Please to Kitsune-sama!

Chapter 206 : Kitsune-sama, Gains Acquaintances

For Inari, it was a somewhat unexpected proposal. Normally, the suggestion would have been something like: “If you aren’t affiliated with a clan, then just keep your Fox Phone as it is and instead join us.” But this time, it was clearly not the case.

“’Tis unexpected indeed. I thought for certain thou would ask me to choose where I should belong.”

“If I had said that, would you have joined?”

“Nay? In that case, I would have declined.”

Inari answered Hakuouin’s teasing words with her own in kind. The two of them burst out laughing at almost the same time. Watching this, Sendou muttered, “Ugh… that’s the first time I’ve ever seen anyone actually get along with that old geezer youkai…” but that aside—

“I never had such expectations to begin with. Even the top rankers remain unaffiliated. ’Tis simply unnecessary. Take yonder Sendou, for example. His cousin declined to join his clan—not merely because Dragon Eye focuses on close-range classes.”

“Your cousin…?”

“Sendou Sarina. I heard thou hadst challenged a mission together recently?”

“Ah, aye, aye. I do recall.”

The Black Witch, Sendou Sarina. Inari had encountered her perhaps twice, but couldn’t recall any significant conversations. Still, she certainly remembered that the girl had worn a rather striking outfit.

“A clan, at its core, is a mutual aid association. But once it groweth large, as with ours, we must think not only of our own gain but also of the greater good.”

“Hm?”

“I mean those matters which neither other clans nor lone awakeners will face—or cannot resolve. Conversely, if a problem can be handled by an individual, then we have no need to intervene.”

Indeed, a clan existed for the sake of collective strength. An awakener like the Hero, who could simply charge in and resolve things alone, had no reason to belong to a clan. Unless he merely wished to gather weaker followers and play warlord, he had no place atop the Ten Great Clans.

What was truly required was not just strength, but the ability to coordinate—using other members effectively, and only stepping in personally if the situation demanded it. Strength was the baseline, the last resort. If someone was absurdly powerful alone, then it was best to simply send that person to handle the battlefield that required it. There was no need whatsoever for such a one to be bound to an organization.

“The reason we are called the Ten Great Clans is because we move to address that which cannot be reached by mere individuals. Aye, we also strive to raise the overall strength of awakeners in Japan… but in that sense, there is no reason to recruit thee, who already wieldeth power equal to a top ranker.”

“I see. ’Tis better to let me act freely, eh? Yet if that be so, why hast thou summoned me hither?”

“Mm. Because thou seemed worth conversing with.”

“…Hyo?”

At that surprising reply, Inari tilted her head with a puzzled look. Yet everyone present—even Aoyama—nodded in agreement.

“If thou hast dealt with even one of them, thou must know already—the top rankers are all eccentrics!”

“Half of them won’t budge if they aren’t interested!”

“Number One is hopeless, Number Two follows nothing but her own curiosity, Number Three rarely leaves Kusatsu!”

“Number Four only fights underwater, and Number Five is… well, the current one is better, I suppose?”

“As for the Paladin, well, that fellow may look wholesome, but he’s hiding plenty…”

The last time she met him, Inari hadn’t noticed anything troubling. But since no one else offered more details, she chose not to press. Gossip was hardly proper, and better to judge people after meeting them herself.

“But then, there is thee, Kogami-dono. Possessing strength on par with the top rankers, yet without a troublesome temperament. That alone is of great value.”

“Indeed. That is why we, the Ten Great Clans… or rather, nine clans if we exclude the Echigo Trading Company… we simply wished to form a bond with you. That is why we arranged this meeting.”

Inari considered Tsukiyama’s words. Form a bond. A most reasonable notion. By meeting face-to-face, they laid the groundwork for their future relationship. They even took Inari’s convenience into account, settling it all in one go. To her, it was most agreeable.

“’Tis a fine proposal. But what shall come of this bond? Shall we drink tea together on occasion?”

“Aye. That is well enough. But more than that, we seek friends with whom we can strike fair bargains in times of need.”

“Bargains, thou sayest.”

“Precisely. When we face something that sheer numbers alone cannot handle, we would ask for thy aid. In exchange, we shall provide thee as much convenience as possible.”

So, Inari would provide her individual strength, while the Nine Great Clans offered the power of numbers. That was the nature of the arrangement. And given the scale of the Nine Great Clans, they could indeed field literal armies. As a trade, it was perfectly reasonable.

“Of course, shouldst thou ever wish for a clan of thine own, I could yield mine to thee. The Takemoto Samurai Corps would welcome thee anytime.”

“Pah. At that point, I’d sooner yield Mount Fuji itself.”

“…Hah?”

“Oh? You wanna go, old man?”

“If I be an old man, then thou art two years my elder—a crustier old fool still!”

“Oh?”

“Oh?”

“Enough, cease this folly at once! How disgraceful!”

With Inari’s sharp rebuke, Hakuouin and Takemoto both sat back down. And thus, on this day, Inari and the masters of the Nine Great Clans became—not friends, but at least acquaintances.