Alcohol and Ogre-girls ch52

These are the clothes for my duty~?
I hate this formal stuff~
Looking the part is very important.
Same with idols.

It suits you, though.
Really?

Ah.

Hey, Naori. Hold onto this.
Eh?
Ah, okay...

You're to blame too, Master...
Eh!?
That's not how you do it, right?
It's supposed to be "huuuh?", isn't it?

That so? Sorry, I don't know anything about period dramas~
Are you stupid?
Please don't play around with the clothes that were specially purified for this!

Look. Naori's creeped out too.

N-... N-...

Not within the castle walls!
Eh? Is my naked body a deadly weapon or something?
Seriously, are you stupid?

Okay, we're heading off.

We'll be back as soon as possible.
Okay.

Um...

Are you sure this won't be dangerous?

Don't you worry~
I'm just giving a weakened god some of my spiritual power.

But... if you give them your spiritual power, won't that make you weaker, Hinata-san?
I'll keep it in check! Besides, I've got stamina to spare!

Sorry for leaving you by yourself.

...It's fine.
Take care now.

...

Be careful...

This mountain sure is a mess... There's fallen trees everywhere.

That just goes to show how weak this god's power has become.

Still though, what a detestable role.
If Minamoto no Yorimitsu hadn't received the Shinpen Kidoku Sake from a god way back when, you guys' ancenstors might not have been defeated.
Kinda feels like we're helping the friend of our enemy, doesn't it?

If the god who governs this land grows weak, the monsters will grow rampant.
For ogres like us, who've been entrusted with leading monsters since we descended upon humans, the existence of gods is necessary.

Woah.
How political~ It's not like you to say stuff like that.

This is just a second-hand opinion from Mokuren-san.
It is not my true opinion.

...How about you, boss?
Eh?
Are you prepared for this duty?

Of course not.
But I haven't become human yet,
and I'm still Shuten-doji for the time being.

Getting rounded up once like this in a while is something I can't avoid~
For the time being, she says...

You're still acting so naive.
Eh~?

Let's say, for argument's sake, you do manage to become human.
What do you plan to do with your name?
Heck if I know.
I'm sure Mokuren-san or the human bigwigs will do something about it.

Maybe they could hold some TV show where people audition for Shuten-doji's name?
That'd be exciting, right?
Huh!? That's way too half-assed...
It is half-assed.
...

The name itself is just something the adults decided for me, right?
They dumped me on that stage on their own, so why should I care what they do once I've stepped down from it?

As long as I can become human and be with Naori, that's all I need.

I'll
do anything if it means I can be with Naori.

This feels kinda
risky.

...

...But
Naori's been acting kinda odd lately.
She's been a little distant...

Eh, really?
Can't say I know all that much, though.
Maybe I'm worrying over nothing...

If there's a reason why she's acting like that, how about you just apologise?
The problem is that there's too many things it could be!

Leave it at that, you two.

We're here.

This is the shrine of the god of this land.

p10

Eeh...
It's a hundred times...

shabbier than I-
Shut it.

But it's still crazy, right?
Is there seriously a god here...?

There is.
But they're weak right now.

Well then, we'll wait outside the shrine.
Eh!? You're not coming with me!?
Of course not. Having someone else there will cloud your mind.
Our clothes aren't purified either.
Seriously~...?

p11

You getting scared, boss?

If you think you're in danger and need help, you're free to scream.
It's why we accompanied you all this way.

Th-Thanks...

...

Okay, here I go.

Come to think of it,
this is my first actual duty as the next Shuten-doji...

p12

G-Good evening.

Any gods home...?
Hello~...?

It's so dark. I can't see anything...
Is there really a god here...?

p13

Actually, should they really be sending me here to carry out a duty when I don't know anything...!?

My eyes are slowly adjusting..

Hm? Over there...

What is that...?
A tiny tree?

What's it doing in a place like this?

That is a tamagushi.
A mediator between gods and mortals.

p14

Aw man~
This is boring~

p15

I'm glad we didn't go in the summer.
If this were the warm season, I'd have mosquitoes all over me.

Ogre blood doesn't even taste good, so why am I so popular with mosquitoes~?

...
What's that?

Eh?
Oh, this? It's my weapon.

The decor is cute, right?
Decor...?

It stores up energy and blasts it into others.
As an idol who makes people smile,
holding a sword in my hands just feels too violent.
I don't actually like guns either, though.

p16

I see...?
I gave it some proper thought, unlike a certain naive someone I could mention.

