Chapter 322

"You are definitely not Abe Haruaki."

——The battle started off badly.

The moment Mashu, who was led by Ashiya Hanae into the secluded world through the gate of the secluded world, arrived at the salamander pond, he heard a familiar yet unfamiliar voice denying the words of Ashiya Michiman's self-introduction - although Ashiya Michiman and Abe Haruaki's habit of exchanging names when introducing themselves can be regarded as their strange bad taste, there are few people who can make such a decisive statement in person.

While Asaya Michimitsu was thinking about how to respond to the other party's denial, Mashu and Asaya Hanae arrived at the scene - and Iwanaga Kotoko, who was sitting at the door of Monster An and watching the excitement, smiled and dropped a bombshell on the two people who came to the secluded world for the first time.

"Our Lord Qingming is a pure monster, not a hybrid of human and monster."

"...I apply for self-destruction." With despair, Asaya Michi sent a message to Fujimaru Ritsuka in the communication channel, "Abe Haruaki in this world has no human blood, I can't get by at all!"

"No, if you want to say that you are Asaya Doman, you absolutely cannot do that." Fujimaru Ritsuka's reply came quickly this time, "Repeat what they said to me - Edmund! Teach Mr. Doman how to play word games and language traps* Be a riddle teller, Abe Haruaki in this world is not a hybrid, but a pure fantasy creature. "

"...Master is telling you to press yourself to death and prove that you and Lord Haruaki are the same person, not to pretend to be Abe Haruaki in this world." At Fujimaru Ritsuka's request, Edmond mercifully pointed out a way for Asaya Michimitsu, who had a bad start, "Parallel world hypothesis, our Chaldea is the best at making this up now - use this to fool the other side."

"Aren't you originally one of the Alterego "sides" of that Caster "legend"? "

"I didn't say I was the Abe Haruaki you know." Asaya Michimitsu smiled at the people in front of him. He had already asked for help from others in the communication, but his face did not show any abnormality. He didn't even look at Mashu who had just arrived. "My self-introduction will not change."

"Nice to meet you. My name is Abe Haruaki - the famous Onmyoji Abe Haruaki. Therefore, the range of techniques I am involved in is very wide... You can tell me any troubles you have, and you can also ask me for solutions - I will definitely solve these things that trouble you for you."

"…at least it's not a complete mess." After a period of silence, the judiciary and the executive announced their findings to the public.

"Fortunately, the first step was successful." Asiya Doman breathed a sigh of relief and synchronized the situation with the people in the real world. "At least they have ruled out the answer of "Asiya Doman". As long as they don't think I might be Asiya Doman, I have a way to make the story come true."

"But they don't seem to want to ask Mr. Doman next." Mashu noticed that everyone's eyes were focused on him, so he introduced himself briefly to everyone, "Nice to meet you. My name is Mashiro Kirie, and I'm a classmate of Ashiya Hanae and Abe Harusai."

"Hanae-chan, Itsuki-chan, you two wouldn't joke about such a big thing, right?" Under the aggressive gaze of the executive, the legislator trembled and confirmed the situation with Abe Harusai and Ashiya Hanae, "Is this student the one who picked up the corpses of all the monsters killed by that perverted cruel man? But she is obviously an ordinary person..."

"I've confirmed that Mashiro is just an ordinary person, but she did pick up those corpses. Apart from the traces of that guy, there were only traces left by Mashiro after touching them. It's impossible that someone else handed them over to her to take the blame." Abe Harusai, who was standing at the entrance of Monster Temple, ruthlessly crushed the last hope of the legislator. "The only answer is that that guy had recognized the wrong person from the beginning."

"Wait a minute, didn't the legislator say that Abe Michiman is an avid fan of Abe Haruaki?" Abe Michiman blinked and turned to Abe Haruaki and asked, "Then why would Abe Michiman recognize the wrong person at this time! Shouldn't he be the person in the world who would least recognize Abe Haruaki!?"

"In theory, this should be the case, but for some reason, the results on both sides went wrong." Iwanaga Kotoko clapped her hands and summarized the current situation for everyone. "Originally, at least one of us should have met Lord Haruaki - but as far as the current results are concerned, whether Asaya Michiman found the wrong person or we went in the wrong direction, this is what we have gained so far."

"A weirdo who claims to be Abe Haruaki, and an ordinary person who obviously has nothing to do with this incident."

"Why am I considered a weirdo..." Asaya Michiman protested.

"After all, for someone who can firmly claim to be Abe Haruaki in such an environment, I think he either has a problem with his brain or..." Iwanaga Kotoko looked up at Asaya Doman and said something that no one expected, "Hey, I say, could it be that you are Asaya Doman?"

