Why can't humans do it too?

Is this the kingdom ruled by gods and youkai that Yakumo Yukari spoke of?

Chapter Forty-Three: Jade Fox

If gods and monsters coexist, what about humans?

Humanity is being controlled.

At least before Yakumo Yukari adopted Sue's suggestion to implement ninety years of compulsory education for youkai, the vast majority of youkai would naturally not be associated with words like "refined and courteous." They would only learn from their rude and unruly kin and become even ruder—when they went further and crossed the line of etiquette, they would be greeted with cheers from other youkai.

Fortunately, these monsters were still bound by some rules. At least no matter how much they looked down on the humans who served them, they didn't go so far as to grab anyone and eat them at will. The situation was much better than Suer had expected.

【left.】

Exposing her illusory body to the outside world felt like a defilement, so Xin Ke simply crawled back into Su Er's body, reminding him.

To the left of Suer, the blonde banshee was walking and talking with a burly man on the grass. Their camp was clearly separate from the camp where humans and monsters mingled, as it was much cleaner there than this camp. And the burly man was definitely not human.

'Perhaps a deity from Izumo Province?' Suer guessed to himself.

[It's really interesting. They clearly don't expect these humans to play any role in this war, and their words are full of contempt, yet they still brought so many humans with them... I believe it wouldn't be easy to capture so many people in the entire Izumo Kingdom.]

'Perhaps it's for the purpose of fighting against the humans of Yamato?' Suer thought to himself, 'Or perhaps it's just a way of showing a stance.'

Is it more politically charged?

She wasn't stupid; Xin Ke immediately understood what Su Er meant.

Without even showing up to Yakumo Yukari or saying hello, Sul simply wandered around the Izumo camp for a bit before practically fleeing – he at least needed the right to breathe again.

Without looking at it from a perspective beyond this era, the people of Izumo are actually far ahead of the rest of the world compared to the people of Yamato who live in constant fear and misery because of their unknown fate.

Although they are still far from being obese, at least they are not skin and bones; they have some flesh on them, and they do have meat to eat, making them more energetic.

From the perspective of Suer's previous life, the humans in both Yamato and Izumo were imprisoned. However, in this chaotic era, Izumo might have become a beacon of humanity in the entire Ashihara no Naka de – if the scene they were witnessing wasn't deliberately staged by Yakumo Yukari because she knew of Suer's existence.

Suer has already realized this.

Sur felt even more curious about the Izumo Kingdom, which he had never seen before. What would it be like there?

When the night passed and the sun rose again, Yukari Yakumo came to Sue's hut once more, but Sue and Shinko had already arrived in the western part of Ashihara no Katsuyuki.

The place where the nine-tailed fox is.

In Suer's memory, when she first saw this beautiful fox, as radiant as a glowing jade, in that valley, she was constantly radiating light and warmth, and every move she made inadvertently revealed nobility and elegance, making her incomparably holy.

However, this sense of holiness has been greatly diminished. But don't misunderstand, the nine-tailed fox herself has not changed at all. What has changed is her surroundings. All sorts of monsters follow behind her, and their battles have been suppressed. This valley, which is filled with the breath of nature, has been filled with the monsters' lairs.

From this perspective, the nine-tailed fox, which had been spread throughout Ashihara no Naka deity and betrayed the will of Amaterasu Omikami to acquire the title of demon, finally began to resemble a demon. Compared to the previous sense of distance that made it untouchable, it was much closer and no longer seemed like an illusory bubble.

Surrounded by demons, their various demonic auras mingling together, amidst a cacophony of clamor and flattery, where reverence and fear coexisted, this nine-tailed fox truly possessed the aura of a ruler of all demons, as claimed by Yukari Yakumo—perhaps the very image that the blonde banshee dreamed of becoming.

Instead of living with its noisy subordinates, the nine-tailed fox's den was in a very clean place some distance away. It was called a den, but it was actually just a layer of soft, dry grass. Its nine fluffy and huge tails wrapped around itself, making it look more like a jade ball.

It looked like it was sleeping. The nine-tailed fox was lying coiled up, and its head was completely hidden by its tail. Suer stood right in front of it, and could touch the beautiful fox with just a reach of his hand.

Let's pluck a hair, even just to keep as a souvenir.

Xin Ke offered her advice without hesitation.

'...That's not a good idea, after all, it's still growing on someone else's body,' she silently replied in her mind. Although she said it wasn't a good idea, Suer's hand had already been raised, and she only needed to move forward a little more to touch the beautiful fur.

