Our Diet Member has finally approved the separation of the Kinseki Group from the Kinsekikai.
Mio
As long as you now accept the role of chairman, the Kinseki Group and the Kinsekikai can go their separate ways.
Mifune
Then why don't we hold the succession ceremony during tomorrow's fireworks festival? What do you think?
Mio
Tessai's views have not changed. Now, he even has Hoshiguma on his side, is one day really enough time for us to...?
Mifune
Yes.
Mifune
I saw your brow twitch. I know what you're thinking. You know I don't joke about things like this, yet you still don't believe me. Basically, you think that...
Mifune
I shouldn't have forced you to forge a letter in the Old Man's name, and that calling Hoshiguma back here did nothing but cause trouble for everyone... is that it?
Mio
......
Mifune
Twenty years ago... Hoshiguma... and that shield of hers... spilled quite a bit of blood. After all, it was the last thing the Old Man forged... Mio, have you ever been to his home?
Mio
Yes, many years ago.
Mifune
What is his house full of?
Mio
Televisions.
Mifune
That's right, televisions.
Mifune
The Old Man might be stubborn, but his instincts are still sharp, some of the time.
Mifune
He knew that if the Kinsekikai continued their unending torrent of bloodshed, we were bound to be destroyed sooner or later. So he set his sights on Originium crystalline components.
Mifune
He quickly converted his metalworking shop into a workshop for crystalline components, and it was an instant success. After that, the Old Man no longer had time to forge the legendary weapons he loved most.
Mifune
Just as his crystal business was really taking off, the Old Man suddenly acquired the materials, and techniques, to forge shields from a fallen noble house of the Mitsumoto faction.
Mifune
They say that he spent nearly half of the Group's liquid assets to acquire them.
Mifune
That shield, the last shield the old man ever forged, the shield he had spent so many assets to acquire... do you ever think it might have had some special significance to the Kinsekikai?
Mio
The transition to a new leader.
Mifune
Even you knew that... but the Old Man just let the matter sit there. He kept putting it off and putting it off, all the way until the Southern Court was about to hold the first meeting of its Diet.
Mifune
You young ones grew up with the Diet, but back in my day, no one even knew what it was.
Mifune
We thought the Diet was going to revamp the bureaucracy as soon as they took office, but it took them a few years to get around to it.
Mifune
Back then, all we'd heard was that the members of the Diet were to be chosen from among the commoners. The entire Southern Court was in an uproar, and then that poor fool, Koretou, emerged.
Mio
The candidate?
Mifune
Yes. He had a whole heap of political views, but his core aim was to drive us, the Kinsekikai, out of Kajimachi.
Mifune
He roused a bunch of useless rabble and had them shouting and yelling outside Kajimachi all day and night. It made it impossible for us to do business.
Mifune
The Old Man, no... not just him, the whole Kinsekikai didn't take Koretou seriously at first, but every day, he recruited more and more troublemakers.
Mio
So... you decided to get rid of him.
Mifune
Yes, and you know the rest of the story, of course. After Koretou died, the Kinsekikai learned what real public fury looks like.
Mifune
That was also when I learned that to the Four Great Clans, the members of the Diet are nothing but stage props...
Mifune
But to us... they're people who can decide our fate with a single word.
Mio
With all due respect, you could just come out and say it: if Chairman Tessai refuses to yield, you'll need Hannya at the succession ceremony.
Mifune
I say, sometimes you really do sound just like him.
Mifune
Of course, Tessai lording it over me is one thing. Hearing it from someone as steadfast and frank as you is another thing entirely.
Mifune
In truth, once the Kinseki Group splits from the Kinsekikai, I obviously can't stay on as chairman. Is there anyone else, besides you, who can take my place?
Mio
......
Mifune
The day I step into politics and build a power base of my own, you and your Kinsekikai won't be forgotten.
Mifune bursts out laughing to himself.
The woman before him remains expressionless. Is it habitual impassivity, incredulity, or mere indifference to Mifune's grand vision? There's no way to tell.
Mifune
For now, Momoka is still our top priority.
Mifune
She knows too much, and she's in cahoots with that information broker.
Mifune
She even leapt out a window just to keep Sanoguchi's broken blade on her. Don't you understand what that means?
Mio
Mifune-san——
Mifune
You were too kind-hearted to kill her, and you were willing to admit that to me. That's good. I can promise you this much: we can reconsider our plan to infect her with Oripathy.
