The atmosphere is really not harmonious.

I haven't slept all night and have been sitting at the door of the village, hoping that A Feng will at least come to see me.

As her "self", even if she rejects it, given the current situation, I hope she can take it seriously.

"Ah um——"

Yamata no Orochi yawned long above my head.

"You have been sitting here all night. It seems that what you said to her last night was in vain."

"I know!" I said, a little angry.

"Oh...here we come, I'll just act like an ordinary snake in front of them."

Although I heard the footsteps, I didn't look back: "Why are you still coming to me now? I've said all I have to say."

The footsteps stopped.

"I don't want to change you..."

"Isn't it inevitable that this village will disappear? Moreover, if this stone is placed here, it cannot be broken no matter what method is used. This means that this land and the roots of the land have been connected with the black hole.

Sooner or later, they will disappear together with the Izumo Kingdom, and if you stay, it will be meaningless."

After talking about it, I finally stood up, and then I saw Afeng, and an ugly child who was too skinny. A few long hairs could tell that he was a girl - she looked at me like a young wolf,

But he just grabbed A Feng's clothes and wouldn't let go.

Perhaps because he noticed me, Afeng also glanced at the child: "This is another child I found in the village last night."

"..."

"I want to go outside the village to get some food, but I really don't worry."

"It's okay to be eaten. In this situation where even one's own life is not protected, even a child can still have a full meal——"

"Azi." Afeng interrupted me for the first time, "I understand that you don't agree with me. However, I'm sorry for not hearing the details of your words. All I can do is change what they say.

In the situation they are in, it is not their wish to do whatever it takes to survive. If this can awaken the goodness in their hearts, then they can walk with the world."

"Is this the responsibility of the gods?"

"Yes, at the same time, it is also my wish."

What was revealed on her face was sincere and pure determination. She had no other thoughts or any feeling of being forced. She stayed here entirely out of her own wishes.

…It’s hopeless.

"...I understand." I said in a bad tone, "You want something to eat, right? I'll get it. I'll leave it to you to deal with those people in the village."

"You..."

"I will stay and help. I am also curious about the black hole. Since you have decided to stay here and must solve the problems here, you will definitely go to that hole to have a look, right? In that case, why not leave it to me?

." I continued without waiting for Afon to speak, "While you are helping the village recover and helping the land here rejuvenate, let me investigate the hole."

Afeng looked at me and was silent for a while before saying, "Let's discuss this matter when you come back from hunting."

I know she can't agree so quickly, but she must be hesitant.

Last night, I rested outside the village for a long time and then returned to the village. Afeng told me that she would stay in this village until the land could grow grain, the sky could rain, and the villagers could leave the village.

This land told her many things, such as the origin of this land.

It’s not that people in the village have always been unable to go out. A long, long time ago, this village was no different from the outside villages. But suddenly one day, people discovered that all the people who had gone out died at the entrance of the village.

Beside the stone - there was no sign and no sound.

After that, the villagers stopped going out. Because the weather was good, there was no impact if they didn't go out. However, one day, the current black hole appeared on the high place where the torii gate was originally.

In the beginning, the black hole was not very big, and the villagers just kept away from it. But gradually, monsters would often come out of the black hole, destroying the land and attacking humans. Even if a fence was put up outside, it would be of no use.

Later, the land no longer produced food, and the sky stopped raining. There were no villages nearby, and it was so remote that almost no one would find them.

"They are just waiting to die, fighting for each other, killing each other, and eating each other. They don't even have gods, so they can't pray." When A Feng finished speaking, I could see her dull face.

, showing an emotion called sadness.

...The old god of Izumo Kingdom didn't teach her what feelings are. Did he think that this kind of thing can only be understood if it is deeply felt?

That day, I did hunt a lot for that village. In the evening, I boiled the meat of the hunted animals - that was probably the biggest meal ever for the people left in the village.

Afeng did not smile, but she looked at the people who were eating meat, talking, laughing and crying, and seemed to be thinking about something. The three remaining children in the village cuddled next to her, and the bonfire was set up.

In front of her, her beautiful face was illuminated.

"In the end, I stayed with him." Yamata no Orochi said lazily.

