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Youkai Mountain was aflame with reds and yellows. The temperature sharply declined, and the red leaves on the trees, their lives succumbing to insanity, fell to the ground, unable to withstand the autumn wind. As the sun sank behind Youkai Mountain, the tengu could be seen flitting about the scarlet sky. This is the time of year when it was at its most beautiful.

October is called "the Godless Month" because it is said that generally, most gods are absent during it, but this cannot be the proper name of a month filled with such godly beauty. It is actually called "the Fermenting Month," meaning this is when all the grains gathered during the harvest are brewed to make sake.

"You seem to be in a good mood."

"I'm preparing to brew the new sake for this year; how could I not be?"

Reimu, looking at me skeptically, asked "...you make sake?"

To which I simply replied "Yes, because this is Kourindou."

Today, the three of us - Marisa, Reimu, and I - were to sample the fall mushrooms, accompanied with sake. Reimu and I were currently waiting at the store, as a critical ingredient - the mushrooms - had yet to arrive.

"Wow, I didn't know you made sake too, Rinnosuke. We should try it next time."

Sake seems to taste much better in colder weather. And being that this will be brand-new homemade sake, that should make it even more delicious. October is the month for new rice - and it is only natural to brew new sake from new rice.

"Well...I guess it would be ok, but..."

"But?"

"Only if you don't drink too much of it."

Reimu and Marisa drink without bothering to taste the sake. After I put so much effort into brewing it, that's just a waste.

"We don't drink that much if it doesn't taste good."

"Oh, but it does."

"Then maybe we will drink a lot."

Actually, the reason why I am brewing sake is not merely to drink it. Sake starts out as rice, and then at some point becomes sake. With my ability to know the names of objects, I should be able to clearly distinguish this point, no question about it.

The Japanese have a long history of drinking sake. Thousands of years ago, there are records of "human-friendly alcohol" in the history books of the mainland. By this time, Japan had already developed its own methods of brewing alcohol, and this produced rice alcohol - or "sake" - with a faint, mellow scent, no aftertaste, and a refined flavor. There are many different varieties of sake, among them some of the finest of spirits. Just like rice, it had a flavor that suited practically every dish, and was essential to any meal.

"So, a distillery here? It doesn't seem like many kinds of gods live here. I wonder if it would really come out all right..." Reimu's mannerisms exhibited her deep connection to the craft of brewing sake.

It's no mystery that sake and shrines have a very intimate relationship. Originally, the job of a shrine maiden was to drink sake. Drinking sake would alter their mental state and allow them to communicate with the gods of this world. As proof of this, the god of sake, called Kushi no Kami, comes from the word "kushi," or "mysterious," meaning that drinking sake makes one do mysterious things. Sake is a necessity during shrine rituals. As they need sake more than most occupations, a long time ago, nearly the entire available supply of sake was brewed at shrines, while nowadays, you don't hear of shrines brewing sake too often. It isn't out of place for Reimu to talk as if she is learned in it; that's because shrines always have a supply of special, sacred sake.

"So when did you start brewing sake?"

"I just started this year."

A dubious expression formed on Reimu's face. "Uh, you know the gods won't ferment it that easily. To begin with, you need a lot of it for it to work. Enough that if you don't drink a lot, you won't finish it."

I had expected her to make that kind of face. "Ok then. I'm sure if I keep trying every year, it'll turn out better. I know I might fail, but I won't get better at it if I never start."

*Ring-a-ling.*

"Fragrant matsutakes and kakishimejis, I got the very spirit of fall in these mushrooms right here!"

"Kakishimejis are poisonous."

"Don't sweat the small stuff. Reimu's already here, so put these on the grill and let's start drinkin'!"

Tonight's main course had arrived. Holding a hat stuffed to the brim with mushrooms, an excited Marisa seemed ready to drink.

"Yes, I know. I'm almost done with the preparations, so wash off those mushrooms for me while you're waiting."

"Preparations? Whatcha preparin'?"

As she was asking questions for the sake of asking questions, I told her not to worry about it and sort the mushrooms.

