Shadows and Blessings

“Mom, I’m heading out.”

With ten days left before the new school year, Mana Ochi left the house early the next morning, using the excuse of meeting friends.
This time, she dressed properly for going out.

She spent ages researching, scouring Yahoo to death, to put together an outfit that matched a girl’s aesthetic.
She had her pride as a man, but more than her own embarrassment, she feared damaging Yurina’s image or worrying her family.

Her destination was a nearby sorcerer contact point.
It wasn’t far, but the problem was—

“Little miss, this isn’t a place for you.”

It was a pachinko parlor, and Mana was quickly stopped by a middle-aged man in sunglasses.

“I’m here to find Abe no Seimei.”

The man raised an eyebrow, cautiously scanning the surroundings to ensure no one was watching, then led Mana to an employee break room behind the counter.

“No one comes at this hour… I’m Miyako Ito.”
The man in sunglasses gestured for Mana to sit.
“Didn’t expect such a young girl to be a sorcerer. Who’s your master?”

Abe no Seimei, a legendary Heian-era onmyoji, was a symbolic figure for sorcerers.

Modern sorcerers used his name as a universal code for contact, but it was merely a threshold.
To learn more, one had to reveal their identity or offer something in exchange.

“I want to inquire about some information.”

Mana had no intention of using the Ochi family name.
Since it was their first meeting and she couldn’t afford a bribe, she stated her purpose first, letting the other party set a price.

“Go ahead.”

Miyako Ito didn’t look down on her for not knowing the ropes.
After all, he was just an ordinary person with minor ties to the sorcerer world.

“I want to know about the current state of the Ochi family.”

“The Ochi family, huh…”
Miyako Ito stroked his chin, thinking.
“One hundred thousand yen, but I can only offer you Level 2 information.”

“Sorry, I don’t have that much money right now.”

In the sorcerer world, information was graded into seven levels based on importance.
Level 2 was common knowledge among sorcerers—cheap and unimportant.

If Mana were a regular or could prove her identity, Miyako might have told her for free.
But given the Ochi family’s status in the modern sorcerer world, the price for a stranger wasn’t outrageous.
Unfortunately, Mana couldn’t even afford that.

Still, she’d achieved half her goal.
Miyako’s casual demeanor suggested the Ochi family hadn’t faced any major upheaval.

“No worries, come back when you have the money.
But I’d suggest asking your mentor directly.”
Miyako smiled, seemingly taking Mana for a curious novice sorcerer.

Of course, he’d never guess that Mana, now or before, had not a shred of spiritual power.

Leaving the pachinko parlor, Mana sank into deep thought.
No matter what conflicts she’d had with the Ochi family, she hoped they were safe.

The problem was that the current occupant of “Takuro Ochi’s” body hadn’t come looking for her, and the phone numbers in her memory couldn’t reach her family.
The situation was far from promising.

The worst possibility was that the Ochi family was behind everything…

Mana had considered going straight to the Ochi estate to uncover the truth.
But the moment the idea formed, her mind screamed warnings: “Don’t go near the Ochi family!”
Given she was in Yurina’s body, she had to abandon the thought.

From start to finish, her greatest worry was the safety of Yurina’s soul.
Her original body being gone didn’t matter much.

The best-case scenario was that this was a parallel world where the scumbag “Takuro Ochi” never existed, and Yurina’s soul was dormant in her body, ready to reclaim it upon waking.
But her gut told her this was the least likely possibility, and she wasn’t naive enough to act on such optimism.

“I still need more information… I’ll have to find a way to earn money.”

That sum wasn’t much for most people—it was manageable with some effort.
But the Shizuki family’s financial situation was tight, and she couldn’t possibly ask Ryoko Shizuki for money.

“Little miss, wanna make some quick cash?”
A leering, drunken man blocked her path.
He wore a gold-trimmed watch and an expensive suit and shoes.
“The price will definitely satisfy you.”

Talk about perfect timing.
Mana gave a gentle smile.
“Sorry, I’m not interested in that.”

She was desperate for money, but not so low as to misuse someone else’s body.
The man’s behavior was repulsive, but expecting a drunk to be rational was asking too much.
All she could do was avoid provoking him and slip away quietly.

“No need to be shy…”

As always, life had other plans.
Seeing Mana try to sidestep, the drunk spread his arms and lunged at her.

Mana dodged swiftly, but as the drunk nearly fell to the ground, she instinctively pulled him back.
“Sir, are you okay?”

“Hehe, I love girls like you who play innocent.”
The drunk grabbed her hand, squeezing and stroking it.

“Please have some respect.”
Mana yanked her hand back, frowning slightly.

“No need to pretend. I get it. Fifty… no, one hundred thousand yen! One time, one hundred thousand, how’s that?”
The drunk grinned, drooling.

“I said I’m not that kind of person. Get out of my way!”
Mana snapped, losing her patience.

Perhaps due to past experiences, an indescribable disgust surged within her, shattering her composure.
Holding back from punching him was already the extent of her restraint.