It constantly emits a faint light, seems incredibly soft, and is as fluffy as a pom-pom. Just looking at it is enough to generate a continuous sense of happiness. So what does it feel like to touch?

"Then hurry up and touch it, I want to try it too!"

Having long ago made an undisguised declaration of her affection for this big fox, Xin Ke now simply urged it on directly, and even revealed her true form in the next second, wanting to touch it with her illusory body.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Suer instinctively reached out to stop them, but as the words left his mouth, he realized that they didn't seem to need to argue anymore.

Between the layers of her tails, a shimmering light shone. A forked branch, which had somehow opened, revealed the nine-tailed fox looking at the two uninvited guests with one eye, her gaze filled with curiosity.

As Suer unconsciously lowered her hand, the nine-tailed fox, covered by her nine tails like a veil, stood up from her lying position. Without much fanfare, her nine giant tails bloomed like flowers, and the breeze blowing across the valley swirled among her fur in beautiful vortexes, spreading out as guided by her tails, eventually causing ripples to spread across the thawed river surface in the distance.

The nine-tailed fox was looking down at Suer and Xinke.

Chapter 44: The Kind Nine Tails

However, her gaze was unexpectedly calm, at least not at all like the situation Yakumo Yukari had described, where she would die if she didn't agree to be her subordinate. There was no domineering aura in her eyes. From this perspective, the blonde banshee had indeed lied as Sull had expected.

If Sull, believing himself to be weak, chooses to launch a sneak attack on the Nine-Tailed Fox upon its appearance in the future in hopes of gaining a greater chance of victory, then what happens will be exactly as the cunning monster desires.

However, Suer didn't blame him much. After all, Yakumo Yukari was just a youkai, and youkai... well, those who know, know. It would be a shame not to use the word "youkai" if they didn't engage in scheming and trickery. Besides, Yakumo Yukari hadn't actually witnessed his power when she revealed this information.

This condescending gaze lasted only a few seconds. Before her subordinates, who were further away, could approach after noticing her unusual movements, the Nine-Tailed Fox signaled them to retreat again. She then lay down once more, looking at Suer and Xinke with the widest possible eye level.

Without completely humbling herself, nor putting on airs, Suer's fondness for the nine-tailed fox unconsciously rose again—although this fondness was already quite high given the nine-tailed fox's jade-like beauty.

There's a saying that goes something like that, isn't there?

A beautiful appearance also needs a beautiful heart to support it.

What should I do? Even he wants to raise him.

"What...are you?" the large fox in front of her asked curiously. Her voice was more forceful than Suer had imagined, but it was still gentle and feminine, very calm and unhurried.

Unlike the clueless blonde banshee who insisted that Suer and Xinke were monsters, this nine-tailed fox saw it from the start.

"Human, just call me Sul, and her name is Xinke," Sul said politely, nodding as she introduced herself.

However, his honest opinion was not accepted. The big fox just frowned and sniffed—well, even Sue couldn't see her eyebrows clearly, to be precise, he saw the big fox narrow her eyes.

"Unwilling to reveal yourself?" The fox made this judgment precisely because it knew what kind of race humans were. However, the great fox didn't seem angry; hiding one's race was all too common in this era. "What brings you here?"

The origins of a demon often reveal its weaknesses, which is why most demons will keep these secrets hidden. The nine-tailed fox doesn't care about such a trivial matter.

"Well, I'm not lying," Su Er said, scratching his head awkwardly. Every time he introduced himself, no one believed him. He suddenly realized that he didn't know how to start the conversation after coming to the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Are you suggesting we just say we came here because you're pretty, so we're planning to keep you as a pet?

Or is it that Izumo is about to attack, and we've come here to assess both sides and see which one suits our needs better, or perhaps to wipe out both?

Suer's intelligence and emotional intelligence are not that low. Such condescending and arrogant words would probably anger even the most good-tempered person... and the monsters would probably die today.

"Do you know what's happening in Yamato?" Xin Ke asked directly when they were in Surababa.

Judging from her serious demeanor at this moment, it's impossible to imagine that this woman was making a huge fuss with Suer during their telepathic connection, saying things like "I want to raise you!"

“…I see. I’m starting to believe you’re human now.” After Xin Ke finished speaking, the big fox unexpectedly nodded slightly. It’s unclear how she came to this conclusion.

"For humanity, the present-day Yamato Kingdom is perhaps the best time of its existence, apart from the period immediately following its founding." Clearly, the great fox was intimately familiar with the experiences of the people of Yamato Kingdom over the past few centuries, so much so that its tone became somber, as if it were mourning the departed souls.