"Rinnosuke started to brew sake."

Marisa said, "Ya don't say?" in an uninterested fashion, adding "...if ya start now, you're not gonna make it in time for tonight's meal," which was completely obvious.

"Naturally. All I have here are things that will become sake. If you wanted to drink, you should've brought your own. I'm pretty sure there's plenty at the shrine, right?"

"Oh yeah, no problem there. I kinda thought somethin' like this'd happen, so I brought this."

She's well-prepared, but only for herself. Under the heap of mushrooms, she produced a bottle of sake. Reimu, looking surprised, started to say "Um, that sake--"

"Yep! Found it sittin' around at the shrine."

"But it's much too soon to drink that."

While she appeared shocked when she said that, the very next moment, her expression changed to one of aloofness. "Ah, so you're brewin' sake, huh? That reminds me of when I tried it myself a while back."

"Wow, that's the first I've heard of that. It didn't go so well, I imagine."

"Wow, that's the first I've heard of it as well. It didn't go so well, did it?"

"It was an absolute failure," Marisa said, making a goofy expression, tittering and lightly rapping her head. Hearing her speak of her failures was a sign she was in a good mood. She truly is one who doesn't care about her past. "Since ya can make alcohol from rice and fruits, I thought I'd try givin' mushroom shochu a crack. That's when things got bad."

I didn't understand her reasoning, but Marisa excels in that kind of thinking. Even in magic, she attacks common knowledge with her own unique theories. Such as the theory that magic only has five basic elements; she's the only one who's put effort into trying to prove it wrong. Sometimes the new spells she makes even surprise the youkai.

But...I'm still not so sure about the mushroom shochu. "That's a rather avant-garde variety."

"How did it turn bad?"

"I created some weird new mushroom."

Reimu laughed at the ridiculous outcome to Marisa's tale. "Sake isn't something you can make with whatever you like, whervever you like. It's something that must be made as an offering to the gods, so it must be pleasing to them. The number one rule is that if there are no gods enshrined at wherever the distillery is, then the sake won't turn out well, and the rules only get more technical from there..." Reimu was slowly changing the subject from theology to biology.

The gods prefer to ferment food with sugar; things like fruits which are naturally full of sugar are easy to turn into alcohol. With luck, all that's necessary is to crush it and let it sit. In the case of fruits that grow on trees, like pears and grapes, you can tell that it has fermented when the smell changes. You may have seen animals or bees gather around overripe fruit that has fallen on the ground. That is because the smell of fermentation attracts them. However, in the case of rice and other grains where the sugar content is low, it's necessary to change the starch into sugar through fermentation. Even though it's not the same fermentation that turns it into alcohol, it is a necessary step. As the startch dissolves, it creates a sugar-rich substance called mold. Once the mold has been prepared, the process is then the same as with fruit and is left to the gods.

The main difference between rice alcohol and fruit alcohol is that it is nearly impossible to make rice alcohol naturally ferment on its own. The more time and effort put into it, the better the end result will be. There is also another kind of alcohol made in a way similar to rice alcohol but with wheat, called "beer," but that is yet another case.

When I started making sake, I had studied the process on my own, but most of what I found out I had already heard from Reimu. She knows all about it because she has been distilling it at her shrine to this very day.

Reimu concluded her lecture with "...so in short, to make alcohol, you need sugar. I doubt this weird mushroom of yours contains any, so even making a little might be difficult."

"Well, aren't we Ms. Know-It-All? Maybe ya shoulda used your brain power to learn how to be a better shrine maiden instead," Marisa retorted.

But I couldn't let that go, because I knew that making sake was truly part of her job: "No, having thorough knowledge about how to make sake is very important for a shrine maiden. That's because they need sake it be able to communicate with the gods. A long time ago, brewing sake was one of their jobs, although I'm not so sure about now..."

