Chapter 268: The Origin of the Killing Stone (Sessho-seki)
"You certainly kept me waiting, Hikigaya-hachi-kun..."
At three o'clock in the afternoon, in an Inari Shrine closest to Chiba, the Inari God, still wearing a luxurious kimono, looked at Hachiman Hikigaya sitting across from her with a hint of reproach in her eyes.
Although for her, only a few days had passed since the two of them last met.
Yet, in such a short time, Hachiman Hikigaya's aura had undergone a world-changing transformation.
"It seems Hikigaya-kun has correctly recognized his own strength."
Watching Hachiman Hikigaya inadvertently reveal confidence in his every gesture due to his formidable power, the Inari God nodded in satisfaction.
"I apologize for keeping you waiting. May I ask why you called me here?"
Hachiman Hikigaya was very grateful that the Inari God had promptly sent reinforcements during the Holy Grail War.
"Actually, it's nothing major. I was just curious because my partner suddenly took a trip to another world."
As the Inari God spoke, she carefully scrutinized Hachiman Hikigaya's face.
She wasn't sure if it was her illusion, but she felt that the spiritual power within Hachiman Hikigaya was exceptionally dense, giving her a sense of boundlessness.
'Is his spiritual power more than mine?'
The thought that subconsciously emerged in her mind made the Inari God feel a bit startled.
Even though her power had fallen from that of a Great God to a level barely capable of maintaining her status as a deity due to the loss of a large number of shrines and sources of worship (incense), the amount of spiritual power within her body definitely should not be comparable to Hachiman Hikigaya, whose strength was only equivalent to that of a King-rank.
"It seems Hikigaya-kun gained quite a lot of benefits in the other world."
Concealing the shock on her face without a trace, the Inari God brewed a cup of tea for Hachiman Hikigaya while starting to inquire about his experiences in the other world.
"Well, something like that."
Placing his right hand over his heart, recalling the expressionless face of Alaya, Hachiman Hikigaya nodded vaguely.
As compensation for purifying the Holy Grail's corruption, Alaya had merged a pure part of the Holy Grail into his heart, allowing him to continuously draw upon the Holy Grail's magic power even across worlds.
Simply put, he was now in an 'infinite mana' state.
However, this was something he only needed to know himself; there was absolutely no need to tell the Inari God.
"The reason I called you this time is actually to inform you of something."
Seeing Hachiman Hikigaya's lack of interest in discussing his life in the other world, the Inari God decisively ended the small talk and moved straight to today's topic.
"An announcement?"
"That's right!"
Seeing Hachiman Hikigaya's interest piqued, the Inari God nodded and continued:
"Do you still remember the incident where one of my shrines was attacked? The culprit stole an item that contained the little worship (incense) I had accumulated from the shrine."
"I naturally remember that. Did something happen?"
"Actually, after several days of investigation, my subordinate foxes have found out the reason why the culprit stole my worship (incense) that day..."
Mentioning her stolen worship (incense), the Inari God revealed a wry smile.
It was already difficult enough for her to sustain the existing size of her shrines. Yet, the incident of one-seventh of her worship being stolen occurred...
Currently, due to the lack of worship (incense) supply, her power had begun to gradually decline.
Although all Inari Shrines in Chiba City had been reclaimed, there was still a long blank period for dispatching subordinates to operate them, and then to re-gather worshippers and pilgrims to finally receive worship (incense).
During this period, if anything were to happen, everything would probably have to rely on Hachiman Hikigaya.
"So, what is the reason?"
Hearing that the Inari God could not provide effective help, Hachiman Hikigaya's heart did not change much.
After all, since he first met the Inari God, the main assistance he received was actually from the group of foxes under her command.
The troubles he encountered were still far from requiring the Inari God's direct involvement!
"You should be familiar with the Killing Stone (Sessho-seki), right?"
"Of course!"
Hachiman Hikigaya nodded.
His heart was integrated with a piece of the Killing Stone he had exchanged from the System.
Thanks to that small stone, his body's self-healing ability was now monstrous.
"Then, do you know the origin of the Killing Stone?"
Fiddling with the teacup in front of her, the Inari God asked with some hesitation.
"I don't know that."
"The Killing Stone is actually a heart too. But it's not a human heart; it's the heart of an demon deity..."
Mentioning the Killing Stone, a hint of reminiscence flashed across the Inari God's face.
When the Killing Stone's true owner was still alive, she was not in her current state of merely subsisting in a shrine.
Back then, she was the true Inari Great God who governed the harvest of grain!
"Due to some special reasons, that demon deity was annihilated by us deities along with the human forces. However, its heart, the source of its power, was found to be indestructible. Furthermore, after the humans discovered that its heart could provide numerous benefits, the Demon deity's heart was referred to as the Killing Stone and passed down."
"May I ask the name of that Demon deity?"
Hearing the Inari God's narrative, which sounded like a record of "killing a monster and getting loot," a few black lines drooped down Hachiman Hikigaya's forehead.
"You should be quite familiar with this. It was a Nine-Tailed Fox."
"Yes, indeed very familiar..."
Hearing the utterly cliché name of the Demon deity, Hachiman Hikigaya couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
A Nine-Tailed Fox.
To the Japanese, this creature was more than just familiar; it was an already over-familiar legend.
"So, that person stole the worship (incense) to resurrect the Nine-Tailed Fox?"
Mentioning the Nine-Tailed Fox, and one that was already dead, coupled with the Inari God specifically calling him over for this conversation, Hachiman Hikigaya felt he had guessed the truth of the matter with near certainty.
"Your wisdom truly astonishes me..."
The Inari God clearly hadn't expected Hachiman Hikigaya to guess what she was about to say before she even fully explained it.
However, after a brief moment of surprise, the Inari God felt relieved.
After all, since Hachiman Hikigaya could guess it in advance, he must also be prepared to deal with something like the Nine-Tailed Fox...
"No, actually, anyone in Japan who likes to read a few light novels could guess this based on what you said earlier."
As soon as the Inari God finished speaking, Hachiman Hikigaya explained with an expression difficult to describe in words.
As a 'boss resurrection' plot device that has become utterly commonplace in the light novel community, it would be weirder if he hadn't guessed it.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting