Chapter 7: A Letter from Family

"That slut."

In the study of the Kurohimeyama estate, the silver-haired girl was writing furiously when, with a sharp "snap," she crushed the brush in her right hand.

"Not a moment of carelessness allowed..."

Her expression grew increasingly grim. The page serving by her side was startled by the sudden outburst.

"P-Princess?"

Kohagi stared blankly into the distance, not even blinking. Thanks to the shadow demon sealed within the seventeenth "Cursed Blade: Shadow-Spirit Conch," she could "monitor" the lower-ranking ninja’s recent activities at any time.

Deep within the spider’s lair, his every move was under the silver-haired girl’s close scrutiny. Before she could rush to his rescue, the shadow demon of the "Cursed Blade: Shadow-Spirit Conch" had intervened multiple times, helping him escape from danger. Otherwise, the moment that giant spider demon had dropped from the cave ceiling to ambush him, he would have lacked the reflexes and the raw power to react and leap to safety.

When necessary, the shadow demon could invert the shadows to manipulate a person's body, forcing it to perform extraordinary feats. The lower-ranking ninja, however, had failed to notice this detail.

To the silver-haired girl, this was hardly an issue. It was merely a wife’s consideration for her beloved husband—an act performed without expectation of reward.

"That woman... I only told her to heal his wounds... She truly has some nerve."

Thinking of the scene she had witnessed through her shikigami, the silver-haired girl felt as if the blood in her veins were boiling. Rage left her mind blank, and in the next second, as her consciousness returned, dark emotions—hatred, jealousy, anger, and murderous intent—churned like molten lava within the heart of the Kurohimeyama family’s eldest princess.

She longed to march over there right now, split that thieving fox's head in two, and carve up her sickly, fat-laden body to feed to the dogs.

"Calm down."

Kohagi suppressed her fury.

"Princess, are you alright?" the page asked anxiously from beside the desk.

"It is nothing." She offered a faint smile to the boy. "...Just troubled by a small matter."

That fake smile was enough to make the page blush. The eldest princess of the Kurohimeyama house was well aware of her own beauty. As far as men were concerned, a mere hint of a smile was enough to capture their souls. Even giving those around her a little encouragement was enough to make them work themselves to the bone for her.

Truth be told, she didn't have any particular feelings about her own appearance, but being able to use this face to command men and exploit them at will was certainly convenient. However, beauty also had its drawbacks. Among her own gender, her silver hair and foreign-mixed features were often the target of backhanded remarks and mockery.

Yet, none of this bothered Kohagi; she was indifferent to the affairs of the world. For years, she had worked in secret to improve her strength, cultivate her own faction, and accumulate resources, connections, and wealth. Everything was for a single goal; she cared for nothing else.

"Oh... that's right, Mita. I had you visit the 'Healing Institute' earlier—how is Lord Yomigari doing?" She donned an expression of concern for her future husband.

The page scratched his cheek. "About that... I heard the 'Healing Institute' doesn't have any good solutions either. Lord Yomigari has regained consciousness, but his physical changes do not seem to be improving."

"I see."

Kohagi sighed. "It seems I have no choice but to go and see Katsura myself. I hope she will be willing to lend a hand."

"But," the page said worriedly, "Miss Katsura’s attitude toward you hasn't been particularly good. Is she really willing to help us?"

"We belong to different factions, after all." The silver-haired girl shook her head. "But this concerns the interests of the clan. I believe she can understand that. We are, after all, of the same blood. In critical matters, we must work together."

"Even if our factions differ, I hope to maintain a friendly relationship with Katsura and contribute to the clan."

Seeing his mistress speak this way, Mita’s eyes shone with respect and admiration. "I... I understand. In that case, Princess, I have a suggestion. The Sako family could come forward. As a branch family, we are relatively neutral in many matters. If we take the lead, we might avoid the hostility of Miss Katsura’s faction."

"That is also a possibility."

The silver-haired girl pretended to consider it before nodding in agreement. "Mita, I will have to trouble you with this."

"Princess, please do not say such things," Mita said earnestly. "I will see to it at once."

He bowed and turned to leave. Kohagi watched him go, a gentle, smiling light in her eyes. Once the page—sent by the branch family to monitor her—was gone, she withdrew her gaze, and a cold sneer curled her lips.

Speaking of which, the sight of that brat’s departing back reminded her of her fiancé.

"...Turned into a woman, have you?"

Heh. That, too, was a good thing.

The silver-haired girl calculated her wicked intentions in her heart. Waste nothing; she would utilize everything around her until she achieved her goal.

...