I took an indirect glance at Reimu. If she really was making sake at her shrine now, I expected her to show some kind of reaction, but my plan did not work; she continued to speak. "Well, since your house is in the Forest of Magic, Marisa, something else just might be fermenting there. I'm not so sure about Kourindou though..." Reimu's eyes passed around the room. I realize it's a little cluttered, but far from unsanitary.

"So you're saying that there aren't any gods here that could brew sake?"

Reimu looked around the inside of the store; the shikigami from the outside world, the tengu's camera, the ghost lamp...after a single course, Reimu said this: "The gods are already brewing too many things in here."

The mushrooms were cooking, their fragrance permeating the air.



As some time had passed since Reimu began her lecture on alcohol, it was already dark outside, and the reddened mountain could only be seen as a black shadow. It was now time for Kushi no Kami, the alcohol-loving youkai, and ourselves to drink the night away.

The air was filled with spores from the lightly-salted mushrooms due to the fire. We began to drink accompanied by just this scent. Reimu and Marisa began to squabble over the mushrooms, but it was a lighthearted act. As for myself, I drank while eating, filling my mouth with mushrooms while imagining the day when my own sake would be ready.

As the fermentation process continues, at what point does it become sake? I had actually already ventured a guess.

"Oh, Reimu. I wouldn't eat those kakishimejis; they're slightly poisonous, and you'll end up in bed for a while."

"Don't worry, they're clean." As Reimu pondered that herself, Marisa added, "if ya do end up in bed, it'll be fine. I'll take care o'the shrine for ya."

Upon hearing that, she tossed the mushroom still in her chopsticks out the window.

The fact is that there isn't anyone who knows more about the mushrooms that grow in the Forest of Magic than Marisa. There are other, edible mushrooms that look very similar to kakishimejis. Due to the low reach of the sunlight and high temperatures in the forest, mushrooms thrive where few other things can.

I took a mushroom that looked like a jounenbo, put it in my mouth, and began to chew. The sensation of the mushroom flooded my throat and nose through the power of the sake, filling me with an indescribably pleasant experience.

When does sake become sake? I believe it is the very moment when it is joined with delicious food in the mouth. Until then, it might not be too much to say that sake is just another liquid. The sake made by the gods is something no human could ever do. Is it sake, or vinegar, or something else entirely? Literally only the gods know.

And the sake from the god of sake naturally chooses who drinks it. And to pay respect to Kushi no Kami, one must become drunk. Drinking a lot and becoming very drunk is important.

How much a human or youkai enjoys luxuries such as alcohol, tobacco, coffee and tea is a good indicator of their character. It is easy to tell their sensitivity and how broad-minded they are through these luxuries. Tengu, oni, kappa, and other strong youkai are also strong to alcohol; vampires don't drink tea merely because it resembles the color of blood. It is all simply because a youkai who enjoys luxuries becomes strong.

"Whatzza matter? You're not movin' your chopsticks at all. Is the poison from the younenbo gettin' to ya?" asked Marisa.

"What was that? What's a younenbo?"

"That's whatcha ate just now, Kourin. Looked like a jounenbo, didn't it? Though it's obviously a different size, it's called a younenbo because it's like a youkai jounenbo."

I started to feel uneasy.

"They only grow in the Forest of Magic, but they got a nice smell and a good, rich flavor. And of course..."

Of course, it's fine to eat them. If it weren't meant to be eaten, it wouldn't have been on the grill. I was praying not to the gods, but to Marisa.

"...Of course, they're hallucinogenic. But the effects aren't too bad, so you'll be fine."

That's when I decided to cancel the evening feast and chase the two out. They said they had already eaten their fill, so they left without a fuss.

Even if it tastes fine to her, the problem is that she fed a poisonous mushroom to someone else. While Marisa might be used to living there, a normal human can't withstand the forest miasma for long periods of time. Yet, mushrooms still grow there. I wish she would just gather safer mushrooms...

But, there was still one more question remaining; that being, does Reimu actually make sake at her shrine? Whether because of my bragging about brewing my own sake, or being too nervous about Marisa's mushrooms, I was hesitant to ask directly, so the answer to that question will remain unknown.

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