Kitahara Minakaze had no idea that just one floor below his ward, someone had been strangled to death.
And on the first floor, the Frivolous Youth in the ICU had also been decapitated by the chief priest.
Although the deaths of these two caused a slight ripple.
It was quickly suppressed.
Minakaze didn’t even catch the slightest wind of it.
He spent a peaceful and quiet night…
or rather, half a night.
During the first half of the night, a minor accident occurred while Minakaze was studying his attribute panel.
And the next day.
Minakaze forcefully went through the discharge procedures, compelling Natsume Mio to bring him back to the shrine.
“Brother, are you sure you’re okay?”
At the Natsume residence.
Mio supported him as they walked up the stone steps, looking somewhat worried.
“I just got stabbed in the waist, my legs aren’t broken… I don’t need help.”
Minakaze glanced at Mio beside him and tried to pull his arm free.
Mio kept her head down, hugging his arm tightly and refusing to let him pull away.
“Someone who woke up immediately worrying about the condition of his injured kidney has no right to say that,” Mio replied softly, her eyes fixed on the ground.
“You just don’t understand how important my kidney is to me.”
“I know, I know. Anyone could tell from how panicked you were.”
“…”
The two of them chatted.
As they stepped onto the final stair.
And walked onto the approach to the shrine.
There were quite a few people at the Natsume family shrine today.
Mio began greeting familiar worshippers while supporting Minakaze toward the main hall where the sacred relic was enshrined.
Minakaze had only been home for a few days, and he had either been at school or out looking for a job, so this was his first time seeing worshippers here.
He was a bit surprised.
The worshippers seemed to recognize him.
While greeting Mio, they all frowned upon seeing Minakaze.
Mio helped Minakaze to the main hall where the sacred relic was enshrined.
Minakaze sat cross-legged right in the center of the main hall and suddenly said,
“Those worshippers don’t seem to like me very much.”
“…Your reputation isn’t the best. They know you’re Father’s stepson and have heard the rumors about you. Seeing you injured now, they probably assume you got into a fight.”
Minakaze joked, “They’re quite sharp, then.”
“…”
She sat formally in front of Minakaze, took a deep breath, and said, “Ask away, Brother. I’ll do my best to answer your questions.”
“Getting right into it, huh? Alright then.”
Minakaze looked at the floor, thinking for a moment.
“Then my first question is… are you okay?”
“Huh?”
“I’m just asking, are you still scared? After all, you were on the verge of death yesterday evening, and you even called the enemy ‘Onii-san’. Even though you’re fine now.”
“…”
Mio clenched her fists and turned her head away, whispering, “I’m fine…”
“Alright, then I’ll ask for real.”
Hearing her say that.
Minakaze sat up a bit straighter.
“Mhm.” Mio turned her head back.
“So first of all, what’s your deal?”
“I am a member of the shrine clergy. My other identity is a Transcendent. According to the official terminology, we are the ‘Chosen’ of the Resurgence.”
“The people who attacked you yesterday were too? Do you have some kind of disagreement?”
“They are too. We don’t have a disagreement, we just belong to different factions.”
“And what is the Special Countermeasures Division?”
“An active-duty force under the Metropolitan Police Department. They ensure fairness in the conflicts, hunt down ‘Stray Dogs,’ and handle all matters involving the ‘Chosen’.”
“What conflicts are you referring to?”
“Between the various shrines.”
“…” Minakaze rubbed his temples.
“I understand everything you’re saying, but please explain how it all connects.”
“Seven years ago, the government enacted the Heian Act. Everyone who gained supernatural abilities during the great wave of the Resurgence was given a new identity—the ‘Chosen’ I just mentioned. ‘The Chosen shall either serve the gods or serve the government.’ That is the general principle of the Act. So people like us only have two places to go. We either affiliate ourselves with shrines of various sizes across the country and become clergy, or we serve the government. Aside from these two options, all other Chosen out in the world are called ‘Stray Dogs’ and are considered illegal.”
Mio sat upright, her voice quiet.
“All Chosen must choose one or the other.
But for someone like me, who has a family shrine passed down through generations, there is no choice.
I can only become a member of the clergy.
The conflicts refer to violent confrontations between shrines.
The clergy affiliated with each shrine represent their enshrined deity.
They have the right to issue challenges, and simultaneously, the obligation to accept challenges from any clergy not of their faction.
These challenges unfold within a ‘Stasis’.
This is a measure to ensure that conflicts between shrines are contained within a relative area.
Every year, before ‘Kannazuki’—the Month of Gods—the Association of Shinto Shrines begins tallying the year’s results.
The lowest-ranking shrines in each region are eliminated.
The number of eliminations varies; the cutoff rank is determined based on the circumstances of that year.
This continues until the ‘Predestined Victor’ is decided—that’s how it’s written in the Act.
I don’t know what the ‘Predestined Victor’ actually is either.”
After listening to Mio’s explanation.
Minakaze stroked his chin, nodded, and asked, “…Is this some kind of battle royale?”
Mio: “…”
“Let me ask a question first. Are all the personnel of these eliminated bottom-ranking shrines wiped out?”
“…No.”
“Then why do you clergy fight so desperately?”
Minakaze looked puzzled, his corporate-slave instincts making him blurt out, “I understand the Resurgence of spiritual energy. I understand the shrine conflicts. And I understand gathering the people awakened by the Resurgence—or the ‘Chosen’ as you call them—into the shrines. But what I don’t get is why you all fight with everything you’ve got. Couldn’t you just agree to slack off? Sure, there are probably some hot-headed shrines driven by a sense of honor and belonging, but there must be plenty of shrines that just want to coast by, right? Couldn’t you all just agree to drag your feet?”
Mio: “…”
“Because the gods won’t allow it.”
Mio remained silent.
But another voice answered Minakaze’s question.
Accompanied by the tapping of a walking stick against the floor, Grandpa walked in from outside.
“The victory condition for a conflict between two shrines is for all clergy of the opposing shrine to lose their ability to fight. Then, the victorious chief priest can step into the other shrine to conduct a ‘General’s Battle’ and ultimately destroy their sacred relic. This is a flawless victory, distinct from a standard clergy skirmish, and it is also the most humiliating way to lose. And for the shrines eliminated at the bottom of the rankings, the punishment is also the destruction of their sacred relic.”
Grandpa arrived at Minakaze’s side and stood still.
Minakaze looked to his left, toward the sacred relic enshrined in their own shrine.
“So you’re saying… the gods are alive?”
“Who knows.”
Grandpa also looked at the sacred relic, his eyes dark and gloomy.
“Regardless, everyone in the shrines eliminated at the bottom died. No one dares to take that risk now. Those ranked high up might have it easier, but for a small, bottom-tier shrine like ours, if we want to survive, we have to fight with everything we have.”
Minakaze subconsciously looked at Mio.
He found that Mio was also looking right at him.
The two exchanged a glance, and Mio looked away.
“Right, I understand the logic now. So… I have a question.”
Minakaze raised his hand.
“What is it?” Grandpa looked at him.
“Can I?”
Minakaze raised his right hand, pointing his thumb at his own face, and smiled.
“Can I become one of the Chosen, or rather, a member of the clergy?”