Late at night, outside the dormitory for the ninja members of the Kurohimeyama estate, there was a makeshift training ground. It was a crude area, with almost no facilities.

"Achoo!"

Hyakusuke sneezed uncomfortably, his nose turning red. "Has it turned cold?"

He glanced at the cold moonlight above, sitting on a rock and stretching slightly. Having slept all day yesterday, his injuries were mostly healed. Even the demon poison in his left arm had vanished, completely cured. He had to admit that the "Poison Girl" had a knack for medicine; otherwise, she wouldn't have become a high-ranking consultant at the Healing Institute at such a young age.

As she used to say, "Medicine and poison share the same source." Master the toxicology, and you master the medicine. If this second daughter would just honestly act as a healer, it would be a blessing to the world. She would likely advance human medical technology by several levels—the reason being that the essence of her innate ability was simply absurd.

Kurohimeyama Katsura was not a healing-type practitioner. Those in the "Healing Institute" used their own spiritual power to stop bleeding, dull pain, and accelerate the healing of wounds. High-level healers could even reattach severed limbs, though such masters were rarely seen even once in decades.

Katsura’s ability was classified as "Summoner"—a term for those who controlled shikigami, insects, poisons, or animals. Anyone who used spiritual power to command others in battle bore this title. However, there were differences in strength among Summoners.

"Dragon Summoners" could command flood dragons; "Oni Summoners" could control giant red demons that could sweep through armies; and there were those who summoned entities Westerners called "demons." The gap between these powerhouses and those dubbed "Insect Summoners," "Snake Summoners," "Izuna Summoners," or "Puppet Summoners" was obvious.

After gaining her power, Katsura discovered that despite having abnormally vast spiritual power, she couldn't command even a tiny insect. She was a Summoner, yet she couldn't effectively control animals, spirit beasts, or demons. She was, in effect, a defective product.

For reasons unknown, the wavelength of her vast curse power could not influence entities meant to be controlled. As a Summoner, she couldn't even drive the weakest shikigami. It was as if she could broadcast a signal, but because the frequency was unique, no one could receive it.

The girl had fallen into deep despair until someone pointed out her mistake in applying her power.

"If your spiritual power wavelength cannot affect 'large' things or work on a macroscopic level, try interfering with the infinitesimal."

"The infinitesimal?"

"Things invisible to the naked eye, yet existing in this world. They can parasitize even the dust in the air. Buddhist scriptures record that within a single speck of dust, there are 'house insects' and 'taimo insects'—tiny living things."

That person had also suggested she borrow medical books collected by the "Rangaku" scholars in the Kurohimeyama library. Rangaku—the Western academic studies transmitted to the islands by the Dutch during the Edo period—had deeply influenced the country. Guided by that person, Katsura discovered the concept of "microbes" in Western medical texts, opening a door she had never imagined.

Yes, she realized her spiritual power couldn't influence animals or demons, but it could extend into the microscopic realm. She could control the infinite microbes and bacteria that filled every inch of the planet. Whether she had opened a door to awakening or a door to disaster, she had "evolved" rapidly along this path.

In just a few years, she had transformed from a girl who couldn't command a bug into a high-level exorcist whose strength rivaled that of the eldest princess. She became unstoppable, eventually earning her reputation as the "Deadly Poison Master."

And who was the culprit behind all this? No need to guess—a certain transmigrator.

"No, I only gave her a nudge. Even without my teaching, the original plot would have eventually led her to figure out how to use her abilities."

Hyakusuke shook his head. Reminiscing was useless. He had once tried to win over the second daughter to use her power to climb from a lower ninja to the upper echelons of the clan—or rather, to become her personal retainer. That plan had failed completely due to his "desertion" during a certain incident, and their relationship had frozen over.

Perhaps the second daughter still remembered their old ties, but he had no face to return and beg for a promotion.

*It’s not just about losing face; it’s that doing so might exhaust the last bit of goodwill she has for me. One’s debt of favor is finite. Once it's truly gone, I’ll have nothing left to trade.*

Currently, he was barely a fringe member of the second daughter’s faction. Having this status gave him some convenience even as a low-ranking ninja. If he lost even this backing, he would truly be a rootless weed.

*Life is difficult.*

Sighing, he pulled a letter from an envelope given to him by a shikigami. It was a letter from home—a letter written to the original owner of this body by his family.

"They must have had someone write it for them, right?"

His family were all bottom-tier tenant farmers, tilling barren soil and living a life of hunger and cold. Besides him, there were younger siblings. Some six or seven years ago, because of a poor harvest, his parents had sold him to the Kurohimeyama clan.

Sadly, he had no memories of his family. Or rather, that part of his memory had become remarkably strange and blurry.