Chapter 30: Morimori Shrine (Please Follow!)

Around the task description, Niino Li had intended to continue analyzing, but the current information was too fragmented, lacking a clear main thread to connect it all.

Even the sole shrine maiden Ghost Spirit had vanished.

"After this is over, I'll go to Ikamiyama City." Niino Li dipped his brush in paint and pointed it at the pristine white canvas.

Japanese school hours typically begin around eight or half past eight; for Niino Li, who had always risen at six to rush to class for morning reading, it felt like paradise.

Perhaps the initial enthusiasm had worn off—just like yesterday, the classroom was clearly half empty at seven-thirty.

Only as the bell was about to ring did a flood of students burst through the door.

Like adding dry wood to a nearly extinguished stove, the fire roared to life—Boom—.

Tokyo is so hot.

After the first class ended, an unexpected person came looking for him.

"Niino-kun, good morning, thank you for visiting me yesterday."

A familiar voice came from above—he looked up—

It was Tomizawa Osamu, the one he'd spoken with yesterday afternoon.

Now, he looked vibrant, smiling warmly, the picture of a kind-hearted man.

Strange!

Niino Li suppressed his surprise and replied coolly: "It's nothing."

"By the way, do you have time after school today? I'd like someone to accompany me to a nearby Kamiya Shrine, but Ishikawa and the others are all at club practice." Tomizawa Osamu extended the invitation.

His words drew glances from several girls nearby.

Niino Li's earlier image—stiff, odd—still lingered in their minds; accepting invitations simply didn't fit his persona.

"Niino-kun, you..." The earring girl beside him stepped forward kindly.

"Sure. Anything else?" He turned his head back to his book.

His quiet voice startled everyone nearby; their eyes instinctively widened.

Is this really the cold, rebellious Niino Li?

"Not right now. See you this afternoon." Tomizawa Osamu's eyes flickered with surprise—he'd almost recited his prepared lines.

"Niino-kun, did something happen to you this summer? You've changed so much."

A familiar voice reached his ear.

Niino Li gently closed his book, turned, and looked earnestly at the earring girl beside him: "What's your name again?"

"You jerk! I'm Miki Suzu! Remember it!"

Time always slips away unnoticed.

On the second day of school, thanks to the opportunity Tomizawa Osamu created, Niino Li successfully deepened his contact with his desk partner.

Humans are social animals; as long as one lives among people, interaction is inevitable.

The original body had been consumed by worries over survival and future prospects, inevitably sacrificing his social circle.

Thus, Niino Li would help him reclaim it.

"Tomizawa-kun, if you're feeling better, why don't you go to Art Club practice?"

Watching Tomizawa Osamu standing casually outside the window, Niino Li slung his bag over his shoulder and stepped out of the classroom—it was hard to reconcile him with the gloomy, furious figure from yesterday afternoon.

But he shoved his hands in his pockets and exhaled slowly: "What's wrong with doing less? At least I don't have to worry about outdoing others—just take it easy."

"This is the life I want now. What about you?"

"Me?"

The route wasn't long—it resembled the path to Tomizawa Osamu's house.

Summer evenings weren't cool; the air, thick with moisture, clung heavily like an unshakable resentment.

Standing on the cool gray stone steps, listening to the rustle of wind through leaves, Niino Li stared into the flowing crimson within his pupils—

A vermilion torii gate.

He strained to widen his eyes, desperate to see clearly.

"Niino-kun, is this your first time at a Kamiya Shrine? That structure is a torii—vermilion is said to repel demonic power, like a monk's barrier."

Seeing Niino Li frozen in place, Tomizawa Osamu pointed and explained.

"Mm-hmm."

"This shrine has been half-closed due to declining popularity, but as a tourist spot, visitors still come often to take photos." Tomizawa Osamu pulled an ancient copper coin from his pocket.

"This coin comes from the offering box before the shrine statue—visitors may either toss yen coins directly or exchange them for copper coins to pray."

From after school until climbing the shrine steps, Tomizawa Osamu had tried repeatedly to communicate with Niino Li, with little success.

"So—this shrine still has a deity inside, right?" Niino Li caressed the torii's pillar dreamily, as if savoring the act.

"Well..." Tomizawa Osamu paused, then chuckled: "The deity won't disappear—the shrine is merely the gateway through which we connect with them."

"Tomizawa-kun really is well-read." Niino Li withdrew his hand; golden afternoon sunlight fell across his face, lending him an air of sacredness.

Where others couldn't see, his right palm burned like a branding iron.

It hurt.

"I just read it in books—if you're curious, you can look it up easily." Tomizawa Osamu waved his hand and slowly approached the ancient main hall.

Before the hall's entrance stood a purplish-red shrine alcove; sparse light made its interior indistinct.

Tomizawa Osamu placed the copper coin into the offering box, tugged the ancient bronze bell, then clasped his hands together, praying solemnly.

As Niino Li surveyed the Kamiya Shrine named Morimori, his expression shifted—unexplained, a surge of violence rose within him—

The urge to destroy this shrine!

Niino Li forced his gaze back to Tomizawa Osamu, bowing deeply, to distract himself.

Devout, focused—as if his entire being had merged with the twilight.

Gradually, Niino Li saw Tomizawa Osamu's body—a shadow shaped like him flickered like an old machine's tape, flashed twice, then remerged into his body.

Then, Tomizawa Osamu opened his eyes.

"Niino-kun, won't you pray? It might actually work," Tomizawa Osamu said gently, but his eyes alternated between anger and hatred, his demeanor changed.

"No problem."

When Niino Li looked again, the other's expression had already returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

Turning to look at Tomizawa Osamu's smiling face, Niino Li's throat moved slightly; he took out a 100-yen coin from his body and dropped it into the box.

Then he pulled the bronze bell to inform the gods.

Next, he silently spoke the content of his prayer.

The sun on the horizon had long vanished; dark clouds grew darker and lower, pressing straight down from the sky.

When Niino Li silently recited the content of his prayer—

The wind arose!