Miss Hebe is Fighting Her Way Out of the Lostbelt!

Miss A-Long poked the bake-danuki's chubby belly with her finger, causing the fur on its back to stand on end.

"For no reason at all, why did you go and cause trouble at the Lord's mansion?" Hebe shook the bake-danuki. "I thought tanuki, with their reputation for being clever and adaptable, wouldn't be foolish enough to run headfirst into a wall... Don't you know that onmyoji and ascetics love to pick on soft targets like you?"

The tanuki froze, lowering the hands that had been covering its face.

"You're not going to kill me, or eat me?"

"I come from the west."

Hebe smiled meaningfully.

Zhendan was to the west, and Albion was also to the west.

"Ah..."

This time, the tanuki was truly convinced.

It wasn't just the Heian nobles who admired the Tang Dynasty's style; yokai also held both respect and fear for Zhendan.

There was a saying among yokai: if you offended a great yokai, but weren't killed immediately, and they instead asked for your reasons, it was possible you had come from Zhendan.

Even among great yokai, once they had a connection to Zhendan, they became immeasurably more noble.

Did you not see how Ibaraki-dōji, who originally ruled Mount Ōe, had her dominion seized by Shuten-dōji?

Ibaraki-dōji had intended to rally the oni to resist, but when Shuten-dōji "casually" mentioned her travels in Zhendan, Ibaraki-dōji immediately bowed down, willing only to become Shuten's right-hand woman.

Hebe released her grip, and the tanuki scrambled to its knees.

"Lady Tamamo-no-Mae! I have a grievance to report."

"Please stand up and tell me."

Listening to both sides makes one enlightened, while believing only one side leads to darkness. She felt that the path ahead of her was gradually becoming clearer.

"I came from Mount Ōe. The oni there were expanding their territory, so the yokai were all driven out. To the northeast is Heian-kyō, and I thought that since my abilities were weak, I would come to Hyuga Province."

"Although Hyuga Province isn't as prosperous as Mount Ōe or Heian-kyō, it's still quite interesting. As I wandered around, I saw a young dog yokai. Seeing that she was starving, I gave her some bean cakes, and she insisted on following me."

The tanuki continued, a mix of worry and anger in its voice, "As a tanuki fleeing from Mount Ōe, what food did I have? I could only risk danger and steal from the Lord's mansion to feed her... One time, I returned too late, and she thought I had been captured, so she charged into the Lord's residence!"

"What was wrong with her, such a small dog, just wanting to fill her belly?" the tanuki said indignantly. "If it was because of me that she was caught by the Minamoto clan's samurai, killed, and eaten... I, I—"

As the tanuki spoke, it burst into tears. "But I never found her, and I thought I couldn't let her die in vain, so I risked my life to get revenge on the Minamoto clan!"

Even when adult, the illusions cast by bake-danuki had limited effectiveness. This was not because of their level, but because of their imagination.

Tanutarō used all his skills, but at most, he could only slightly disgust the Minamoto family; he couldn't do anything significant to them.

After listening carefully, Hebe said to Miss A-Long, who was about to yawn, "Please keep an eye on him, Miss A-Long. Don't let this bake-danuki escape."

Then, she turned and returned to the Lord's mansion.

The Minamoto-surnamed noble, having resolved a troublesome matter that had been weighing on his mind, was raising a cup of wine to drink when he looked up and saw Hebe standing in the courtyard with her sleeves drawn in, nearly dropping his cup.

"Why... why have you returned?" the Minamoto-surnamed noble asked cautiously. "Are there still yokai that haven't been dealt with?"

"You could say that," Hebe replied, her hands tucked into her sleeves. "Please have the Lord summon his servants and inquire if a small dog was caught in the mansion within the last six months."

Soon, the servant boys brought news: a lower-ranking samurai named Miura had caught a small Shiba Inu in the mansion a few months ago. After inquiring and confirming it was a stray, Miura had kept the small Shiba Inu, intending to train it as a hunting dog.

"Have Miura bring that dog to me!" the Minamoto-surnamed noble said, his face darkening.

He wasn't an idiot; seeing Hebe return specifically, he naturally guessed that the unrest in the mansion for the past half-year was related to this dog.

"Master!"

The samurai Miura soon rushed in. He was holding a small black Shiba Inu and knelt on the ground as soon as he entered.

The small black Shiba Inu squeezed out of his embrace, its big dark eyes wide, tilting its head as it observed Hebe standing in the courtyard.

The Minamoto-surnamed noble looked hopefully at Hebe. "Miss Tamamo... is this the dog you were looking for?"

Hebe simply extended her hand. "Do you recognize Tanutarō?"

"Woof woof!"

The small Shiba Inu narrowed its eyes, happily breaking free from Miura's arms, wagging its tail around Hebe's wooden clogs.

