Tokyo Soft Rice King.

Even gods originated from human faith...

　Could it be that humans in this world are the most special beings?

Kuroba Akira shook his head and then asked.

"Then why don't we just go back to reality? Why do we have to hide here and observe?"

"Hmm? There's no reason, meow, it's just fun, meow. Look at how worried they are for you, don't you find it interesting, meow?"

"..."

What is an evil god?

This is what you call an evil god!

"Okay, stop looking at me like that, meow. Just stay here and watch, meow. Someone will come out and explain where you went, meow."

Will someone help explain this?

Who is it?

Just as Kuroba Akira was wondering what was going on, he saw the shrine's head priest, Tomita Hōgen, enter the shrine with a kind smile and address the panicked crowd caused by Kuroba Akira's disappearance.

"As 'shrine maidens' chosen by Kuroba-kun, you all should know that Kuroba-kun possesses incredible abilities, right?"

With just one sentence, he silenced everyone and drew their attention to him.

Grandma Kobayashi, acting as the representative, asked with a frown.

"Faquan, where did you put the white pieces?"

"Grandma, don't worry. Lord Heiyu is safe and sound. I just asked him to perform a spell temporarily."

"Spellcasting? What kind of trouble are you causing now? Because of what you did before, the Divine Alliance even sent a representative to complain to me! If it weren't for the fact that you're my old man's student, I wouldn't even want to deal with you anymore!"

"Oh dear, Grandma, I promise this is the last time! And this time I'll definitely bring you a surprise! A huge surprise!"

"I don't need any surprises. Just hurry up and return Bai Zi, or it won't be me who'll settle scores with you, it will be them."

"Please rest assured, my beautiful priestesses, I promise to return Kuroba-kun intact after the ceremony! And I believe he will be able to pamper you even more then... Hehehe."

Then Kuroba Akira noticed that Tomita Hōgen actually winked in his direction.

Huh? Did that middle-aged man see me?

"Don't be so surprised, meow. That bastard with the wicked glasses is a special human who was born with spiritual abilities, meow. He can not only sense the existence of other worlds, but also freely enter and exit other worlds, meow."

Does "bastard with treacherous glasses" refer to Uncle Faquan...? It seems Kuroo really hates him.

"Oh... come to that, the uncle asked me to cast a spell? I don't know any magic at all..."

"Your role isn't that important, meow, but he probably noticed that you're with me, and that brat you're carrying on your back, meow. The two of us are the key, meow."

"Oh? So, Amayu Hikaru was invited by that old man?"

"That's right, meow, and so am I... Today my deal with that guy is going to be put to the acceptance stage, meow."

"trade?"

"Hmm, let's talk as we go, meow. He should be all ready on his end, meow. We should head over there too, meow."

Kuroba Akira followed Kuroo and passed through the wall in the opposite direction, leaving the worship hall and heading towards the main hall at the back.

"It's past midnight now, and temples and shrines all over the country are gathering faith. New Year's Day is the only day that can gather a large amount of 'instant faith' meow."

"Instant faith?"

“That’s right, meow. Collecting the faith of the gods is a process that requires purification. I remember telling you that before, meow.”

"Oh, I remember that. It's about extracting faith from all kinds of human emotions and thoughts."

"And during the New Year, people's prayers are purely 'prayer to the gods,' meow."

"I understand. In short, the faith collected on New Year's Day is faith that doesn't need to be purified and can be immediately accepted by the gods, right?"

"That's right, that's why the gods are wary of their proxies, because the faith gathered today is easily stolen, meow."

"Speaking of which, how exactly do you steal faith? Do you steal it in this other world?"

Just like in Persona 5, the desires in people's subconscious become 'treasures' hidden in a labyrinth, and stealing these treasures can lead to repentance or something...

Could stealing faith also mean stealing some kind of object that has materialized in this other world?

Good grief, is he going to become a phantom thief of faith?

However, there was no overly fantastical or melodramatic development.

"For example, if you go to the shrine, take off your clothes, and then drive people away, people will think you are a pervert, and then the rumors will spread, and everyone will say, 'This shrine is frequented by perverts,' and the popularity will decrease, and the number of believers will decrease, meow."

"This tactic is too despicable! It's practically a suicide attack! And isn't the agent himself the one who's sacrificed?!"

"Or you could tell them, 'If you come to xxx shrine, everyone will give 10,000 yen!' I believe people would choose to take the money for free."

"So the so-called theft actually meant bribing someone with money! Suddenly it all seems so vulgar!"

"Otherwise, what do you think, meow? You humans can't even grasp the concept of faith, meow. Although a god can receive faith, you humans can't delve into the depths where the god resides, meow. Not only will you be corrupted by the other world and turned into monsters, but you might also go insane, meow."

Will facing a deity cause mental problems? It sounds like a Cthulhu-themed deity.

