Chapter 804: Chapter 4: Still Unaware of the Seriousness of the Situation (2)
In the shrine.
The purple-haired goddess was clearly worried, while the blond goddess had a carefree expression, as innocent as a child.
She truly didn’t seem to care at all, her cute face alone was enough to provoke others...
Kanako couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious, yet she couldn’t really ignore this old friend. After all, she knew that Suwako genuinely didn’t care. If it weren’t for her dragging Suwako along and forcing the decision to move the shrine to Fantasy Land, Suwako would have calmly accepted her fate of disappearing.
Even though Suwako could face it calmly...
Kanako couldn’t, and neither could Kochiya. That’s why the whole family relocation plan came into being...
Kanako glared with frustration at her carefree friend, taking her gaze back, lamenting that the team couldn’t move forward—not just due to the changes in the world, but people’s hearts were scattered as well. Not to mention Suwako, who, despite being the leader, was aimless like a salted fish, and that person hadn’t appeared in a long time.
And herself too, back then, she was forced to join—
Yet now, after three years and then another three years, she unknowingly became the spokesperson for Shimotsuki Shrine.
Now she even had to handle the development of Shimotsuki Shrine in reverse, worrying for the ones who forced her to join back then, working hard for them, and what exactly was she striving for?
At this moment...
"Yo, is this an internal meeting of Shimotsuki Shrine... why wasn’t I invited?"
A familiar cheerful voice rang out, catching Kanako off guard as she was brooding over the unsatisfactory faith collection. When she looked up, she found a somewhat long-lost figure standing opposite, using his height to pat Suwako on the head skillfully.
How...
Kanako’s pupils contracted slightly, surprised that she hadn’t perceived anything at all.
Despite her current weakened state, this was still Shimotsuki Shrine, her divine domain, so how could she not perceive anything? Was it that her power had dwindled too much, or had this person unknowingly stepped into an unfathomable realm?
The disparity had reached such an absurd level in this exchange of strengths?
"It’s you... hey! Don’t pat my head!"
Suwako was startled, but quickly recognized him. The blond goddess relaxed, but swiftly slapped his hand away angrily, was he treating her like a child?
"Lord Kanako... Lord Suwako..."
Finally bursting into the shrine, Miss Hahuri looked at the scene before her, utterly shocked.
What happened?
Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
This whole thing was actually easy to explain, given that although Shimotsuki Shrine had altered its doctrine to better collect faith, internally, it had never removed the statement that "Shimotsuki Shrine actually worships three gods."
As the current Hahuri, and the only legitimate heir of Shimotsuki Shrine, Miss Sanae Kochiya naturally knew this secret.
But previously, she only heard it as tales from long ago, with the third god never seen by even the ancestors. She knew about it but never truly realized it.
It was even more unexpected that at this very moment, the most mysterious third god of Shimotsuki Shrine had returned.
No wonder...
The previous strange behavior suddenly made sense, and Kochiya breathed a sigh of relief, but soon felt some confusion. She sat slightly nervously on the side of the shrine, secretly observing the young man opposite her, feeling a disconnection between her perception and impression.
In imagination, it should have been a mysterious and powerful third god...
Was it true?
No Demon Qi, no divinity, no energy response at all, everything was quite natural.
"...The speed at which faith is disappearing is increasing. I’m still in a decent state, but Suwako’s condition is worsening, so we had no choice but to accept the Boundary Demon’s suggestion and move into Fantasy Land, where there’s at least a glimmer of hope."
Kanako recounted calmly, narrating the difficulties they faced over the years, and couldn’t help but glance at a certain irresponsible person—
"We tried to find you, but couldn’t reach you. What else could we do? If not for the Boundary Demon’s certainty, we and Suwako would have thought you were dead..."
"Ahem, it was mainly bad timing," Gu Mo blinked, coughing awkwardly, "I had a troublesome matter to handle recently and couldn’t leave, and when I finally had time, this is how it turned out."
He originally had a residence outside...
It was a Magic Workshop once used by a hermit, but now that he was back, it was gone...
It seemed to have entered Fantasy Land too, right around the area called Lake of Mist...
"A troublesome matter..." Kanako pursed her lips but didn’t plan to delve deep into it, focusing on the urgency of the situation, she directly pointed at the blond goddess: "Anyway, it’s good that you’re here again. Suwako can’t hold on any longer, we need to gather enough faith for her in this Fantasy Land..."
"Don’t worry, I have a plan. Faith isn’t necessary."
Gu Mo glanced over at Suwako and spoke confidently.
......
...
Time gradually passed.
Before they knew it, it was already noon.
Troubled, she returned to the vicinity of the Human World. Looking at the village ahead, sensing the lively and festive atmosphere faintly coming through, the blond maiden gradually stopped, looking somewhat dazed.
She didn’t go to Boli Shrine...
Couldn’t find any trace...
Where did she go exactly, could she have encountered danger at Beast Dao early in the morning?
She was confused, a bit frustrated, unsure if her anger was directed at herself or that person. Initially intending just to let the matter drop, when leaving Human World, she spotted that the Red and White Witch was also in the village shopping.
Alice casually asked, only to find the Red and White Witch had no clue about any of it, indicating that person hadn’t gone to Boli Shrine or didn’t reach it.
It made her nervous subconsciously, finding an excuse to scour the main roads of the nearby village several times, but to no avail... Alice’s heart sank, sensing that something might have happened.
"Miss Alice? Why are you standing here?!"
Just when she was in a daze, feeling strange discomfort, she suddenly heard that voice.
She looked up in shock to see the white-clad young man with black hair stepping out of one of the arriving gondola cabins at the village’s entrance, noticing her standing there and greeting her with surprise.
For a moment, the blond maiden felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
But immediately following was a surge of some kind of anger. She instinctively glanced up at the aerial ropeway leading to the top of Demon Mountain, then back at the unscathed young man, taking a deep breath and speaking as calmly as she could:
"Nothing much, it’s the village’s festival today, I came to borrow some books..."
"So there’s a festival? I was wondering why it was so lively..." The white-clad young man nodded and approached, speaking thoughtfully.
His gaze swept over the pile of books in the blond maiden’s arms and the two large volumes held by the two marionettes, then he laughed heartily: "So, are you heading back to the Magic Forest? Need me to help you carry those?"
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