Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

Novia's eyebrows twitched slightly, his gaze never leaving the three gods enshrined in the shrine.

"Was it because of Eri that we couldn't complete the Yomotsu Hirasaka?"

"Yes."

Taira no Masakado answered very decisively.

"Speaking of which, does Ushiwakamaru know about this?"

"No, that idiot doesn't know, but it's not her fault, because I can only sense it because I am the god who guards the gates of hell."

The term "ghost gate" in Japan actually has a different meaning than in China. Since the Heian period, they have referred to the area between the ox and the tiger as the "ghost gate." Moreover, the "ghost" in Japan does not refer to the soul of the dead, but rather to a monster.

"However, even though Tokyo has been reduced to ruins, it is still the underworld, isn't it?"

"It is the underworld, but not the Yellow Springs."

Taira no Masakado couldn't help but smile bitterly. "Tokyo's underworld is now a deeper and more evil root country. The concept of the underworld was rewritten ten years ago when Tokyo was destroyed."

The Land of Roots is the territory controlled by Somei no Tsurugi, one of the Three Noble Children. In the Kojiki, the entrance to the Land of Roots is Yomohirasaka, just like the Land of the Dead. However, in the Great Purification Prayer at the end of June, the Land of Roots is described as a country located at the bottom of the sea or on the other side of the sea.

In the blessing, evil is described as being pushed into the Land of Roots, where all evil and filth are driven into the rivers and flow into the sea. Therefore, it is regarded as the source of evil spirits and demons. Some believe that the "root" in the Land of Roots is the same as the "Dragon Palace" in the traditional religious beliefs of Ryukyu. Etymologically speaking, the root is located underground and is connected to the "Dragon Palace" in the sea world inherited by Ryukyu.

The Land of Roots and the Land of the Dead are usually considered to be the same world, but they are two completely different aspects.

"I implore you to assist my Master in holding the Kanda Festival and walking the Yomotsu Hirasaka to let him rest in peace."

That was an extremely harsh voice.

Novia did not turn around, continuing to gaze at the three gods.

Is that all?

"When I was first summoned, I sensed Fujiwara's presence and rushed here without stopping. I wanted to have another fair and square duel with him and let people know who the new emperor is. The sky was particularly blue that day, and I was in a very good mood."

"Under the somber shrine," Taira no Masakado said.

Although the body was provided by magic, the heart seemed to still be in the scenery of a thousand years ago.

"As it turned out, I found out that he was just a child who only had the bloodline of Fujiwara. Just as I was about to leave in disappointment, I learned from Kuro, who came to wield his sword against me, that the guy's bloodline had been severed long ago, so it was no miracle."

Omote Fujita, also known as Fujiwara Hideyoshi, was the founder of Japanese martial arts. His last descendant, Fujiwara Yasuhira, was a childhood friend of Minamoto no Yoshitsune. After a rift developed between Yoshitsune and his brother Minamoto no Yoritomo, Fujiwara took in Yoshitsune and his wife. At that time, Fujiwara Hidehira, the third leader of the Oshu Fujiwara clan, was still alive. As the king of the north, he and Minamoto no Yoritomo, the ruler of Kanto, were like the Azure Dragon and the White Tiger, facing each other in a tense standoff.

However, at the critical moment, the ambitious Fujiwara no Hidehira fell ill and never recovered. On his deathbed, he appointed Minamoto no Yoshitsune as shogun, and the whole country obeyed his orders. He then appointed his eldest son, Fujiwara no Yasuhira, as the governor of Mutsu Province. He also made the two of them and his eldest son from a concubine swear an oath of loyalty to each other, never to abandon each other, and to fight against foreign aggression together.

However, Fujiwara no Yasuhira had just succeeded to the throne, and his subordinates were in a state of confusion. They were worried that Kamakura would take the opportunity to launch an attack, and they were also worried that Minamoto no Yoshitsune would seize military power. In the end, he broke the oath he made at his father's bedside, raised an army, attacked and killed Minamoto no Yoshitsune, and also killed Tadahira, who opposed his treacherous act.

Finally, Fujiwara no Yasuhira incurred the wrath of Minamoto no Yoritomo and was killed by his retainers, leading to the collapse and demise of the Oshu Fujiwara clan.

therefore.

Ushiwakamaru should have felt the same displeasure or even disgust towards this descendant of Fujiwara no Yasuhira, as he did with Hiramasakado. However, this is how Ushiwakamaru responded:

"Even after being betrayed so many times, I still hope to fight alongside others. And there's no other way. When I was alive, I was too fixated on one goal. So many of my younger brothers admired and submitted to me. If I had said a few words to Taiheng back then, maybe things wouldn't have turned out that way."

