Chapter 79: Imitation
Evening settled over Tokyo.
As the sun sank below the skyline, a sharper chill crept back into the streets. Pedestrians hurried along the sidewalks with their collars pulled high, bracing against the wind as though afraid it would steal what little warmth they had left.
By the time Iwanaga Kotoko returned to the White Fox Office, her body was carrying the weariness of a long day.
"Oh?" she said as she opened the door and stepped inside. "The Director isn't here?"
Gin Tsumugi's chair was empty.
Kasugano Sora was at the side of the room, quietly organizing the White Fox Office's archived case files. When she saw Kotoko come in, she immediately stood up.
"Kotoko-nee, you're back. I'll make you coffee."
Sora moved toward the coffee supplies, glancing briefly at the darkening sky beyond the window.
"After you left, the Director went out to investigate the grotesque tree spirit incident sites. He said he should be back soon."
Most of the grotesque tree spirit branches had appeared in Shibuya Ward. Only a small number of the earliest discovered cases were outside the area, such as Minato Ward, where Sora used to live.
Kotoko thought for a moment and quickly understood Gin's intention.
With his current strength as a National-level onmyoji, a personal field survey could reveal things that reports and secondhand data missed. Perhaps he could find the pattern behind how the branches had been placed—the logic used by whoever had scattered them.
A moment later, Sora handed her a steaming cup of coffee.
"It looks like your investigation went well, Kotoko-nee."
Kotoko accepted the cup and took a small sip. The warmth spread through her chest, dispelling some of the cold clinging to her body.
"Not bad," she said. "At the very least, I confirmed that there are definitely major mysteries surrounding Kuda Mai. The only regret is that I still haven't found the link connecting her directly to the grotesque tree spirit incident."
That was the problem.
In room 405, she had indeed found many clues.
But almost all of them pointed toward Kuda Mai herself rather than the grotesque tree spirits.
The key connection was still missing.
Even so, Kotoko was increasingly certain of one thing: Kuda Mai had a close relationship with the grotesque tree spirit incident. Just as she had played a crucial role in the Wedding Dress Tree incident, her role here would not be minor either.
If they followed that thread carefully, they would eventually glimpse part of the truth.
Kotoko took several more sips of coffee, letting her body warm up properly. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something unfamiliar on Gin's desk.
"Eh? What's that?"
A bronze mirror sat on the desk.
It was badly corroded, its surface mottled with age. The marks of decay gave it a heavy sense of history, as though it had survived long enough to forget the hands that forged it. It had been placed upright on a small triangular wooden stand, displayed like a decoration.
Though, if it truly was meant to be decorative, its aesthetic value was questionable.
That was not what caught Kotoko's attention.
What drew her gaze was the power contained within it.
A power she knew.
It was different from an onmyoji's spiritual energy.
Different from the Yin energy of Yokai.
Different even from the demonic power carried by certain Great Yokai.
It possessed an inviolable sacred quality, vast and solemn, like a majestic presence descending from the heavens.
Divine power.
Power belonging to gods, condensed from pure faith.
Lord Tsuchizawa and the other deities Kotoko knew all carried this kind of power in their bodies. However, with the passing of the ages, the divine power within them had withered and thinned.
Compared to the power in the bronze mirror sitting on Gin's desk, theirs was almost insignificant.
A stream before a great river.
"A bronze mirror containing divine power..."
Kotoko frowned slightly, coffee cup still in hand.
"Why does it feel a little like the Yata Mirror Lord Tsuchizawa once described?"
Her thoughts paused.
"Yata Mirror?"
The more she looked at it, the more similar it seemed.
Not identical, perhaps, but close enough that many details matched the descriptions Tsuchizawa and the others had once given. Nearly seventy percent of its features were consistent.
Could this really be the legendary Yata Mirror?
The thought had barely formed before Kotoko rejected it herself.
"No. How could that be possible?"
The Yata Mirror was a divine artifact from Japanese mythology, one of the Three Sacred Treasures alongside the Kusanagi Sword and the Yasakani no Magatama. It was the divine mirror of Amaterasu, the supreme goddess of the sun.
In Shinto belief, it could be called one of Japan's highest sacred objects.
How could something like that appear casually in the White Fox Office?
Even a daydream should at least pretend to be modest.
Then Sora's next sentence almost made Kotoko spit out her coffee.
"Kotoko-nee, it does count as a Yata Mirror."
"What?! That's impossible!"
Kotoko shot up from the sofa, eyes wide as she stared at the corroded bronze mirror on the desk.
She could not accept that the object before her was the legendary divine artifact also known as Makagami.
Sora quickly realized Kotoko had misunderstood.
"Ah, no, that isn't what I meant. It is a Yata Mirror, but there is still a gap between it and the mirror held by Amaterasu in the Kojiki."
Kotoko stared at her.
Sora explained carefully, "Strictly speaking, it's a replica of the legendary Yata Mirror. But from its own perspective, calling it a Yata Mirror isn't wrong."
