The pristine glow of the snowy moonlight cascaded onto the ground, resembling a shattered silver platter.
A gentle evening breeze swept through the woods, coaxing a rustling symphony from the leaves.
With the malevolent spirits exorcised, the forest behind the Hoshimori Shrine seemed to have softened, its atmosphere now tranquil.
Hoshimori Shion, her body heavy with exhaustion, trudged toward the shrine, one step at a time.
Bereft of almost all strength, she could only propel herself inch by agonizing inch toward the sanctuary.
All in all, however, today’s exorcism had gone rather smoothly.
Though it was only her second time, she was already far more adept than during her first attempt.
During that initial foray, she had been utterly terrified, unable even to grip her Spirit Blade firmly, and when the malevolent spirits had swarmed around her, she couldn’t even utter a cry for help.
While she had desperately wanted to abandon her Spirit Blade and flee, her legs had been paralyzed by fear.
Fortunately, Shion seemed to possess an innate combat instinct, a ‘Spirit-Calming Physique,’ even before the game began; as she swung her Spirit Blade, a profound calm had swiftly settled over her.
Otherwise, it would have been ‘game over’ for her on the very second night.
Her body still bore numerous wounds, yet according to the game’s mechanics, a single night’s sleep would ensure near-complete recovery by morning.
Thus, there was no need to meticulously tend to them; once she succumbed to sleep, all would be well…
Finally, she returned to the shrine.
Shion quietly pushed open the back door; save for the small lamp she had left burning, silence reigned.
‘Ayane sleeps soundly at night; she likely won’t hear me come in,’ Shion mused.
She tiptoed into the living quarters and made her way to the bathroom.
Shedding her miko attire, Shion could discern, in the dim bathroom light, that her body was covered in scratches left by the malevolent spirits; many wounds had already healed, but dried blood coated her soft, pristine skin in a somewhat horrifying dark crimson layer.
Shion sighed, using a damp towel to lightly wipe herself down; a full bath was out of the question, as it might rouse Ayane.
After a quick tidying, she retreated to her bedroom, collapsed onto the bed, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Ayane’s room door was ajar, revealing a narrow sliver of light.
“My silly sister. Truly… a fool!”
****
Another day dawned, bringing with it the morning.
“See you at noon, Big Sister!” Ayane waved goodbye as she saw Shion to the entrance of Class A.
“I’ll come to your classroom to eat lunch together today; I won’t forget this time,” Shion replied.
Ayane nodded happily. “Big Sister woke up early to make tempura today, and I love it! We absolutely must eat together today!”
Watching Ayane’s joyful figure depart, Shion couldn’t help but let a small smile grace her lips.
She then returned to her seat, commencing another day of… utterly tedious classes.
She could already vividly imagine her dismal scores on the upcoming final exams or other academic assessments, though Shion’s character profile, even before the game began, seemed to peg her as a middling-to-poor student.
While searching for something in her room previously, she had stumbled upon old middle school test papers belonging to both herself and Ayane; her combined scores for Japanese, Math, and Foreign Language barely surpassed Ayane’s score in a single subject.
It wasn’t as if things could get any better anyway… so be it… After all, with only one middle school and one high school in town, she would simply remain at the shrine after graduating high school.
Her grades didn’t truly matter, and this was absolutely not an excuse born from her poor academic performance…
As was the usual custom, the homeroom teacher conducted the morning class meeting before lessons, discussing recent school arrangements and taking attendance.
Shion yawned.
“Hoshimori Shion?” The homeroom teacher called out names, one by one.
“Present!” Shion lazily raised a hand.
“And it seems Iori Shigure is absent again today,” the homeroom teacher remarked, glancing at the roster.
Iori Shigure – the name registered with Shion.
It wasn’t that she knew the person well, but rather that Shigure had been absent two out of the last three days of roll call, prompting the homeroom teacher to grumble about her extensively.
Though high school had only recently begun, the entire class likely already had an impression of her.
But what did she look like? Shion racked her brain, trying to recall.
Her impression was that her presence in class was remarkably low; being absent during morning roll call had become her most prominent distinguishing feature.
No matter how much Shion tried to remember, she found she had absolutely no recollection of what this girl looked like.
“Ding-dong-ding-dong…”
Ah, the class bell had rung once more.
Shion covered her face, letting out a profound sigh. “Ah… time for another class.”
Another morning of utter boredom ensued.
During Japanese class, Shion idly flipped through her textbook.
Feeling a little better today, she decided to take out her notebook and jot down some notes; otherwise, she’d be begging Ayane to help her study for the academic assessment again.
Just as Shion opened her notebook, she noticed a slip of paper tucked inside.
The note was folded with meticulous precision and placed in a highly conspicuous spot within the notebook, impossible to miss upon opening it.
Shion glanced around; those who were studying were doing so, and those who weren’t were equally engrossed in their non-studies.
Clearly, the note hadn’t been passed by any of them.
She unfolded the note.
[Hoshimori-san, can praying to the divine spirits truly grant wishes?]
The handwriting was exquisitely neat and graceful, much like the note itself had been folded with perfect precision before being opened.
‘But… what kind of question is this?’ Shion grumbled inwardly, a hint of helplessness in her thoughts.
‘Regarding whether praying to the divine spirits can grant wishes, I suggest you ask the shrine’s miko.
Her wish is to clear the game quickly and go home; you can ask her if that wish has come true.’
Shion refolded the note and placed it back inside her notebook.
With such beautiful handwriting, she couldn’t bring herself to simply discard it as trash.
Besides, if it were a prank, it would be easier to trace…
With that thought, she reopened the note and scrutinized it again.
Beyond that single sentence, there were no other words on the paper, nor did it appear to conceal anything.
It didn’t seem like a prank; Shion’s sixth sense immediately led her to this conclusion.
If it were a prank, it would at least aim to embarrass her or something similar.
Yet, the writing on this note was meticulously neat and penned with clear earnestness, bearing no resemblance to a prank.
But seriously, would anyone actually ask a question like that?
What era was this, anyway…?
****
“So something like that happened,” Ayane remarked, expressing her surprise upon hearing about the note on their walk home from school.
“What do you think, Ayane?” Shion asked.
The two girls ascended the stone steps leading to the shrine, as the summer afternoon breeze rustled the green leaves, and the azure sky, like a vast canvas, accompanied their cheerful chatter.
“I think it’s true, Big Sister.
You’re the shrine’s miko; if someone truly wanted to appeal to the divine spirits, they’d surely come to you first,” Ayane said with a smile.
“Huh? Who’s that?” Shion exclaimed in surprise as they reached the top of the stairs.
Beneath the shrine’s crimson torii gate, a golden-haired girl, clad in her school uniform, stood quietly, silhouetted against the vast azure canvas.
For a fleeting moment, the scene was breathtakingly beautiful, leaving Shion utterly mesmerized.
“Good afternoon… Are you Hoshimori-san?” the golden-haired girl asked timidly.
“Hello, I’m Hoshimori Shion, and you are?…”
“My name is Iori Shigure. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”