Novel Vol 9 Ch 7 (The Final Truth)

(source)

Apologies for the long wait. Below is my translation of Volume 9 Chapter 7. Next, I will translate Vol 9 Ch 8 (where Aoi & the Tenjin-ya crew set a rescue mission for Ōdanna-sama), and then Vol 10 Ch 5 (where she takes him out of the prison). Then I will go back to finishing Volumes 7 and 8. The title of this chapter is actually “The Key to Open the Final Truth”, but to make it shorter, I shortened it as “The Final Truth” for the article title.

To read my translation in other languages, check this tips. Please refrain from posting my translations elsewhere. If you need to quote it, please acknowledge my site for the quote, because translating from Japanese hardcopy texts to English is a really hard work...

I will delete this translation when there is an indication that the novel will be translated into English and I will replace it with the summary of the chapter.  Meanwhile, thank you for reading. With the world going crazy around us, I hope that this chapter brings even just a bit happiness in your life... Stay safe and healthy...

Volume 9 Chapter 7: The Key to Open the Final Truth

P233

“Forgive me, Ōdanna-sama… forgive me…”

How stupid I have been.

Alone, I lay down on the temple ground and cry myself out. I feel ashamed and regretful that I couldn’t tell him anything. 

I am the only one left behind here. No Yōto soldiers in sight. Ōdanna-sama was also already taken away; he is no longer with me. 

“Why the sorrow, Aoi?”

There was a voice. The voice of a girl, ringing like a bell. However, it also sounds cold and dignified. I lift my crying face and turn towards the front shrine. There, I saw a child enveloped in golden glitters^. 

“Ōgondōji-sama…”

Then, I hung my head in front of her.

“I knew none of these things.”

P234-235

“That’s to be expected. That kid told you nothing, possibly because he didn’t want you to know.”

Though I know that she’s not blaming me, Ōgondōji-sama’s voice pierces my heart.

“Then, why did he tell me about those things just now? It’s not that he planned to go back to Tenjin-ya!”

“Who knows. I also don't know the answer to that question. I don’t know what that kid is thinking.”

“But I heard that you are akin to Ōdanna-sama’s foster parent. If that’s so, why did you take out his psychic essence from his body? You wouldn’t have cared about what happened to me, would you? It must have been painful for you to shave off his lifespan, right?” 

It would have been painful for you, Ōdanna-sama’s mother figure, who raised and watched over him.

“… Naturally. That’s why, in the beginning, I actually hated^^ you a bit.”

Abruptly, Ōgondōji-sama laughed sarcastically as she closes her eyes. The wind blew her gold eyelashes away, casting shadows on her sparking cheeks. She somewhat cut a lonely figure as she slowly opens her eyes. Crouching down, she touches a small flower blooming on the temple ground. 

“Nevertheless, that kid - despite him being the sullied jyaki – that kid still had someone he wanted to protect. He wanted me to know that much.  He wanted to do it. Just like I was the only one who accepted him for the way he was, protecting you became the most important thing for him. To protect such a frail person, so fleeting that she would wither and die if touched.”

P235

Then she stands up and straightens her back firmly. In her usual commanding tone, she looks down at me, who is still crouching down weeping, and point-blank says, “Stand up”. 

I couldn’t resist her forceful words, thus I forced my exhausted body to move. Ōgondōji-sama’s amethyst eyes catch my gaze.

“Aoi. There’s one last truth that the kid failed to tell you.”

“Is that… could that be Ōdanna-sama’s true name?”

“Yep. That’s something the kid had hidden since long ago. You need to find it. Now, take out the key.”

“… The key…”

My eyes snap open. Of course. The black key that I’ve been carrying with me.

I take out the key that has been hanging on my neck, remembering what Ōdanna-sama said about it once.  He said that, should I have something I want to know about, I should find something to open with this key.

“Aoi. That key is the key to unlock what Ōdanna has hidden. The past, the thoughts, and even the name, all are sealed in a place that can be unlocked with that key.”

Ōgondōji-sama explains in a detached manner; her words like droplets falling into a quiet pond. 

P236

The ripples spread, setting my heart aflutter. 

“Aoi, you have actually been there several times. For instance…”

I followed Ōgondōji-sama’s line of sight. There, at the backyard of the shrine, is a small door sealed with a rope; its keyhole looking somewhat unusual. 

Although Ōgondōji-sama didn’t say anything, I followed the urges of my heart and went up the hall of worship. I approached the door and inserted the key I have into the keyhole. 

The key turns. Then, the door slowly opens.

Behind the door, there is a sight familiar to me. It was the elegant Western-style room^ I once found myself in when I got lost in the basement of Tenjin-ya. 

“Where in the world am I now?”

“This was the parlour where Ōdanna and I would seek refuge. One cannot find this place anywhere in this world, but you can enter it from any place as long as you have that key.”

