Chapter 672: God Queen Amaterasu-Omikami.
"Currently, we are experiencing a lot of problems managing hell. The souls devoted to our gods since ancient times cannot pass on because my mother, the current Ruler, decided that it was not a good idea to continue doing her duties." Amaterasu continued to explain with the grace and attitude of a queen. However, even with this very polite attitude, it was obvious that when she spoke about her mother, a twitch on her face showed her anger towards the woman.
"The gods are busy trying to keep the system going, and in the meantime, we're looking for a successor worthy of the Ruler title."
"The war has also impacted several lesser gods, and they are seriously injured. Some have even entered eternal sleep and can only function again after several centuries, such as the case of Tsukuyomi who 'fell' in battle to the demons.."
"Due to all these problems, it has become literally impossible to protect Japan, and as you know, a war is still going on, and I don't plan on letting Diablo's demons invade my territory."
"Protecting my territory is my job too. Which is why we have been exterminating the demons." Haruna spoke as she opened her Fan, which had the word 'determination' written in Japanese, leaving only her fox eyes visible behind the Fan as she continued to watch the goddess.
"And I thank the Youkai for that, but... Once the number of demons goes down, you'll only intervene if there's another massive 'wave' of demons, right?"
"..." Haruna didn't deny it or claim anything, but her silence was proof enough of Amaterasu's assumptions.
Despite having killed demons and consequently helped humans, Haruna's priority was to protect her people, the Youkai.
Humans indirectly benefited due to these actions, but it wasn't her intention. Once the preparations were done and all the Youkai moved into her territory, she would stop ordering her soldiers to help. After all, that was the work of the gods, not the Youkai.
"I fully understand that we are not in a position to ask the Youkai for help due to our past history, which is why I came here to hire you."
Amaterasu opened her Fan with details of a golden sun and pointed to the side. Soon a whirlwind of flames appeared, leaving everyone tense, except for Haruna, Morgana, and Jeanne, who watched everything with composure.
A few seconds later, a woman with long black hair and two large raven wings appeared.
"To outsiders, the woman cannot be recognized, but you know her very well, right? Commander Haruna."
"… Yomi-Hime, the commanders of the Ravens, the wife of Tsukuyomi, and the queen of the Tengu." Haruna's eyes sparkled dangerously.
Yomi flinched a little at the eyes Haruna was giving her.
From Haruna's point of view, Yomi was nothing more than a traitor who had decided to ally herself with the gods and exploit her own kind.
And she hated that kind of person, but... A commander doesn't act on their feelings. After all, if she were to act on her feelings, Genji wouldn't even be her general.
Because just like Yomi, he was also a 'traitor' who worked for a goddess.
"Correction, Lady Haruna … Tsukuyomi's ex-wife," Yomi said.
"Oh?"
"Due to my brother's condition… Secrets were discovered about him. Secrets that upset Lady Yomi." Amaterasu explained evasively without giving too many details.
Just like Haruna, Amaterasu opened her Fan and covered her face:
"Currently, she is single and seeking marriage."
"..." Yomi squirmed when she heard what the woman was saying.
'I don't want to get married!' Unfortunately, given her current sensitive position, she had no choice in the matter.
"What do you think? How about she marry one of your generals?" The goddess asked 'kindly'.
"I humbly decline."
"Oh yes?... That is a shame." She commented, disappointed. "In that case, how about she marry your ally? That way, we will have a triple alliance since she is still affiliated with the gods."
Morgana, Jeanne, and Haruna narrowed their eyes dangerously at Amaterasu.
"I cannot speak for my ally, and currently, his representative is unavailable... And even if his representative were here, this alliance would be impossible." Haruna knew she was exceeding her limits by saying that it would be an impossible alliance, but she didn't like what she heard one bit.
"I see... It's really a shame. In that case, I have no choice but to offer myself, right?"
"... Excuse me?" Haruna felt that her super-sensitive supernatural ears were failing or something.
"I think it would be a healthy alliance. After all, a Progenitor of vampires with the greatest potential seen since time immemorial marrying a God Queen would establish an alliance between the Noble Vampires, the Youkai, and the Shinto pantheon forever, right?"
"As the saying goes, three birds with one stone."
"...." The silence that fell after Amaterasu's proclamation was deafening. Even the sound of a fly was painfully loud in the face of the room's silence.
Yoichi and Genji, at that moment, wanted to be anywhere but in this room.
