"Come out, graduates."
At Yashiro's young voice, a wave of killing intent and iron blooded malice no weaker than Sadako or Hanami exploded out of the tiny backpack at her back.
A military officer's spirit appeared in the middle of the room, dressed in an old style uniform from Imperial Japan, a command sword at his waist, a fierce scar crossing his face.
A deep red resentment surged off him in waves, thick enough to feel in the air.
The moment he appeared, a whole mass of twisted figures materialized behind him.
Hundreds of vicious-looking soldiers in tattered foreign military uniforms rose out of thin air, each one an evil spirit with a contorted face and a killing aura. Their inhuman howls overlapped and filled the room, turning the hospital ward into something that felt closer to a battlefield than a sickroom.
This was one of Yashiro's strongest graduates.
The Martyrdom Prison Ghost Sergeant.
Faced with this hellscape, Kaguya and Ai no longer even had the strength to scream. They could only cling to each other, white faced and shaking.
Yet it still was not over.
"Hehe… what a bunch of rough men."
A laugh rang out, bright and musical, laced with both seduction and malice.
A woman appeared beside the Ghost Sergeant, as if she had always been there. She wore an impossibly elaborate twelve layered kimono, her hair styled in a complex coiffure, her beauty so striking it was almost unsettling to look at. Around her drifted countless butterflies, beautiful yet unsettling, like flickering embers in the air, each one glowing faintly with cursed energy.
It was Yashiro's other graduate.
The Oiran Teikiri.
"So… beautiful…"
Kaguya, who had been drowning in pure terror a heartbeat ago, found herself involuntarily drawn in by the oiran's impossible beauty and the butterflies that fluttered around her like living fire.
Without thinking, she reached out a pale hand toward one particularly lovely butterfly that was drifting slowly in her direction.
"Do not touch it."
Right before her fingertip brushed the wings, a warm, firm hand seized her wrist and yanked her back.
"Those things will drink your life away."
Natsume's calm voice sounded in her ear.
Kaguya's body went rigid.
She could clearly feel the unfamiliar heat of his palm on her wrist, a firm warmth that made her suddenly aware of how close he was.
For the first time in her life, she had been touched this closely by a man who was not her father or brother.
A burning heat surged up from the point of contact, shot up her arm and left her mind completely blank.
Boom.
The blush spread across her cheeks, down her neck, in a wave so fast it was almost visible. She felt like steam might start rising from the top of her head at any second.
The genius young lady, usually as sharp as a razor and cold as ice, completely shut down. In that moment she was nothing more than a "Steam Princess" whose mind went blank.
"Hmph. A bunch of fools who do not know their place, daring to disturb my peace."
The oiran let her gaze sweep lazily over the group, eyes full of disdain and arrogance.
"I happen to be hungry too. I will drain every bit of your life away."
She never finished the threat.
Because that was when she finally truly noticed them.
Sadako and Hanami, both radiating special grade power strong enough to make even her spirit quiver.
And Natsume, standing at the very front.
He had no cursed energy signature at all, yet simply looking at him gave her the same feeling as staring up into a star-filled universe, unfathomable and vast.
The arrogance and disdain vanished from the oiran's face without a trace.
In their place appeared an almost excessively humble smile, even with a hint of flattery.
She lifted the hem of her kimono with perfect grace and dipped into a deep bow toward Natsume.
"Oh my. So a great one has graced us with his presence. I truly failed to recognize someone so far above me."
"If you have any commands for me, honored ones, please speak. I will do everything in my power to serve."
The face change was so dramatic it was almost comical.
Kaguya and Ai, who had been switching back and forth between terror and flustered embarrassment, could only stare blankly.
So these terrifying monsters… also bully the weak and fear the strong.
Somehow, the fear in their hearts was slightly diluted by the absurdity of the scene.
"Let us go. We should see what it looks like outside."
Ignoring the theatrical oiran, Natsume took Kaguya, still stuck in Steam Princess mode, by the wrist and led the way out of the ward.
The corridor outside was just as old and oppressive as the room they had been in, every surface steeped in age and gloom.
"Yashiro," Natsume said as he scanned their surroundings, still alert, "where did you find these two graduates?"
"Mm?" Yashiro walked ahead, having the Ghost Sergeant scout the way as she answered. "The Ghost Sergeant was at Tama Cemetery. When I found him, he was leading his men in a turf war with other evil spirits, so I beat him up and took him."
"As for Teikiri Oiran…"
She tilted her head, thinking back.
"About half a year ago, I bought a cursed hand mirror from an old lady at a flea market for one hundred yen. She was inside."
"…What?"
Even Natsume was at a loss for a moment at that answer.
One hundred yen, and she had pulled out a quasi special grade, maybe even a full special grade monster.
This girl's luck might be a little too ridiculous.
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