The Exorcism Tale of Hachiman

"If nothing unexpected happens, Mr. Hachiman should become the sixth exorcist in this country, so I would like to sign a covenant with you in advance."

"Covenant?"

"Yes, that's right, the covenant!"

The Inari deity nodded, his smile fading as he adopted a serious expression.

"May I ask for the reason?"

Upon seeing Inari in this state, Hachiman Hikigaya also adopted a formal approach to the conversation.

"As for the reason, it's because I trust my own judgment and want to invest in advance... I'm sure you wouldn't believe that, Mr. Hachiman."

"........"

Hachiman Hikigaya stared intently at Inari without saying a word, but in his heart he admitted that she was right.

He truly did not believe the Inari God's explanation.

Investing in advance also requires capital.

If the Key he had met before had said this to him, he would have believed it immediately.

But what if it were Inari, the god of incense, whose shrines are now reduced to only a few, and whose incense containers have been stolen...?

"As you just saw, because the container holding the incense was stolen, my strength is about to continue to decline..."

Seeing Hachiman Hikigaya's expressionless face, Inari sighed inwardly and decided to be frank.

"A decline in strength?"

Upon hearing Inari's words, Hachiman Hikigaya finally showed some reaction on his face.

"That's right. Although I've tried to reduce the consumption of incense offerings by suppressing the promotion of my servants, losing the incense offerings of a single shrine means I have to sacrifice some power to maintain balance in the current situation..."

"However, if my strength declines again..."

At this point, Inari Goddess's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. With an incredibly glorious past, she now had to worry that if her strength declined, those rats hiding in the shadows would rush up and bite her.

"In order to prevent any unfortunate events from happening, I hope to reach an alliance with you and move the headquarters to Chiba."

"Of course, I will also provide assistance to you within my capabilities!"

Chapter 196 One-Seventh of the Power

"help?"

Hachiman Hikigaya slightly raised his head to look at Inari.

To be honest, he was even a little happy when he heard that Inari was planning to move its headquarters to Chiba.

After all, if there is a deity in Chiba, the safety of Chiba will be greatly improved.

“That’s right. If you agree to let me move headquarters to Chiba, I will send my attendants to protect the safety of your family and friends. Wasn’t this something you were also worried about before?”

"But I don't really need it now."

If the Demon King hadn't been defeated, Hachiman Hikigaya would have been quite tempted by Inari's offer.

However, most of the Yotsuya Miko and the others are now wearing the magical artifacts he made, so their safety is greatly guaranteed.

In this situation, the promise of Inari God seems less appealing.

"........."

Upon hearing Hachiman Hikigaya's words, the Inari God fell into a brief silence.

Hachiman Hikigaya sat quietly opposite Inari, waiting for her to add more to the challenge.

"All right...."

After thinking for a while, Inari made a compromise.

“I can share some of my power with you, but in exchange you must promise to help me regain control of all the Inari shrines in the future.”

Could you elaborate?

The exact amount of a part is a conceptual question. Until it is determined, one in a thousand, one in ten thousand, or even one in a hundred million could all be considered a part.

One-seventh.

There was no intention to play tricks; Inari Goddess made it quite clear that she would share some of her power.

One-seventh?

A thoughtful look appeared in Hachiman Hikigaya's eyes.

Trading one-seventh of a god's power for a promise to help her in the future seems like a pretty good deal.

"I understand."

Hachiman Hikigaya understood the principle that even a starved camel is better than a horse very well.

He nodded, agreeing to the deal with Inari.

"So, an agreement has been reached?"

Upon hearing Hachiman Hikigaya's answer, the Inari God's face, which had initially shown some reluctance, broke into a smile again.

A flash of golden light appeared, and two agreements suddenly floated in front of the two people.

"These are the details of the alliance. If you have no objections, please place your handprint on them."

After saying that, the Inari God placed his hand on the agreement in front of her without even looking at it.