Jeane was holding Morgana's hand tightly so the woman wouldn't jump on the bitch goddess and try to kill her.
Jeanne wasn't happy either, but her rationality was winning the battle against her instinct. She knew it wouldn't be wise to attack a God Queen who came 'only' to negotiate a contract.
They would be seen as barbarians by the other supernatural beings if this news got out, which would not be a good thing for a newly formed faction like Haruna's.
Haruna also knew that, and because of that, she was holding back. So she swallowed hard and took a deep breath:
"As I said before. That kind of decision is not under my authority."
"Clan Alucard is my ally and my equal. They are not my subordinates. That kind of decision can only be made by the Progenitor himself or the wife in charge of external dealings." She was as professional and cordial as possible, but it was taking all her years of experience not to jump in Amaterasu's face.
"I see... May I know who is the wife responsible for this negotiation?"
"Violet Snow, the heiress of the Snow Clan."
'Oh? Is he already married to one of the Countesses' heiresses?... It seems his influence may be greater than I expected. At best, as Progenitor, he has 50% of Nightingale's influence. At worst, he has relevant influence as he is a disciple of Scathach and married into Clan Snow and Blank.'
'I'm betting more on the first option... After all, you don't have that kind of military power with little influence.' Amaterasu thought as she looked at Jeanne and Morgana.
As a God Queen, she could easily discern the strength of women. The woman with a demonic trait didn't seem to be that strong. At the very least, she is on the level of her brother Susanoo or Takemikazuchi himself.
But... The blonde... The blonde was different. She was a monster, she felt the blonde could fight her, and the fight would not be an easy one.
'These women... I feel like I've seen them sometime in the past.' Amaterasu could not erase this discomfort; she was not very attentive to international events. Still, she made a point of keeping an eye on the events of the great factions, such as vampires, werewolves, witches, and the neighboring pantheons that would be the Hindu and the ancient Chinese pantheon.
Of course, the faction of angels led by the 'Heavenly Father' was also a must watch.
'Tsk, I can't remember... If I only knew their names, I might have a clue.'
All these thoughts happened in less than a few seconds in the God Queen's head:
"Violet, huh … Hmm, I'll talk to her later."
Morgana and Jeanne felt their lips twitch at how brazen the queen of the Shinto pantheon was, had she no shame or decency?
Didn't she live in a culture where that sort of thing was valued? Why was she throwing herself at Victor?
"…May I ask why you are interested in the Progenitor?"
"..." It was Amaterasu's turn to look at Haruna in disbelief, with a face that said, 'You're kidding me, right?'
Haruna's question was very serious, so the God Queen replied:
"Look at this." Amaterasu lifted her finger up, and the image of Victor standing in the middle of an arena with a slight smile on his face appeared.
This image was clearly taken when Victor was in Japan and fought Haruna.
'Tsk, I shouldn't have held a public event, but it was necessary at the time, ugh …' Haruna grumbled.
Yomi gulped when she saw that man's appearance again. Despite feeling irritated at being used as a bargaining chip due to her fragile position, she definitely wouldn't mind being 'sold' to that man.
"Look at this." She made an exaggerated gesture with both of her hands, emphasizing the importance, "And tell me you don't want it."
"..."
" See? you can't. Even for a brawn brain like you, he's too attractive." She nodded in satisfaction.
A vein popped on Haruna's head.
Realizing what she said, she says, "Oh, I'm sorry for my attitude. I got really excited."
She removed the image created with her power and adjusted her posture.
"Although his appearance is a big reason, as a God Queen, I must always prioritize my people."
"And since I know that eventually, you will marry that man, I am also interested in joining the alliance."
"… How can you say that I will marry the Progenitor?"
"Do you like women, or are you impotent?"
"... Excuse me...!?" Haruna really couldn't believe that this was the goddess who led an entire pantheon.
"I mean, nothing against it. That kind of relationship existed even in the past, and there were also eunuchs back then too."
"..." Veins were popping visibly on Haruna's head now.
"But the point is that even women who like women would be attracted to him. I don't doubt that even straight men would be."
"So it's obvious to think that you will naturally end up getting pregnant by him and become his wife."
"It's the most logical solution given your faction's current situation."
Haruna inhaled and exhaled several times in an attempt to calm down.
"Goddess Amaterasu, I ask that we return to the main subject. What do you want from my people?" She smiled gently.
