Chapter Text
How did it come to this? Fumikado was supposed to be a fully-fledged vessel by now, aiding Lord Masakado in his conquest of Mugenri, or if not that, at least in his rule over Devanagara. But instead, they were in debt, and now their subordinates had forced them to beg Yago for help. Why did they let them do that again…?
Oh right, because of the debt.
This particular chain of events started because the middle Shitodo had come to remind them of a payment deadline.
“Your deadline’s coming up soon, so pay up or else! …Is what Kuro-jii told me to tell you while I was out.” In contrast to the threatening contents of their message, the red-headed Shitodo just looked bored.
“Well can you tell them to wait just a bit longer?!” Iyozane asked. “We don’t have the money right now!”
“I can, but I’m not sure they’ll listen.”
“So they would defy even the New Emperor?” Fumikado had tried to sound ominous, but Tsugumi pretty much ruined it.
“They’ve been defyin’ you. And yer not the Emperor.” Then, as if their comment hadn’t been utterly disrespectful, Tsugumi immediately moved on. “What’s with the pizza smell anyway?”
“You know what pizza is?” Iyozane asked.
“Don’ look down on me.”
“I should be saying that to you guys,” Hooaka said. “They make pizza here?”
“It was introduced to Devanagara by an outsider a few decades ago, or so I’ve heard,” Iyozane explained.
“I see.” Hooaka didn’t seem too interested in the answer, despite being the one to ask.
“Now that we’ve told you why we know what pizza is, you have to tell us why you smell like pizza!” Fumikado wanted to take this chance to regain control of the conversation, of course. But more than anything, the pizza smell was really driving them nuts now that Tsugumi pointed it out!
“They prolly just ate it earlier or somethin’,” Tsugumi said.
“Actually, I didn’t.”
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
“What now?”
“You see, I had to get a new arm a while back. Apparently the ingredients are the same as pizza, so it ended up like this,” Hooaka explained as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Fumikado wasn’t any stranger to the wonders of alchemy, but using pizza ingredients?
“Could you go into some more detail…?” Iyozane asked.
“Go ask Tsubakura. They’re the one that grew it after all.”
“They’re an alchemist?! I thought they were a priest!” Fumikado just knew Tsubakura as one of those lazy priests that blatantly admitted to only ever doing their job when they were forced to, but maybe there was something to respect about them after all~
“You see, that’s why it’s so surprising that you know about pizza! Alchemist is such an old word.”
“What would you call it then?!” Fumikado’s grandfather was an alchemist, and Fumikado’s own body was the result of alchemy, so they couldn’t take that insult standing down.
“A scientist.” Oh right. Someone who thought alchemy was a thing of the past would use that word instead. “Though they’re probably still on that whole ‘I don’t actually believe in science’ thing.”
“Huh?”
“There’s a lot to unpack with that,” Iyozane commented.
“Anyway, I gotta get going.” Hooaka started walking towards the door. “Don’t forget about the money! Or else!”
And thus the relatively easy-going atmosphere that had somehow built up over the course of the conversation was shattered in a single sentence.
“T-There’s gotta be a way out of this, right?” Iyozane had immediately started panicking again. “Maybe we could go somewhere far away and take out a loan while we wait for that appraiser to give us the money…”
As much as it pained Fumikado, they had given permission for Iyozane to sell off the Taira clan’s treasures. But even after months of waiting, the appraiser still hadn’t gotten back to them about payment yet.
“Nah nah, loan sharks are bad news. What about that god Fumi-san knows?” Tsugumi suggested.
Fumikado froze up. They didn’t want to ask Yago for help. They couldn’t. Not after they already made such a big deal about becoming independent. “I-I’m sure we don’t need to do that…”
“It wouldn’t hurt to try, would it?” Iyozane pleaded to Fumikado with their eyes.
“Um…” Fumikado scrambled for an excuse. “Don’t you guys know anybody?”
“It’d be pretty suspicious for Devanagara’s emperor to be handing money over to a wanted criminal, wouldn’t it?” Iyozane pointed out. Damn it, that was a good point! But surely Tsugumi…
“I can’t help y’all either.”
“DAMN IIIT!!!” Fumikado dropped to their knees and punched the ground. There really was no other choice, was there?
The next few seconds were painful. Fumikado could feel their subordinates looking down on them, both figuratively and literally.
“...Could it be that you have a more serious reason for not wanting to ask Yago for help?” Iyozane asked.
“It would bring great damage to my dignity.”
“So in other words, yer embarrassed.”
“Of course it’s something like that…”
In the end, sacrificing their pride turned out to be the least humiliating option. Not to mention, the most strategically sound. So they resolved to ask Yago for help.
