The blonde girl bowed to Shion and Ayane.
‘Iori Shigure? Was she the classmate who had missed two roll calls?’ Shion began to recall.
“Hello, Iori-san, I’m Hoshimori Shion, and this is my younger sister, Hoshimori Ayane,” Shion introduced.
Ayane cast a curious glance at Shion, who could sense her sister’s unspoken question: ‘Sister, do you know this person?’
Shion tried to convey with her eyes, ‘She’s a classmate, but not someone I know well,’ but it seemed such nuanced information was too difficult to transmit through mere glances.
After Shigure also greeted Ayane, an awkward silence settled upon them.
Shigure clearly had something to say, yet her timidity rendered her speechless for the moment.
Shion and Shigure, despite being classmates, were not close, leaving Shion utterly at a loss for words.
Ayane, meanwhile, stood by, feeling like an enormous, conspicuous third wheel.
For a brief moment, the scene plunged into an uncomfortable five-second silence.
“Um… Iori-san, is there something you need at my house?” Shion was the first to break the quiet.
Shigure quickly stammered, “No, I didn’t come for you! Ah, no, that’s not… this…”
Realizing she had misspoken, Shigure fell silent once more, her words catching in her throat.
Another awkward five-second silence ensued.
“Take your time, Iori-san, it’s alright.
Ayane and I won’t bite,” Shion reassured her once more, with Ayane nodding in agreement beside them.
Gathering her courage again, Shigure took a deep breath and practically shouted, “I’ve come to make a wish to the Deity!”
The scene paused for another two seconds.
Feeling she had misspoken yet again, Shigure quickly covered her mouth, resembling a startled little rabbit.
Shion’s mind… was currently crashing.
“Sister, Iori-san is here to pay her respects, isn’t she?” Ayane prompted from the side.
Shigure nodded vigorously in response.
‘Ah, so she’s a visitor here to pay her respects! She should have said so earlier!’
On weekdays, virtually no one came to the Hoshimori Shrine to worship, allowing the two sisters to attend school without worry.
This was why Shion hadn’t even considered that Shigure might be a visitor for worship.
Shion immediately shifted into her long-dormant work mode.
“Ayane, please keep Iori-san company here for a moment; I’ll go change into my miko attire.”
“No, there’s no need for such trouble.
I’m just here for a simple visit; I don’t have much money…” Shigure’s voice trailed off.
“Worship is free, you know!
It’s just that I haven’t seen anyone in ages, and if I don’t make it a little formal, perhaps no one will ever come again.
Remember to leave us a good review on Instagram,” Shion said with a smile, then quickly ran back into the shrine to change into her miko attire.
“Oh, oh…” Shigure, left dumbfounded by Shion’s words, had just pulled out her phone when Ayane interjected, “Don’t listen to Sister’s nonsense; we don’t have an Instagram account.”
Having donned the incredibly formal yet absurdly short miko attire, Shion tidied herself briefly in front of the mirror.
Every time she put on the miko outfit, Shion couldn’t help but complain about the skirt’s outrageous brevity; even a slight movement felt perilous.
‘Was it made this short to ensure miko maintained their grace and decorum?’ Shion wondered.
Upon seeing Shion in her miko attire, Shigure’s eyes seemed glued to her.
Shion slowly walked over to them.
“Thank you for waiting! Please follow me, Iori-san.”
“Alright, alright, Hoshimori-san…”
“Call me Miko-sama.”
“Oh, alright, Miko-sama,” Shigure replied, completely bewildered.
“Don’t mind her!
Nobody calls them that during worship!” Ayane, trailing beside them, continued to retort.
Shion shot Ayane a glance.
“Little girl, hurry back and watch your evening drama.”
“It’s only four o’clock; there are no evening dramas now.
I’m going to do my homework,” Ayane retorted, making a face at Shion before turning and heading back to the living quarters behind the shrine.
Watching Ayane’s retreating back, Shigure quietly asked, “Is it alright for Ayane-san not to be here?”
“It’s perfectly fine.
I’m the shrine miko; Ayane isn’t,” Shion explained while leading the way.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be serious during the formal worship and won’t joke around.”
“Was Hoshimori-san just joking around the whole time…?”
“W-well, not exactly!”
Passing through the red torii gate, they turned onto the bluestone path and ritually cleansed their hands.
Shion led Shigure, step by step, to the front of the main hall for worship.
“It’s right here.
Make your wish to the Deity,” Shion instructed.
Shigure, who had been obediently following Shion’s every word until now, suddenly stopped and quietly asked, “Hoshimori-san, can praying to the Deity truly make wishes come true?”
Upon hearing this, Shion froze.
Weren’t these the exact words written on the note she had seen in class today?
“Iori-san, the note in my notebook…”
Shigure nodded.
“I wrote it.
I’ve been absent for the past few days and only returned to school yesterday.
After classes that day, I wanted to find you, but you left so early, so I… I had no choice but to write a note.
Fearing I might lose it, I tucked it into the notebook you often use, hoping you wouldn’t be angry… And by the way, I absolutely did not rummage through your things or peek at your notebook’s contents!” Shigure swore earnestly at the end.
“You could have just come to me directly; I’m quite approachable, you know.”
Shion gently stroked Shigure’s hair.
Shion could tell that Shigure was an extremely introverted girl, and children who struggled to express themselves often needed more care.
“Then, Hoshimori-san, can praying to the Deity truly make wishes come true?” Shigure pressed again, her golden eyes fixed earnestly on Shion.
“It depends on whether the Deity is willing to grant your wish; I can’t say for sure,” Shion replied just as earnestly, seeing Shigure’s very serious expression.
“I see…” Shigure’s head drooped slightly in disappointment.
“But I have no other choice; I can only turn to the Deity.”
“May I be so bold as to ask what wish you intend to make, Iori-san?
Some wishes can be achieved even without the Deity’s help,” Shion offered.
Shigure nodded faintly.
“My… my grandmother has been ill for several months now.
Both my parents are working in the south, so I’m the only one at home caring for her.
I want my grandmother to get better!”
‘No wonder she’s been absent so often,’ Shion mused.
“So, have you had a doctor examine her?”
“Yes, doctors from the town and the city, and we even asked doctors from a large hospital in Tokyo, but she hasn’t gotten better.
They can’t even figure out what illness my grandmother has,” Shigure said, her voice growing softer and softer as disappointment and sorrow clouded her face.
Shion gently stroked Shigure’s golden hair.
“Iori-san, please pray to the Deity.
I… I will do my best to ensure the Deity hears your wish, and then, that the Deity grants your wish.”