Chapter 42 - Appetite.

While the great Onmyoji families within Heian-kyo were stirring with undercurrents because of the name Asakura Hao, Miketsu on Inari Mountain was deep in a beautiful dream.

The moment she returned from Heian-kyo, feeling as if her entire body was about to fall apart, Miketsu immediately stripped off her dust- and blood-stained clothes, jumped into the hot spring in the secret realm, and successfully fell asleep while soaking. She was eventually rescued by the foxes just as she was about to drown, though she wasn't sure if a deity could actually drown.

Inside the small building in the secret realm, Miketsu slept for an entire day. By the time she woke up with a yawn, it was already noon the next day. Her stomach, having gone almost a full day without food, promptly protested.

And when Miketsu, dressed and seated at the dining table, happily prepared to feast, her expression suddenly froze. For a long while, she made no move to pick up her chopsticks.

At this moment, what lay before Miketsu was not her usual grilled fish, rice, and miso soup, but an exceptionally exquisite boat-shaped dish. Piled on the dish was a mound of ice, and on top of the ice were several large... squids.

Moreover, these squids appeared to have undergone no cooking process whatsoever; they had merely been skillfully sliced open by the chef, their tentacles severed, and meticulously arranged on the dish. They looked incredibly fresh, so fresh that Miketsu could even see the severed tentacles still curling on their own, and the cut bodies subtly wriggling.

What in the world is this?!

"Lady Uka, please eat quickly. To celebrate your ability to finally use some of your power, I specifically went to Heian-kyo to buy this squid sashimi. Please enjoy it~" Standing beside Miketsu, the divine fox Tsuruha said, wagging her tail happily.

Seeing her divine messenger's happy demeanor, Miketsu couldn't help but feel a bead of cold sweat trickle down her forehead, and she involuntarily swallowed.

"I, I say, Tsuruha... are you sure this thing is edible?"

"Of course it's edible, Lady Uka. These are precious foods among humans; ordinary people usually can't get them," Tsuruha replied as if it were obvious, hearing Miketsu's question.

It's still high-class food? This was just caught raw, sliced a few times, and served directly, wasn't it? Is it really that casual?

While Miketsu wasn't incapable of eating raw food, she had eaten sashimi before, but at least that didn't move. Although there was nothing actually wrong with eating this, psychologically, Miketsu just couldn't accept it at the moment.

"What... Lady Uka, could it be that you want to eat it?" Tsuruha asked curiously, seeing Miketsu's current expression.

"Hmm... you should just give me the usual everyday meal instead." Hearing Tsuruha's words, Miketsu nodded solemnly. This was the first time she had formally refused a dish prepared by her divine messenger.

"Oh... I see. I'm very sorry, Lady Uka. Tsuruha didn't think it through; this is Tsuruha's fault." Hearing Miketsu's words, Tsuruha's wagging tail stopped, and her previously upright ears drooped. The happy mood she had earlier was suddenly halved.

Seeing Tsuruha like this, Miketsu felt a little bad, but she ultimately decided it was better to refuse the food this time. Otherwise, she didn't know what else her messenger might bring her in the future.

To be honest, if Miketsu had encountered this dish in her previous life, she might have tried it out of curiosity. But ever since coming to this world, she had been mentally and physically exhausted by all sorts of seafood pickles, and was truly unable to enjoy such fiercely raw squid sashimi.

Afterward, Tsuruha and the foxes took away the sashimi dish. Half an hour later, they served Miketsu a meal that was within her acceptable range. After finishing this light and simple meal, Miketsu, as usual, went to her exclusive spot, the shrine's torii gate, to space out.

After skillfully climbing onto the torii gate using a nearby tree, Miketsu flopped onto it like a dried fish, basking in the sun. At this moment, her mind was entirely occupied by that plate of constantly wriggling squid sashimi.

Due to her long-term inability to adapt to the local cuisine, that plate of sashimi almost became a psychological trauma for her.

She, who had once been accustomed to various delicacies, was now almost fed up with the endless bland meals and raw seafood. Miketsu felt as if she had almost forgotten what meat tasted like.

Now, she desperately craved to eat delicious meat once more.

"Meat... meat..." Miketsu, looking dejected, lay weakly on the torii gate, her eyes half-closed, continuously groaning. If a mortal were to see her like this, they would surely mistake her for a yokai rather than a deity.

"Meat... meat... I really want to eat meat... I really want to eat..."

"Lady Uka, do you wish to eat meat?"

Just then, a clear, slightly childish female voice reached Miketsu's ears. It was a voice Miketsu found somewhat familiar, but it wasn't Tsuruha's.

Hearing this voice, Miketsu immediately sat up on the torii gate. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw a small white fox sitting at the end of the crossbeam of the torii gate, directly opposite her.

"You are... Konkiku?"

Miketsu recalled the name of the fox before her; this was the fox who had suggested pledging allegiance to the Yokai Lord that day when Tsuruha was reprimanding the group of foxes. Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

"Oh, oh! Lady Uka actually remembers my name! Konkiku is so happy! Usually, you don't talk to the foxes much, except for Sister Tsuruha." Seeing that Miketsu remembered her name, Konkiku seemed very happy; she immediately jumped up with joy.

Uh... I don't talk to you much because I don't understand...

Miketsu muttered internally after hearing Konkiku's words. Although there were many foxes on Inari Mountain, only a handful could speak human language.

"Hmm... why are you here? Didn't Tsuruha assign you any tasks or lessons today?" Miketsu asked, looking at the little fox. Generally, intelligent foxes on Inari Mountain would be given various patrol duties or training exercises by Tsuruha, so they usually didn't have much time to wander around during the day.

"Hehe... I am actually on patrol duty right now~ I came over because I heard a strange sound. I thought it was a yokai, but I didn't expect to run into Lady Uka," Konkiku said, looking at Miketsu with a knowing smile.

"......" Hearing Konkiku's words, Miketsu felt a wave of embarrassment and was momentarily speechless. At this moment, she seemed to realize that the sounds she had made earlier were a bit too loud.

"But anyway, Lady Uka, do you really want to eat meat?"