Toasteful: Chapter 160, Part 4

[Part 4/4]

"Stop, wait, seriously, wait!! Hold on...!!?"

Desperately enduring the sensation of being stirred in the stomach, my face seems to turn pale. The behavior of the laughing Tengu behind me reminds me of the damn blue demon. The clever youkai, who unnecessarily has wisdom, should use it more properly. ...Perhaps even such thoughts are due to the light brainwashing effect of the prayer beads.

"Wait a minute..."

And I calmly understand the feeling. I feel disgustingly calm about the urgent situation that is welling up from the depths of my stomach. Ah, this might taste really bad. My stomach... my stomach, ugh... Blarghhh!!?

* * *

"Hey, the sun is going down. Let's have lunch soon."

"Do you really think that's appropriate considering my current situation?"

The comment was thrown my way casually, while I had been reflecting on myself in the river's surface. I had narrowly escaped having to perform unpleasant tasks in the murky water, all thanks to my prayer beads and a leather bag. "Does she not have a human heart?" I thought. But she wasn't human at all; she was a Tengu.

"How pathetic. I went through the trouble of making breakfast for you. ...But from my perspective, I need you to get used to this quickly, you know?"

"Well, it might be better to just empty my stomach completely."

It was definitely impossible to get used to that high-speed movement within a few days. Well, if I were to transform into a youkai, maybe it would be possible... but it would be too heavy for a female Tengu to handle, not to mention the risk of losing control. Wait, does transforming into a youkai violate the law of conservation of mass?

"In battle, one cannot fight on an empty stomach. Even with a full stomach, one cannot fight. It's a difficult situation, isn't it?"

"When it comes to the real deal, can we get by with soldier pills and water? Oops!? What's this!?"

As I sighed at the exasperating remarks of the bewildering female Tengu, she threw a gourd at me. I hurriedly caught it before it fell.

"It's a water flask. You need to replenish the fluids you just vomited, right?"

"...I hope you didn't put anything weird in it."

"No, don't start doubting me now, especially after eating and accepting the curse tool."

"That's just how youkai trick people, right?"

I retorted to the Tengu with a piercing gaze. Am I being too cautious? Stories like this are common in Fusō-kuni. After all, I can't fully trust or rely on those who are trying to use me as a scapegoat. In the end, this relationship is like using each other.

(And we're probably being watched too...)

I glanced subtly towards the forest, using my remaining acute senses from my youkai transformation to detect the presence of the Tengu. I had sensed them even during my aerial reconnaissance. Perhaps their rough flight was meant to numb the senses and prevent us from sensing their presence.

Well, if I think about it, being handed prayer beads in advance, was that also a pretense? I already know that the Tengu group is not united, just by looking at the birds in front of me. I don't understand.

(I want to believe that I won't be harmed due to our contract, but...)

The cunning of the Tengu teaches me to never be too cautious. Knowing that they are aware of my caution hopefully makes them think twice about any reckless schemes, or so I hope.

"So, let's try the poison tasting..."

Before drinking, first put a few drops on my tongue. If there's something strange in it, my tongue should go numb...

"What in the world is this!?"

"What in the world is this... it's a specialty of Anma, Anma Soup?"

The Tengu naturally spits out the name while talking about the unique combination of sweetness and bitterness, even if you unintentionally spit it out along with your saliva. Even if they suddenly call it a specialty, I have no idea what that is...

"Or... is it alcohol? Mead? I feel like my throat is getting dry."

"It warms your body up nicely, you know? ...We dilute it quite a bit for our flying duties so it doesn't get us too drunk. From our perspective, it's just like hot water."

"It's not drunk driving, it's drunk flying. Clearly, it's over one part alcohol level, isn't it?"

So, come to think of it, when I consider the existence of that blue demon, it seems like youkai have a high immunity to alcohol. I wonder how much alcohol content it took to get the snake drunk... Suddenly, while pondering such trivial matters, I let a few drops of the contents of the gourd fall onto my fingertips. And then I observe.

From the slightly sticky golden liquid emanates the scent of honey and alcohol. Undoubtedly, it's honey mead... perhaps it serves as both a heating effect for flying and a temporary ability boost? Whatever the case, it's absurd.