Mifune
First, however, you must bring her to me.
Mifune
That broken blade she's carrying.... we must recover its guard, no matter the cost.
Mifune
Secondly, there's no way she can continue her career as an entertainer. From now on, she'll have to remain firmly under our control.
Mifune
Are you okay with that?
Mio
You are most magnanimous.
Mifune
No. When you bring her here, she should be the one thanking you.
Although no other visitors are present, the garden no longer seems so empty and quiet, with four humans and a kami walking through it.
Kichisei begins thrusting forward anything and everything she has that a woman could conceivably scrawl a signature on. Startled by the sudden barrage, Momoka keeps her autographing hand moving without pause.
On the other side of the courtyard, the kannushi cradles the kami, who only moments ago was darting about. The kami speaks to Hoshiguma.
Unruffled Priest
You must understand, the kami was the one who wanted to play games with you. As a kannushi, I could only stand and watch—I couldn't interfere. Please forgive me, Hoshiguma-san.
Nosy Kami
Well, you sure were happy to watch, weren't you?
Unruffled Priest
Was I?
Hoshiguma
I think so.
Unruffled Priest
Wholeheartedly serving the kami is bound to lift one's mood. I imagine you felt it too just now, Hoshiguma-san—and you, Momoka-san.
Hoshiguma
I'm more interested in why It broke into my house in middle of the night.
Nosy Kami
What do you mean? You talk like I'm some kind of dangerous fiend. Wouldn't you think it was strange if someone was cleaning out junk from a cursed house, and then went to sleep in said haunted house?
Hoshiguma
Just because it's a haunted house? There are so many killings in Mitsukue, and Kajimachi is hardly a peaceful place. So why did you have to go snooping around my home in particular?
Nosy Kami
Because of the kaidan stories.
Hoshiguma
Are you or are you not involved with those kaidan stories? Tell me.
Nosy Kami
'Simply appearing at the same time that a few strange events occur' and 'being the one who spawned the haunted house and the kaidan stories' are two very different things, alright?
Nosy Kami
If I could spawn kaidan stories all by myself, what would I be doing riding a unicycle all over the place?
Hoshiguma
So basically, you were just tagging along for fun, but people mistook you for the kaidan from the legend?
Nosy Kami
Not bad. You're pretty sharp.
Nosy Kami
I'm telling you, being a kami is a job that depends entirely on the whims of fate.
Nosy Kami
This Kizuna Jinja is about bringing people together. Most of you spend your whole lives dealing with other people, and there's probably nothing more important than the bonds you form, don't you think?
Nosy Kami
When times are stable, people pray for their existing bonds to last. When times are turbulent, they pray for these bonds to carry them through—or for new ones to form.
Nosy Kami
But over the past decade or so, fewer and fewer people have come here. These days, on our best days, we only get a dozen or so visitors.
Hoshiguma
Is this true, Kannushi-sama?
Unruffled Priest
It's exaggerating a bit, but we indeed have been getting far fewer visitors the past few years.
Nosy Kami
Some kami are lazy. The fewer visitors they get, the happier they are. I'm not like that. If it's always this slow, I'm going to die of boredom, you know?
Nosy Kami
Speaking of lazy.
Hoshiguma
What?
Nosy Kami
There's a lazy one right at your feet.
Hoshiguma looks down at her feet, but there is nothing there, only the stone floor of the shrine.
Nosy Kami
Hey, show yourself, you're the shrine's star, no?
Slacker Kami
......
Hoshiguma reaches down to feel around her feet.
The priest can see that Hogishuma's hand is touching the center of the kami's body, yet Hoshiguma doesn't even realize that she's touched anything at all.
Nosy Kami
Here's the reason our shrine is known for forging bonds. Whenever he feels someone has been having good luck in love or relationships, it'll show itself.
Nosy Kami
But if it thinks you haven't had much luck with relationships lately, or that you're about to have a run of terrible luck, it'll flat-out refuse to show itself.
Nosy Kami
I've said all of that, and yet it still doesn't want to appear before you. It sounds like you're in for some bad luck.
Hoshiguma
......
Unruffled Priest
Your actions will determine your future. You don't have to take Its words at face value, Hoshiguma-san.
Nosy Kami
Why are you speaking against your own kami?
Nosy Kami
Basically, when people get bored, they tend to pursue random aims. Kami are no different.
