Apparently, I’m taking over the family business.
Translated by NotBlueYet
Edited by Trevor
“Thanks a lot.”
I climbed down from the holy bird and patted him on the head. He flapped his wings happily, then flew away and went back the way he came.
My parents house was located in the depths of a huge mountain range in an island country. So even if the Holy Bird was the fastest way from the church, it still took me four days to get here.
As a matter of fact, spending four days with a Holy Bird made me become really attached to it. I’m not thinking of selling it anymore, I suppose.
With a hint of sadness in my heart, I looked at the exterior of my parents’ house.
The whole area was surrounded by mountains and trees and there was no sign of intelligent life.
However, the torii gate in front of me stood tall and red. It was a scene full of nature. It would have been more natural if there was at least some ivy growing on it.
On the torii gate, the words, “Maishin Shrine” were engraved.
My parents’ house was a very small shrine that didn’t deserve to be called a big shrine, but they called it a big shrine anyway because they were the head shrine of the “Prayer Kagura”.
Small details like that didn’t matter, though.
“Gone are the days of strenuous work as a holy knight! I can finally live my life as a priest in comfort.”
It was even better out here, because there was hardly any people.
I didn’t see anyone doing any scams like fortune telling or money offering, and I didn’t want to either.
Maybe they were making a living from rituals or something like that. ……
I’d also like a wife, but my family is the main source of prayer kagura, after all, and I’m sure I can find a match with a priestess at some shrine, so there’s no rush.
When there’s no work to be done, I’ll make out with my priestess wife, and when there is work, I’ll go to the village to dance the prayer kagura.
And then I can have a child and show my parents my grandchild’s face.
For what it’s worth, I’ve been wandering around and worrying about my parents. So it might help my consciousness to be a bit filial.
With such delusions of a bright future, I stepped into my parents’ house for the first time in a long time.
“I’m home~!”
◇
“Oh, Kagura. You finally came back to take over the family business?”
“Yes. I’ve been a holy knight in the church of Luna for four years and I’ve learned I’m best suited to perform the Prayer Kagura.”
“Well, that’s right. I was sure you would return soon because you would get sick of sleeping outside or living off preserved food! Still, four years is longer than I expected!”
“Oh, Father…!”
My father cried tears of joy when I told him that I was going to take over the family business, and as he was my own parent, he knew exactly what I was going through.
“Wow.. Kagura is finally going to take over the responsibilities of the God of Dance. I feel like I’ve removed a huge burden from my shoulders.”
My father looked relieved and calm, as if he could finally relax.
“But I don’t really understand the work of a Shinto priest. What about taking over?”
“Oh, I’ve entrusted that to Yatagarasu. You’ll be able to manage most of it if you follow his orders for the time being.”
“Eh? Wasn’t father supposed to keep working for a year or so?”
“Eh? No, even if I call it a job, all I do is basically just to go to the place where I’m requested to go and perform the “kagura prayer”. As for Kagura, I have nothing more to teach you.”
My father told me the same thing four years ago.
This is why I was allowed to be a holy knight in the Luna religion despite being the son of a priest of the God of Dance.
“Well, no, but ……. At least the first time”
“I’m sure you’ll be alright. So, for the first time, I will completely entrust you with the position of the head of the God of Dance through the Rite of Succession.”
The Rite of Succession?
I don’t know what that is, but …… well, I guess it’s a traditional ceremony to tell people that the head of the shrine is going to be replaced, as is usually the case in shrines like this.
“Come with me.”
Without thinking too much about it, I followed my father.
We went to the room where the gods were enshrined, which was located at the innermost part of the Maijin Shrine.
It was a dusty wooden space illuminated by sour-colored paper lanterns.
◇
The Ceremony of Succession
If this were a normal shrine, this would be a ceremony to tell the people of the village or town that you were being replaced. But since the Maijin Shrine is located deep in the mountains, it had very little to do with people – so who do you tell?
That is, of course, the gods.
My father and I both held ceremonial swords in our hands. We danced gracefully, touching and dodging the swords like the Ruryu dance.
It was the basic form of Prayer Kagura that my father had been teaching me since I was a child.
Gracefully and fluidly. I danced.
I could feel that I was much better than before.
The sword used to be too heavy for me to lift. Every time I danced, I sprained my legs over and over again, and made many, many mistakes in order to dance correctly.