"Aren't you afraid of being discovered this time?" I looked away and sat on the roof and asked.

"Well..." He turned into a snake and lay on the leaf, wagging his tail. "After all, the old gods have seen it."

I glanced at the red-haired old god sitting next to me: "He has been looking at A Feng for a long time... I didn't expect that he was a daughter slave."

"Hey, I heard everything." The old god turned his head and glared at me.

"So what?" I didn't care.

"Using human relations to describe the relationship between me and Fon, you are really ignorant." The old god snorted coldly and continued, "Don't you know why there is always only one old god in Izumo Country?"

"Why should I know that kind of thing?"

The old god's little pride was shattered by me: "Although the faces are the same, your personality is really different from Afeng's."

"I didn't say I wanted you to like me."

"...You little brat -" the old god wanted to say something, but he held back, "Of course you don't know. Before she was born, I thought about what kind of appearance I would give her - as a person who can

The appearance of a god who is close to humans. I thought about it for a long time, and finally gave her appearance. After she is born, I will die. This is the law of the old gods that cannot be changed. Teach her kindness, teach her

Tolerance, teach her kindness, teach her everything I know, teach her the use of strength, teach her blessings...I taught her everything I know."

"It's so hard." Yamata no Orochi said perfunctorily, and then climbed onto my hand.

"Where did the hard work come from? That is the happiest thing. The old god before me also raised me in this way. Originally, what I taught her was enough to live in Izumo Country, but now, Izumo Country has disappeared."

"So, why don't you teach her feelings?" I grabbed the snake that was about to wrap around my neck.

"You can't teach that kind of thing, right?" The old god lowered his head and said, "It should be something that comes naturally, but when I discovered this problem, she had already grown into a young girl. She grew into the woman I dreamed of.

It seems that only this problem has never been solved. It will undoubtedly be more difficult to make up for the problems that were not dealt with when you were young when you grow up."

"..."

"So, when I saw you for the first time, I was very surprised. It was like seeing her finally learn how to feel and being able to understand herself clearly."

"Wouldn't it be better to treat them as one?" Yamata no Orochi said honestly, putting the snake's head on my knee.

"impossible."

The old gods and I speak in unison.

"..." After being rejected, he said nothing more and just closed his eyes.

The night gradually deepened, and the villagers gradually returned to their dilapidated houses. I discussed with Afeng about going to the cave, but actually we didn't agree. She said that she would help the villagers build houses next, and she hoped that I could go out with her to help them out tomorrow.

Come back with the wood.

This kind of thing is naturally a trivial matter, but I am still more concerned about the black hole.

"……Thanks."

"ah?"

"Although Feng's face and personality are approachable, most people who have come into contact with her will be alienated because of her overly serious personality. And because she doesn't understand emotions, I have always been the only one who can really talk to her.

.”

"Are you the kind of parent who can sacrifice everything for your daughter?"

The old gods looked at me: "Why should we care about the relationship that humans say? There is only inheritance and continuation between gods, especially among the old gods."

"Because "Minamoto Chishishi" is an existence raised by humans and guided by monsters. Gods and other things have nothing to do with me, so I will care about these."

"If that's the case, what about your... family?"

"Mine?" The roof was a little skewed and the thatch on it was dry, so I simply lay down. "They love me very much."

"like?"

After I lay down, I turned to look at the old god: "Well, love. As you can see, I am a half-demon. In fact, I have an older brother who is also a half-demon. Before my mother gave birth to us, my father predicted that my mother would

Was eaten by one of us. It happened that I was that one. Of course my mother knew, of course she knew, but even though she knew, she still gave birth to me. Of course, I didn’t know it at that time——

It should be said that everyone knows it except me."

"...What happened next?"

"Later...well...later, I was brought up by my father, but when I was five years old, the demon went berserk and killed the child adopted by my father - there is no doubt that he hated me at that time, and I also knew that at that time

Every night he wanted to kill me with his own hands, but in the end he failed. He sealed all my demonic power and all my past memories in a barrier - originally I could go on safely this way, but the barrier was broken at the beginning."

"What happens after that?"
To be continued...