On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

On reaching the shrine building I knocked on the door. Since it was a small local shrine and the middle of a working day, there were no worshippers around, nor any shrine maidens on duty. They’d all still be at school, I guess? Most Tokyo schools started this week I think.

After a moment the door opened, to reveal Kana-chan’s mother, Nagi-san. She was in casual clothes, jeans and a light cardigan over a t-shirt, looking fashionable and surprisingly youthful. Yeah, she’s a fine looking woman. Kana-chan’s future seems bright. “Good morning.” I said, bowing politely. “I’ve come to discuss shrine business.”

“Oh, Oshiro-kun.” She smiled professionally at me. “You did say you would be back from your trip this week. I hope it proved fruitful?”

“It did indeed. Is Izumi-san in, the elder, I mean? I’d like to get down to business.”

“If you’d like to come with me I’ll fetch father-in-law and Daichi.” She led me to the back of the shrine and seated me at a small table. I shifted to a more formal seiza position and waited, feeling uncomfortable. Okay, this is still pretty nerve-wracking. It isn’t as dangerous as fighting enemies, but real-world negotiations aren’t my forte…

A few minutes passed, and then both Izumi Daichi-san and Izumi Masaji-san entered, dressed formally as priests. Daichi-san took a position to the side of the table, while Masaji-san sat opposite, kneeling in perfect seiza despite his advanced age, expression stern.

“So, alone today I see?” Izumi Masaji-san said, not bothering with pleasantries or greetings.

“Yeah, well, Shaeula is taking care of some… spiritual… matters that can’t wait. Still, I thought we should get the ball rolling over here on fulfilling my promises.”

“I see.” Masaji-san nodded. “I expect it is nothing too… problematic?”

“Well, to be honest it is annoying, and is setting back my plans a bit, but nothing Shaeula and the White Snake kami, your enshrined deity, can’t handle. I’ll be offering my assistance too, when I’ve wrapped everything up, so I’m eager to get started.”

As I finished speaking Nagi-san returned with a tray on which sat four mugs of tea, as well as some snacks. Placing them gracefully down on the small table she sat on the empty side, giving us all a smile.

“Thanks.” I said, taking a sip of the tea. It’s pretty good.

“In that case, I shall not beat around the bush.” Masaji-san said. “We did as you asked, and spoke to an architect that we were introduced to by the head of Hikawa Kawagoe shrine. It drained our funds significantly, so I would appreciate the payment you promised speedily.”

“Yeah, no problem.” I nodded. “I’ll sort that today. So, is it feasible?”

“We had an initial survey carried out on the land we own surrounding the shrine.” Masaji-san confirmed. As he was talking his son and daughter-in-law merely watched us, taking sips of tea. I followed suit, and tried one of the sweet buns Nagi-san had laid out. Damn, this is good too…

“It would take a bit of extra expense, but they can stabilise the ground enough to support your plans, and the underground area too. We owe more money for this survey, incidentally.” He warned me, and I shrugged. “No problem, I’ve got it covered, I won’t leave my allies out of pocket. So, the final verdict?”

“We are looking at a hundred million yen minimum, likely more, and should you accelerate construction as you planned… well, it can be finished at great speed, but the cost will double or even treble. Surely this is not within our means.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure.” I pulled out the documents I had brought with me this morning, that I had received from Ms Connors. With the eye-catching logos of Chase Bank and Midas Gold prominently displayed, I caught their interest. I then brought out my phone, and brought up my account balance. All three of them leaned in, despite themselves, and Masaji-san let out a breath, stunned.

“Oh my… maybe Kana should be trying harder to get close to you, Oshiro-kun.” Nagi-san said with a wry grin. Opposite her Daichi-san was looking lost in thought, rubbing at his chin.

“As you can see, I secured the funds, and while I’m a little light for a client of Midas Gold, they recognised my future potential. So, assume that we can afford to get this project rolling. We’ve also had some success… well, Shaeula mostly, if I’m being honest… with starting to train others in spiritual power.”

At those words Masaji-san looked at me sharply, so I held up a hand reassuringly. “Don’t worry, it’s just my sister, she agreed to be a test case.” I’m not going to mention Eri, that’d just muddy the waters. “Since she has no talent progress is slow, but it is noticeable, so for those who already have a spiritual foundation… I think we can make noticeable progress before the Conclave.”

