Yuzuki Mikage was once a happy young girl, but fate had dealt her a cruel blow.
Her father died in an accident, and her mother, overwhelmed by exhaustion, fell seriously ill and passed away soon after. Barely ten years old, Yuzuki was ostracized by her classmates and eventually died of starvation, alone in her home.
The only thing she held in her arms was a teddy bear her father had given her.
Such was her despair and resentment that, upon becoming a lost soul, she was unwilling to leave the world of the living.
Even Yato, who had witnessed countless tragedies, found his eyes stinging as these memories flooded his mind.
There might be many people in the world with even more tragic stories, but Yato was moved by Yuzuki because, once a name is bestowed, a deep and unbreakable bond, an eternal tie, is forged between them.
Looking at the long sword in his hand, Yato spoke softly, "The vessel's name is Fū. The human name is Yuzuki. From this day forward, live your days with me."
As he called her name, the long sword gradually transformed into a small girl wearing a white kimono.
Her hair was short, barely reaching her shoulders, and her large eyes were filled with innocent wonder.
Looking at Yato, she gave a sweet smile and said, "Onii-chan, can you take me home? Though... I think I've forgotten where my home is."
Yato knelt down, looking into her pure, wide eyes. "Fūki, my name is Yato. I am your master. I called you from the far shore to become my Regalia. From now on, you shall serve me."
"Mm... so, onii-chan, are you actually my family?"
"Yeah. You could say that."
"Hooray! Fūki has a home!" The little girl suddenly lunged into Yato's arms, hugging him tightly.
When Hiyori walked over and saw this, she couldn't help but offer a reminder: "Yato, that's at least a three-year sentence, you know."
"What?! I'm a God! Human laws don't apply to me! Wait… who would have improper intentions toward a little girl anyway?!" Yato stood up. Fūki seemed to have decided he was her person, clinging to him like a koala.
"Just a reminder."
Hiyori softened her expression and leaned in toward Fūki, speaking gently. "Your name is Fūki, right? You're so cute. My name is Hiyori, Hiyori Iki. Can onee-chan give you a hug?"
Perhaps it was a matter of aesthetics. Fūki looked at Yato, then at Hiyori, and decisively abandoned Yato to dive into Hiyori's arms.
"Hahaha, such a good girl!" Hiyori planted a big kiss on Fūki's cheek, making the girl giggle uncontrollably from the tickling.
Yato pursed his lips and glanced at the silently standing Ditto. "Your hand needs to be purified with holy water. Come with me to a nearby shrine."
Ditto raised its palm, which had turned completely purple, and shook its head. "No need. I'll just go back and have my aniki help me."
"Fine, suit yourself." Yato knew he had that Aosora behind him, who would surely have a solution, so he didn't meddle further.
"Can a child this small really be a Regalia?" Ditto asked.
Hiyori shared the sentiment. "Fūki is so small. Are you really going to take her to slay monsters? That can't be good for her growth."
"I had no choice. It was an emergency. Now that I've bestowed the name, I will never abandon her."
Yato gave a helpless smile. "At least Fūki seems very well-behaved. She was quite easy to use when I was cutting down that monster just now. As for her growth, we'll take that slowly."
"I don't really know what you guys are talking about, but Fūki will work hard!" Fūki said, clenching her small fists.
"Good. We'll work hard together."
"Mhm!"
The two looked at each other and shared a grin.
"I won't interfere with the fighting, but I won't let Fūki wander the streets and sleep in the rain with you," Hiyori said, hugging Fūki tighter.
"I'll be the one to raise Fūki. I'll teach her well."
Yato remembered his previous Regalia had left him precisely because she hated his nomadic lifestyle. He let out a sigh. "Fine, have it your way. You take care of Fūki day-to-day."
"Leave it to me! I'll raise her until she's healthy and chubby."
Hiyori said happily, "Fūki, you're going to live with me. Are you happy?"
"Happy!" Clearly, Fūki liked Hiyori very much; her face, still holding a bit of baby fat, beamed with a genuine smile.
"Then let's go home!" Hiyori prepared to leave with Fūki in her arms.