I miss it. And I was a little proud of my growth.
Suddenly, the light from the sour-smelling paper lantern went out, and the space became completely dark.
“Kagura. I hereby acknowledge you as the 37th head of the Maijin Shrine.”
I thought I heard a voice.
At that moment, with a poof. My consciousness faded away. I fell asleep as if I were being lured into a deep, deep darkness.
◇
“Dear Kagura.”
“I am happy to see my son’s growth, as he now is able to perfectly perform the 48-hour Prayer Kagura, the succession rite.
“You’ve gone into a five-day sleep so the gods possessing me can move over to you. By the time you wake up, I’ll most likely be with Sachi.”
“When Sachi and I got married, I had already taken over, so we hadn’t had a chance to have our honeymoon.”
“It’s hard work being a priest of Maijin and it’s hard to get used to in the beginning. Please forgive Dad for not being there for you.”
“Dad wishes Kagura all the best.”
“Sincerely yours.”
P.S.
“If you want to find a wife, you can dance the “Courtship Kagura”. God will bring you the best woman for you, that’s how I married Sachi.”
◇
When I woke up, I found a letter on my pillow with a creepy three-legged raven grabbing it up with its middle leg.
“What’s this ……?”
“Is the work of a priest that intense? After taking over, is it really so hard you can’t have a honeymoon?”
In the letter, my father’s calm writing seemed to reflect that he had been relieved of his duties.
“Gaaaaa! Sahar is suffering from drought! Get to Sahar now! I repeat. Get to Sahar now!”
A black raven with three legs, red eyes, and a strange, deafening screech that never stops.
What? Sahar? Isn’t that a desert country to the west?
Even if we take the holy bird, it will take four days, right?
“Head to Sahar, ASAP! Get to Sahar, now!”
“I get it! I get it! Please, shutup! I heard you the first time!”
…Huh? Where’s my leisurely priest life? What happened to only needing to do things once or twice a month?
Is this what priests are supposed to do?
“Get to Sahar, ASAP!!!!”
“Oh, my God! This…”
It was a set up!!!
It was my first day taking over the family business. I was already regretting my decision to come back to my parents’ house.
Apparently, I’m taking over the family business.
Translated by NotBlueYet
Edited by Trevor
“Thanks a lot.”
I climbed down from the holy bird and patted him on the head. He flapped his wings happily, then flew away and went back the way he came.
My parents house was located in the depths of a huge mountain range in an island country. So even if the Holy Bird was the fastest way from the church, it still took me four days to get here.
As a matter of fact, spending four days with a Holy Bird made me become really attached to it. I’m not thinking of selling it anymore, I suppose.
With a hint of sadness in my heart, I looked at the exterior of my parents’ house.
The whole area was surrounded by mountains and trees and there was no sign of intelligent life.
However, the torii gate in front of me stood tall and red. It was a scene full of nature. It would have been more natural if there was at least some ivy growing on it.
On the torii gate, the words, “Maishin Shrine” were engraved.
My parents’ house was a very small shrine that didn’t deserve to be called a big shrine, but they called it a big shrine anyway because they were the head shrine of the “Prayer Kagura”.
Small details like that didn’t matter, though.
“Gone are the days of strenuous work as a holy knight! I can finally live my life as a priest in comfort.”
It was even better out here, because there was hardly any people.
I didn’t see anyone doing any scams like fortune telling or money offering, and I didn’t want to either.
Maybe they were making a living from rituals or something like that. ……
I’d also like a wife, but my family is the main source of prayer kagura, after all, and I’m sure I can find a match with a priestess at some shrine, so there’s no rush.
When there’s no work to be done, I’ll make out with my priestess wife, and when there is work, I’ll go to the village to dance the prayer kagura.
And then I can have a child and show my parents my grandchild’s face.
For what it’s worth, I’ve been wandering around and worrying about my parents. So it might help my consciousness to be a bit filial.
With such delusions of a bright future, I stepped into my parents’ house for the first time in a long time.
“I’m home~!”
◇
“Oh, Kagura. You finally came back to take over the family business?”
“Yes. I’ve been a holy knight in the church of Luna for four years and I’ve learned I’m best suited to perform the Prayer Kagura.”
“Well, that’s right. I was sure you would return soon because you would get sick of sleeping outside or living off preserved food! Still, four years is longer than I expected!”
