Chapter 23

The izakaya Nobu has several mysterious things.

One of them is the kamidana (Shinto shrine) displayed on the wall behind the counter.

The cleaning before opening is Shinobu and Epha's responsibility, but only the small wooden shrine is always meticulously cleaned by Taisho every day.

Once, when Epha mistakenly peeked into Nobu on a day off, Taisho was cleaning the kamidana alone. Though Epha doesn't understand what it is, since seeing Taisho's behavior, she has treated the kamidana with special respect.

Near the castle walls where Epha lives, there is an old shrine dedicated to the Alves. The elderly people in the neighborhood would place bread and fruits there, and there are also offerings at Nobu's kamidana. The offerings include high-quality clear sake, lush branches of trees, and a piece of tempura.

Epha didn't know about tempura until she came to Nobu. When she asked her mother, she didn't know either, so Epha assumed it must be a food from Taisho or Shinobu's hometown. Taisho always places one piece of tempura every day. When it was mistakenly out of stock once, Taisho hurriedly prepared something else.

Why does Taisho offer tempura to the kamidana?

Epha, who had been curious about this for a long time, asked Shinobu about it yesterday.

"Well, Epha-chan, the favorite food of the divine messenger is tempura."

When she thinks of a divine messenger, it's like the winged angels depicted in the church's ceiling paintings. The idea that those angels, playing in the solemn scenes, love tempura is somehow amusing.

Even though Subdeacon Etvin doesn't follow it, there are days when the church forbids eating meat. On those days, the subdeacon always runs to Nobu, which is quite amusing. Angels, too, must eat tempura instead of meat. Even angels would get tired of eating only bread, wine, and vegetables.

As she sweeps with a broom, the spring breeze feels pleasant. She had thought it was still winter, but the season has already turned to spring. On some days, she even sweats in the sunlight.

Taisho is out buying supplies, and Shinobu is on a leisurely walk, so Epha is the only one at Nobu right now. In the warm weather that makes her want to take a nap, Epha carefully cleans the inside of the shop. When she focuses on cleaning the areas that are often overlooked, such as under the counter and tables and along the walls, it feels as if not only the shop but also her heart is becoming clean.

The cleaning before opening is tough, but there are enjoyable moments too. Inside the counter, there are onigiri (rice balls) prepared by Taisho. He started preparing them after learning that Epha didn't have breakfast.

Every day, there are three large onigiri wrapped in nori (seaweed). The fillings vary daily, but all are delicious. Epha's favorites are the ones with sweet and savory stir-fried beef and onions, grilled cod roe, and tuna mayonnaise. According to Taisho, tuna mayonnaise onigiri is considered unorthodox, but he reluctantly makes it because it's Shinobu's favorite.

After finishing the sweeping, Epha was about to start wiping the chairs when something white flashed at the edge of her vision.

"What?"

Startled, Epha raised her broom. A small white fox appeared in front of her, holding the tempura from the kamidana in its mouth. The white fox glanced at Epha, snorted, and ran towards the back door.

"Wait!"

That tempura is important to Nobu. If the divine messenger's offering is taken without permission, who knows what might happen later. She has heard several stories in church about people who neglected offerings to the gods and were punished.

"Wait a moment!"

Epha propped the broom against the table and chased after the white fox. She passed through the area with ingredients and the refrigerator, and saw the fox slip out the back door. The door is usually locked, but Shinobu had left it slightly open for ventilation.

Epha hesitated.

Taisho and Shinobu had strictly told her never to go out the back door. They didn't explain why, but the back alley must be unsafe. The ancient city has many guards, but there are still dangerous places. A girl around Epha's age was once kidnapped.

Should she chase the fox or not?

If she chases it, she might be in danger. She might even be kidnapped.

But if she doesn't, what will happen? If the divine messenger wanted the tempura today, it could be a big problem. Could Nobu be punished by the gods?

Between the risk to herself and the risk to the izakaya Nobu, there was no need to think. She didn't have much time to hesitate.

The fox was getting farther away. She had to catch up and retrieve the tempura.

Epha made up her mind and opened the door.

It smelled.

The first thing she felt was a strong smell. No, it wasn't a smell. It was suffocating.

A horseless carriage passed by at incredible speed in front of Epha, who had stopped in her tracks. The atmosphere of the street was completely different from the main road. The buildings seemed to be carved out of giant stones, with no seams or wood grain. Every house had glass windows, and the ground was not gravel or tiles but a smooth, gray road stretching endlessly.

Is this really the back alley?

It felt as if she had been thrown into a completely different world, and Epha suddenly felt anxious. But now was not the time to worry about that.

Relying on the faintly visible fox's tail, Epha started running.