Tokyo Soft Rice King

"Nekogami-sama! It's rare to see you come to the New Shrine... So, Kuroba-san, have you also met Nekogami-sama?"

"Huh? Lord Cat God?!"

This little thing, Kuroo... is really a god?!

Chapter 203: The God Who is Hated by Cats

"Yes, Kuroba-san, you even gave it a name... My dad didn't allow me to name it, saying it's the Inari god enshrined in our shrine..."

"Meow meow meow!"

Kuroo even cooperated by raising his proud little head, as if to say, "What? You're not convinced? I'm a god!"

Hei Yuming squatted down, raised an eyebrow, and complained while playing a patting game with Kuroo's paws.

"Uh, Tomita-san, are you serious? You said it's a mascot, I can understand a little bit..."

Tomita Haruka gave a wry smile. She actually didn't believe that gods really existed, but she was the shrine maiden of this shrine, so she had to pretend.

"Well... Dad said that. It's probably because this cat looks a lot like the incarnation of the god that's passed down in our shrine. They're both completely white, with only the tail, which symbolizes divine power, being black... Even though the god in the records has nine tails, this cat only has one... After all, a cat can't have that many tails..."

What Kuroba Ming was thinking about at the moment was that Kuroo would guide the newly landed travelers, that he could eat anything, that he had some understanding of human nature, and so on...

And now even shrines dedicated to it have appeared.

This... maybe, Kuroo is really a god? Or a messenger of God?

Are we finally getting closer to the truth about time travel?

"Haha, since she's so cute, it's no wonder she's worshipped as a god."

Asato Hitomi likes cute things, so she also squatted down and wanted to touch Kuroo.

"Just because you're cute, you can become a god... Wait, Ben..."

Hei Yuming was just about to remind the monitor that Heiwei was a cat that didn't allow people to touch him, but he saw that the monitor's hand had already touched Heiwei's back.

Although he didn't want to roll on the ground like Ziyin did that time and even let people touch his belly, it was very rare for Heiwei to be willing to let people stroke his fur.

Then Tomita Haruka also showed a surprised expression.

"Huh? The Cat God actually wants to be touched! This is the first time I've seen it... Every time I tried to touch it before, it would avoid me... Even when Dad tried to touch it, it would attack..."

Then Tomita Haruka also came closer and tried to reach out to Kuroo, but Kuroo twisted his body to avoid it.

Haruka Tomita looked lost. She also liked cats and especially wanted to get close to the cat god recognized by her own shrine, but Kuroo just wouldn't let her touch him.

Kuroba Akira immediately developed a sense of sympathy for Tomita Haruka.

I'm not the only one who's been treated differently by Kuroo! It's not just beautiful girls who can be touched!

The only ones who have managed to touch Kuroo now are Shion and the squad leader...they have one thing in common...

Could it be that... whether or not I can touch it... depends on my ability?

Just touch me if you have talent?

If you don’t have talent, you don’t deserve to be touched?

Can Kuroo also distinguish talents?

So is there actually a connection between Kuroo and the sudden appearance of the cheat?

I was wondering why fellow time travelers Tashiro Hongxiang and Hijikata Isami didn't get the cheat. Is it because they didn't have much contact with Kuroo? Because it was Kuroo Akira who was responsible for feeding Kuroo.

Just as Hei Yuming was thinking about the connection between the two, a low and slightly bleak voice sounded, accompanied by the rustling sound of fallen leaves underfoot.

"Of course, being cute can also make you a god. As long as someone is willing to believe in you, any being can become a god. This is the law of this world."

The person who came over was a middle-aged man wearing white hakama and square-framed glasses with very thick lenses. His hair was neatly combed and his bangs on both sides were shaved cleanly.

"father!"

"Uncle Faquan."

Tomita Haruka and Asato Hitomi greeted the visitor together. It seemed that this middle-aged man was the manager of this shrine.

