Capítulo 31: Chapter 31
One of the rules that Demigods have is, 'don't get lost,' and unfortunately, Bianca and Rachnera broke that rule. The daughter of Hades and the descendant of Arachnera are now wandering around Matsue without their guide and no knowledge of the culture.
"What should we do now?" Bianca asked Rachnera. We're lost, and it's a six-hour ride back to our hotel."
"We should stay calm," said Rachnera, "we should look for a café or somewhere to rest until Honey contacts us."
"How," asked Bicana, panic starting to set in. He doesn't know where we are or where we're going."
"Honey is smart and has his ways," said Rachner, reassuring the demigoddess, "He's been here before, and I'm sure he has his ways."
"I sure hope so," said Bianca.
"That should be the last of them," said Naruto, tying up the last invading monsters.
"Thank you for the assistance," said one of the Jorogumo escorting their prisoners to the police vehicle that arrived a few minutes ago, "you should go and find your lost friends."
"That's a good idea, but finding them may take longer than intended, so I'll send a Karasu to find them and guide them to my next appointment. Matsue is a big city, after all.
"That is a smart idea. If anything can find your friends, it's a Karasu," replied some Jorogumo after she shoved a struggling monster into the police van.
Karasus, divine messengers of Amaterasu, are described as ravens with three legs, each representing each stage of the sun. One crow in became, named Yatagarasu, became a guiding deity in the Shinto pantheon. In the modern era, Karasu can be used to find people and deliver letters to destinations, while harpies handle the more significant orders and packages. Under the guidance of Takamimusubi, a god of agriculture, a building and business were constructed for the use of Karasuu for mortals and monsters. Naruto asked where the neared karasu office was, he rented a crow and tied a letter to its left leg. Leaving the office with the crow in hand, he walked until he was ten meters from the building.
"I want you to find and deliver the letter to the person who smells like this hat," said Naruto, presenting Bianca's lost beret to the raven to sniff. The raven had memorized the scent, so it flew off to do its job.
"I hope those two are alright," said Naruto, walking to the location of his next appointment.
As the hours passed, the sun began to leave, and the moon began to rise. Bianca and Rachnera tried to find their way back to Naruto but failed. Seeing that the sun was setting and the night was upon them, they decided to take shelter in one of the hotels in Matsue.
"This looks nice," commented Rachnera, seeing a nice capsule hotel. We should sleep here for tonight."
"One problem," said Bianca, walking towards Rachnera's side, "we don't have any money."
"We can use Honey's credit card," said Rachnera, getting the plastic cart out of her purse, "he gave it to me in case something like this happened."
"What's a credit card?" asked Bianca in confusion.
"I'll explain inside," said Rachnera, herding the confused demigoddess into the hotel.
Unknown to the two, Naruto had the same idea but managed to make it to the coast of Matsue before retiring to a nearby hotel.
Suijin, the deity of the water, held leadership over the various creatures and monsters, such as Kappa, eels, and fish that call the water home. Her black hair was done in a stylish top bun with pieces of coral decorating it. Her kimono was sea blue with images of water and waves woven into it. She wore light make-up with lightly tanned skin. While her domain is vast, she shares it with other deities such as Ryujin and the octopus, Akkorokamui. News of a new tailor in the supernatural world and grew curious about his skills and ideas. She put in a request for a new kimono and yukata, fate smiled upon Suijin as due to the laws between the pantheons Naruto, the name of the tailor she learned, had to come to deliver her package himself.
"Mistress, the sentries have spotted someone matching the description of the weaver," reported one of her aquatic soldiers.
"Good," replied Suijin, "make sure the bubble is ready for transportation."
"Of course, mistress," said the soldier as he left the room to relay the order.
"I really need to ask them to set up meeting points," commented Naruto as he waited on the coast of Matsue, with nothing but rocks and sand surrounding him.
The blond demigod only waited a few minutes before he spotted an approaching dorsal fin approaching him, later revealing an emerging Fishman reaching the shore.
"Are you the Greek tailor?" asked the Fishman.
"Yes," answered Naruto, "and I'm guessing you're the messenger for Suijin?"
"Yes. I hope you have the parcel with you." said the fisherman, handing Naruto a small conch shell.
"Of course, I do have a reputation to uphold," said Naruto, pressing the top of the shell to activate the device.
The shell begins to secrete a clear resin bubble that begins to envelop Naruto to protect him from the water and nautical pressure of the sea and supply him with air. The resin bubble was used not just for human visitors but by the mermaids who couldn't use their legs for walking.
Suijin's palace rested at a depth of two thousand meters below the ocean and closely resembled the emperor's palace on the surface. Several shachihoko, a sea creature with the head of a dragon and the body of a carp with their tails pointed towards the heavens, statues decorating the roof, warning invaders and maleficent spirits from harming the palace.
"It is truly breathtaking," commented Naruto as he got closer to the palace, "I imagine this is what my uncle's palace is like, only more Greek."
"I imagine it is nice but pales compared to our mistress's," commented the fishman guiding Naruto.
"There, that Japanese pride," whispered Naruto, "but Poseidon is one of my more mellow relatives, so he may let that slide."
Naruto reached the palace's entrance and met two other fishmen guarding the door and another armored fishman surveying other parts. The bubble supplying Naruto with air fused with the floor, allowing the blond to walk and continue to follow his guide to Suijin's quarters.
