Please to Kitsune-sama!

Chapter 172 : Kitsune-sama, Her Card Turns Bronze

In conclusion, it was decided that the incident on Toshima would not be made public. With fear of the sea already widespread, if word spread that isolated islands like Toshima carried such dangers, it was certain to cause major repercussions for those currently living on other remote islands, as well as for people in the fishing industry and beyond.

Revealing everything was not always the right thing to do… ignorance could indeed be bliss. Since the matter had already been resolved, it was true that stoking needless fear would only be a mistake.

That said, proper compensation was of course necessary, as well as clear rewards for those who had earned merit.

Inari, who had resolved this incident, received a considerable sum of money transferred to her account. But… as far as whether Inari was pleased, the matter ended with little more than her curt response of “I see.”

“Truly, thank you so much for all your hard work on this case…! Even though I was technically a complete outsider to the whole situation, I was genuinely worried…!”

“Indeed, indeed. Hadst thou ignored it, the calamity wouldst surely have reached Honshuu itself. No doubt thou spared them the burden of such responsibility.”

“I did read the reports… but as for the part about the ‘cursed god,’ it seems the higher-ups were rather half in doubt.”

To be assigned a case was to also bear responsibility if something went wrong. In this incident, far too many victims had already been claimed for it to be entrusted to someone like Yasuno, who was little more than a rookie. The weight of responsibility, should the “up-and-coming awakened” Inari be lost, would have been enormous.

That was likely why Aoyama had stepped forward instead of Yasuno… it was probably also because Aoyama, as someone capable of taking responsibility in case of failure, was better suited. But, well, setting aside that reasoning, the simple truth was that Aoyama was fairly considerate of his subordinates for a superior.

Meanwhile, this conversation was happening at Inari’s home, where Yasuno, still without lunch, was happily crunching away at a bowl of rice topped with furikake.

“No matter how amazing Miss Kogami is, I still can’t believe something with ‘god’ in its name could really be defeated. Besides, a monster with ‘god’ in its title has never appeared before. A-ah! I don’t mean I am saying that, okay!?”

“What dost thou say now? What then became of the tale of that which was godlike?”

“Ugh. To be blunt… it seems some executive was saying, since only Miss Kogami herself had confirmed that ‘god,’ treating it as fact was questionable. Honestly, I really shouldn’t be telling you this, but…”

“’Tis ever the same in every age.”

Well, it was not as though Inari could not understand. This so-called “godlike being” had been witnessed by none but herself. With no physical evidence left behind, it would have been stranger if no one suspected she was exaggerating her achievements.

Inari herself felt nothing about it one way or another, but Yasuno looked rather uncomfortable.

“Um… about that cursed god, there were no items… nothing like that dropped, right?”

“Aye. I did receive a silver chest as a reward, though…”

“That was… a high-grade mana potion, wasn’t it? Well, it is an incredible item.”

Yes—afterward, when Aoyama had asked, “Did anything drop from the cursed god?” and Inari replied, “No,” she had then remembered the silver reward chest. The fact that she had received such a chest outside of a dungeon at least served as evidence that “something extraordinary happened.” But whether that proved the cursed god’s existence was another matter entirely.

And what came out of the chest was a high-grade mana potion. It was said that even a powerful magic-type awakener, after exhausting all their mana and being left helpless, could restore their entire mana pool simply by drinking half of it. Considered a secret elixir capable of turning the tide of battle, its distribution was extremely scarce.

Of course, as always, it had already been put up for auction and was currently in fierce bidding… but let’s leave that aside.

At any rate, that was hardly proof enough to confirm the existence of the “cursed god.”

“Well, I told of that which mine own eyes beheld. How they choose to judge it is their freedom.”

“Y-yes, really… as much as I’m part of the organization, in this matter I can’t really say anything…”

“Worry not, I lay no blame upon thee. Seeing a ghost in a swaying stalk of grass, much ado for but a single mouse. Thou canst not run an organization whilst being swayed by the word of one person alone.”

In truth, someone of Aoyama’s level had taken Inari’s account quite seriously. It was, in the end, simply a matter of balance. Even putting that aside, the fact that Inari had fought and survived in a place where an entire recon squad had been wiped out was undeniable—proved by the monster magic stones she had brought back. Indeed, Toshima had been home to no small number of monsters.

“And so… as a result of all these circumstances, your card rank will be changing. From here on, it will be bronze.”

“Mm. Here is the old one, then. Take it.”

“Yes, received it. Thank you.”

Awakener cards were ranked, from highest to lowest: gold, silver, bronze, black, green, blue, red, yellow, and white.

Compared to the black card she had held until now, bronze was a whole different level… even the material itself carried a special aura.

In concrete terms, it was enough to attract people should she ever form a clan. Well, Inari had no intention of doing such a thing.

The mascot of Fox Phone, Kogami Inari—that alone was more than sufficient.