Chapter 5: Well-side Chat with the Neighboring Mountain God

The way beasts eat is magnificent.

Vertical wrinkles carved into the bridge of its nose, fangs thrust into prey. The sharp fangs tore through the meat it had bitten into as easily as ripping paper. It chewed loudly, consuming piece after piece. Its golden eyes melted with pleasure, and its long tail wagged incessantly.

Its satisfying way of eating looked extremely content.

"How does it taste?"

"...Mmm."

It gave a reply after swallowing everything down to the last bit. Receiving the wind stirred up by the restless tail on half his body, Minato, sitting on the edge of the veranda, also bit into his fried chicken.

The great wolf claimed to be the god of the neighboring mountain.

When Minato heard this, he asked somewhat jokingly, "Neighboring god (rinjin)? Would 'Mountain God-san' be alright?" and received an unexpectedly easy "Mmm. That would be fine."

Thus, the title "Mountain God-san" was decided. Despite being a god, he seemed surprisingly easygoing.

Under the starry sky, they relaxed together on the veranda, having dinner. The slanted light leaking from the living room gently illuminated the person and deity sitting side by side, chatting amicably.

"It's a bit greasy, but delicious."

"Do you prefer something lighter? Would you like some sake to cleanse your palate?"

"My power hasn't fully returned yet, so... sorry, water would be good."

"Ah, your power is weakened, isn't it?"

He poured mineral water into a glass bowl and placed it in front of the mountain god nearby. The mountain god's body being translucent was apparently because his divine power had weakened.

"Because of that, I can't exorcise troublesome things," the mountain god complained bitterly while lapping up water. Minato, watching this while tilting his glass and gulping down carbonated juice, was a teetotaler.

"It's delicious. It's no less fine than the spring water from my place," the mountain god rumbled, continuing to drink contentedly.

"Thanks to you, I was saved. I give you my thanks."

"...I didn't do anything though."

The mountain god, lifting his face from the now-empty bowl, licked away the dripping water around his mouth with his long tongue.

He stared intently. Being looked at with that unfathomable gaze that seemed to expose the depths of his heart made Minato feel restless. Before long, the mountain god spoke in a solemn tone.

"Perhaps it's better for you not to know, not to realize. I cannot measure that."

"Huh?"

"But that power of yours is rare. If you become aware of it and polish it, you could gain even greater power."

"Huh...?"

Minato, who couldn't understand the content at all, could only give vague responses. While refilling his glass with carbonated juice, he asked on a whim:

"Am I unconsciously doing something?"

"Yes. You're exorcising evil things."

"Me?"

This unexpected information was hard to believe immediately.

"Err... ah, do you want more water?"

"I'll have some."

He opened a new plastic bottle. When he poured it into the bowl, it fizzled and bubbled, with bubbles popping on the surface.

The mountain god stared at this silently, then looked at Minato questioningly. He returned a business smile. His customer service smile, cultivated over many years, was supremely suspicious.

The mountain god, hesitating slightly, cautiously extended his long tongue toward the water with fine bubbles. The moment it touched—

"!"

Something like electricity ran from his ears through his head, back, and to the tip of his tail, making his fur stand on end.

"It's carbonated water."

"My tongue is tingling... hmm, this is quite something too."

His tail loudly slapped the floor with a flapping sound. Minato, who had played around a bit to get his thoughts rolling, furrowed his brow and crossed his arms.

"Exorcising... how? With spirit? Unconsciously?"

"Whah you wrihe does ih."

"Eh, what?"

The god's words, enjoying the tingling of his tongue, were incomprehensible. Minato also tilted his glass and made a gulping sound.

The mountain god, having finished the carbonated water, sat up straight in proper posture. When quietly composed, his divine majesty increased remarkably. Was it an optical illusion that his fur shimmered as it swayed in the wind? Was it just his imagination that his form had become clearer than when he first saw him?

Thinking that his slouched posture was rude, he sat properly on a cushion, straightened his back, and faced the mountain god directly. The divine beast, with the towering black mountain that was his sacred body behind him, solemnly declared with divine authority:

"The characters you write are doing the exorcising."

That voice resonated clearly to every corner of the garden. Like a divine oracle from heaven that shook the very air.

It resonated deeply and heavily even in Minato's unprepared heart. A beautiful god had spoken there could be no room for doubt.

Just as he was about to be overwhelmed by the atmosphere and prostrate himself, what was added was a burp. The dignity fled barefoot toward the other side of the night sky.

Ruined, completely ruined. The thing that had become just a giant wolf glanced toward the plastic bottle.

"Carbonated water, please."

"...Sure."

Minato, returning to his slouched posture with a wry smile, suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"Ah, so that's why the letters disappear!"

"Indeed."

"Oh, the mystery is solved and I feel refreshed!"

When he happily grabbed and lifted the carbonated water bottle, his tail wagged busily.

"So from now on, the letters I write will keep disappearing?"

He poured it glug-glug until the bowl was half full.

"Indeed. Oh, that's enough now."

He was stopped by a raised front paw.

"Okay. Hmm, that's inconvenient. Would permanent marker not work either?"