But all those close to Haruna knew that she was already about to reach her breaking point.
"Hmm? Didn't we already talk about that?" She asked, quite genuinely confused.
'NOO! You didn't! Fuck, what is this goddess's problem? Is she air-headed, or is she pretending? Ugh.' Haruna grumbled.
"We haven't talked about it yet."
"Okay… In that case." She snapped, and eight stacked boxes appeared beside her.
"These are advance payments for our services. In these boxes are various weapons and supplies that can greatly help your faction."
"Everything in there is crafted by our finest blacksmiths using deadly materials—."
"…You still haven't talked about the service you want." Haruna interrupted.
"…Oh."
"..." An uncomfortable silence fell over the place until Amaterasu continued as if nothing had happened.
"Anyway, the service is about protection. I need you guys to act as the protectors of Japan, keeping dangerous supernatural entities away."
"I will be making Lady Yomi-Hime and her tengu available as scouts as well. As you know, the Tengu are experts at this."
"We haven't even taken the job yet..."
"... Eh? Are you going to refuse?" She spoke with a disbelieving face, genuinely shocked. Apparently, in her head, this deal was already closed.
"..." Haruna squeezed the fan hard, creating cracks; she really never felt so much like hitting someone before.
'Apparently, being shameless was the main requirement for being a pantheon leader.' Jeanne thought with humor, much calmer than before.
"Incredible... I've never seen material so well done before."
Haruna looked to the side and saw her grandfather checking the katana blade in front of the boxes.
Haruna felt her lips twitch when she saw her grandfather's nerve to check the products before she finished the negotiation.
"Right? We may not be at the forefront of building items like the Greek and Norse pantheon, but our gods aren't mediocre either." She spoke proudly, "If it weren't for Hephaestus of the Greek pantheon and the dwarves of the Norse pantheon, our pantheon would be first in the matters of crafting items."
Unlike the Greek and Nordic pantheons, which only make items for their own pantheons, the Shinto pantheon markets its items and collects a lot of money and products from outside thanks to this.
Although not on the same level as the aforementioned pantheons, the forge of the Shinto pantheon is quite 'unique' and difficult to recreate perfectly.
After all, the one who forges these items is a god of culture and a god of the forge. As he is the god of culture, his divine power protects the items to prevent them from being copied or analyzed by other gods of the forge.
And even Amaterasu herself helped in this area by providing the 'flames of the sun' as a furnace to create the items.
Items crafted by a God Queen, a God of Culture, and a God of Forge are not mediocre.
"Anyway, now that the deal is closed, I will return to my pantheon."
"Wait, I haven't closed the deal yet!"
"… Eh, aren't you going to agree?" This time even Haruna's grandfather spoke in unison.
"I haven't decided yet," Haruna spoke strongly.
"Impossible, Commander Haruna, think about it carefully! Look at these items! I've never had such a good Katana before!"
Haruna's Fan broke due to the force she put in; she really wanted to hit her grandfather right now.
She was irritated and very embarrassed now.
'Stop acting like we're rednecks, old man!'
"…I will accept."
"Fumu, good. Go over the details with Lady Yomi. As soon as the deal is completed, I will send another shipment of supplies and weapons."
"What is the prediction of you gods being active again?"
"If all goes well, in less than a month, we'll be able to find a successor worthy of hell and get back to protection activities."
Amaterasu put her hand inside her kimono and took out a token with the kanji 'sun' written on it:
"Here, Take it." She threw it towards Haruna.
The nine-tailed fox picked up the item and inspected it.
"This will allow you to talk to me personally and let me know your progress."
"Do you want a weekly or daily report?"
"Weekly would be enough."
"Very Well."
"In that case, I will come back. Thanks for the help." She spoke gratefully, then disappeared in a golden light.
"...." A hush fell over the room.
"Haah, she has quite the personality, huh," Yoichi spoke wearily, looking at the katana as if he had found a new toy.
Haruna, Morgana, and Jeanne looked at the old man with lifeless eyes.
"..." The man felt a shiver run down his spine and looked around for possible enemies.
'Is it my imagination?'
"Just saying, if you guys harm me, the deal will be off."
"..." The three women looked at Yomi, who looked like a deer trembling in a cave with three predators.
Yomi gulped and feared for her future, but as a leader of her people, she will face it head on!... Probably.
These women are scary!
.....
Edited By: DaV0 2138, IsUnavailable
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