Two and a half years have passed since our compatriot came to a world where mysticism is part of the existing order of things. Finding himself in the place of nine-year-old Yuto-kun, the last "prince" of the Amakawa clan, Alexander Zharov did not want to sit and wait for the "canonical" outcome. Instead, he tried to build his future with his own hands — and something even worked out! The starting team's set is behind, and in front... There are only problems ahead. A natural civil war against the boundless from the spirit world, the protection of civilians from the manifestations of the otherworldly and a showdown with human magicians. Oh, yes — you also need to earn money somehow. But the prize is simply wonderful: you can survive!

Part 1.

Interlude 1. Tokyo, Hinoyonma and dorogumo, Ageha and Kotegawa Tsuchigume

What is happiness? Ageha has just lost her three months' salary and a "bonus" transfer from Amakawa, and that's all FOR her CLOTHES! THERE IS HAPPINESS!!! Uh-huh! I wanted to jump, shout and give kindness and justice to the right and to the left — something like that was probably written on hinoyonma's face, otherwise why would passersby swiftly jump away from a beautiful girl hurrying along the sidewalk of the "City" in Tokyo? No, not everyone reacted in a fairly dense crowd... but still, still. And it's Christmas! Ageha, while hanging out "in Europe" and in America, had learned a lot about understanding "alien" culture, and the word "Christmas" for her was not synonymous with "Winter holiday with gifts." But to do a little good is Christian! But to whom? Oh, the Soup Carry Kokoro Shimokitazawa restaurant. YO, WHAT PRICES! On the other hand, it's Christmas. Maybe she should give these nice people some of her money for food? Maybe she's even worth it?

Hinoyonma rocked a little from heel to toe and back again — her new Gucci winter boots allowed it — and she was about to decide that a check of ten thousand was too fat a gift for chefs she didn't know, when her gaze caught on a familiar hairstyle. Long, silky, shiny slightly wavy hair covered the back of the dining woman in a luxurious wave... but they did not interfere at all with examining the gold bracelet encrusted with small diamonds of an elegant watch. No matter how many years have passed, Kotegawa still has the same excellent taste in jewelry and hair like a silk wave. yokai, who could be called a "friend" almost without internal resistance. Ha, just like custom made! After all, miracles can really happen at Christmas! And the unsuspecting spider-spirit was quietly eating excellent curry (she only eats it here!), thinking about the eternal... and she almost didn't jump when one freaking person covered her eyes with her palms!!!

"Guess who?!"

"Ah-Ageha! Again?! You almost scared me!!!"

"Oh, come on! What can scare you if the annual financial report has already been submitted?"

"Ageha..."

"Come on, come on." Hinoyonma the fashionista plopped down on the next chair next to the accountant girl. "You're free, and you come here."

Without any magic, he dispersed the managers and called the waiter (well, just think, a "golden" VISA is clutched in his hand?) The bloodsucker rattled off the order and began shamelessly examining her counterpart.

"Oh..." dorogumo put down her chopsticks and looked sadly at her neighbor. "You're not going to leave me alone now, are you?"

"It's Christmas today, and I'm determined to give you a good mood!"

"Oh my god..."

[40 minutes later]

"Come on, sit down." The spider opened the door of her Mercedes Benz w221 invitingly. "Tokyo traffic jams are my favorites..."

"Why not Maybach?"

"Buy yourself this coffin!"

"God, God, how much expression!"

"And I was so calm..."

"Why are you worried?"

"A. Let me think about it. Maybe you met someone you know?"

"Yes, acquaintances are such a source of anxiety," Ageha readily agreed.

She made herself comfortable by reclining her chair and pushing it back, and now she was curiously watching the flow of pedestrians and cars from an unusual angle for herself. Kotegawa drove with one hand, occasionally glancing in the rearview mirror. A luxurious silk dress in deep black looked like casual clothes on her, and she was clearly "in place" in the expensive S-class interior. The Weaver of Fate was sometimes called dorogumo by the ancient Japanese, and the yokai with an eight-legged second appearance completely fit into its "specific" niche.

"Did you find me by accident, or do you still have a problem?" Here, inside the moving car, Tsuchigume finally calmed down and stopped looking at Ageha like a wolf.

"No, on the contrary, as you can see." Hinoyonma shrugged slightly, showing off her new clothes. "With money and in a good mood. And you?"

Instead of answering, a newspaper taken out of the glove compartment floated to the spirit's lap. Curved so that the note catches the eye:

"THE FLESH TEARER IN TOKYO!"