"A replica."
Kotoko slowly sat back down.
"That makes much more sense."
Even so, a replica was still extraordinary.
After all, this was not some cheap imitation of a famous antique. It was a replica of one of Japan's supreme divine artifacts. Judging by the divine power inside it, the one who forged it must also have been a god who left a significant name in mythology.
"I'm afraid even the Yata Mirror enshrined at Ise Grand Shrine—the so-called ancestor of shrines—doesn't carry as much weight as this one."
Kotoko's tone was sincere.
The mirror enshrined at Ise Grand Shrine might be an ancient sacred object that had witnessed the turning of history, but she had never felt divine power of this level from it.
That alone revealed the difference.
One was a historical symbol.
The other was a true divine artifact, even if only a replica.
If the Shinto priests of Ise Grand Shrine saw this mirror, they would probably be so moved they would kneel on the spot. Then, shamelessly and with full ritual dignity, they would insist on taking it back to enshrine it properly.
After all, to them, this could represent the supreme faith they served.
A sacred object among sacred objects.
Then Kotoko thought of something.
Her gaze turned solemn.
"This is the reward Shinomiya Kaguya brought, isn't it?"
Sora blinked. "Kotoko-nee, how did you know?"
"It's obvious," Kotoko said. "The Director generally doesn't use magical tools. And among the people we've met recently, Shinomiya Kaguya is the only one with the background to make such an extravagant payment."
Sora nodded slowly, then began telling her what had happened after Kotoko left.
Miss Kaguya's visit.
The mark left by Shuten-dōji.
Gin's analysis of the situation.
The commission.
The reward.
When Kotoko heard that Shuten-dōji would not personally appear unless the sacrifice was extremely special, she quietly let out a breath of relief.
She had already made up her mind earlier.
If Gin insisted on resolving Shinomiya Kaguya's incident and that meant fighting Shuten-dōji directly, then even if Kotoko could not change his decision, she would never let him face such danger alone.
Thankfully, that was not the case.
The one who came would still likely be Great Yokai-level, requiring three National-level onmyoji to contend with under normal standards.
But compared to Shuten-dōji itself, that was a much smaller threat.
A small witch before a great one.
More importantly, Kotoko trusted Gin.
His combat power could not be measured purely by the rank written on his onmyoji certificate. The distance between one National-level onmyoji and another could be enormous, and Gin had formed Myriad Laws, the Onmyodo Framework that had shocked the entire Onmyodo world.
Contending with a single Great Yokai alone should not be impossible for him.
What truly reassured her was Gin's attitude.
From Sora's account, his position was very clear.
If an ordinary Great Yokai-level existence came, he would intercept and subjugate it.
If Shuten-dōji came personally, then Shinomiya Kaguya could only rely on her own fate.
"A Great Yokai-level threat is indeed worth a replica Yata Mirror."
Kotoko looked back at the bronze mirror.
"As expected, we still can't underestimate conglomerates that dominate Japan's economy. Their wealth is one thing, but their foundations and hidden reserves are another matter entirely."
Even she had not expected the Shinomiya Conglomerate to possess a divine artifact of this level.
Kotoko stood, walked to Gin's desk, and picked up the mirror.
Then she used her own method as the goddess of wisdom to the yokai, sensing the artifact's abilities.
A faint light rose from her hands.
Detailed information about the mirror flowed into her mind.
After a short while, Kotoko opened her eyes.
"It reflects attacks at the level of professional-class Onmyo Arts. It can reflect National-level Onmyo Arts three times per day. And at its absolute limit, it can defend against one Great Onmyo Art, but the mirror will shatter afterward."
She looked at the corroded bronze surface with renewed appreciation.
"It's a very good defensive divine artifact."
In myth, the Yata Mirror's most important qualities were dispelling falsehood and reflecting all techniques.
Although this replica was still far from the true mirror of legend, there was no doubt it was powerful.
With its protection, even an ordinary person could withstand attacks from any professional-level onmyoji. It could also block National-level arts three times a day.
And if absolutely necessary, it could defend against a Great Onmyo Art once.
Only once.
But at a critical moment, once was enough to save a life.
"Kotoko-nee," Sora said, "before the Director left, he said to leave this Yata Mirror for you to handle."
"For me?"
Kotoko looked down at the mirror in her hand.
A quiet warmth rose in her chest.
This was a powerful divine artifact.
Even for Gin, at his current level, it should still be very useful. Handing it to her to decide its use meant that even if she kept it for herself, no one would say anything.
Of course, she would not do that.
After a moment of silence, Kotoko placed the mirror carefully back onto its stand.
"Then we'll keep it at the White Fox Office for now."
Her voice was steady.
"Whether it's me, Sora, or any future member of the office, anyone can apply to use the Yata Mirror when carrying out dangerous missions or handling high-risk supernatural incidents."
Kotoko had designated it as a strategic resource of the White Fox Office.
That was the choice that would bring out its greatest value.
.....
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