Come Learn About the God I Worship, Sir

"Is there really a job where you just sit still, put out a box, and money comes rolling in?"

"Yes, there is."

Hoshino explained the profession of a shrine maiden to Rope, including how one had to be a girl, could not marry after becoming one, had to serve for life, and so on...

The more Rope listened, the stranger it sounded.

This was a shrine maiden?

Why did it sound a little like one of those three vulgar trades? Lungmen was a free and open mobile city-state where people from every walk of life survived. Rope had grown up alone in the slums and had seen quite a few women like that.

"I know what you're thinking."

Hoshino said irritably, "That shouldn't be your reaction. As far as I know, Kjerag's saintess has that kind of job too, except she has less freedom than I do."

"Sorry for never having left Lungmen my whole life!"

Yet even with the mention of Kjerag, that religious nation devoted to the Saintess of the Snowy Mountains, Rope still had no real impression of it.

Hoshino could only continue explaining tirelessly.

"I get it!"

After a while, Rope finally understood what Hoshino meant by [shrine maiden].

"You protect people. You're a godfather, an emperor revered by both the underworld and the law. You use swords to seek justice, and you recite eulogies at funerals. The reason people willingly give you money without asking for anything in return is entirely because they fear and respect you, right?"

"It's hard to argue with it when you put it that way."

Hoshino smiled awkwardly. "You're barely half right."

"I get it!"

"You get jack!"

Lungmenites did not understand Sichuan dialect, so Hoshino hurriedly explained, "A hammer is something hard. What I mean is... your understanding is thorough and solid. You don't have any other strange ideas."

Rope nodded in sudden realization. She had thought she was being scolded.

Now that they knew what a shrine maiden did, they had to get to work without delay. Most of Rope's furniture consisted of sturdy cardboard boxes. Though it was not particularly proper, one was perfect for holding offerings. Besides, this was the slums, so everything could be kept simple.

"The question is, who do we collect money from?"

Hoshino noticed something: the moment "collecting money" came up, Rope was even more excited than she was, her eyes shining with the distinctive gleam of a money grubber.

Kind of cute.

Hoshino decided to let her choose.

Rope walked out carrying a cardboard box, while Hoshino followed close behind. With a shrine maiden like her, protection fees could justifiably become incense offerings. It was reasonable and lawful, as natural as going door to door to collect taxes.

Was that really how it worked?

In truth, Hoshino only had a superficial understanding of shrine maidens as a cultural symbol. Most of what she knew came from anime, comics, and games.

She only knew that shrine maidens were very sexy.

Before leaving, Hoshino wanted to find a handy weapon. She did not have the ability to chop people down with her bare hand. After looking around, the broken sword was still the most comfortable thing to use.

Fine.

A broken sword it was.

Rope also found it a little strange, but the big shot looked utterly confident. She probably thought a broken sword was enough. Sometimes, those powerful beings who surpassed ordinary people truly possessed qualities ordinary people could not understand.

It never occurred to her that perhaps Hoshino had only found this one weapon nearby.

Still, with Yae Sakura's swordsmanship, as long as she did not run into anyone whose name she knew, she really could throw her weight around.

Not that she would throw her weight around...

Hoshino snuffed out that spark of inspiration, closed her eyes, and touched her ear, feeling that Rope had influenced her.

"By the way, does a shrine maiden have any requirements when it comes to distinguishing dirty money from clean money?"

Rope suddenly asked curiously. Hoshino had not researched this much either, so she could only weave lie after lie from her shallow religious knowledge.

Even she did not believe the words coming out of her mouth.

Hoshino answered with difficulty, "Well... once money reaches the gods, it transcends the cycle of reincarnation. No matter what karma it is tainted with, once it enters my offering box, it becomes the cleanest child in the world... Besides, what decent person prays to gods and worships Buddhas?"

"Got it!"

Rope immediately declared that she understood.

Given the state of her reading comprehension, Rope saying she understood did not necessarily mean she truly understood, but she had definitely found a target.

Sure enough, Hoshino was led to a harbor in Lungmen.

It was called a harbor, but it was not very large. Above concrete bridge piers lay a stretch of wooden planks, like a small mooring point for little fishing boats heading out for recreation, or a sea-fishing spot prepared for anglers.

The sea breeze blew straight at them.

Hoshino caught the distinctive salty, fishy smell. She did not dislike it, but she could not say she liked it much either.

A fox's nose was far more sensitive than a human's.

"The owner here is called Karon, a Forte. Little Wind Harbor may look ordinary, but it's actually a major smuggling route. Large ships have to be inspected when they dock, so they usually stop out at sea. Small boats carry the cargo here, and once it reaches this place, it has entered Lungmen without anyone noticing."

On this land that hid filth and corruption, Rope was an excellent guide.

She had once considered breaking in to steal some salted fish to eat, but quickly discovered that Little Wind Harbor's security far exceeded normal standards.

Only after investigating from several directions did Rope learn what this place was for.

She was an insignificant blade of grass wandering along the edge of darkness, searching for chances to survive in the cracks and constantly pursuing opportunities to walk beneath the sun. People like Karon, meanwhile, were rivets rooted in darkness, thriving in the slums and thoroughly enjoying such a life.

"Do you feel guilty?"

Hoshino suddenly comforted her. "There's no need to. A shrine maiden is an agent of the gods in this world. Every action she takes is the gods' will. You just have to do as you're told."

"Miss Shrine Maiden, who is your god?"

"Uh... my god was stuffed into a can and made into an ingredient. Honestly, even when it still existed, I found it pretty annoying. So when I say [the gods' will], I usually mean—my own will."

The small talk ended there.

The large iron gate outside the sheltered harbor slowly opened. Under the cover of moonlight, a thin old Forte man approached slowly, his footsteps blending into the sea breeze. Rope wanted to warn the big shot, but when she turned around, she found that Hoshino had already vanished.

Beneath the moonlight, amid the sea breeze.

The pink-haired shrine maiden walked toward him beneath the stars and moon, a cool blade aura lingering endlessly within her sheath, gentle yet lethal.

Hoshino felt that she was not embodying Yae Sakura, but rather a shrine maiden who was perpetually short on money—Reimu Hakurei. Whenever a shrine maiden lacked money, she naturally wanted to promote her own god.

Even if Yae Sakura's god was some unknown creature like Hiyumaru.

"Sir, our god can eat, sleep, and be tossed into a pot. Are you sure you don't want to make an offering?"