And below:

"Five people were found murdered today near the building of the Mitsukoshi Shopping Center! According to the police, the victims were literally torn apart..."

"It's harsh. Are there no witnesses again?"

"No. She doesn't make mistakes, you know."

"Are you still talking about your beastform as if it's not you in it? The psychologist didn't help?"

"No. He decided that a course of retrospective hypnosis should still be conducted, even without the patient's consent. I wanted to help..."

"A psychologist is worse." Hinoyonma shook her head. "They can even go on an anonymous list."

"No, he's still alive... I erased his memory later... SHE also decided that the trail would be too obvious."

"Why are you so sad?"

"He remained paralyzed from the waist down. My poison... you know, the degradation of nerve fibers, if the dose is even a little higher. He also thanked me for calling an ambulance and going to the hospital with him. It's so embarrassing..."

"And what kind of full-board patient are you going to have? The eighth?"

"Seventh..."

"And what didn't you share with them?"

"The wind blew the receipt sheet away from the parking lot..."

"And once again you stumbled into a remote and dark alley just like that! Again?"

"But I wasn't thinking..."

"Forget it, it's fate... I see you're still hanging out with the Chinese brothers' crafts? And wherever you can get it..."

"I'm dragging myself. I'd rather have the "smell" of Chinese magic than the spirit. I offered it to you, too."

"Not for me! I'll never get control like yours in my life! It will still "smell", just not a yokai, but a mixture of yokai and Chinese. Phew!"

"By the way, I see you've solved your problem. I didn't even feel anything until you caught me at the cafe... The bully." The brunette finally smiled — for the first time since the girls boarded the transport. "Will you tell me?"

"Tell. That's why I "caught" you. There is something to offer."

"Has Ageha-the-Free-Wind decided to go into business? My bad example?"

"You fool! I'm here to help you, and are you kidding me?" Ageha showed elongated fangs in a malicious smile.

"Scary, scary!"

"But the apartment is nothing like that. There will be a hundred squares. And almost in the center... Now it's clear why not "Maybach"."

"Ageha, how many times have I told you that the words "social status" are not empty words among people... and not the way to dress in "the most expensive and stylish of the latest collection"!"

"Of course," Hinoyonma snorted and stopped short, "Oh, again, right?"

One of the rooms was completely covered with cobwebs: the panoramic darkened windows were tightly shut to block out light, the walls were covered with silk white canvases, and somewhere in the center of the room, a net woven from thick rope threads hung from wall to wall. Bedroom. And in the corner, on a lovingly twisted mat of the same spider silk, there were six large billiard balls the size of billiard balls. Spider eggs.

"You don't have to look— they're cold." Kotegawa informed from the next room. Anyway, come here... The lifeguard."

Due to the fact that as soon as dorogumo lost control of himself — to be scared, surprised, or simply fall asleep — a transformation immediately followed, and then a violent giant spider arranged for others to doomsday with dismemberment, there was no alcohol on the table. Just tea... and a cake! Hinoyonma smiled, and that's what her friend was all about. A cold, calculating spider... which can be scared by gopnik or a cockroach (minus one apartment). Calculated movements... and the stupid habit of dropping everything. A true professional in the world of finance... completely unable to cook his own food and eating only sweets at home. Ageha accidentally looked into the refrigerator one day, and it was one of the biggest shocks of her life.

"It was a yokai." after a while, the brunette began to tell. "He found me himself. I warned him... apparently, not enough... she held on almost to the end... You can see for yourself."

"Do you want to try it with another spider?"

"I told you about our kind... If he gets stronger, he'll eat me and my balls. It's no use. Everything has been tried. All that remains is to go to the exorcists... Maybe it won't hurt to be killed."

"Are you serious, girlfriend?"

"What about human magicians? We could help— seriously. Yes, yes, I've reached it! So, are you going to wish me a "Merry Christmas"?"

"You know, I think I will. But first I'll tell you a story, I came to Takamiya at the end of autumn..."

...After leaving the spider to settle down to sleep, Hinoyonma went to her hotel. The fact that she was on foot and at night didn't really bother her. And there was a lot to think about. Dorogumo was her last "loyal" contact — in a month, Ageha had managed to run around all the "sane" people she knew and to whom she was going to convey Amakawa's invitation. Someone immediately refused, someone "thought", and many immortal spirits are able to "think" for years... So far, only Tengu had responded to the call, however, bloodsucker had no doubt about the raven. Now Kotegawa had managed to give hope, and knowing Yuto, she was sure that the spider would be helped. If not by washing, then by rolling. And anyway, corporate-level accountants and an A+ class yokai don't lie around on the road! The strongest spirit, even stronger than her, of those whom she knew "by sight." Now you have to catch every little thing... and often it was to catch in the literal sense — the B-class preferred not to mess with Ageha. And talk, talk... again, the quality of the "product" will drop significantly... And Amakawa didn't want to let him down. Such a personnel policy is useless... Okay. At least she would try.