Hinata?
Yeah.

Saying she'll do anything for someone's sake...
is just irresponsible.

At first glance, it sounds like beautiful words of self-sacrifice,
but it's actually a dangerous line about being dependant on someone else.

For someone as cheerful as her, she acts weirdly reserved around Naori.
Does she have that much of a complex about being an ogre?

...I wouldn't know.
I've never felt uncomfortable with being an ogre.

Nor have I trusted someone enough to entrust everything to them.

p17

I think the feeling I felt ealier...
was guilt.

My role is to one day drag her down a path she doesn't want to go right now.
I'm literally playing the "ogre" role...

But it's a role only I...
only the next Ibaraki-doji can carry out.

You talking in your sleep or something?
Maybe it's not just the weakened god but you who needs some energy shot into you.

p18

Don't go forgetting about the great Aju-sama.
You're talking like Shuten-doji and Ibaraki-doji are the only two ogres in the world.

Kuma-doji is here too. The rest of Shuten-doji's four lords have your back too.
I'm a worthy successor of Shuten-doji's four lords myself.
I'm pretty burdened with that fate too.

You're not the only one with a duty to carry out.

!

For Shuten-doji, I'll become the most despicable...

and reliable ogre!

p19

...I meant no ill will.
I'm counting on you, next Kuma-doji.

So long as you understand.
I've always wanted to try that.

Eep...

How cruel! I haven't even done anything yet!
Indeed... You should leave such a weak monster be.
Weak!? Now that's just uncalled for!

p20

Whaddaya want?
We're in the middle of something with that shrine right now.

I know!
The Ibuki ogre is sharing her power with the weakened god, right?

I came because I was worried...
Please help them.

They accepted even lower-level monsters like us...

They're really kind.

p21

Ahahahaha!
For real?

Yes.
Even gods grow old, just like humans do.

The only difference is that we grow old not from the passage of time, but rather because humans stop believing in us.

I'm what you'd call "past their prime"...
Past their prime! Been ages since I've heard that phrase! lol

p22

Eh? Really? I thought that's what all the hip kids were using these days...
No need to force yourself to keep with the times. lol

Are all gods like you?
I thought you'd be all majestic and stuff.

Some gods are regarded as great, but those of us who are gods of the land are mostly the same as monsters in that we're both not human.
Besides, I'm happy that a young'un like you came out of their way to visit an old timer like me.
How modest~
Young'un. lol.

There used to be a village around here
with many followers, but the people eventually left,
the mountain fell into disarray, and the number of visiting lodgers came to a standstill...
Just like our facility...

That led to my power becoming substantially weaker.
Seriously?
Sounds like you've got it rough...

No.
Not at all.
It simply means that I need not cling onto the fact I have no followers.

p23

Famine, poverty, disease and war... We gods can only provide temporary peace of mind from such misfortunes...
Sometimes, it is itself the reason people wage such wars...

The truth is, gods and their believers exist alongside this world's misfortunes.
The fact they are no longer necessary means there is nothing to worry about or cling onto.
It might even bring peace to the world.

In which case, I was fine with disappearing.

But the fact that the humans have sent the next Shuten-doji to this place
must mean I still have a role to carry out.

That's right! Cheer up~!
Hahaha...
That hurts.

Besides, doing this is a piece of cake.
I was worried about how I'd be sharing my spiritual power with you,
but it's just like a blood donation.

p24

Ah... But how long is this gonna take?
It should be until dawn.

I see...
And I'm guessing this'll be split up over several days?
Indeed. I won't be able to fully recover from just one go...
What about it?

...Well,
I have someone who's waiting for me.

Someone who always speaks formally like a god...

p25

The mountain air is drifting across the water's surface....

This feels nice...

I wasn't sure if I should be the only one enjoying this...

but it'd be weird to not do anything at all, right?

p26

I thought a hot spring inn would be scary by myself, but I'm perfectly fine...

p27

...Come to think of it,

...how long has it been... since I last drank by myself...?

Humanity isn't so great that she can simply become human and call it a happy ending.

...Right now, I'm having doubts about whether I want Hinata-san to become human or not.
But
whether that's because being an ogre is suffering to her... is something only she herself knows.
It'd be rude of me to argue, wouldn't it?

p28

What's more,
I'm one of the very humans
that she wishes to become...

Even the sames words can take on different colors depending on who weaves.

So what words should I say to Hinata-san...?

For starters, how does it even feel to want to become something completely different?

Oh.
By yourself, Naori?

p29

Notarou-san...

Warning