At the exact same time Natsume Mio was helping Kitahara Minakaze pick out a cell phone.
At the border between Kamakura and Fujisawa.
The Goryo Shrine, which enshrined a certain ancestor of the Kanmu Taira clan.
“So, it was a failure, correct? Mr. Iwai.”
The Chief Priest, dressed in a pure white kariginu, purple sashinuki hakama, and asagutsu shoes, stood in the very center of the front hall with a shaku baton in hand.
He looked at the Salaryman Uncle—who had previously crossed paths with Kitahara Minakaze—and asked the question.
“Yes! I am deeply sorry.”
The Salaryman Uncle, Iwai Yutaro, sat in a formal seiza posture before the Chief Priest, bowing his head with utmost humility and sincerity.
When he raised his head again, the bruises on his face were still clearly visible.
These were from being beaten…
or rather, stomped on, by Kitahara Minakaze.
The [Rift] only existed to ensure that conflicts were contained within a small area and to restore any traces of the battle to deceive the general public; it did not protect the conflicting parties inside it.
“How dreadful. This is quite troubling.”
The Chief Priest standing in the front hall turned to look at his ancestral shrine and muttered, “In half a year, the month of Kannazuki will be upon us. Our deity does not wish to lose face at the Izumo Grand Shrine.”
“My apologies once again.” Iwai Yutaro bowed his head once more.
“There is no need for that. Did Junichi cause trouble for you this time?”
“No, the young master was excellent. Aside from mocking my day job, suggesting I resign, screaming at the top of his lungs when nervous, and getting knocked out in a single punch at the critical moment, there were no problems whatsoever.”
“Hey! Old man, how is that excellent in any way? You just made me sound completely worthless!”
The frivolous young man standing to the side of the Chief Priest, Taira Junichi, who was equally bruised and battered, shouted loudly.
“Silence.” The Chief Priest shot his son a glare.
“Tch.”
The Frivolous Youth turned his head away, rubbing his cheek as he muttered, “That bastard… One day, I’m going to pay him back for that punch.”
“So, this failure was due to an unexpected person, is that right?”
The Chief Priest ignored Taira Junichi’s grumbling and turned his gaze back to the Salaryman Uncle.
“Yes. To be honest, I was also surprised. It is truly bizarre for an ordinary person to suddenly be pulled into the [Rift] and still retain the ability to move freely.”
“Are you certain he was an ordinary person? Spiritual energy has grown increasingly dense lately, and many ordinary people have become Priests. The number of Stray Dogs has also increased significantly. Could he be a Stray Dog?”
“No, I am absolutely certain. He is neither a Priest nor a Stray Dog.”
The Salaryman Uncle stated with conviction, “He is just an ordinary person. There were no spiritual fluctuations coming from him at all. However, despite being ordinary, his motor skills and physical constitution are exceptionally outstanding. In a moment of carelessness, before I could even perform the movements for a shiki, he had already rushed right up to my face. That was how the young master was knocked out in one punch.”
“I said, can we stop bringing up the fact that I got knocked out in one punch?!” the Frivolous Youth hollered.
“It is the truth.”
“Sorry, I’m so sorry I got knocked out in one punch, Mr. Old Man who got knocked out in two punches.”
“Shut up.”
“Enough. Are you two performing a comedy routine?”
The Chief Priest raised his voice slightly, barking out a reprimand.
The two immediately fell silent.
“What is the identity of this young man? A passing good Samaritan?”
“No. According to him, he is the grandson of the Kagesho Shrine’s Chief Priest, which makes him that little girl’s older brother.”
“Older brother…”
The Chief Priest paced back and forth, seemingly deep in thought.
“To think that a shrine whose main enshrined deity is a mere gokenin retainer could knock the two of you out in three punches. Japan truly is full of hidden masters.” The Chief Priest suddenly looked up, a mocking smile on his lips.
“In this tiny Kanagawa, we don’t dare touch the shrines related to Inari, we don’t dare touch the shrines enshrining famous deities, and we don’t dare touch the shrines of renowned military commanders and ministers. And now, we can’t even touch a shrine enshrining a gokenin.”
The Frivolous Youth suddenly chimed in, “Actually, old man, we could totally beat the Inari-related shrines. They seem pretty weak.”
The Chief Priest of the Goryo Shrine shot him a look.