Compared to the grandeur of Inari, Hachiman Hikigaya appears much more cautious.

He carefully studied every potentially vulnerable statement, and after checking it with the system to confirm that there were no errors, he finally put his thumb on the agreement.

As the handprints appeared, the two agreements merged into one in mid-air, then transformed into two golden rays that entered the bodies of Hachiman Hikigaya and Inari.

Hachiman Hikigaya instantly felt an indelible mark appear in his mind, and when he looked up at Inari, a strange connection was formed between them.

"Next up is the sharing of strength..."

As she spoke, Inari looked at Hachiman Hikigaya sitting in front of her with a half-smile.

....................

After half an hour.

Just as the priestesses were waiting quietly outside the door, the door suddenly opened.

A familiar aura emerged first.

"Lord Inari!"

The little fox, who had been waiting for a long time, pounced on it without thinking.

However, instead of the usual gentle embrace, she was grabbed by the back of her neck and twisted.

"Eh? It's you, sir?"

The little fox stared blankly at Hachiman Hikigaya as he walked out the door.

She then widened her eyes even more when she sensed the power flowing within Hachiman Hikigaya's body that should belong to the god Inari.

"W-Why do you possess the power of Inari-sama?!"

"Of course I gave it to him, Xiao Wu, stop messing around."

From within the shrine, the slightly weary voice of Inari God could be heard. Then, Inari God, whose face was somewhat haggard but still exuded an air of dignified majesty, slowly walked out.

"I'm leaving now..."

Having not yet fully mastered the power he had just gained, Hachiman Hikigaya nodded to the Inari God, and then awkwardly followed the method from his newly acquired memories to open the teleportation array and return to his home.

"grown ups!"

No sooner had Hachiman Hikigaya left than the little fox, known as Kogoro, pounced on Inari again.

"You five, come with me."

After catching Xiao Wu steadily in his arms, Inari glanced at the four life-sized shrine maidens and the three-tailed fox guarding the door on both sides, then turned and walked back into the shrine.

"My lord, your strength has already declined to the level of an ordinary ghost or god. If you were to divert your power under these circumstances..."

Of the four life-sized shrine maidens, the one who appeared to be the oldest spoke excitedly after the shrine gates closed.

"Ah Yi, of course I know what you're saying..."

Gently stroking Little Five nestled in her arms, Inari looked at the attendant priestess she called A-I, and the three official priestesses beside her. Finally, she glanced at the aloof woman standing at the farthest point, who had transformed back into human form from her three-tailed fox form and was leaning against the wall, before revealing the reason.

"The incense offerings for this shrine have been stolen. I cannot sustain it with the offerings from the remaining six shrines."

"Instead of waiting for its power to slowly dissipate, it's better to make a good connection with exorcists while it's still around."

"Don't worry, I've already signed a soul contract with Mr. Hikigaya. He's agreed to our request to set up our headquarters in Chiba. I'm sure you're all aware of the current situation in Chiba, especially since there's another exorcist living in neighboring Tokyo. If we move here, at least you won't have to worry about being attacked again."

"But sharing power with humanity..."

Ah Yi's heart was still filled with worry.

In her view, no matter how polite people are in normal times, they will absolutely turn their backs on you if there is enough benefit.

Hachiman Hikigaya is currently far less powerful than Inari, so they can treat each other with respect.

But what if we wait until Hachiman Hikigaya grows up...?

"Don't worry, everything will be fine."

Hearing A-yi's worries, the Inari God smiled and shook his head.

Her judgment of people is quite accurate; Hachiman Hikigaya is definitely not the kind of person who would betray someone after using them.

Furthermore, even if Hachiman Hikigaya were to turn her back on her, how could a god who has existed for over a thousand years not have any trump cards up her sleeve?

"But I really don't want it to come to that..."

Thinking of the cost of using his backup plan, Inari sighed softly.

Chapter 197 Changes in Temperament

Saturday morning.