Like the warm sun, in that respect alone, this great fox truly lives up to its origin as the side of the sun... even though Sull has not yet seen the existence of the shadow.

"Perhaps," Suer replied dryly, unable to comprehend the pain. "You should know, right? To the east, the army sent by the Yamato Kingdom is already approaching. Putting aside any uncertainties that might arise on the spot, their strength, a mixture of demonic and divine power, is indeed greater than yours... Aren't you leaving?"

As he spoke, Su'er's gaze drifted to the shrimp soldiers and crab generals gathered by the nine-tailed foxes on the other side. His meaning was clear: the army that had gathered the strongest forces in the entire Izumo Kingdom was not something the nine-tailed foxes could withstand.

Even if she is a side manifestation of Amaterasu Omikami, unless Izumo chooses to always fight her one-on-one, she will not be a match for a swarm of gods and yokai—which is obviously impossible, as neither gods nor yokai are such fair-weather friends.

"...Have you come to remind me?" The large, jade-colored fox softened its gaze and rubbed its paws together rather cutely. "Thank you."

"Thank you for your kindness... but it's no longer necessary," the nine-tailed fox said calmly as she thanked him once more. "I am merely a pathetic life that has escaped from delusion... and I am not alone on the path to death."

She seemed to have already foreseen her own death, and calmly accepted this commanded death, even a ritualistic one, sacrificing herself.

Suer and Xin could sense that the big fox seemed to be implying something in its words, but no matter how much Suer asked, the big fox, which was quite kind to them, did not give in. Forcing it was pointless, after all, who could force someone who was determined to die?

Suer couldn't find a weakness that he could use to coerce her.

Delusion? Escape? Pathetic?

The fox seemed to want to take all the secrets she knew to the underworld with her death, and could only reveal the sentiments in her words. From this perspective, the expedition of Izumo Kingdom had a different purpose.

"Can you tell us about Amaterasu? She's your goddess," Suer asked in a deep voice, sitting cross-legged in front of the nine-tailed fox. "The more detailed the better."

He wanted to learn more about Takamagahara, the land where the gods lived. Compared to the relatively well-behaved Sur, Shinko simply started rolling around on the big fox, and the fox didn't seem angry at all, letting Shinko play as she pleased.

Chapter Forty-Five: The Fox's Intent

"...Amaterasu?"

Before actually seeing it, Suer could hardly imagine that such a complex expression could appear on the face of a large fox, seemingly a mixture of respect, helplessness, disgust, and pain. The large fox face was filled with expressions that could not be simply described in two words, all because of the two words Suer mentioned.

"Or rather, what is the whole of Takamagahara like inside? We were lucky enough to see the stone sphere containing the spirits of Amagahara disappear at the top of the Milky Way. Is that Takamagahara? Is it still possible to enter it now?" Su Er asked casually, as if he were just a passerby.

Suer wondered if the large fox was being so friendly because it sensed something special about him and Xinke. Suer simply didn't believe that such a monster would allow others to swim freely among its fur. Perhaps she saw something that weaker monsters couldn't possibly see, but it didn't matter. Since she was willing to cooperate, Suer also wanted to learn more about this world.

"You want to go to Takamagahara?" the nine-tailed fox asked in surprise.

"I was just curious," Suer replied frankly.

"Give up. The gates of Takamagahara have been closed. Even I cannot return... No, perhaps it is a good thing that we cannot return..." The jade-colored fox shook her head and advised, her sudden change of words seemingly hinting at something happening inside Takamagahara.

And just so happens, this is exactly the kind of secret story that Suer loves to hear... exploring the mysterious unknown.

"Why?" he couldn't help but ask.

"I do not know," the great fox said frighteningly frankly. "I fell into the land of Reed Plains before the Milky Way blocked my way. No one knows what Takamagahara looks like now. If you want to know about the Takamagahara of the past, I can tell you that the gods drank and made merry there all day long, praising Amaterasu in hymns, regardless of the year or month... But, that's not what you want to know, is it?"

With the descent of the nine-tailed fox as the dividing line, he had no interest in Takamagahara before that. Compared to the boring lives of those gods, he wanted to know the secrets of those hundreds of years, because it was obvious that only Takamagahara after the gods cut off the passage was worth exploring.

“We learned from a monster in the past that the Milky Way is now blocked, and even the gods cannot move freely between the three worlds. Do you know why this is?” Before Suer could speak, Xin Ke, who was in tune with him, popped her head out from the glowing fur of the nine-tailed fox and asked, “As someone who is on the side of Amaterasu, you should know the reason, right?”