“Then can you beat the Fushimi Inari Grand Shrine? Or are you saying the Inari enshrined here is different from the Inari enshrined at the Fushimi Inari Grand Shrine? Or perhaps you have the ability and confidence to step past the Great Torii donated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi?”
The Frivolous Youth immediately shut his mouth.
If he remembered correctly, the Fushimi Inari Grand Shrine—counting both internal staff and external contractors—had a total of one thousand seven hundred Priests capable of entering the [Rift]…
Let alone him, even the Ise Grand Shrine might only have a fifty-fifty chance against them.
Of course, that was assuming the higher-ups didn’t intervene.
The Chief Priest frowned.
“Stop saying such brainless things in the future. Right now, what you need to consider is how to defeat that gokenin shrine.”
“Last time was an accident. I guarantee we’ll succeed this time!”
“I believe you.”
The Chief Priest’s brow gradually relaxed.
“I believe last time was an accident, which is why I am willing to give you one more chance. However… this time, I need some insurance.”
“Come out.”
The Chief Priest looked toward the front hall behind him.
A woman dressed in a standard red-and-white miko outfit stepped out and gave the three of them a slight bow.
“I look forward to working with you.” The woman appeared to be in her thirties.
She wasn’t particularly beautiful, but she had a winning maturity about her.
The Salaryman Uncle and the Frivolous Youth dipped their heads slightly in return.
“I hope you all succeed this time. I do not wish to be delayed for too long by a shrine enshrining a gokenin, and I trust you all feel the same. I look forward to your good news. The Kanmu Taira clan should not be confined to this tiny Kanagawa.”
Then he left.
Leaving the three of them behind.
“Well then, let us formulate a battle plan,” the woman in the miko outfit spoke up first.
The Frivolous Youth, Taira Junichi, said bluntly, “We just need to charge straight in. As long as we’re prepared this time, I refuse to believe that bastard will be able to reach me again.”
Only the Salaryman Uncle remained silent.
He slowly stood up from the ground, shook out his somewhat numb legs, and lit a cigarette.
“Come to think of it, that girl is only a teenager, isn’t she?”
The Salaryman Uncle looked past the stone steps, gazing off into the distance as he suddenly spoke.
“Old man, isn’t it disrespectful to smoke in a shrine?” Taira Junichi hadn’t heard what he said clearly.
“The gods don’t know what this stuff is anyway,” the Salaryman Uncle replied casually.
The miko, however, seemed to have heard his words.
She walked over to his side and asked with a smile, “What’s wrong? Is your conscience acting up?”
The Salaryman Uncle, Iwai Yutaro, took a deep drag of his cigarette and mocked himself, “We’re hoping to succeed and bring him before the opposing Chief Priest, but we’re talking about killing a teenage girl. We failed last time, managed to come back alive, and now we’re turning right around to get revenge. Even though I always mock myself for being a corporate slave, I’m starting to realize I really am just a monster.”
“Perhaps the other party felt that killing you would be pointless. After all, a shrine like ours that takes the initiative to attack clearly has more than just two Priests. Rather than stirring up trouble, they might have thought it better to let you go, hoping you would let them off the hook in return. Who knows.”
“And did we let them off the hook?” the Salaryman Uncle asked in return.
“…” The miko fell silent.
“Forget it. I just ambushed that young girl, and now I’m acting like I can’t bear to hurt her. It’s a bit hypocritical when you think about it.”
The Salaryman Uncle laughed self-deprecatingly.
“Exactly… I’ve never been able to figure it out. Why does such a large country have to make things so complicated? Look at our neighbors—they don’t call people like me Stray Dogs. Ah, wait, I’m not a Stray Dog anymore. I’m a house dog.”
The miko furrowed her brows.
“I’m sorry, but I cannot agree with what you’re saying…”
“Stop. I don’t want to argue with you. Corporate slaves hate arguing more than anything.”
The Salaryman Uncle waved his hand, tossed his cigarette butt onto the ground, and ruthlessly stomped it out.
Then, he looked at the miko—the insurance the Chief Priest had spoken of, and the actual commander of this operation.
“You decide exactly what we do. I only have one request: if possible, spare that young man. He isn’t a Priest, so he won’t cause any trouble or complications. Although he has astonishing physical capabilities, he’s only a problem on the first encounter. If we prepare properly, he poses no threat whatsoever.”
“We’ll see when the time comes.”
The miko gazed into the distance, remaining noncommittal.
The Salaryman Uncle stared at her profile, watching her for a moment.
Then he sighed and lit another cigarette.