"What exactly is going on?" the Minamoto-surnamed noble asked, frowning.

Hebe then relayed Tanutarō's story to him.

The Minamoto-surnamed noble's expression grew even uglier after listening. "In the end, aren't I the victim? That bake-danuki, and this dog yokai, they come and go from my residence as they please... Where is the dignity of nobility? Miss Tamamo, please hand this dog yokai over to me for handling!"

Hebe thought for a moment and then smiled. "Does Lord Minamoto wish to kill this small dog yokai?"

The Minamoto-surnamed noble stared at the Shiba Inu and nodded, his killing intent palpable.

"It seems Lord Minamoto's approach is a bit too direct."

The Minamoto-surnamed noble fell silent for a moment, then waved for Miura and the other servants to withdraw.

"Please teach me, Miss Tamamo."

"Lord Minamoto wanting to kill the small dog yokai is merely to vent his anger. But after venting, will the lost reputation and sustenance return?"

The Minamoto-surnamed noble gritted his teeth. "I can order the samurai and servants of my mansion to keep silent!"

Hebe watched the little Shiba Inu running around and said calmly, "There's a saying in Zhendan: 'Stopping the people's mouths is worse than stopping a river.' The more Lord Minamoto forbids the spread of this matter, the more the common people will do the opposite. Who knows what image Lord Minamoto will be portrayed as?"

The noble of the Minamoto surname broke out in a cold sweat. When he heard the Zhendan saying, "Stopping the people's mouths is worse than stopping a river," his heart grew even more uneasy.

"Then, what should we do?" The noble of the Minamoto surname couldn't sit still and hurried to the courtyard. "Miss Tamamo, please save me!"

Chapter 64: The Wise Fox

Under normal circumstances, the court nobles valued elegance and advocated for a demeanor of composure and unflappability in the face of adversity.

From "teach me" to "save me"... It was clear this man was truly panicking.

Hebe tucked her sleeves in, subtly took a step back to create distance, and put on a somewhat distant smile.

"Please calm down, Lord Minamoto. I have a question for you: Why not invite an Onmyoji or a sorcerer to subdue that Bake-danuki?"

"Ah!" The noble of the Minamoto surname stomped his foot. "To be perfectly honest, I don't have the money!"

This noble poured out his troubles to Hebe: "If I were to invite an Onmyoji, to save face, it would cost at least two thousand coins... and not our Eastern Lands' currency, but Zhendan's Tang coins!"

The noble of the Minamoto surname said dejectedly, "If the gift money is insufficient, those Onmyoji who are all about money will likely slander me behind my back... Conversely, although this tanuki is causing me great annoyance, if I let it cause trouble—by the time the trouble amounts to two thousand coins, it will take many years."

In his opinion, the tanuki would probably leave on its own once it had caused enough trouble.

Hebe nodded after listening to him speak. "Since that's the case, this matter can be resolved properly."

"The tanuki demon, to prevent the little dog demon from starving, was willing to risk coming to Lord Minamoto's residence to steal rice; this dog demon, worried about the tanuki demon's safety, was willing to risk its life to come to its rescue; the tanuki demon, upon learning that the dog demon was trapped in Lord Minamoto's residence, stayed by its side, determined to find the little dog demon... They are clearly yokai, yet they possess human-like loyalty and righteousness."

"Since that is the case, why doesn't Lord Minamoto show them leniency to display your benevolence?" Hebe said slowly. "When people learn of this, they will surely say, 'Lord Minamoto's benevolence even wins over yokai.'"

"If this continues, valiant samurai will flock to you, loyal servants will appear on their own, and the common people under your rule will become even more law-abiding. Isn't this a good thing for you, Lord Minamoto?"

The noble of the Minamoto surname was overjoyed. "Excellent! We'll do as you say."

Tanutarō felt a chill run down his spine as Miss A-Long stared at him.

Fortunately, Hebe finally came out, followed by the little black Shiba Inu, wagging its tail happily.

"The matter has been resolved. You can take this little dog demon with you," Hebe said, looking at the Bake-danuki. "From now on, do not do such ignorant things again—Onmyoji and sorcerers will not show mercy."

The Bake-danuki's eyes welled up with tears. He knew that he and the little dog demon were able to survive thanks to the great yokai from Zhendan before him.

"I, Tanutarō, swear!" the Bake-danuki said loudly. "From now on, I will only obey your commands and go through fire and water for you—if I have little tanukis in the future, even smaller tanukis, I will make them swear as well."

Hebe twitched the corner of her mouth. "Going through fire and water is not necessary, but there is indeed something you can do for me right now."

The Bake-danuki heard the girl before him open her lips and utter words that sounded like a nightmare.

"To reach Heian-kyō, we must pass through Mount Ōe, which is ruled by Shuten-dōji. Miss A-Long and I have decided that you will be our guide."

