After that, Yae Miko didn't bring up the previous topic again.
"Chant the incantation silently, Lumine. You'll also need some strong emotions for it to work. You should know quite well what kind of wish could summon the real author of the Firsthand Guide to Summoning Spirits, right?"
"It should be something related to the novel."
"Exactly. But a wish must come from the heart. Let me give you a little motivation—" Yae Miko imitated the tone of an impatient editor with uncanny precision. "Sensei, the book's selling so well! When will you hand over the outline for Chapter Four?"
Lumine took a deep breath and shouted from the bottom of her heart, "Anyone—please, help me finish Volume Four of the Miraculous Adventures of the Traveler!"
Under Paimon's anxious gaze, the mirror behind Lumine… began to move. The reflection twisted, then broke through the surface, turning into streams of black wind that wrapped around her body.
Just as Victor Wang remembered, Yae Miko toyed with Paimon—the only real victim—using Urakusai's memories as part of her prank. Then, with pride, she announced to Urakusai that Firsthand Guide to Summoning Spirits had been defeated by Miraculous Adventures of the Traveler.
There was no need for further discussion—Yae Miko was far too clever. She had long since guessed that Firsthand Guide to Summoning Spirits was written by Urakusai, and that the incantation was spread by him deliberately. When she added the Moonless Night setting into The Secret Spells of Lady Kitsune, she had already made all the necessary preparations.
After she and Urakusai agreed on the Moonless Night pact, the summoning ritual ended, and the group returned to the Grand Narukami Shrine.
"'Moonless Night' doesn't actually mean there's no moon. 'Night Parade of a Hundred Demons' is just the gathering of youkai. Back then, when the youkai assembled, they all used their power to soar into the sky. Their dancing figures covered the moon, creating what people called a 'Moonless Night.'"
"But the youkai memories leaking from the ley lines are faint now—their strength too weak to rise into the sky anymore… So, I'll perform a spirit-gathering ritual for them, to let their scattered memories converge. When that happens, they'll meet again above this shrine and, once satisfied, return peacefully to where they belong."
Besides Victor Wang and Lumine, Yae Miko also summoned Hanachirusato—but it was clear these words were meant for Victor Wang and Lumine to hear.
After finishing her explanation, Yae Miko gave her orders. "Hanachirusato, go inform the shrine maidens to descend the mountain, lest they get possessed by accident."
"Yes."
"What about us? Can we help with anything?"
"Lumine and little Paimon, though individual memories aren't dangerous, once gathered they may attract monsters. You two handle any that appear."
"Got it! What happens after that?"
"After that? Well, if you'd like to visit the shrine and see the youkai for yourselves, that's not forbidden."
"Alright then, Lumine, let's go!"
"Wait, aren't either of you going to ask for a reward?" Their enthusiasm left Yae Miko momentarily dumbfounded.
"Reward? We can actually get a reward?"
After all, the youkai were released because the Rift Hounds had damaged the Sacred Sakura Tree. And the Rift Hounds… most likely attacked it to avenge their leader.
When Paimon learned of this, she felt as if she and Lumine were both branded with sinner marks—running around just to clean up the mess they'd caused. How could they even think of asking for payment?
"The sales of Miraculous Adventures of the Traveler are excellent. You've both earned quite a bit of Mora in royalties."
"A lot of Mora?! If you're willing to hand it over, we'd be more than happy to accept it!"
Yae Miko waved her hand to dismiss Paimon, then turned to Victor Wang. "Victor, please deliver a message to that old tanuki sealed in Chinju Forest—his age should be close to mine by now. Just tell him: 'The Grand Narukami Shrine will soon host the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons from five hundred years ago.' Whether he comes or not is up to him."
"Understood."
…
The clear night sky above the Grand Narukami Shrine was soon filled with ethereal youkai. They circled the bright moon, their light rippling like waves. As the spirit-gathering ritual reached completion, those ripples finally swallowed the moon entirely.
Though nothing visible stood before them, those at the shrine could hear the faint echoes of drums and flutes, cups clinking in toasts—a grand banquet unfolding in sound alone. The shrine maidens had all been sent down the mountain, leaving only Hanachirusato and Yae Miko standing side by side.
By the time Victor Wang and Lumine returned after dealing with the monsters below, the banquet of the youkai was nearing its end.
"What a noisy, yet brave bunch. Even in the cruelest battles, they met their end without sorrow or confusion. Such a shame… time is fleeting."
Yae Miko stepped into the prepared magic circle, holding a pink gohei wand. With a graceful motion, she waved it lightly. A beam of light shot upward, and the voices of the celebrating youkai gradually quieted, their conversations fading into gentle farewells.
Paimon, who had been frightened earlier by the dark clouds shrouding the moon, suddenly felt reluctant to see them go. "They… already have to leave?"
Victor Wang looked up at the large, belatedly arriving phantom of a tanuki in the sky and said softly, "All feasts must come to an end."
"Yes… If you're feeling reluctant, why not send them off with us? Repeat after me: 'Oh, Hakushin, cause of this enchantment…'"
Hanachirusato was the first to move. Victor Wang, Lumine, and Paimon followed her lead—raising their hands diagonally before their chests, closing their eyes, and chanting, "Oh, Hakushin, cause of this enchantment, In reverence I perform this rite…"
"To be a guiding light…"
"Your unrivaled power, will be honored eternally."
In the darkness behind their closed eyelids, tiny points of light appeared. They grew larger, drifting upward. When they opened their eyes again, those lights were truly rising from the ground.
Not only at the Grand Narukami Shrine—in Inazuma City and even on Ritou—people who believed in The Secret Spells of Lady Kitsune and the legend of the Moonless Night were lending their strength.
"Oh, Hakushin, cause of this enchantment, In reverence I perform this rite. To be a guiding light. Your unrivaled power, will be honored eternally."
The light points merged into glowing streams that flowed toward the shrine's sky, gathering as one.
"Urakusai, you once asked if I've been doing well. I truly have been happy every day… Yet, watching you all leave now, I can't help feeling… a little lonely." Yae Miko drew Hanachirusato close, gently patting her head. "Only a little, though."
"What are you doing…"
"Heh, I said this was a gathering of youkai memories. As a memory of Kitsune Saiguu herself, you could have appeared in her form—but you refused."
"I was just thinking… I should've disappeared with the others, yet I alone survived. Isn't that… selfish of me?"
"Then go join them."
"…No."
"Hehe. Remember this—you're alive for the sake of those who couldn't be."
The gentle flow of light dispersed the dark clouds formed by the youkai, until only a lone tanuki, disguised as a memory fragment, remained. It scratched its head forlornly, then vanished with a soft poof, leaving only the full moon hanging in the sky.
"Feels like Lady Miko was a little different today," Paimon whispered.
"A few days ago, when Ei saw those memory fragments, she was also a little different," Lumine murmured.
"And Hanachirusato seemed a little different when she saw them too," Victor Wang added quietly, keeping the formation balanced.