Chapter 40: What a Pity
"This is research material on the [Taizan Fukun Ritual]?!"
As Tsuchimikado Natsume gathered the empty dishes from the table, her eyes accidentally caught the file Gin Tsumugi had set aside. The moment she read the title, her expression changed.
It was not the ritual itself, but the accumulated research notes left behind by successive heads of the Tsuchimikado clan. Even so, that alone was enough to make her heart tighten.
Ever since Tsuchimikado Yakou had attempted to perform the [Taizan Fukun Ritual] and triggered the great spiritual disaster in Tokyo, the entire Tsuchimikado clan had treated the ritual as a dire taboo.
Among the many dangerous arts preserved in the [Library], the [Taizan Fukun Ritual] belonged to the sealed category. It was no longer open to ordinary study. Even Natsume, as the heir, could not access it freely unless the family head personally authorized it. Other forbidden rites such as [Soul Summoning Technique] were the same.
The file in Gin Tsumugi's hand had escaped sealing only because it was analysis, commentary, and historical research, not the original core text.
Still, even that was dangerous enough in Natsume's eyes.
"Mr. Gin," she said at once, unable to hide the worry in her voice, "the [Taizan Fukun Ritual] is an ominous forbidden art. It would be better not to touch it lightly."
She genuinely feared he might be drawn toward it.
In the present age, anyone who reached too far toward that kind of power was only inviting ruin.
Gin Tsumugi did not answer immediately. He lowered the file, rested one finger on the words [Taizan Fukun Ritual], and looked at her calmly.
"Ominous and forbidden are not the same thing," he said. "Natsume, in your eyes, what exactly is the [Taizan Fukun Ritual]? What kind of technique is it?"
Natsume did not need to think long.
"It is a soul art that human beings should never interfere with," she answered without hesitation. "A forbidden spell born from the fear ancient people held toward powers beyond their understanding. In this era, if onmyoji touch such things carelessly, the result will only be disaster, just as it was in Tokyo."
Her answer was clean, certain, and entirely in line with everything she had been taught.
Gin Tsumugi listened, then gave her a quiet look.
"With the understanding of modern Onmyoji, that conclusion is not entirely wrong," he said. "Especially in an age like this one, where faith has withered and the gods have retreated."
Then his tone shifted.
"But in my view, the label [Forbidden Spell] is something humans force onto what they cannot control."
Natsume stilled.
"They encounter something beyond their present understanding, beyond their current grasp, and so they build rules around it. They say, this cannot be touched, that must not be studied, this boundary must not be crossed. They call it forbidden, not because the world itself rejects it, but because they do."
He tapped the file once.
"Human beings are only one part of the world. To use a part as the ruler by which the whole is measured, is that not arrogance?"
Natsume opened her mouth, then closed it again.
For a moment, no reply came.
His words struck directly at the core of the logic she had grown up with. Not just what her father had taught her, but what the Onmyo Academy taught, what modern Onmyodo broadly believed, what the current age treated as common sense.
And yet, for all the shock they gave her, she could not immediately find any flaw in them.
Gin Tsumugi continued.
"Remember this. Onmyodo began as a path of inquiry. A path of seeking, testing, understanding. It was never meant to become a cage built from fear."
Natsume fell silent.
She could understand every word individually, but when placed together, they formed something far larger than she could digest in one sitting. Her understanding of Onmyodo, built over years, had just been struck at from an entirely different direction.
Seeing her expression, Gin Tsumugi softened slightly.
"There is no need to force an answer right now," he said. "Find the understanding that suits your own Onmyodo."
He paused, then added, "Every person sees it differently. And the difference between eras is even greater."
Natsume looked up.
The first part, she understood.
The second left her puzzled.
What did he mean by the difference between eras?
But Gin Tsumugi gave no further explanation.
How could he?
Much of what shaped his present understanding came from the perspective of Abe no Seimei a thousand years ago. A full millennium separated that worldview from the present. That was more than enough time for any system to change beyond recognition.
And modern Onmyodo, after Tsuchimikado Yakou's reforms and militarization, had already drifted far from its older roots. Whole branches had been simplified, rewritten, or stripped down entirely for efficiency and standardization.
The ancient and modern paths looked connected on the surface, but in truth, the difference between them was vast.
For someone like Natsume, raised wholly within the modern system, a clash of understanding was inevitable.
After standing there in silence for several seconds, she finally picked up the lunch box with both hands. Her steps were steady, but her expression remained dazed.
By the time she left the [Library], she was still turning his words over in her head. Her thoughts were so scattered that she nearly missed a step on the stairs outside.
The purpose she had come with, to gently warn him away from the [Taizan Fukun Ritual], had been completely overturned without her even noticing.
Watching her retreating figure, Gin Tsumugi let out a small breath.
"If she can truly digest even part of that," he murmured, "it will be enough to change the road ahead of her."
Then he turned his attention inward and called up the role playing system.
[Abe no Seimei (Founder of Onmyodo)]
[Role Playing Progress: Youth Period (60%)]
[Character Abilities: Basic Talisman Compendium (Initial Mastery), Shikigami Contract (Initial Mastery), Five Pointed Star Incantation (Initial Mastery), Word Spirit Technique (Proficient), Uho (Proficient) Immovable Binding Technique (Proficient), Fire Boundary Spell (Proficient) Ghost Averting and Evil Dispelling Incantation (Advanced) ]
He studied the panel for a moment, and even he had to admit the gains from this trip had exceeded expectations.
After destroying the Wedding Dress Tree, his progress had risen from 10% to 35%.
Now, after only a few days in the Tsuchimikado clan's [Library], it had climbed another 25%, reaching 60%.
That was no small increase.
It was nearly equal to what he had gained from an entire large scale supernatural incident.
The reason was obvious. The Tsuchimikado clan had preserved too many ancient Onmyodo texts, many of them directly descended from Abe no Seimei's own inheritance. Simply reading through them, comparing lost formulae, and reconnecting them with the knowledge embedded in his role already produced astonishing results.
Had the sealed techniques also been opened to him, things would have gone even further.
If he had been allowed to examine forbidden arts like [Soul Summoning Technique] and the true core text of the [Taizan Fukun Ritual], he was confident his role playing progress would have risen past 70%.
And if all three opportunities had aligned...
The Senji Ryakketsu. Participation in the [Taizan Fukun Ritual]. Access to the sealed forbidden rituals within the [Library].
If he had truly managed to obtain all of them on this visit, then he had no doubt at all.
The role playing system would have advanced to its next stage.
His fingers tapped lightly against the desk.
What a pity.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]