***

“That is a youma right?”

Rokuta asked the child when they landed on the shore and unwrapped the fruits and biscuits. It is unheard of that one can tame a youma. It is said to be impossible.
The child only cocked his head.
“Really?”

That was very shocking answer.

“There aren’t anything that fly besides youma and youjyuu (妖獣, lit. mythical beasts). How do you tame it?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? Wow...”
Muttering with surprise, Rokuta drooped his shoulders. “...How shocking.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”

They sat on the shore and talked. In front of them was the Black Sea, and the mountain range of Mt Kongou (金剛山), which surrounds the center of the world, stood tall like a wall.

The boy told Rokuta his story. He woke up at the middle of the night. Then, on the next day, he was abandoned in the mountains.

“...Really?”
Rokuta nodded as he gasped at the surprising encounter. Two children from both worlds got abandoned by their poor parents at war, and came across each other here.

“Those in the city must have told the guy to abandon you. How cruel.”
“Really?”
“What’s your name?”
“I don’t know.”
He said he might have one in the past, but he didn’t remember any longer.

“So you got swept to here, and landed at the youma’s cave.”
“I didn’t get swept here. It seems that the big one took me there.”
“The big one?”

This one, the boy said as he turned back to the youma. The youma gave a protective gaze at the child patiently.
“The big one took me to the cave as a bait. Most probably that was the reason I was brought there.”
“So you were supposed to be a bait... But they eventually brought you up.”

Yes, the boy said and nodded. What an unbelievable story. This was never heard of: a youma looking after a human child.

“Is such a story possible?”

Rokuta looked at Rikaku, which was behind Rokuta looking very cautiously to the youma. Rokuta’s question remained unanswered. Even if it is a servant, a youma never talked about its own matters. No matter how one demanded them, they would not divulge anything about its own species. Youmas are such aloof creatures in nature.

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