Although Kuroba Akira didn't know much about Shintoism and shrines, he remembered that clergy were divided into different levels, and the rank of the clergy could be seen from the color of their hakama. White should be the color that can only be worn by the highest level. I remember it was called "Pure Level"?

"Xiao Tong is here, and there's a new face."

Tomita Hokken smiled kindly and introduced himself to Kuroba Akira.

"I'm the chief priest and patron saint of this shrine. My name is Tomita Hokkon, and I'm Haruka's father."

The chief priest is the representative of the shrine and the person with the highest status in the shrine. He is fully responsible for all the clergy in the shrine.

The shrine chief is mainly responsible for the sacrifices, and people often confuse them because many shrine chiefs also serve as the shrine chief.

These are all serious clergymen, but shrine maidens are quite casual. Any girl who is physically and mentally healthy can become a shrine maiden. Therefore, it is common to see popular shrines temporarily recruiting some part-time shrine maidens during the New Year.

Tomita Haruka probably helps out at home on holidays simply because she was born in a shrine.

"Hello, my name is Kuroba Akira, I'm Hitomi's friend, and Tomita-san's morning jogging companion."

Kuroba Akira also introduced himself and explained his relationship with the two girls. His relationship with the two girls can be seen from the fact that he called the class monitor by her name and Tomita Haruka by her last name.

It is better not to act too close to his daughter in front of her father. After all, no father in the world would like a young boy to get close to his daughter.

"Is that so? Are you here to see Lord Cat God as well? Come, Lord Cat God, I have prepared some top-quality offerings today..."

However, Futian Houquan did not care about the relationship between Hei Yuming and the girls. He squatted down, took out a cat strip from somewhere, and started feeding it to Heiwei.

As a result, Kuroo, who was always greedy, unexpectedly did not eat the cat strips given by Futian Houquan this time, and even bit his hand hard.

"Meow!!!"

"Wow..."

This has been bitten through... It looks so painful...

Although Kuroo doesn't allow people to touch him, he is not a shy cat that will attack people at random. It is the first time that Hei Yuming has seen Kuroo being so unfriendly to a specific person.

Uncle Tomita, what did you do to Kuroo? Why does it hate you so much?

However, Uncle Tomita was still smiling, as if it was not his hand that was bitten, and he even wanted to touch Kuroo with his other hand.

As a result, he was scratched several times by Heiwei's claws, and both his hands became bloody.

"Lord Cat God is still the same as always, just in good spirits..."

Seeing her father bitten and scratched by a cat, Tomita Haruka was not surprised. She took out the medicine box from the social office, took out a roll of bandage and threw it to her father and said.

"Dad, didn't you already know that the Cat God doesn't like you? Don't ask for trouble anymore. You'll be wrapped in bandages again when you perform the sacrifice like this."

"I brought some high-quality cat strips today, thinking it would make the Cat God feel better... but it seems it didn't work. I'm completely hated, haha..."

“Hiss! Ha! Meow┗|｀O′|┛~”

Kuroo actually started to hate people. If Kuroo also had a favorability level, his favorability level towards Tomita Hokum would definitely have reached the maximum negative.

"Mr. Tomita, have you ever hurt Kuroo before? This is the first time I've seen him hate someone so much..."

"Well... to be honest, I did something bad to it. After all, I moved its home here without permission. Although I hope that Lord Cat God can still regard this place as its home, Lord Cat God seems to be very resistant."

"Oh? Moving?"

Does it mean the shrine is being relocated?

It is indeed very rare for a shrine to be relocated. After all, facilities like shrines are passed down from history. Even if they become dilapidated, they will only be repaired and will not be relocated at will.

Futian Houquan pushed his glasses with his ring finger and asked.

"Yeah... Kuroba-kun, who did you hear the name Kuroo from?"

"Uh, I heard it from the landlady..."

"The landlady... do you mean Granny Meihua?"

