After discovering the connection between Asou Kunihiko and Mount Hi-no-e, Shizuku and Mayu Hinase also read Asou Kunihiko's belongings and gained some understanding of the situation on Mount Hi-no-e.
Legend had it that Mount Hi-no-e had been a Holy Land for suicide since ancient times. Or rather, it drew those who wished to kill themselves to the mountain. After these people committed suicide, their souls merged into the mountain's Night Spring and attained release. But too much of anything was no good. If the Night Spring absorbed too many resentful souls, it would explode on the spot and burst its banks. Then, just like the Gate of Yomi, it would bring disaster upon the human world.
Thus, Mount Hi-no-e also had shrine maidens responsible for suppressing the Night Spring.
Naturally, these shrine maidens all possessed a special ability—Shadow Reading, the ability to read lingering thoughts through items left behind by others.
Honestly, by this point, Shizuku was certain that the Kurosawa family of Minakami Village had to be connected to the shrine maiden lineage of Mount Hi-no-e. Mayu Hinase possessed this ability, after all, and her great-grandmother was Kurosawa Yae. Judging from that bloodline, Yae's family had likely once been members of Mount Hi-no-e's shrine maiden clan.
By contrast, Mayu Amakura and Mio Amakura were ordinary Espers. They could sense the thoughts of the dead, but they lacked the ability to touch objects and read the past. In a sense, they belonged to the same kind of spirit medium as Hara Masako.
All right, enough nonsense. Back to the point.
To suppress the Night Spring, Mount Hi-no-e also used several sacrificial methods—though compared to Himuro Mansion, Minakami Village, and the Kuze family, Mount Hi-no-e's sacrifices were far gentler.
First, the shrine maidens would "watch over" those who came up the