The merchant quickly got to his feet and opened his eyes, looking around in confusion. When he found nothing, he hesitantly walked toward where the sound had come from.
When he reached the spot where the offerings had been placed, he suddenly noticed... one of the apples offered to Inari had a bite taken out of it.
"What?! Who touched the god's offering?!"
Seeing the offering before him, the merchant immediately grew furious!
These were offerings for Inari, yet someone had actually stolen a bite! That was a grave act of disrespect. Forget having his wish granted—he might even incur the god's wrath.
"You foolish mortal!"
As the merchant fumed, a voice suddenly rang out within the shrine, startling him badly.
"W-what... what was that?"
The merchant looked around, but he could not spot anyone. The voice seemed to have appeared out of thin air, leaving him frightened and uneasy.
"Could... could this shrine be haunted? Or has a god revealed themself?" The merchant was utterly panicked, not knowing what to do.
"I'm no ghost!"
"If you're praying for marriage, why not go to the shrine of the God of Marriage? Inari does not handle matters of marriage."
A burst of bell chimes rang out, and the God of Marriage appeared before the merchant.
Looking at the God of Marriage, who had suddenly appeared before him, the merchant backed away several steps with an angry laugh and pointed at her. "Where did you, you poor little girl, come from? You actually stole an offering meant for Inari!"
"Huh..."
Hearing the merchant's words, the God of Marriage was completely dumbfounded.
Poor... little girl?
The God of Marriage froze. Even when the Prayer Bell—the bell containing the God of Marriage's Faith Power—fell from her hand, she did not react.
Though she