The Subordinate Gods

To be honest, Miketsu had originally thought that Oitsuki would be despondent for a while after being rejected in the first round. However, she hadn't expected the girl to recover so quickly. From the look of things, she hadn't just stabilized the faith in her original village; she had even expanded, to the point of threatening the faith of other wild gods...

One had to admit that in terms of passion and devotion as a deity, Oitsuki was far stronger than Miketsu herself. Once Oitsuki had the assistance of the foxes Miketsu sent out, the speed of her faith collection had essentially taken a massive leap forward... Well, perhaps after a while, she could go and see exactly how much faith Oitsuki had gathered.

Looking at the dejected sisters before her, Miketsu found herself in a bit of a predicament. These two had come to lodge a complaint because Oitsuki had stolen their faith by 'impersonating' her. The crux of the matter was that lending out the divine name and allowing Oitsuki to gather faith for Inari was actually something Miketsu had tacitly allowed and even encouraged; she couldn't very well dampen Oitsuki's enthusiasm because of this.

However, these two sisters also needed a proper answer and arrangement. After all, they were quite pitiful. What was the best way to handle this? Miketsu began to ponder the situation, and a glimmer of understanding gradually surfaced between her brows.

"Inari Okami-sama... we are different from other wild gods. We were not originally yokai, so faith is vital to us. Without faith, we might disappear... so... so we hope you can intervene in this matter..." Seeing Miketsu silent in thought, Aki Shizuha continued respectfully, her expression incredibly sincere. To them, faith was not merely power; it was the very foundation of their existence in this world.

"I understand your situation. Although the truth of this matter is slightly different from what you imagine, I might be able to offer you a way to resolve the problem," Miketsu said slowly, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth as she looked at the Aki sisters.

"A way to resolve it?" Hearing Miketsu's words, the Aki sisters tilted their heads in unison, confused. They had previously thought Inari Okami would simply respond with whether or not she was willing to help them get rid of the wild god who was stealing faith under her name.

"Yes. Since you cannot defeat her, perhaps you should join her."

"Join her?!" The Aki sisters were even more bewildered by Miketsu's suggestion.

"What I mean is, the deity you spoke of is not falsely using my name. She has my permission to use the name of Inari... and, if you wish, I can allow you to use the divine name of Inari as well. In the end, if you are all 'Inari gods,' there will be no need to fight, and you can sit down and talk properly." Miketsu continued with a smile, while the Aki sisters were clearly stunned by her words. they sat there frozen for a long time before finally snapping out of it and speaking slowly.

"You... you mean that yokai using your name had your consent?"

"And... and you said we could be like her, using your divine name to gather faith?"

Their voices grew increasingly shocked. It was evident they found it hard to believe Miketsu would say such a thing. In response to their reaction, Miketsu gave a small, smiling nod.

"Correct. If you are all Inari gods by then, many problems will naturally be solved."

Following this, Miketsu provided the Aki sisters with a detailed introduction to the conditions for using the Inari name. This included various precautions, the utilization of Inari's influence, the provision of divine messengers to act as supervisors and assistants, and the requirement to remit a small portion of gathered faith to the main shrine once their influence expanded to a certain level. These details left the Aki sisters completely dazed; they barely managed to pull their thoughts together before being blown away again.

For the first time, they heard that an established deity could share their divine name with wild gods. They never expected that Oitsuki had been granted recognition by Miketsu to use the Inari name, and even less that Miketsu would promise that they could do the same!

"Using... the name of Inari..." Aki Minoriko murmured. As the God of Harvest, she naturally knew the significance of the Inari name. That was— "And even having a divine messenger..." Aki Shizuha’s tone carried a sense of the incredible. For local wild gods like them, things like divine messengers were a pipe dream.

"Yes, that is right. You will become my subordinate gods and gather faith in the name of Inari. Your powers are autumn leaves and harvest; I believe you are even more suited for the Inari name than Oitsuki," Miketsu continued, explaining the concept of 'subordinate gods' she had created herself.

The Inari faith had once been extremely prosperous throughout the Kinki region. As an agricultural deity, Inari Okami possessed influence among the common folk that surpassed other established deities. Although the faith had declined for a time due to her dormancy and the fox hunters, the latent influence was still there. If Inari Okami manifested her presence again, she could rapidly attract a massive amount of faith.

After all, compared to the fickle wild gods who were nearly yokai and occasionally caused trouble, an established deity recorded in mythology, serving as an official object of faith with deep divine virtue, was undoubtedly more attractive. In a situation where both could manifest miracles, it was obvious who people would choose to believe in. This was the primary reason the Aki sisters couldn't compete with Oitsuki for faith.

So, if you can't beat them, join them! You shall also become Inari gods, allowing you to compete with Oitsuki on equal footing! Furthermore, you can utilize the latent power of the Inari faith to expand your own influence even faster! And you’ll have the help of divine messengers. All you have to pay in return is a small percentage of faith contributed to the main shrine.

When Miketsu laid out all these benefits before the Aki sisters, they seemed stunned by the 'pie in the sky' that had suddenly hit them. It took quite a while for them to slowly react, and then they bowed deeply to Miketsu in unison.

"Please, please let us become your subordinate gods and use the Inari name! Truly, thank you so much!"

Watching this scene, the smile at the corners of Miketsu's mouth deepened.

...

Thereafter, Miketsu kept the Aki sisters at the shrine for a day. She then gathered the foxes of Mount Inari and selected an excellent one who had gained sentience and performed well in all aspects. She instructed him to follow the Aki sisters and serve as an assistant and guide. The Aki sisters were so fond of their first-ever divine messenger that they took turns holding him, never letting him touch the ground.

Actually, at first, these foxes didn't really want to leave Mount Inari or Miketsu. To solve this, Miketsu promised them that they could return to Mount Inari to switch shifts after working outside for a while. Only after establishing this rotation system did they feel at ease going out to work.

Early the next morning, the Aki sisters, cradling the fox messenger, bid a solemn farewell to Miketsu. Upon their return, they would begin gathering faith in the name of Inari. The Inari fox accompanying them would represent Miketsu, helping them establish Inari shrines, mediating conflicts between them and Oitsuki, and coordinating their joint efforts to develop the Inari faith.

Standing atop the torii gate, Miketsu gazed at the Aki sisters as they gradually moved away down the sando path. Watching the two wild god sisters she had just 'incorporated,' she nodded with satisfaction.

Miketsu felt she had discovered a new way to expand the Inari faith.