Hei Yuming was stunned for a moment. The fact that he called Grandma Kobayashi by her name directly showed that he and Grandma Kobayashi were very familiar with each other.

"Yes, are you and Granny Kobayashi old acquaintances?"

Hearing the surname Kobayashi, Tomita Hokken murmured, "Kobayashi..."

Then he immediately laughed heartily.

"Haha, that's so familiar! After all, she raised me under her care. I often went to her house to play when I was little. In fact, before Haruka started middle school, our family shrine was still nearby."

"Ah! Could it be that abandoned shrine?!"

Hei Yuming's eyes lit up. He had been wondering why the shrine was abandoned. It turned out that it was because it was moved.

Then Blacktail often appears in that area and rarely comes to this area. To it, it is like its original territory has been ruined by hateful humans.

In the past, many people who visited the shrine might have regarded this cat, which looked very similar to the statue, as a lucky charm, and frequent visitors would bring it delicious food.

Whenever Kuroo rolls around on the ground acting cute, stupid humans will come and feed him delicious food. But now that the shrine is deserted, he can only humbly come to Kobayashi's house to eat.

"Yes, that's the former site of the Yomi Inari Shrine. Although the shrine has moved, the old site has not been demolished..."

"Meow!"

Speaking of the shrine relocation, Kuroo jumped up!

Kuroo used a crazy clawing attack...and the effect was amazing!

Six intersecting bloodstains appeared on Futian Houquan's face, but the man remained calm and composed, as still as a mountain...

Hei Yuming tried to take the cat food from his hand and let him feed it. Hei Wei started to eat it politely.

It's indeed a human problem. It seems that moving the shrine is indeed the reason why Kuroo hates him.

"Living at Grandma Meihua's house, no wonder you, Hei Yu, are Xiao Tong's friend..."

At this time, Tomita Hokken noticed the look that Asato Hitomi gave him, which was telling him to "stop talking too much".

Tomita Hokken understood immediately. He knew very well the current situation of the Asato and Kobayashi families, so he didn't continue talking and changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, are you the only one staying at Grandma Meihua's house now?"

"No, there are three others."

"There are actually three of them! There wasn't a single person here before the shrine moved... Could I have the courtesy of asking their ages and genders?"

This wasn't a secret, so it would be okay not to mention the name, so Hei Yuming told him.

"Besides me, there are two women and one man. One of the women is the same age as me, the other is a young woman in her twenties, and the man is a middle-aged man who is about the same age as you, Mr. Tomita, but a little younger than you."

Tomita Haruka and Asato Hitomi had both seen Murasakimiya Shion, so they knew who the girl of the same age he was talking about was, and their expressions both became gloomy.

"I see……"

After listening to this, Futian Houquan pinched his chin and thought for a while before continuing to ask.

"Hei Yu boy, are you a high school student now? Are you in the same school as Xiao Tong?"

"Uh, yes..."

Hei Yuming wanted to complain, don't I look the same age as the class monitor and the others? I am now a genuine high school student!

And he's been asking questions since the beginning. What's he doing? Is he checking my household registration?

After asking the question, there was no further context. Tomita Hokken suddenly turned around and asked his daughter.

"Haruka, do you want to transfer schools?"

"Hey? Hey hey hey?!"

Tomita Haruka made a series of sounds of disbelief, and then asked back.

"Dad, you don't allow me to go to a coeducational school!"

Then Futian Houquan suddenly knelt down in front of his daughter, put his hands together, bowed, and kowtowed to apologize.

"I'm sorry! I was too old-fashioned before! I shouldn't have restricted my daughter's freedom! Haruka! You have the right to pursue happiness too!"

"Wow! Dad, what are you doing?! Hurry up and get up! Don't kowtow to your daughter! And don't act like an idiot in front of Xiaotong and the others!"

Tomita Haruka was about to faint. Although her father was not serious at home, he was also like this in front of his friends...

How shameful! Why is my dad like this?

"puff……"

"Ha ha……"