"Well, this kind of vicious competition will be resisted by all the gods. After all, once a bad precedent is set, it will turn back into that chaotic era, meow. If it ends up to the point that humans think shrines are bad places and stop building new shrines, then in the end, the gods will all suffer, meow."

"In the end, if there weren't four people—oh no, I mean, if there wasn't a god—then the winner was..."

"Therefore, the Divine Alliance has a rule that you are not allowed to interfere with other gods' process of collecting faith during major festivals and events, meow."

What is the Divine Alliance?

"Gods' Mutual Aid Association, meow."

"Uh……"

It sounds like a neighborhood committee... It's losing its mystique and prestige.

Therefore, the gods have formed a community of interests and established a treaty of non-interference, which is why they have been able to maintain peace for so long and avoid proxy wars for the sake of faith.

"But speaking of which, isn't this shrine closed to the public today? There are only a few of us, so there probably aren't many believers, right?"

"Whatever, meow... Anyway, whether anyone comes or not, today's instant faith won't belong to me, meow. The blockade is probably to prevent accidents from happening during the ritual, meow."

"Huh? If it doesn't belong to you, who does it belong to? Isn't this your shrine?"

"It's not a cat."

"what?"

"Why do you think I hate that sly, glasses-wearing bastard so much?"

Black Tail's expression was so gloomy it was almost dripping with water, and even his shadow seemed to become darker, spreading silently and enveloping the entire space.

"That guy said he moved my shrine here, but this shrine wasn't actually built for me. And that bastard with the treacherous glasses gathered a lot of faith in my name, and even went against the heavens, stealing most of the faith I originally had, meow."

"Wait...you mean, the culprit who stole your faith and made you so weak is...that old man?!"

"Yes, meow."

"What exactly is he trying to do! And why are you still helping him, Kuroo?!"

"Hmph... Shirako, cover your eyes with your hands and you'll see what's inside, meow."

Covering one's eyes is to distinguish the gods, and when Kuroo says "inside," he means the interior of this temple.

Kuroba Akira immediately did as instructed, and then discovered...

The light spot next to me is Black Tail, and the light spot behind me is Heavenly Feather Light.

So… the third point of light within this hall…

Who is it?

Chapter 377 Can I Call You Brother?

How could such a small shrine house three great deities at the same time?

However, what Kuroba Akira was most concerned about was who this suddenly appearing third party was.

In fact, judging from what Kurowei said earlier, he already had some bold guesses, but they were so absurd that he couldn't even imagine how to make them happen.

"Bai Zi, you saw it, meow? That's your 'senior,' though it's just an empty shell right now, meow."

"...No way? Are we really going to resurrect him? Is it even possible? Isn't it said that even gods can't truly resurrect the dead?"

"That's right, meow. People can't be brought back to life after they die. This is an irreversible principle, meow. Even I, meow, can't bring 'myself' back to life, meow... However, this is not resurrection, but a 'divine transformation' ritual that 'upgrades people to gods,' meow."

"Is this even possible?!"

"Originally, there was an invisible wall between gods and humans, like the boundary between fantasy and reality, two sides of the same coin. Humans could not see the real gods, and gods could not truly become humans, meow... But the reverse is possible, meow."

Conversely, this means that God can see people, and people... can also become God.

"As long as you create a divine personality and stuff a human soul into it, you automatically become a god, meow. When I first heard this, I thought it was ridiculous, meow. But this is probably the creativity of you humans, which can even surpass the imagination of gods, meow."

"Absolutely amazing...!"

If you can't resurrect people, do you turn them into gods?

That's such a leap in thinking!

The person who came up with this method is a genius!

"However, it was just theory before, but now it seems that the Divine Body has taken shape and 'sunk into another world' to become a god, which proves that it is actually feasible."

Kuroba Akira was so shocked that he couldn't speak.

From the moment they entered the shrine, one inexplicable thing after another began to happen, and now all the clues are pointing to one place.

This shrine welcomes its true master, a brand new deity, on New Year's Day.

"Actually, there are precedents for people becoming gods. For example, Guan Yu was a historical figure during the Three Kingdoms period, but he was later elevated to godhood. It's just that no one knows the 'specific method'; it seems to be a natural process."

"Ah, now that you mention it, it's true... many gods were originally human."

"Actually, the brat behind you is the same. Princess Kushinada is also a god who was elevated from a human. Moreover, she is a rare god who has used her family bloodline as her divine status from the very beginning. However, there are drawbacks to doing so, as I just told you, meow."

"Oh, I remember it was said that as the number of inheritances increases, the divine aspect will gradually decrease until it disappears."

“That’s right, meow. To make up for this deficiency, the Tianyu clan has always used the form of ‘human sacrifice’ to allow the true form of the god to descend directly to the mortal world, meow. This is also called ‘Great Subduing Mystic Technique’.”

"Human sacrifice! They still exist now?! How wicked!"