Reincarnated in a Shounen Manga - Chapter 189

Chapter 189 - Rising Tides

"I signaled for Carpy, but he returned negative. He couldn't sense any foreign interference inside Anika.

"We need to find a place for her to lie down!" I called out, and everyone gave me strange looks. It felt as if they all knew something that I didn't. Except Agon, who seemed even more confused than me.

Normally, I disliked being left in the dark, but I wasn't worried about that at the moment. Instead, I hurriedly took Anika into my room and laid her on the bed.

Placing my hand on her head, I activated Perfect Me, attempting to sense what could be wrong. Her blood pressure was abnormally high. When Ord was involved, humans reached supernatural levels where not only their strength increased, but the power of their organs as well. The liver could process things faster, making them harder to poison. However, there were also drawbacks. Normal medicine had to be taken in higher dosages to be effective unless one was a Master with enough bodily control to slow down his liver.

From what I could gather, her heart had started beating too fast, causing an influx of blood to her head and resulting in her passing out. Normally, such rapid heartbeats would lead to a heart attack, but when Ord was added to the equation, things operated under a different logic.

She should have been able to control her Ord enough to prevent this from happening. It was basic knowledge. Only babies born with Ord would face such problems.

Perhaps she had a lot on her mind?

At least I could be certain it wasn't some kind of mental interference. Otherwise, the 'thing' the Raion Clan was hiding would have already intervened. Although it could already be in this room, and the only one who could see it was currently unconscious.

Suddenly, the window opened, and Agon peered in with despair-filled eyes. He looked at her and began wailing, "Ahhhh! Anika is dead!"

I flinched, and before he could give the patient a heart attack, a blast of water burst from the ground, tossing Agon aside. Carpy was considerate enough to have tendrils of water close the window as Agon continued crying about his fallen teammate.

Anika opened her eyes, as the noise woke her up. Her cheeks were slightly red. She shifted nervously under the sheets, occasionally meeting my gaze. "N-Nice weather, isn't it?"

Ah, so that was it. This girl deserved a bonk on the head. How could she entertain such thoughts about me? We barely knew each other. She shouldn't let herself be so distracted by a passing crush.

"We need to prepare for our journey," I stated impassively, ensuring my emotions remained hidden.

"You should rest for now," I reassured her before exiting the room. However, as soon as my bedroom door closed, I rubbed my weary eyes and sighed.

Was I beginning to regret joining this team for the mission? Well, to some extent.

But we had no other choice. Something unknown had occurred, and when faced with a problem, throwing Agon at it and hoping for the best seemed like the smartest option. However, Agon had a talent for creating problems and enemies out of thin air, so I needed to be there to prevent him from doing anything foolish.

Our mission involved investigating the golden pyramid where the nine-tailed fox was sealed. Sensor exorcists had detected an unusual disturbance in the surrounding Ord. This was something I had no idea about, so getting the main cast involved sounded like a logical thing to do at first.

Regardless of any adolescent feelings Anika might have, she needed to set them aside. This had the potential to escalate into another world-threatening event. While the nine-tailed fox was as formidable as Yamata No Orochi, the latter was merely a drunkard. On the other hand, Tamae No Mae harbored different ambitions; she was cunning and capable of assassinating special exorcists without detection.

The nine-tailed fox was essentially Sei's grandmother, and Sei possessed one of the most versatile special abilities among exorcists. However, when it came to the nine-tailed fox, she was the epitome of versatility—a master of all trades.

In the original story, she had initially caused minimal chaos, only wreaking havoc when she found a vessel to possess for more than a minute. However, eventually, she discovered her true body, and... well...

"Is everything alright?" Sei inquired as I stepped out into the yard and took a deep breath.

"Yeah, just pondering some things," I nodded.

"It seems like you've grown stronger," Sei remarked.

I shrugged. "You could say that, although not as much as I had hoped."

