NOVEL NEXT Chapter 16
1.
The so-called “Soshie” families are clans that have worshipped at specific shrines for generations. They often build houses near the shrines, and these areas are known as “Soshie Town”.
The chief priest of a shrine is usually served by the clan leader, local political leaders, or descendants of the deities. For example, the chief priest and head priest of the Cicada Hiding Shrine is also the head of the Kambe family’s Cicada Hiding branch, the former lord of Yeh Island, and a descendant of the demon-hunting deity, Onikari Take-no-Mikoto.
Originally, the Kambe family was a local noble family that rose to prominence from the Kofun period to the first half of the 8th century, with Izanagi-no-Mikoto as the progenitor and Ōkuninushi-no-Mikoto’s descendant as the family ancestor. They have served as the chief priests of the Awashika Shrine for generations, and their head was once appointed as the national governor of Tajima Province.
[Note: Tajima Province was one of the ancient administrative regions of Japan, now part of Hyogo Prefecture. The national governor was a local official, typically a member of the local nobility, with authority over religious rites.]
At some point, one branch of the family drifted to the wild and harsh land of Ezo, becoming the warrior deity of demon slayers—Onikari Take-no-Mikoto.
However, Genji suspected that all this was far-fetched.
He had read the “Awashika Daimyojin Genki”, borrowed from Minakawa-senpai. In the genealogy of the Kambe family recorded in the book, there was no mention of the deity Onikari Take-no-Mikoto.
Perhaps the so-called “branch” of the Kambe family in Yeh Island was not originally of the Kambe name, but fabricated a noble and distinguished origin to glorify themselves.
False surnames, false ancestors, false deities… Did Minakawa-senpai lend Genji such a strange book to hint at this?
Of course, Genji wasn’t sure if his conjectures were accurate, and even if they were true, he wouldn’t broadcast them.
After all, at this moment, he was sitting in a car sent by the fiancée of the deity’s descendant. Respect is due, if not for the monk, then for the Buddha.
Ah, I haven’t even met the deity’s descendant in person, so why do I harbor such animosity towards their family, always trying to undermine their authority? Genji rubbed his face, ceasing to ponder over this.
Let’s chat for a while!
But the usually cheerful and talkative “Little Tiger Fang” girl, Aden Pak, became as silent as the “Bottle Gourd” boy, Endomuki Rin, in the car.
Isn’t there anyone who will say something? This unusual silence, even for the socially awkward Genji, was unbearable.
People in town are accustomed to silence in public; are they worried about listening devices installed along the way? Just like the silent cicadas on the island, the residents of Cicada Hiding Town always hide in the shadows. How long will this unbearable situation last?
Signal jammers, listening devices, the aloof deity’s descendant, the silent people…
Reminded of the dystopian novels he used to read, Genji shivered.
Why did Minakawa-senpai burn his treasured book? Was it because he feared “certain people” discovering something? And where is the reader? Since the disappearance of Minakawa-senpai, it has not been seen…
At this moment, Genji desperately wanted to pull out Minakawa-senpai’s pocket-sized notebook to look for clues, but it was inconvenient to act with others in the car. Even if Endomuki Rin and Aden Pak were not bad people, he had to be wary of the silent driver in sunglasses.
2.
After enduring a deathly silent journey, they finally arrived at Soshie Town. With the engine turned off, the ancient street returned to tranquility, shedding the noise of cars and horses.
It was a community composed of traditional Japanese buildings. Under the shade of the dark summer trees, they followed the priest through the stone alleys, walking on the winding bridges. Sunlight filtering through the leaves dappled the riverside’s white walls and black tiles, coloring the clear water. A small boat was quietly moored at the shore, gently swaying with the waves.
[Note: The priest referred to here is someone affiliated with a specific shrine or temple, guiding worshippers or devotees.]
Looking at the distant fields, someone was tiptoeing along the ridges, seemingly alone. Such a scene was almost never seen on the Cicada Hiding Plains.
To accommodate Genji,
new to the area, the priest patiently explained:
“This is called ‘Shinden’, directly managed farmland of the shrine, where crops for cooking offerings are grown. The water system of Kakure River in North Yeh is also under the shrine’s control. Water drawn from here serves as ‘sacred water’ for offerings, and the water products caught are an important source of offerings as well. In recent years, with few large festivals, the surplus food and clean water are used by shrine staff and charitable organizations, and also distributed to nearby residents.”
Charitable organizations? Distributing food? Genji didn’t voice it, but he was skeptical. If they truly wanted the parishioners to be well-fed, why transfer all the plains’ farmland to the institute, letting the fertile soil grow over with weeds?
[Note: Parishioners here refer to descendants of the ancestral deity or residents worshiping the same clan deity.]
Behind the entire Soshie Town was a series of hills covered in dense forests and lush greenery. Stone steps climbed the mountain, with torii gates erected at intervals. They were orderly arranged along the mountain path, leading to the summit. Although not as densely packed as the thousand torii gates of Fushimi Inari Taisha, they still had a formidable presence.
However, the priest did not intend to lead them to worship at the shrine, but stopped in front of a three-story building with a courtyard. Several guards in patterned feather-woven hakama and carrying swords stood seriously at the security checkpoint, waiting for their arrival.
“Let’s go in quickly, I specifically didn’t eat breakfast just for this meal!” Aden urged.
After passing the security check, she eagerly rushed inside.
“You didn’t eat breakfast just because you overslept, right?” Rin smiled helplessly, following her.
This was the first time Genji saw Rin smile; it seemed he had a good relationship with Dr. Pak’s daughter.
When it was Genji’s turn to go through security, the scanner suddenly sounded an alarm.
“This guest has an unidentified object on him. We’re not sure if it’s a camera, locator, listening device, or something else. We need to check with Miss Somezaki first, please wait.”
One of the guards glanced at Genji warily before rushing into the house.
Huh? How come I don’t know about any strange device on me? Genji broke into a cold sweat.
Soon, Airi appeared. She wasn’t wearing her shrine maiden or school uniform today, just a light-colored dress with a long-sleeved thin cardigan over it, cleverly covering the wounds on her arms, just as Kasahara Sasa had described.
After whispering a few words to the guard, she bowed apologetically to Genji: “I’m very sorry, it’s our oversight. We’ve inconvenienced you, Mr. Susa.”
Miss Somezaki was so meticulous about etiquette; how should he respond? He was used to joking around with Minakawa-senpai and wasn’t accustomed to formal situations like today.
Genji, blushing, searched for the right words, but what he said was incoherent: “It’s okay, no problem! You’re too polite, I… I’m flustered! I understand Miss Somezaki is only considering safety, that…”
No, too stiff!
Thinking about it, Miss Somezaki had never used plain speech with him. He wondered how she communicated with her friends.