The Bake-danuki was struck by lightning and stood frozen for a long time.

"Ah... ah?" He stammered, pointing a finger at himself. "Me?"

"If not you, then who else but this little dog demon?" Hebe pointed at the little Shiba Inu beside them, who couldn't even speak human language.

"This, this cannot be."

The Bake-danuki frantically spun around. "Mount Ōe is currently the territory of the Oni. The two Oni Kings enforce a cruel rule; they act recklessly, often dismembering yokai and humans and drinking their hearts as wine."

"The great Oni King Shuten-dōji once traveled the Zhendan continent. All the Oni called her the Child of Mount Ibuki Great Myojin, a wrathful god who was both Oni and Dragon. In reality, she had no interest in ruling Mount Ōe and the Oni masses. The one who truly built castles and gathered Oni on Mount Ōe was Ibaraki-dōji."

"Ibaraki-dōji is truly formidable," the Bake-danuki said, his face turning somewhat pale at the mention of her name. "She is a natural demon, and although she is an Oni, she possesses the strategy of a human sage. Once, on a whim, she led the Oni to attack Heian-kyō, killing countless samurai, Onmyoji, and sorcerers, and many nobles were abducted."

"Most terrifyingly, Ibaraki-dōji has completely forged the Oni masses into an army!"

The Bake-danuki chattered on about how noble Shuten-dōji was and then vehemently exaggerated the brutality and terror of Ibaraki-dōji, all in an attempt to dissuade Hebe from going to Heian-kyō.

Unfortunately, not only did this speech fail to persuade Hebe, but Miss A-Long, who was eavesdropping, became eager for a fight.

"Hmph hmph." Miss A-Long bent her arm. "Miss A-Long is not afraid of fighting; she gets happy just hearing about fighting!"

The Bake-danuki stared blankly, then smacked his forehead in annoyance.

He should have realized long ago that Miss A-Long was a hidden berserker.

Now that he had ignited Miss A-Long's competitive spirit, it was too late to regret it.

After breakfast, Hebe and her party left Hyuga City Town early.

Someone was already waiting at the city gate—it was Miura, the samurai Hebe had met yesterday.

"My lord asked me to wait here," Miura said with a simple, honest smile, handing over the cloth bag in his hand.

Hebe took it and saw that it contained some Tang coins and wrapped rice balls.

She didn't refuse, accepted the cloth bag prepared by the noble of the Minamoto surname, and handed it to Miss A-Long to carry.

Samurai Miura hesitated. "Lady Tamamo... I'd like to say goodbye to A-Shiba."

A-Shiba was the name Miura had given to the little dog demon, though it was clear the little dog demon didn't like it much.

Hebe looked at the little dog demon. "What do you think?"

"Woo..." The little dog demon tilted its head and let out a soft whimper.

"She agreed."

Hebe nodded to Miura, then pulled Miss A-Long and the Bake-danuki a short distance away.

Miura knelt on the ground, whispering something to the Shiba Inu.

After a few minutes, he reached out and patted the Shiba Inu's head, then stood up and watched as the Shiba Inu ran towards Hebe.

Hebe cupped her hands in her sleeves, nodded to Miura, and then left Hyuga Castle Town without looking back.

Not many steps later, words only she could see appeared before Hebe's eyes.

[Current Lostbelt Progress: 10%]

Hyuga Province was located in the southeastern part of Kyushu Island, belonging to the later Western Sea Circuit, and could be considered a remote frontier. According to later maps, one would need to cross the sea to reach the main island of the Eastern Lands, but at this time, land still connected Kyushu Island and the main island of the Eastern Lands.

Hebe was accustomed to the subtle differences between the Lostbelt, the present world, and her own past life memories, which was also the charm of the secret history.

There was a road connecting Hyuga Province to Bungo Province. Spring had just reached its halfway point, and the mountains and fields were covered in flowers of various colors.

If a court noble were to go on an outing and see such beautiful scenery, they would surely compose poems and waka to praise the splendor of the blooming mountain flowers.

Hebe looked at the scattered villages, her gaze sweeping over the farmers with expressionless faces, thinking that they probably didn't have the inclination for such things.

The noble of the Minamoto clan from Hyuga Castle Town had recently gained considerable fame, and the waka he composed had also spread throughout Bungo Province.

"In the West, a fairy maiden, / Easing my worries and troubles, / Taming the fox and training the dog. / Sharing with me loyalty and righteousness, / Letting my honored name spread further!"

It seemed that before the Nine-Tailed Fox was seen as the embodiment of beauty, her reputation for wisdom would spread first.

The sounds of music and revelry drifted from a distant mountain peak.

Hebe stopped and listened intently.

The Bake-danuki ran quickly and soon returned to tell Hebe, "They're sending a bride up the mountain ahead."