Chapter 49

“Xia Mei...”

Toshinori Miyanomori was dumbfounded, on the verge of tears.

What’s going on? Just a moment ago everything was fine—why has Xia Mei suddenly decided I’m lying to her? What did I do?

He was utterly confused, not understanding why his granddaughter Xia Mei had suddenly screamed—but he still tried hard to explain, unwilling to let her sink deeper into delusion.

“Grandpa! You really lied to me! You said demons don’t exist, that shrine maidens and priests are frauds—all of it’s a lie! You just think exorcising demons is too dangerous and don’t want me involved!”

Xia Mei Miyanomori cut off Toshinori’s words, her clear, beautiful eyes shimmering with sparkling tears like tiny stars.

Her fair, flawless face flushed with excitement.

Huh??

Toshinori Miyanomori was completely stunned—he had no idea why his granddaughter Xia Mei had fallen into this madness right after leaving the deep mountains.

Could it be that playing with her phone bored her, and she couldn’t suppress the urge to investigate shrines and study demons and monsters, so it exploded out of her?

As Toshinori Miyanomori rapidly thought and tried to figure out how to explain...

Xia Mei Miyanomori stepped forward quickly, her face flushed with excitement, pointing at her phone screen.

“Grandpa, look at this—this is proof. Demons are causing chaos now. You can’t hide it anymore.”

“Huh??” Toshinori Miyanomori wore a bewildered expression, staring intently at the phone.

The next moment.

“Impossible!!”

Toshinori Miyanomori’s aged eyes widened in shock, his expression shaken.

The phone screen displayed a video and news report: the video showed footage of Yunhu, and the news headline read—Demons Have Emerged...

In an instant, Toshinori Miyanomori snatched the phone and frantically scrolled through the news.

Time passed.

His face shifted from surprise to astonishment, then to horror, and finally to terror.

At the same time, he kept muttering in disbelief.

“Impossible, how could this be, what’s going on here, heaven above! This can’t be real!!”

Toshinori Miyanomori’s words and actions changed, but Xia Mei paid no attention—she was lost in pure excitement, chirping like a oriole, her voice sweet and melodious.

“Hehe~ Grandpa, now how are you going to lie to me? Demons are making headlines everywhere—you can’t hide it anymore.”

“I told you all along—demons and gods must be real. You just thought demons were too strong and feared I’d get hurt.”

“Oh my, I’m truly deserving of death—I almost believed your lies that demons and shrines were all fake. But the gods probably won’t mind, since you only did it out of love for me. Still, my cultivation is clearly insufficient—I actually let myself be swayed. My willpower isn’t strong enough.”

“Come to think of it, I always wondered why I couldn’t find any demons in the mountains—turns out they all went to the Demon World.”

At that moment...

“Xia Mei, listen to me—this isn’t real. Let me explain...”

Seeing Xia Mei Miyanomori’s growing obsession with the Shinto path, Toshinori Miyanomori panicked and hurried to explain.

Ding-ding-ding.

His phone rang, cutting him off.

Toshinori wanted to curse—he hated being interrupted now—but when he saw the caller ID...

It was the Governor of Aichi Prefecture.

This was a top Japanese official and his close friend—he had to answer.

“Is it Shōma? I...”

He’d barely uttered the first word when Governor Itō interrupted from the other end.

Finally got through to you, Kenji! Where are you? Why was your phone offline? Are you in the Demon World?

I’m not calling for official business—I’m calling as an old friend. No beating around the bush—I’m coming straight to the point. Kenji, you must have heard about what happened in Arakawa Ward, right?

“I’m asking you—do you know something about it?”

“????”

Toshinori Miyanomori’s eyes widened—what the hell was Shōma talking about?

Before he could speak, Governor Itō continued without pause.

Kenji, I’m not stupid. If demons are real, then shrines and temples can’t possibly be hidden forever—they must have some supernatural power too, right?

“Tell me honestly—are you practicing a Daoist art? Are other shrines and temples also hiding powerful monks or shrine priests who can destroy demons?”

“And... I think it’s unlikely, but knowing your character, I don’t believe you were involved. So—was this demon portal opened by another shrine? Can you give me any clues?”

“...” Toshinori Miyanomori froze, stunned in place.

After hearing all of Itō’s words, even if he’d been confused before, he now understood perfectly—and he couldn’t help but scream internally, “What the hell?!”

He realized—it was exactly what Xia Mei had shown him on the phone. He’d originally dismissed it as fake, planning to explain it away as fabricated.

But now...

Governor Itō was calling about the same thing—he had to believe it. After all, Itō was a top Japanese official; he wouldn’t joke about something like this.

Silence.

Toshinori Miyanomori was speechless, his mind numb, his head throbbing.

What the hell is happening to this world?

I was just in the deep mountains for five days, completely cut off from society—how did the world change so much? Did I somehow get transported to another world, along with my granddaughter? Is this now another world?

Moshi moshi? Kenji, are you listening? Why aren’t you answering? You’re there, right? If you have time in a few days, come to Tokyo. The government is holding a gathering of shrine priests and temple abbots—the Prime Minister will be there too. He has something to ask you. You know what I mean.

Governor Itō’s voice came through the phone, but Toshinori Miyanomori heard nothing—he was staring at Xia Mei, his face twisted in despair.

Now wasn’t the time to answer the call.

Because he realized a deadly critical problem—he didn’t know whether shrines and temples truly had supernatural power, but he knew for certain that neither he nor his granddaughter did. And Xia Mei didn’t know that.

Given her obsession with demons and the Shinto path, she’d definitely go out to exorcise them.

Recalling the terrifying destruction shown in the video, if Xia Mei tried to fight demons, she’d be obliterated instantly—no trace left.

Toshinori Miyanomori wanted to cry—he was frantic, pacing like an ant on a hot pan, desperately thinking how to explain to his granddaughter.

Just as he was thinking...

“Grandpa, I’m transferring schools! I’m enrolling in Arakawa High!”

Xia Mei Miyanomori declared firmly, her eyes sparkling with tiny stars, resolute.

“...”

Toshinori Miyanomori’s lip twitched—he nearly burst into tears.

Japan, Arakawa High School.

As soon as class ended, students gathered to chat. Kamikawa Mitsu didn’t join them—he sat quietly by the window, propping his chin on one hand, gazing outside.

His deep eyes, black as the starry sky.

No one noticed—and no one could possibly notice—that the direction Kamikawa Mitsu was looking out the window was precisely Shinjuku Ward, the direction of Japan’s Tokyo Metropolitan Government headquarters.

“They’ve probably finished the meeting.”

Nine times out of ten, the government had already convened a secret high-level meeting, undisclosed to the public. He wondered how they’d react if the meeting’s content had been recorded and uploaded online—probably quite amusing.