Pon of the Round-faced Fox Race and two of her companions were visibly shaken by my declaration.
"No... it can't be... You mean we're not actually foxes...?"
"O-Our grandfathers told us we were foxes! Every one of them! There's no way we're raccoon dogs!"
"Well, I’d been suspecting it for a while now..."
To be precise, only Pon and one other were truly distraught. The third didn't seem quite as affected.
"Wait, wait, wait... I mean, wait-kon! The Round-faced Fox Race has held their position as a branch of the fox clan since ancient times-kon! It’s impossible for them to not be foxes at this stage-kon!"
Yoko was the one getting genuinely agitated. It was a rare sight.
Regardless, it was risky to make a definitive judgment based solely on my own memories. This was another world, after all. I shouldn't simply impose the common sense of my previous world onto this one. There might very well be a species of fox that happened to look exactly like a raccoon dog.
Therefore, I decided to call in a professional: Versa, the demon who presided over "knowledge" and the naming of species. If anyone could identify the Round-faced Fox Race, it was her.
Fortunately, Versa was currently staying in Village Five. I felt a bit guilty interrupting her while she was busy with her writing, but I had her come over.
"...They’re raccoon dogs," she declared. "To be precise, they are the Round-faced Race of the Village Raccoon Dogs."
The verdict was final. As I thought, they were raccoon dogs.
"Thank you, Versa. I’ll have some snacks delivered to you later as thanks."
...And those snacks would be food. I made sure to emphasize that they wouldn't be "models" for her stories, so she shouldn't get her hopes up.
She then asked if I had consulted Progenitor-san about the shrine. I had mentioned building a facility to house the animal gods, but I hadn't gone into the specifics yet. Progenitor-san had been quite busy lately. Even when he visited the village, he usually went straight to see Versa, so I rarely had a chance to speak with him.
"Don't get so flustered. It’s a good thing you two are on such close terms."
I asked her to pass along the word about the shrine when she next saw him. The construction was finishing much faster than I had anticipated. In fact, the shrine buildings themselves were essentially complete. We were currently just finishing the road connecting Village Five to the shrine and polishing up the surrounding area.
I wanted Progenitor-san to inspect the grounds before the shrine officially opened. I had questions about religious propriety, such as whether it was acceptable to set out offering boxes. I assumed it would be fine, but it was better to be sure.
I saw Versa off as she headed back to Village Five and turned my attention back to the raccoon dogs.
"So, we really were raccoon dogs all along..."
"We were always told we were the cutest of the foxes because of our large, round eyes... but it was just because we were raccoon dogs..."
"Yoko-sama, could I ask you to use the suffix '-pon' from now on? Yes, '-pon.' It strangely just popped into my head... and it feels remarkably familiar. We really were raccoon dogs after all."
The three of them seemed to have fully accepted their new identity. Not that it changed much for me.
"Village Head," Pon addressed me. "Now that we are known to be raccoon dogs, what will happen to our migration-pon? Will you still permit it-pon?"
"Hahaha, of course. I only pointed it out because I was curious why you were calling yourselves foxes, not because I wanted to exclude you. It doesn't matter to me if you're foxes or raccoon dogs. As long as you follow the rules, you’re more than welcome."
"Ohh, as expected of the Village Head-pon."
Not just Yoko, but Kon and the others looked relieved as well. I had clearly made them worry. I felt a bit bad; I had simply been unable to suppress my curiosity.
Unfortunately, they didn't seem to know why their ancestors had claimed to be foxes in the first place.
"The Round-faced Fox Race has existed since before I was born-pon. I never imagined for a second that we weren't foxes-pon."
"Well, even if we know the truth now, it doesn't change our relationship, right? Let's just focus on getting along."
"That's exactly right-pon."
...Were we really sticking with the "-pon" suffix?
"Oops... I mean, -kon."
Yeah, the "-kon" suited Yoko much better. Not that her normal way of speaking was bad, of course. I meant it. No need to get angry.
"Anyway, sorry for taking up so much of your time. Let’s head over to the lodgings."
Accompanied by Yoko, I guided the Silver Fox Race to their new homes. The lodgings consisted of several one-story apartment blocks. Each block had a central hallway running from the entrance to a back exit, with six rooms on either side for a total of twelve.
Right by the entrance, there was a communal kitchen and a living room. I had provided two outhouse locations—one near the front and one at the back—each with six stalls.
"You can decide amongst yourselves how to divide the use of the outhouses."
Ideally, I would have liked to put a kitchen and washroom in every individual room, but managing the plumbing and ensuring fire safety made this communal layout more practical. I had been worried they might find it inconvenient, but the Silver Fox Race members were overjoyed.
Each room was roughly twelve tatami mats in size, designed to house a family of three or four.
"Is this enough space?"
"Is it okay? We've never had a room this large before!"
I was glad they liked them. There were currently sixteen of these twelve-room blocks. Personally, I felt I had overbuilt, but Ria, the field manager, had argued that it was more cost-effective to build a large number at once rather than adding more later.
