//Support my other work <> Danmachi: Ancient God
After finishing their shopping spree, Rod took Asia around to visit some of Kyoto's most famous tourist spots.
From Ginkaku-ji to Kinkaku-ji.
Rod had first heard of these places through a tokusatsu show. In that episode, a monster appeared at Kinkaku-ji and melted it into a pool of gold to absorb it. That had left young Rod thinking the temple was made of solid gold ,only to later learn it was merely covered in gold leaf for show.
Asia, for her part, was visibly moved by the sight. Just like younger Rod, she asked whether Kinkaku-ji was truly made of gold.
Without mercy, Rod shattered her fantasy. "Nope. It's just a tourist trap."
And so, after ruthlessly crushing the girl's illusion, Rod led her onward to the next attraction.
Time passed quietly.
As night fell, the two wandered into a local "festival," which was really just an elaborate night market.
Though it didn't have any historical sites, the abundance of street food was more than enough to catch Rod's interest.
Back in the day when he didn't have missions, Rod passed time either scrolling through his phone or hunting down snacks.
Fortunately, his body didn't store fat, and he kept up with regular training. So even after years of indulgence, he still had no trace of excess weight.
Asia, on the other hand, gave him stop.
She'd once been skinny from overwork and malnutrition, but after just a few days with Rod, her cheeks were already starting to look rounder.
Just then ,
Rod noticed a few neutral white dots closing in on the system map.
Shortly after, a somewhat youthful voice reached his ears.
"Excuse me… you're not locals, are you?"
The speaker was a blonde girl in a shrine maiden outfit, standing at the top of a nearby stairway.
Her golden hair shimmered like ripened wheat ,slightly different from Asia's more rapeseed-flower yellow. Her golden eyes sparkled with curiosity, clearly intrigued by Rod as she eyed him with open interest.
"And you are…?"
Asia glanced at Rod, then back at the shrine maiden, clearly confused.
Rod, however, found the girl vaguely familiar.
More importantly, her aura was entirely different from that of a normal human.
This was one of the drawbacks of shifting from 2D to 3D ,character designs could feel off in real life.
Unless the character had particularly distinct features, it was hard to recognize them at a glance.
Even for Rod.
Fortunately, the system helpfully pulled up a character panel.
[Name: Kunou]
[Description: A direct descendant of the golden nine-tailed fox, created not through natural means but from the nine-tail's own essence.]
Upon seeing the name, Rod realized why he hadn't recognized her.
Kunou was a side character from the main story who didn't appear until the protagonists traveled to Kyoto ,like Koneko, she was part of the "flat chest" squad.
No wonder she hadn't left a strong impression. That explained everything.
In contrast, Rod had a much clearer memory of her mother, Yasaka. Mount Fuji wasn't the only thing that was impressively large.
Unfortunately, no new mission was triggered.
So this little fox had just come out to play?
Soon after, her conversation with Asia confirmed as much.
"I'm one of the yokai from Kyoto ,my name's Kunou."
"Lady Kunou!"
Behind the little shrine maiden stood two masked individuals in traditional kimonos, both radiating faint yokai energy. Like the slain Shōshin Kōbu and Onra, they were from the yokai faction.
Unlike those two, however, the Kyoto yokai weren't unified. While Kunou was technically a yokai leader, she belonged to the more peaceful faction.
The moment their lady revealed her identity, her two bodyguards panicked.
"Yokai?" Asia echoed, eyes wide with surprise.
She wasn't familiar with Eastern mythology, so the term "yokai" meant little to her.
"My lady! You can't just reveal your identity like that to humans. It violates the agreement we made with the Five Great Clans!"
The guards were clearly on edge.
"Who cares about that dumb rule! Those exorcists are always picking on us anyway. And didn't some other yokai attack them last night? They're probably too busy to bother with us right now!"
Kunou puffed her cheeks in frustration.
"Besides, Asia's not an ordinary person. I've seen her on TV ,she's some saintess from a faraway land, right?"
The guards fell silent. They knew better than to argue with their talkative lady. Instead, they wisely chose the "silent" option.
Their job was to ensure her safety, nothing more.
Even so, their eyes never left Rod.
On the surface, he looked like a normal man ,but something about his gaze sent shivers down their spines.
If he so much as moved strangely, they'd whisk their lady away in an instant.
Thankfully, the rest of the encounter went smoothly. Kunou and Asia got along like old friends, giggling and chatting the whole time.
Rod, meanwhile, mulled over the details Kunou had let slip.
It was clear that the deaths of Shōshin Kōbu and Onra had triggered serious ripples throughout the Kyoto yokai community.
That disturbance had given Kunou the chance to sneak out into the human world.
After all, the Five Great Clans were likely too distracted now to monitor the local yokai.
Good times always ended too soon.
Despite only just meeting, Kunou and Asia had already made plans to hang out again.
Unfortunately, Rod never received an invitation.
So much for meeting the great nine-tailed fox.
Then again, he did recall that the treasure box he'd looted from the Inner Sanctuary still contained the sealed remnants of a powerful fox spirit.
He wondered how that being would compare to Yasaka.
As for the other two ,Shuten-dōji and Ōtakemaru ,just hearing their names made it obvious they weren't the friendly type. He'd need to find a way to deal with them soon.
And let's not forget the God-Slaying Tool dropped by Augusta.
Rod figured it was time to refine the thing and make it his.
He hadn't used it yet simply because he had no idea where to begin.
Items dropped by locals were very different from those granted directly by the system.
The latter were ready to use out of the box. The former? They required patience, talent, effort ,maybe even luck.
Still thinking it over, Rod ended the day's outing with Asia.
And the next morning, someone knocked at the hotel room door.
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