Itecho blinked, then turned to a member of the Agency. “Is that true?”
The Agency representative nodded awkwardly.
Kikka continued. “It’s not just the Church; patrons are often quite pushy. Most of the Church’s members are motivated by faith alone, but some greedy ones think their monetary donations give them some authority. I know people from the Church constantly request to have dinner with the Agents in Kyokoku, so maybe that’s just my perspective. But it would be unthinkable in Yamato, wouldn’t it, to hand a deity over on a silver platter to satisfy the commonfolk? Yamato’s Agency deserves praise for preventing that.”
“Wow… It’s embarrassing to realize I’m still being shielded from some of the realities of the world at my age.”
The diligent Guard of Winter bowed deeply to the Agency staff, and they anxiously asked him to raise his head. Itecho apologized before asking Kikka:
“So, why do you assume the Church of the Living Gods gave the order?”
“…Please understand this is just my own assumption, so take it with a grain of salt, okay? You understand, Rindo?”
Both Guards nodded.
“I think it’s to maintain the structure of the world…”
Suddenly, this was far bigger than any of them had anticipated.
“The Church of the Living Gods has been moving all over the world in concern for the debilitation of the gods incarnate.”
Kikka paused to bring his index finger up to his lips.
“I’ll say this quietly because this is blasphemy, but they want to do something about it themselves. Their plan seems to be to create an even stronger bloodline.”
Maintain the world’s structure. Create a stronger bloodline.
Those phrases sent Rindo’s and Itecho’s thoughts flying into the distance.
“…”
“…”
Once their senses returned, they had Why are you saying such stupid things? written on their faces.
“I know you think I’m crazy.” Kikka nodded.
Itecho frowned, as if he had a headache and asked:
“By creating a stronger bloodline, do you mean forbidding marriage with people outside of the descendants and keeping matches within the clans?”
“Precisely.”
“Even though modern science has pointed out the issues with inbreeding?”
“Yes. But I’m sure you have heard the common belief that they have weakened because of this thinness in the bloodline, right? The youngsters probably don’t know this, but there used to be more Agents of the Four Seasons in the past.”
Nobody present was surprised.
Although none of them had ever lived through such an age, the elders in the Towns spoke of it. It was an age so distant that even they didn’t truly know it, a time nearer to the age of the gods.
It was basically a tale for modern Yamato.
Only one Agent per season was born, as a rule—so long as there were no irregular accidents such as the case of the Hazakura sisters.
“They believe that there are fewer Agents now because of marriages with commoners, which they think has wrecked the bloodline of the descendants of the gods’ blessings. And the Church of the Living Gods is taking action against this…”
“That’s bullshit,” Rindo argued. “The situation in Yamato should disprove that. We have one of the best supervision systems in the world, and even we only have one Agent per season.”
Kikka replied. “Yes. Yamato has no problem supervising the bloodline. They say that the issue in that case is religious views.”
“What the hell? The Church isn’t even arguing that it’s for the same reason everywhere?”
Kikka glared at his son, asking him to let his father talk.
“Because there is no reason in common for the whole world. They are making guesses for the cause in each country. They’re still researching the topic. So, going back to Yamato… We have good bloodline supervision, but they think religion is the issue for us. There is a core for accepting gods incarnate. The concept of the chiyorozugami has been entrenched since ancient times, and there are many religious practices that stem from it. The worship of ancestors, nature, and more has been ingrained in the people’s minds without them realizing.”
Then what’s the problem? they wondered before Kikka continued.
“But acts of faith have died out.”
It was similar to what Rindo had told Shirahagi before.
“I don’t mean stuff like saying grace before eating a meal or paying a visit to a grave. I mean feeling gratitude, fear, and worship for the gods with you at all moments in life. Now then, what do you think this abandonment of faith creates?”
He posed the question to Rindo, who responded after a couple of seconds.
“…Atheists?”
“Good boy. That’s my son.”
Kikka tried to pat his head, but Rindo immediately dodged and slid behind Itecho. His choice of protector showed how much affection Rindo had for the Guard of Winter.
Itecho smiled at his junior’s adorable reaction, while Kikka wilted a bit.
