After crashing in the Oni village for the night, Reisen Riou and Yurekusai hit the road again.
Reisen Riou asked what Yae Miko wanted him to see.
Yurekusai grinned. "Just to show you Inazuma's youkai clans, kid. And you gotta mingle more—don't hole up in your little shrine forever."
Reisen Riou pouted. He didn't love staying on Ritou.
Sure, the island's scenery was nice, and it felt cozy (local youkai bonus), but the real hook was the daily 1–1.5 MB boost to his runtime memory.
With his current skills, he could expand storage or craft external memory drives, but runtime RAM? That was beyond him.
He'd tried boosting it once. It worked—sort of. His left arm moved, and his right tagged along, but only a third or quarter as much.
He didn't even notice until a miko, per his orders, pointed it out. Terrified, he reverted to a backup.
RAM growth was best left to nature (Ritou's domain). Forced tweaks weren't impossible, but Reisen Riou's self-modding skills were lacking, and he doubted Inazuma's empiricists, stuck in tradition, could outdo him.
Yet, a nagging feeling whispered someone in Inazuma could fix him.
(Raiden Tech—shockingly advanced!)
As they walked, Yurekusai regaled him with youkai history.
Inazuma's youkai were countless, led by the fox clan's Whitebeard Ancestor, Whitebeard.
Other demons followed. Ancient Prime Inazuma was a youkai of hundred ghosts—most local gods' kin were youkai, not humans.
The foxes, Whitebeard's kin, were a demon god's retainers.
Inazuma's native god was weak, crushed early in the Archon War's Inazuma bracket by foreign gods. Then the Raiden Twins rose, leveraging local ties to subdue rival gods and drive the war's losers to the Dark Sea.
Mount Yougou was a key battlefield, its lingering god grudges requiring youkai to cleanse.
The Sacred Sakura, from who-knows-where, purified the filth, freeing youkai from endless grudge fights.
Their trip wasn't just a youkai tour. They also consoled Mount Yougou's clans on Narukami's behalf.
Years of war killed countless youkai. Many were loners—fine—but others had families or clans, leaving behind kin needing comfort.
Oni fared better, living in villages with mutual support. Other youkai varied, with Tengu hit hardest.
As Reisen Riou had seen, Tengu lacked men and women. Many female Tengu served as Shogunate archers.
Tengu families were left with elders, kids, and few women—most joined the Shogunate.
If Oni lived austerely, Tengu were in survival mode. They tended small patches of land, growing low-maintenance Violetgrass Melon trees, but other supplies were scarce, needing frequent aid.
Reisen Riou was floored. Tengu were ruthless—to themselves.
Tengu kids, boys and girls, trained with hunting bows and flight from childhood.
Tengu shunned outsiders. Only a few warmed to Yurekusai.
"These Tengu are so rigid," Yurekusai griped on the descent. "A couple are witty, but they're always swamped with work."
"Hey, Reisen, wanna hit Araumi? Their tea's top-notch."
"Nah, we've trekked two days. I need a break," Reisen Riou said, omitting the real issue: Mount Yougou's Ley Lines made him queasy.
No surprise—the Sacred Sakura Grand Purification was near. A decade's worth of Inazuma's filth pooled in the mountain's Ley Lines, awaiting cleansing.
For a youkai like Reisen Riou, who sensed Ley Lines, it was like living in a sewer or landfill.
Short stints were bearable; long ones, nope.
"Haha, your grit needs work, Reisen," Yurekusai teased, thinking he meant the mountain's harshness.
"Let's hustle down, then," Yurekusai said. "We'll crash at the Kanjou Commission tonight."
They barely spoke, reaching the Kanjou Commission fast.
At the gate, they bumped into the Kanjou Commission's head, Lord Kamisato, returning home.
"Kamisato, my man!"
"Yurekusai, good to see you. Who's this?"
"Reisen Riou, Ritou Shrine's guardian. Took him to Mount Yougou."
"Nice. Care for a drink?"
"Nah, rough trip. We need rest. Plus, I'm reporting to Lady Yae tomorrow about the Tengu's state."
"What's up with them?" Kamisato frowned.
"Young ones leave and don't return. Only old folks and kids remain. Lady Yae needs to nudge Lord Narukami."
"Fair point. That's under my purview. I'll mention it in my report."
"Thanks, Kamisato."
"Come drink sometime, Yurekusai."
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