Tactics

Ichinomiya Kantaro, who has a baby face, appears on the surface to be a folklore researcher who writes ordinary articles for a living. However, in secret, he works as an exorcist, using his strong spiritual sensitivity to banish ghosts and demons. Since childhood, he has been able to see youkai and communicate with them. Because of this, he wishes to become stronger so that he can use his own power to show people that there are kind aspects to youkai as well. He longs to find the Shokki Tengu (Man-Eating Tengu), who is sealed away somewhere and described as "much more powerful than any ghost," hoping that the Tengu might share some of its power with him. Since youkai have a habit of obeying humans who give them names, the fox spirit Neko, whom he named, lives with him. Besides taking care of Kantaro's daily life, Neko also urges him to write more novels about ghosts and monsters to earn manuscript fees to support their livelihood. During one job exorcising a demon at the Edogawa household, Kantaro unexpectedly discovers the shrine where the Shokki Tengu he had been searching for is sealed. After breaking the seal, a man with black wings, holding a divine staff and dressed in ancient attire, appears before him. The man says to Kantaro, "I am Haruka. You, who gave me my name, are now my master from this moment on..." With the help of the black Tengu Haruka, Kantaro effortlessly subdues the evil spirits and rescues the eldest daughter of the Edogawa family, who was frozen in ice. She had developed malicious intentions after falling in love with her mistress, transforming into a ghost known as the "Ice Pillar Woman" to attack humans. After the incident, Haruka moves into Kantaro's home. In addition to his ability to eat demons, Haruka possesses a talent for mesmerizing all the girls around him into a swoon simply by saying anything casually with his expressionless face and deep voice, leaving Kantaro both amused and bewildered. Kantaro continues to receive requests to exorcise youkai. The difference from the past is that Haruka accompanies him; whenever danger arises, Haruka always steps forward to protect Kantaro. Strange incidents occur in Suginomura village, where children go missing one after another. His editor suggests that Kantaro investigate the area. Thus, Kantaro, Haruka, Neko, and Suzu—a young girl who has been clinging to Haruka ever since the previous exorcism, obsessed with him—set off for Suginomura. As soon as they enter the local shrine, Kantaro realizes that he used to live here when he was small. Mrs. Kiyofuji, who manages the shrine, is an old acquaintance of Kantaro's. She tells him that many children in the village have disappeared without a trace. Among the missing, only one child named Kazushi, who vanished on the first day, has returned, but he cannot remember what happened during his disappearance. Kantaro suspects this is due to "kamikakushi" (spiriting away: referring to children mysteriously disappearing because they were abducted by youkai or gods, usually related to tengu or mountain deities). Kazushi is attacked again by mysterious forces, but thanks to Kantaro's timely intervention, he is not taken away. A giant winged figure sweeps across the sky, confirming Kantaro's suspicion that the local tengu is responsible. He decides to visit the local tengu. While Kantaro finds Sugino, the white tengu managing the area, Kazushi leads Suzu and other children, their expressions blank, to break the forbidden seal in the village... What mystery lies behind the sealing of Haruka? Why does the old scar on Kantaro's chest hurt when near ghosts or demons? Additionally, to cope with the pressure from his beautiful editor as deadlines approach, and to feed the group of "idlers" at home, Kantaro must work hard at writing. Of course, most importantly, there are many more strange events waiting for him and Haruka to solve...