The Falsely Executed Marquis’ Daughter Wants to Live Peacefully with Fluffy God

T/N: For context clarification, in the beginning, I don’t think they know exactly what the creature/monster is, but later I believe they realize it’s an Ayakashi, which I believe the only distinction is one is a spirit that later transforms into a beast, and the other is just …well just a beast or a magical beast? Anyway, in previous chapters, I think I referred to this creature as a monster, but in this chapter, I'll be using Ayakashi (since it can talk and is a spirit), and I think they realize that by now.....(or maybe they did from the start but I just didn't use the right term...). Oh well, on to the chapter~

—---

Deep in the mountains of Yanzhou, there is a place called Iwama Village.

It is said that a strange creature dwells there and is demanding sacrifices.

"Iwama Village is straight ahead on this mountain road. But these days it is rumored to be haunted, so I would advise you not to go there."

Along the way to Iwama Village, we stopped at a teahouse for a rest.

While we were enjoying tea and dumplings, I asked the owner of the teahouse about Iwama Village.

"Sounds about right. We should camp near here tonight and head for the village tomorrow."

We decided to stay at an inn we found in the mountains on the way to Iwama Village. The inn had hot springs.

"There are many hot springs in Hinoshima, I believe."

"Since our country is full of volcanoes, there are plenty of hot springs."

All the ladies soaked in the hot springs while chatting happily about trivial things.

Kikuno-sama and Sylphy-sama were enjoying the hot springs while drinking alcohol.

"By the way, Komataro is adorable. His fur is on par with Fluffy-kun's."

"The doggy is really cute. I wish Marie could have come with us this time so we could have tried to brush his fur, I'd really like to see a fluffy showdown."

Chris and I talked about furry friends and enjoyed the hot spring.

"But if you give Komataro too much attention, won't Fluffy-kun get jealous?"

"J, jealous!? Leon is an adult."

"However, he could be the possessive type. You have to be careful."

I ignored Chris as she continued to tease me.

I decided to change the topic somewhat.

"What kind of spirit (youkai) is the ayakashi in Iwama Village?

"'Don't tell Komataro,' they said, didn't they? Could it be an ayakashi that doesn't like dogs?"

"What kind of animal doesn't like dogs?"

"Cats? Fluffy-kun once told me that there was a cat spirit called Nekomata."

Ayano-san used to tease Leon saying that he was a cat spirit called Nekomata. A nekomata is an old cat that has been transformed into an ayakashi with two tails.

Either way, a creature that asks for a young girl as a sacrifice is surely not a good one.

The Iwama village was filled with a gloomy atmosphere.

The day of the sacrifice was three days away. And he had demanded two daughters.

"What a greedy ayakashi!"

Tojurou-san muttered to himself when he heard the story from the village chief.

"My daughter and the daughter of Gohei's family have been chosen."

The village chief's daughter was clinging to her mother, weeping.

"'How old is your daughter?"

"She is fifteen years old this year. She was just about to marry the son of the village chief of the neighboring village. ......"

Kikuno-sama offered a handkerchief to the village chief who covered his face.

The sacrifice will take place on the temple grounds of the Tenjin Shrine near this village, and the young girls were to be dressed in white.

"I will take her place. The ayakashi doesn't know the faces of the sacrifices, right?"

''There must be two sacrifices, right? I'll take the place of the other person."

The village chief bowed his head, his forehead almost scraping the floor.

"Thank you so much. I tried to appeal directly to the capital, but the person handling my case seemed to be devoid of feelings, so I half gave up."

Perhaps that person who heard the appeal was Rokujo-sama? Come to think of it, it was Rokujo-sama who first told us about this.

Three days later, Chris and I waited for the ayakashi on the platform set up in the shrine grounds of Tenjin Shrine as a replacement for the sacrifices.

We were dressed in white with cotton hats. The cotton hat was to conceal our hair. Blond and silver hair would stand out in Hinoshima, where most people have black hair, and would make them suspicious.

We can't let the ayakashi know that we are a decoy. If it speaks human language, it is likely to be a highly intelligent ayakashi.

Tojurou-san, Kikuno-sama, Ron-sama, Sylphy-sama, Leon, and Komataro were hiding nearby.

When the ayakashi appears, they will launch a simultaneous attack.

Suddenly, there was an earth tremor that shook the forest next to the temple grounds. It was gradually getting closer and closer.

"It's coming!"

The entire premise was covered by a large shadow. Looking up overhead, the figure of the ayakashi finally became apparent. It resembled a baboon with large, sharp fangs. His entire body was covered in white hair and he was about three rirudo (meters) long.

"The Two Sacrificial Daughters ......"

A low, muffled voice said, peering at us as if to verify our figures.

Chris and I took off our white robes and got into a fighting stance. We had put on our street clothes underneath to make it easier to fight.

Meanwhile, Tojurou-san and the others who had been hiding came to stand in front of the ayakashi.

"Guh! You fooled me!"

The ayakashi started to run in the direction it came from, but Ron-sama and Sylphy-sama blocked its way.

"I won't let you escape!"

The ayakashi ducked, narrowly avoiding Komataro who tried to strike him over the head with his khakkara.

"The khakkara of the god Kurikara! Komataro the Dog Spirit!"

"How dare you! We have come to exterminate those who threaten the people!"

The ayakashi began laughing loudly, his shoulders quivering.

"I've warned you not to inform him, but you've brought Komataro with you. Foolish people who have forgotten their faith. ......"

The ayakashi, who had been smiling down at me, looked up. His eyes were shining suspiciously, and a streak of light was streaming down his cheek. No way, are those tears?

