The mysterious woman finished her self-introduction, and Miketsu was a little bewildered after hearing it; it was the first time she had heard such a strange name.
Matara Okina? What kind of name is that? It doesn't sound like a Japanese name as Miketsu knows them, nor like a name from any other country. The other party is a deity, but even by divine standards, her name is still very strange.
Due to extensively searching for deity-summoning spells these past few days, Miketsu had a good understanding of divine names. Among the many names formatted with 'Mikoto,' 'Mikoto,' 'Ono,' 'Hime,' and so on, this name simply didn't fit. The style of her name was closer to those of Buddhist deities, but only vaguely similar.
Also, the other party said she once worshipped me, meaning she truly had a connection with the former Inari Okami. Realizing this, Miketsu's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately became wary. She began to ponder how to deal with the other party's questions later, wondering if she could feign amnesia to get by.
To Miketsu's surprise, the other party said nothing more after introducing herself. She simply stood there silently, smiling and looking at Miketsu, with no intention of speaking first. Thus, the mutual silence created a somewhat awkward atmosphere.
"Ahem... so Matara... hmm... Okina, what is your purpose in summoning me here?" Miketsu finally spoke first, pondering for a moment as she pronounced the other's name.
"I merely sensed your revival in secret, and so I made a special trip to meet you," Okina replied to Miketsu.
"Just to see me?" Clearly, the other party's answer was unexpected by Miketsu.
"Yes, merely to meet you, to make some confirmations. And, incidentally, to see if I can offer you some small assistance."
"Confirmations? Assistance?" Okina's words made Miketsu even more confused. She couldn't understand what this mysterious deity before her was thinking.
Under Miketsu's questioning gaze, Okina slowly removed the fox mask from her head, holding it in both hands, and offered it to Miketsu.
"Please accept this. On your future path, this child might become a helpful aid."
"This is... a mask?" Miketsu suspiciously took the mask offered by Okina, and the moment she touched it, Miketsu felt something was wrong.
Through her spiritual vision, this mask emitted wisps of dark aura. Miketsu knew what this meant: this mask was an object of demonic evil! And her Demon-Slaying Power didn't react to it? Miketsu had never encountered such a situation before.
"Hey, what exactly is this mask about...?" Miketsu wanted to ask Okina for clarification, but when she looked up, Okina, who had just been in front of her, was now gone.
On the lonely and vast Kojin-mine, for a moment, only Miketsu stood there blankly. After a long while, she finally spoke.
"She really is... a perplexing individual..."
All in all, Miketsu was completely bewildered by this strange deity who appeared and disappeared inexplicably, but her demeanor suggested no ill will towards Miketsu.
What could be confirmed was that this Okina definitely knew the former Inari Okami, and could even sense Miketsu's awakening.
Uka-no-Mitama-no-Kami was no minor deity, but since her awakening, apart from Okina just now, no other deity or divine messenger had actively sought her out. The rumored Takamagahara had shown no reaction at all, which proved that those deities might not yet be aware of her awakening.
The great deities of Takamagahara might not even know Inari Okami had awakened, so how did Matara Okina know? Was there some hidden connection between her and Miketsu?
"Phew... Tomorrow, I'll ask Tsuruha to see what she knows about this individual." After some thought, Miketsu decided to tell Tsuruha what had just happened tomorrow morning, to see if she knew anything.
"And then there's this mask... hmm?" Miketsu was about to carefully re-examine the mask she had just received, but when she looked down, she found that the mask in her hand had already changed at some point.
The fox mask that had been in Miketsu's hand had, at some unknown moment, suddenly transformed into a mask of a sorrowful old woman. This change startled Miketsu.
This mask can change?
...
Filled with doubts, Miketsu returned from Kojin-mine to the Secret Realm. After carefully putting away the strange mask, Miketsu went to sleep. The next morning, when she woke up, she took the opportunity to tell Tsuruha about her encounter the previous night when Tsuruha came to bring her food. However, to Miketsu's surprise, Tsuruha was also greatly puzzled after hearing these things.
"Matara Okina? Tsuruha has never heard of such a deity either."
"No? Is this not a deity I knew from before?" Seeing Tsuruha's reaction, Miketsu couldn't help but ask directly.
"This... Tsuruha isn't sure about this. After all, Lady Uka, you rarely interacted with other deities in the past, and Tsuruha would not inquire about your social interactions among the gods. However, Tsuruha can confirm that among all the deities Tsuruha has seen while accompanying Lady Uka, there was definitely no one named Matara Okina. This might... this might be a deity Lady Uka befriended before Tsuruha began to accompany you." Tsuruha said earnestly to Miketsu, while diligently searching her memories.
Miketsu fell into thought after hearing Tsuruha's words. She hadn't expected that even Tsuruha wouldn't know the other party's origin. However, Miketsu still noticed some clues from Okina's conversation with her.
The other party referred to herself as Matara Okina now, which meant she likely had another name before. It might be normal for Tsuruha not to know the name Matara.
"In any case, Lady Uka, you still need to be vigilant. Although the other party is a deity, her intentions remain unclear. There's no telling if she's plotting something detrimental to you," Tsuruha said in a grave tone, her heart filled with wariness towards this unexpected visitor, Okina.
"Oh, and you just mentioned that strange deity gave you a mask emitting demonic energy. Where is that mask now? Tsuruha believes it's quite unsafe to keep an object from the demon realm in the Secret Realm."
"Ah, that? It's right over there..." Hearing Tsuruha's words, Miketsu extended her hand and pointed to a cabinet in the room.
On the cabinet, a mask of a young woman with a plump face, narrowed eyes, and a smile lay quietly in an open, exquisite box. A soft cushion was specially placed beneath the mask. "That's a Ko-omote mask..." Tsuruha said directly the moment she saw the mask, while Miketsu nodded thoughtfully beside her.
"So this form is called Ko-omote?"
"This form? Lady Uka, do you mean this mask has other forms?" Tsuruha asked curiously after hearing Miketsu's words.
"Yes, it has many forms. At first, it was a fox mask. When it came into my hands, it turned into an old woman's mask. If it accidentally fell to the ground, it suddenly became a red, horned oni-like mask. If I left it in the cabinet for a long time, it turned back into the old woman's mask. I didn't think that looked good, so I put it on top of the cabinet, and after a while, it became this Ko-omote. Oh, and if I added an extra cushion for it, it briefly turned into a very comical, crooked-mouthed mask, before changing back after a while."
Rate on N.U.