“That is indeed welcome news. Hikawa-sama has been waiting eagerly for progress, and has been laying groundwork with some other shrines as well, to garner further support.”

“Great. On another note…” I finished up my tea and snacks. “That was really nice, thanks Nagi-san.” As she grinned and waved away my praise I turned back to Masaji-san. “I was hoping to move into one of the spare outbuildings you have on your land, and convert the other into a temporary office. I’ll pay to have them fixed up, so would that be an issue?”

“I would have no concerns with that. Having you on hand would make our alliance more secure. Still, with that money you are holding, I see little need for you to stay in such a place.”

“Don’t worry about it. Compared to the dingy hole I’m living in now, those outbuildings are massive! I’m not greedy, and I want to dedicate time to making this project a success.” I reassured them.

“Plus of course there are lots of lovely shrine maidens like Kana, and Keomi-chan, right?” Nagi-san winked. “I’d say that’s a benefit, isn’t it?”

“The thought hadn’t crossed my mind.” I answered, embarrassed. “It’s mainly convenient for spiritual matters. And speaking of…” Okay, now here comes the hard sell, this is going to sound scummy and wrong, but…

“I would like to take ownership of Shirohebizumi shrine, to better…” before I could finish Daichi-san leapt to his feet, knocking over his half-finished mug of tea. As it spilled towards my documents I snatched them away with blinding speed, keeping them dry.

“… Our shrine has a long history, you can’t simply buy it, even with your money! We are allied, not your minions! Our land is sacred to the White Snake, ever since the Kofun era! That history and faith is not for sale at any price! Do you think you are the first to…” he trailed off as Nagi-san interrupted him.

“Daichi! Hear him out first! We owe him that much at least, don’t we?” she turned to me and bowed deeply, head almost parallel with the table. “Sorry about my husband. He has a quick temper. Kana and I are always telling him off for it.”

“Indeed, my son is hotblooded. Though I can see why his ire is raised.” Masaji-san said, his expression cold. “He is right though, the shrine is not for sale. Nor our land. Speculators and developers have tried to tempt our family many times over the modern era, yet we hold, as we always have. We cannot sell, not even to you.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t expect you too. Sorry, you didn’t give me change to fully explain. All I want is ownership, but I’ll not make any changes at all other than ones that serve the shrine and our alliance. In fact I’ll get a contract done to that effect. The land will not be sold, only buildings that benefit the plan will be built, with permission of the keepers of the shrine, and the priests and maidens of the White Snake kami will continue to live and worship here unmolested. Essentially I need to own it purely for spiritual benefit. I’ll still put in all the money for our training grounds and alliance headquarters. The shrine, and you, will all lose nothing. It’ll be a full legally binding contract. I can get in touch with a good solicitor through my account manager at Midas Gold, I’m sure.”

“I see. But how can we trust you?” Masaji-san said, and Daichi-san echoed him. Nagi-san was eyeing me too, but she seemed more inclined to believe me than the men.

“Simple. You can find your own solicitor too, and I’ll then give you the money to pay them to vet the contract, making sure your protections are utterly air-tight. And if you have any other demands, I can meet those too.”

“That sounds fair.” Nagi-san said, having mopped up the spilled tea. She gave her husband an exasperated look. “He’s going to spend hundreds of millions of yen on our shrine. If he just wanted land, he could buy some for that, right? Besides our kami seems to trust him.”

“Of that we still have only circumstantial proof.” Daichi-san complained, but he had calmed down a little.

“Well, if needed I can no doubt get them to send another oracle, though it’s heavy on spiritual resources so would be a waste. But if that is what it takes I can budget for it.”

“It is quite a lot to consider.” Masaji-san thought, pensively. “I cannot make a decision so lightly. Not with the very future of our shrine at stake should we err. If we lost the shrine, how could we face our honoured ancestors?”

“I get it, I do. In any case take some time to think about it and consult experts. I’ll get a preliminary contract drawn up in the near future, and will provide any funds you need to assuage your fears. It’ll be…” I remembered how many days it was until my Anchor upgraded. “… at least a month until I need it, anyway, before then there’ll be no benefit, so I’ll let my deeds start talking for me. We’ll put the building plan into motion, and soon we can start the first stages of spiritual training. Oh yeah, that reminds me…”

Damn, if I’m stuck here to defend the Territory I can’t go and pick up Marika-chan from Nishimorioka. I’ll have to put it off, or something… but I should check just in case…

“The shrine maiden from my local shrine, Marika-chan. You’ve made arrangements for her to stay here, right?”

