It seemed this wasn't the Mountain Inn after all.
Uesugi Tetsu arrived at the door of a tiled-roof house and looked down to see a black-and-white rug.
The black section of the rug on the right was stained with mud, dust, and all kinds of weeds, while the white section directly in front of the sliding door was spotless.
Uesugi Tetsu understood at once. He first placed both feet on the black rug, rubbing off the mud and debris clinging to his shoes. Then he walked across the white rug to the steps and pulled open the sliding door.
Above the door, a black cat-shaped wind chime swayed.
"Eeyo—welcome~"
An exaggerated, lilting welcome with a drawn-out tone came from the left side of the entryway.
Uesugi Tetsu shifted his gaze away from the empty shelves and the vacant yet exceptionally neat corridor, looking instead at the man wearing a strange Noh mask, a platinum-and-gold God of Wealth hat, and holding a folding fan painted with an ukiyo-e scene of raging waves.
Beside the man, a grand armchair was still gently rocking. It appeared he had just risen from it.
A moment later, the characters [???] appeared above the man's head.
Uesugi Tetsu grew wary. This was the first time he had seen a nameplate containing question marks.
He clasped his hands and asked politely, "Are you the owner of this Mountain Inn shop?"
"I—am indeed."
The man continued speaking in his exaggerated tone. Swaying his ukiyo-e folding fan, he paced back and forth. "If it isn't too much trouble, you may call me Katsumi."
As soon as he finished speaking, the nameplate above the man's head shifted. The three question marks changed into—[Katsumi (Four-Star)].
Four stars! A Ghost God-level figure!
Uesugi Tetsu's pupils contracted slightly. Whether in Everworld or the