Vol. 3 - Chapter 125 - Katariona Finds Komataro the Spririt Dog
I gulped, clearing my throat.
The Komane Shrine at the foot of the mountain had a solemn atmosphere, a tranquility that made it difficult to approach.
"First, you must bow to the shrine with two bows, two claps, and one bow. And don\'t walk in the middle of the path. The middle of the path is the path of the gods."
Kikuno-sama gave us a brief lesson on the rules for visiting a shrine in front of the shrine\'s torii gate. And yet, .......
"Let\'s go! We heard there was a spirit dog Komataro here, so we came!"
The god trio of Leon, Ron-sama, and Sylphy-sama walked proudly down the middle of the path and called out loudly in front of the shrine.
"Who are you to make a scene in my shrine!"
A high-pitched voice rang out, and white smoke billowed from the shrine.
Then the door was thrown open with great force.
A boy wearing a white costume and armor appeared at the door. In his right hand, he held a bishop\'s staff, and his short white hair was covered with a crown.
His face looked innocent, but he had an air of dignity about him that kept people at bay.
This boy is likely to be Kurikara, the deity of Komane Shrine.
"You\'re the master of the spirit dog Komataro, aren\'t you?"
"What\'s this? What\'s this strange cat? Are you some kind of transformed demon? This is no place for an abomination like you to come. Get out of here immediately!"
"Nooooo! All the gods in this country are treating me like I\'m a demon who has undergone a transformation! I am a god! Are your two eyes blind?"
"Whose blind?! You! How dare you taunt a god?"
The Kurikara-jin took the staff in his right hand and swung it sideways at Leon. But before it could reach Leon, it snapped in half.
Sylphy-sama used her hand blade to slash it.
"Ahhhhhhhh! The khakkara I got from Kurikara-sama! What have you done!? You stupid cat!"
Hmm? Kurikara-sama? Isn\'t this boy Kurikara the god?
"That\'s enough, Koma*. He\'s not your opponent."
A young man emerged from the shrine. He was dressed in the same attire as the boy referred to as "Koma", and had a neat face that broke into an amused chuckle.
"Kurikara-sama. These stupid felines."
"Who\'s a stupid cat!"
The young man who appeared behind him seemed to be the god.
"Are you the god of Komane Shrine, Kurikara-sama? I apologize for our silly cat."
Kikuno-sama knelt down to the god and apologized for being rude.
"Kikuno! Are you calling me a stupid cat too! Mgh--!"
I blocked Leon\'s mouth to prevent him from uttering anything disrespectful.
"Oh? You are the shrine maiden of the earth god\'s shrine?"
"I am. I have come to ask for your assistance."
Kikuno-sama clearly stated that she wished to borrow Komataro\'s help in defeating the monsters that had appeared in Yanzhou.
"Uuuwu! My khakkara*!"
The Koma cried beside Kurikara-sama, clutching his broken staff halves. He must have cherished it very much. I feel sorry for him.
"Um, ......, can I borrow your staff for a moment? It was Leon\'s fault in the first place, so I\'ll fix it for you."
"There is no way a human can fix it! Uwu! Hiku!"
He placed his staff on the ground, and I approached him and placed my hand on it.
"Sacred Magic: Regeneration!"
A magic circle emerged and returned the staff to its original form.
"Ahhh! My staff is back!"
The crying Koma smiled widely as he held the staff in his hand. So cute.
"Thank you, human girl!"
The Koma ran up to me and transformed into a pure white dog and jumped on me.
"Wow! A fluffy doggy! So cute!"
His tail wagging and his tongue licking my cheek was so cute that I began to fluff up his fur.
Suddenly, I realized something.
"Ah! Are you Komataro the spirit dog?"
"Yes, I am! I am a member of Kurikara-sama\'s genus."
I knew this dog was Komataro. He\'s just as fluffy as Leon, if not more so.
"I thank you for fixing my guardian\'s staff. It\'s unusual for a human to have the power to regenerate broken things. What is your name, my dear girl?"
I knelt down like Kikuno-sama and said my name.
"My name is Katariona Yurie Grandeur. I come from the Kingdom of Findalia."
"You have the name of Hinoshima? Then, Yurie, I will send you my Koma to Yanzhou. Koma, go and exterminate the monsters that are lurking in Yanzhou."
"Ha-! I will certainly exterminate them."
Koma regained human form and knelt down to Kurikara-sama.
"Thank you very much Kurikara-sama!"
"Good. By the way, you are carrying a curious object. I sense the power of the Blacksmith God."
I quickly realized that he was referring to the small sword made by Sotaro-san, a blacksmith with the blessings of the Blacksmith God. I took off the hairpin in my hair.
"You mean this hairpin?"
"As I am the God of War, I will bestow my power on that weapon. The golden-haired girl on your side has the same one, does she not?"
"My name is Christina Elaine Vin Findalia."
Chris also knelt down as she approached the presence of the Kurikara deity and took out the blade from her pocket.
"Christina," he said, "You have the talent of a great ruler. I will give you the same power as Yurie\'s hairpin. The time will come when you will find it useful."
Can the god see Chris\'s future?
As the god chanted, strange characters appeared in the air and were sucked into my hairpin and Chris\'s knife, respectively.
"Stupid dog! Move out of the way! Rio\'s lap is my place."
"No way. I like Rio. You stupid cat, stay out of this!"
Leon and Komataro have been bickering, screaming "Stupid dog!" "Stupid Cat!" this and that competing with each other in an exchange of swear words.
We are in the process of being transported by Ron-sama and Sylphy-sama to a village in Yanzhou where monsters are said to appear.
Komataro seems to have taken a liking to me and is sitting on my lap in his dog form.
His fluffy white fur was so soft that I couldn\'t resist the temptation.
Leon was glaring at Komataro from atop Ron\'s head.
"How did you end up in the family of that stupid cat, Rio?"
"Leon and I met by fate."
"F~n. How could Rio be happy being a member of his genus? When you get tired of him, come to Kurikara-sama. If it\'s Rio, Kurikara-sama likes you and will make you one of his family members."
I don\'t think I\'ll ever get tired of Leon.
"Damn you! Stupid dog! Don\'t you dare try to seduce Rio!"
"Shut up! Noisy stupid cat!"
Here we go again.
—---
T/N: Btw I’m using a * to signify a term that I’ll define here:
The khakkarais referring to a bishop’s staff also known as a Buddhist staff: 9a212f7b-b638-46de-b0e6-e0fb9ed81b13.jpg
Koma (inu)= (stone) guardian lion-dogs at Shinto shrine 79a2e5b9-5b7d-47f7-8dbd-cdb14196e576.jpg
—----
TL: Another fluffy comrade has appeared~ looks like fun! Well, hope you enjoyed and happy reading~! (≧◠‿◠≦)✌