"I'll leave the room assignments and block choices to you. However, I do need you to designate one person as the overall manager for the lodgings and one manager for each specific block in use. Please choose people other than Kon; I intend to have her oversee the entire sanctuary."
"Understood."
"Oh, and you're free to move about in your fox forms if you prefer. However, if you enter the buildings as foxes, please make sure to wipe your feet. The floors are wooden planks, and we have a strict 'no shoes' policy indoors."
That last part was at Yoko's insistence. I promised to set up tubs of water and towels near the shoe racks at both the front and back entrances.
"If anyone wants tatami mats in their room, report it to your block manager. They will pass the request to the complex manager, who will then report it to Yoko. For the time being, Yoko will be your administrative contact, but please keep in mind that she’s very busy as the Acting Village Head of Village Five. She might be replaced later on."
They nodded in understanding.
"Now, your immediate goal is to settle in... or rather, to decide how you want to live here. I’ve provided these lodgings, but if you prefer living out in the mountains, I won't stop you. I'm not going to force anyone, so please think about what's best for you individually."
As for food, we would provide supplies for the time being, but the eventual goal was self-sufficiency. I offered to prepare fields and fruit trees if they wanted them.
"Keep in mind that if you have fields, you'll be the ones responsible for tending them and managing the harvest. I’ll provide the initial tools, but only the first set."
I also suggested that instead of farming, they could earn money through their work at the shrine to buy food. I told them to consider their options carefully.
"As for the work itself, it’s mostly operating and maintaining the facilities. To put it simply: taking care of the enshrined gods, guarding the grounds, and cleaning. Since it might be hard to earn a living on that alone, we’ll eventually need to look into selling goods. I have a few ideas, so tell Yoko if you're interested."
That concluded the explanation... or so I thought.
"Wait, I'm sorry. I forgot one very important thing."
They looked at me expectantly.
"Anyone working at the shrine while in human form must wear these official garments. Men will wear a variant of the Ritual Dress, and women will wear a Shrine Maiden Outfit. I’m afraid there’s no room for negotiation on this."
I felt genuinely apologetic. When I had mentioned the idea of costumes to Zabuton's Children, they had become incredibly enthusiastic.
"So, when you take human form, please don't manifest your own clothes. Wear these instead. Also, the instructions I received were quite specific: you must keep your ears and tails visible at all times. Please, I’m counting on you."
"Understood."
"Thank you. For now, feel free to explore and settle in."
I told them that the surrounding areas, including Village Five, Shashato City, and the nearby Elf Village, had already been informed that this mountain was a restricted sanctuary. No one should be wandering in unannounced, and any visitors would send word in advance.
"However, don't let your guard down completely. I’ve cleared out the aggressive monsters, but there are still neutral magic beasts and plenty of wild animals living here. Don't lose your instincts as beasts."
I also reminded them that the Trents stationed around the mountain were part of the security force I had arranged. "Don't attack them. And please, try not to scratch them."
They gave a chorus of healthy responses.
As the crowd began to disperse, Pon approached me away from the others.
"Is something the matter?" I asked.
"I heard that a Fox God will be enshrined here. Is that true?"
"Yes. Yoko said it wasn't strictly necessary, but since the Silver Fox Race will be the ones managing the shrine, it only felt right to include a Fox God as well."
"Oh, thank you so much! About that... while we have accepted that we are raccoon dogs, is it really all right for us to worship a Fox God?"
I realized their dilemma. They had spent their entire lives believing they were foxes and worshipping the Fox God. Now that they knew the truth, they felt like they were intruding.
"Yes," Pon continued. "I would like to keep worshipping as I always have, but... I feel as though I’m being disrespectful to the Raccoon Dog God."
I saw her point. Since there were raccoon dogs in this world, there must be a Raccoon Dog God as well. It was a very conscientious way of thinking.
"In that case, why don't you just worship both?"
"Eh?" She blinked, clearly taken aback. "Is... is that allowed? Both of them?"
"Of course. You can respect and worship both the Fox God and the Raccoon Dog God. I don't see any problem with that."
"............It feels as though the scales have fallen from my eyes. I will dedicate myself to honoring both gods."
"I'm glad to hear it. Do your best. And as you know, there will be other gods enshrined here as well."
"I understand. I will ensure we show the utmost respect to all the deities here."
Pon bowed and returned to her kin.
I stood there for a moment, reflecting on my actions. I had let my curiosity get the better of me and had blurted out a very delicate truth. Even though I had asked for permission to speak, none of them could have really said no in that situation. If they all believed they were foxes, they wouldn't have even known what I was about to reveal.
I felt I needed to make some sort of amends to Pon and her group.
Come to think of it, we didn't have a proper Object of Worship for the Raccoon Dog God yet. Perhaps I would try carving a statue of the deity myself. I hoped that would be enough of an apology.
(Pon: "Do you think I should head back to our homeland to tell them we're actually raccoon dogs?") (Village Head: "Based on how you guys reacted... it would probably start a massive panic. Better hold off for now.")