On the way however, Fumikado got lost, got told off for getting lost, and got badgered into asking a stranger for directions. So their resolve was pretty weak by the time they actually got there.
Despite being a god, Yago didn’t live in a grand shrine befitting of their status. Instead, their living space consisted only of a workshop, a lobby, a storage room, and a mini-shrine outside. Though, they did apparently have a larger shrine dedicated to them, which they would stay at as needed.
Although the lobby was on the smaller side, it was still big enough to comfortably walk around the single low table, at which Fumikado currently sat. Iyozane was sitting on their right side, Tsugumi was sitting on their left, and Yago was sitting straight across from them.
“So, what kinda trouble did’ja get yourself into this time?” Yago asked.
“Very straight to the point…” Iyozane noted.
“How can you be so sure I got myself in trouble?” Fumikado hastily defended. They were in trouble but… It wasn’t nice of Yago to immediately assume that!
“You’re right, I shouldn’t make assumptions. So, what brings you over here?” Yago asked.
Iyozane and Tsugumi stared at Fumikado.
“Well, um…” The words got caught in Fumikado’s throat, and their subordinates’ stares weren’t helping at all.
“So you got’cherself in trouble again after all.” Yago sighed. And they looked so disappointed too.
“It’s just a little financial trouble, that’s all.”
“Fumikado-san, it’s not a little.” Iyozane glared at Fumikado, as if accusing them. Meanwhile, Tsugumi rolled their eyes.
“I just don’t want Yago-sama to worry about us that much, okay?!”
“The entire reason we’re here is to get them to worry about us!”
“Can’t we downplay it though…?”
“What good will that do us?!”
“It’s a matter of dignity!”
“I thought we were throwing that away when we came here!!!”
Before Fumikado could scramble together a rebuttal, Yago cut through the argument with an authority only a god could yield.
“Quiet down y’all.”
They didn’t have to yell. All it took was a change in demeanor to command the room into silence. There was no trace of the easy-going god Fumikado was used to.
Unable to break the silence, Fumikado exchanged looks with both Iyozane and Tsugumi. Clearly they felt the pressure too. If they managed to bring out this side of Yago, maybe they really did screw up in some way. It wasn’t their fault, but… No, it was totally their fault. And they let their emotions get the better of them before a god too. It wasn’t like this was their first time, but the stakes were much higher now.
“Have y’all calmed down now?” Yago asked in their normal voice.
Fumikado and Iyozane nodded.
“Good. Now, I’ll help you out, but only if you ask properly.”
Fumikado took a deep breath. “Will you help us repay our debt?”
“Now that’s more like it~” Yago grinned.
“So… Will you?” Iyozane asked.
“Well, I have been needin’ some helping hands ‘round here. How’s about I give you three some jobs?”
“A job…?” Fumikado hadn’t expected to have to work for their money. That’s just not what emperors did.
“I don’t have the money to be handing it out for free after all.”
“But don’t you sell weapons? That has to be lucrative,” Iyozane pointed out.
“I don’t think it’s right to charge for somethin’ like that. I do charge for delivery though.”
“Huh…”
“But how do ya get all the ore and stuff then?” Tsugumi asked.
“Like I said, I charge for delivery. Sometimes I go minin’ for it myself when I need a change o’ pace though.”
That didn’t seem to make Iyozane and Tsugumi any less confused.
“That’s just what they’re like,” Fumikado sympathized.
“You’re not exactly one to talk.”
Fumikado chose to ignore Iyozane’s comment.
“So, what’ll it be?” Yago asked.
It was either this or trying to beg for help from the capital of all places. Even if it was Iyozane’s family running things, they were still enemies. Fumikado didn’t want to let them have any leverage. “It’s not like we have any other options. We’ll do it.”
“Great! Y'all can start tomorrow.”
“We’re saved~!” Iyozane exclaimed. “Thank you so much Yago-sama!”
“Hold on a minute,” Tsugumi interrupted. “How much are ya payin’ us?”
“It’ll depend, but… Maybe 10,000 yen for each day ya work?”
“10,000 for each o’ us, right?”
“Of course.”
Tsugumi nodded in approval. Meanwhile, Iyozane seemed to be tearing up.
“Is that good?” Fumikado asked.
“We’ll have money to spare after the reaper is through with us~” Iyozane cheered.
“That’s awesome! Maybe we can move back to the mansion and you can rehire some of the staff!” Fumikado added.
“That means y’all stop freeloadin’ off o’ me, right?”
“Hey… We pay for our own groceries, don’t we?” Iyozane defended.
“Y’all’re still crowdin’ up the place y’know.”
“Seriously Fumikiddo, tell me things sooner next time…”
Fumikado happily ignored Yago’s request as they started daydreaming about the things they could do now that they weren’t going to be in debt anymore.