The room is full of antique furniture, coloured by ornate photo frames, both mounted on the walls or standing on surface, in various shapes, decorating countless photographs of a diverse array of individuals.

There are group photos of Tenjin-ya employees and photos of the younger version of Grandpa. Also, one of Ōdanna-sama and Ōgondōji-sama…

P237

“Oh. This painting… I’ve seen it before.”

No. It’s likely that I wasn’t aware of its presence back then.

Before me is a painting of a small, black-haired young boy. It’s not a photograph; rather, it’s an oil painting. The one and only painting in this room. In this painting, Ōgondōji-sama is drawn next to the boy. She also looks like a little girl here, but instead of the current bobbed hairstyle she’s donning right now, her golden hair in the painting is waist-long. Together, she and Ōdanna-sama look like a little girl and her little brother…

The black-haired boy was thin, his forelock long, yet behind that long forelock I can see the insightful^ crimson eyes that evoked nostalgic feelings in me.

Source: Twitter, but Ōgondōji-sama’s hair should be waist-long and,
originally, it should have been an oil painting

“Is this… Ōdanna-sama?”

“Yep. I had the painting made shortly after I broke that kid’s seal. Having been sealed deep underground, he reverted back to a child’s form, his eyes hollow, devoid of life. That was because he only breathed in the miasma, in that deep, cold and lonely place for 500 long years^^, thus feeling bitter and resentful.”

“……………………….”

“That kid, he might have said that he had no memories at all of the time he was sealed, but it was a lie, you know. That kid woke up in that place. Therefore, no one but him knows the horror of such a dark and sealed place*.”

P238

“Oh…”

I held my trembling body. I grit my teeth, telling myself not to cry. Not yet. There are things I still need to know. 

“Now, open the next door, Aoi.”

With her slender fingers and without averting her gaze from me, Ōgondōji-sama points at the wall right beside me. There was a Western-style door that seemed to lead to the next room. However, I know it. This door is actually connected to a different place.  With determination, I put my hand on the door knob. Yet, since it is locked as expected, I insert the black key.

Click… the turning key seemed to make a heavier sound than before. 

The door is open and,

“Oh…!”

I close my eyes tightly in the bright sunlight. I slowly open my eyes to find a square space separated by high walls.

In the middle of a quiet place with wild flowers, there was a black dome-shaped stone monument made of the same material as the key.

“This… I once got lost here in Yōto.”

P239

It was the place where I felt like I saw Ōdanna-sama in his jyaki form^…

“Yep. This is a grave that everyone in Kakuriyo has completely forgotten. This is the resting place of that kid’s progenitor. Once the battle for this land’s hegemony was lost, the last patriarch of the forgotten tribe of Setsuki was interred here.”

As if to mourn that patriarch, Ōgondōji-sama closed her eyes for a moment. Does she know that patriarch^^?

“Aoi, you once saw that kid’s real form here, right? That is, his form as a jyaki, the one that was sealed underground and had to inhale the miasma. He hid his real name and learned the art of changing his appearance the way no other jyaki could, and thus he obtained the form as the current Master.”

“……………..”

“However, in his case, since he no longer has his psychic essence, the form you saw was nothing more than the miasma clad in his body. … He also consumed that miasma, albeit little by little.”

“Is… is that so?”

I was slightly relieved to think that he would eventually stop consuming the miasma. However, Ōgondōji-sama somehow shakes her head, as if to say that it was too early for me to feel relieved.

“However, because that miasma had taken over Ōdanna-sama’s psychic power,  I had been supplying his body

P240

with a replacement essence. Yet by doing so, I ended up preserving the miasma. Since the miasma is also poisonous to the body, if Ōdanna keeps inhaling them, he will die^. His remaining lifespan now is about 100 years."

“A hundred years…left?” 

That’s a very short lifespan for a daiyōkai. Earlier, when he was talking with the Bunmon Director, Ōdanna-sama laughed off his lifespan, but at that time, he might already accept the situation of his own lifespan. 

To rescue me, that man’s life has been significantly shortened. I firmly grab my own chest, tortured by an immense sense of guilt that is overflowing in me. 

After knowing the back story, Ōdanna's action of bracing the miasma in the Dragon Palace with Aoi (anime ep 20)
makes me admire him more. Without his psychic essence, the miasma is also dangerous to him.

“But hear me, Aoi. You can considerably lengthen Ōdanna’s lifespan. Your power makes it possible to do so, you know.”

“My… power?”

“Yep. Your cooking restores psychic power. You can increase the psychic power of the cooking ingredients, hence helping any ayakashi who eats your food to increase their psychic power.”

Upon listening to Ōgondōji-sama’s words, I feel like a small light shining my way.

