Seeing Yuen’s calm reaction, Kasumigaoka Utaha paused, clearly surprised.
She couldn’t help but ask, “…You aren’t angry?” Yuen gently stroked the white pigeon in his palm and shook his head.
“It is just a rocking chair.
If you wanted to sit, then sit.
I am not petty enough to mind something like that.” Hearing his words, Kasumigaoka Utaha felt a sudden of guilt.
It made her realize she was the one being petty.
Just as she intended to return the chair, Yuen’s next words instantly ruined the good impression she had just formed.
“However, are you sure you want to sit and rest now?
Those dark clouds are looming right above us.
If you wait any longer, you won’t be able to finish your prayers in time.” Kasumigaoka Utaha glared at him.
She had wondered why he was being so kind; it turned out he simply wasn’t worried about her stealing his seat because the rain was moments away.
The sun had already been hidden behind the heavy, dark clouds.
Although Kasumigaoka Utaha was reluctant to leave the comfort of the rocking chair, she obediently stood up.
Smoothing out the pleats of her skirt, she walked briskly toward the Worship Hall (Haiden).
Standing in the center before the hall, Kasumigaoka Utaha tossed a five-yen coin into the offering box (Saisen-bako).
She rang the bell, clapped her hands twice, and began her prayer.
“Kami-sama, please bless my new book and let it be a bestseller.” During her prayer, Kasumigaoka Utaha murmured her wish softly, just loud enough for herself to hear.
However, even though there was some distance between the Main Hall and the Worship Hall, Yuen could still hear her whispers clearly.
A novelist, black hair, crimson eyes, and those long legs…
“Kasumigaoka Utaha?” Yuen finally realized the girl’s identity.
Having watched anime for over a decade in his past life, he found it rather awkward that he hadn’t recognized her immediately.
Yuen rubbed his temples with a helpless smile.
Living too long really does dull the memory.
When he first realized Yuuki Asuna was the Asuna, he had assumed the world had evolved into the setting of Sword Art Online.
But with the appearance of Kasumigaoka Utaha, that theory was overturned.
It seems this has become a crossover world…
Yuen concluded.
Her prayer finished, Kasumigaoka Utaha did not leave immediately.
Instead, she walked back to where Yuen was stationed at the Main Hall.
Seeing him lying on the rocking chair again left her speechless.
“Hey, it’s about to rain.
Are you not planning to go back?” Yuen opened one eye, glanced in Kasumigaoka Utaha’s direction, and replied, “Go back?
This is my home.” Kasumigaoka Utaha misunderstood his meaning.
She retorted, “…I know this is your family’s shrine, but shouldn’t you return to your actual house?” She had observed the surroundings when she entered.
There was absolutely no place here fit for human habitation.
The only structure aside from the shrine halls was an old building that was dilapidated beyond repair.
It looked like it hadn’t been cleaned or maintained in years and could collapse at any moment.
Realizing his words had been misinterpreted, Yuen chuckled softly and explained patiently, “What I mean is, I live here.” “Huh?” Kasumigaoka Utaha doubted her ears.
“You live…
inside the shrine?” “Yes.” “Won’t your parents be worried?” “I do not have parents.” Yuen said calmly.
In this life, he was born as a god, nurtured by nature itself.
He had no kin.
Kasumigaoka Utaha fell silent.
The thought of him living in such a dilapidated, dangerous place every day, without the protection or care of parents…
And yet, despite these circumstances, the robes he wore remained clean and tidy.
If it were her, she probably wouldn’t even have the will to survive.
Yet, just moments ago, she had been bickering with this boy.
An indescribable heaviness settled in her chest.
Driven by a sudden rush of sympathy and guilt, a thought impulsively sprang to her mind.
“Umm…
how about you come and stay at my place?” Yuen realized his explanation had failed; in fact, it had only deepened her misunderstanding.
He decided not to explain further, lest he make the situation more complicated.
“That…
doesn’t seem appropriate.” “If you are worried about my family, you don’t need to be.
I currently live alone in an apartment.” Yuen wanted to say the issue was their gender.
He might be a god, but he was also undeniably male.
However, seeing the faint blush on Kasumigaoka Utaha’s face, he realized she must have summoned a great deal of courage to extend such an invitation.
“Then I shall impose on you for a while, Kasumigaoka-san.” Naturally, he couldn’t truly abandon the shrine to live in someone else’s home.
The games in his dimensional space and the gate to other worlds within the Torii were things he could not leave behind.
Agreeing to Kasumigaoka Utaha’s offer was merely a surface gesture.
He had suddenly felt the urge to go down the mountain and look around.
Later, when the time was right, he would reveal his identity to her and return.
Yuen had no qualms about revealing his status as a deity.
“Hm!?” Kasumigaoka Utaha was startled, and her eyes immediately grew cautious.
“I don’t recall telling you my surname.” Yuen didn’t speak.
Instead, he simply pointed to the bag hanging from her shoulder.
Kasumigaoka Utaha looked down.
Her student ID card was hanging out of her bag.
The alarm in her eyes gradually faded.
“By the way, since you know my name, you should tell me what to call you as well, right?” “You may call me Yuen.” Yuen stood up and faced Kasumigaoka Utaha.
He was taller than her by a head and a half.
“Is that your surname or your given name?” “It is my full name.” Kasumigaoka Utaha’s lips parted slightly in surprise.
“I didn’t expect you to share the same name as the deity here.” After her initial surprise, she covered her mouth and giggled.
“If Kami-sama knew a believer gave their child the same name as Him…
He might get angry at such disrespect.” Yuen smiles faintly and shook his head.
“Rest assured.
He isn’t that petty.” Kasumigaoka Utaha rolled her beautiful eyes at him.
“You say that as if you’ve actually met Him.” Yuen merely smiles and said nothing.
… Yuen set the little white pigeon down on the ground.
After walking side-by-side with Kasumigaoka Utaha past the Torii gate, he stopped and looked back.
He estimated it had been two hundred years since he last descended the mountain.
Leaving now felt a little strange.
“Is something wrong?” Kasumigaoka Utaha asked.
Yuen turned back around.
“It’s nothing.” Kasumigaoka Utaha found it odd but didn’t ask further, assuming he was just feeling sentimental about leaving the place he lived.
“It’s going to rain soon.
Let’s go.” “Alright.”