90: The Shrine

Ichika and her sisters had no intention of keeping it a secret, and they revealed the old woman who ran the confectionery shop and her daughter.

Rena's father didn't react much, and his nonchalant attitude made the Quintuplets feel that the matter wasn't important, so they didn't ask any further questions.

They didn't notice that Rena's father avoided talking about Rena's past experience of Spirit Abduction.

Shuya felt that he was worthy of his age, and handled the situation very steadily.

If he insists on not saying anything or gets angry, it will only arouse the Quintuplets' curiosity.

After this casual explanation, the Quintuplets didn't pay any more attention to it.

After everyone finished dinner, they dispersed peacefully.

No problems were found with the Quintuplets, but Shuya did.

And something strange was that Rena remained completely silent throughout.

Shuya know what this meant either.

So he went and asked.

Shuya knew that after the Quintuplets fell asleep, Rena would go and chat with their father.

Shuya took advantage of this time to wait for her outside the room.

He successfully squatted down.

"Shu-chan, is there something you need?"

Rena asked the question calmly.

"Yes, Rena... could you tell me about it? About being Spirit Abduction."

Shuya got straight to the point.

Because of Rena's intelligence, he didn't think he could subtly elicit the answer.

So he asked directly.

Rena had no intention of hiding anything, but her answer surprised Shuya a little.

"I'm sorry, I'm not really sure either... Actually, my memories of childhood are very vague."

Rena tossed her hair, seemingly a little uncomfortable.

"I only found out from my father and other people on the island. Apparently, I would often disappear when I was a child, and then suddenly reappear at the Shrine..."

Rena frowned. "But... I have absolutely no memory of that, and Shrine... does this Small Island even have Shrine...?"

Her voice was almost a whisper.

Shuya watched her quietly, releasing his Power of Will and sweeping it over her.

"..."

He seemed to vaguely detect traces of some residual power, or perhaps it was just an illusion.

Shuya also couldn't grasp the truth.

"Excuse me, I'll be rude in advance. Shu-chan, you should get some rest too."

Rena lost the will to speak, rubbed her head Shuya, and slowly disappeared into the distance.

She disappeared around the corner.

Shuya didn't sense that she was lying; it seemed she genuinely didn't remember.

What exactly happened back then?

Shuya frowned.

He couldn't guess, but judging from what happened to Rena, the Fox God must really like Rena.

The so-called "Spirit Abduction" refers to the evil gods abducting people and killing them for their own amusement, while the benevolent gods take away those they like, entertain them, and then send them back to the human world.

In retrospect, the Fox God of the Small Island is undoubtedly the latter.

The problem now is that, generally speaking, Spirit Abduction does not lead to amnesia. Something must have changed.

Shuya estimated that Rena's father couldn't possibly know the truth; he was just an ordinary person.

Of those who know the truth, only the Fox God remains now that Rena has lost her memory.

Shuya wanted to know the truth, and there was no other way but to confront Him directly.

It seems the intelligence he gathered today wasn't wasted; at least it let him know that the Fox God is safe.

Next, you can officially go to the Shrine.

But before that... let's explore the Small Island first.

Let's see if we can find any clues.

Shuya returned to his room, gathered his equipment, and went out to explore again.

Two days passed just like that.

Five days have passed since Shuya arrived on the Small Island.

P. S. 1: The Fox God shouldn't be considered a villain, probably.

P. S. 2: Actually, I really like this kind of bizarre plot that mixes everyday life with mystery. I just don't know how well the readers will accept it. But I'm sure some people will like it and some won't, so asking won't make a difference.

P. S. 3: The title isn't 8 (censored) 9 because I can't post it; these censored words are really annoying.

Section 103 90 Shrine

In the past two days of exploration, Shuya has traversed the mountains and forests, even crossing through the woods to reach the other side of the mountain, except for not entering the Shrine.

That is, the other side opposite the dock.

He even went into the sea and searched the beach, but found nothing suspicious.

On his sixth day on the island, Shuya decided to officially explore the Shrine.

He discovered that the Shrine was located in the very center of the island, and there was a path leading to it.

