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Volume 5 Trouble File First Half Part 4

With his eyes shining with excitement, Izayoi stood up with his own cup in hand and approached the two brothers.

「For an older guy you sure seem like quite a lively fellow, and you certainly have good senses when it comes to making alcohol. I hope you will not mind it if I join in on your little fun as well?」

「Oooh, sure, I do not mind it. After all, the more, the merrier, as they say. Anyway, what is your name, kid?」

「Izayoi. Sakamaki Izayoi of the {No Name} Community. Pleased to make your acquaintance, 「The Great Sage of Ventilation」, The Macaque King.」

Izayoi announced his name with a frivolous smile, and the he followed that up by jovially hitting himself on the knee and shaking his head.

「Well, well, now these are some nostalgic names that I have not heard in a long while. I feel flattered that my names and the stories about me are known even to you Japanese fellows, but since I find them a little bit hard on the tongue to pronounce, I would be glad if instead you called me by the name that I am known for in your homeland, Shuten Douji! Ahahahahahahahahahahaha! ! ! ! ! ! !」

Shuten Douji laughed merrily and drank a solid mouthful of sake. Hearing a name that they have never expected to be associated with someone from 「The Journey to the West」Asuka’s, Izayoi’s and Kasukabe You’s eyes became so wide that they have almost shot out of their eye sockets on the spot.

「「「SHUTEN DOUJI?!!!」」」

「j-Just to be clear on this, when you say Shuten Douji, you mean the Shuten Douji, one of Japan’s most famous youkai ever?!」

「G A H A H A H A H A H A H A H A H A H A! ! ! ! ! ! It sure warms this old heart of mine to know that I am still so famous nowadays that even young girls know it and are amazed as soon as they hear it!」

Shuten Douji. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . one of Japan’s most infamous Youkai who made a name for himself when he was rampaging in the vicinity of Kyoto and the mountains that surrounded it during the Heian period.

Although he might be somewhat inferior the demons such as The Nine-tailed Fox when it comes to the recognition of his name, in terms of the level and power of his Divinity he might be on par even with The World King. In some of the tales that depicted him he is not even being described as a supernatural being but rather as a leader of a group of villainous bandits, but even then it did not change the fact that as his bandit self, he and his crew were a fearsome bunch of bloodthirsty outlaws who kept on giving shogunate trouble. That is who Shuten Douji, one of the most famous demon Lords in the Japanese mythology was.

「. . .Now this is definitely a surprise. I would have never expected that one of the most infamous youkai of the Far East is going to the counted among The Seven Great Sages of 「The Journey to the West」.

「I wholeheartedly agree with you on that one. We might be called The Seven Great Sages in Chinease Mythology, but the truth is that only three of the seven guys counted among that formation are Chinease or have ties and relations to China, and those three would be Heiten, Seiten and Fukukai respectively. On the other hand, the others, much like myself, are nothing but a collection of various individuals, vagabond and fugitive runaway princes from allover the Far East, India and all the other countries and lands placed along the Silk Road.」

「What big brother Macaque says is essentially true, but still, things are just a little bit different in his case. Originally, he was the eldest brother’s Demon Bull King’s father’s brother-in-law.」

「Ahh, so that is the reason why you are calling him big brother then.」

「Yeah, pretty much. After all, Demon Bull King’s father is the Great Demon King, an individual whom I respect, admire and worship from the bottom of my heart. He was the one who took me with him on a journey with him and saved me from a lonely life at my mother’s palace, and continued to hide me from her sight all throughout it, and during the Seven Great Sages War he took the opportunity to sign a blood pact with the Demon Bull King, as a result of which he became his brother-in-law and then fought honorably side by side with Seiten Taisei, G W A H A H A H A H A H A H A H A H A! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !」

Shuten Douji finished another one of his sentences with a round of vigorous laughter. But if it really was exactly as he said it was, then that would mean that the famous formation of The Seven Great Sages could have been called a great federation, or perhaps even a Community in their own right, of youkai and demons from all around the world, and if they were to wage the same Seven Great Sages War in Little Garden, they would have most likely ended up tearing it to pieces. . . but on the other hand, if he had any wartime stories to tell from the time when they waged that war in mythological times, then Izayoi most definitely wanted to hear more about it.

And so, when they finally reached the table and sit down, Izayoi made absolutely sure that he is going to be the one sitting right in front of Shuten Douji, and he put up his cup in front of him while saying:

「Now this is what I call a good story. If I had not met you, I doubt I could ever hear something like that from Kouryuu, even if I repeatedly pestered him to spill the beans. And I am also hell of a lot interested in hearing more about The Seven Great Sages and Seven Great Sages War from the perspective of the Japanese Youkai.」

「You took the words right out of my mouth, boy. Tell me, you are Canaria’s disciple, right? So, how is she doing? Everything all right with her?」

*Twitch*. . . . .. *Crack!*

When he heard Shuten Douji ask him that question, first Izayoi’s brow twitched, and then, after a short moment, his hand that was holding onto his sake cup hardened its grip on it so much that cracks started appearing all over it. However, Kouryuu did not notice that gesture of his at all, because he was more preoccupied with understanding what Shuten Douji just said, and then he screamed:
「Izayoi, you. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . you are actually Canaria’s disciple?! That is the first time I am ever hearing about it!」

「G A H A H A H A H A H A H A H A H A H A! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Right? That was more or less my reaction when I found out about it myself! But I have to say, when I heard that this cheeky girl got herself a disciple at such a young age, I honestly thought that it might have been too early for her! That, and also how fast does the time flies, damn it!」

Kouryuu and Shuten Douji were both laughing happily now that Canaria’s name was mentioned, so Izayoi asked them without any changes to his current expression:

「What was that just now? Were you guys acquainted with Canaria?」

「Well of course were. After all, we went through the Dystopian War together. She was always a reliable supreme commander. . . . . . and a dependable comrade.」

「Umu, we were always taking care of her in various ways because she was Sun Wukong’s disciple herself, so I guess in a sense that makes the two of us and the other five of The Seven Great Sages your uncles, Izayoi.」