When she reached the mountaintop and looked at the lake and Torii Gate before her, Shizuku could not help but sigh.
Unlike other places, Mount Hi-no-e required quite a large number of sacrifices to suppress the Gate of Yomi—which was only natural. After all, people came here to die all year round. It was clearly different from places like Himuro Mansion and Minakami Village, where the living were forbidden to enter.
That was why Mount Hi-no-e also needed many shrine maidens to serve as Human Pillars. They were divided into different ranks according to their Spiritual Power, then stuffed into different wooden boxes.
The one with the strongest Spiritual Power was called the Great Pillar, and her wooden box was also the largest. It was not quite as large as a three-bedroom apartment, but it was at least the size of a bedroom.
Next came the Middle Pillar. The Middle Pillar's "living space" was a little smaller than the Great Pillar's, but it was still enough for someone to live in, roughly on the level of a train sleeper berth.
Last were the bandits. Strictly speaking, they were at the very bottom of the pyramid. They looked the least important, but the ritual could not do without them. Their boxes were the smallest, like bathrooms, only large enough for one person to squeeze into—though generally, their limbs were smashed first before they were stuffed inside.
Those who became "bandits" were usually men whose Ghost Marriages had failed, as well as shrine maidens lacking Spiritual Power.
With Shiragiku's Spiritual Power, she could originally have become a "Great Pillar." But whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, the Great Pillar of Mount Hi-no-e had still been there at the time and had not vanished. So Shiragiku was chosen as a "Middle Pillar" and