“The mountain is going to collapse?”


  I unintentionally frowned upon hearing the ominous words that Ouka had said . I didn’t feel anything particularly strange or dangerous about this mountain . It didn’t look like a mountain that is going to collapse anytime soon . Ouka, who was still making the same worried expression, started explaining the situation further .

  “Hundreds of years ago, a calamity struck this mountain . The name of that calamity was Souki; an evil apparition that ruled over ogres . ”


  “An evil apparition? Not a Youkai?”


  “An evil apparition is originally a Youkai who gets consumed by the ‘Dark Side of the Force’ and loses their personality . Once a Youkai turns into an evil apparition, it can not be turned back to normal . Their power amplifies several times and dealing with them becomes next to impossible . ”


  [ED: Is it talking about Kylo Ren? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

  Ouka continued her explanation with a heavy voice tone .

  “Souki is an evil apparition who specializes in ruling over the ogres . It destroyed everything without distinction, both humans and Youkai . We have barely managed to seal him in the past after making many sacrifices with my ancestors . ”


  “So, are you saying that the seal has been broken and he is about to come back?”


  Ouka nodded in affirmation to my question .

  “But why all of a sudden?”


  “I still don’t know the answer for that question . I have been visiting the place where Souki was sealed at fixed intervals and the last time I went there, the signs of its resurrection have already started appearing . ”


  I felt like she was hiding the reason for Souki’s resurrection instead of actually not knowing from the way she answered the question, but I didn’t feel like asking her further about it .

  “And what do you want me to do then?”


  I could already figure what she was trying to say, but I asked nonetheless to confirm my doubt . Ouka hesitated to speak for a moment, but she soon made her resolve and declared her intent .

  “I want you to protect me as I seal Souki again . ”


  I was left astonished and surprised to listen to her her request . She only wanted me to protect her while she seals Souki . I was expecting her to ask me to defeat it or something similar . Regardless that fact, her request seemed anticlimactic, yet I couldn’t shake off the feeling that she was trying to hide something from us .

  “Why do I need to protect you if you’re just going to seal something that can’t even move on its own?”


  “Souki is the ruler of ogres . Despite still being under the seal, I’m sure it will somehow try to stop me from fortifying the seal . However, I won’t be able to move while I fortify the seal, so I’ll be all defenseless if anything tries to attack me . That is why I need someone with a strong spiritual power to protect me . ”


  “I see, that makes sense . Anyway, when will it resurrect?”


  “The night of the day after tomorrow . ”


  Alright, I believe I’ll still be here during the fortifying of the seal .

  But still, an evil apparition, huh .

  Things are about to get troublesome once again . As I hesitated about whether should I accept her request or not, Ouka bowed down and pleaded to me to give her a helping hand .

  “Please, I need your cooperation . ”


  While looking at her bowing down to me, I shifted my gaze to look at Karen to see what her reaction was, and realized that she was giving me an stare as if she were saying that she was leaving the decision to me . I closed my eyes for a brief moment, and pondered about something for a few moments, and then I proceeded to respond .

  “Sorry, but I’m going to decline the reque—”


  “Wait a second . ”


  Just I was going to decline the offer, Karen suddenly interrupted me in the middle .

  “Come over here for a minute . ”


  “Eh? W-What happened to you so suddenly?”


  “Just come here . ”


  She forcibly seized me by my arm, took a distance from Ouka and turned our back to her . I wonder what she was trying to do . While she was not paying a mind to how confused I was feeling, she leaned over to me and whispered with a slightly firm voice tone .

  “Accept her request . ”


  Why does she want me to accept such a troublesome request? Of course, I didn’t just follow what she said and tried resisting .

  “No way . She should be fine without me anyway . ”


  While I was whispering back to her, I shifted my gaze at Ouka and secretly appraised her .

  Just look at her status!

  She is crazy strong enough to deal with the situation all by herself . However, why can I not see her age? Is it because Youkai do not have any the concept of aging? Anyway, it’s quite strange that I can’t see her age, but she is strong enough to deal with the situation . I turned to Karen and told her about it .

  “I just appraised Ouka’s status and she’s pretty strong . Even if I don’t help her, she should be alright . It would be rude if we don’t believe in her, wouldn’t it?”


  I also told my indirect excuse of not wanting to get into the troubles, but Karen just kept on staring at me with a disappointed look .

  “Can’t you realize it? Even though you spend most of your time reading light novels?”


  “What are you talking about? What should I realize?”


  Karen shook her head both right and left while expressing her disappointment in me . She looked back at me and continued with a strong voice tone .

  “It’s clear and obvious from this cliched flow that she would fail at fortifying the seal . ”


  “That’s rude of you to say, you know……”


  What is this girl saying with a serious face?

  Her way of thinking is far crueler than mine . I replied to her with a shocked face, but Karen still insisted on for me to agree to per proposal to help her in protecting her .

  “Just how many times did every incident turn into a cliched direction?”


  “Eh?”


  As I was listening to Karen’s imperative question, I started recalling the past incidents . Terrorists, monsters, angels, Fallen Gods, inhabited island, and the God of Destruction . In all these events, I wonder how many of them flowed in an original course . Saya got kidnaped, a dragon showed up as the last boss, tentacle monsters attacked us in the inhabited island and many other things that disagreeing with Karen became unthinkable .

  I revealed a bitter expression from recalling some unpleasant memories from the past . I did try my best to erase those memories from my mind, but it was useless at the end . Karen pressed me for an answer and I averted my eyes while prevaricating, as she continued to persuade me .

  “If you don’t help her now, you will surely regret it in the future . So better make a conclusion for this problem before it turns into a calamity . ”


  I wonder what is this feeling . Karen’s words started to sound very convincing . Usually I’d have denied her arguments because they weren’t based on any proof, however, as someone who experienced many troublesome situations in the past, her words were strangely persuasive .

  “I want to help my fox friends too~”


  Before I knew it, Rouga stood next to me and begged me to accept . I guess I have no other choice left . I reflexively revealed a reluctant face while still hesitating on what to do, but this time Karen gave the last blow .

  “Do you want to fight with an army of ogres the next few days?”


  “I accept your request . ”


  The moment Karen asked that question, I immediately turned to Ouka and conveyed my consent to her . Ouka wasn’t expecting me to accept her request as she was making an anxious face . She was confused by my sudden statement and asked me again for confirmation .

  “Are you really going to help me?”


  “Yeah, I have a few good memories in this mountain, after all . ”


  These were surely not the words of a guy who was making an annoyed face only a couple of minutes ago . However, I still responded with an unwavering voice while ignoring Karen’s unsatisfied gaze . Well, what I said wasn’t a lie, anyway . Ouka was moved by my answer and bowed down to me once again .

  “I look forward to cooperate with you . ”


  “Yeah, same . ”


  I replied to Ouka with my usual smile .

  “I still didn’t introduce myself by the way . I am Kamiya Yato and this is my little sister, Kamiya Karen . ”


  “Nice to meet you . ”


  “My name is Ouka and I am the leader of this area . ”


  “Let’s do our best then . ”


  “Yes!”


  Ouka and I exchanged a handshake .

  So I ended up accepting, after all……

  I let out a sigh deep inside while smiling on the outside . Someone please, tell these troubles to stop chasing me . I gazed at the distance and prayed .

  —————————————————————————–


  Bonus

  Age .

  “Hey, Ouka . ”


  “Yes?”


  “How old are you?”


  “What do you mean?”


  “Well, I couldn’t find your age in your status so,—”


  “What-Do-You-Mean-?”


  “So you’re hiding it intentionally . ”