Then he continued his explanation. “Even people who say they’re atheist or agnostic actually believe in something. I mean, of course, right? Whenever someone wants salvation they ask God. It’s just that this God has no name. Even those who have been influenced by religious practices have no specific god in mind. Most people in the modern day say they’re not religious while still maintaining the concept of this nameless God. And they say that this is contributing to the decline of Yamato’s gods incarnate.”
Rindo stepped out of Itecho’s reliable protection. “So they want everyone to hold the gods of the Four Seasons and Day and Night in their hearts?”
“If they do, perhaps more gods incarnate will be born.”
“…What do you think, Lord Kangetsu?”
“It sounds unrealistic, but I get where they’re coming from…” Itecho tried to digest the information as he spoke. “Most of the time, you’d think that the cooperation of many makes worship stronger, right? From baptism, prayer and other practices are born from community. Thoughts and prayers create miracles—I would say that’s the common understanding through the world. God is a supernatural entity, but religion and faith can’t exist without people to observe and pray. A god is only a god when people acknowledge it and pray to it. On the other hand, many stories tell of punishment and disaster coming as a result of the people’s lack of faith. And this isn’t unique to gods incarnate; all religions have some degree of this.”
Itecho wasn’t offering his personal opinion so much as the academic perspective.
“So that’s where they get lack of faith as a reason for decline in Yamato. It’s true that agnostics, hard-line atheists, and atheists who just tolerate religion are becoming more numerous recently…”
Itecho gave Kikka a questioning look, silently asking if he was on the right track.
Kikka looked back at him with respect. “Very perceptive, Lord Guard of Winter. My respects.”
But Rindo wasn’t convinced yet. “There are many other countries with a faithless majority. So are they in the same boat as Yamato?”
“Not entirely. There are some that have large atheist and agnostic populations but a larger surface area than Yamato, and they have more Agents. Given that, you could say that it’s not about bloodline supervision or lack of faith, but that it was the invention of transportation that allows them to travel farther and easier that naturally decreased the number of Agents. The theory there is that that their powers have become more restricted as human society evolves.”
“They’ll twist everything to their convenience,” Rindo said.
Kikka smiled awkwardly.
“Yes, all these interpretations are rather forced. I don’t agree with the theory of lack of faith. It just feels like they’re blaming the younger generation, don’t you think? The theory doesn’t come from younger people, after all. There should be a proper process to these things, and ignoring that isn’t fair.”
Itecho looked at Rindo. “Your father is very rational.”
Rindo looked back at Itecho. “Don’t say that. It’ll go to his head.”
“Rindo, aren’t you proud that the Lord Guard of Winter is praising your father?”
“No. So, how does any of this link back to the Church of the Living Gods?”
Kikka pouted before getting back on topic.
“There are plenty of theories as to why, but the fact of the matter is that numbers are decreasing year by year. Of course someone would want to find a solution. That is the reason why we descendants of the Four Seasons and the Fugeki clan exist, after all.”
“Yeah… I guess so.”
“So, imagine two Agents get engaged. One from Kyokoku and lacking in bloodline supervision. One from Yamato, which is becoming more humanitarian. Multiply the two and maybe something might change. Everyone’s obsessed with the idea in Kyokoku’s Church of the Living Gods. And I heard some in Yamato’s agree, too.”
What started out as a serious debate was suddenly about a popular obsession; the choice of words was what you’d expect from a gossip magazine.
“…Nadeshiko got proposed to because people are ‘obsessed’?”
Rindo’s wrath was reignited.
“The international marriage between Kyokoku and Yamato is the real point. If it doesn’t work out with Autumn, they’d ask the other seasons. They’re willing to settle for someone from a family who previously produced an Agent, too. I think they simply chose Lady Nadeshiko because she doesn’t have any prior engagements and because she’s young. If you want to make someone get engaged, children are more likely to obey.”
“…”
“Hey, don’t blame me. Also, this is just my guess, but looking at it as a descendant of the Four Seasons, if Lady Nadeshiko and Lord Liam were to get engaged…”
“Then what?”
“Well… They’d be great as a symbol for international marriage, don’t you think?”
This discussion was getting even more indiscreet.