——It’s over.

"She has no evidence. Just reply as I say, Asoya." When everyone was confused by Iwanaga Kotoko's words, Edmond joined the conversation remotely at the right time, "First, you don't have to prove that you are not Asoya Michiman, but let her prove why you are Asoya Michiman."

"Just say——"

"Do you have any evidence?" The black-haired, green-eyed Alterego narrowed his eyes and smiled like a fox at the one-eyed and one-legged God of Wisdom. "I am indeed not the Abe Haruaki you are looking for, but what reason do you have to say that I am not 'Abe Haruaki', my pitiful princess?"

——The one who maintains the balance. Take action.

Asaya Michiman activated his skills and pressed the mask representing Abe Haruaki onto himself a little tighter - just like when he was alive and wandered among the dignitaries in the capital as "Abe Haruaki", maintaining a faint smile on his face in a gentle and distant manner towards everyone.

The three monsters of Legislative, Executive and Judiciary turned their heads together and began to discuss something in a low voice - and Iwanaga Kotoko obviously had not prepared her own story "reasoning" yet, and just wanted to deceive Ashiya Doman on a whim; the two people from the Monster An had already sneaked back into the Monster An to confirm the situation of the corpses, so Matthew and Ashiya Doman were distracted to make additional analysis of the past intelligence.

"I remember that at the Shibuya Anomaly, Abe was frightened by Sakuragawa Kuro, right?" Asaya Michimitsu looked at the calm monsters at the scene, then looked at Sakuragawa Kuro sitting next to Iwanaga Kotoko, and confirmed with Fujimaru Ritsuka through the consciousness channel, "Sakuragawa Kuro is here now, but those monsters don't seem to be showing obvious fear--"

"It's a habit, I guess." The answer was given by Abe Haruaki himself, "Or to be more specific, they have a relationship of trust between each other, so the appearance of fear symptoms can be reduced - I'm exaggerating a bit, facing those things that cannot be understood and still maintaining a normal state, who else do you think can do this except our Master?"

"I have only met him twice at most. If it is necessary to meet again, I can only guarantee to maintain a normal state as much as possible. It is impossible to act as freely as those guys in front of you. Because I don't need to trust that man. It's better to say that even if I choose to trust you, I won't trust him."

"Got it." Asaya Michiman covered the lower half of his face with a folding fan that he suddenly opened, and replied to Abe Haruaki with a chuckle, "I'll still try a little harder so that you don't have to come out and face him directly - even if it is necessary, it should be done when you are a Caster level, not an Alterego level."

"...Is that so? Indeed, if the opponent is 'you' in this world, then Caster's spiritual base is necessary." Abe Haruaki, who was resting at home, paused and responded to Asaya Michiman's words calmly, "Thank you, you have always been so reliable, Asaya."

"...I wish I could be as good as the Tosaka family sometimes." A certain unforgettable memory from before his birth came to mind, and Asaya Michimitsu sighed helplessly, and refocused his attention on the few people who had finished their discussion and whose faces had become quite subtle, "Have you finished your discussion?"

"I withdraw my doubts." Having already learned the results of the discussion from the legislative, executive and judicial departments, Iwanaga Kotoko's expression was quite subtle. It was obvious that she did not understand why the three could come up with such an answer after re-discussing. "According to the judgment of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, although you are not a monster, you do have the characteristics that only 'Abe Haruaki' possesses."

"You are indeed the 'one who maintains the balance', but you are not one of the two of us in this era. The only one who can correspond to you is the great Onmyoji Abe Haruaki from a thousand years ago." Abe Harusai, who had walked out of the monster temple again, used honorifics to address Asaya Michiman, "Would you be willing to disclose some information about yourself to us?"

"Before that, Itsuki-chan." Lifa smiled and pointed at Mashu, who had not moved since entering. "First, send your classmate, who is the only ordinary person, home. Since she is an ordinary person, there is nothing extra to ask. Just remember to pay attention to any abnormal situations that occur around her in the future."

After the Monster An was closed and reopened, the only person left in the teahouse was Abe Harusai, who was responsible for sending Mash home. Now everyone's attention was focused on Asaya Doman, waiting for him to reveal other information about this incident to everyone.

"Okay, then - let's update the self-introduction from before." Asaya Michiman put away his fan with a smile and tilted his head to the people gathered in front of the Monster Temple. "Nice to meet you. I am a side of the great Onmyoji Abe Haruaki, the 'Alterego' - a side of the great Onmyoji Abe Haruaki who is more human and legendary."