Section 2 "Casually Lending a Hand"

Here you are, the Sparrow Hall, chirp. This is where Mr. Fujimaru and Ms. Mash will be staying.

We hope you will find it to your liking, chirp.

Don't worry, chirp chirp, we'll lock the doors tight when it's bedtime.

Madam Beni insists that men and women only sleep side by side once they're happily married, chirp.

Y-yes, of course, chirp.

We'll lay out the futons in the left-side room, chirp, once it's time for bed.

We also offer free hot-water bottles for guests who get cold easily, so don't hesitate to ask, chirp.

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Yes, Senpai. It's absolutely beautiful here! Look, we can see the entire mountain range from our window!

Hi there, neighbor! I just stopped by to say hi from the Kingfisher Hall next door♡

That must be Tamamo, Kiyohime, and Tomoe. Come on in!

Don't mind if we do! So you guys have a corner room. Wow, and I thought the view was good from our room!

It would seem to be a bit larger than ours as well.

I always thought Ms. Beni-Enma hated humans, but perhaps I was mistaken.

A hot springs inn... Food that grants stamina... Out in the mountains with nothing better to do...

It's bound to only be a matter of time before one thing leads to another here... Hehehe, what a wonderful place...

All right, that's enough of that, Kiyohime. We have a serious job to do here, remember?

And if we don't do it right, Master and Mash are going to pay the price just as much as we are.

This is the Sparrow Room, yes? It's me, Goredolf. We're coming in.

Oho, I see this room has quite a lot of charm as well. There's a warmth to these Japanese inns I rather like.

Good, you're all here. It seems we were right to come this way, my lord.

Indeed. We first thought we would go for a dip in these hot springs we've heard so much about...but sadly, they're closed right now.

So instead, we decided to come here and figure out our strategy. It would seem there is more to this inn than meets the eye.

So you've all been to see your rooms then. Let's see, I think there was... There, found it!

Here you go. I tried making some tea with the leaves and teapot that came with the room.

？！

Why thank you, Demi-Servant. Very considerate. My maids could learn a thing or two from you.

Oh, but we mustn't let ourselves get sidetracked. The situation is most dire!

What now!? What can we do!? I may be an eminently capable commander, but this is a foreign land!

Not to mention I'm still thrilled to be at a hot springs inn for the first time in my life!

I can't even begin to imagine how one might go about collecting gratitude!

...I am afraid not. What about you, Tamamo? Perhaps you know something that could help us?

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Hmm. This sort of thing isn't really my field of expertise, so I can't be one-hundred-percent sure...

...but I think we should start with odd jobs, like Ms. Beni-Enma said.

None of us are artisans, and we don't know the first thing about running an inn.

So I say we start by finding tasks we know we can handle without a problem.

That'll help us naturally get to know the inn's inner workings in terms of both layout and policies.

As long as we do that, it won't be long before we know what we can do, and what we want to do.

So on that note, here you go, Master♡

Are these...Mystic Codes? But, there's something different about them... Ah!

S-S-Senpai, these are yukata! Traditional hot springs inn uniforms! I've always wanted to try one on!

That's right. I thought you might need them, so I asked Ms. Beni if she could spare some.

It's a bit of a rush job, but I used a mix of my Shinto and curse powers, and of course, the power of my love, to perfectly alter it to your size♡

Hey! No fair, Tamamo!

Don't forget about me! I put in lots of love, too!

In fact, that kimono is one of my scales. Whenever you wear it, Master, you and I will be of one mind, and one body♡

Hahaha, how encouraging! One can never have too much love! And you certainly are loved, aren't you, Master?

Very well then, I have a gift of my own to share. I spoke with some sparrows on our way here.

I asked them if they had any jobs that needed to be done, and they told me something very interesting.

The Enma-tei is run solely by Madam Beni-Enma and her nine apprentice sparrows, but they're currently shorthanded thanks to the demonic monkeys' mischief.

I was further told that they have three specific jobs that require doing.

First, procuring fresh, high-quality ingredients from the mountain and river.

Second, procuring lumber, as they use it for firewood, making repairs, and so on.

Third, chasing away the demonic monkeys, who have been up to no end of mischief as of late.

So, what do you think? Doesn't that third one sound like something we could get started on right away?

That's perfect. As warriors, getting rid of demonic monkeys would be right up our alley.

And since it was our own failings that brought about this precarious situation, it is only right that we fight ourselves to the bone, even without pay.

One might even say this will bring a whole new meaning to the word...payback. Eh? Eh?

...

...Forgive me. My tongue is not nearly as sharp as Móralltach's blade...

I think it's best if you leave the wordplay to me from now on, Diarmuid. It is decidedly not your forte.

Nonetheless, I like your spirit. Now then, if we're going to fight demonic monkeys, we should do so in the forest behind the inn.

Master, feel free to command Diarmuid as you see fit.

That goes for me too, of course, since I'm partially to blame for the disturbance at the Tribute Hall.

...

Very well then, I'm officially delegating the fieldwork to you and your team, Fujimaru.

In the meantime, there's something that's been nagging at me, so I'm going to take a look around the inn and see what things are really like here.

So we'll be splitting up to cover more ground then? Understood.

Come on then, Master, let's go change into our Enma-tei work clothes and head outside!