Becoming an Oni in this land of illusion

Chapter 37

[Ibaraki]

I am currently eating the ice cream that Yukari promised me, but I am currently sitting on her lap.

I'm not really sure what I'm doing, but I am being kidnapped. It's not a big deal, honestly.

It's not because I really like the ice cream, it's totally not the reason.

Meanwhile, Shuten is glaring at Yukari from across the table, as if she is about to kill her.

"I'm not sure what you're looking for, but don't treat Ibaraki like an expensive piece of equipment."

I understand now; it makes sense that Yukari, who strangely enough likes programming and computers, would compare her Shikigami to them.

Shikigami are conjured beings, made alive through a complex conjuring ceremony. The power of their shiki is connected to the spiritual force of their master. If the invoker is well-versed and experienced, their shiki can possess animals and even people and manipulate them. However, if the invoker is careless, their shikigami may get out of control in time and gain its own will and consciousness. It may even raid its own master and kill them in revenge.

She is curious about me because I exist without a master, and how could I continue to exist?

"I see! You are curious how I exist? You could have just asked me, I would have answered it honestly."

I looked at Shuten and, seeing what I was aiming for, so she just let me.

"Well, let's start with what me and Shuten are. We're considered to be heroic spirits."

"Heroic Spirits are beings of a higher existence, becoming categorically closer to Elementals than wraiths"

"Unlike Elementals, which are created using human imagination as a container, they are entirely woven from the ideals of people all throughout."

"They are freed from the constraints of time itself and removed from the ring of reincarnation, moved to the Throne of Heroes, a place existing outside both the world and the time axis."

"There are five categories, namely Heaven, Earth, Human, Star, and Beast."

"Heaven is a category of Heroic Spirits who are related to the gods, whether they are Divine Spirits ranked down to becoming Heroic Spirits, children of gods, or incarnations of legends about gods."

"Earth is a category of Heroes who are known as the Heroes of the Land, and are known through mythologies and legends of a particular region."

"Those who contributed to humanity and were regarded as heroes for their actions since the start of the Common Era were categorized as human."

"Stars are a category of Heroes that belong to none of the previous three attributes. They are the hope of mankind and a symbol of overcoming hardships. A great hope in the history of humanity can be found in the attribute that is given to heroes who become turning points in human history."

"Beasts are a category of heroes that rival the seemingly all-powerful Star. They are the evils of man that represent the Seven Sins of Humanity. They are beings that encompass all of humanity.

"Shuten and I are in the Earth category."

"Normally summoned by the World as a power that protects humans, Heroic Spirits can't be controlled by humans without some kind of power. It is only possible for the World to summon the main body of a Heroic Spirit, so humans are limited to summoning emanations of the heroes, such as through the system, even with something like a Holy Grail."

"As beings outside of time, they can be summoned to any era, regardless of the notions of past and future. This applies even if they are summoned to when their human selves have yet to die or when they have yet to be born."

It seems that Yukari is silent, and she is probably processing the words that I have said. Since she is a crafty person, she will probably use this knowledge to try to summon one.

But, unfortunately for her, Gaia will not allow it, since she has the greatest influence over this world.

"So, you are merely the manifestations of the real Ibaraki and Shuten?"

She simply asked, but her tone suggested that she already knew the answer, so I just confirmed it for her.

"The God that has put us here is the world, or better known as Gaia."

She appeared to be satisfied with my answer. She continued to hum as she caressed my hair.

I look at Stella and indicate that the plan has failed, so she will have to make a move to draw Yukari's interest away from me.

"What is the Holy grail?"

A question from Yukari interrupted our plan.

"The Holy Grail is the holy relic that received the blood of the Christian God. Each Holy Grail is in effect a solidified mass of pure miracles, which reacts to the wishes of the one who holds it in order to grant them; however, on their own they are not capable of generating true miracles without outside intervention."

"I'm not aware of its current location, or if it has already been found."

Shuten answered the question while trying to lure Yukari into a trap.

"That is certainly an interesting item, one that could grant any wish."

"F**k!, My ice cream has already melted."

I should not tell something long, especially if I am eating an ice cream!!.

"Here, you could wish that the ice cream will be as good as new."

She handed me something that looked like a chalice, so I grabbed it without processing what it really was.

"Please make my ice cream come back to its frozen state."

When I first looked at the item in my hand, it shone brightly and hurt my eyes. After a few seconds, I was able to look at it without hurting my eyes and saw that the ice cream in the container looked like it was recently opened.

"That's amazing!"

After examining the item in my hand, I can confirm that it is a golden chalice that emits a great amount of magical energy.

It is really the holy grail, and it is an even greater grail nonetheless.

I seemed to have forgotten and was looking at Yukari, who was smiling and appeared to be amused.

"I thought so, humans will fight over this thing, so it might be better to hide it and allow it to be forgotten."

Yes, without a doubt, she is a dangerous individual. She grabbed the grail and threw it into one of her portals.

Since things will remain absurd, I decided to ignore it and dig in to my ice cream.

I beckoned for Shuten to come closer and fed her ice cream. It seemed like she was still not processed what had happened.

"Where's mine~?"

Here, take it and stop complaining. I fed her with the spoon because I wasn't in the mood to argue.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[A/N]

This chapter is more of a filler than a real chapter, to be honest.