Nosy Kami
Right after you disappeared, the kaidan tales started to spread through Mitsukue. There's nothing wrong with chasing a few kaidan to pass the time, is there?
Nosy Kami
Why the silent treatment? Do you fear your imminent misfortune?
Hoshiguma
Not really. I just didn't expect that a kami would chase after something so fleeting and unreal.
Nosy Kami
Why you little!
Hoshiguma
Regardless, you are not the kami Moriuchi is looking for.
Nosy Kami
Of course not.
Hoshiguma
But, might I trouble you to come travel with us? Talk is cheap. If you could just chat with him the way you're chatting with me and Momoka for a bit...
Nosy Kami
Kannushi-sama, help! This Oni wants to steal away your beloved kami!
Unruffled Priest
These past few years, Moriuchi has given me many gifts, including a never-ending supply of oden.
Nosy Kami
Hmph.
Nosy Kami
Forget it. I'm a softy, after all. I'll go with you.
Momoka
Hoshiguma, have you finished your chat with the priest?
Hoshiguma
We're almost finished. Where is Kichisei?
Momoka
She left already. She had to go back and mind the store.
Nosy Kami
Is this girl coming with us?
Hoshiguma
Yes, Momoka is coming too. She knows all the kaidan stories. That should be enough to convince you to tag along, yeah?
Nosy Kami
I already told you I was going. I didn't need more convincing, so why does it matter that she's coming with?
Despite its words, the kami still pedals its unicycle over to Momoka, sniffing to the left and peeking over to the right, looking thoroughly intrigued.
Nosy Kami
Little girl, I've seen so many of your TV shows. Have you been afflicted with some kind of curse?
Momoka
H-How should I know?!
Momoka
I'm actually afraid of kaidan. I just want a quiet life, without all the weird stuff.
Nosy Kami
You're not the least bit curious about them?
Momoka
I just want to advance my entertainment career.
Momoka
The kaidan stuff helped me broaden my audience, but I don't really feel... that's the best way to do it.
Momoka
Entertainers should rely on their own talent to bring people joy. That's how it should be done.
Nosy Kami
There aren't too many people who still think like you do. Interesting.
Momoka
By the way, I wanted to ask you something! Last night, some really scary stuff happened in my house!
Momoka
Out of nowhere, my TV started controlling itself; it showed clips of me singing, cut together with those blaring emergency alerts.
Momoka
Then at the end, I have no idea why, but it played a really... scary video.
Nosy Kami
Tsk tsk tsk! What was the video about? Some cryptid? A bloody murder scene?
Momoka
None of those things. It was... a video of Mio-san. And soon after the video ended, she actually did show up at my place...
Nosy Kami
Wasn't that just your TV on the fritz? That's not the kind of kaidan I'm looking for.
Hoshiguma
It's not?
Hoshiguma
You've been studying these kaidan. Don't you think they're actually just humans messing around?
Nosy Kami
You really don't get it, do you? If the ghost stories were all just human mischief, would I even be investigating them in the first place?
Nosy Kami
Each of these kaidan defy any conceivable explanation.
Nosy Kami
When people can't figure out the cause of something, guys like Moriuchi just go and pin the blame on us kami.
Nosy Kami
And if even a kami can't figure out what's going on, well, that just means there's someone or something stronger, more mysterious, and way more thrilling than me pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Hoshiguma
But you're the one riding the unicycle.
Nosy Kami
Ahem... That doesn't matter. Don't try to change the subject!
Hoshiguma
So you mean you're also chasing kami? You're chasing the 'kami above the kami'?
Nosy Kami
Exactly!
Momoka
Kichisei?
Hoshiguma
You swapped terminal numbers with Kichisei?
Momoka
Yes. The agency doesn't usually let me interact with my fans. And she's such a big one.
Momoka
Hello? Kichisei?
Momoka
What?
Momoka
What?!
Momoka
That's not true! I didn't mean it—that's not what I meant!
Momoka
Right! I never once said I was running!
Momoka
Yes. Uhuh.
Momoka
You can't talk now...? You think you're being followed?!
Momoka
Okay. Well then I'll...
Momoka
Oh? The shrine too?
Momoka
Right. I'll tell everyone right away. Be careful!
Hoshiguma
Someone spread word that you're running away?
