Not long after the group entered the shrine, they encountered the shrine maiden and guards hurrying toward them. Seeing Kana covered in blood in Kazemori Masaki's arms, the shrine maiden's heart lurched. Thinking someone had died, she was overcome with sorrow. Were we still too late?
The Shrine Maiden lineage's gift of foresight lent them an air of mystery and earned them great standing among the people. Yet no one knew that this gift was also a curse, for they had to face those tragic futures, sometimes without any way to prevent them.
The Shrine Maiden's visions had always tended toward danger and often involved the deaths of others. There had once been a Shrine Maiden whose foresight was so powerful that she could sense whenever someone around her would die. The current Shrine Maiden lacked that ability, but her daughter, Miroku, would be more powerful than her mother.
Of course, the current Shrine Maiden did not yet know that her granddaughter would possess foresight as powerful as that of the Shrine Maiden recorded in ancient accounts, casting an inescapable shadow over her life.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kazemori. If only we had been a little sooner..." the shrine maiden said apologetically. She felt that such words could never ease the grief in Kazemori Masaki and his companions' hearts, but beyond apologizing, she did not know how to make amends.
To her surprise, however, Kazemori Masaki merely paused for a moment before saying, "No, you're just in time. Please arrange for a healer to come quickly and examine Kana."
This time, the Shrine Maiden froze. She looked down at Kana and only then realized that she was still breathing. Although she was covered in blood, she did not seem seriously hurt. Embarrassment welled up within the Shrine Maiden. Fortunately, she had