"Get lost! Otherwise, I won't be polite."
Chōchō gripped the Kagura Bell in both hands and pointed it at the monster before her. This Kagura Bell was slightly different from the usual kind; at its front was a sharp blade shaped like a sword.
Strictly speaking, this sword-shaped bell should be called a "Hokisaki Bell." The sword on it represented the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, the golden guard-like piece in the middle represented the Yata no Kagami, and the eight bells below represented the Yasakani no Magatama.
The Hokisaki Bell was also a kind of Kagura Bell. Both were props used by miko when performing the Kagura Dance. The Kagura Dance was... an ancient Japanese dance performed before the gods, praying to make them happy.
Of course, the bells themselves were not important. What mattered was... this Hokisaki Bell could fend off these monsters. Every time she had left the shrine and encountered them, she had relied on this Hokisaki Bell to return safely.
Chōchō had no surname, only a name given to her by the old miko who had found her. According to the old miko... when she found her, there had been a paper butterfly placed on her body, so she named her Chōchō.
As for a surname?
In ancient Japan... only people of the middle and upper classes had surnames. Of course, the emperor had no surname either, but people of the lower classes could not possibly be mentioned in the same breath as the imperial family.
After the old miko found Chōchō, she had grown up in this village. In her world, it seemed that the world consisted only of this village. As for what lay beyond it?
She did not know, because... once one left the village, there was only a thick fog outside. No matter which direction