Really really loved that, as usual for Niy's work. More human village and various random youkai are always great to see, also loved wakasagihime's and kagerou's characters (+the callback to the short story of wakasagihime collecting stones was really great). Suwako was also really cool, along with the dynamic of power between them and the tengu. Really too much good to say about Niy's work.
I don't think I grasp this well. Suwako was using the scales to pick out tengu dissent and crack down on it, to the rather great distress of wakasagihime. Eventually, kagerou bawled banki out into acting, which she did by desecrating the symbolic animals of the goddesse(s) responsible to get their attention. This is where I get a little confused. To begin with, I don't understand how it's supposed to quiet down the tengu currently acting out about the scales. Secondly, it's used as an insult to get Suwako's attention, and yet she ends up helping them out anyway once she sees banki's... distress? Resolve? Empathy for her friend? And yet, at the same time if this is what's prompting Suwako to act out, she sure doesn't seem like she acknowledges in any way that she caused the uninvolved "tools" youkais distress in the process.
I don't understand how it's supposed to quiet down the tengu currently acting out about the scales.
I think its because when the other tengu found out about the plan to extract mermaid flesh, they realized that some of the tengu clan is planning to rebel against the mountain gods. (Because supposedly, in the hierarchy of the mountain, the gods is on top, while the tengu is below them. I forgot if this is canon or not, but a lot of the doujin use this setting. Why the tengu accept that they are below some newbie in the mountain? Idk, maybe a negotiation with the Tenma or something.) In one of the page, Sanae mentioned that three of the clan are ruined. This (i assume) is because the other tengu is punishing the rebelling one. (To be honest, this is too vague to understand. ruined as in socially? physically? Idk. Sanae said that they didn't tell her much as well), and with the rebelling clan (the one that hunt the mermaid) is gone, the misty lake is back to peace, and there are no more price for the scales
she sure doesn't seem like she acknowledges in any way that she caused the uninvolved "tools" youkais distress in the process.
In this doujin, especially that scene in the house can be dipicted as this: "Suwako is a god, and the one in front of her is just some rando no-name youkai". So yeah, suwako didn't feel obligated to acknowledge what happened to a "lowly and no-name youkai", but she do sure like that youkai's gut, which lead to suwako helping her, but nothing more than "i help you just because i can and i like ur gut", not "i feel obliged to help you because i trouble you and your friend. Sorry and please forgive me for that". This kind of character for suwako is also supported by how she is depicted there (and also in the character info. (charisma mode baby))
Well, at least this is what i think happened in this doujin
Updated
But so, thank you very much for reading "Sekibanki & Youkai Mountain".
Afterword
Niy here. It's been a while.
It sure took some doing! Look at this number of pages... I first planned this story 3 years ago, but now it's finally out there.
Stories of the "rokurokubi" and "hitouban" that Sekibanki was modeled after usually have to do with human villages, but some also take place in the mountains, so I wanted to see a comic that tied those two together somehow.
It was a very long book, so I'm happier with some parts than others, but I literally had nine heads to work with and keep the story moving. I think I managed to bring out some of Sekibanki's more interesting sides in the plot's resolution, too.
I'm planning my next book for Autumn Reitaisai, so it me a bit simpler than this one.