“You mean that … I can return the favour to Ōdanna-sama?”

Cooking is the very unique thing I can do. The only thing only I can do. 

“However, that path requires a big commitment from you. Your cooking is an art on its own.

P241

Understanding the target of your art makes it work more effectively. For that purpose, I want you to open this door in front of you, to discover the kid’s true name^ he has left behind in the past.”

Before I knew it, Ōgondōji-sama is holding a tengu fan in her hand.  I received the tengu fan from the Tengu Matsuba-sama, but when I was kidnapped by the Orio-ya crew, Ōgondōji-sama confiscated the tengu fan. She holds it out to me; I naturally accepts it. 

“I cannot go henceforth.”

And then, like a shadow, she remains by the black door of the gravestone. The next door has appeared already; it stands quietly below the high wall on my right side. An ominous door with a gigantic dark red… amulet pasted on it. I’m gripped with fear, profusely sweating unwanted sweats.

“Umm, Ōgondōji-sama, who are you for the jyaki… I mean, Setsuki?”

I asked once before opening the door. 

“I am the one who promised them prosperity. However, I couldn’t protect them. Now… I am but a grave keeper.”

P242

She answered with a whisper, as if chanting a spell. However, in those words which I heard clearly, she gently told me the answer.

“Well now, off you go, Aoi…. Rescue that kid.”

Prompted by Ōgondōji-sama’s voice, I lightly unlocked the door and proceeded further. With a resolution, I open the next door and step in. 

“Ah…!”

The ambience beyond this door is different from what I’ve experienced so far. 

First, I walk through a wasteland shrouded in an intense heat, groping around as I go. When the red fog gradually clears up, I find myself in a gloomy place.

“This is…”

Although the place isn’t cold, I couldn’t stop trembling, such that I hold my body in my arms as I look around. The place is like a dark cave, with lukewarm, faintly glittering, red hot water gushing up from my feet. It’s like one of those red hot springs at Tenjin-ya. 

P243

There was a partly broken, egg-shaped boulder in the middle of the cave and a small doll nearby.

“Did you call me to let you out?”

“… help me out of here. Lemme out. Please.”

“You are already out of the cage, you know.  I smashed it and dragged you out.”

“I hate this place. I don’t wanna be here.”

“I know. You look terrible; the miasma has been gnawing at you, eating away your body. … Now, stop crying. I’ll take you out of here.”

Ōgondōji-sama, and an infant.

Although Ōgondōji-sama looks like a small child, the black-haired oni child looks even younger. Clad in the black fog, the thin boy has a definitive jyaki form… but I immediately sensed that the child was Ōdanna-sama. Perhaps this is a memory of the encounter between Ōdanna-sama and Ōgondōji-sama. Ōgondōji-sama carries the jyaki child on her back, wading slowly across the knee-deep vermillion hot spring towards the dry ground. 

“I’m…hungry. I haven’t eaten anything for a long, long time. Only coldness and bitterness envelop me. Only darkness, which I can’t eat.”

P244

“When we get out on the surface, you don’t have to take in and see miasma anymore. Instead, you can eat delicious food. … Ah, speaking of which, I do actually have a snack.”

From her kimono breast pocket, Ōgondōji-sama took out kintsuba azuki cake and dorayaki. When the oni child sees it, he snatches it and devours it right away.

“I don’t have anything else right now, but later, I’ll give you your favourite food. Do you have any?”

The oni child stopped eating. He looks down and softly said, “Egg”.

“Ooooh… egg.”

“People in Utsushiyo said that if you boil or fry eggs^, you will burn in hell and will meet the same fate as the eggs. However, that is a human tale. Me and my oni friend often ate eggs. But here, it’s like in hell. Turns out, it might have been my punishment.”

“Ahahahahaha! That’s true, there’s such a text in Utsushiyo, eh. Nihon Ryōiki, The Annals of Miraculous Events in Japan, I think… However, since you’re an oni, that shouldn’t be a problem. Time has change anyway now. Now, even humans eat eggs. Later, I’ll get some fresh eggs and have them cooked.”

Upon learning the child’s favourite food, Ōgondōji-sama smiles in satisfaction. Then, after Ōdanna-sama finished eating the snack, Ōgondōji-sama touches his cheek and makes him looking at her. 

“What’s your name?”

“Me. My name is… my name is _____________ XXXXX.”

P245

Although the oni child moved his lips, I couldn’t hear the part where he said his name. 

“But long ago, someone told me that I shouldn’t tell anyone my true name. I can’t remember who that was though.”

“… Is that so…”

Ōgondōji-sama laughs, but it sounds more like a sad sigh^. 

“In that case, we should keep the name secret between you and I. From now on, we absolutely do not say that name.  When we’re back on the surface, once we conceal your name, we can also conceal the fact that you’re a jyaki. Don’t worry…I’ll teach you how to do that. I will create for you a world where you can live, XXXXX. That’s why, don’t despair^^.”

