a hand?" Veyron asked.
"No need."
She formed a hand sign, and three paper talismans flew out of the ruins.
"There were three yokai here. I've locked onto their aura signatures. I'll head over to the other households in a bit to see if there's anything I missed."
"From what I can tell, none of them were high-tier yokai."
"Alright. As long as you know what you're doing."
Veyron had traveled with Midoriko long enough to know she could more than hold her own. She was strong and highly skilled in exorcising yokai.
In the original storyline, the only reason things ever went sideways was because the yokai got desperate and ganged up on her for a sneak attack.
And even then, after fighting for days on end, she still managed to use her last breath to rip out the souls of every attacking yokai—entangling them with her own and forming the Shikon Jewel, which could amplify a yokai's power even in the tiniest shard.
He'd already warned her on the way to Fujiwara-kyo to watch out for dirty tricks from those yokai.
And now, since she said she had it handled, he didn't see any reason to interfere.
.
.
.
