In Miketsu's opinion, the location of her shrine wasn't very good.
First, it was on the outskirts of the city. Although Heian-kyo was already the largest and most prosperous city in all of Japan, very few people were willing to walk a long way out of the city and then travel several more kilometers to such a remote place to worship. This was especially true in an era with extremely underdeveloped transportation and unsafe roads. There was no shortage of shrines and temples for worship within Heian-kyo itself.
Second, it was built too high up. The entire Inari Shrine was constructed on a relatively flat piece of land between the three main peaks of Mount Inari, its overall position being above the mountainside. It was connected to the foot of the mountain only by a long, winding sando paved with bluestone slabs. This path was not wide, and in some places, it was quite steep, making it difficult to climb overall. Although Miketsu had ridden Tsuruha up and down the mountain today and hadn't experienced it firsthand, she had learned from the miko's idle chatter that it usually took an ordinary person more than an hour, or even longer, to climb from the foot of the mountain to the shrine. If they didn't rest, they would have to lean against the torii gate, gasping for breath for a good while after reaching the top.
Because it was a difficult climb, not many people from the village at the foot of the mountain came up to worship. In the two or three days since Miketsu had crossed over, she hadn't seen any other outsiders come to pray.
It was now dusk. Would someone actually go through the trouble of climbing the sando up the mountain?
At this thought, Miketsu grew curious. She carefully observed the figure slowly ascending the stone steps of the sando and found it to be quite familiar.
It was a boy of about twelve or thirteen. He wore thin clothes covered in patches, straw sandals on his feet, and his hair was messy. His young face was smudged with dirt, and he carried a large basket on his back, his expression etched with fatigue.
Miketsu recognized him. He was not a worshipper, but the child of a tenant farmer from the village below who regularly transported daily supplies to the shrine. On average, he would climb up to the shrine alone every three days or so, carrying a full basket on his back.
Seeing the boy slowly climbing the sando, Miketsu felt a little curious. The last time he came, Miketsu happened to be watching from the torii gate as well, but it hadn't been this late then.
The boy finished climbing the sando and entered the shrine. The miko, who was squinting and occasionally nodding off by the worship hall, immediately shook her head to clear it and went to greet him.
"Ahem... Sister Reiko! I'm so sorry for being so late today..."
"Ah! It's alright, Saburo. Just put the things there. I'll take it from here."
After setting down the heavy basket and taking a couple of breaths, Saburo received the copper coins from Reiko as payment, just as he always did. But as he was about to leave, Reiko noticed that Saburo's complexion didn't look very good.
"What's wrong, Saburo? Are you not feeling well? Or did something else happen?"
"It's nothing, I just caught a bit of a cold. My family has already had a physician look at it. Thank you for your concern, Sister Reiko..." Saburo replied, his face slightly red at Reiko's inquiry. Just then, something else seemed to occur to him. He paused for a moment before asking.
"Sister Reiko... I just wanted to ask, has anyone come to the shrine to worship recently?"
"Worship? No one has come in the last two days. Why do you ask?"
"It's nothing, I was just asking. It's getting late, so I'll head back down the mountain..." After saying this, Saburo gave Reiko one last greeting and left immediately. "Alright, be careful on your way. Take good care of yourself when you get back."
Amidst Reiko's comforting words, Saburo slowly walked down the sando. Miketsu had watched the entire exchange. Watching Saburo descend the stone steps, Miketsu's brow furrowed slightly.
Something wasn't right...
In Miketsu's eyes, which were open to spiritual vision, Saburo was different from a normal person. A faint black aura drifted from his body, and a swarm of aberrations surrounded him, with some even climbing directly onto him.
Do sickly people attract these things more easily? Although they aren't a major threat, attracting too many aberrations could still worsen his illness.
As Miketsu was pondering, Saburo, who was walking down the stone steps, suddenly stopped. He turned around and bowed before the weathered, dark red torii gate.
What the?!
Saburo's action startled Miketsu, who was sitting cross-legged atop the torii. However, before she could react further, an ethereal voice sounded in the depths of her heart.
'May the great god protect me... I hope I don't hear that voice again on the way down.'
The ethereal voice faded. Saburo straightened up, turned, and continued down the sando toward the foot of the mountain, while Miketsu remained stunned on the torii.
What was that voice just now? He was praying, and I can hear the sound of his prayer? Is this another thing gods can do?
In just an instant, Miketsu immediately figured out the reason for this sudden event, which gave her a new understanding of her identity as a god.
But speaking of which, what was that sound Saburo mentioned? Without dwelling on why she could hear prayers, Miketsu quickly began to ponder another question. What was this so-called sound Saburo had mentioned?
He had just said he hoped not to hear it again on the way down, which meant he had heard it on his way up. So, Saburo had heard some sound on the sando, a sound that made him uneasy—so uneasy that he didn't forget to pray to me before leaving. Miketsu didn't think Saburo knew that the god of this shrine had awakened; his prayer was likely just for peace of mind.
He had asked the miko earlier if anyone had come to worship, probably to confirm whether the sound on the sando belonged to a visitor. However, the miko's answer was no. Saburo only mentioned a sound, which meant he hadn't seen a corresponding person.
"In other words, there might be a strange sound of unknown origin on the sando right now?" Miketsu muttered to herself. If she had heard such superstitious talk in her previous world, she would have ignored it. But here, in this world where gods and demons were real, everything had to be considered.
"A sound? At dusk?"
As she pondered, Miketsu's gaze shifted to the setting sun in the west. Then, the words Tsuruha had spoken to her this morning gradually resurfaced in her mind.
'The human realm itself is the greatest protection for mortals. For a mortal, being able to see and hear impure things is by no means a blessing.'
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