The scene suddenly changed.

This time, the place is so different from the hellish place I saw earlier. This time, I’m in a room in a Western-style building, full of antique furniture. Ōgondōji-sama and the well-dressed oni child are drinking tea from tea cups. That child is Ōdanna-sama, who was rescued earlier from the underground cave. He has evidently learned how to conceal his miasma-infected jyaki form, for he now looks like a normal oni. 

P246

“Speaking of which. I think one day you should take over my creation Tenjin-ya as the Master.”

“The… Master?”

“The proprietor of the inn, you see.”

“But isn’t it your thing, Ōgondōji-sama?”

“I’m the Head Proprietess. Well, I still take the responsibility as the Master until you’re of age, you see.”

“I… will manage the inn?”

The oni child puts down his tea cup with confidence. Upon seeing his demeanour, Ōgondōji-sama lets out a quiet laughter. 

“An inn is a place for customers to heal, to alleviate their sorrows and fatigue. If you want such a change, you might as well do your best to heal someone. It might take a hundred or five hundred years,… but I think those who have been healed will definitely want to come to such an inn again. An inn might also be just the first place for a random experience, but it can also be the place where you come back repeatedly… in search of healing^. We ayakashi live long. Hence, make such a place for them to come home to.”

“I… will make a place for anyone to heal.”

The oni child lifts his face. His red eyes tremble, reflecting his hope and anxiety for the future.

P247-248

“Can I do that? This me, that everyone hates.”

“In the Land of the Oni Gate, for sure no one but you can do that. First thing first; you should have some friends. Friends who can pursue the ideals together.”

Then Ōdanna-sama invites Yōto government official Byakuya-san and researcher Dr Saraku as employees for the inexperienced inn called Tenjin-ya. The two employees call the oni child “The Master” even before the latter assumes that position. The two of them might have taken the responsibility of watching Ōdanna-sama closely until he grows up to be someone deserving of that position. 

From the fragmented memories, I got the feeling that Ōgondōji-sama was the mighty mother, Byakuya-san was the strict yet truthful father, and Dr Saraku was just like a sweet grandfather to Ōdanna-sama. Ōdanna-sama grows up fast under their care.

When he already grew up to be a gallant and handsome young oni, Ōdanna-sama enrolled in the Bunmon University, where he met the current director Natsuha and the current Hachiyō Zakuro-san. It seems there was a burly young man, his hair dense and spiky, in the same group. Is that… could he be Kurogai Shogun^?!

If that young ayakashi was Kurogai Shogun, I now comprehend why  they interacted as old friends when he took Ōdanna-sama away.

The still-innocent Ōdanna-sama and his former classmates… 

Later, they would walk their paths to become Hachiyō and Shogun. I wonder if they knew at that time that their relationships would evolve such that they would be at each other’s throats, debating important matters…

P248

“As expected, his demeanour comes across as a bit pompous. I wonder if that’s okay, Byakuya^.”

“Because he’s the Master, that should be fine.”

The oni child grew up from being a child to a teenager, all the way to adulthood to become Tenjin-ya’s Master. I feel that that Ōdanna-sama is similar to the current Ōdanna-sama. His appearance, his demeanour, and his presence, they are similar.

“Hehehe… Jinpachi, your demeanour makes me laugh!”

“Zakuro… you can’t use that name in Tenjin-ya, you know.”

It seems at this point in time, Ōdanna-sama invited his former classmate Zakuro-san to work at Tenjin-ya. Just like I am now, Zakuro-san was tying her kimono sleeves with tasuki^^. At this point in time, she was already a feminine* lady, but she did laugh a lot. 

The Ōdanna-sama whom I don’t know and the employees of the young Tenjin-ya. Unlike the grand inn that it is now, this Tenjin-ya was small and struggling, but it had a homey and cozy ambience. I am so jealous of them for experiencing this joy and sorrow together.

After a while, from this point onwards, Ōgondōji-sama and Zakuro-san disappeared from the scene. I assume that only Byakuya-san and Dr Saraku remained at Tenjin-ya. 

P249

The scene changed once more.

It is now a spring day when the wind is blowing strongly.

“Tsubaki Shirō? Is that your name?”

“Yep. You’re the Master of the inn called Tenjin-ya, right? I heard about you from the ayakashi in Utsushiyo.  An oni with airs and graces^, eh.”

It is Ōdanna-sama’s private chamber in an airship. Upon finding the stately form of a sleeping young human boy here, Ōdanna-sama and the rest of the Tenjin-ya ayakashi crew are exceedingly flabbergasted.

This young human boy is the young Tsubaki Shirō.

