The shrine maidens were still Himiko and Iyo, which made Fujimaru Ritsuka feel an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
After all, more accurately speaking, Himiko was the very origin of the term "shrine maiden."
But what kind of deity could possibly be worthy of Himiko and Iyo's service? Such a god was far too arrogant, wasn't it?
"Kanna, you're here." Like everyone else in the village, Himiko seemed to have lost her memories of her Master, Fujimaru Ritsuka. She took Kanna's hand, then noticed something unusual.
"Why did you bring your rifle?"
"The beasts in the mountains have started showing aggression toward me."
Kanna's expression was somewhat grave. She slung the rifle over her back and spoke to Himiko, then turned around to look at the hesitant Fujimaru Ritsuka. At last, a smile appeared on her lips.
"As for this one... he is the one I saw in my prophetic dream, the one who broke through the storm."
"The outsider who came into the village with that strange village chief—Fujimaru Ritsuka."
"H-Hello."
There was a faint hint of pride in the way Kanna introduced him.
But perhaps she was not proud because of his existence, but because her prophetic dream had actually proven useful?
In any case, Fujimaru Ritsuka had his suspicions, though he did not dare confirm them. This village felt rather strange to him.
For instance, as he stood somewhat stiffly within the shrine, he could feel someone's gaze upon him.
It was not Kanna's gaze, nor Himiko's or Iyo's, nor was it Nobunaga's gaze.
Fujimaru Ritsuka looked around, yet found nothing.
There was no one else, nor were there any suspicious objects. It was unlikely to be the statues, either, because there were quite a few of them. If those statues had truly been watching Fujimaru Ritsuka, the