Chapter 925: They Were Already Waiting for Him

The restaurant Okuni had chosen was located in a quieter part of the Oni Gate, away from the avenues where Ada had spent the last few minutes staring at practically everything around her. From the outside, the establishment looked like a traditional two-story Japanese building, with dark wood, sliding doors, and small lanterns hanging beneath the roof. Inside, however, there were several modern conveniences mixed in with the old-fashioned decor, including electric lighting, climate control, and even a small electronic terminal near the entrance.

Ada had already given up trying to understand why a dimension populated by creatures from Japanese folklore had modern technology and simply followed Raphaeline and Okuni into a private room in the back.

The three sat around a low table, where ramen, side dishes, and tea were served shortly afterward. Okuni apparently came to the place often, because no one asked what she wanted before setting a particularly large bowl in front of her.

Raphaeline waited until the door closed again before picking up her chopsticks and finally addressing the real reason she had sought out her old friend.

"Vergil will be coming to the Oni Gate soon," Raphaeline said, slowly stirring the broth before picking up some noodles. "Probably later today, depending on how long it takes him to deal with a few things before leaving."

Okuni looked up from her own bowl.

"I figured this conversation had something to do with him."

Ada looked at her.

"How did you figure that out?"

"Raphaeline hasn't been here in years, and suddenly she decides to come looking for me right when her husband is showing up on practically every supernatural network in existence." Okuni shrugged and went back to eating. "You don't need to be a priestess to put those two things together."

Raphaeline ignored the jab.

"He's looking for Musashi Miyamoto."

Okuni's chopsticks stopped.

The reaction was small, but clear enough for Raphaeline to immediately realize there was a problem. Okuni chewed what she was eating, swallowed calmly, and rested her chopsticks on the edge of the bowl.

"It would be better to keep Vergil and Musashi from meeting."

Raphaeline frowned.

That wasn't exactly the answer she had expected, especially after hearing that Musashi lived practically in isolation and rejected any attempt to involve him with the outside world again.

"Why?"

"Because you picked a terrible time to go looking for that old man." Okuni picked up her teacup and took a small sip before continuing. "Musashi finally decided to fight Shuten-dōji for the title of strongest Oni."

Ada, who had been about to put a piece of meat into her mouth, stopped halfway.

She looked at Okuni.

Then at Raphaeline.

Then back at Okuni.

"Isn't Musashi human?"

Okuni blinked.

Ada waited.

"How is a human supposed to live for a thousand years?" Okuni asked, genuinely confused by the question. "He became an Oni."

Ada slowly lowered her chopsticks.

"Oh."

And fell silent.

Raphaeline looked away to hide a smile while Okuni continued eating as though she had just explained something completely obvious.

To Ada, however, there was something particularly strange about discovering that Miyamoto Musashi, one of the most famous historical figures in Japan, was simply still alive in another dimension because at some point over the past several centuries he had stopped being human.

"Wait a second," Ada said after organizing her thoughts. "So that Musashi Miyamoto became an Oni, has been alive for almost a thousand years, and now he's going to fight Shuten-dōji?"

"Yes."

"For the title of strongest Oni."

"Exactly."

Ada slowly nodded.

"Right. Just wanted to make sure."

Okuni let out a short laugh before turning her attention back to Raphaeline.

"That's the problem. Musashi spent a long time retired, but that never meant he stopped training. Now that he's decided to challenge Shuten-dōji, that old man's mind is completely focused on one thing."

"Getting stronger," Raphaeline concluded.

"And defeating Shuten-dōji," Okuni added. "He'll probably ignore anything that doesn't directly help with those two goals. Conversations, requests, favors, old acquaintances... none of that is going to matter much while that fight is on his mind. If Vergil shows up wanting to learn something about the Path of the Sword, there's a good chance Musashi will simply tell him to leave."

Raphaeline rested her elbow on the table and massaged her forehead.

