Becoming the Yokai Lord of Tokyo?
When Ren saw that ridiculous quest title float across his mental interface, he almost laughed out loud.
This wasn't just the system trying to make him the so-called "Yokai Lord"—it was basically handing him a death sentence! How many bosses in stories ever had good endings? They were always overthrown by the protagonist or wiped out by the plot itself. If he really became some final-boss-tier "Yokai Lord," wouldn't he just die even faster?
And what was that nonsense about his ambition growing? Since when did he have ambitions? Nobody had informed him of that—least of all him!
Completely ignoring that absurd "questline," Ren considered the first, simpler mission far more realistic.
Taking yokai under his command… Ren had never seriously considered doing such a thing before. But the world was beginning to change. And even if he didn't intend to compete with anyone or chase domination, having subordinates to help protect his family sounded… practical.
His little sister, Ryuhime, was a separate case—her innate yokai power was on par with Ren's, and she was nearly of age. No low-rank yokai would be stupid enough to provoke her.
But their mother, Tenjouin Masami, was a normal human. With supernatural incidents growing more frequent in the shadows, ordinary people were far from safe.
Which was why this particular yokai—who didn't seem to have harmed any humans—was actually tempting.
Though Nurikabe was considered weak among yokai, it excelled at defense and obstruction. And more importantly, if the yokai he recruited was too powerful, it might not be willing to serve under a half-yokai like Ren.
Nurikabe… a yokai from ancient folklore, said to have appeared long ago in a mountain village of old Fukuoka. Its form resembled a massive, wall-like structure rising before travelers.
When a passerby approached it, they suddenly found themselves blocked by an invisible wall, unable to move forward.
If they tried to climb higher, the wall rose with them; if they tried to walk left or right, the wall shifted along, always blocking the path.
Most travelers who encountered a Nurikabe were terrified, eventually fleeing in panic—and falling off cliffs on their own. A rare few escaped because they fainted and were later found by others.
Such was the legend of the Nurikabe, one of the creatures from the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. Even in stories, it wasn't exactly benevolent, but it wasn't particularly murderous either. In truth, what killed people was often their own fear.
Its actual abilities were rather plain. According to folklore, those who died "at its hands" essentially died because they panicked.
After Ren and Yusaburo finished touring the company, the owner personally drove them out of the building.
The moment they stepped outside, Yusaburo turned to Ren with rigid seriousness.
"Ren-san, what do we need to prepare for tonight? Hinano mentioned that before we dealt with the rat demon, you had us buy hemp rope and snakes. But because we were rushed, we only managed to get the rope. At the time, we thought you were joking… but afterward, it turned out if you hadn't planned ahead, we all might've died there."
"This time," Ren replied calmly, "we don't need preparation items. If you really want something, just bring a long stick—each of you."
"A long stick…?"
"And don't use guns tonight. They'll be useless, and you'll only risk shooting your own men by accident. Also, don't bring too many people. Your job is mostly to observe. I'm the one who'll settle it."
Ren's matter-of-fact tone made Yusaburo's ears turn red. If he had a choice, he wouldn't come at all—he'd only get in the way and everyone knew it. But this was a mission handed down from their superiors; they couldn't just sit around while Ren resolved everything by himself.
As for why Ren forbid firearms—there was a reason.
Nurikabe's body was essentially rock. Bullets would do nothing. Worse, if someone panicked in the dark and fired blindly, friendly fire would be inevitable.
It would be just like the stories—lost in the dark, people would only end up "falling off cliffs."
That was why Ren insisted they shouldn't bring too many officers. People with weak mental fortitude would only increase the risk of panic spreading among the whole squad.
As Ren spoke, Hinano stood beside him, her expression deadly serious, jotting down every word in a small notebook like a diligent student.
Ever since Ren had displayed his overwhelming power, Hinano had been fascinated—practically obsessed—with the idea of onmyoji.
Her lifelong dream had always been to defeat evil, and the creed of exorcists resonated perfectly with her. And now that the "Non-Natural Countermeasures Division" had appeared, she knew that such an organization actually existed within the police.
A detective by day, demon-slayer by night—this was basically Hinano's dream job.
However, she also knew becoming an onmyoji was impossible for normal people. Every shrine had its own secret traditions, and they did not casually teach outsiders.
So Hinano had resorted to "stealing techniques" from Ren—hence the notebook.
After all, although they all believed Ren was a high-level onmyoji, none of them had any clue which shrine he came from.
What Ren explained was merely practical experience, but even that was valuable guidance for ordinary people dealing with yokai. Normally, shrine priests would never reveal such things.
Shrines held authority precisely because they knew what common people didn't. That was why people respected them, trusted them, and prayed to them.
An onmyoji who openly shared instructions on how to handle yokai like Ren did… wasn't he worried about hurting his shrine's "business"?
By the time Ren finished explaining the Nurikabe's characteristics and abilities, Hinano had filled an entire page—and even sketched the yokai.
Unfortunately, her drawing style was a problem.
The creature Ren described as eerie and oppressive ended up looking like a cute, smiling mascot character.
Ren then noticed the previous page featured an adorable chubby mouse—with tons of notes beneath it about the rat demon.
He prayed this "monster field guide" was for Hinano's eyes only.
Because if the rest of the Non-Natural Countermeasures Division used Hinano's sketches as reference materials… their worldview would shatter the moment the real monsters appeared before them.