Kujo Iwamori was no stranger to the so-called underground black market auctions.But the last time he had attended one, the experience could only be described as humiliating.
As the helmsman of the Kujo Group—a man who had spent his entire life being flattered and deferred to—he had never imagined that one day he would be subjected to open ridicule and thinly veiled mockery.
And yet, even as that humiliation burned in his chest, Kujo Iwamori also felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
Because in the world as it existed now, the way he had been treated was, in truth, not surprising at all.
Before the chaos, whoever held power and wealth ruled the roost.But in the current era, everything was decided by strength.
The upheaval had arrived far too suddenly, catching Kujo Iwamori completely off guard.
When the first large-scale yokai riot erupted, the Kujo Group's territory had been unlucky enough to lie directly in its path.
By the time they had barely managed to patch up their losses, they realized—too late—that their competitors had already completed their transformations ahead of them. As a result, large portions of the Kujo Group's shares were quietly swallowed up.
Just as the Kujo Group teetered on the brink of collapse, Kujo Hinano, freshly graduated from Onmyo Academy, happened to return home—singlehandedly reversing the family's impending downfall.
Hinano had entered Onmyo Academy at the same time as Ren Kuroda, well before the chaos began. In terms of seniority, she was far ahead of most of today's students.
In the early days of the upheaval, exorcist academies hadn't even been established yet, and the number of exorcists was exceedingly small. At that time, Hinano—who possessed C-rank spiritual power—was already a major figure in the eyes of ordinary people.
Those who had planned to devour the Kujo Group took one look at the situation:The Kujo family's eldest daughter was a C-rank exorcist, backed by the Paranormal Countermeasures Division, and a graduate of Onmyo Academy.
Naturally, they could only give up.
No matter how wealthy they were, they were still just ordinary humans. How could they possibly contend with a mysterious and powerful exorcist?
As Kujo Iwamori looked at his daughter seated beside him, a trace of daze flickered across his expression.
There had been a time when he firmly believed that everything she did was nothing more than childish nonsense.A perfectly good heiress to a financial conglomerate—yet she insisted on running around "eliminating evil," acting like some kind of chuunibyou heroine.
He never would have imagined that one day, the continuation of the family business would depend entirely on this daughter he had once dismissed as fooling around.
Now, Kujo Hinano's spiritual power had reached C+ rank. Even among graduates of Onmyo Academy—where exorcist family scions were abundant—she was unquestionably top-tier talent.
Kujo Iwamori now regarded his daughter as his pride, openly admitting that he and the rest of the family had been terribly shortsighted in the past.
With exorcist schools now appearing across the country, the number of exorcists had increased. Some conglomerates were even able to hire exorcists or serum warriors.
But those they could hire were usually only E-rank or D-rank at best.
His daughter, on the other hand, was a genuine C+-rank powerhouse.
How could he not be proud?
This time, Kujo Iwamori had come to the auction with a clear goal—to find something that could help his daughter break through once more. Hinano had clearly hit a bottleneck.
The last time he attended the auction, he had his eye on a spiritual cultivation method and had intended to bid on it. But as a mere ordinary person, he had been mocked relentlessly.
Although the final auction price of that cultivation method had far exceeded what he could afford, the bitterness of that experience still lingered.
Hinano was currently using a standard cultivation method provided by Onmyo Academy. Not only was the rate of spiritual power accumulation slow, but the resulting spiritual energy lacked any distinctive traits.
"Dad, haven't I told you already?" Hinano said softly."I've accumulated quite a lot of points in the Countermeasures Division. I'll be able to exchange for a new cultivation method soon enough.
"The group's internal funds are already stretched thin, aren't they? Nothing at this auction is cheap."
To begin with, Kujo Hinano hadn't been particularly interested in the underground auction. But she simply couldn't withstand her parents' relentless persuasion.
"You don't need to worry about the group," Kujo Iwamori replied."Your old man can still hold things together.
"And if your strength can break through again, it'll be good for both you and the group.
"After C+ comes B-rank, right? A B-rank exorcist is rare even among established exorcist families."
Kujo Iwamori's thinking was crystal clear.
His daughter had both talent and strength. Once the Kujo Group passed into her hands, it would only grow stronger.
With a powerful exorcist in the family, the Kujo Group might not only recover its pre-chaos vitality—but surpass it entirely.
