“Every week or so someone somehow gets stuck in a tree or is about to trip off the edge of a waterfall, or the spirits find trash in their abodes… it’s not really the same as fending off intruders, but it’s better than being at war with the rest of the land.”

“Well, officially, we were originally supposed to keep all intruders out, but ever since the Mountain’s Goddess collaborated with our bosses, they’ve been doing business with the outside.

Unofficially, visitors tend to be reckless and get injured, so I usually have to save folks from that.”

“Wow. That’s pretty cool.“

“My hair and fur grows a lot in Winter. I can already feel it. Soon I’m gonna wake up and all the other Tengu won’t leave me alone… it is comfy though.”

“Hey, Fleet. There’s a lot of that ‘being far’ going around. This is Youkai Mountain. Home to… well, us Tengu, of course, but it’s also where a lot of Youkai and other spirits live. Not much really happens, though that’s more cause we’re a bit further from most of the civilization in this land.”

“We’ve already prepared for the cold month, I can bring some extra firewood from the Mountain. And some coats.”

The same emblem was put on banners across the Mountain.

She reached out her right hand.

“Momiji. I’m one of the guardians of this mountain. Officially…

Though… that doesn’t mean much since my bosses have started welcoming visitors.”

“You got a bow, a cape, you’re fidgety like you’re waiting for the next thing to happen. You must be your town’s local hero. Unofficial, from how wary you are. You see trouble and you resolve it however you can.”

She didn’t hold any weapons out, but in her left hand was a shield with a Leaf emblem.

“Fine…

Awooo…”

i feel like this is directed at me in specific/j

“Sounds fun.”

“So much ruckus… Lemme guess, you tried to capture a troublemaker and it got out of hand or something?”

Momiji landed from above.

Although a guardian of the Mountain, she’s quite understanding given how many friendly faces are former troublemakers. Besides, nothing truly bad really happens here.

“Well, you can fly. But some gravity-adjacent visitors would have found themselves walking into rivers in the dark and being swept to their doom if not for us Wolf Tengu.”