The young rascal Tsubaki Shirō

“Ahahahahahahaha!!!”

Rough and uncouth, he is wearing an unbuttoned school uniform. Laughing out loud scarily, he jumps out of the room, wearing a pair of high wooden clogs that make a lot of noise. Then, as he goes out to the airship deck, upon seeing the ethereal world of ayakashi that are different from his world Utsushiyo, the boy couldn’t hide his excitement.

“So cooooool!!! So this is Kakuriyo the Hidden World!!!”

“You human brat, what do you know about Kakuriyo?!”

Behind Tsubaki Shirō, Ōdanna-sama begins to ask questions while examining the human youngster with his cold oni eyes.

P250

“Well, yeah. From the Utsushiyo ayakashi, I heard about the tricks to get into Kakuriyo. Yeah, so apparently, there is a way to board the ayakashi ships coming from Kakuriyo. Surely this is a free of charge way of coming here.”

“What nonsensical words you’re saying. This is the world of ayakashi. Humans like you will end up being eaten immediately here. … I can overlook it this time, but you go back to Utsushiyo this instance!”

“What are you saying, the Master of Tenjin-ya?! What man wouldn’t be thrilled to see a world unknown to him right before his eyes? What man would not be that adventurous? Me, I definitely don’t feel that Utsushiyo is my home world. Here, I feel like I can have my ambitions here.”

Upon hearing Tsubaki Shirō’s youthful remarks, words fail Ōdanna-sama. However, as if thinking of something, he chuckles, then he laughs out loud before long.

“Ahahahahahaha!! I can’t believe it! I never heard such stupid lines! However, you somehow make me nostalgic. You remind me of my forgotten youthful heart!”

Nostalgic. I didn’t overlook Ōdanna-sama’s brief expression as he said that. His face became soft, as if he once again became a youth who once dreamed of such an adventure. 

“Hey listen. I have no place to stay for tonight. If you’re the manager of the inn, let me stay overnight, yo!”

“What an impudent human. Do you have money?”

P251

“I ain't got no such a thing. I’m a freeloader! In addition to letting me stay overnight free of charge, you can promise me daily necessities like food and clothing too. In exchange, I’ll be your bodyguard. Though I look like this, I’m super strong against any ayakashi. I’m the strongest!”

“……………..”

Ōdanna-sama’s face looks disgusted, as if saying ‘who the heck is this unfounded, over-confident, beyond-help idiot?!’

I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!

“If it’s only guarding, we have our oniwaban^ already. Human child, due to compassionate reasons, you can stay at Tenjin-ya until the next schedule for the Rock Door to open to Utsushiyo. Once it’s open, return to your original world as soon as possible. Otherwise, I’ll eat you.”

“Hohoho! Can you really say those things…? Me, I’ve been following you at Utsushiyo, so I know you. At Utsushiyo, you eat this delicious food and that delicious food. You got entertained in Asakusa, and you had mysterious boxes of snacks! You’re also evil!”

Shirō is elbowing Ōdanna-sama. How rude.

However, Ōdanna-sama keeps his cool.

“… The truth is, since I’m such an eminence, it’s natural for me to be entertained. In addition, the snack boxes were just snack boxes. It was not a bribery.”

P252

“Aah…You fight back! Yo, Tenjin-ya employees. This is corruption, yo!”

“Since I’m an oni, a little vice is forgiven.”

“Eeehh… what’s this?!”

“In the first place, I can say that I am an earnest oni. Also, I’m stronger than you are. So, if it suits you, what’s your game here?”

“Oh! This is cool! We’re on!”

Ōdanna-sama might have jokingly asked Tsubaki Shirō – er, rather, Grandpa – to give up, but the latter becomes more determined. Despite lacking airs and graces, Grandpa folds his arms, trying to look cool and – to my astonishment – laughing out loud.

Oh, Grandpa. 

As it evolves, he fought a foolish fight against Ōdanna-sama. With his locational advantage, Ōdanna-sama won, but the two of them didn’t kill each other. In the end, they shook hands. 

What the heck was this? A sport? A match?

Nonetheless, Grandpa’s smiling face, evidently enjoying all these from the bottom of his heart, makes Ōdanna-sama bewildered. Something is amiss with his mood.

In the end, while receiving treatments to his bruises in the Tenjin-ya guestroom, Grandpa told Ōdanna-sama the following story.

P253

“Momotarō, Kintarō, Issunbōshi… Defeating oni is always a job for heroes! However, I hate pretending to be that kind of hero, you know. These legendary heroes, in the end, they don’t appreciate treasures and beauty. Big spenders are not a role model. We keep using spells to eradicate malignant spirits, as if they are not entities to be treated the way we treat humans.”

“You hate that kind of job… that kind of role? Is that why you escaped to Kakuriyo?”

