She rested her tender, lotus-root arms against the tree trunk before her, using them as a pillow. Her small shoulders trembled continuously as she vented the emotions bottled up inside her.
She must have been heartbroken right now, so much so that the furry little ears hidden beneath her short hair had failed to sense the movement around her.
She wore a child-sized shrine maiden outfit and was barefoot.
The shrine maiden outfit was neat and mostly clean, though its hem was stained with mud and bits of grass, likely picked up while she had been running through the woods and undergrowth earlier.
She simply cried, as though emotions she could not dispel were building within her gently rising chest. Her three little tails hung limply like wilted foxtail grass.
"Wuwuwu..."
"Wuwuwu..."
Perhaps she was crying because the gods had rejected her request to become a shrine maiden. After all, he had never heard of a god allowing a yokai to become a shrine maiden.
Arata did not interrupt the little one's emotional release, but neither did he leave. After all, no one would feel at ease leaving such a pitiful little thing crying alone in the wilderness, would they?
Since night had already fallen, he simply leaned against a Giant Tree beside him and rested for a while.
After an unknown amount of time, the girl's sobs gradually weakened, and faint rustling sounds rose from where she stood.
"Eek."
But just then, she seemed to have been suddenly startled by something, and a surprised sound burst from her slender throat.
Then, the rustling of grass being trampled grew more intense and more distant.
The little girl had noticed that a human had appeared beside her at some point and immediately chosen to flee.
She was very familiar with this