The Illusionary Banquet

Gensokyo at night. Typically, an agricultural society like Gensokyo would follow the principle of working at sunrise and resting at sunset. However, due to the unexpected joy of the bountiful harvest, the humans of the Human Village gathered in small groups after nightfall to celebrate. For a time, the entire village was brightly lit, exuding a bustling atmosphere usually seen only during major festivals.

In the distance, away from the Human Village, upon the massive mountain that had newly appeared in Gensokyo, a grand and sprawling shrine stood at the end of a long stretch of torii gates. It was decorated with a sea of lanterns, their lights twinkling like stars. A celebratory banquet was underway here, with waves of boisterous laughter echoing throughout. Fox attendants moved in and out of the rooms, respectfully placing exquisite dishes before the guests. The beautifully arranged foods formed a dazzling array of delicacies. During this banquet, some were feasting and drinking, some were laughing and chatting, and others were playing games. A warm, fervent atmosphere filled the entire space. The host of this banquet, Miketsu—dressed in a white robe and vermilion hakama—sat to one side, holding a glass of bubbly cola and smiling as she watched the scene.

"It’s truly peaceful."

As she spoke, Miketsu took a slight sip of her cola. At that moment, she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she found a yellow-haired girl sitting properly beside her, wearing a hat adorned with two round eyes that resembled a frog.

"Ah, Suwako. How is it? Is the food here to your liking?" Looking at the ancient god girl, Miketsu gestured with her glass and spoke with a smile. Suwako replied, "It’s quite good. There’s a lot of variety. Having been in Gensokyo for so long, it's a rare treat to have a change of pace. Most of these ingredients are from the outside world, aren't they?"

"Of course. I had my subordinates prepare them; many of the ingredients were flown in recently," Miketsu continued, her eyebrows arching slightly with pride. Hearing this, Suwako plucked a small shrimp, ate it, and glanced sideways at Miketsu. "Honestly, I didn't expect you to come here and open a branch shrine. Do you want to collect faith here too?" There was a hint of wariness in Suwako's voice. Hearing this, Miketsu couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.

"How could that be? Do you think I'm the type who lacks faith? The combined faith of every living being in Gensokyo doesn't equal that of one of my middle-rank districts. Why would I be so bored as to collect faith here? I only built this branch shrine so I could have a place to come for a vacation. After all, the scenery preserved here is quite rare."

"Whew..." Hearing Miketsu’s words, Suwako breathed a long sigh of relief. She thought to herself that if it came down to a fight for faith, there probably wasn't a god in this country who could outmatch this fox. "Hehe, I also didn't expect that you’d accidentally break your own specialized faith and have to run here to collect faith just to maintain your wild god form. I’ll tell you what—if you’re truly short on faith, why not consider joining my Inari organization? I can arrange the largest jurisdiction for you immediately. I remember you passed the Inari God qualification exam long ago, didn't you? You can follow—" Miketsu laughed as she spoke to the girl beside her. Suwako was momentarily stunned, then turned her gaze toward the distance. Over there, Kanako was drinking with Matara Okina and a certain little drunkard.

"That... well, it’s tempting. But I’ve shared my divine name with others for too long. I’ve used the name 'Moriya' for so long that I’ve grown attached to it. I can't let it go... I’ll stick to collecting faith in Gensokyo," Suwako said with a smile. Miketsu nodded understandingly after hearing her words.

"Is that so... then I wish you smooth sailing in collecting faith here. If you ever need anything, you can always ask for my help." Miketsu continued to speak while looking toward another side of the room. At the edge of the room, a large pile of electronic products clearly brought from the outside world was stacked, mostly game consoles. The most eye-catching one was a large arcade machine. In front of that arcade machine, Kaguya and Sanae were engaged in a serious match. Both were frantically shaking their joysticks and pressing buttons, controlling the characters on the screen in a fierce duel. They traded blows and combos back and forth, the battle so intense that their health bars were neck-and-neck. Around them, many fairies watched with curious eyes.

"Is she an excellent... Miko?" Miketsu murmured while watching Sanae and Kaguya battle. At the very least, she could see that the girl's gaming skills were excellent. After chatting with Suwako for a while longer, Suwako happily went over to join Sanae and the others. Soon, wave after wave of guests gathered around Miketsu.

"Hey, you really are no fun. You didn't even look for me the moment you came back? You had to wait until you caused an incident to let me know?" Sitting beside Miketsu, Mokou, dressed in her noble lord attire, spoke with a complaining tone. Miketsu, meanwhile, ate her steak and laughed awkwardly.

