“Over here, at the Hoshimori Shrine stall, is where the magic happens!” Shion announced, forcing a bright, business-like smile as she addressed the steadily growing crowd.
“Miko-san, could we possibly take a picture with you?” A couple, clearly tourists from a bustling city, requested of Shion.
“Oh, of course, no problem at all!” Shion readily agreed, leaning her head closer. As the stylish man and woman approached, Shion maintained her friendly smile, subtly covering the cutout at her chest with her left hand, and posed for a commemorative photo with them.
“This is the Hoshimori Shrine stall, you see! We also have various shrine merchandise…”
“Hoshimori-san, so you really are here.” Just as Shion was still introducing the items to the two tourists, a familiar voice suddenly reached her ears.
Shion seemed to recognize the voice, though it wasn’t entirely familiar, just vaguely so. It was as if she had realized something terribly, terribly amiss, and she mechanically turned her head.
“C-Class Monitor… what are you doing here?”
The Class Monitor wore a smile that was a mix of bewilderment and playful mockery. “I thought, Hoshimori-san, that you weren’t particularly fond of this kind of attire. Turns out, you secretly love it, don’t you, Head Maid?”
Shion’s smile instantly froze on her face.
“Well… you know… life is all about trying new things, right? That’s what life is, after all! We always… we always have to… I mean, we won’t know if something is good until we experience it…”
Shigure, who had been meticulously counting money, couldn’t help but frown slightly at Shion’s incoherent rambling. She looked up at the Class Monitor.
“Um, Class Monitor… I’m here too, you know. Shion-san is doing this for the future of the shrine. Please don’t tease her so much.”
“Iori-san is here too, I see. Come to think of it, when I asked Igarashi-senpai to substitute for class, Iori-san was just as protective of Hoshimori-san,” the Class Monitor chuckled.
Shigure’s face flushed red, her thoughts laid bare. “Class Monitor, what are you talking about?!”
The Class Monitor waved a dismissive hand. “Never mind. I actually saw on the school forum that Hoshimori Shrine was setting up a stall. So I dragged all my friends along to have some fun.”
As she spoke, two girls emerged from behind the Class Monitor, smiling and greeting Shion and Shigure, who were also from Class A. One of the girls even exclaimed, “Shion-san looks so beautiful today! Truly worthy of being our Class A’s Head Maid!”
Shion desperately wished she could dig a hole and crawl into it. Her initial thought had been that wearing this outfit only in front of strangers wouldn’t be a problem.
But the real issue was facing her classmates—people she knew well. It was utterly mortifying!
Seemingly sensing her sister’s distress, Ayane sidled up to her, patting her chest reassuringly. “Sister, you already did it for the cultural festival. Doing it again isn’t a big deal.”
‘That outfit, you were the one who bought it! You were the one who did it!’ Shion stared at her sister, on the verge of tears.
“Ah! That, that… the time is almost up! I should probably go prepare for the Kagura dance!”
Before her brain completely crashed from embarrassment, Shion finally found an excuse, squeezed through the crowd, and sprinted towards the shrine.
****
By the time she reached the great torii gate of the shrine, the clamor of the Autumn Festival had gradually faded behind her. When Shion looked back, the familiar stone path was now a brightly lit, long street of the Autumn Festival, enveloped by the rustic festival music playing from a recorder.
The crowd surged, and the shrine’s stall remained as popular as ever.
“Phew~” Shion let out a long sigh. Although there was still some time before the Kagura dance officially began, Shion yearned for a little more rest.
It was truly exhausting.
Shion returned to her room, shed the maid outfit, and after a quick wipe of her face, changed into her miko attire. She tidied her hair, then collapsed onto the bed.
“Today’s sales should be excellent. I never thought Kujou-san and Ayane’s ‘marketing strategy’ would actually be somewhat effective. But speaking of which…”
“Didn’t I… not see Igarashi-senpai today? It’s almost time for the Kagura dance, and I haven’t seen her at all.”
Shion pulled out her phone, which she hadn’t touched in a while, intending to call Rie. To her surprise, Rie had called her several times just ten minutes earlier.
Having been busy attending to guests, Shion hadn’t been able to answer. Just as Shion was about to press the “redial” button, Rie’s call came through again.
“Hello, Igarashi-senpai?” Shion answered.
Immediately, Rie’s urgent voice came through the phone. “Shion-san! Are there any evil spirits appearing on your side?”
‘Evil spirits?’ Hearing those words, Shion instantly became alert. “What’s wrong, Senpai? Things are pretty normal on my end.”
“Shion-san, I’ve observed that evil spirits are approaching your location. Their target might be the Autumn Festival venue. There’s a considerable number of them, but…”
“But what?”
Rie paused, her voice turning gravely serious. “On my end, the seals aren’t able to contain them. I don’t know why, but the seals are simply ineffective against these evil spirits, even after I’ve gathered information on them.”
Shion had already walked into the main hall of the shrine. The boisterous, joyous atmosphere of the Autumn Festival still reached her ears, but now, Shion only found those sounds jarring and noisy.
“I understand. So, I must exorcise them myself.”
“Please, Shion-san. I’m rushing to meet up with you all now.”
“Do we need to evacuate the crowd?”
“We cannot evacuate them. In fact, they must remain at the Autumn Festival venue. If the tourists stray too far from the shrine and become isolated, they will become easy targets for the evil spirits.”
Shion gritted her teeth. “Then… alright. I’ll handle it.”
“Grandpa Butler and I will divert anyone still heading to the Autumn Festival. The main venue is in your hands!”
After hanging up, Shion pressed a hand to her forehead.
‘Damn it, why now of all times… No, I can’t. There’s no time to complain.’ Shion quickly retrieved her Spirit Cutter and knelt in the main hall of the shrine. Her senses began to spread rapidly.
Like a black mist, what had been scattered points of light gradually, steadily converged towards the shrine. These were the evil spirits, coming from all directions. It was as if something was attracting them.
“Why?…” Shion opened her eyes. “Evil spirits usually don’t head towards crowds. Why now?…”
****
At this moment, Ayane, who was vigorously promoting the stall with a book-turned-megaphone, suddenly stopped.
Shigure was still counting silver coins, Nanami was slicing salmon, and Sakuya was attending to guests. But Ayane looked up, her gaze fixed on the great torii gate of the shrine.