"Give me normal water, just water. I don't need this stuff."

That was my demand as I threw the gourd at the Tengu.

Food and drinks offered by youkai are already risky enough. Meat and alcohol should never be consumed. That's why the first meal I tried was Shojin Ryoyi (princess meal), and neither I nor Inaba-hime ever touched any meat dishes for breakfast. And that rice ball made by that damn blue demon? It's definitely even worse than Tengu rice.

"In the past, people used to talk about how you guys were buying it a lot. I mean, there were stories about even pawning off their cute little children to buy it all up, you know?"

"Isn't it because of those kinds of deals that they ended up banning contact?"

Alcohol may be consumed, but it can also consume you. Importing it to the extent of giving up your children in exchange doesn't seem like a respectable alcohol. The fact that it was being exported by youkai means it definitely wasn't made using proper methods. It's only natural that it was prohibited.

"I think it was beneficial in its own way... Look, here's some hot water."

Tengu puts away the gourd containing the received alcohol, and throws another gourd that was hanging from her waist. Confirming the smell and taste. This time, it was just regular hot water. If she had this, why didn't she just offer it from the start?

"Hmm... well, this is it, I guess. Drinking too much will just make me throw up anyway."

I drink about thirty percent of the contents into my stomach. After all, it's time for another intense flying training. Even if I greedily drinks it all, I'll probably end up just spitting water again.

"In that state, it's going to be tough ahead, you know? Can you handle the real deal like that?"

"That's what the training is for, right? Let me know when you're done eating. We'll resume the familiarization flights right away."

My request was directed at the Tengu eating lunch, laced with sarcasm. It's a subtle hint, pointing out that she's leisurely eating.

"Don't... be so eager. Impatient men are disliked by women, you know?"

Noticing the sarcasm, but rather than getting angry, the female Tengu retorted teasingly, skillfully packing away the dried food at hand into her stomach. Her dignified figure is reminiscent of Iruka, or perhaps it shares a similar vector with the Blue Demon. Botan, too, but it seemed that the blood of youkai had a thickening effect on its nerves. ...I feel like there was a protest of despair from the White Fox, but I shouldn't pay it any mind.

"I don't care if the birds dislike me. Besides, it's quite hypocritical to treat humans like monkeys."

If Demon (Oni) embodies tyranny, then Tengu is the very embodiment of arrogance. Whether it's with other youkai or in Fusō-kuni, it was thoroughly confirmed that Tengu is not only capable of having a conversation but also establishing an equal relationship if it can be a suitable partner for friendship.

"You're saying some harsh things. It's because you came at me with such arrogance in the first place, isn't it? ...It's payback for how you treated my mother. Don't hold a grudge just because I called you a monkey."

"...Now that you mention it, I've been meaning to say this for a while, but...!"

As I was about to voice the suspicions that had crossed my mind several times in response to the woman Tengu's slightly menacing demeanor, I couldn't bring myself to say it in the end.

After all, a tremor shook the entire area.

"...!!?"

I fell to my knees at the sound and vibration. The forest trembled as if struck from underground, causing birds and animals to panic and take flight. Is this... an earthquake?

"Wait, this is...!"

With an expression more tense than ever before, the Tengu rushed over towards me. She held me close, ready to fly away at any moment, scanning the surroundings. From her appearance, I realized that the situation was not favorable.

The problem is, what does this mean...?

"Hmm...?"

The shadow suddenly engulfed me and Tengu. I turned around slowly. A colossal pillar blocking the sunlight loomed into view.

From what seemed like a great height, a snake's red eyes pierced through us as it crawled out from the ground. Hmm, well... that's what it is, right?

"...Hey? Is this some kind of setup you've prepared?"

"You fool. If it were me, I would have prepared something much better."

"I see. That's the worst."

Immediately after, a merciless swing of the tail ripped through the earth. The female Tengu pulled me close and soared, overcoming it. The terrain we had been standing in just moments ago transformed drastically with a loud boom.

"Damn beast!!?"

The situation had become excessively swift and chaotic...

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