Chapter 45 - Departure.

On Inari Mountain in the dark night, the moon had already risen high in the sky, casting down silver moonlight, bringing a faint glow to the Inari Shrine, which had very few stone lantern lights.

Leaving the Secret Realm, Miketsu made her way to the spot she had arranged with Konkiku beforehand, by the shrine's torii gate. When she arrived, she saw the little white fox squatting there, having waited for a long time.

"Konkiku." Miketsu called out to Konkiku, who had her back to her, as she approached the torii gate. The little fox turned its head and was so startled by Miketsu's appearance that it stood straight up.

"Woah! You... are you Lady Uka?" Konkiku said, somewhat disbelievingly, looking at the dark figure before her. The entirely black robe, the bandages on the exposed parts, and the single crimson eye gleaming in the shadow of the hood, all gave her a sense of pressure.

If not for the familiar voice earlier, Konkiku would never have connected this gloomy, dark, and somewhat unsettling figure with the beautiful and sacred Uka-no-Mitama-no-Kami.

"Yes, it's me. How's my disguise?" Miketsu asked Konkiku, examining her outfit again. She needed someone else's opinion.

"It's great! Of course it's great! Lady Uka, you look so cool like this! You're even more like a yokai than some yokai!" Konkiku praised her repeatedly upon hearing Miketsu's words, but her comment made Miketsu's mouth twitch involuntarily.

More like a yokai than a yokai... well, I'll take that as a compliment. But speaking of which, why do you think this yokai-like appearance is cool?

"Yes, Lady Uka, your disguise is almost perfect. If not for your voice, I almost wouldn't have recognized you... Oh! Right now, your voice is the only thing missing. Your voice is too gentle and righteous, it doesn't suit this outfit at all!" Konkiku continued, pointing out the remaining issue with Uka's current attire.

"I can't help that. I can't change my voice," Miketsu said, shrugging helplessly. She had thought about this problem before, but she wasn't a voice mimic, and forcing a change in tone would only produce strange and uncomfortable results.

"Don't worry, Konkiku has a way for this," Konkiku said, trotting over to the side of the torii gate. A small bag with a coiled string was resting there. Konkiku rummaged through the bag for a while and then pulled out a paper ball.

"This is a Phantom Voice Stone. If you hold it in your mouth, it can change your speaking voice. It's made by a yokai called a Yobuko. It's said that different Phantom Voice Stones can produce different voices. Konkiku got this one by chance from a traveling Yobuko merchant who sold various voices." Konkiku dropped the paper ball at Miketsu's feet and continued speaking.

"Since the voice from this one doesn't quite suit Konkiku, I've never used it. It's perfect for you, Lady Uka."

Phantom Voice Stone? Another magical stone.

Miketsu picked up the paper ball and slowly unwrapped it. Inside, there was indeed a small stone. Through Spiritual Vision, she could see faint traces of yokai energy attached to it.

After checking that the small stone was relatively clean, Miketsu placed it in her mouth. Since it wasn't immediately burned away by Miketsu's demon-warding power, she could conclude that it wasn't part of a yokai.

"Ah... is that so?"

Miketsu spoke, and she could clearly feel that her voice had suddenly become much deeper, with a slight hoarseness, and was even difficult to distinguish by gender. It didn't sound like a normal human voice.

"Oh, oh! It really worked, Lady Uka!" Konkiku said happily, seeing Miketsu's voice had indeed changed.

"Is that so? Yokai items are truly amazing," Miketsu said, feeling her voice change. At the same time, she concluded that the stone likely affected the sound she produced, rather than her vocal organs, otherwise, with her resistance, the stone shouldn't have worked.

"This item is made from mountain stones in the deep mountains, eroded by yokai energy, so it naturally carries a faint yokai aura. This can perfectly disguise the aura emanating from you, Lady Uka. Now... only one more thing is left." Konkiku said, taking out another item from her small bag. Miketsu was very familiar with this item: a Turbid Qi Orb.

"Lady Uka, you must have brought the Turbid Qi Orb Tsuruha-nee-san gave you earlier, right? Please bring this one too. With two Turbid Qi Orbs, divine realm objects can be submerged into the Demon Realm."

Miketsu picked up the Turbid Qi Orb. At that moment, she felt a clear change in her surroundings. Many Aberrations appeared in her sight. Miketsu knew this was the feeling of entering the Demon Realm.

"You have quite a lot of good things on you," Miketsu remarked with a slight sigh, watching Konkiku tidy her small bag. She hadn't expected the little fox to produce so many wondrous items.

"Not at all. These aren't really good things; Konkiku just picked them up at the Ghost Market," Konkiku said nonchalantly, hanging her small bag around her neck. Miketsu, however, noticed some unfamiliar terms.

"Ghost Market?"

"It's a gathering place for things from the Demon Realm, a Secret Realm within the Demon Realm, just like your Secret Realm, Lady Uka, but located in the Demon Realm. It has various names; Ghost Market is just one of them. There are also names like Ghost Town, Yokai Market Town, Yokai Market... and so on."

"And the one we are going to now is the Ghost Market closest to us, around Heian-kyo: Choyo-machi."

...

After this, Miketsu and Konkiku began to descend the mountain and head towards their destination. What Miketsu hadn't expected was that although Konkiku couldn't yet transform into human form, she could grow in size, becoming as large as Tsuruha. This allowed Miketsu to ride Konkiku, saving a lot of time on their journey. Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

After leaving the foot of Inari Mountain, Miketsu and Konkiku continued south, heading away from Heian-kyo. They didn't take the main road but traveled directly through the wilderness.

Konkiku's speed was not much slower than Tsuruha's. After about half an hour, Miketsu clearly felt a change in her surroundings.

On the dark wasteland, many strange entities appeared: rapidly floating skeleton ghost fires, transparent human souls, galloping giant dogs, and green-faced, fanged specters. They were fundamentally different from the Aberrations seen in ordinary Demon Realms; through Spiritual Vision, they all emitted a dark aura. Miketsu knew they were all yokai.

As Konkiku continued forward, the number of yokai around them gradually increased. These yokai, like them, silently moved across the wasteland, constantly heading in a common direction, or approaching from that direction.