21st Century Necromancer

Whole Sheep Roast is a famous dish from the Tang era of the Celestial Empire, recorded in the Taiping Guangji. To prepare this dish, one must stuff a slaughtered goose with meat and rice and then place it inside a likewise slaughtered sheep's stomach to roast together. When eaten, the sheep was discarded, and only the goose was consumed.

In the Tang Dynasty, this was an extremely popular dish, said to have originated in the royal courts and even featured at the banquets of the Tang Emperor.

As for why this dish would appear at a Japanese deity's feast, Chen Yu speculated that the envoys sent to the Tang Capital Chang'an must have encountered the dish and brought the recipe back to Japan.

However, it was quite clear that for a small and humble country like Japan, where even Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Edo Shogunate, had only two small dried fish with white rice for a meal, a lavish dish like Whole Sheep Roast was far too extravagant, not to mention that sheep were rarely raised in Japan since ancient times.

Whether Tokugawa Ieyasu ate only two small dried fish with white rice out of frugality was not something Chen Yu needed to concern himself with.

Watching Suzuhime remove the goose from the sheep's stomach and cut it into pieces to be served with the rice from the goose's stomach by a fox-eared shrine maiden, Chen Yu smiled slightly and directly picked up a piece of goose meat from the plate with his hand and started eating.

This was not because the Inari God had not provided utensils, but because Whole Sheep Roast was traditionally eaten with the hands holding the goose.

Jounouchi Hiromi, who was sitting beside him, saw Chen Yu and the Inari God both eating with their hands in the same manner and likewise picked up a piece of goose from the plate in front of her and started eating with her hands.

There's no doubt that Whole Sheep Roast became popular during the Tang era for a reason—its taste was exceptional. The goose meat, enhanced by the flavor of the lamb, was especially tender, and the rice within the goose's stomach had absorbed the aromas of the goose meat—each bite was a unique fusion of flavors that truly made for a delightful dish.

Seeing Chen Yu eat the dish with hands rather than chopsticks, the Inari God was interested enough to compliment him, "I didn't expect that after a thousand years, there would still be someone from the Reed Plains in China who knows how to eat this dish."

"Whole Sheep Roast originated from the Tang Dynasty of the Celestial Empire, and I am a citizen of the Celestial Empire. It's not unusual that I know how to eat Whole Sheep Roast. What is surprising, however, is that Lord Miketsu's banquet features such an authentic version of the dish," Chen Yu naturally replied to the Inari God's praise.

"Haha, the envoy sent to the Tang Dynasty during the Heian Period once offered this dish to me, and I still like this way of eating. It's a pity that the people of Reed Plains in China really don't know how to enjoy themselves. In these past hundred years, they insist on learning from the Western barbarians on how to eat raw beef," the Inari God seemed to dislike the wholesale Westernization that began in the Meiji Era.

To the Inari God's remarks, Chen Yu did not respond but kept silently eating the food before him.

The divine feast of the Inari God wouldn't only serve fine food, would it? Although the ingredients produced within the divine domain of Inari God were not heavenly treasures from Chinese mythology, like the Flat Peaches of Yaochi which grant eternal life when consumed, they still carried benefits that could strengthen the body and prevent illness for those who ate them.

"Since Mr. Chen Yu has already become a demigod, have you considered taking a step further?" After several rounds of drinks and a variety of flavors, the Inari God turned to Chen Yu. Holding a large crab leg in hand and feeding the white fox behind him, the Inari God asked Chen Yu.

Hearing Inari God's question, Chen Yu's eyes narrowed, and he knew that Inari God's invitation to dine was certainly not as simple as it sounded. The real topic was now coming into play.

"May I inquire what 'further advancement' would entail as mentioned by Lord Miketsu?" Although now a demigod, Chen Yu certainly understood that further advancement meant Divine Enthronement, but Inari God's inquiry made him somewhat puzzled, and he couldn't help but become more vigilant.

Inari God, of course, noticed Chen Yu's defensive stance and caution, but He indifferently responded, "'Further advancement' naturally refers to becoming a true deity. Doesn't Mister Chen Yu wish to become a deity and enjoy immortal life? If Mister Chen Yu is willing, the thirty thousand Inari Shrines in Reed Plains in China will enshrine your Divine Position and aid you in Becoming Divine."

The thirty thousand Inari Shrines throughout all Japan offering to enshrine his Divine Position was indeed a significant temptation. After all, the number of people visiting the thirty thousand Inari Shrines in all Japan each year was considerable, and even though most of them were merely casual believers akin to tourists, the Power of Faith collected would still be enough to sustain an Intermediate God.

But why would Inari God offer such a great boon? His purpose was certainly not merely to make Chen Yu His subordinate deity.

"Become one of the deities enshrined at the Inari Shrines? It is indeed a temptation hard to refuse," Chen Yu said, looking towards Inari God, his eyes stinging from the gaze but allowing him to see the deity before him more clearly, "But for Lord Inari, such an offer must come at a considerable cost, right? By what virtues or abilities do I merit such a generous offer from a revered deity?"

Instead of getting angry at Chen Yu's counter-question, Inari God actually laughed, "I like smart people. Suzuhime, tell them all to leave."

With a wave of His hand signaling all the fox-eared shrine maidens to step back, Inari God then explained to Chen Yu, "As a demigod, Mister Chen Yu, you must have some understanding of deities. Then, do you know what a deity needs to advance further?"

"That should be a Divine Duty, right? However, for a deity like Lord Inari, simply acquiring Divine Duty is no longer useful for further advancement," Chen Yu answered Inari God's question and suddenly understood what He was suggesting.

He wanted to advance further!

Indeed, as a member of the Japanese Deity system second only to the Three Precious Children, Inari God, if not for the sake of advancement, why would He bother to invite a mere mortal like himself to a feast? Moreover, He had arranged a banquet especially for him and even used the Shrine's Power of Faith as a bargaining chip.

"Indeed, if I want to advance further and reach the level of the Three Precious Children, it is impossible to achieve that goal with my own Divine Duty alone," Inari God nodded, approvingly glanced at Chen Yu, and then continued, "However, the two strands of Death God Power that Mister Chen Yu gave to Little Rice Princess did give me a new hope, a hope for further advancement. If I can advance further and become an existence like the Three Precious Children, why would I hold back a mere Divine Position?"

Inari God spoke very straightforwardly, as there was no need for a deity to beat around the bush with mortals.

However, having heard Inari God's explanation, Chen Yu fell into deep thought, contemplating whether or not he should help Inari God to advance further.