Momoka
Kichisei said it was spreading all over the forums. It didn't seem like some random rumor, more like something Kinseki Channel deliberately leaked…
Hoshiguma
What's up with Kichisei then?
Momoka
A Kinsekikai guy was tailing her. She also said the area around the shrine might not be safe, she saw people sneaking around when she stepped out through the shrine gate.
Unruffled Priest
The next time you see Kichisei, please thank her for me.
Unruffled Priest
You really don't need to be too worried. Whether or not the yakuza are running around Mitsukue, even if they dare invade the shrine, they're just causing themselves trouble.
Unruffled Priest
If you need to take shelter within the shrine grounds, you can head inside. I'll handle everything else. If you'd rather leave, I'll show you the way out. Take the side path.
Hoshiguma
I think we'd better leave. The longer we stay here, the more men they can deploy around here to get us.
Hoshiguma
Momoka, you're gonna have to ride the scooter.
Momoka
Okay! I've been riding all night. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it!
Hoshiguma
Then we'll be going, Kannushi-sama.
Nosy Kami
If I go with you, are those yakuza going to chase me too?
Hoshiguma
We'll try our hardest not to attract any attention—
Nosy Kami
Then I'll be the one providing cover?
Hoshiguma
By 'cover,' you mean—
Momoka
You're going to help us draw away the yakuza, right?
Nosy Kami
That's pretty much the idea. Playing those slow-witted yakuza fools every now and then, well, it's not as thrilling as chasing kaidan, but it does pass the time.
Nosy Kami
I'll make a break through the front gate first to distract the dumb yakuza goons. You all slip out the back and we'll rendezvous at that moron's yatai.
Before anyone even has the chance to respond, the unicycle shoots through the shrine gate like lightning, its pedals spinning so fast they're just a blur.
Unruffled Priest
It seems like that kami really cares about you.
Momoka
Haha...
Unruffled Priest
But now's not the time for sentimentality. You two come over here. I'll show you the way.
Momoka
This path is pretty well-hidden...
Unruffled Priest
Yes, but that's not to say that no one will find it. Get out of here as quickly as you can.
Hoshiguma
Thank you for your help and generosity.
Unruffled Priest
Don't mention it—
Reporter's Voice
There's something moving over this way! Come on! Bring your camera over here! I think there's someone here!
Camera Operator's Voice
This area is still part of the shrine grounds. Are you sure it's okay for us to barge in here?
Reporter's Voice
What matters more: Mifune-san's orders, or some dumb shrine rules? Get over here!
Reporter's Voice
You don't need to start throwing hands like a street thug! You just need a mic and a camera, and you're set. Can you think of an easier gig?! Get over here!
Unruffled Priest
......
Momoka
Kannushi-sama, wh—what do we do now?!
The kannushi says nothing. The easygoing look he's worn—with an occasional hint of self-satisfaction—is nowhere to be found.
Unruffled Priest
You two, please wait here for a moment.
Momoka
You're going to go fight them?
Unruffled Priest
Just the usual routine, clearing away a bit of lingering evil
The priest gives the gohei a casual flick. The wind chimes fall silent as the leaves quiver. The air suddenly turns thin and clear.
Gleaming fire gushes from the wide sleeves of his robe, like streams of spring water—neither surging nor even trembling—only drifting quietly through the air, until a gust of wind sweeps through from the shrine gate.
It is a cruel wind, sharp as a knife, the kind no kami would raise in idle sport with humankind.
Seeing the faint foxfire flare up in the rear courtyard, the kami at the shrine gate lets go of the handlebars and rises to its feet. With a trace of pride, it lifts a forepaw and sweeps it through the air—
The crystalline flames burst like exorcising thunder, and the shimenawa hung around the shrine instantly ignite with foxfire, severing the mortal world from the divine realm.
The fierce wind erupts along the edge of the divine realm, tearing away every camera, drone, and listening device, along with their camouflage, and hurling them into the air.
Camera Operator's Voice
Woah! That's some wind! Why is all the equipment flying all over the place?!
The gohei slices into the wind and shears apart the surging foxfire. The wind strips the casings off the surveillance equipment, while the flames shoot through each newly exposed core with perfect precision.
The surveillance equipment ignites with brilliant, silent white flames; a moment later, bursts apart and falls to the ground as bits of scorched charcoal.
Momoka
Kannushi-sama...? Are you actually an Arts master?
Unruffled Priest
Just a few little tricks, is all. Nothing spectacular.
