That's Impossible

Her gaze swept over the two people in front of her, lingering briefly on the latter, but she didn't say anything more.

Although Takeda Mie did not approve of Yuria's idea of joining Divine Gate, she ultimately did not object. She could tell that the child had her own thoughts.

"Has your spiritual practice fallen behind?"

How could that be?

Yuria shook her head, looked at the old man in front of her, and gave a faint smile.

"Not only have I not fallen behind, but I've made great progress. Speaking of which, I've even been promoted and become the vice-head of the Divine Gate Special Affairs Department."

"Wow, that's really amazing."

Takeda Mie wasn't particularly surprised by her words; she merely raised her eyelids slightly and then turned her gaze back to Yotsuya Miko Yotsuya Miko was standing to the side.

"Miko, in the end, Divine Gate found out about it?"

She wasn't very familiar with Divine Gate, but a position like vice minister was clearly not a minor one, and it was impossible for someone of Yuria's age and experience to hold such a position.

"Yes, they found out eventually. They caused quite a stir in another city."

Yotsuya Miko nodded, a wry smile on her face.

"I've been quite troubled by the Divine Gate thing lately. But Yuria has been a great help to me within Divine Gate, so things are going relatively smoothly so far."

That would be good.

The old man nodded, taking their words to heart, but secretly pondering them further.

She wasn't a young woman anymore, and she had some understanding of the ins and outs of the Divine Gate. Calling it a minor trouble was probably an understatement. Since the two children didn't want to share their worries, she didn't intend to expose them either.

We had to change the subject and talk about other things.

"Speaking of which, what made you two decide to come here today? You know, as an apprentice—"

She pointed at Yuria, her tone tinged with resentment.

"But since that assignment with Divine Gate, he hasn't come to visit this old woman for a long time."

"Uh... well, I'm just busy."

The blonde girl looked a little embarrassed, realizing she was in the wrong. She had indeed been working at Divine Gate ever since returning from Kawamori, and hadn't had a chance to visit the old man. At that time, Divine Gate had learned of Yotsuya Miko's existence, and she had become involved in Kawamori's affairs; under those circumstances, it was difficult to find time to put aside Divine Gate and Miko's matters.

However, if it were a squeeze... it wouldn't be impossible, after all, she also went to the amusement park with Yotsuya Miko. Although what happened there wasn't very pleasant.

"Busy? Busy with what?"

It was hard for Takeda Mie not to feel disappointed that Yuria hadn't come to visit her, even though she found it amusing. After all, having learned about Yuria's situation and spent a considerable amount of time educating the child, she had come to regard this girl with an unfortunate childhood as her own granddaughter. What parent wouldn't want their children and grandchildren to visit them more often?

However, despite her disappointment, the old woman felt more relieved than disappointed. Yuria's transformation was obvious. She used to be somewhat reserved around strangers, but now she was in management of an organization. She didn't know what had happened during this time, but at least the child was developing in a positive direction. She had not only become a powerful exorcist, but also a mature adult.

"Busy with exorcising spirits... right?"

Even she herself was a little unsure, but seeing the smile on Takeda Mie's face, the awkward feeling slowly dissipated.

"I'll try to visit you more often in the future. I'm sorry for the time being."

"So... what about an apology gift?"

"An apology gift?"

Just as Yuria was looking at the old man's outstretched hand with some bewilderment, Yotsuya Miko, who was watching the master and apprentice's conversation, finally spoke up.

"How about this as an apology gift?"

She slowly took a string of prayer beads from her shoulder bag and handed it to the old man.

This rosary was also something she had made recently, as a way to hone her skills. With the help of Divine Gate, Yotsuya Miko had made quite a few items for herself and had also learned some useful spells. However, these items and spells weren't very powerful, and they weren't worth mentioning one by one.

"How about using these prayer beads, which I personally blessed, for self-defense?"

"Then I won't need to worry about spirits anymore."

Takeda Mie didn't stand on ceremony and put the rosary on her wrist.

"After all, these are prayer beads made by you, Miko. But speaking of which, we met because of prayer beads, didn't we?"

"Yeah, I never imagined things would turn out this way back then."

Yotsuya Miko a little emotional, but it was just a small one.

"Granny Saegusa, living alone in this city is quite inconvenient. Although Yuria and I can visit you, there are still some things we might miss."

"Ah, that, I know that too. But at least for the time being, let me stay here a little longer, until you've finished dealing with the Divine Gate matter."

"That's pretty much it, isn't it?"

Yuria had unknowingly darted to the old man's side.

"I've almost settled things with Miko. From now on, I'll have to travel a long way to the countryside to visit you, Mother-in-law."

"Hmm? You mean you're going back on your word? You want to break what you just said?"

No, no, no, there isn't any.

These words made Yuria quickly shake her head; she couldn't possibly admit it.

"I mean, you should just relax and retire. Keeping this fortune-telling shop running is too much trouble. You still have me as your apprentice, right? Speaking of which, I, as the deputy minister, also have a considerable salary."

"Hmph—I wouldn't stoop so low as to have my apprentice give me living expenses. Even if I were to return to the countryside, I planned to do farm work myself. So, forget about that. I appreciate your kindness, but I'll make my own decision about when to leave. As for you..."

Takeda Mie's gaze fell upon Yuria.

"Your own problems still haven't been resolved."

Her gaze was somewhat enigmatic.

Still haven't made up your mind?

Chapter 206 This kind of thing is impossible.

Takeda Mie is not an ordinary exorcist, and this world is not so simple either.

