— — — — — —
"…???"
Both Kira and Matsuyoi fell silent.
Good grief.
This girl really came pre-installed with rebellion in her bones, huh?
Matsuyoi might not get the full implications right away, but Kira definitely did.
"So…" Kira paused, then said dryly, "Kaguya, you're seriously aiming for a war on the moon?"
"Exactly!"
Kaguya didn't even bother pretending to be an infant anymore.
She flipped over, sat herself upright in Matsuyoi's lap, and smacked her little hands against Matsuyoi's long legs.
"I want to launch a moon war."
"Hmph!"
Kira massaged his temples. "You're giving me a goal that's way too far out there. I don't know if I can even pull that off."
"I believe in you, Father."
"With your abilities, it's only a matter of time." Kaguya sounded absolutely certain.
As long as you work hard, you get stronger
Those nine words alone already said everything about how absurd the situation was.
Kaguya could already picture it:
She'd lead her Earth father (Kira) in a triumphant return to the Lunar Capital and drag her Lunar father (Tsukuyomi) out by the collar. Tsukuyomi? She would suffer next. Kaguya fully intended to throw her into the basement, do this and that, then that and this...
Tongue out, peace sign, eyes sparkling — pure Kaguya meme, absolute cinema.
"…"
Kira just stared at this daughter of his, whose smile was growing more and more unhinged.
Wasn't she just exiled from the moon recently? How did she evolve this fast?
"Topple the higher-ups. March on the capital. We can DO it." Kaguya clenched her fist with burning conviction.
"…" All of Kira's tangled emotions eventually melted into a single helpless sigh.
Then Kaguya rose with solemn dignity, like a tiny ancient elder. "Father, this is Takamagahara tradition. Even if the age of the gods has ended, we must still uphold it!"
"Kaguya, you're not worried someone might hear you?"
Kira couldn't help but chuckle at her excitement and pointed upward.
Kaguya waved dismissively. "Don't worry, Father. I've got people up there. They won't notice."
"Still, better to be cautious," Kira said. What else could he do? This was his daughter.. for now. And all he could do was keep an eye on her.
On the other side, Matsuyoi listened quietly without interrupting.
As for Kaguya's suspicious identity? Please. Nobody here was an idiot. Did she look like a normal baby girl to anyone? And Matsuyoi herself was a proud great yokai, a mighty Ubume.
"Kira."
Once their conversation trailed off, Matsuyoi finally asked, "Are you planning to rebuild this city?"
"I can give it a shot."
Kira smiled casually. "Either way, it's something to pass the time. If it works, great. If it doesn't, no big deal."
"That's fine too," Matsuyoi nodded.
Kaguya flicked her hand proudly. "Father, I've already made arrangements. Gold—you can go to the bamboo forest and bring back the same amount every day."
"So I'm basically living off my daughter?" Kira rubbed his chin.
Even in an age where ghosts and humans walked the same streets, gold was still real currency.
Not just money.
Actually, the opposite—gold in this world full of mysticism held special value. Onmyoji and yokai could refine pure gold from it.
And pure gold was extremely useful for forging weapons, laying down barriers, and so on.
"Father, it's fine to freeload."
"Okay, then please take care of me!" Kira accepted shamelessly. After all, his daughter's money was his money—family finances are shared, right?
Strangely, Kira suddenly found himself looking at Kaguya with a lot more warmth.
---
After some family time, Kira stood and walked over to sit beside Matsuyoi. "Auntie, how do we even start rebuilding a city? Do we need to recruit people to fix it first? Or accept citizens?"
He honestly had no clue.
Matsuyoi shook her head. "Kira, no need to overcomplicate it. First step is to rebuild the city structure."
"There's a kappa clan at Lake Genbu among the yokai. They're extremely skilled at construction and invention. I'll contact them. As long as we pay enough in gold, they'll gladly help."
"Lake Genbu?" Kira raised a brow. That was a completely new area to him.
Matsuyoi nodded and explained, "Lake Genbu and Mount Tengu are neighbors, in the western lands. The Lake Genbu kappa clan is the largest kappa clan in the world."
"Even the human onmyoji families of Heian-kyo keep in contact with them."
(Heian-kyo is Kyoto today.)
Matsuyoi paused. "But…"
"The kappa there only accept gold as payment. Supposedly, their research consumes a huge amount of pure gold."
Kira nodded. That aligned with his guess. No need to dwell on it.
Even so, he hadn't expected humans and yokai to operate like this.
A chaotic world where everything coexisted—ghosts roaming the night, humans and yokai living intertwined.
Just thinking about tit—strange and wondrous, yokai walking freely, coexistence of ghosts and men—made it oddly easy to understand.
This era wasn't built purely by humans or yokai. Both sides built it together.
"Aunt, will it be easy to contact them?" Kira asked, pushing aside his thoughts.
If he was really going to take this city lord business seriously, he needed to prepare.
"No issue."
Matsuyoi nodded. "I'll contact them. As long as the pay is good, the Lake Genbu kappa will arrive quickly. After that, I'll find yokai or onmyoji skilled in barrier-crafting to reinforce the city's defenses."
"No money problem here!"
Kaguya waved her tiny hand like a nouveau riche flaunting riches. "I've got more gold than I know what to do with. The daily delivery is fixed, but since I've got connections up there, I can get a lot more sent down through the back channels."
"Let me spoil you two."
.
.
.