"Mr. Sakumura, I'm so sleepy."
"Can I rest my head on your shoulder and sleep for a while?"
Kanna, dressed in shrine maiden robes, looked utterly exhausted. Clinging to Sakumura's back, she seemed barely able to keep her eyes open.
"Go to sleep. Don't worry, it's fine."
Faced with his daughter's request, Sakumura simply gave her a gentle smile.
"Ms. Fujimaru, what did that person who seemed unwilling to show their true face tell you?"
Takasugi Shinsaku walked ahead, asking Fujimaru Ritsuka at his side.
He appeared quite interested in that so-called "mountain god."
". . . I-I don't really know how to explain it either."
After hesitating for a moment, Fujimaru Ritsuka shook her head. She looked confused, but also deep in thought.
How was she supposed to understand what lay behind the legends?
This was not a Singularity, so what kind of place was this?
The main issue was that she had no way of explaining these things to Mr. Takasugi.
"Then there's no need to explain. I was merely curious, after all." Takasugi smiled, seeming unconcerned as he tapped his shoulder with his sword. "Those words were meant for you, not for me or the rest of us. Perhaps it's best for you to keep them as a secret."
"Ah... In any case, thank you, Mr. Takasugi."
Seeing that Takasugi Shinsaku had already come up with his own reason, Fujimaru Ritsuka could only nod.
On the mountain path, Fujimaru Ritsuka's steps gradually slowed of their own accord.
Little by little, she fell behind everyone else.
Sakumura and his daughter, Takasugi Shinsaku, and Yukina and her daughter walked ahead of her.
Watching their backs, she unconsciously sank into thought.
That was right. What she knew about Mr. Sakumura and the others seemed limited to the parts of their