"It wouldn't make much difference," he said with a composed face while drinking the carbonated water. At some point he had stopped using polite language, but the mountain god didn't mind.

"Just by writing, I can exorcise evil things... I didn't know that."

"When paper with your writing touches it, evil things disappear wonderfully. When those things that had nested here while I was weakened vanished instantly without leaving even dust, it was quite a spectacle."

The mountain god laughed with a wicked no, god-wickedly mischievous expression. The golden crescent shape was directed toward the back gate beyond the garden.

"That nameplate is an even better thing."

"The original letters I wrote seem to have disappeared... maybe because I took time to carve them?"

"More exorcising power is contained in it."

"Huh. Ah, speaking of which, there was someone who really praised something similar I made long ago."

"They were probably someone who could see."

"Maybe so," he nodded while recalling the past.

"Why do nameplates crack before even lasting a year?"

"Probably because their power ran out."

"...I see."

Closing his eyes, Minato murmured thoughtfully. In the past, many nameplates had cracked. Rarely, some didn't even last a month.

When he mentioned that his family ran a hot spring inn, he was told that places visited by various people tend to attract evil things. Additionally, hot springs apparently wash away not just dirt but also spiritual impurities.

He was worried about his family home, but he had left spare nameplates there, so it should be fine for now.

The May night breeze was still chilly. Even though he was dressed warmly, he shivered from the cold stirred up by the wind. Noticing this, the mountain god urged him inside, and their first dinner together came to an end.

◇

From then on, he began having meals with the mountain god almost every day.

The mountain god was generally in the garden. He often saw him lying in the center of the veranda, dozing. Though he occasionally disappeared, he was no longer like a neighboring god but more like a live-in god.

The waxing moon floated in the sky. As usual, they had finished dinner together on the veranda and were snacking on after-dinner treats.

The mountain god beside him, stuffing his cheeks with nerikiri sweets, sparkled as he reflected the light from the living room, a feast for the eyes. Minato stared intently and tilted his head.

"Mountain God-san, haven't you become way more solid lately?"

"Yes. Thanks to you."

His chest-puffed posture now had no transparent parts anywhere. Initially, he had frequently become thicker and thinner. If it was thanks to Minato, there was only one thing he could think of.

"Because you always eat a lot?"

The mountain god, who loved sweets dearly, seemed busy savoring the nerikiri. He apparently really liked them despite his large frame, he brought the sweets that were far too small for him to his mouth one by one, one by one, carefully chewing and eating them.(Nerikiri is a traditional Japanese sweets)

His face looked unbearably, unbearably happy. Just watching was heartwarming and soothing. Though his divine dignity had flown off to the far side of the sky.

For years, though he had wanted to keep animals, his family business kept him busy and his family opposed it, so it never came to pass. Who would have thought he'd end up living with something close to an animal by his side Minato was quite delighted inside.

The mountain god, having thoroughly enjoyed the nerikiri, turned his gaze to Minato.

"That is a small thing. It's because of your feelings of respect for me."

It was said with deep gratitude. Minato's movement of transferring his portion to the neighboring plate stopped. The mountain god wagged his tail vigorously at the increased nerikiri, and his pure white body radiated even more golden light. It was brighter than the electric light behind him.

"Just from that?"

"Just from that. My power is influenced by such things."

"You should have said so earlier."

"Yes. I thought it might be presumptuous."

"That's way too late to be saying that now."

What was he talking about when he'd been eating his fill and sleeping? Though he frequently received mountain delicacies, most of them ended up in the mountain god's belly. Still, asking for respect while not caring about that seemed to make him feel awkward.

Gods were entities he didn't quite understand.

Even though the mountain god was completely without reserve, being able to have enjoyable conversations and meals was very much appreciated. Having been born and raised in an area with close neighborhood relations and always surrounded by people, eating alone sadly in a spacious house was depressing for Minato.

Since he'd heard about it, he had to do it. He sat properly and cleared his throat once. Facing the mountain god before him, he pressed his palms together.

"Mountain God-sama. Thank you for always eating meals with me. I'm very grateful."

"Mmm. Well now, you don't need such formal language."

"I thought I hadn't been using polite speech lately."

"You don't need to worry about language. What's important is the feeling. No matter how polite the language or how proper the manners, if there's no heart of respect there, it has no meaning. It won't become my power."

"Huh, so what about now?"

"Mmm, can't you tell?"

The mountain god's body increased its radiance by another level, and he even began to emanate a divine halo. This was truly divine glory. "Ooh!" Minato squinted at the brilliance and clapped.

"You really look like a god!"

"Of course. I am a mountain god."

His pompously proud divine form, brilliant as electric illumination, looked extremely arrogant but suited him perfectly. Each time he worshipped, the light increased it was interesting and fun, so he worshipped with all his heart full of respect.

The result

"Um, excuse me, it's too bright. Could you tone it down a bit?"

His eyes hurt. The mountain god had transformed into a luminous body that could rival the sun shining in the sky.

After that, Minato, feeling strangely tired, ended up going to bed early.

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