"Alas, I am so ashamed that I failed to keep my promise to Lord Hidehira... If there were a hole in the ground, I would really like to crawl into it..."

"In short, I will do my best this time. I will speak my mind and assist my lord. That's what my intuition tells me, Lord Jiangmen."

As he said this, Taira no Masakado lowered his head and murmured to himself.

"So, at that time, I unknowingly signed a contract. I felt that before I could defeat Fujiwara Hidesuke again, I should take care of him a little."

Those were words that even Taira no Masakado had never spoken to Novia under the skill 'Burning the Lamp to Dispel Illusions', so Novia turned to look at him this time.

"Is there anything else?"

"That's all."

Taira no Masakado knelt down and bowed deeply to Novia.

"I beg you to help me fulfill this contract, my lord."

Chapter 525 The strongest hero in the Christian system.

The festival was held as scheduled.

The shopping district of Tokyo, the underworld, reflected a dim light. The so-called underworld was far removed from the clear sea and also far removed from the dead.

It's more like a deserted little village.

At eight o'clock in the morning, Kanda Shrine was unusually quiet. To avoid affecting the ceremony, double barriers were set up in the shopping area, and according to tradition, the environment had to be kept the same as usual in order to confirm the status of the ceremony... except for the girls dressed as shrine maidens.

The Kanda Festival requires people to carry the palanquins of three deities, but currently there aren't enough people in Tokyo to gather a hundred, so everything has been simplified.

"Waaah, waaah... What is that... Please stop messing around..."

The sight before her eyes was so breathtaking that Erise, dressed in a pottery costume as required by the festival, couldn't help but kneel down.

Someone has already put on the shrine maiden outfit—it's Chitose Masuru.

An old woman holding a black umbrella, wearing sunglasses that slightly revealed her eyes, lay gracefully in Novia's arms. That was fine, but the problem was her shrine maiden outfit that exposed her armpits and chest. Although the design had been modified to be somewhat Japanese-style, that wasn't the point right now.

how to say……

Eri wouldn't ask Chitose not to wear similar swimsuits, after all, Chitose is quite popular, but Eri hoped that she really wouldn't deliberately make her shrine maiden outfit look so suggestive at such a festival, and make it so obvious.

You're really giving yourself a break... Chitose, you've done right by your grandfather. Oh, I almost forgot, I don't have a grandfather, and Chitose isn't married either. Sigh, a twilight romance...

“Eriyo, a good child shouldn’t treat her grandmother like that.”

Tiamat, dressed as a shrine maiden, crouched down and tugged at the hem of Erise's 'collapsed' clothes. Erise immediately hugged the clothes that were dragging on the ground.

"Waaaaah, I'm going to die, Mother, my head is hurting more and more..."

"Your Majesty is amazing! So it really is possible for people to look even slimmer with clothes on! I thought it was just an urban legend."

"I just don't know if it's an urban legend or a ghost story..."

At the same time, two other priests dressed as shrine maidens, A-shu and Lu-shena, also came out.

Originally, the Kanda Festival required four shrine maidens and four maidens (dressed in the noblewoman's attire from the Heian period), but as mentioned earlier, it was impossible to find enough people in Tokyo at the moment, and Eri couldn't find Euclid for the time being, so they had to do it this way.

Tiamat volunteered to wear the priestess's outfit, since the former was, after all, the creator god.

Next up was Taira no Masakado's. Lu She Na said something like, "I am the light that shines everywhere, not much different from a guardian," before putting it on.

As for the final young master, Eri initially thought she could just get on herself, since she had obtained the Amenorama ship by chance... However, she was put on by the suddenly visiting Chitose Manazuru, but Eri wasn't too upset about it.

If it's gone, it's gone. It doesn't matter anymore.

However, after thinking it over, Eri thought about how she should explain to Chitose if the Demon King possessed Novia.

Should I tell her, "Actually, the person I have feelings for has possessed your lover, who is a loner? So even if we're not really family, we are actually family?" Ugh, that's too twisted! It has the feel of Japanese mythology. No, no, I'd better find a better way to put it.

...My mom can't really be Izanami, can she?

Just as Eri stood up with a worried expression, Rushena leaned close to her ear with great interest:

"Your grandmother looks amazing, Eri! Did you teach her that? Should I come and learn from her? After all, how come there are angels descending on the shrine?! Could they be succubi or something that drain men's energy?"

"That's too much of a joke..."

"Oh dear, did it really turn out like this?"