"Welcome, everyone, to the underground black market auction," a clear, alluring voice rang out."This time, the black market has prepared a large number of rare items. I'm sure all of you will leave thoroughly satisfied—"
"Just get on with it already. We've heard this opening more times than we can count."
Seated among the audience, Ren Kuroda looked toward the stage.
Standing there was a stunningly mature woman with a graceful figure and flowing purple hair styled in loose waves, holding a microphone as she presided over the auction.
Ren had never seen her in this appearance before, but from her voice alone, it was obvious—
It was Black One.
"It seems some of our guests are eager," Black One said with a smile."Then I won't waste any more words. Let's begin introducing today's items."
"The first auction item is consigned by a mysterious seller and is a rare tool known as 'Recovery Potion.'
"As everyone here knows, when fighting yokai, injuries are inevitable—and the severity of those injuries often determines the final outcome of a battle.
"This potion is used for rapid wound recovery. As for its effects… you can see for yourselves."
As she spoke, Black One produced a small knife and gently drew a cut across her pale wrist.
Blood immediately welled up.
Then, unhurriedly, she opened a bottle of Recovery Potion and poured a small amount onto the wound.
A soft, emerald-green glow flashed.
In the blink of an eye, the bleeding cut healed completely—without leaving even the faintest scar.
"As you can see, this Recovery Potion heals injuries instantly and does not require prolonged chanting like the healing spells used by shrine maidens or ritualists.
"Even if your team lacks a dedicated healer, carrying such a potion can allow you to escape situations that would otherwise be fatal.
"There are five bottles in total. To save everyone's time, they will be auctioned together."The starting price is five million yen."
"Six million yen!"
"Eight million yen!"
Almost the moment Black One finished speaking, the price of the Recovery Potions surged—from five million to eight million yen—and continued climbing rapidly.
Though the Recovery Potion was a consumable, everyone present had just witnessed its effects firsthand. The speed of its healing was nearly on par with a shrine maiden's healing spells.
Black One had clarified that the potion was most effective on external injuries. For severe damage—such as missing limbs—even the Recovery Potion had its limits.
Even so, the five bottles ultimately sold for a staggering fifty million yen, leaving Ren utterly dumbfounded in his seat.
The Recovery Potions he had provided were basic items sold in Axel, practically a beginner village.
And here, such cheap items had sold for fifty million yen?!
For a moment, Ren genuinely felt that if he became an interworld reseller—even as a middleman—he'd probably make an obscene fortune.
Of course, the potions fetching such a high price wasn't just because they were lifesaving when used well—it was also because nothing like them existed in this world.
Once something becomes widespread, it immediately loses value.
Interestingly, the buyer wasn't an exorcist or a serum warrior, but an ordinary person from a major financial conglomerate.
For exorcists and serum warriors, spending fifty million yen on consumables was simply too extravagant.
As for the conglomerates, they had spotted a business opportunity. They believed that if they could analyze the potion's composition, they could reproduce it themselves.
Viewed from that angle, fifty million yen was practically a bargain.
That was likely why Black One had bundled all five bottles together.
Seated beside Hinano, Kujo Iwamori watched the Recovery Potions get auctioned off, a trace of regret flashing across his face.
He, too, had seen the opportunity—but the Kujo Group no longer had the resources for new research. And more importantly, his top priority was helping his daughter break through.
After some hesitation, he ultimately chose to let it go.
With the successful sale of the first item, the atmosphere in the venue heated up considerably. Black One promptly had the second auction item brought out.
And the second item—
Was a white mouse shikigami, its entire body gleaming with a metallic sheen.
As mentioned before, there were several ways to obtain shikigami in this world.
One method was through long-term worship, earning the recognition of a shikigami—these were usually avatars of deities.
Another method involved subjugating a yokai and forcing it to sign a contract, turning it into a shikigami.
Humans were mortal. Shikigami were not.
When exorcists died, they often passed their shikigami down to their descendants.
However, if those descendants were unable to control the shikigami—or if the family declined—they might sell the family's shikigami instead.
Clearly, the shikigami on the auction stage belonged to this latter category.
Once a yokai became a shikigami, its life and death were almost entirely controlled by others. Freedom was nonexistent.
That was precisely why most yokai would rather die than become an exorcist's shikigami.
Even if the exorcist they acknowledged was virtuous and upright—who could guarantee that their descendants wouldn't be complete scum?
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