Chương 44: The Singers' Unveiled Secrets & the End of the Party

The attendants arrived, placing the singers' dishes with ceremonial grace.

"Exquisite," Ayame murmured. She picked up a grilled mushroom with her chopsticks and fed it to her husband, who returned the gesture with a piece of tofu. Shuten Dooji, feeling distinctly out of place, moved his chair back.

"Yo! All that rice wine is calling my name. Time for a strategic retreat!" He and his crew lumbered off toward the restrooms. Ootake Maru sighed.

"I shall go with them. To ensure they do not cause an incident." Galan and the singers nodded as he walked away.

"Can I ask you another heavy question?" Galan asked, turning to Reiha.

"Since the party enforcer is gone."

"Of course, Lord Odagawa."

"If the worst happened and the wife of a migration leader dies before giving birth to an heir, would there be an election? Or would there be a sacrificial surrendering of another's young to the leader's family?"

"In most cases," Reiha said slowly, "the leader would step down voluntarily and let the second-in-command take over."

"Wow. That's mature. Humans back home would keep the throne until the hall burned down around them."

"I wouldn't be surprised if that's a retelling of a factual event instead of one of your muted jokes." Reiha chuckled humorlessly.

"But yes, our continued existence can only be achieved if our leaders are willing to surrender the reign to those who are most qualified to rule."

"Yeah." Galan nodded.

"But it would be devastating if, say... an only child ran away with someone from another lineage, leaving the family without an heir." The color drained from Reiha's face. His stoic mask crumbled, revealing a profound, ancient shame. Ayame gasped softly, unfurling a wing to shield him from view as she placed a hand over his. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

"Lord Odagawa... please," she whispered.

"Let us not speak of such things." I knew it, Galan thought, a pang of sympathy hitting him. He can't relinquish his responsibility without guilt eating him alive.

"Sorry," Galan said gently.

"Let's change the subject. Does the mother's location determine the nose shape, too?" Ayame recovered quickly, grateful for the pivot.

"Yes. Our beaks and noses are much the same as our wings, Lord Odagawa. They are a reflection of the mountain's spirit. The peaks that grant eagle-wings also tend to grant a stronger, more prominent nose, while the valleys that grant crow-wings grant a sharper beak."

"And the big red nose of a daiten-gu?"

"That is a human classification, not ours," Reiha explained, regaining his composure.

"They see the large, strong ones and assume we are the sole leaders. But the owl-winged masters of the deep groves are powerful in ways that cannot be measured by muscles or wingspan. They simply rule skies that are too remote and secluded for the humans to ever take serious notice." So it's not just body types, Galan mused. Guess I shouldn't take human authors too seriously. The atmosphere returned to a relaxed state as they finished their meal. That was, until the boisterous energy of the oni returned.

"Oh, you finished your meal?" Shuten Dooji boomed, returning to the table.

"How was it?"

"Exquisite," Ayame said.

"See? Best party in Japan! Now, let's take the barrels to the inn and play drinking games!"

"Thank you, but we must decline," Reiha said, rising.

"We have another performance tomorrow."

"And I need to continue my investigation," Galan added. Shuten Dooji looked genuinely disappointed.

"Yeah, I guess it's time." He clapped a hand on Galan's shoulder.

"Then I hope you can solve the crisis of the humans and become their hero. Just… take it easy on your old oni pals, okay?"

"Will do," Galan smirked.

"I will work to keep the peace on our side," Ootake Maru promised.

"See that you remain true to your word."

"Don't worry. I'm not the kind of guy who stabs people in the back," Galan said softly.

"I'll end the conflict between you and the humans. God's promise." A wave of relief washed over the oni.

"Safe travels, Foreign God!" Ibaraki toasted.

"We will drink to your success!" said another oni.

"Thanks, guys." Galan turned to the singers.

"We had a great time conversing with you, Lord Oda." Reiha bowed.

"It was my pleasure," Galan smiled warmly.

"May the two of you have a pleasant marriage and raise a child worthy of ruling the skies of Japan." The singers blushed crimson, stunned by the blessing.

"Thank you," Reiha stammered.

"We'll... take it one flap at a time."

"Heh. Alright, time to go." Galan donned his cloak and waved as he walked away.

"See ya." Behind him, the oni returned to their revelry, and the two ten-gu took flight, soaring gracefully under the light of the moons, hand in hand.