Ei nodded, thinking that even Yae Miko wouldn't oppose this title.
Indeed, Yae Miko not only didn't oppose it—she wished Hanachirusato would take her place right now.
For Yae Miko, how great would it be to be a carefree little fox? She'd spend her days teasing Ei and managing Yae Publishing House.
Being a Grand Shrine Maiden was just a job; Yae Publishing House was her life.
In the story, after the Traveler and Paimon had eaten their fill, they headed to the third sealing location.
The third seal was in Chinju Forest, not far from the second one, and it was home to the tanuki clan.
As soon as the Traveler arrived, she heard a strange voice say:
["Oh, there's definitely no one around. Even if there were, they wouldn't understand what I'm saying."]
He was immediately proven wrong, because the Traveler could indeed understand him. Lumine, the woman destined to become the King of Adventurers, could listen to the voices of all things—so what?
The mysterious voice noticed the Traveler's arrival and, judging by her scent, realized she was of the same kind but unfamiliar, and eagerly called out to her.
[Strange Voice: "Over here! Over here, hurry up!"]
But the Traveler didn't rush to find the source of the voice. Instead, she first checked the Sky Kitsune Statue holding the Sacred Object. It was empty—the Sacred Object was gone.
[Paimon said: "Maybe it was hidden by that masked lady's 'old friend.' Let's go ask!"]
The masked lady was the nickname she gave Hanachirusato. You know, Paimon had given out plenty of nicknames and had been given many herself.
But the Traveler vetoed this nickname, and Paimon obediently dropped it.
The two continued exploring, this time following the strange voice that kept calling out to the Traveler.
["You're almost here! Can you see a majestic, imposing tanuki statue?"]
["Oh, it's been so long since I've seen such a powerful kin. I'm so excited."]
He truly hadn't seen many kin from outside Chinju Forest, let alone one as strong as this. Maybe this time there was hope of breaking free?
The Traveler found the source of the voice—a massive tanuki statue.
The tanuki was chubby and adorable, with a smaller tanuki statue nestled on its belly.
The statue was initially thrilled. After all, stuck here unable to move, it had been ages since he'd seen unfamiliar kin, and the ones around him were all kids.
Meeting a grown, powerful kin like the Traveler felt like encountering an old friend in a foreign land—finally, he wouldn't have to play preschool teacher anymore.
But when the Traveler got closer, he wasn't happy anymore. This wasn't a kin—it was a human! Why did a human have the scent of a tanuki youkai?
The statue couldn't figure it out, but he had a bad feeling. He'd been turned into this by a human.
["Eek—it's a human! Where'd this human come from! Dear Hilichurl heroes, save me!"]
The statue chose to call out to the Hilichurls. At least Hilichurls wouldn't attack a random rock for no reason.
The Traveler found it baffling. You were so enthusiastic when I was far away, but now that I'm close, you're avoiding me? What, you got avoidant attachment issues?
The surrounding Hilichurls couldn't understand what the statue was saying, but his voice still drew their attention.
As soon as they saw the Traveler, the Hilichurls turned into 'fans,' crowding around Lumine for autographs.
After Lumine signed their bodies with her sword, they vanished, satisfied.
The Hilichurls, whom the statue had pinned his hopes on, were no match for the Traveler. He gave up.
["Eek—I… I-I-I am Ioroi! Do whatever you want—kill me or cut me!"]
[Paimon: "Wow, the statue's talking! And it's so scared it can't even speak clearly!"]
It took Paimon this long to realize the statue was talking.
[Ioroi: "I'm not some statue! I was just temporarily sealed and turned into this! I am the world-renowned tanuki youkai, Ioroi!"]
Readers recalled that the enigmatic man had mentioned 'Ioroi' causing a ruckus with his clan in Chinju Forest, and he planned to vent his frustrations by punishing them.
They hadn't expected he'd seal them directly into statues. The statues in Chinju Forest weren't just 'art pieces'—they were actual sealed tanuki youkai.
Wait, how could they not be art? Weren't they the 'works' of the artist Kamuna Harunosuke?
The Traveler naturally didn't recognize Ioroi. Even though Ioroi told many stories about tanuki and himself, the Traveler had never heard any of them.
Ioroi assumed the Traveler was Inazuman and sighed, wondering how long he'd been sealed for Inazumans to no longer know him.
[Ioroi: "So, what do you want with the great Tanuki King, me?"]
The Traveler took the chance to ask about the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual and the Sacred Object.
["Steamed stuff? Is that food? We tanuki are quite skilled at cooking."]
["Daifuku? Oh, it's been so long since I've had daifuku…"]
Readers got it—this Ioroi was a total dimwit. If not for the name, you'd think he was Arataki Itto talking.
How was Itto, an Oni, so similar to a tanuki youkai?
So far, the humans and youkai in this story were one mysterious and powerful figure after another. How come you're such a letdown?
Paimon was also curious. Was this guy really the masked shrine maiden's old friend? How did he know nothing? And he seemed so silly—not even as smart as her.
So, Paimon stopped talking about the Sacred Object or the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual and instead asked directly about the item in the fox statue. That should be simple enough, right?
["Eek—w-why do you want that thing?!"]
["That comb—it's what got me sealed…"]
Ioroi's words trailed off. He wanted to say how long he'd been sealed, but he couldn't figure out how many years it had been.
After all, in Chinju Forest, you couldn't even see the sun. Unlike Sun Wukong counting peach ripenings, there weren't even peaches here.
Chinju Forest was quiet, mysterious, and lightless—Sayu's favorite sleeping spot, perfect for napping.
Ioroi couldn't move, so he'd probably spent most of these years sleeping or lulling kids to sleep.
Readers were curious. Weren't you sealed for causing a ruckus? Why blame the comb?
What, you got mad because no one was brushing your fur?
Conveniently, Ioroi in the story explained why he was sealed.
["Back then, I was trying to lure out that stinking fox by causing a big commotion, but it didn't work."]
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice · Yae Miko: About Hanachirusato
"Hm… She's very similar to her, yet different. She's so gentle, it almost made me lose control back then…"