Fūki rested her head on Hiyori's shoulder. Watching Yato walk away in the opposite direction, looking lonely and solitary, she suddenly cried out, "What about Yato? Isn't Yato staying with us?"
"Yato has somewhere else to go. He won't be staying with us."
"No! I want Yato too! He's Fūki's family!" With a sudden burst of strength, Fūki wriggled out of Hiyori's arms and ran toward Yato.
"Be a good girl, Fūki. Listen to Hiyori-neechan," Yato said, trying to look stern.
"I don't want to! I want to stay with Yato!"
"Don't you want Hiyori-neechan anymore?"
"I want Hiyori-neechan too! Can't we all live together?"
The sight of Fūki's teary eyes nearly melted Yato's heart. He looked at Hiyori expectantly. "I..."
"Fine, fine. Yato, you come to my house too. But I'm warning you: behave yourself, or else..." Hiyori cracked her knuckles menacingly.
"Understood!" Yato agreed instantly, making repeated promises.
"Yato can stay with us! Yay!" Fūki's tears turned to smiles, and she happily spun around in circles while holding Yato's hand.
"Honestly..." Watching this, Hiyori couldn't help but laugh as well.
"We're going home. Sensei, you should go back and get treated early," she said, waving to Ditto.
"Okay."
Ditto, having finished watching the drama, gave a nod and turned to leave.
Shortly after, the three of them set off for Hiyori's house, walking down the street like a family of three.
"By the way, why do you call that guy 'Sensei'?" Yato asked.
"Eh? Didn't I tell you? I'm learning martial arts from him." Hiyori's free hand struck out like a flash of lightning to show Yato.
"See? Once I master it, I can take down monsters with ease."
"I suggest you don't fight in that form."
"Why? Because of the 'Blight' infection?"
"That's part of it, but more importantly..." Yato's expression became serious. "That thing behind you isn't a tail. It's the cord connecting your body and soul. If it's damaged, you'll die."
"No way... am I 'wired'?"
"Is that the part you should be worried about?" Yato deadpanned.
"Anyway, now that I have a Regalia, I don't need you doing dangerous things. So, give up on the idea of fighting."
"What? No fair!" Hiyori was dejected.
"It's okay, Fūki will protect you!" Fūki said, patting her little chest.
"Okay, thank you, Fūki."
"What about me? Why don't you thank me?"
"Because Yato is pretty much useless without Fūki. No matter how you look at it, Fūki is the impressive one. Yato is just the tool."
"What?! I won't stand for this!"
"Hehehe."
Watching the two bicker, Fūki wore a blissful smile.
…
Ditto returned to the detective agency and met Aomori, who had just come back from Miko's house after filming the short videos. Ditto told him everything that had happened that night.
"Yato found a Regalia? And it's not a boy? My presence really has changed things for them."
Aomori considered it. Meeting Yukine was supposed to be a matter of pure coincidence anyway, so a change wasn't that surprising.
What felt strange was how easily the timeline had shifted. Yukine was, after all, a significant character.
"Is it because this is a merged world?"
But that wasn't his main focus for now. After a brief thought, he brushed it aside.
"Show me your hands."
Ditto placed its two purple-stained arms in front of Aomori.
"So this is the infection? How does it feel?"
"It hurts a bit, and it's draining my energy. It feels like it would grow on its own if left for too long."
"Mhm. Let me heal you first."
Aomori gripped its hands. Under the surge of Holy Light, the purple color dissipated at a speed visible to the eye.
"Nothing special. Doesn't seem like much to worry about."
In the original series, it was something that could be cleared with simple holy water.
After checking that there were no other abnormalities in Ditto's body, Aomori followed up with a question: "Did you record Yato's movements from back then?"
"Mhm." Ditto nodded. It had intentionally drawn out the fight with the monster just to observe Yato's movements in secret to complete Aomori's task.
It immediately transformed into Yato, perfectly mimicking his movements, demeanor, words, and even the flow of energy from that moment.
"Very good." Aomori now had a clear grasp of the process. Once he found some lost souls to experiment on, he should be able to master it.
He didn't necessarily need to complete the final step of the ritual; as long as he finished the preceding stages, Aomori would know if it worked.
He sent Ditto off to rest while he pondered his future plans alone.
"As for the mission, forming bonds with people is being handled by the shrine, the detective agency, and the website, a three-pronged approach. That shouldn't be an issue. As for followers, I have a general idea. if it succeeds, I can gain a batch of followers instantly. Completing the mission is a safe bet."
"But I'm lacking in terms of resources and Points. Although I've cleared many evil spirits around Miko, I haven't gained many Points."
It was likely because Aomori's current strength was too high. Evil spirits that were too far below his level only yielded a tiny amount of Points. After all this time, he hadn't even reached 10,000, and a large portion of that came from that mountain-sized black sphere.
"Should I be more aggressive and look for stronger monsters to farm?"
For example, the numerous gods in Takamagahara from Noragami, or the various villains from Mob Psycho 100. If he was bold enough to "farm" Mob, he'd definitely get a ton of Points.
"It's doable, but I need to plan carefully and execute it flawlessly."
Tomorrow would be the tenth day since arriving in the dungeon. He needed to settle the follower mission first.
Fortunately, this time the target was quite obvious and should be easy to find.
…
Yulia felt quite troubled.
She thought she had finally found a Master. She thought that by getting her hands on the Master's notes, she could easily become strong and become a Great Psychic Master.
But... why?
"Why can't I understand this?!"
Last night, Yulia had stayed up all night clutching the notes the Godmother gave her. Aside from some basic common-sense concepts, she couldn't make heads or tails of what the rest meant.
"Why couldn't it be written in a more easy-to-understand way?"
If she didn't understand anything, the Godmother would surely be disappointed and might even expel her from the tutelage.
"That's terrifying. I absolutely cannot let that happen!"
After school in the afternoon, Yulia walked home. The thought of going back to read those notes made her sigh involuntarily.
But there was no way around it; to avoid being expelled, she had to double her efforts.
Perhaps it was her constant sighing that attracted a person wearing a mask with a smiling face pattern.
"Little girl, are you troubled by something?"
"I am, but it's none of your business, is it?" Toward strangers, Yulia was always cold.
Rebuffed, the masked person didn't get angry. Instead, they said with a chuckle, "I know. It's trouble with your studies, isn't it?"
"Mhm, I guess so." Yulia's expression turned more serious.
He can see my troubles at a glance. Could it be that this strange masked person isn't an ordinary human?
"Then it's simple. If you want to solve your troubles, follow me. This is a blessing that ordinary people don't get to experience, you know."
Ordinary people don't get to experience it? So he really isn't an ordinary human? Is it a secret gathering between psychics? How did they find me? Of course, they've been observing me in secret for a long time, and seeing that I meet the criteria for membership, they came to invite me!
She wouldn't miss out on something like this. Plus, she might be able to pick up some simpler paranormal knowledge from them.
"Fine. Let me see how you plan to solve my troubles." Yulia agreed.
"Hehe, it will definitely be in a way you never expected."
The strange tone of voice combined with that mask gave off an indescribable sense of eeriness.
But Yulia just gave a slight smile; she wasn't that easily scared.
"Follow me."
"Mhm."
Yulia followed the masked person to a large building and took the elevator down.
"We are a recently established religious group called 'LOL'."
"A religion?" Yulia smirked. Using religion as a front, huh? Pretty clever.
"It was founded single-handedly by our leader, Dimple. Everyone has moved toward a new life under his leadership."
Dimple? What a weird name. He must be the strongest psychic among them. I wonder who's stronger, him or Master Reigen. Yulia nodded, signaling she understood.
Reaching the third basement floor, the elevator doors opened, and the masked person led Yulia out.
"Welcome to LOL!"
In the vast underground floor, many people wearing smiling masks were gathered.
Seeing the hundreds of people standing before her, Yulia felt a bit overwhelmed. This was different from what she had envisioned.
Anyway, this is too many people. Are they all psychics? No, that can't be right. The real psychics must be hidden among them, using ordinary people to muddy the waters. The organizer is quite cautious.
While she was thinking, Yulia was led by the masked person onto a high platform. Beside her were two other people who both looked completely dejected.
What's the deal with this?
"Next, please welcome our adorable leader, Dimple!"