“You got it. Me,  I regret my part in that dirty work. I just wanna do what’s good for me. Also, at times it’s better to play with ayakashi than to battle them to protect humans. For instance, to have my wounds treated, I can stay at such a luxurious ryokan for free, and I can soak myself in the medicinal onsen…”

“You… it can’t be. Could it be that you challenged me just to experience these?!”

“Well… how shall I put it…”

Tsubaki Shirō, who is excitingly waiting for his meals to be brought into the room, who is looking around for gorgeous waitresses. Utterly exasperated, Ōdanna-sama massages his forehead with his long oni claws.

“Although it’s ridiculous for me as an oni to worry about this: but don’t you have anyone back in Utsushiyo who worries about you being MIA?”

P254

“Well… how shall I put it… Well, they might be worried about me, but I’m cool with that.”

“Do you hate your family?”

“I don’t hate them,  but they are not important to me. If I can kill my own heart and get the ayakashi eradication job done, that would be great, but I couldn’t do that.  I couldn't care less whether it’s human or ayakashi, if I like that them, I wanna say that I like them. If I don’t like them, I just wanna send them flying. That’s all.”

“One day you’ll be the one sent flying, you know.”

“I often got that one too. I’d date girls here and there, and then I got hit here and there…”

“……………”

“You rather look like a womanizer yourself, if I should say so, Ōdanna of Tenjin-ya.” 

“I won’t do such dishonesty. Trust is Number One in the hospitality industry. I am not like you.”

“Ahahahahaha! Oh well, it’s true that ayakashi are earnest, eh? That’s one thing that… how shall I put it. Well, basically I definitely can’t stay put at one place. Staying in one place or being with only one person is the one thing I can’t understand, you know.”

Tsubaki Shirō. Since that point in time, my grandpa had been true to form… Carefree, doing only what he wanted, wherever the wind blows.

P255

Originally, although Ōdanna-sama seemed to think of Grandpa as a mere idiotic child, he gradually became attached to Grandpa. Soon, Grandpa led Ōdanna-sama around by the nose and they formed a long association that was overwhelming even by Kakuriyo standard.

-xxx-

As if in a movie, I was following Ōdanna-sama’s upbringing. Here, I also got to understand how Ōdanna-sama got acquainted with Grandpa. I‘m curious to know the rest of it. I wonder why Ōdanna-sama promised Grandpa something, and then the former came to my rescue somehow. I actually wanted to see that scene, but…

Let me out… Let me out of here…

I hear Ōdanna-sama’s voice from behind. Ōdanna-sama’s memories, unfolding like a movie in front of my eyes, disappeared in a sandstorm. As expected, a door appears once again.

P256

The same door. The same one where I parted with Ōgondōji-sama earlier. A heavy and sealed door with an amulet pasted on it. I gulped and opened that door with the key I brought with me.

… In the midst of a crimson fountain,  there is a black boulder with a crack on it. As I thought, this is the place where Ōdanna-sama was sealed long ago. Why am I here once more? A long time ago, Ōdanna-sama was rescued out of here. 

“Let me…out of here”

“Ōdanna-sama…?!”

Wading the crimson lukewarm fountain, I rushed toward the black boulder. However, I have no power to smash this stone. Unlike Ōgondōji-sama, I have no power to break it. When I peeked through the slight crack, I saw a jyaki, devoid of vigour, sitting at the darkest spot at the back inside the boulder. His hair is long, his robe tattered, he was skinny, but he is definitely a jyaki. This jyaki doesn’t have the form of an oni child. He… he’s undoubtedly Ōdanna-sama, at the current time, in his true form. 

“I hate this place. I don’t want to be here anymore. … I want to go home… to Tenjin-ya.”

I gasp. “I understand. No matter how, I’ll get you out of here.” 

I want to get you out of here. I want to take you home to Tenjin-ya. It’s unacceptable to have you imprisoned in such a place, Ōdanna-sama.

P257

However,

“…Get me out? You, the human? Aren’t you afraid of this form of mine?”

Unexpectedly, Ōdanna-sama laughs scornfully. Despite his earlier wishes, his voice is now cold, as if he has abandoned any hopes.

“I’m ugly, aren’t I? I’m scary, aren’t I? Well, this is the real me. Swallowed in the darkness. Just looking at me makes you scared. Even if I could return to Tenjin-ya, I don’t have a place to belong anymore…  You, you don’t even want to marry me like this.”

“That – that’s not true…!”

I pounded on the boulder wall and shook my head.

“That’s not true. That’s not true, Ōdanna-sama. I haven’t told you anything yet. You haven’t heard any of my thoughts!”

“So, you want to be my wife? Isn’t that your requital of my rescuing you^? Isn’t that just pity?”

That’s not it. That’s not it, Ōdanna-sama.

“However, in the first place, it actually came from you, Aoi.”

