When I went to the shrine in the spirit world, I was greeted by Ouka, — who still waits for her transition — who guided me into the shrine .

  “Please, go ahead . ”


  After sitting down and waiting for a moment, Ouka comes back with some cups of tea and place them on a small round table .

  Ouka drank from her own cup of tea as soon as she placed it on the table . She seemed refreshed, but I was feeling a bit awkward .

  “Is something the matter?”


  “Oh, no, nothing, it’s just that I never thought that a shrine’s inner sanctuary would look like this……”


  Ouka tilted her head to the side, aware that I’m acting strange .

  Taken aback, I look away from her, and look around the room’s light surroundings .

  Was the atmosphere of all inner sanctuaries this full of life?

  The floor is covered with tatami mats . An old-fashioned cabinet, a closet with a paper sliding door, and the small round tea table before me decorate the room .

  There’s a deep Showa-era atmosphere about this room .

  You can hear the noises and sounds of some playful fox cubs from the outside . Who could believe that the inner sanctuary of this shrine was anything like this?

  “It seems our predecessors considered environments such as these to be comfortable to live in . One after another, they seem to have been doing changes of their own to places such as this”


  Does Ouka mean that this place is a remembrance of our predecessors?

  I nodded at her explanation and took a sip of my tea .

  “So, what did you want to consult with me? Are those ghosts appearing again?”


  Of course, I didn’t just come for tea today .

  Ouka made a frown when she brought about the main theme for our meeting .

  “I don’t know whether to call it a consultation or a favor……”


  Was it hard to say? It seems as if she was biting through her own words .

  After pondering about how to bring it out for a while, Ouka finally made up her mind and started speaking .

  “Actually…… I leaked out a secret . ”


  “Leaked? What was it?”


  “The fact that I work for you, Yato-sama……”


  “To whom?”


  “Another youkai……”


  So, despite our conversation not being about anyone in particular, it seems that Ouka has somehow managed to expose our little secret to another youkai .

  Ouka speaks of a dreadful situation while staring at me, holding her teacup in both hands . Despite that, I don’t understand the seriousness of the situation .

  “Is it too bad that the secret is out?”


  “Most youkai don’t enjoy being around humans . If such youkai were to learn about you, Yato-sama…… most of them will try to take advantage of the situation and try to defeat you . I don’t know how far the secret must have spread by now, but it’s only a matter of time . ”


  That sounds bad .

  I have quite a bitter expression in my face due to Ouka’s heavy words .

  I don’t want to imagine things such as those youkai attacking .

  “The youkai have a strong sense of camaraderie . ”


  No matter how much they hate humans, they couldn’t just go that far just for what a single youkai says, can they?

  Is it because our numbers are small, or is it because the opponent is a human, a common enemy of the youkai? Either way, a bunch of yokai knocking at my door is going to be trouble .

  “Err…… Yeah, you could say that . ”


  I was impressed, but I couldn’t quite understand the reason behind Ouka’s behavior .

  Did I make a mistake?

  I was a little worried, but I thought it would be best to return to the topic of the leaked secret .

  “First of all, how did it happen?”


  “I don’t know……”


  Ouka turned her head sideways, searching for an answer, but it really seemed as if she didn’t remember .

  Could it be that someone has seen me and Ouka together?

  If that’s the case, is it possible that it happened back during the summer vacation, during the ghost extermination? Or was it when Tenjouin and the others returned home?

  “But, Yato-sama…… It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to think that this may be the work of someone who did a surprise attack at us during the battle with the ghosts . At the very least, they seemed to know about you, Yato-sama……”


  I couldn’t follow Ouka’s reasoning for a moment, but then I remembered .

  During the battle with the ghosts, we were attacked from behind and a seal was placed on us at the time .

  I had forgotten all about it until now, but I still could not remember who was the attacker .

  After listening to her story, it’s very likely that their attacker is the main culprit here . At any rate, we still have to deal with the leak itself .

  “Then, why don’t we erase the memories of those youkai who know about me? Wouldn’t that work?”


  Information, once released, can become widespread very quickly .

  So, if we were to reset everyone’s memories, the problem should be solved .

  I thought everything would be okay, but Ouka’s face still looked as if there was anxiety left in it .

  “But we wouldn’t know what caused the leak if we do that . It could just keep happening again and again . ”


  You can say that again .

  I think I can see Ouka’s point .

  If the cause remains unknown, there’s a chance such a thing might happen again . Then we’d have to erase everyone’s memories all over again .

  Back to the discussion, as I was tilting my head wondering about what to do, Ouka suddenly stopped staring at me, and lowered her head in doubt .

  “Even if the secret has been spread out a little, it shouldn’t be a problem as long as the opponents are just regular youkai . Worst case scenario, we might be able to find the one who is passing on the information and silence them . ”


  Ouka thinks hard as she speaks, yet her words sound very radical .

  Does she intend to use brute force?

  “But if that person isn’t that friendly……”


  Ouka’s sentence stops there, wondering about this mysterious person .

  “Just who are they?”


  As I urged myself to realize, Ouka reveals the name of her suspect .

  “The one who governs us all on this spirit world, the youkai chief, Black Princess . ”


  “Youkai chief? Like a queen?”


  Ouka nods as if agreeing to my interpretation .

  So, there was such a being among youkai .

  I was surprised to learn that there is a Youkai queen, but at the same time, I quickly understood the reason behind Ouka’s reluctance .

  That’s right, there’s no way the Youkai queen can keep quiet about such a thing .