Thinking back, even Nayame could tell there was something weird with me for a moment .

  So, following Ouka’s advice, I used ‘Presence Block’ to hide all signs of my nature .

  “Well then, let’s go to the capital . ”


  Having disguised both my face and my true nature, I went into the cave with Ouka .

  The sound of our footsteps echoed inside as we walked .

  Inside the cave, the field of vision grew darker as you go further in, but aside from that there was nothing else worth mentioning .

  Ouka and I silently proceeded further in, and arrived at a point where the road stopped and there was no clear path from that point onwards .

  “It’s a dead end……”


  “No, it’s not . ”


  My words came out as a whisper as I stared at the wall that was right in front of us .

  But then, Ouka continued to walk towards the wall without hesitation, placed her hand on it…… And then her hand went through the wall as if being sucked in .

  “This is the way out . ”


  Ouka started going through the wall slowly and steadily, almost as if to show me how it’s done, and then disappeared completely into it .

  I was a bit surprised at first, but then remembered the first time I arrived at Ouka’s shrine .

  This was exactly how it was the first time I went there .

  Just like Ouka, I pushed my hand against the wall and it went right through it .

  What was I waiting for?

  I was being driven by a strange sense of curiosity in this unimaginable scenery .

  I didn’t feel anything when I touched that wall . On the other side, once the rest of my body had gone through, I found that such a gorgeous world…… was not there at all, but instead more of the same cave we were in .

  The atmosphere was so similar that for a moment I did not know if I had gone through the wall at all, but Ouka was there to bring me back to reality .

  “Here we are, Yato-sama . ”


  Half disoriented, after hearing Ouka’s voice, I went down to where she was .

  Once there, a light suddenly began to shine in front of us, letting us know that we were close to our destination .

  Ouka and I exited the cave, and an “oh” escaped from my mouth as I saw what was there .

  “Is that……?”


  “Yes . ”


  Ouka and I nodded at each other, and looked at what loomed ahead .

  A perfect-looking Japanese castle .

  It had an appearance that even an amateur would understand, complete with typical roof tiles and white-lacquered walls .

  Though it was still a bit far off in the distance, its sheer presence made it feel like it was closer than it really was .

  “Black Princess is waiting for you at the castle’s tower . ”


  Ouka pointed at the topmost part of the castle as she explained that .

  That’s where we were going .

  Teleporting there would have been easy enough, but there’s a reason why we were going through the main entrance .

  My eyes had been fixed on the castle for a while, but looking down I could see that there were several small houses around it .

  I wanted to see what the town looked like .

  Since the place we were going is known as a capital, I expected it to be quite prosperous .

  “Let’s finish this quickly so we can return to Karen-sama . ”


  “That’s right . ”


  Of course, spending too much time sightseeing wouldn’t do at all .

  Ouka and I went down the cliff and headed to the castle town .

  ―――――――――――――――


  Traditionally, people are set on their idea of youkai and regard them as “frightening things” .

  But that might be just people nowadays taking the prejudice of the people from the olden days for granted .

  “.…… Amazing . ”


  That word just came out of my mouth, almost as a whisper .

  I couldn’t see a single “frightening thing” or anything like that .

  It almost felt as if we had been taken back to the Edo period .

  On the way to the castle, several passing youkai had caught my attention .

  There was nothing to worry about . If I had looked way too different than a regular human, I would have attracted the attention of anyone who passed by .

  Rather than just one-eyed youkai or half-beasts, even youkai shaped as things that are not normally alive such as darumas and umbrellas moved around everywhere, and had conversations with each other .

  But there was nothing wrong about that sight .

  Instead, far from “frightening”, these youkai were overflow with radiance .

  “It’s quite lively around here . ”


  “It seems this is the last land of the youkai . For that reason, all of the youkai that have been scattered around far away from these lands have gathered here . ”


  “So they just needed to gather here?”


  “There is a reason, and that is that there is not just one race of youkai . ”


  Ouka starts speaking while facing somewhere else .

  “Youkai feed on various things depending on their race . Grass, fruit, meat, spirits, and so on . There are infinite variations depending on each race of youkai, and there are cases where some of them can’t procure food for themselves and become extinct . That’s why Black Princess, in cooperation with five other youkai, decided to provide for everyone one way or another . ”


  That’s why they gathered in the capital .

  They support each other by cooperating and compensating what their neighbor lacks .

  It feels almost like a human society .

  That’s the vague impression I got from Ouka’s explanation .

  “We’re here . ”


  Ouka stopped walking, and I soon followed suit .

  Before I knew it, we were already in front of the castle .

  Having it right in front of my face, I could feel its immense presence .

  I took a deep breath as I my eyes moved towards the top of the castle .

  “We’re here to see Her Highness, Black Princess . ”


  “Well met . ”


  “Please, do come in . ”


  Ouka announced us both before the black-winged gatekeepers that stood at each side of the castle gates .

  “Let’s go, Yato-sama . ”


  “Ah, sure . ”


  I was just standing there in awe, but Ouka’s voice prompted me to catch up to here with a small trot .

  “Speaking of which, what kind of youkai is Black Princess?”


  I was curious, so I asked Ouka . But apparently it wasn’t a question that could be answered easily .

  Ouka was at a loss for words, which may or may not have been befitting of her .

  “What can I say? …… She’s very, very big . ”


  “Huh? What? Like a giant?”


  In my head, I could only imagine some sort of giant youkai . Ouka’s next answer took some time, too .

  For some reason, she was slightly blushing, and replied with nothing more than “you’ll understand when you look at her . ”


  Ouka’s answer ended up getting me even more confused than I already was .

  ―――――――――――――――


  Bonus

  【Struggling】


  At the shrine

  “Waaah!”


  “Wait!”


  “.……”


  “Here, here!”


  “Ahahaha!”


  “.…… Can’t I even show it to at least one of these cubs?”


  I was still struggling .