Sū ěr felt he was a genius.
And he had to clarify: he was absolutely not infected by Think; he just genuinely felt his idea was brilliant.
"Then your slogan could be 'Education starts with the lit—uh, the little youkai,' 'Building a high-intelligence youkai superpower.' The more I think about it, the more perfect it is." Sū ěr got excited and downed a cup of hot tea himself.
"...Thank you. How about we talk about Izumo instead?" Yukari said with a twitching lip and a deadpan expression.
"Huh? Is the idea not good? Or are you unhappy with the titles? I'm not great with names; you can pick one you like. How about Youkai President, Youkai King, Youkai Sage, You... alright, let's talk about Izumo. What's the situation there?"
He was clearly having fun, but his voice, which was rising in pitch with amusement, took a sudden turn when Think finger poked him in the waist. The waist, not the kidney.
"...Broadly speaking, the changes in Yamato have reached Izumo, and they plan to take this opportunity to completely destroy everything in Yamato," Yukari said. She then realized that these two youkai—who called themselves human—knew nothing of the relationships between the gods, and she looked slightly troubled. "Where should I begin? This goes back to the founding of Yamato hundreds of years ago."
"Just start from the beginning. I mentioned before that Izumo was founded by the lineage of Susanoo-no-Mikoto, right? Later, Amaterasu-Omikami sent the Tenson—the guy who's now a star—to Ashihara no Nakatsukuni to rule everything. In the eyes of those in Takamagahara, Ashihara no Nakatsukuni should be ruled by Amaterasu descendants; they classified Susanoo's descendants as violent native gods." Yukari smiled contemptuously.
"Izumo occupies the most fertile part of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni and is still ruled by its founder, Okuninushi-no-Kami. Naturally, they wouldn't just hand their land over to Amaterasu lineage. In fact, from what I know, Okuninushi tried every method he could think of at first, but unfortunately, he couldn't stop them. His eldest son was even killed in the water."
"With no choice, seeing the country he worked so hard to build being snatched by the shameless followers of Amaterasu, Okuninushi could only reach out for whatever branch he could grab—the ancient youkai, and those born alongside the Nine-Tailed Fox."
"So that's why you were evasive when you mentioned Izumo before?" Sū ěr interjected.
"It is, after all, a nation of youkai, even if it doesn't fit my vision of what a youkai nation should be," Yukari shrugged. "But over hundreds of years, youkai have become an indispensable part of Izumo."
"Thanks to the initial help from the youkai, Izumo survived the covetous gaze of Amaterasu lineage. Amaterasu descendants then established Yamato in the slightly more barren west, and the hatred between the two nations has lasted until today... until Yamato was destroyed," Yukari corrected herself.
Yamato was now a historical term. At least until the Milky Way flowed again and the gods of Takamagahara could re-enter the underground to rebuild, the nation had ceased to exist.
"What's the situation in Yamato now?" Sū ěr was curious about the new face of the place that had lost the "tumor" that had sat beneath it for centuries.
"Not great. It's a mess," Yukari said briefly. "The Oni have practically turned the place upside down. Now that the weight on their heads is gone, they're doing whatever they want. Some want to rebuild Yamato and find a way to contact Takamagahara, while others just want to be lawless youkai. And they aren't weak; they're even more united than average youkai."
"..."
"And the humans there?" Think asked before Sū ěr could find his words.
"It's hard to make a specific comparison. The Oni aren't exactly benevolent, but in my opinion, survival is easier for the humans now... plus, the Oni need labor for chores. Humans are generally small and bony; from that perspective, now that they aren't being bled or used for alchemy, their population should probably see a boom," Yukari said with a smile.
"...Let's go back to Izumo," Sū ěr sighed, not knowing what to say.
"Right, Izumo," Yukari nodded. "Anyway, Yamato has suffered a heavy blow. Even though Okuninushi is indecisive by nature, even he knows he must seize this chance to wipe Yamato out. That's the purpose of the army outside."
The Expedition of Izumo.
"...What do you plan to do about the Nine-Tailed Fox?" Sū ěr asked after a thought.
Sū ěr didn't believe the Nine-Tails was unaware of the massive events in Yamato. After all, she still wore the Magatama Amaterasu gave the Tenson around her neck. At the very least, Sū ěr didn't believe she had completely severed her ties with Amaterasu.
If she truly had, her power would have fundamentally changed, rather than remaining the power of the sun for centuries.
"That depends on her choice," Yukari said with a meaningful smile. "If she insists on standing in opposition to Izumo... then we will have to do something."
Sū ěr understood. If the Nine-Tails made that choice, this blonde youkai would likely be so happy she'd do backflips—one more obstacle to her grand ambition would be removed.
Sū ěr saw a war that would inevitably stir great waves, between Izumo and the Nine-Tails... hadn't she already started gathering subordinates?
Had she already foreseen this day?
A war that seemed avoidable but was actually inevitable, pushing this chaotic world even further into turmoil.