"Haha, don't worry about it so much. It would have been too much trouble to go around looking for everyone the moment I woke up. Anyway, we have all the time in the world. We can let things happen naturally from now on," Miketsu said with a smile. Then, she glanced at Mokou's clothes and continued, "By the way, why did you put on this outfit? Feeling nostalgic?"

"Something like that. I heard you were coming, so I decided to reminisce. More importantly, those guys kept saying I was crude and lacked taste, so I took this opportunity to show them my refined side," Mokou said as she brought a lit cigarette to her lips and took a drag, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

"If you want to be refined, then don't smoke. This is a banquet. If you want to smoke, go back and do it on your own time. Not everyone can just burn their lungs and grow new ones like you can." Seeing Mokou light up, Miketsu quickly waved her sleeve. Mokou nodded quickly in response.

"Fine, fine. I’ll go smoke elsewhere then."

As she spoke, Mokou walked out. Soon after, new arrivals continued to gather around Miketsu.

"It truly is peaceful. I didn't expect there to still be a place like this on the surface. No wonder Lady Mother and Lady Omoikane treated this as a place for seclusion," Kaguya said, sitting beside Miketsu.

"I’m not here for seclusion, just an occasional vacation. But it is true that the environment here is nice. Little Kaguya, you can come down here to play often in the future... By the way, were you bored on the moon for the past thousand years?"

"Hmm~ Not really. The Lunar Capital is always changing. It’s quite interesting to witness the revival of a civilization. Besides, Lady Chang'e often returns from the distant universe to visit the moon rabbits and brings back many novel items from other worlds. Uncle Aka also occasionally comes to the moon to visit... Kaguya wasn't bored at all. But I still hoped every day that you would return soon," Princess Kaguya said, tapping her dainty chin as she thought. Miketsu couldn't help but laugh.

"Haha, sorry, sorry. I was a bit lazy after coming back and didn't look for our little princess immediately. After I take my next long vacation, I'll go to the moon and spend some quality time there."

"Ah! Really?"

"...Really. I promise you this time, Kaguya."

"...To be honest, I really didn't expect this," Eirin said, standing beside Miketsu while holding a bowl of sake. Miketsu responded.

"Didn't expect what?"

"I originally thought you would be like Takeminakata on the mountain and just move a shrine over. I didn't expect you to move an entire mountain. That’s quite a stir you’ve caused." Eirin took a sip of sake. Miketsu replied, "Ah, it couldn't be helped. Originally, I only wanted to move a torii over to take naps in. But then I thought, it would be a shame to have a torii without a shrine. Once the shrine was there, I felt bad about not having a mountain to go with it. So, I just moved everything over."

"...Is that how you think? What strange logic..." Hearing Miketsu’s words, Eirin’s lips twitched as she shook her head. Miketsu thought for a moment and added, "Well... it's probably the same logic as building a PC."

"Building a PC?"

"Disciple Byakuren greets the Exalted One. It has been a thousand years since we last met."

In front of Miketsu, a woman in a black and white dress with seven-colored hair pressed her palms together and bowed respectfully. Miketsu looked at her curiously and said, "So you are in this place too, Byakuren. Sit down; we're having a banquet." Looking at the long-lost Shingon monk, Miketsu spoke. After Byakuren sat down, she continued, "As I thought, you’ve completely turned into a yokai. But turning into a yokai is one thing, becoming a—"

"Hehe... it doesn't matter, Exalted One. The exterior is just a form. As long as one's heart is dedicated to Buddha, what the exterior looks like or how it is expressed isn't really important."

"Lady Uka..." A woman in an elegant, bright yellow court dress approached Miketsu and bowed. Seeing her, Miketsu immediately spoke.

"Ah, Makoto, you’re finally here. Is the gathering with Nura Rihyon over?"

"Not yet, but I left early to catch up with you, Lady Uka. Nura Rihyon, Tamamura, and Zhuyu are still drinking. I apologize for not being able to participate in your—"

"There’s no need for apologies. Didn't you have important things to do? It's fine as long as you made it. Come, come, sit down!"

"Lady Uka~ Come on, let Konkiku pour you a glass!"

Beside Miketsu, a tall, beautiful fox-eared woman approached with a coquettish expression, offering wine. Miketsu responded while holding her cola.

"Let’s skip the wine; I’ll stick to my drink. By the way, Konkiku, where did you get all those demonic blades? Where have you been since you left Inari?"

