The group proceeded, guided by Mimamori-shin.
They walked along a mountain path surrounded by flowers, rich with nature.
Although the path was lit only by moonlight, the full moon in the sky provided ample light.
“Is it alright to visit at night? If you think about it, this action could be considered incredibly rude.”
At first glance, it was a space with beautiful scenery, abundant in nature, completely disregarding the sense of seasons like spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
However, by common sense, they were unwelcome guests visiting during nighttime hours.
Katsu, who was considered the voice of reason among the group, cautiously asked Kirika while scanning their surroundings.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s normal for them to sleep for centuries at a time. Anyway, only humans care about concepts like day and night.”
Kirika dismissed his worries with a cheerful, rattling laugh, as if they were utterly pointless.
While Katsu might have felt relieved, his expression remained uneasy as he looked around.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, but your cautiousness is also valid. Look over there.”
“Over there?”
Kirika acknowledged his cautious nature.
She gently pointed with her index finger past the mountain flowers, into the densely wooded forest.
“Animals?”
“No, those are gods too.”
As they squinted, they could see bears, tanuki,
civets, and rabbits watching them intently.
Katsu thought they were wild animals for a moment, but Kirika denied it.
“They are gods among the eight million gods of Japan who govern animals. You often hear about the ‘Lord of the Mountain’, right? That’s them. Don’t stray from the path. They are just watching because we aren’t entering their territory, but if you enter their territory, they’ll get you.”
Katsu and the others at the Moonlit Perch were surprised, sensing intelligence and reason in their movements, realizing they weren’t ordinary animals.
Kirika continued to explain about Takamagahara as if it were her own backyard, making gestures as if to warn them.
“You know a lot about it.”
Normally, humans could not enter this land.
This was proven by the seal that had only just been broken.
It was natural to wonder how she knew information about a place where humans shouldn’t be. Minami, representing the group, asked Kirika, and everyone’s gaze followed, except for Kirie and Mimamori-shin, who were leading the way.
“Well, it’s because I was abducted by a Tengu when I was a child.”
“Huh?”
“Ah, children these days don’t know about Tengu. You know, the ones with long noses and crow-like wings on their backs, like yokai.”
“No, I know what a Tengu is.”
The answer to their question was an unbelievably abnormal story, too much to be considered a simple explanation.
There was a moment of silence, and thinking it was some kind of joke, Minami asked again. Kirika thought there was a generation gap, with him not knowing about Tengu, and tried to explain the characteristics of a Tengu with gestures. However, Minami shook his head, saying, “No, no, no,” and corrected her, saying that’s not what he meant.
“If I heard correctly, Kirika-san was abducted by a Tengu…”
“That’s right, I was probably about five to nine years old. I don’t think I was ten. Ah, those were the days.”
Who would have thought that a human raised by yokai in reality would exist in modern times?
Even Minami, who had initially thought it was a joke, couldn’t laugh at her sincere words.
“Don’t make that face. I consider it a valuable experience. Living in the mountains was scary and lonely at first, but I was always annoyed by the elders talking about traditions and heirs, so for me, it was a perfect place to run away from home.”
Sensing their reaction, Kirika, unfazed, began to talk about her memories with the Tengu.
She ran through the fields and mountains, living on the bounty of the land.
The Tengu taught her basic academics, like what she would learn in elementary school.
When she spoke of having wrestled bears in real life, her companions finally understood why Jiro had such chaotic adaptability—it was in his bloodline.
“Haa, you’ve certainly had a wild life.”
“I believe the secret to living a fun life is to enjoy the situation you’re in.”
No one could deny Kirika’s words; it was true.
“Well, that’s probably why.”
Kirika concluded her story with a self-deprecating remark, though she seemed to like herself as she was—a miracle that she retained the humanity to live in the human world despite her wild personality.
“Alright, enough about my past. I can see the first god now.”
As if to clear the slightly heavy atmosphere, Kirika pointed to a dilapidated hut.
When one hears of a god’s dwelling, they might imagine a magnificent, luxurious palace.
However, what Kirika pointed to, and where Mimamori-shin was heading, was undeniably a decrepit hut.
There were gaps where wind could blow through, leaks when it rained, and it looked like it could collapse if even a little snow accumulated.
Generously put, it had history; bluntly put, it was a terribly small hut that could be described as run-down.
In front of this structure, which could barely be called a house, a human figure lay sleeping, using their arm as a pillow—no, a divine figure.
“Is… is that a god?”
Clad in an old-fashioned outfit that seemed like something out of ancient Japan, holding a sword protectively, the sleeping figure had a well-trained physique.
Amelia showed signs of nervousness before the man who exuded an aura of dignity.
“Yes, yes. He’s a big name who shouldn’t be here, but is allowed to live at the edge of Takamagahara out of necessity. In a way, he’s the god I have business with.”