“Oh, Father…!”
My father cried tears of joy when I told him that I was going to take over the family business, and as he was my own parent, he knew exactly what I was going through.
“Wow.. Kagura is finally going to take over the responsibilities of the God of Dance. I feel like I’ve removed a huge burden from my shoulders.”
My father looked relieved and calm, as if he could finally relax.
“But I don’t really understand the work of a Shinto priest. What about taking over?”
“Oh, I’ve entrusted that to Yatagarasu. You’ll be able to manage most of it if you follow his orders for the time being.”
“Eh? Wasn’t father supposed to keep working for a year or so?”
“Eh? No, even if I call it a job, all I do is basically just to go to the place where I’m requested to go and perform the “kagura prayer”. As for Kagura, I have nothing more to teach you.”
My father told me the same thing four years ago.
This is why I was allowed to be a holy knight in the Luna religion despite being the son of a priest of the God of Dance.
“Well, no, but ……. At least the first time”
“I’m sure you’ll be alright. So, for the first time, I will completely entrust you with the position of the head of the God of Dance through the Rite of Succession.”
The Rite of Succession?
I don’t know what that is, but …… well, I guess it’s a traditional ceremony to tell people that the head of the shrine is going to be replaced, as is usually the case in shrines like this.
“Come with me.”
Without thinking too much about it, I followed my father.
We went to the room where the gods were enshrined, which was located at the innermost part of the Maijin Shrine.
It was a dusty wooden space illuminated by sour-colored paper lanterns.
◇
The Ceremony of Succession
If this were a normal shrine, this would be a ceremony to tell the people of the village or town that you were being replaced. But since the Maijin Shrine is located deep in the mountains, it had very little to do with people – so who do you tell?
That is, of course, the gods.
My father and I both held ceremonial swords in our hands. We danced gracefully, touching and dodging the swords like the Ruryu dance.
It was the basic form of Prayer Kagura that my father had been teaching me since I was a child.
Gracefully and fluidly. I danced.
I could feel that I was much better than before.
The sword used to be too heavy for me to lift. Every time I danced, I sprained my legs over and over again, and made many, many mistakes in order to dance correctly.
I miss it. And I was a little proud of my growth.
Suddenly, the light from the sour-smelling paper lantern went out, and the space became completely dark.
“Kagura. I hereby acknowledge you as the 37th head of the Maijin Shrine.”
I thought I heard a voice.
At that moment, with a poof. My consciousness faded away. I fell asleep as if I were being lured into a deep, deep darkness.
◇
“Dear Kagura.”
“I am happy to see my son’s growth, as he now is able to perfectly perform the 48-hour Prayer Kagura, the succession rite.
“You’ve gone into a five-day sleep so the gods possessing me can move over to you. By the time you wake up, I’ll most likely be with Sachi.”
“When Sachi and I got married, I had already taken over, so we hadn’t had a chance to have our honeymoon.”
“It’s hard work being a priest of Maijin and it’s hard to get used to in the beginning. Please forgive Dad for not being there for you.”
“Dad wishes Kagura all the best.”
“Sincerely yours.”
P.S.
“If you want to find a wife, you can dance the “Courtship Kagura”. God will bring you the best woman for you, that’s how I married Sachi.”
◇
When I woke up, I found a letter on my pillow with a creepy three-legged raven grabbing it up with its middle leg.
“What’s this ……?”
“Is the work of a priest that intense? After taking over, is it really so hard you can’t have a honeymoon?”
In the letter, my father’s calm writing seemed to reflect that he had been relieved of his duties.
“Gaaaaa! Sahar is suffering from drought! Get to Sahar now! I repeat. Get to Sahar now!”
A black raven with three legs, red eyes, and a strange, deafening screech that never stops.
What? Sahar? Isn’t that a desert country to the west?
Even if we take the holy bird, it will take four days, right?
“Head to Sahar, ASAP! Get to Sahar, now!”
“I get it! I get it! Please, shutup! I heard you the first time!”
…Huh? Where’s my leisurely priest life? What happened to only needing to do things once or twice a month?
Is this what priests are supposed to do?
“Get to Sahar, ASAP!!!!”
“Oh, my God! This…”
It was a set up!!!
It was my first day taking over the family business. I was already regretting my decision to come back to my parents’ house.
