"A book that seals the names of yokai, huh..."
Sato looked at the notebook in his hand with interest. Was this the presence that the 'Escorting Dog' had sensed?
As he flipped through it, he noticed the three characters written on the cover.
"Book of Friends?"
He looked at the words in surprise and murmured softly,
"If it's something that can determine a yokai's fate, why is it called that?"
"Maybe..."
Kato Megumi looked at the Book of Friends and said quietly,
"Maybe Natsume-san's grandmother never intended it to be a master-servant contract. Perhaps she saw it as an address book for keeping in touch with friends."
"Reiko, huh..."
Suddenly, the Okuri-Inu let out a long sigh from behind them.
Sato examined the Book of Friends for a moment, then handed it back to Natsume Takashi with a smile.
"You've worked hard."
Natsume Takashi accepted the Book of Friends and took a deep breath.
"This is something I should be doing. I don't think Grandmother wanted them to remain bound either, so she left her powerful yokai power to me..."
"Then what about this thing? Why is it following you around?"
Sato's gaze shifted to the maneki-neko in Natsume Takashi 's arms. It looked foolish and harmless on the surface. Who would have imagined that it was actually a terrifying great yokai?
For ordinary people, B-rank strength was already frightening. But if one thought about an S-rank, it might even be called a deity...
"Madara-sensei?"
Natsume Takashi froze for a moment. Then he looked down at the maneki-neko in his arms, who was clearly angry but too intimidated to say anything, and couldn't help laughing.
Hearing the laughter, Madara indignantly raised a paw and tried to scratch him.
"Natsume, you dare laugh at me too? Damn it!"
Madara roared and flailed his claws, but Natsume Takashi held him tightly, leaving him unable to struggle free. Without his yokai power restored, he was this helpless.
"I accidentally broke the seal and released Sensei."
After saying that while holding Madara, Natsume Takashi saw Sato lower his head slightly and look at Madara.
"You knew Natsume's grandmother too?"
"Hmph! Of course!"
Madara proudly lifted his head.
"But she couldn't beat me. Even at her strongest, she could only fight me to a draw!"
"A draw?"
"A draw!"
Sato nodded in satisfaction.
"Since you met Natsume's grandmother, that means you weren't sealed for very long..."
"Then why were you sealed in the first place?"
"Hmph! Forgot!"
The Hero Association's records did not clearly explain the matter. But since it had been observed before, that meant the Association knew about it. The fact that Madara had not been eliminated suggested he probably had not done anything unforgivable...
Forget it.
Sato couldn't be bothered digging deeper. He glanced at the somewhat silent Okuri-Inu before turning back to Natsume Takashi .
"You came here this time to return its name?"
"Yes."
"Then go ahead and do what you came to do."
Natsume Takashi nodded and looked at the Okuri-Inu.
"Are you ready, senpai?"
The Okuri-Inu nodded.
Sato, Kato Megumi, and the maneki-neko moved farther away before turning back to watch Natsume Takashi .
He tore out the page containing the contracted name from the Book of Friends and held it in his mouth. Then he pressed his palms together firmly, concentrated his mind, and exhaled.
Whoosh!!!
A powerful wave of yokai energy spread through the forest, scattering fallen leaves into the air like rain.
In that unseen moment, Sato sensed that something had returned to the Okuri-Inu. He couldn't quite describe it. Perhaps it could be said that after reclaiming its name, it had become whole again...
Its somewhat translucent figure gradually became more solid until it finally stopped changing. Even so, its spirit body still appeared faintly transparent, as though it might dissipate at any moment.
Meanwhile, Natsume Takashi was already breathing heavily, his face pale.
Sato walked over and helped him up.
"Did that consume a lot of your mental and physical strength?"
Natsume Takashi forced a smile and nodded.
"You've really worked hard."
After a moment of silence, Sato spoke again.
He now roughly understood Natsume Takashi 's character. He was a genuinely kind-hearted guy. Otherwise, he would never do something so thankless and exhausting.
The Book of Friends sealed the names of yokai and possessed the power to command countless spirits. If an ordinary teenager obtained it, he would not necessarily act as Natsume did. There was no shortage of arrogant fools in this world.
Some people might call him a fool. He possessed such a powerful treasure, yet he was exhausting himself to destroy it. But one could not deny that kindness was among humanity's most precious qualities.
Looking at the Okuri-Inu, whose body had become solid once more, Sato suddenly said,
"Even after getting your name back, you don't have much time left."
The Okuri-Inu had become a spirit after death. It had always remained loyal to and protective of humans. But if humans gradually forgot about it, then it too would gradually disappear.
Natsume Takashi 's eyes suddenly widened. Then he lowered his head dejectedly.
There was nothing he could do about it.
The Okuri-Inu calmly said,
"Dust returns to dust, earth returns to earth."
Sato smiled.
"What if I have a way to let you keep living?"
A faint glimmer appeared in the Okuri-Inu's eyes. Looking at Sato, it asked in surprise,
"Are you an onmyoji?"
If he were an onmyoji, then after forming a contract and becoming a shikigami, the onmyoji would continuously supply energy to sustain the shikigami's existence.
"No. But I have another way."
With a casual flip of his hand, a crystal-clear stone the size of a quail egg suddenly appeared in his palm. It resembled a crystal and was threaded with a red cord.
It was one of his collectibles. The system called it [Pure Land].
Its only function was to keep spirit bodies from perishing.
"If you reside inside this, your spirit body won't dissipate. You can even continue growing stronger."
The Okuri-Inu's gaze shifted slightly. If it could avoid disappearing, that would naturally be a good thing.
Ever since the shrine had fallen into ruin, it had been trapped on this mountain, relying on the lingering power of incense offerings from the past to remain active. Decades had passed, and it no longer knew what the human world had become.
However...
"Why are you helping me?"
The Okuri-Inu stared steadily at Sato.
Sato smiled.
"It is all fate."
I encountered it, and that itself was fate.