Chapter 55: Legend and Fate (1)

In the far-flung lands of the Extreme East, deep in some remote mountain, a man in a Taoist-style outfit, Tsuchimikado Taehoku, was looking up at the distant sky, murmuring in a tone that said he’d seen this coming long ago.

“So they really used it, huh?”

A voice came from the void then—a deep, steady voice belonging to a middle‑aged man.

“Taehoku, so this was all your arrangement, wasn’t it?”

Hearing the voice, Tsuchimikado Taehoku turned toward its source. Hanging in the empty air was an oval-shaped object, like a mirror, but nothing could be seen inside it. The only thing he could tell was that the voice was coming from within.

Staring at this incomprehensible thing, Tsuchimikado Taehoku muttered under his breath.

“Oh… the Illusory Mystic Mirror, huh?”

The other party let out a surprised sound.

“Should I say that’s just like you? You saw through it that fast.”

But Tsuchimikado Taehoku answered calmly.

“If I remember right, this should be a secret art from your clan’s legends, yeah?”

“Well, yeah. Since it’s a secret art, you shouldn’t know about it in the first place, right? Doesn’t that strike you as weird?”

“Just like you said, normal people would have no clue. But I’m a different case.”

“When you say ‘different case,’ you mean you only know because you’re S‑Class?”

At that slightly nasty remark, Tsuchimikado Taehoku just replied, a little annoyed.

“There’s a limit to jokes, you know. This has nothing to do with that. If you really want to talk about it, there may be ten S‑Class in this world, but I’m probably the only one who knows about this—well, leaving ‘them’ out of the equation.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. It’d be weirder if that weren’t the case. You are from that clan, after all.”

Then Tsuchimikado Taehoku casually tossed out another topic.

“Looks like our two clans have had ties since long ago.”

“Seems so. I don’t know the details, but yeah, it’s there. That connection. It’s mentioned in that thing too, after all.”

“But it’s not clearly spelled out, is it?”

“Right. It’s been passed down from so long ago, in the end we don’t even know if it really existed or not.”

Even though the other man was being vague, Tsuchimikado Taehoku understood perfectly.

“You’re talking about that legend.”

“That’s right, that legend.”

“But you didn’t really believe in it before, did you?”

“Now that’s where you’re a bit off.”

“Oh…?”

Tsuchimikado Taehoku let out a slightly surprised sound.

“Back then, I neither believed nor disbelieved that legend.”

“So you just stayed neutral.”

“Exactly, exactly. I’m glad you caught on that quick.”

Tsuchimikado Taehoku asked then, putting on a bit of an act.

“So what made you change your mind?”

“Obviously, that time. When something like that happens right in front of your eyes, it’s hard not to believe, you know? And also…”

The man suddenly trailed off.

“And also?”

“And also, that miracle happened right in front of you, didn’t it? I wasn’t there to see it, but you can only call that a miracle. No ordinary person could pull that off.”

Tsuchimikado Taehoku admitted it frankly.

“Yeah, you can only call that a miracle. But that’s not all, is it?”

“?”

The other man didn’t follow his jump in logic. But Tsuchimikado Taehoku had never intended to keep him in suspense, so he spoke very plainly.

“The thing is, that miracle’s recorded in there too.”

“Yeah. That’s what shocked me the most. That godlike miracle turned out to be shockingly similar to what’s written in there. So I started to believe in that legend even more.”

The other party admitted it honestly.

“Still, even if we call it a legend, it only circulates between our two clans, right?”

“Yeah. It’s been passed down from the First Generation all the way to now.”

“But you really are impressive, learning a secret art that only exists in a legend.”

“Well, I’d love to say ‘that’s because I’m a genius,’ but honestly, this level is already my limit.”

Tsuchimikado Taehoku sounded puzzled.

“Your limit?”

“Yeah. Since you can’t use it, it makes sense you don’t know.”

“True enough. The records in our clan are pretty vague. And in the end, this is your clan’s secret art. No one else could know it that clearly.”

“Even for our clan, with such detailed records, just getting to this level nearly killed me. It’s embarrassing to say, but honesty is my motto.”

Hearing that, Tsuchimikado Taehoku seemed to realize something.

“So in reality, this goes way beyond what you’re doing now?”

“Yeah. Just like you said, the real thing is on a whole different level. Compared to that, what I’m doing doesn’t even count as half‑baked.”

“It’s actually that powerful?”

“Right now, what I can do is just search for a target over long distance and transmit my voice. And no, I’m not telling you how the searching works.”

Tsuchimikado Taehoku quietly declared:

“Of course. I’ve no intention of asking. This isn’t something people like us can learn, or a field we should even touch.”