When told it was a famous god from Japanese Mythology, everyone present could think of various names.
With the hint that he was a god who shouldn’t be here, Mimamori-shin, riding her moon fox, advanced without hesitation.
She approached to just before the sleeping figure, took a deep breath, and shouted,
“WAKE UP!!!! SUSANOO!!!!”
Reacting to the young goddess’s loud voice, the sleeping male god flinched and opened his eyes slightly.
“What is it? Who dares disturb my sleep?”
He let out a big yawn, slowly sat up, and began scratching himself on the spot.
“How dare you ask ‘what is it’!! I came all the way here to wake you up to fulfill my duty!”
The lower-ranking god, a land god at that, did not back down against the famous god of Japanese Mythology.
Susanoo-god stared intently at Mimamori-shin, who said waking him was her duty.
“Ah, you’re from my elder sister’s side.”
He recognized who sent her by the quality of her divine energy.
He clapped his knees once and, with a sudden realization, shook off his sleepiness.
“In that case…”
His gaze shifted from Mimamori-shin to the side.
“Are you the envoy from the otherworld?”
He looked directly at Keiri.
“Yes.”
Keiri, understanding the meaning of his gaze, did not falter and stepped forward.
“Hmm, your souls are surprisingly pure for a human from a world that’s been pilfering my followers from my territory.”
His gaze, though not deadly, seemed to see through everything. Seeing Keiri’s composed demeanor, Susanoo-god realized something was different.
“I am fortunate to have your understanding. We are on the opposing side of those who executed this.”
Keiri also understood that lying was impossible if he could see souls.
Therefore, she decided to explain her position first.
“Ah, I’m not good with such formalities. My reason for being here is like a reception for when significant changes occur in the outside world that require a god, as explained by the young lady over there. I have no part in anything else. However, I am also tasked with repelling anyone who attacks this place, so don’t get any strange ideas; it’s a hassle.”
However, he had no intention of listening.
Or rather, he was not interested.
He picked at his ear and declared that although he judged that divine intervention was necessary due to the arrival of an envoy from another world, he himself would not handle it.
Keiri thought there might be another point of negotiation.
But she was also told that she would not be allowed to venture further into Takamagahara.
“For starters, why are you bringing so many humans with you? This is a divine realm, Takamagahara! If unnecessary people enter, the forest dwellers will wonder what’s going on.”
He even went so far as to scold Mimamori-shin, the liaison.
“What do you mean by that tone?”
In response, with her hands on her hips and a displeased expression, Mimamori-shin confronted Susanoo-god, stating that she was not pleased.
In terms of bloodline, the opponent was a god from the top echelon of Japan, equivalent to the son of the president of a company.
In contrast, Mimamori-shin’s status was that of a low-ranking employee, perhaps like a regular staff member at a subsidiary of the head office.
There was a world of difference in their positions.
So why could she maintain such a defiant attitude?
It was because Susanoo-god had been banished from Takamagahara once before.
In essence, although Susanoo-god had belonged to the company of Japanese Mythology, he had been removed from its framework.
And this situation continued to the present.
“You wouldn’t have believed me either if I hadn’t brought these people, would you? You would have said it wasn’t a big deal. The reason is that the connection between this world and the other world has become stable, and mystical energy is flowing in.”
In other words, Susanoo-god’s position was extremely precarious.
He had no status, but with his noble bloodline alone, he was living off his parents and literally acting as a home guard at the edge of Takamagahara.
The honor of defeating the monster Yamata no Orochi in the past had also fallen into disrepute.
Therefore, even a land god like Mimamori-shin called him a freeloader who didn’t work.
“More importantly, you were the cause of the incident where the people were abducted to the other world! You got drunk, became angry, and caused a huge hole. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten that we land gods had to clean up your mess!!”
“Ugh…”
She even went so far as to shift the blame, completely abandoning the problem.
For ancient events, among gods, they could simply be spoken of as “oh, that happened, didn’t it?” This reflected the vast difference in their perception of time.
“…”
Even gods have their dark pasts.
The human contingent watched in stunned silence as this was laid bare.
“That wasn’t just me. Kagutsuchi, Wadatsumi, and Takemikazuchi have done it too!”
Still, Keiri began to feel a sense of crisis as he made excuses and tried to shift blame.
Negotiations would not proceed like this.
She considered drawing attention to herself and trying to create an opening for conversation.
“You’re pathetic, Susanoo.”
A voice sliced through the ugly argument like a sword.
It was a woman’s voice, intervening in an argument between gods.
“Hah?”
He might have accepted being told off by a god.
But he would show no mercy to a human.
Susanoo-god turned to the source of the voice, infused with such a resolute intent.
“Gah!?”
He cried out in surprise upon seeing Kirika.
Today’s Word:
The despair of oversleeping is intense.
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