It wasn't often when yamanba like herself ventured out of their territory, it was very rare when they went out of the mountains, and it was unheard of that they would walk into entire populated landscapes.
Yet here was Nemuno at night, walking through the Human Village. To say that Nemuno was feeling out of her usual element was an understatement. She not only felt out of place, but her very base instincts were telling her that she was not in the right place. As she walked down the road, she took in the strange, unfamiliar sights of houses and marketplaces, exactly the kind of organised societies her kind typically had no interest in.
The few people she saw out and about this late evening were somewhat interesting, how they all averted their eyes from her or went out of their way to avoid being in the path she walked. Nemuno figured this might just be the lifestyle of humans in the village, rather than because she was a strange youkai carrying an oversized cleaver in her hand.
However, Nemuno was not just aimlessly wandering, but had a destination in mind. After a few more minutes of looking around, she saw what she was looking for. One building stood out during the evening for not only being fully lit, but also because there were sounds of bustling activity from inside. Nemuno approached it, and the sign outside confirmed it to be Geidontei, the pub she had heard about.
Nemuno wasn't one for crowds, but she had already come this far, so she braced herself before entering the pub. She expected to see the typical scene of a packed establishment filled with people drunkenly chattering among themselves, and that was exactly what she saw… for about two seconds, before every human in the establishment went quiet upon seeing the yamanba enter.
By far the most flabbergasted among them all was a waitress with pink hair, wearing a cute whale-shaped hat, whose jaw dropped at the sight of Nemuno.
"Um…" Nemuno felt everyone's eyes on her. This was a lot harder to just dismiss as a nuance of their lifestyle. "Is this Geidonetei? The pub where youkai come at ni-"
"Uwah! Woah?! Aaaah!?" The pink-haired waitress suddenly yelled out a variety of nonsense sounds as she scrambled towards Nemuno. "A youkai!? You can't be here! Shoo!"
"Huh? But I thought-" Nemuno was too confused to really resist when the other started awkwardly shoving her out the door.
Strangely, she proceeded to close the door behind both of them once they were outside, and quickly leaned in close to Nemuno, whispering hastily into her ear. "Look! If you want, you can come back in an hour. That's when the pub closes… to most people, anyway."
"What? Then that means-" Nemuno didn't get to finish before the strange woman turned around and headed back inside the pub.
From outside, Nemuno could hear her addressing the people inside. "-I'm okay, really! I don't know what came over me, but I just panicked when I saw a youkai come in, haha. I'm so not used to that, you know?"
Despite the incredibly strange first impression, Nemuno was at least curious enough to wait out the hour and find out more.
As soon as the last human had left the pub, Nemuno tentatively let herself in. It was only her and the other woman inside, who introduced herself as the poster girl of Geidontei, Okunoda Miyoi. After some more explanations and introductions, it wasn't long before Nemuno was sitting at the counter, across from Miyoi who was serving her a drink out of habit.
"Sorry if I acted a little rash before!" Miyoi offered an embarrassed smile as she presented the drink to Nemuno. "Geidontei is supposed to just be a regular bar in the Human Village, but there are some late nights where I leave it open for a few, specific guests."
"Didn't know it was just an arrangement between friends. My bad." Nemuno herself looked embarrassed over the earlier encounter, before nodding in thanks for the drink.
"It's not your fault. I just never expected to meet a yamanba here! Where did you hear about Geidontei being a 'pub for youkai', anyway?"
"From a houseguest, who heard it from some other tengu or some such. I didn't catch all the details."
"Ugh, I'd rather this kind of word about us not getting out..." Miyoi's head drooped as despair-filled imaginings of her precious Geidontei getting overrun with youkai, and subsequently shut down by the shrine maiden filled her mind. She shook her head of those thoughts when she remembered she was currently tending to a patron. "Ah, sorry! You don't need to worry about any of that, just enjoy yourself while you're here!"
"If it helps, I'm not going to go sharin' false info about your place. Actually, coming out to places like this really isn't what I'm known to do. I don't know for sure if it was just curiosity or somethin' else that dragged me all the way here from my house."
"It is a pretty long trip from Youkai Mountain, isn't it? Well, whatever your reason, you won't regret coming to Geidontei!" Miyoi cheerfully exclaimed with her best, customer-pleasing smile. "On some late nights, you could run into some of those 'specific' guests I mentioned. You'd probably hit it off better with them than my daytime patrons."
"Eh, no thanks." Nemuno took a swig of her drink, exhaling in satisfaction. Already, she was starting to enjoy the mood and the taste the pub was offering. "The way things are right now, I think it's how I prefer it. Just a nice drink, in a warm little hut, and a cute waitress all to myself."
Miyoi gave a lighthearted laugh at that, before giving an understanding nod. "Alright then! I have some recommendations I bet you've never tasted before. I guarantee that Geidontei's best will blow you away, that's a promise! And you'll want our unbeatable sake to wash it down."
Nemuno couldn't help but crack a smile in the face of Miyoi's exuberance. "Don't keep me waitin' then, gimme the best you've got."