He found a road that led directly to the Shrine, right near the city center.

According to Shuya's observation, this road is still used occasionally.

Because the roadside weeds showed signs of having been trimmed.

She must be an elderly woman, like a grandmother.

Since Shuya had decided to visit the Shrine, he certainly wouldn't choose to do so at night when visibility was poor.

He made up an excuse that he wanted to take a walk by himself, and then he went out alone without any worries.

After leaving the hotel and heading out of the city, he didn't go straight to the Shrine. Instead, he bought a lot of "fried tofu," which is said to be a favorite food of foxes, and set off with it.

Shuya go with hostility; he went with the intention of paying a visit.

After all... he likes Rena, and the Fox God likes Rena too.

Aren't they in cahoots?

Given that there are quite a few foxes near the Shrine, Shuya bought several large boxes of fried tofu.

If the Fox God is still awake by then, it's a good time to bribe him.

If all else fails... Shuya smiled confidently, thinking to himself:

---I'm actually running pretty fast.

Shuya left from another road in the city and soon returned to the stone steps in front of the Shrine he had visited that night.

Rustling... rustling...

A pair of beautiful foxes gracefully emerged from the grass and crouched on either side of the stone steps.

Good afternoon, I'm here again.

Shuya greeted him very politely.

The foxes remained motionless, just like that day, crouching on the ground and staring at Shuya with their dark eyes.

Shuya waited a few seconds, and after confirming that he would not receive a response, he walked straight up the stairs without looking to the side.

Foxes kept coming out and crouching down along the way.

Until the Nine Pairs of Foxes appeared.

Shuya saw that vermilion Torii Gate again.

This time he was determined; he wasn't just going to linger, he was going to go in.

He avoided the center of the Torii Gate, walked to the left side, and bowed inwards.

This is the basic etiquette for worship.

After bowing, Shuya stepped onto the stone steps (stone steps) Approach Path to the approach to the Shrine.

After climbing about twenty stone steps, Shuya ascended the Approach Path.

He continued to walk on the left.

The center of the Approach Path is called "the center," and it is the passageway for the deities to walk through.

If you are in a crowded and unavoidable situation, you can naturally walk in the middle.

But at this moment, Shuya and had plenty of space to move around, so he wouldn't deliberately walk in the middle to test the Fox God's temper.

As soon as Shuya stepped onto the Approach Path, he saw a hand-washing pool (Purification Pavilion) on his left.

Shuya put his things aside, picked up a ladle, filled it with water, and washed his left hand first, then his right.

Next, pour water onto your left hand and dab it on your lips. Wash your left hand again, then stand the ladle upright and use the remaining water in the ladle to clean the handle.

After the ceremony was completed, Shuya breathed a sigh of relief and had time to admire the scenery of the Shrine.

The Shrine is small, but it has everything you need.

Shuya started by looking along the Approach Path.

At the end of the Approach Path, you can see the offering box, followed by the worship hall and the Main Hall.

Shuya then turned his gaze back to what was nearby.

I saw stone lanterns with fox patterns carved on them on both sides of the Approach Path.

Further away, I saw a shelf displaying Ema plaques).

Oh, right. There are two fox statues on either side of the main hall.

This is a well-maintained little Shrine.

After surveying the surroundings, Shuya proceeded onward.

As he walked along the Approach Path, he felt that the Shrine was very quiet, and there was no one working at all.

The place wasn't big, and he quickly walked to the offering box.

Hello, is there a God here?

Shuya habitually put on a friendly smile.

"I am Inoue Shuya. I have heard that there are gods living in this place, so I have come to pay my respects."

He bowed his head very politely.

But several minutes passed and there was still no response.

It seems that the Fox God is indeed asleep.

Those foxes outside may have been drawn to this place by a sleeping deity of their own kind, and came here spontaneously.

They gradually gained sentience from the unintentional power emanating from the gods and have been living and multiplying near the Shrine ever since.

Of course, it's also possible that they were originally the retinue of the Fox God.

In any case, with the Fox God asleep, they have nothing to do.