第５２１堀：神の住まう社 (Part1)
### Chapter 521: The Shrine Where the Gods Dwell
**Side: Yuki**
"So, this is the Kamishiro Duke’s mansion."
Despite everything that had happened, we arrived at the Kamishiro Duke’s mansion safely by evening. From here on out, we truly, seriously needed to have a discussion.
If someone were to ask if the Kagura incident was a joke, well, I had my personal grudges, but judging by the situation, I had executed it as a viable option. However, I didn't want to mess this up, so I was putting more genuine effort into this than into the "passing the buck" game regarding Kagura. If I handled this poorly, we might end up having to crush Haiden ourselves, which would make the post-incident cleanup a real headache.
"It seems remarkably peaceful, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, you're right."
Deryu and Ria were chatting about that. I felt the same way. It wasn't just this mansion; the villages we passed on the way didn't seem to be affected by the conflict at all, and everyone seemed relaxed. They probably didn't even know that the Empire had descended upon Baide yet. I had considered the possibility that Haiden might have already pulled some strings, but it didn't seem to be the case.
"Though, that in itself makes it seem like it’ll be a pain to explain."
"Yeah. It’s quite difficult to convince people of the necessity of a battle when they don't see any signs of one. Nobody wants to engage in pointless strife, after all."
"I-I knew the Duke was amazing. U-uwah, I called Kagura by her name without an honorific, is that okay?"
"R-right? I wonder if it’s okay."
Amanda and Eoid, being commoners to the core, had been stiff as boards since arriving at the mansion. They’d been to royal castles and met kings before, so I hoped they’d get used to this soon.
"You two, really? You're saying that now?"
"B-but, Dressa..."
"If you're going to say that, then my older brother and even Dressa herself are royalty, you know?"
"Feh!? Yuki-san is one thing, but D-Dressa too!?"
"Ah, now that you mention it, if she's Yuki-san's wife, that means Dressa is royalty too, right?"
"R-right. I'm Yuki's wife, too, aren't I? My status is high. W-wife. That's right. I already belong to Yuki..."
Since when did Dressa become my wife? ...Wait, she isn't, is she? I haven't done anything with her... But we have bathed together. No, if we're going there, so have Vilia and Hiiro. They’re more like the "children" group, or friends of Aslin and the others, right? The fact that Autumn calls me "Father" is just because she adores me, so... hmm? Wait, are Dressa, Vilia, and Hiiro treated like family due to various circumstances?
...I'll ask the other wives later. I feel like if I say anything now, I'll just dig myself into a hole.
"...Dressa was a princess, though that's in the past. If we're talking about that, Deryu-san is one too, but you don't care about that, do you?"
"Ah, well, Master is like that."
"Deryu-san, we've known each other for a long time now."
Well, I’ll leave Dressa’s comments aside. We aren't exactly acting like typical nobles anyway. I was a commoner to begin with, Deryu was a Demon Lord wandering the lands, and Dressa was a slave. It would be a stretch to call us "typical nobles."
As we were chatting like that, the door to the reception room opened, and Kagura and Catherine returned.
"Yuki—no, Yuki-sama, could you please come with us? My father says there is something he would like you to see. It seems to be a book left behind by the First Ancestor..."
Kagura spoke to me with uncharacteristic humility.
"How much did you tell him?" I asked Catherine, not Kagura.
"I told him everything. He was speechless after seeing the state of Princess Carrie, and he asked if there were any traps."
"What about guards?"
"He said it’s fine for everyone to come. He apologized for not being able to come to us, as he wanted to show us what the First Ancestor left behind. He likely wants to show us that book to verify our true identities."
"...Understood. Let's go."
And so, we all went to meet Kagura’s father. We were led to the basement, and while everyone else was on guard, Taiki-kun and I started to get a weird feeling. Because, you see, what was in the basement was...
"Hey, isn't that a *torii* gate?"
"Don't say it. First a master swordsman and a god of war, now a Shinto priest? Do you know which sect this is?"
"How would I know? I’m not well-versed enough in architecture to identify a sect just by looking at it."
Yes, it was a space that felt exactly like... a shrine!
"I’ve forgotten the proper etiquette for clapping my hands in prayer."
"I only ever did the 'clap-clap' and rang the bell during New Year's, that's it."
Other than that, I barely ever visited shrines. Did I ever tag along for my grandparents' superstitious rituals?
"Yuki-san, you were a working professional, right? Didn't you go on 'power spot' tours?"
"If I had that kind of free time, I’d be sleeping at home."
"As expected, Yuki-sama, you are familiar with shrines."
"...'As expected,' huh? Well, information we didn't want to come out has come out."
"I am very sorry."
"No, there's no need to apologize. I had heard that there were Japanese ancestors, but to think they were Shinto priests... And to build a shrine here, they must have been deeply devout."
...Honestly, they were *too* devout. This land already had a faith in a god called Haire, so to go out of their way to build this is quite a feat.
"Yes. Um, my father will give you a proper explanation, but the main deity and guardian god is *Mizunotatsu-no-Mikoto*, whom our Kamishiro family has worshipped for generations."
*Hiiieee*, a guardian god? I've never heard that name before, so it must be a local folk belief, right!? It’s too obscure, I have no idea who that is! *Mizunotatsu*... Water Dragon, right? Was this a land prone to water disasters?
"I only know of Sugawara no Michizane, Nikko Toshogu, Inari-san, and Ise-san."
"That's about all I know, too. I mean, which rural backwater worships such a localized guardian god as their main deity? If you want to gather believers, it's normal to get a divided spirit from a major god like the ones Taiki-kun mentioned."
"No, I don't know much about shrines either. I only know the god of learning, Sugawara-san, and the fox god, Inari-san."
"Wait, wait. Nikko Toshogu is about Tokugawa Ieyasu. And the fox at Inari-san is a divine messenger; the main deity is Ukanomitama-no-Kami, and she's a woman. Actually, the main deity of Inari is a god of bountiful harvests, and it's a collective term for five pillars, five gods."
"Oh? Is that so?"
"Well, you don't look into it unless you're interested. Think of this as the 'eight million gods' of Shinto. A shrine is just a place where you worship whatever seems auspicious. Everything around us is nature, and nature itself is god."
"That’s a pretty cynical way of putting it."
As I was talking to Taiki-kun, a man walked out not from the worship hall, but from the shrine office.
"The original main deity of our Kamishiro family was Ukanomitama-no-Kami. However, when the First Ancestor descended into this world, Mizunotatsu-no-Mikoto helped them greatly, so now we worship Ukanomitama-no-Kami in the auxiliary shrine and Mizunotatsu-no-Mikoto in the main hall."
A man with blonde, salt-and-pepper hair, dressed in Shinto priest robes, spoke to us with a smile. There was something incredibly surreal about seeing a foreigner dressed as a Shinto priest. But, well, never mind that for now. This person is probably...
"Forgive my late introduction. I am the head of the Kamishiro Duke family, Sou Kamishiro."
He bowed as he said this. Taiki-kun and I followed suit and bowed in greeting.
"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Yuki. My surname is a bit problematic, so I will refrain from mentioning it."