--On sojirishuta sowaka."[6]
He chanted the mantra of the Myouken Buddha, the principal deity of the main hall. He didn't look humble - rather, the way he chanted felt strangely friendly. That simple sincerity made the dumbstruck Tadanori more or less return to normal.
The person wrapped in the black coat finished chanting the mantra and bowed again.
Then, that person turned his back to the main hall.
He was a boy.
But he had an inexplicable air to him - no, it was more accurately described as broad-mindedness. He could feel an extraordinary breadth of mind to him. His unornamented posture made one feel a broad tolerance unbefitting his age.
The black outer coat covering the boy was a black reflective color, seemingly woven from a large amount of raven feathers. Tadanori knew its name. 'Raven's Wing'. Then the name of this boy went without saying.
Tsuchimikado Harutora.
No, that was wrong - Tadanori understood the truth extremely naturally.
He didn't possess a powerful aura, nor was he awe-inspiring. It wasn't a sense of greatness or his ability as a practitioner. There was an even more inexplicable but extremely convincing factor, practically an instinctive sense, that directly touched the soul.
That person - that great man was Tsuchimikado Yakou.
Then, the boy noticed the gaze directed towards him and looked at Tadanori.
But only his right eye looked over.
The boy's left eye was covered with an eyepatch. An exquisite brocade slanted vertically to cover his left eye.
"Priest!"
The boy called out.
Tadanori looked left and right. Only after confirming that there was no third person here did he finally point to himself.
"Yes!"
The boy nodded.