That made the situation considerably more complicated. Scathach had already made it clear that Musashi wasn't exactly an easy person to convince under normal circumstances; knowing that the man was focused on challenging Shuten-dōji made any attempt to approach him even less promising.

"There's no helping it," Raphaeline muttered after a few seconds. "I'll have to go see that fox."

Okuni raised an eyebrow.

"Lady Inari hasn't been receiving guests lately. In fact, she's been avoiding practically any visit that isn't directly related to matters concerning the Oni Gate. She'll probably ignore—"

"She won't ignore me." Raphaeline interrupted without raising her voice, picking up her chopsticks again. "She and my mother were great friends. She'll see me."

Okuni opened her mouth to respond, then gave up.

She knew Raphaeline well enough to understand that arguing at that moment would change absolutely nothing. She still considered it highly unlikely that Inari would make an exception simply because of an old friendship, especially considering how much the goddess had distanced herself from visitors lately, but she preferred to keep that opinion to herself.

For a few minutes, the conversation died down as they finished their meal. Ada took the opportunity to discreetly observe the outside through an opening in the door, still trying to get used to the idea that all of this existed hidden from the human world.

Okuni, on the other hand, seemed far more interested in finishing her ramen before it got cold.

When she finally drank the last of the broth, she placed the bowl on the table and wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"I recommend waiting before using any kind of favor," Okuni said. "This Vergil guy is pretty famous around here. There's a good chance you won't even need it because of his popularity, you know?"

Ada blinked.

"Seriously? Even here?"

Okuni sighed and leaned back comfortably.

"It's hard not to know someone when he does so much insane shit in such a short amount of time. Stealing the Bifröst genuinely left me speechless."

Ada made a small face.

"Technically, he doesn't call it stealing."

"Of course he doesn't."

"He says the Bifröst chose a new address."

Raphaeline nearly choked on her tea.

Okuni stared at Ada for a few seconds, trying to determine whether she was joking.

"Did he actually say that?"

"More than once."

Okuni brought a hand to her face.

"That's even worse."

Raphaeline put her cup back on the table.

"The problem is that he didn't just steal the Bifröst. He took Mjölnir, thousands of Valkyries, and still managed to leave Asgard after fighting Odin directly."

"I know." Okuni pointed at her with her chopsticks. "That's exactly why everyone here knows who he is. News travels between dimensions much faster than you seem to realize. Especially when it involves someone taking important resources from an entire pantheon and surviving the response."

Ada rested her face against one hand, visibly resigned.

After the pictures with Hela, the nickname Lightning Thief, and the hashtag Raphaeline had shown Vergil, she should have realized that his reputation wouldn't remain limited to the Underworld.

Okuni picked up her teacup again and continued in a much more casual tone.

"There's a pretty good chance Lady Inari will want to meet him. Lady Susanoo probably will too."

Raphaeline immediately looked up.

"Susanoo?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Okuni looked at her as though the answer were once again obvious.

"Vergil is a demonic swordsman who uses a katana capable of cutting through dimensions, stole Thor's weapon, fought Odin, and has now decided to enter the Oni Gate looking for Miyamoto Musashi." She took another sip of tea before adding, "Do you really think Susanoo is going to hear all of that and simply mind her own business?"

Raphaeline remained silent for several seconds.

Ada looked at her mother and then at Okuni.

"So maybe we won't need to convince anyone."

"Maybe," Okuni replied. "Popularity opens doors. The problem is that it also attracts the attention of people you'd be better off not meeting."

Raphaeline closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She had gone to the Oni Gate ahead of Vergil precisely to prevent a simple visit from turning into an incident involving half the important figures in that dimension.

Now she was discovering that Musashi was about to face Shuten-dōji, Inari probably already knew Vergil was coming, and Susanoo might take an interest in him the moment he set foot in that world.

Ada noticed her mother's expression and smiled discreetly.

"You came ahead to prevent problems."

Raphaeline opened her eyes.

"Yes."

"And found out they were already waiting for him."

Raphaeline stared at her daughter for a few seconds before picking up her cup again.

"Finish eating, Ada."