Since I had to leave for an unknown period and bring Carpy with me, I needed to ensure my subordinates were prepared. I appointed Miku as the interim leader since she was the only one capable of handling a middle-class demon. With her extraordinary ability to manifest an arrow made of Ord, possessing incredible piercing and explosive power, she could even eliminate high-class demons if her ability hit its mark. She had proven her prowess by defeating the leech demon during the Expert Exam, a feat the rest of us struggled with.

However, without Carpy's constant presence, some daring demons might attempt to trespass into my territory. But, for now, there was nothing I could do about it.

Unexpectedly, a carriage appeared in the distance and stopped in front of my hut. Princess Wisteria and her attendant Yara emerged, with the princess donning an unusually striking crimson red dress that suited her well. Despite her typically awkward demeanor, she possessed a captivating beauty.

Sei's gaze narrowed upon seeing her, but his guarded expression quickly transformed into a smile. "It's a pleasure to see you here, Princess Wisteria."

Wisteria gracefully bowed in response. "Likewise, Abe of the Seimei Clan. It has been quite some time since we last crossed paths, over a decade, I believe."

Her voice carried a gentle and soothing tone, and she seemed to embody the ideal image of a lovable princess. One would never guess that she was the same weeb, shut-in princess I knew.

After some mundane conversation, Wisteria greeted everyone, impeccably playing the role of a perfect princess. Eventually, Anika joined us, holding a glass of water. "Apologies for the delay. It won't happen again."

She glanced at Wisteria and furrowed her brow. "Who is she?"

Sei responded with a touch of sarcasm, "That's the princess. I thought, being a member of the Four Great Clans, you would be familiar with the royal family."

However, Anika seemed unperturbed by his remark, attempting a smile that came off slightly askew. "Oh? So what is your relationship with Kon?"

"Kon?" Wisteria's smile wavered for an instant before swiftly recovering. "He is my fiancé."

The glass in Anika's hand shattered, causing her hand to bleed from the shards embedded in her palm. Nevertheless, she maintained a smile and apologized, "I'm sorry. It seems I'm having difficulty controlling my body, that stress is really getting to me."

Oy, oy, an emotionally unstable exorcist is a dangerous one.

Strings materialized near her hand, and she calmly removed the shards of glass from her palm. Anika's power overshadowed that of her original version, however she was nowhere near as mentally mature as she would have been.

Wis remained composed, nodding in acknowledgment. "I came here to show respect to all the exorcists. You are the ones who protect us. Nok, thank you for everything. Have a safe journey."

She rode away, and Sei looked at me, raising a questioning brow. "Why did she call you Nok?"

"Just a nickname."

"Already at the stage of using nicknames, huh?" Anika's gloomy aura enveloped her as she looked down.

Sei shrugged and offered a word of caution. "Be careful, Princess Wisteria is mysterious. Her ambitions and desires remain unknown to most."

She was quite the weeb princess, even more so than usual—a super weeb princess.

Leaning closer, Sei whispered, "She talks about Kon as if you two are different people. Be cautious with your actions."

He was right. Upon my return, I should reveal everything to her—about being Kon and my need for her to become the ruler of the country. Perhaps I could use the excuse that my demon had glimpses of the future.

Ah, damn, it would surely damage the relationship we had built so far. It would be painful, but necessary.

Agon, Sei, Anika, and I walked toward a distant shore away from the city to avoid alarming the civilians with the appearance of Carpy.

"Why are we here?" Agon asked absentmindedly, picking his nose.

"To meet Carpy."

"Who's that?"

Had he already forgotten about Carpy? Well, I should have expected as much from him. "My fish demon."

"Ohhh! The cool snake demon!"

"It's not a snake, it's an elongated fish demon."

My attempts to convince him fell short, and I took a deep breath, calming my nerves. Arguing with Agon was futile; he would only drag me down to his level with his stupidity. When in his level, he would have an advantage and be able to overcome all logic with strong-headed ignorance.

"Carpy, come out." It felt cooler to call out rather than sending an Ord signal.

My heart quickened with anticipation, eager to witness Carpy's transformation.

In that moment, the water surged, as if the sea itself was parting, forming a colossal wave that rose into a towering mass of frothy water.