At the Lily Shinto Shrine, \_kitsune\_ familiars frequently appeared.
\_Friendly, and showing no signs of attack, these \_kitsune\_ had already become mascot-like figures for those visiting the Lily Shinto Shrine.
That’s precisely why, at times, unwelcome guests would also arrive.
“………What is that?”
Kousuke, noticing what appeared to be a tourist shouting something in front of the First Temple (or Sun Temple), asked the shrine maiden who managed the temple, tilting her head.
“Ah, that is, well…”
Seeing the shrine maiden’s apparent difficulty in explaining, Kousuke’s doubts deepened further. He thought that since they were invited as guests, they should properly attend to them.
Sylvia, who had happened to accompany him, answered with a bitter smile, replacing the shrine maiden who was struggling with how to respond to Kousuke.
“That is just a minor comment.”
Sylvia’s roundabout way of speaking made Kousuke’s expression turn serious.
“No, if that’s the case, shouldn’t you listen to them even more properly?”
While the shrine doesn’t actively accept tourists, if there are any points that need improvement, they should be addressed.
To Kousuke’s earnest response, Sylvia feigned a serious expression and nodded.
“I see. In that case, does that mean Kousuke-sama will handle the training of the \_kitsune\_?”
“………Huh?”
Upon hearing Sylvia’s words, Kousuke responded after a full ten seconds, utterly surprised by the unexpected content.
Although not always present, at the Lily Shinto Shrine, there are occasional guests who make unreasonable demands. Of course, they accommodate them as much as possible, but in some cases, they firmly refuse. Rather, given the nature of a shrine, there are many times when they cannot fulfill the customers’ completely arbitrary requests. To give an extreme example, some people complain that the spells the shrine maidens periodically chant are too loud and demand they stop. Naturally, they clearly state they cannot fulfill such “requests” and ask them to leave. However, some individuals do not back down.
Among these, there is a “request” that has become increasingly frequent. Kousuke is currently experiencing one of them firsthand.
“—I heard that \_kitsune\_ are affectionate and cute, but they aren’t affectionate to me at all. Bring me a \_kitsune\_ that will be affectionate to me—or it’s a scam that they aren’t affectionate—something like that. The wording varies, but the common thread is they can’t accept that the \_kitsune\_ aren’t affectionate to them, so they want us to do something about it.”
“………Are those people perhaps idiots?”
Kousuke blurted out a harsh remark, but the person seemed oblivious, simply staring blankly. They had said something so unexpectedly that Kousuke’s thinking process had completely stopped. It seemed inescapable to think that those who would say such a thing had completely forgotten that they were dealing with monsters. Or perhaps, it was strange to consider anyone who made such claims to be sane.
Sylvia nodded in agreement with Kousuke and said with a sigh, “That is absolutely true, but those types of people stubbornly repeat their claims based on their own beliefs, so dealing with them is troublesome.”
“Well, that’s probably true. How about forcefully removing them?”
“That is a last resort. Whether it’s the shrine maidens or the priests, dealing with those types is good training, so we deal with them until the very limit.”
“Ah, I see.”
If the shrine maidens and priests agree to handle them as part of their training, Kousuke has no intention of forcibly intervening.
“Besides, once we ask them to leave the shrine, we make it so they cannot enter again.”
“Ah, I get it.”
Currently, the only way to reach the Lily Shinto Shrine is directly through the Teleport Gate on the Fifth Floor. If the Teleport Gate is made untransitable, they will never be able to return to the Lily Shinto Shrine again.
If they are dealing with it as training, Kousuke has nothing more to say. Still, he never imagined that people who would make such claims would exist in this world.
“Don’t you think it might be better to properly teach them what monsters are?”
To Kousuke, who said this with a look of exhaustion, Sylvia shook her head.
“It’s useless to say anything to those kinds of people.”
To Sylvia’s surprisingly dismissive and decisive words, Kousuke could only offer a bitter smile. He knew that dealing with those types would make him the same.
Towards the exhausted Kousuke, Sylvia continued, “Furthermore, the common characteristic is that they are generally individuals with high social status from outside the continent.” Of course, there are residents from the Central Continent, but they are only a small percentage. In the Central Continent, regardless of where one lives, the danger of monster floods is taught from childhood. Because of this, no one carelessly tries to get close to monsters. Normally, those who try to interact with the \_kitsune\_ at the Lily Shinto Shrine do so with that premise in mind, and still come. …Or at least they should.
“Whether they are pampered daughters or sons, if that’s the case, they should just stay in their boxes forever.” Kousuke said with a sigh, and Sylvia nodded in agreement, “Absolutely.”
By the way, the conversation between Kousuke and Sylvia up to that point was overheard by the shrine maiden. For the shrine maiden, the exchange between Kousuke, who should be worshipped, and Sylvia, who was positioned far above them, was quite heart-wrenching. She was anxiously awaiting the moment Kousuke would tell her to expel them and prayed in her heart that Sylvia could serve as a buffer against that. No one present would point out that her object of prayer was mistaken. After all, it was her internal conflict and went unnoticed by anyone.
Kousuke turned his gaze towards the shrine maiden, who was contemplating such matters, and said, “I don’t know what else to say but ‘thank you for your hard work,’ and I’m sorry.”
“N-no! Not at all. Please don’t bow your head for such a thing!”
The shrine maiden exclaimed to Kousuke, almost with a scream, as if involuntarily. She completely failed to realize that her words were a form of advice to an Avatar.
Of course, Sylvia noticed this but looked at Kousuke without pointing it out.
“As I said earlier, it’s also part of their training, so Kousuke-sama, please don’t worry about it too much.”
“Ah, if that’s the case, I’ll stop here.”
“I think that would be for the best. Also, since you’ve gone to this effort, I think it would be good to thank Yuri-sama.”
“Yuri?”
Kousuke tilted his head, not understanding the connection, and Sylvia continued, “We are having her record our magic crests to prevent passage through the Teleport Gate.” To prevent passage through the Teleport Gate, magic crests must be registered, but sometimes they forget to retrieve the Crown Cards or passes for this. In such cases, they simply register the magic crests that Yuri remembers. It was a masterful feat only possible for Yuri, who could sense the magic crests of others within the shrine.
“If that’s the case, then I understand.”
Kousuke nodded at Sylvia and immediately headed towards the Lily Shrine. Although he could summon anyone within the shrine to appear wherever he was, Kousuke insisted on formality. He can appear anywhere; he’s a complainer.