Several dishes of stewed vegetables and deep-fried river fish were prepared just for Nemuno, who was happy to empty her purse for the rare occasion. The yamanba turned out to have quite the inquisitive palette, pointing out the subtle ingredients and techniques employed, to Miyoi's delighted surprise. She didn't have any complaints about the flavourful specialty sake either.
At some point, before either Nemuno or Miyoi or realised it, their conversation had started to drift towards topics outside of just the food. A part of it was likely due to Nemuno turning more and more flushed as she drank and ate.
"-and it makes me happy. But so sad too!" Nemuno took another swig, intuitively knowing she had to become more inebriated if she wanted to finish this story. "Bwah… I miss them sometimes, you know? You pick up some tiny, lost human along the mountains to keep 'em safe, and then watch them grow into gangly adults under your care. It's so much more… affectin' than watching a plant you grow bear fruit. Does that make sense?"
"I don't know anybody else who compares raising children to growing crops." Despite the occasional odd comparison, Miyoi listened to Nemuno's life stories intently, and felt touched herself. "It's not quite the same thing, but as a zashiki warashi, I've watched over houses before and seen their families grow and change overtime. It's always kind of bittersweet, right?"
"That's the word! Bitter, and sweet… Just like the lemon you used for these veggies." Nemuno stuffed her last spoonful of food, before chugging down what remained of her third cup. By the end of it, her red face, despite the tears building in her eyes, was beaming with satisfaction and free of worries. "It's wonderful. The food, I mean. But also you. You're a really good listener."
"I'm happy to listen! Honestly, and don't tell anyone else I said this or they might get envious... But you're probably one of the most considerate patrons I've ever had the pleasure to serve." Admittedly, Miyoi might have been biased considering the previous few nights where she had to deal with humans and youkai alike trying to pick fights with one another in the establishment. "I definitely want to hear more about you on your future visits!"
"Oh…" When she heard that, a wave of melancholy seemed to wash over Nemuno, which reflected in her wistful expression. "Honestly, I'm not sure about that. As nice as this was, steppin' outta my territory is still not something I'm keen to make a habit out of. This night comin' to this pub might just be a one-time thing."
"Really? That's too bad..." Miyoi couldn't help but feel a bit dejected at that. "We said hello for the first time today, so it's a little sad to be saying goodbye for the last time so soon after…"
Despite that, however, Miyoi didn't want to remain crestfallen, especially in front of a customer. She slapped her cheeks, perking herself up into smiling again before addressing Nemuno.
"In that case, let me offer you a bit of Geidontei to take with you, so that you never forget the wonderful service you experienced!" Miyoi reached for one of the shelves, and pulled out one of the bottles of sake, the label around it featuring Geidontei's trademark whale.
When Miyoi passed the bottle to Nemuno though, she regretfully held up her hand. "Sorry, but I don't have any more money."
"It's my treat!" Miyoi happily responded, pushing the bottle into Nemuno's hand. "If this is going to be a one-time visit, then you deserve something a little special."
"Oh…" Nemuno was taken aback at first, but she held the bottle close and soon a grateful smile formed across her red face. "I appreciate it. But I'd still feel lousy if I didn't give somethin' in return…"
Miyoi was about to insist again that it was fine, but Nemuno's face suddenly lit up upon hitting an idea.
"I guess this'll work…" Nemuno reached into her clothes, and then placed on the counter a white envelope. "This is supposed to be something special, and it comes from a goddess, I think? Either way, it's a token of my gratitude."
"Huh. Okay..." Miyoi took the envelope into her hands, and would have opened it right there if not for the engraved label suggesting otherwise.
She actually wanted to ask more questions about whatever this 'token of gratitude' was… but she figured that Nemuno was just so drunk that she just offered whatever was on her person. Not wanting to disorient her guest, Miyoi decided to just happily accept the envelope.
"It's not typically professional conduct for me to accept gifts like this, but I'll make a special exception this time." Miyoi said with a lively voice, giggling with appreciation.
"You were a special exception for me too." Nemuno replied, just as lively. "Have a good night and all."
"You too!" Miyoi waved her arms as Nemuno got up and headed towards the door, who offered one last wave goodbye before stepping out. Once alone, Miyoi let out a satisfied sigh. "Maybe it's not so bad if word about the pub gets out a bit more."
She glanced down at the envelope with a smile, pocketing it before turning her attention to the empty bowls and cups on the counter. Just as she reached over to collect them, however, she noticed something sitting beside the chair that Nemuno had been sitting on.
"Oh no!" Miyoi gasped as she hurried around the other side to confirm her fear. A large cleaver with a ribbon tied on the handle sat against the counter. Nemuno had forgotten to take it with her before drunkenly heading out.
Miyoi carefully picked up the cleaver, one hand on the handle and the other to prop up its broad side, before glancing out the door. She considered briefly, trying to chase after Nemuno and call out for her, even if she wasn't capable of straying very far from Geidontei on her own.
"...Hehe." But then she reconsidered, and cracked a broad smile to herself. "At least she'll definitely have a reason to make a second visit now!"