“Eh…?”

What did come from me?

“I’m… hungry. I’ve been hungry, all the time.”

P258

“Then, I’ll make you some meals. I’ll make you warm meals. Bento, and also your favourite tamago-yaki, I’ll make them every day! My meals can restore your psychic power. I’ll make sure that you get better in no time. I’ll do my best to restore your power^!”

That’s why, please get out of this place. Why are you still trapped in such darkness? I put my arm through the small crack and reach out to you. 

“Let’s go back home to Tenjin-ya together, Ōdanna-sama. Please take my hand.”

I want to take you out of here. Just like how once you rescued me from such a place. For that, there’s something important. You need to hear from me something important. And that is…

“It’s impossible, Aoi. You don’t even know my true name yet.” 

“………”

From behind the parting of his long hair, Ōdanna-sama’s deep crimson eyes glisten sluggishly as he intently watches my extended hands. 

“Surely the King will have me sealed in the underground darkness once more. When that time comes, you better forget everything. The promises, the days you spent with me, you better forget everything.

P259

I won’t marry you. … You are now free.”

Afterwards, without taking my hand, that jyaki dissolved into the deep darkness, only leaving a piece of folded paper in my hand.

What’s this? This is… the written oath. The written oath that Grandpa wrote long ago, vowing to marry me off to Ōdanna-sama. 

However, this oath now has the followings: 

“This betrothal is annulled by the Master of Tenjin-ya with the following given name.”

Oh, yes. Ōdanna-sama’s beautiful penmanship that I’ve seen several times now.

At the end of the contract, with a seemingly lonely existence, a name tugs my heart.

“Setsu”.

That’s his true name.

-TBC in Vol 9 Ch 8-

(but I will jump-translate to Vol 10 Ch 5 first where Aoi & the Tenjin-ya crew rescued Ōdanna-sama!)

Update 11 Sept 2021:

It seems I still 'need' to translate the last chapter of Volume 9 before we go to Vol 10 CH 5... and that's because the last chapter of Vol 9 truly shows how Aoi's decision in accepting Setsu and marrying him as he is crystallises. Plus, we get to read about O-Ryō, Akatsuki, Ginji, Dr Saraku etc banding together to rescue Ōdanna-sama as well there, so I think that chapter is important. Fingers crossed I can post the translation of Vol 9 Ch 8 in a fortnight. Apologies for this delay...

Translation notes

Following Kakuriyo Translation & Fan Translator By Choice, I put the page numbers of the original novel volumes (the Japanese version) in the translation to enable any readers who can read Japanese and have the books to examine the related pages. If the last sentence of a page goes over the next page, I will put a combined page number as an indication. 

I use mainly Jisho.org for Kanji searching, though at times Romajidesu.com and Nihongo-pro.com are used as well. I use Google Translator to have a rough guess of the meaning of phrases, but then I consult my trusted Japanese grammar book for the closer approximations of the meanings (the “Japanese the Manga Way” by Wayne P. Lammers – I would have otherwise tripped on nuances such as “kita”, “iku” and “okimasu”). I use The Jaded Network for SFX effect translations.

Seigo Nakao’s “Japanese-English English-Japanese Dictionary” has proven to be very useful as a companion to Jisho.org. To assist with grammar, I also use Naoko Chino’s “All About Particles”, Kakuko Shoji’s “Japanese Core Words and Phrases”, Kakuko Shoji’s “Common Japanese Collocations”, Kakuko Shoji’s “Basic Connections” and Kamiya Taeko’s “Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication”.

Specific translation notes

P233: ^ I translated “glitters” from 鱗粉 (scales). Verbatim, it means that Aoi saw a child enveloped in gold scales (鱗粉), scales being the ‘moth scales’. However, I imagine it as her seeing the child (Ōgondōji-sama) being enveloped in golden dust, speckles or glitters.

P234: ^ Ōgondōji-sama actually indeed calls Ōdanna-sama as “あの子” or ‘ano ko’ which is literally translated as “That kid”.

^^ I think this was the reason why Ōgondōji-sama lured Aoi from Ginji’s side during Aoi’s and Ginji’s visit to the Eastern Land. She disliked Aoi for the latter being the reason for Ōdanna-sama losing his psychic essence (which is basically his ayakashi heart). Ōgondōji-sama also hated that Aoi was oblivious to the good deeds that Ōdanna-sama had done to her (to Aoi, that is), hence Ōgondōji-sama lured Aoi out. Ōgondōji-sama  wanted to test Aoi resolve and at the same time, she also wanted to see whether her ‘son’ truly loved Aoi.

P236: ^ Anime episode 12.