"That’s a long story. We can talk while we drink. Oh! I haven't seen Qin Xin and Menreiki in a long time either. Let them have some wine too!"

Hearing Konkiku's words, Miketsu looked over toward the gaming area. The crowd of people playing games was growing. Qin Xin and Menreiki had already joined in, even taking turns to team up with Kaguya and Sanae.

"Heh, forget it. If the children like games, let's not make them drink wine..."

And so, the banquet continued fervently. Under the direction of the Miko, Kikyo, the fox attendants moved in and out, clearing empty plates and bringing in new food. The guests gathered in small groups to celebrate and chat. Reimu Hakurei and Marisa sat in one spot, eating while surveying their surroundings.

"...I really didn't expect it. That girl actually knows so many people in Gensokyo. I honestly thought she was a newcomer..." Reimu muttered while holding her sake bowl. At that moment, intense chewing sounds came from beside her.

"Mmm... Reimu! Don't just stand there dazing! Hurry up and eat! The food here is so delicious. I've never had this before. Especially this seafood; the flavor is amazing. There are so many magical creatures I've never seen! Hurry up and eat... mmm!" As she spoke, Marisa cracked open another crab and started eating. Seeing this, Reimu couldn't help but remind her.

"Hey, slow down... there's plenty, no one is going to steal it from you..."

As she spoke, Reimu scanned the vast space, the dazzling array of dishes, and the numerous fox attendants. She couldn't help but remark, "But honestly, that god called Inari is really rich. This shrine is huge, there are so many attendants, and the food is so abundant. I wonder how much incense money she collects out there every day..."

Just as Reimu was saying this, a soft voice sounded beside her. Hearing it, Reimu was momentarily stunned, then turned her head to see Miketsu slowly approaching her.

"How is it? Hakurei Priestess, is my place to your liking?" Looking at Reimu, Miketsu spoke with a smile. Hearing her words, Reimu scratched her head.

"Ah... it's pretty good. The shrine is huge, you have many subordinates, you’re rich, the food is good, there are games... it's way better than my place."

"In that case, would you consider becoming a Miko here? I can pay you a monthly salary."

"A salary? What’s that?" Reimu asked in confusion. Miketsu continued to explain with a smile.

"It's a fixed income. Specifically, if you become a Miko here, I will pay you a sum of money every month so you won't have to worry about food or drink, and you can enjoy yourself as you please. You won't have to stare at that saisen-bako every day."

"What... a fixed monthly income... no worries about food or drink... every month?" Hearing Miketsu’s words, Reimu stood stunned, murmuring to herself. Having lived her life based on the contents of her saisen-bako, she had never considered the concept of a stable income. And no worries about food and drink? Reimu only thought for a moment before she was about to speak. However, before she could get a word out, a gap suddenly opened behind her, and a pair of hands reached out to cover her mouth.

"Of course we appreciate your kindness, Lady Uka. Don't we, Reimu?"

"Mmm-mmm! Yukari!!"

A blonde woman in purple clothing leaned out from the gap, covering Reimu's mouth as she smiled and spoke to Miketsu. Reimu struggled in her arms.

"Yo, it’s Yakumo Yukari. So you’re in Gensokyo too. Are you still being the Sage of Yokai?" Seeing the blonde woman appear, Miketsu spoke without surprise. Hearing her words, Yakumo Yukari laughed awkwardly, a bead of sweat on her forehead.

"Ahaha... I suppose I’m not just the Sage of Yokai anymore, more like the Sage of Gensokyo... Lady Uka, for Gensokyo, the Hakurei Priestess holds the heavy responsibility of guarding the Hakurei Shrine. If you truly want Reimu..."

"...I was only joking. I saw you peeking from your gap and decided to make a joke to draw you out. The banquet is so lively; it would be a shame to just watch. Go and have something to eat..."

"Whew... as expected of the God of Uka. You saw through me instantly, didn't you?"

Miketsu slowly walked out of the noisy banquet hall and stood outside the shrine buildings. Then, she slowly rose into the air, flying up to sit atop the final torii gate of the shrine. Alone in the dark breeze, she gazed up at the brilliant starry sky.

"It’s truly a peaceful silence... I wonder what the others are doing right now?"

As she spoke, Miketsu placed her hand upon the Threads of Causality, sensing the sprawling tapestry of fate and peering into the current status of many people.

At this moment, Nura Rihyon, Tamamura, and Yamausagi were drinking at an old friends' gathering, talking about things from a thousand years ago.

