Chapter 166: Exorcist (Hawaii Ver.)

Asano Arisu felt a twinge of disappointment as she watched Qiao Qiao chatting amiably and cheerfully with the sea turtle.

Clearly, she had gone out of her way to wear a new outfit and even put on adorable earrings, yet the teacher hadn't even noticed them at all. Was she really that utterly devoid of charm?

Or did the teacher actually prefer older women like Suzuka?

This was a rare trip for just the two of them, and it had even led to sharing the same room—a plot development straight out of a manga.

*Sigh—*

With a heavy sigh, she scooped up a handful of black sand from the beach. The fine grains slipped through her fingers, glittering charmingly in the afternoon sunlight.

"Pardon me, miss, are you here by yourself?"

Suddenly, a middle-aged blonde man wearing a Hawaiian shirt appeared beside Asano Arisu.

"Huh?"

Being hit on?

Asano Arisu immediately thought of the typical tropes found in questionable adult fiction.

"Actually, my master is quite interested in you. After all, it's rare to encounter a shrine maiden in a place like this."

The blonde man smiled, and half of his face suddenly shifted, transforming into that of a raccoon dog.

"Your master?"

Asano Arisu could sense the bound spiritual power radiating from him. If she wasn't mistaken, this was the equivalent of a shikigami.

"Yes, exactly. If you don't mind, my master would like to invite you to join him for afternoon tea."

The raccoon dog reverted to his human appearance while pulling out an identification badge from the Exorcist Association.

"But..."

Asano Arisu glanced back at Qiao Qiao, who was still conversing with the sea turtle, and puffed out her cheeks.

Forget it. Making the teacher worry a little bit might actually be rather nice.

Making up her mind, Asano Arisu nodded.

A gust of wind swept past.

The young maiden and the middle-aged man vanished into thin air, yet no one around them noticed a thing.

...

Did she run off somewhere to play by herself?

Qiao Qiao looked at the bustling beach filled with tourists and fell into a brief moment of contemplation.

"Still, Shrine Maiden Asano doesn't strike me as the type to just wander off like that."

Qiao Qiao reached into his side pouch and pulled out his smartphone.

He opened an unofficial application.

The app's interface displayed a map of Hawaii. Qiao Qiao zoomed in and adjusted a few settings.

*Beep—*

A single red dot appeared on the screen.

"Baffling. At this distance, it's not a spot that can be reached within just a few minutes of walking."

Qiao Qiao stared at the small red dot labeled "Shrine Maiden Asano."

Yes, this was a GPS tracking device.

And the signal source was none other than Asano Arisu's earring.

While Asano Arisu was changing her clothes earlier, Qiao Qiao had discretely swapped one of her earrings for a GPS tracker. That way, even if she accidentally got lost, he would be able to locate her position immediately.

The reason he hadn't informed Asano Arisu beforehand was precisely to account for extraordinary circumstances.

If she were to be kidnapped, an Asano Arisu who knew about the tracker might inadvertently reveal its existence, leading to the loss of the signal.

Currently, Asano Arisu was at a beachside location three kilometers away from Qiao Qiao. He checked the coordinates: that exact spot was perched upon a steep cliff, and atop the cliff, a luxurious three-story villa was bathed in the sunlight.

"An abduction? No, a kidnapping?"

Qiao Qiao muttered under his breath.

Taking into account what the sea turtle had mentioned earlier regarding the situation in Hawaii, Qiao Qiao concluded that Asano Arisu was currently in grave danger.

"I need to take action immediately."

He gazed toward the distant seaside villa.

...

"Hello, I am Kamo Akira. In the terms of our homeland, you could call me an *onmyoji*."

This seaside villa was much larger than Asano Arisu had imagined, yet it was surprisingly devoid of servants.

Out on the ocean-view terrace, a man in his mid-twenties wearing a casual shirt held a wine glass filled with red wine, softly introducing himself to Asano Arisu.

"Kamo..."