Her gaze fell upon Yuria; though clouded, her eyes still possessed a penetrating power.

This power wasn't like the Spiritual Sense surrounding Yotsuya Miko, but rather the experience of an old woman and the mystery surrounding her.

While Yotsuya Miko's Spiritual Sense was indeed powerful, its user was young and inexperienced. This youth and inexperience made her Spiritual Sense seem superficial and lacking in depth. But this old woman was different; her gaze pierced straight into a person's heart.

Just like her past identity, the Downtown Godmother, her experiences, all the things she has encountered since birth, have become her accumulated wisdom, giving this old woman a sense of knowing her destiny.

That burning passion couldn't be hidden from such a weathered old woman. She had seen far too many cases like this. So much so that she never felt surprised by this unusual emotion, taking it all for granted.

She understood the weight of life, the weight of emotions, and was familiar with Yuria's past. It was only natural that this unfortunate person, given a sliver of hope amidst her misfortune, would develop such emotions.

"... Forget it, let the young people handle their own affairs."

Suddenly, she shook her head, deciding not to think about it anymore.

"But Yuria, it's very painful to keep something like this to yourself, do you understand?"

"I see."

Those three simple words silenced the room.

Yotsuya Miko was about to say something, but not understanding what the two were talking about, she didn't know where to begin.

I had no choice but to smooth things over.

"Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I've seen Mr. Rom. How is he doing?"

As expected, her attempt to change the subject drew complicated looks from the two men.

The old man looked at Miko was so foolish that he couldn't even recognize his own feelings or the feelings others had for him, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Him..."

We only exchanged a few words about Rom, chatting for a few minutes. I really wasn't in the mood for it.

After Yotsuya Miko and Yuria left, Takeda Mie continued her fortune-telling business. Although there weren't many customers left by this time, she was lucky today. Just after the two girls left, a young man who looked like he had just broken up with his girlfriend walked up to the fortune-telling shop.

"Goddess... please help me with my love life! This is the sixth time I've been dumped."

The young man's dejection and pain seemed genuine, but after only a brief glance at him, the old man couldn't help but sigh again.

Distracted by Yuria's situation, she wasn't in the mood for business and simply stated what she had observed in her face.

"Dating three girlfriends at the same time, it would be strange if you didn't experience heartbreak. Expecting these girls to get along with each other is even more absurd, kid."

"Huh? How did you know?!"

"How would I know? Isn't it clearly written down?"

She knocked on the counter.

"This is a fortune-telling shop."

"Then please help me think of a solution. I'll give you whatever money you want!"

"Ha, if this kind of thing could be solved with money, would I still be running a fortune-telling shop here?"

The old man couldn't help but feel a bit sarcastic, but when he thought of the two people from before, he quickly gave a bitter smile.

"Alas, even my apprentice couldn't do this."

"Your apprentice?"

Before the young man could react, Takeda Mie walked behind him, leaving behind a single sentence.

"The shop is closed now, please leave."

"Granny Saegusa."

The familiar voice made the owner of the fortune-telling shop stop in his tracks and look at the new customer who had unknowingly arrived beside the young man.

And so, his wry smile deepened.

"You all arranged to come and visit this old woman today, didn't you?"

Accompanying the bitter smile was a long sigh.

"Never mind, it's all the same no matter what."

After visiting Takeda Mie together, Yotsuya Miko and Yuria soon parted ways.

Yuria said that Divine Gate had some things she needed to take care of, so Yotsuya Miko didn't try to stop her and just strolled slowly down the street by herself.

Because she needed to discuss things with Yuria, she canceled her shopping trip with Yurikawa Hana today.

For some reason, she felt a strange sense of distance again.

Although she and Yuria had become very close after what happened last time, they seem to have drifted apart again recently after returning to the city from Kawamaru.

"Perhaps Yuria has too many things to do?"

After thinking it over, this was the only explanation she could come up with.

Yuria not only had to go to school, but also had to be busy with Divine Gate's affairs, so much so that she would always run to Divine Gate after school every day. This was even more so after she became the vice minister of the Special Affairs Department, and she even had a private car to pick her up and drop her off.

In this way, on the surface, the distance appears to have increased.

However, many things are actually in complete chaos.

Just like Yotsuya Miko herself, she also had to go to Divine Gate every now and then to receive materials, which forced her to cancel her plans to go home with Hana.

Her life, and Yuria's life, were more or less influenced by Divine Gate.

Only during lunch breaks at school did the three of them get together for a relatively close meal.

"What kind of nonsense is this?"

Thinking about this, Yotsuya Miko became anxious again about Divine Gate's attitude.

No, rather than saying it was Divine Gate, it's more accurate to say that she had a whole host of things she couldn't ignore.

Things like the shrine incident, the Kamikakushi Mountain incident, and the recent sudden death of a villain—it's impossible for her to say that these things are completely unrelated to her. But if she were to start dealing with them, she would have to consider many things.

These miscellaneous matters filled her already limited time, but even so, she still had to work hard to improve her strength, fearing that an unexpected event might occur and she wouldn't have enough strength to deal with it.

"Forget it, let's take it slow. It'll be dealt with eventually. Let's put this matter aside for now."

Instead of thinking about it too much, Jianzi Miko at the street in front of her and tried to think of things that would make her happy.

Just like I recently heard that Mr. Cave Bear seems to have won another match somewhere else, and it seems a new store has opened on the street recently...

"But these kinds of things aren't really enjoyable to share without friends to go with."

She sighed again, and in the end, she bought some pastries and milk tea on the street, bringing some for her mother and Kyosuke as well.