"Remember, don't look our mistress in the eye and only speak when spoken to. Everything she says is right, and try not to waste her time, as she has many responsibilities to attend to," said Naruto's guide as they got closer to the throne room. And make sure to keep all answers and questions short."
"Of course," said Naruto as the two reached the throne room's door. I will respect all customs and keep this appointment brief."
"Good," said the fisherman guiding Naruto, "I hope your business with our mistress ends nicely."
"So do I," said Naruto, entering the throne room.
The night at the capsule hotel was interesting. Each room had enough space for one person except for bigger demi-humans, and each room had a TV and reading light.
"That was an interesting experience," said Bianca as she and Rachnera exited the capsule hotel and resumed their search for Naruto.
"Caw, caw,"
Bianca and Rachnera looked above and saw a three-legged crow flying towards them.
"What is that?!" said Bianca, pointing towards the crow.
"I think that's a messenger crow," answered Rachnera, "a Karasu, I think."
"A messenger crow?" asked Bianca in confusion, "Do the Greeks have something similar?"
"I think it's the goddess, Iris or Hermes," answered Rachnera as the crow landed on her arm. Looking at the bird, Rachnera saw a note tied to its third leg. The spider woman untied the note and saw it was a message for Naruto.
"I think Naruto wants us to go towards the Matsue coast," said Rachnera as the crow flew off to receive its following message. "It shouldn't take longer than an hour."
"I wonder what he's doing near the coast?" asked Bianca, wondering about Naruto's business.
"He's likely talking to some merfolk or a water deity," answered Rachnera.
"Oh, I guess that makes sense," replied Bianca as they waited for a cab, "what are merfolk?"
"Merfolk are people with fish-like appendages and can breathe underwater and manipulate the water for attack. They came in various species; some have tentacles, puff themselves in defense, and even spit ink. There is another set called fishpeople with two legs instead of tails, like merfolk. They have the same abilities, but the fish people have ten times the strength of average people. The Greek equivale to fish people are the naiads near camp." Said Rachnera
"Wow, that sounds interesting," Bianca said in amazement, "and this is what Naruto deals with all the time."
"Yeah," replied Rachnera as a cab pulled up, "some moments are weirder than others."
Unseen by the two is a minor rat demon looking over the roof's lip with a radio in hand.
"Tell the boss, 'The foreigner's friends got into a cab and are heading towards the coast.'"
The order for Suijin wasn't difficult, as his love-struck aunt and cousins were more demanding. The outfit was under a kimono colored like seafoam, with a thinner and larger kimono decorated with images of sea waves and coral along the bottom hem, with koi fish jumping out and their scales shining in the sun.
"Nice quality," said Suijin, admiring the kimono in her hands, "I see the praises about you are true."
"Thank you, but I am merely a tailor," replied Naruto, bowing, "nothing more, nothing less."
"And you're modest too," said Suijin, returning the kimono to the box, "hopefully there will be more orders from me in the future."
"I can only hope," said Naruto, rising back up. I value your business, but I must be going as my two companions are waiting for me. I am grateful you wanted my services, but I have some associates on the coast, and this is the first time they've been to Japan. I wanted to show them a good time while they are here."
"I understand," said Suijin, walking back to her throne. "For you, it's another business trip, but to them, it's a new experience. I hope your time here was pleasurable?"
"Yes, it has been enjoyable," said Naruto. One of my companions was stuck in the nineteen-thirties, and I wanted to show her how much we had progressed."
"That sounds interesting, and I wish you the best of luck," said Suijin, dismissing Naruto from her court. I will have a guard escort you back to the surface."
"Thank you, and I hope you're happy with your purchase," said Naruto, bowing respectfully.
Rachnera and Bianca managed to get a taxi, but they had a lot of time to themselves due to the distance.
"What should we do after we find him?" asked Bianca, trying to pass the time.
"I believe this is the last client for our trip," said Rachnera, answering Bianca's question. Since our business is done, Honey can show us the more touristy areas in Japan."
"That sounds fun." said Bianca, "we can bring back souvenirs to the camp."
"Like we don't have enough," commented Rachnera
"We are in a foreign land experiencing another culture," said Bianca, "I'm sure some of the other campers will like it."
"I'm sure there are," said Rachnera, confirming Bianca's suspicions, "some of the other campers don't get to leave, so I'm sure they will appreciate the stories and souvenirs we bring back, especially the younger ones."
"I think the beach is coming up." said Bianca, seeing the beach and a bubble coming up from the surface, "and I think something is coming up."
"I believe that Naruto is coming back from an appointment," said Rachnera, also seeing the bubble coming up. "And I think it went well."
The taxi ride was expensive, but Naruto's finances were able to foot the bill without issue. The bubble surrounding Naruto broke once he and the fishman made it safely on the sand, with the fishman retreating shortly after.
"Thank you for safe passage," said Naruto, turning to the sea and turning back to greet Rachnera and Bianca as they walked closer to Naruto.
"I see the crow managed to do its job," said Naruto, "and I trust you two had fun."
"When did credit cards become standard?" asked Bianca in confusion, "and we got to sleep in a 'capsule.'"
"Sounds like fun," said Naruto, hearing their tale, "and credit cards came out between the nineteen fifties and nineteen sixties."
"Oh, neat," said Bianca, amazed at the development of the economy. It sounds like it makes shopping easier."
"It does, but you can get carried away easier with it." said Naruto as he answered Bianca's question, "We should get back to our hotel, but we have an hour to kill, so how about we hit the shops and see what we can find."
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