Chitose sighed, tilted her head slightly towards Novia, and tugged at the shoulder strap of her shrine maiden outfit. "After we leave Tokyo, there won't be any clothes like this in Shinjuku anymore, so I'll have to modify it myself. What do you think?"

Novia remained unfazed by Chitose's words: "...What?"

"How could you not understand?"

Chitose straightened her chest and glanced at the indignant Tiamat. "...Hmm, I think so too."

Novia was silent for a few seconds.

"...No, I understand, it must be about the direction of life."

"That's right, it's the responsibility of life."

To Eri, their interaction even seemed like that of excellent lovers. For some reason, she was furious and stood in front of Chitose, defiantly lowering her head: "The Kanda Festival is about to begin, Suohiko, you'd better not talk about your twilight romance now, and mind your image."

"This is Tokyo. As the victor of the Holy Grail War, I can wear whatever I want. Erise, as my granddaughter, aren't you being a bit too impulsive?"

Chitose's tone was tinged with amusement, while Eri's eyes were overly straightforward.

Can't refute.

But Eri came up with a good idea. She pulled the slightly embarrassed Tiamat over and pushed her directly into Novia's arms.

But Tiamat is Novia's Servant, so you'd better watch out, Chitose! Do you think you can compare your life to that of the Mesopotamian creator goddess? Impossible!

Feeling much better, Eri decided to go find Ushiwakamaru, the only otome who was with her, to discuss the process. However, before she could even leave the house, she was stopped by Rushena. The blue-haired girl sighed dramatically, "Little Eri! You are such an excellent wingman, but it would be such a pity if it wasn't me and the teacher."

"That's enough. You're just a meal replacement, aren't you? You should go find your real teacher, Gavia."

"Who said it was a meal replacement! You idiot, Eri!!"

"You are noisy."

"Ah, no. I did consider it a little, becoming lovers or something, but I'm a Buddha, so of course I'd reject it, especially since I haven't found my heart and mind yet."

"It could cry! The Buddha that everyone in Nara prays to at the Longmen Grottoes looks like this! It really could cry!"

"You're so noisy, Eri! Didn't I say I was just considering it? Don't you understand what 'considering' means?!"

"what……"

After being refuted by Lushena, Eri Se didn't know how to respond.

Just before leaving, he glanced at the surprisingly harmonious Chitose and Tiamat.

Isn't that just using it as a meal replacement? ... We can't have this kind of disgusting stuff.

In short, the Kanda Festival began, and the sound of drums could be heard outside the shrine.

The thumping sound kept going on and on.

The moment she stepped out the door, Eri was dumbfounded.

This wasn't the first time she'd heard such a sound, but seeing it in almost deserted Tokyo was truly astonishing—the stalls around the shrine, which had previously been empty, were now crowded with people, and paper lanterns hung around the shrine, emitting a pale red glow to illuminate the surroundings.

Many people strolled around, chatting and laughing. It was truly astonishing that such a large crowd had gathered in what had just been a deserted city.

"!"

However, when one of them looked up, Eri was startled.

The reason is simple: they don't look human, or rather, their faces are just too terrifying.

"Would you like one, Lord Utsumi?"

The ugly man who was staring at Eri shouted, which immediately made everyone present look up at Eri.

Only then did she realize that almost everyone had a 'terrifyingly ugly face'... Could they be some kind of fantasy species? But the evil spirits weren't reacting...

"Sorry, I'm already full. I'll eat again another time."

The black-haired girl bowed her head in sincere gratitude, and then the group bowed their heads again.

Eri, who was about to tell the shrine staff that something terrible had happened, turned around and saw three phoenix palanquins being carried out by a group of people who had somehow entered. At the same time, the three people who had just been wearing shrine maiden outfits sat on them, with the priestess Ashu in front of them, just like a ritual in a festival.

"Ah this..."

Eri's gaze darted back and forth between the phoenix carriage and A-xiu. "What on earth is going on here..."

Wasn't it supposed to be deserted in Tokyo? And there really weren't many people there a few days ago...

"They are definitely not human."

Novia, noticing Eri's confusion, offered an explanation.

"They are ugly women from the underworld."

The demon woman of the Land of the Dead is a subordinate of Izanami, who has become the ruler of the Land of the Dead. She has an extremely terrifying face and can run at a speed of up to a thousand miles.

"I see."

Come to think of it, why do you act like I'm the only one who doesn't know this?

It seems that my mother's name is Na Mei is just a coincidence. Otherwise, if she really is Na Mei, how could I not know?

"Ugh."

After sighing, Eri obediently went to the Phoenix Carriage and took on the role of a maiden scattering flowers.

Novia was puzzled by Erise's listless appearance and inner thoughts.