Rikuo, in his night form, was leading his Night Parade through the night in Tokyo, continuing to cut down chaotic yokai and evil spirits, restoring order to the Tokyo demon realm.

Miko Yotsuya was in the bathroom at home, punching a gathered mass of evil spirits into a ball and flushing them down the toilet.

Yura, home for the holidays, was angrily searching the Keikain residence for Ryuji, who had just tricked her out of her money talismans.

Ami was still in the Inari Tower, rushing to finish a speech for the next day.

The Watatsuki sisters on the moon were visiting a zoo in the Lunar Capital, observing alien xenomorphs brought back from an extra-lunar colony.

Young Yayoi and her trio were carrying god headlamps at a haunted spot, continuing their search for evil spirits.

Hagoromo Gitsune, wearing an apron and holding a ladle, was guiding a young boy in Onmyojutsu. The slender boy was so close to the voluptuous and mature Hagoromo Gitsune that his face was flushed bright red.

Hayakawa Rin, while playing a card game against the AI on her phone, was hit by five cards of Exodia in two turns.

Just then, a voice sounded beside Miketsu. She turned her eyes to see Tsuruha’s figure, dressed in elegant clothing.

"It’s nothing. I just saw that there were so many people at the banquet and wanted to see what the others were up to for a moment..."

"...But there are people looking for you in the banquet hall. Qin Xin and Menreiki seem unable to beat the Wind Priestess and the First Princess at the game, so they are asking for your help..."

"Oh, really? In that case, let me go and meet them. Well, school is starting soon. I’ll have some good fun tonight!"

Saying this, Miketsu followed Tsuruha back into the banquet. In her wake, only the torii standing under the starlight remained.

(End)

...

(Postscript by the original author)

As everyone can see, this book has finally come to a formal conclusion. With over 1.5 million words in the Ancient Arc and nearly 700,000 words in the Modern Arc, totaling 2.2 million words, this is the first time I have truly finished a work and completed a story. For me personally, this is quite significant.

To be honest, the performance of this book wasn't great when it was first listed—around 5,000 collections and about 800 initial subscriptions. However, thanks to everyone's long-term support, these numbers have become very impressive by the time of its completion. Although it cannot be compared to the works of many veteran authors, it has far exceeded my original expectations. Even though the total collection count at the end wasn't as high as some new books just starting out, thanks to your support, the active readership for Inari remained in the top three for a long time during the middle and late stages. Thus, despite the collections not being exceptionally high, it achieved great results. I am immensely grateful to everyone here—your subscriptions, votes, collections, and comments have been the driving force that kept me going. Bows.

As a crossover novel with heavy original elements, Inari's main story actually concluded with the Ancient Arc. Initially, I only thought that since the plots of most of the works involved hadn't officially begun yet, the Modern Arc might have some things worth writing about, so I planned to write it as a series of side stories. I originally planned to finish it in 100,000 to 200,000 words, but I never expected it would eventually reach nearly 700,000. Actually, it can't really be called a side story anymore.

Having written for so long, I have developed a lingering attachment to the characters in the book, especially the protagonist I created, Miketsu. I don't want to finish it now either; I want to continue writing Miketsu's story. However, I feel that I've simply run out of ideas for points to write about. I know many readers prefer the plot of the Modern Arc, but writing the Modern Arc was much more difficult than the Ancient Arc. The main reason was the lack of an outline; therefore, almost every new chapter was something I thought up and wrote on the fly. Many segments were improvised as I wrote. This also led to the update times being pushed back whenever I couldn't think of what to write—from morning to noon, noon to evening, evening to the early hours, and the early hours back to morning... This not only affected your reading experience but also caused my own schedule to become chaotic, turning day into night and resulting in a lack of sleep.

After the conclusion, I will take a break for a while and then start preparing for a new book. As for the new book, for now, it is set to be an original story with minor elements from other works. I want to write an evil god style story similar to the great author Cuttlefish's Lord of the Mysteries style. There are many such stories on this platform, but I will present another world to everyone in my own way. I hope everyone will like it then, though this is currently just a preliminary idea and might change in the future.

In short, the new book is expected to meet everyone in about a month and a half. In the meantime, I will update some scattered side stories for Inari, and these side stories may not necessarily be written from Miketsu's perspective.

Well then, Miketsu's story will temporarily come to an end here. Thank you all once again for your long-term support—see you in the next book!

Finally, I wish everyone a Happy Lunar New Year in advance—may good luck follow you constantly!