Asano Arisu watched as the blonde man who had escorted her silently stepped aside. She glanced back in the direction of the black sand beach, then spoke with a hint of uncertainty.

"Could you possibly be from *that* Kamo family?"

As everyone knew, the Kamo family was originally the founding lineage of Onmyodo and the most orthodox successor to the arts.

However, later on, Abe no Seimei emerged with brilliant talent and was granted the surname Tsuchimikado, which subsequently made the Tsuchimikado family the dominant house of Onmyodo.

Meanwhile, the Kamo family fell apart due to various circumstances, leaving only a single branch that changed its surname to Kotokui, barely managing to remain within the Onmyo-ryo.

Nowadays, very few people could genuinely claim to belong to the Kamo lineage and still maintain ties with the exorcism community.

"Indeed. My grandfather was once a member of the homeland's Onmyo-ryo before crossing the oceans and eventually settling in Hawaii. To be honest, this is the first time I've ever met another exorcist besides myself."

Kamo Akira chuckled lightly, gesturing with a wave of his hand for two servants to bring Asano Arisu a chair and a cup of black tea.

The two servants—a man and a woman—stood in total silence. The man had crimson eyes, while the woman possessed flowing greenish hair.

"I am Asano Arisu, a trainee shrine maiden from Atsuta Shrine."

"Atsuta Shrine? Truly impressive."

Though Kamo Akira claimed it was impressive, his expression remained entirely flat and indifferent.

"Nowadays, there is no longer a place for us within the homeland's Onmyo-ryo. Remaining on this island to dispel calamities for others is actually quite pleasant, all things considered."

Kamo Akira smiled.

"Do bizarre incidents happen out here as well?"

Asano Arisu took a small sip of the black tea. It tasted quite good. Setting the cup down, she asked the question.

"Naturally. Wherever there are people, there are anomalies. And eliminating those anomalies is the very reason we exorcists exist."

"To be frank with you, I was actually planning to head out and complete a commission this afternoon. I wonder if Shrine Maiden Asano might be interested in coming along?"

Kamo Akira spoke with an air of casual ease. Although it sounded like an invitation, he didn't wait for her reply before continuing on his own.

"I previously heard that the Tsuchimikado family produced a dazzling genius in this generation, but in my view, that reputation is rather overblown."

He stood up, resting his hands on the railing.

"In the past, the Kamo family also believed we were invincible under heaven. But over these past few decades overseas, we've discovered that the wonders in this world far exceed our imagination. While that person is reputed to calculate and foresee everything, in reality—hmm?"

Kamo Akira suddenly stopped talking.

"Is that individual perhaps a friend of yours, Shrine Maiden Asano?"

He pointed toward a figure making its way along the edge of the rarely visited, precipitous cliff, steadily moving in their direction.

"Ah... yes, that's my teacher... I suppose he's here to look for me?"

Asano Arisu recognized Qiao Qiao's clothes at a single glance.

While feeling a wave of surprise, she also grew even more bewildered.

How on earth did the teacher find this place?

Could it truly be some kind of telepathic connection?

"Teacher?"

Kamo Akira glanced at the expression on Asano Arisu's face.

Sensing something, he suddenly spoke up.

"I've actually been quite eager to spar with an exorcist from the homeland. I've read in ancient texts that such exorcism duels used to be quite common. I heard that grand-scale exhibitions were held every year in Kyoto, and I've longed to witness them for a long time."

"A spar?"

Asano Arisu didn't quite understand at first, but she quickly grasped Kamo Akira's intent and hastily spoke up.

"No, um... I would strongly advise Mr. Kamo to abandon that thought."

"Oh?"

Hearing Asano Arisu's words, Kamo Akira grew even more intrigued.

"Does Shrine Maiden Asano believe that my long residence overseas has made my exorcism techniques rusty?"

"No, that's not what I meant at all. It's just that... my teacher is somewhat different..."

Asano Arisu didn't know how to explain it.

Instead, she simply looked around at the exquisite decorations adorning the room.

This villa... it was insured, right?