The Shura Anyakonsen-shou quickly flew with little Yoimiya to the side of his own little cabin.
Hmm, perhaps it shouldn't really be called a little cabin anymore.
Because it seemed to have already started undergoing expansion.
After all, as the shrine of the Shura Anyakonsen-shou, it definitely couldn't be too shabby.
The old man looked at the shrine maidens who were still busy working and the townsfolk handling the construction. For a moment, he felt like he and little Yoimiya had come at a bad time.
Still, Cid first half-crouched down and gently set Yoimiya on the ground.
However, at that moment, the shrine maidens naturally noticed this adventurer who had arrived at the Guardian Forest.
"Sir…"
One of the shrine maidens approached the old man. After clearly seeing his face, she quickly corrected herself.
"It's Lord Shura Anyakonsen-shou! Your shrine is currently undergoing expansion. We've put up construction notices around the forest prohibiting unauthorized entry, so for the time being, there aren't many visitors coming to pay respects at the shrine."
The shrine maiden naturally took on the role of a guide, explaining the current situation to both the Shura Anyakonsen-shou and little Yoimiya.
"Although everything is being expanded right now, we haven't made any changes to Lord Shura Anyakonsen-shou's former residence. This place is still where the fox immortals reside."
"While we do have a no-entry policy for outsiders, it's difficult to overly restrict the more overly enthusiastic visitors…"
There really wasn't much that could be done about that. That student from the Akademiya was so desperate for thesis material that they couldn't find anything to write about, broke down, and started praying to the gods—eventually ending up praying to the Shura Anyakonsen-shou…
But in the end, for that student to actually get material for their thesis…
It really was great for them.
At that moment, the fox immortals—who had caught the scent of the Shura Anyakonsen-shou—collectively ran out from the little cabin.
In an instant, a group of foxes jumped onto the old man.
For a moment, the air was filled with the sound of fox cries…
"Da Chu rises, Chen Sheng becomes king~"
"My king~"
"Benefactor~"
The old man didn't really know what to say. He simply reached out and gently patted the heads of these foxes to soothe them.
Then he glanced over at little Yoimiya beside him. At this moment, Yoimiya was trying to reach her hand out toward a little fox nearby.
The foxes raised by the old man were basically all very friendly toward people. The little fox next to Yoimiya turned its head, sniffed the scent on little Yoimiya,
and then pounced onto her and flopped down.
What greeted the fox next was Yoimiya's enthusiastic ruarua petting of its fur.
Looking at Yoimiya's satisfied expression, Cid knew that today's goal had more or less been achieved.
At that moment, one fox came up beside the old man.
"My king, my king?"
"Oh, you're asking about Kirara? I recently arranged for her to go study further."
"My king?"
The big fox didn't understand what "study further" meant.
"It means she went to learn knowledge about humans."
"My king~"
"Don't worry. Kirara is an excellent ma… fox. She didn't embarrass the foxes at all."
The old man smoothly began chatting with the foxes and, while he was at it, checked the little foxes' health.
"Ho~ You've been eating pretty well lately, huh."
"After all, these are the fox immortals by Lord Shura Anyakonsen-shou's side. The offerings and well-wishes brought by people coming to pay respects are basically all given to the fox immortals to eat.
If I remember correctly, there's even a young lady from the Akademiya among them. Ever since she obtained materials from Lord Shura Anyakonsen-shou,
she's frequently come to read through Lord Shura Anyakonsen-shou's manuscripts, and she even specially prepares food for the fox immortals based on the information."
The shrine maiden beside them explained.
Among them? It seemed quite a few people had come to make offerings.
"…Is it Lord Shura Anyakonsen-shou?"
This was a very gentle voice.
The old man looked up and saw a young woman in a kimono who carried a bit of a succubus-like charm.