His Devious Harbinger: How To Tame A Wicked God?

Cina frowns when the demons start to leave on their own. They have been fighting them for a while. Suddenly, the sky is getting clear and the demons are running away. 

"That's strange," Ai mutters, turning around to look at Rain God's people. There are only Cina and Ai on the room. "Shit!"

"Why are you cursing?" Cina has never heard this boy curse before. "Our sisters must have been born safely. That's why the demons are gone."

"No." Ai marches toward the roof's door. "The rain god's people are gone. It's suspicious."

When they are climbing down the stairs, they meet Rilyah halfway. Her eyes are big and round, filled with panic. 

"Ame Onna and the rain god are gone," Rilyah pants, "They took Misaki with them."

"Damn!" Cina clenches his teeth. "How could they… there was a lease."

"They must have found a loophole." Ai runs down the stairs and goes to Ari's room. A baby is in the crib, peacefully asleep but there's no sign of his mother. He looks over his head and yells at Rilyah, "Where's Mother?"

"She was just here," Rilyah replies as a foreboding feeling envelops her heart. "She couldn't have gone after them alone, could she?"

"Both of you, look after her." Ai glances at Misumi once. "I will look for Misaki and Mother."

"You can't leave alone!" Rilyah protests, "Ai, those people are dangerous. All of us should look for them together."

"Misumi needs care." Ai stares at her calmly. "And Rain God's people might come back to take her. There might be others who would want Misumi. Cina and you are considered adults in this world, and powerful enough to protect her. Misumi is only a baby. I can't do some things because of the laws of this world. Only Cina can. You must take care of her while Mother is away, Rilyah. Don't worry about me. I will send you a message if I find anything."

Rilyah begins to say something, but Cina raises his hand to stop her. "He's not saying it wrong. The demons might come back. Mother is not a weak person. I trust her, and I think that she trusts us too. Else, she wouldn't have left Misumi in our care."

"The rain god could have taken them both." Ai creases his forehead. "He didn't take a chance or he only wanted Misaki. In any case, protect Misumi while I look for Mother and Misaki. You know that my sense of scent is still good."

"Yeah, you are a dog." Cina sighs. "Call me when you find anyone of them. We will protect Misumi, and wait for you and Mother here."

The third moon sighs. She can't stop Ai. "Don't act foolishly. You must act smart."

"I will," He promises her. "Protect Misumi."

Ai leaves the house right away, using his senses to track Ari and Misaki. There's no trace of the Rain God or his people. When he reaches the banks of the S river, it starts raining. He lets out a curse as the rain splashes on the concrete. Ari's scent is washed away.

"I know that she came here," He mumbles to himself as he walks around the bridge in rain. If he asks somebody, he might find out. Ai catches a glimpse of a spirit surrounded by ghosts gathered on the bank of the river under the bridge. 

He runs toward them. The ghosts shy away from the toad spirit when they feel him coming. The toad spirit, a lime green toad as big as a calf with red spots on his back, turns his ruby eyes toward Ai and curses him, "You ruin my business, Foreigner!"

Foreigner? Ai has been called that before. It seems that the spirits of these worlds can sense that he is from somewhere far away. It could be his scent or the magic that gives him away. "I apologize, respected sir. But I require a favour and I am willing to pay for it."

And nothing is free in this world. Favours are the currencies. Whether it's spirit or fae, favours are exchanged or something of equal value. That 'something' could be something simple as a sock or a piece of a name. In any case, deals in this world are complex.

"You should have said it before." The toad spirit rubs his hand with a grin. "My esteemed customer, what do you need?"

"I need information." Ai takes out his wallet and removes the picture that he had taken with Ari, Cina, and Rilyah. He shows it to the toad. "Have you seen this woman?"

The toad narrows his eyes on the woman in the picture. "I might have."

Ai doesn't ask him for the information straight away. "Then, do you know about the Rain God named Ryou?"

"Ryou?" The toad spirit blinks his eyes, taking his tongue out. "I have never heard of such god."

"I am sure that there's a rain god with such a calling name." Ai frowns at the toad.

"I am a toad spirit who has been descending under this bridge since the moment it was constructed for the first time." The toad spirit glares at him. "Do you think that I wouldn't know the faces of the rain gods? I am a toad spirit!"

"I get it." Not wanting to argue with the toad, Ai takes out a piece of paper and unfolds it. "Do you know about this seal?"

The toad spirit puts on his glasses and inspects the seal. After a long moment, he declares, "This seal is a counterfeit of the main rain god."

"What?" Ai gawks at him. "Counterfeit?"

"There are many ancient spirits who pretend to be gods." The toad grabs the lease and flips through it. "A shrine? Why would a rain god need a shrine in the city? Rain Gods are still popular in this country, remembered whenever it's the peak of the summer. Even if they don't have a shrine, they can survive. Nevermind! The main rain god takes care of all of his faces in the main shrine."

"Fuck!" Ai curses for the second time in his life. "How could I not think of this? I should have visited the shrine of the main god."

"You got scammed by a spirit for sure." The toad pities the boy, even though he doesn't know the details. "The seal is almost similar to the seal of the main rain god. It means that one of the main rain god's people are involved in this. It will bring great shame to the main rain god, but I will receive a hefty reward if one reports it. How about you give this lease to me and I will grant you any information that you require?"

Great shame to the rain god? The gods of this world have a certain aversion to the gods of another world. If he goes to the main rain god, he's sure that he will receive anything but a reward. "Will you tell me anything that I want to know?"

"Gathering pieces of information is my speciality." The toad glances at the ghosts standing on the other side of the river. "Tell me what you want to know."

"I need to know where the woman went." His mother must have been on the fake rain god's trail. How did she trace him? That is something only she can answer. 

"She went toward east." The toad pauses. "There was a scent of magic and blood on her. So she attracted my attention. If you go east south, you will reach the river that divides the world of living and death. On the way, one passes by many small cracks between the reality of this world and the other worlds. These cracks allow the spirits of adjacent worlds to come to this world. Since her scent no longer lingers in this world, she might have gone to another world already."

He has expected this already. Mother must have been in a hurry to catch those bastards while they are still on the run. "Do you know who this scammer is?" 

"This one is difficult." The toad looks at the seal. "You must have met this 'Ryou' god."

"I felt that he was a god, not a spirit," Ai reveals to him. "He was much more powerful than I am. He had four servants. A dog spirit was among them."

"I don't know if there's any god who will dare to impersonate the main rain god." The toad spirit frowns. "He's also using a fake character of his name in this lease."

They have been completely fooled. Ai purses his lips, feeling an urge to slap himself for being such a fool. He should have paid more attention. It's no wonder that the god was so relaxed. How could that god fool Cina and Rilyah too? Then again, the strength of both gods of Iravan have weakened ever since they came here. 

"I am sure that the rain god would look for him." The toad spirit tells him casually, "What did he do anyway?"

"He stole the child of a god." Ai adds when the toad relaxes his shoulders, "A primordial god."

"What?" The toad jumps. "A primordial god?"

"Yes, the god of darkness." Ai crosses his arms. "Do you still want this lease?"

"No!" The toad tosses the lease at Ai. "Go away! I don't deal with troublesome people."

Ai rolls his eyes. He puts his hand in his pocket and grabs the coins. "I have some pennies. It should be enough to clear the debt."

The toad hisses at him, but he takes the pennies anyway. Who wants to be a loan shark to someone who is connected to a primordial god? 

After picking up the lease, Ai informs Cina about everything that he found out. The boys discuss something over the call. When the call is over, Ai heads east to find his mother and sister.