Then I finally heard what the ayakashi was muttering to himself.

"Why did you turn away your faith from the Hime-God?" he said.......

It was not a low, muffled voice, but the purest voice of a boy. His voice was full of sadness.

"You can try to exterminate me! Komataro!"

The Ayakashi started to head towards Komataro. But then a ray of light flashed in front of us, and it turned into the form of a goddess.

"Stop it! Ainosuke. You must not harm others!"

"Hime-God ......, how...... have you appeared...... I thought you were ......?"

"Thanks to the divine energy of these people, I was able to keep my form temporarily. I've come to get you. Now, come with me, my darling."

Goddess Hime hugged Ainosuke's large face. Then she turned to us and said.

"...pierce his body with the power of destruction of the God Kurikara."

Chris and I understood the meaning of the Goddess's words, and we thrust our small swords and Komataro's staff into Ainosuke's body.

At that moment, the big baboon figure was enveloped in light and turned into a white little monkey.

Holding the little monkey Ainosuke, the Hime-God bowed to us.

"I thank you. Gods of other lands."

With her head bowed, she and Ainosuke disappeared into the light.

Changing my sword back into a hairpin, I inserted it into my hair. Something hot flowed down my cheeks, and I couldn't stop it.

"Don't cry, Rio. Don't cry, Rio. He must be happy to have his master come for him."

Before I knew it, Leon, in his adolescent form, was hugging me.

Upon our return to Iwama Village, we told the village mayor what had happened.

"I see. Such a thing happened.......before Tenjin-sama was enshrined, a goddess called Tatsunahime was worshipped."

About two months ago, the old shrine was torn down by the order of the provincial governor in charge of Yanzhou, and the Tenjin-sama was enshrined in her place.

God disappears when people lose faith in him. The monkey Ainosuke, who was one of the family members of the deity, probably hated mankind because he lost his master, and was consumed by evil thoughts.

"I see. So was it his last conscience that compelled him to tell us not to inform Komataro? Because the sacred tools of the gods have the power to destroy evil."

Kikuno-sama and Tojurou-san nodded in agreement.

"We will ask the governor to build a shrine for the god Tatsunahime on the same land as Tenjin-sama."

"No. I will inform the temples and shrines myself. I do not believe that a priest who destroys a shrine is a good person. After all, this whole ruckus was because they didn't listen to you, so you appealed directly to the temple authorities, right?"

"That's ......."

Tojurou-san's words were likely correct as the village chief looked down.

Later that day, we left Iwama Village and returned to the palace of his Lordship.

"Rokujo is the one who is in charge of the temples and shrines. Leave the matter of Yanzhou's governor to him."

"Rokujo-sama is the head of the Temple Division?"

On the way back, I rode with Tojurou-sama and Leon.

"Yes," he replied, "now that I think about it, Rokujo was probably expecting this."

"What do you mean?"

"'What do you mean?' It means that he used us to depose the governor of Yanzhou! That bastard!"

How frightening. Is he really the same age as my brother?

Even so, the Hime-god and Ainosuke had a saddening story of their own hidden behind it all.

"Can I hit you once when I get home?"

After sending Komataro back to the Shrine of Kurikara, I returned to the Palace of the Nation's Lord and gave Rokujo-sama a real beating when he appeared before me.

"Are you angry?"

Rokujo-sama tilted his head expressionlessly while holding his punched cheek with his hand.

"Of course I am! How dare you take advantage of us! For such a thing, Hime-God and Ainosuke are ......"

After that, I couldn't formulate the words.

"Rio......."

Chris hugged me gently by my shoulders.

"I don't like your methods!"

"I certainly wanted to hang the Yanzhou governor, but I didn't order him to destroy the Tatsunahime shrine."

Turning on her heel, Rokujo-sama headed out of the sliding door. As he left, he muttered to me from behind the door.

"I've issued a decree to rebuild the shrine of Tatsunahime. Once the faith is restored, Tatsunahime and Ainosuke should be able to return to the shrine."

If their faith returns, can the Hime-god and Ainosuke return?

"............ Rokujo-sama. I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that."

I felt ashamed of myself.

"It's okay. It's my fault for not communicating properly."

Then the sliding door was slammed shut.

"Rokujo-sama is a clumsy person. He doesn't show his emotions very often and is often misunderstood."

"Kikuno-sama. I will apologize to Rokujo-sama again tomorrow."

Kikuno-sama smiled kindly.

I went to the open-air bath behind the detached house to relieve my fatigue, but there was someone a step ahead of me. It was Leon.

"Mmm. I can't bear to drink this one!"

He placed the sake on a tray and floated it in the hot water, tipping the cup as he soaked in the bath. In his cat form.

"...... Leon. You smell like an old man."

"What do you mean, "old man"? Cats are cute, even if they are old."

That's a good point. Cats age faster than humans, yet they will always be cute.

"Leon ......, do gods disappear when humans lose faith in them?"

"Sadly, yes. But the Kingdom of Findalia is guarded by us gods, while humans have magic. That is because of the belief in gods."

If one day the Kingdom of Findalia no longer believes in the gods, will Leon and the other gods disappear?

That would be depressing.

—--- T/N: "Ayakashi(アヤカシ) is the collective name for yōkai that appear above the surface of a body of water. ... In western Japan, ayakashi are said to be the vengeful spirits of those who died at sea and that they are attempting to capture more people to join them."

—--

TL: This chapter was a bit of a challenge to translate as I wasn’t quite sure exactly all the names or things happening. So if anything confuses you, please do comment, and I will try my best to clarify. Well then, happy reading and hope you enjoyed~!