“Hey, you little b*tch, don’t act all high and mighty!”
The drunk, enraged, swung a slap at her.

The sluggish move couldn’t possibly hit Mana.
After missing, the drunk’s overexertion made him stumble, nearly falling.
“Damn it, you slut, don’t dodge if you’ve got the guts!”

Not only did Mana not want to dodge, she wanted to teach this guy a lesson.
But as she raised her hand, the image of the boy’s mangled body flashed through her mind.
She froze, her face contorted in fear.

Seeing Mana seemingly petrified, the drunk got up to slap her again, but passersby rushed over and quickly restrained him.
“You okay, miss?” one asked.

“I’m fine…”
Still shaken, Mana saw someone about to call the police and bolted.

She hadn’t done anything wrong, but if she ended up at the station, the police would notify her family.
She didn’t want to worry Ryoko Shizuki.

After running far enough, she stopped, panting, and leaned against the roadside to rest.
“I’m so useless…”

In her memories, martial arts were one of her few strengths.
But every time she’d used them, it never ended well.
Now, after causing that boy’s death, she was left with a psychological scar, unable to even deal with a scumbag like that.

“No, I’m being stupid.”

This was modern society, and she was still thinking of solving problems with force…
Besides, she was now Yurina.

Without training, this body couldn’t overcome the physical gap between men and women, no matter how well she knew the moves.
If she kept doing things like that with this body, she’d get herself into serious trouble.

“Next time, I’ll just run.”

Letting Yurina’s body get hurt was something to avoid at all costs.
For the same reason, high-intensity jobs were out of the question.
Even modeling or idol work—anything too public—wasn’t an option.

“I’ll have to take up part-time work.”

Ordinary jobs were tough and paid little.
Given the past few days, the biggest question was whether Yurina’s body could handle it.

Plus, school was starting soon.
Having not studied in years, catching up would take a ton of time.

That meant her work hours couldn’t be too long.
It seemed she’d have to play Yurina for quite a while.
“This must be my punishment.”
She gave a bitter smile.

As always, the harder she tried, the less she got the results she wanted.

The pachinko parlor’s door opened again.
Glancing at the new customer, Miyako Ito grinned.
“What’s with today? So many student kids?
Doing a school project on pachinko?”

If Yurina were here, she’d have fled in disgust—because the visitor was none other than the boy named Kanzaki.

“Uncle Miyako, you’re making money off minors now?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. I’m a law-abiding citizen…
Just that someone from that side showed up.”

“Oh… wait.”
Kanzaki knew this was a sorcerer contact point, but he inexplicably thought of yesterday.
“Was that sorcerer a minor? A girl?”

“What, someone you know? Your girlfriend, maybe?
If I’d known, I wouldn’t have charged her.”
Miyako Ito’s gossip mode kicked in.

“Of course not… probably not.”
Kanzaki started to deny it but hesitated, leaving it vague.

“What’s that supposed to mean?
Met her at a mixer and got so drunk you don’t even remember if something happened?”
Miyako laughed heartily.

“That’s not it.”
Kanzaki walked to the counter, handing Miyako a package.
“Mom asked me to give you this.”

“Haha, thank my sister for me.”
Miyako accepted it cheerfully.

Miyako’s older sister was Kanzaki’s mother, making them uncle and nephew.
Kanzaki often came to the shop to deliver things.
As an ordinary person, he worked as a contact here thanks to the Kanzaki family’s ties.

Indeed, the Kanzaki family was a sorcerer clan, though not particularly powerful.
Their influence was limited to this city, nowhere near the renowned Ochi family of western Japan.

“Back to earlier.”
Kanzaki lowered his voice.
“Did that girl act… really strange?”

“Not at all, at least not in the way you’re thinking.”
Miyako started to catch on.

Kanzaki was a sorcerer too, but his situation was unique.
He seemed to have a divine gift that constantly drained his spiritual power, preventing him from casting even basic spells.

Yet the nature of this gift, how it triggered, or its limitations—Kanzaki himself had no clue.
Experts analyzed it as a passive ability to “avoid accidents,” but Kanzaki disagreed.

“My ability brings happiness to others.”

He’d been searching for people affected by his ability, hoping to figure out how to activate it.
But according to the expert, even if his ability triggered, he wouldn’t know, nor would others.
So, for years, his efforts had been fruitless.

“So that’s it? Maybe she’s not someone I know.”
Kanzaki wasn’t discouraged.
He’d grown used to this over the years.

“Hey, is that really how you identify acquaintances?”
Miyako was speechless.
When it came to his ability, his perfect nephew suddenly turned into a total airhead.

“This time’s different.”
Kanzaki recalled meeting Yurina Shizuki on the street.
He was certain she knew something.

The thing was, he only knew her name from hearing it called during a joint gym class.
They weren’t close.

Last time, just talking to her had scared her so much.
Approaching her rashly might make her cry.

“I need to find the right moment…”