P237: ^ The kanji for the adjective for the red eyes is 鋭い, surudoi, which can be translated as being perceptive, keen, astute, shrewd, discerning, sharp or even insightful. It’s not just a sharp, scary gaze. It’s a gaze that goes deep within you; Ōdanna-sama’s gaze.

^^ Guys, this is important. For a jyaki boy who had been abused for 500 years and he did not grow into a killing-spree jyaki or oni when Ōgondōji-sama released him, it’s a testament of how innately good Ōdanna-sama actually is. Good as in kind, compassionate.

* Does anyone else want to hug Ōdanna-sama after this? I do…

P239: ^ It would be back in vol 7 when Aoi tried to find the whereabouts of Ōdanna-sama, the chapter that I have not translated. I suspect it would be in Chapter 4 (The Mystery of Yōto).

^^ Could this patriarch be Ōgondōji-sama’s true love that she could not forget? She said so in the Ōdanna intermission chapter in Vol 9.

P240: ^ This is why Raijū's scheme is very evil. Ōdanna will simply die if he is sealed underground once again. He will be surrounded by miasma forever, and because he no longer has his psychic essence (and Ōgondōji-sama wouldn't be able to replenish his energy), he will simply die... yet, he surrendered himself anyway in Vol 9 Ch 6 to Kurogai Shogun, because he wants to save Tenjin-ya and Aoi.

 

p241: ^ I can understand why Aoi needs to know Ōdanna’s true name. To give a psychic context here, I used to do reiki (healing touch) every now and then. When I did reiki to others from a distance, knowing that person’s name helps me channeling the healing energy to that person. I think the concept is similar to this one. 

Of course, from the dramatic perspective, it’s also great for Aoi to learn of Ōdanna-sama’s true name. They love each other, after all.

P244: ^ IDK that, during the Heian era, people didn’t eat eggs. I suppose when you watched Edo jidai movies and series, they ate eggs e.g. tamagoyaki with delight, they even ate (still eat) raw eggs. Btw, I bet his oni friend is Sutendōji.

P245: ^ I wonder if the one who advised  Ōdanna-sama not to disclose his name was the last Setsuki leader. Seems like Ōgondōji-sama was not so surprised.

^^ Earlier in Vol 9 Prologue, Ōdanna was actually reminiscing about this part. 

p246: ^ The JP ver is 宿とは初めての体験を得るところでもあるが、繰り返し癒しを求めて戻って来る…帰って来る場所でもある。

Having been quite stressed lately, and having been lucky enough to travel to local isolated inns outside of my town, I understand what this sentence means. It brings me back to the time when I first experienced staying in a ryokan in Magome Gifu Japan, and also when I first had my onsen in Takayama Gifu. I just went to those places out of curiosity, but now I’ve been longing to return there for much needed rest, relaxation and healing…

P247: ^ I knew it… that Kurogai Shogun was Ōdanna-sama’s former college friend…

Btw, Kurogai was described as シンシン髪の大柄な青年, shinshin kami no ōgarana seinen

"A burly young man with a shin-shin hair-style", and I have no idea what shin-shin hair means. One of the kanji that appeared in Jisho is 津々 (gushing, overflowing), 森々(dense with trees), and 深々 (silent of the night, or piercing cold). I take it Kurogai’s hair was dense and spiky.

P248: ^ Since there is no honorific to Byakuya’s name, I think the person saying this is either Ōgondōji-sama or Dr Saraku. It’s not clear from the text.

^^ The JP ver is ザクロさんは今の私に近い、着物にたすき掛けをした姿でいた。

Which means that Zakuro was wearing a kimono and she also tied her kimono sleeves like Aoi (and Ginji) would, with a tasuki rope.

* I think in Vol 7 or 8 when Aoi first met Zakuro, the latter was described as a very beautiful lady, thus made Aoi felt inadequate. The fact that in Vol 8 Hatori babbled about how Zakuro was Ōdanna-sama’s college sweetheart didn’t help the case.

P249: ^ I translated ‘airs and graces’ from 偉そうな, erisōna, and I think I captured the essence correctly. CIIMW, of course. 

P251: ^ Oniwaban were spies working for the Edo shogunate. The name means the "guard of the inner garden". Sasuke-kun is an oniwaban.

P257: ^ The JP word is 恩返し、おんがえし, which is “requital of a favour (favor); repayment (of an obligation, kindness, etc.)”.

P258: ^ The JP ver is あなたを満たす力を、私が身につけるから

Anata o mitasu chikara o, watashi ga mi ni tsukerukara

‘mitasu’ means “to satisfy (conditions, one's appetite, etc.); to meet (e.g. demands); to fulfill; to gratify”. Hence, “Anata o mitasu chikara” = the power to fulfil or to satisfy you. I think Aoi meant that she will learn how to properly restore Ōdanna’s psychic power, particularly because Ōgondōji-sama earlier said that her cooking is or should be an art.