Nagi-san nodded. “It isn’t luxurious, but we have a small room we’ve been using for storage at the back of the shrine. She can use it as a bedroom, and it is close to our bathroom, so… well, I’m sorry we can’t do better.”

“Don’t worry about it, she’s an earnest girl, she’ll be fine. If you need money to make it as nice as possible let me know and I’ll cover it. Speaking of, can I check out the outbuildings so I can see what is needed to make them liveable?”

“Daichi, Nagi-san, take him to inspect them. I have much to think about.” Masaji-san answered. “I have misgivings, but Nagi-san is right, you have no need to extort us, and would lose the chance of Hikawa-sama’s connections should you prove untrustworthy. I shall meditate on it, but for now… you may proceed with the agreed plan.”

With a bow I thanked him for his support. “Thanks. Time is not on our side, so I’d like to get results fast. Anyway, please show me the way.”

Nagi-san was quite talkative as we crossed the grounds to the pair of dilapidated buildings that dotted the hill behind the shrine. Daichi had cooled his temper and now looked somewhat sheepish, realising he had let his anger loose on a potentially very important ally. Don’t worry about it. I know it doesn’t sound good…

“We are here.” Daichi said conciliatorily. “One of these buildings used to be a dwelling, many years ago, so while there is no gas, electricity or plumbing connected, it should be reasonable to do so. If you could show him around, Nagi?”

“Yes, husband dear.” She smiled, leading me in. The first building was pretty large, with ample space to live, should the rooms be partitioned better. It needed painting, plus work done on the walls, floor and roof though, as the bare boards were worn and cracked in places. In the back there was a room with a very large old-style bathtub and a traditional washiki toilet. Yeah, the large tub is great, though we could use a new one. That toilet has to be Westernised though. Yeah, no way I’m using that…

Seeing everything I needed to, I followed Nagi-san and Daichi-san into the second, slightly smaller building. It was an old storehouse, and was full of ancient junk, the walls and roof in a poor state, but again it had plenty of room. Yeah, it’ll make a decent office space and can take care of our needs while we are working on the new building…

“All right, it’ll work for me. I’ll make arrangements now. Do you have any preferred contractors who work on shrines? If so I might as well use them.”

Daichi-san gave me some names and numbers, and I called up several services, Daichi-san taking the phone when necessary. We arranged builders, plumbers, electricians and also an expedited fibre engineer for the internet to come out, all as rush jobs. The cost… was by no means small. Ugh, good job I won way more than I was expecting in Vegas. Otherwise I might have come up a little light. Maybe I’ll do a little online roulette later, top up a bit, lessen the sting…

Daichi also called the architect that did the survey, and after I transferred over a down payment of a shocking fifty million yen, their firm would start work tomorrow, once they had secured materials.

By the time all this was done most of the afternoon was gone, and as we walked back to the main shrine to report to Masaji-san that work would be beginning, we ran into a familiar face, now in her school uniform, which I hadn’t seen before. Yeah, she looks good in it. It’s quite a modern one, isn’t it?

“Oh, if it isn’t big bro!” Kana-chan gushed, twirling around to show off her uniform, which was a tidy crimson blazer and waistcoat over a white shirt, paired with a red ribbon and a red and white chequered skirt. She was also wearing black knee-socks. “Like what you see eh? I’ve always liked this uniform.” She giggled. “By the way, I got some of the pictures Shaeula sent me from Las Vegas. I’m so jealous big bro. Where was my invite?” she tilted her head cutely, eyelashes fluttering, and once more I couldn’t work out whether she was cunning, or just airheaded. In any case, she’s definitely cute. Still, I’m an engaged man now, so that doesn’t matter to me…

“You are being rude, Kana dear.” Nagi-san said with a smile. “Now apologise to Oshiro-kun, okay?”

“Sorry big bro! I was just so jealous. You’ll forgive me, right?”

I could only shrug in response, a grin on my face. Yep, definitely cute!