Part 2.

Interlude 2. Scotland. The surroundings of Malcolm Castle. The Malcolm Clan combat training ground. Merukhi and Kues Jinguji, Hamish and Alexander Malcolm

"Get ready!"

The bowl of the "combat range" of the ancient Malcolm family most resembled an ordinary amphitheater, or rather, half of the arena... and any military man would have no problem recognizing the shooting range. A small one.

"Relea-a-se!"

Due to the shape of the polygon, the voice of the "presenter" was reflected and carried around, causing Merukhi Jinguji to wince at the operator's intonation: not so much from a harsh accent or echo, but out of habit. Their own training ground in Japan was set up in much the same way. Meanwhile, two identical figures materialized in the middle of the arena... rather, the figures are caricature likenesses of people, green and pointy-eared, and on the muzzle — ugh! The goblins of Scotland couldn't claim aesthetics from a human point of view. By the way, the Europeans used about the same spatial technique as their Japanese counterparts to "pack" training props: rows of "bottles" stood to the right of the head of the Jinguji, pointing the neck at the center of the amphitheater. Like guns like that. One "bottle" is one spirit. Convenient!

The figures of the spirits, having appeared on the "field", meanwhile, were not going to stand and pretend to be a target — they instantly got their bearings and scattered in different directions... They tried, at least. The left spirit suddenly and without visible special effects flew away in a cloud of smoke-emitting fragments, but the right one, with a high leap and a flip in the air, still escaped from the impact of the fiery arrow.

Malcolm Sr., standing next to Meruhi, snorted faintly. Theory is theory, but his son "failed" the first blow. Goblin, despite the C-class, has one indisputable "advantage": he runs very fast... He demonstrated this to the Malcolm heir by successively dodging an ice arrow and a fireball... and ran into a zipper. There were no beautiful pieces, just a patch of melted soil. Hamish Malcolm shook his head. And the second mistake. Lightning is not a spell for goblin level, it's like hitting a fly with a grenade. And a full-fledged lightning is very demanding on mana — in proportion to the distance, which is typical. Even weak magicians can hit at point-blank range, and "pump up" a channel of forty meters — and quickly! It's even expensive for him, not like for his son, who is breathing heavily.

The younger Jinguji showed no signs of fatigue. And judging by the speed with which she formed the "sword" — a channel-force impact spell, rather than a channel-energy (like lightning) type, she trained precisely for this tactic. That's right: when the "limit" is not tight, use what you can use quickly. The overwhelming aura of power, flickering a little, but so powerful that it completely overshadowed Alex's aura, made it clear better than any words that it was still very, very far before the reserve of the twelve-year-old sorceress "shows the bottom"... much further than Hemish himself and even the elder Jinguji standing next to him. The same goblin, if given the opportunity, would have fled faster than his own scream, as soon as such a wizard appeared on the horizon. It is logical that the "minimal" spell developed by the young sorceress is designed for an entity of a class higher than a pathetic three-piece anthropoid, which is similar to class C in the Jinguji classification, which does not even have brains. Well, we must continue. Hamish nodded to the operator, who was looking at him attentively, and "Get ready!" resounded over the training ground again.

This time, the cameraman brought a water creature into the training arena — the so-called "little nymph". At an equal distance, puddles with a diameter of ten meters suddenly appeared in the middle of the withered winter grass... And the left one exploded into unrestrained flames without a pause! The water boiled and evaporated in the blink of an eye — a furious streak of plasma stretching from the Japanese woman to the opponent made even Alexander Malcolm, who was standing twenty meters to the right, recoil — alas, and then he lost the initiative. But no, he didn't miss it. Having decided to make up for his past mistake, as well as recognizing the "water", the child carefully formed "dead water" around the brushes — a laboratory spell for neutralizing water. However, it has been considered a laboratory weapon for the last three hundred years — and before that it was quite combat-ready, though slow, but the nymph couldn't get out of her puddle anyway. The water in the right puddle rapidly turned black and slowly began to lighten... and Malcolm Sr. mentally counted another mistake for his son. However! No, in urban or even rural conditions, "dead water" was preferable — no visible effects, traces, or destruction... but not for the landfill, where it is necessary to destroy evil spirits for a while!

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