Chapter 70: ?? Wolf: “It’s Not Like I’m a Shooting Star…”
As we talked, an enormous torii gate appeared over the road ahead.
“This must be it.”
The instant we passed through the gate, the atmosphere changed. Old-fashioned buildings lined the road, along with numerous souvenir shops.
“Excuse me. I’m going to stop nearby…”
Sis Linda pulled into a parking lot and stopped the car.
“What’s wrong?”
Ayaka, in the passenger seat, peered worriedly at her face.
“I feel strange. Nauseous…”
“Me too… What is this?”
Elvis too?
“Do all of you feel fine?”
Fine?
“I feel the same as always…”
“Yes. Completely normal.”
“Me too. Nothing.”
“If anything, I feel energetic.”
“Same.”
Everyone except Sis Linda and Elvis seemed unaffected.
“This may be why there hasn’t been any fighting in this town. I started feeling unwell after we passed through that torii.”
“This is a shrine, right? Maybe demons aren’t allowed.”
Could that really happen?
“I don’t know, but perhaps we should forget about it.”
“No. The rest of you should go. We’ll wait around here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. You’ve come all this way. We’ll wait outside the torii.”
“All right. We’ll be back quickly.”
We hurried out of the car.
It immediately moved off and retraced the road we’d come along.
“Will they be all right?”
“I think they’ll feel better once they’re outside the gate…”
“We’ve met an actual god, so maybe this place has some kind of power.”
“Let’s pray quickly and go back.”
Good idea.
We left the parking lot and continued on foot.
“There are quite a few people.”
As Riku said, there were many worshippers.
“Tourists probably can’t come here, so they must be locals.”
“Probably.”
Another torii gate came into view ahead.
“There it is. The grounds look enormous.”
“Looking around would take a while. Let’s go straight to the main hall.”
“Agreed. I’m worried about those two.”
We entered the shrine grounds and walked straight ahead until we reached the worship hall.
“Does anyone know the proper way to pray?”
“I don’t…”
Even Ayaka didn’t know.
“Let’s look it up.”
“Takanashi-kun isn’t even asking us.”
“Well, we don’t know either.”
“I know you’re supposed to bow a few times, but I don’t remember the details.”
Ayaka and I checked our phones.
“It says two bows, two claps, and one bow.”
“What? Mine says two bows, four claps, and one bow.”
Huh? Really?
“Hmm… Ayaka is probably right.”
“Most likely.”
“Sorry, Yuu.”
Well, if the choice was between Ayaka and me, the answer was probably Ayaka.
“Then two bows, four claps, and one bow. As for the offering… I suppose I should use money from my own wallet.”
“Yes. Using money someone dropped wouldn’t feel right.”
We stepped forward, offered what little money we had, bowed twice, and clapped four times.
Please let me marry Ayaka!
Please let me marry Ayaka!
Please let me marry Ayaka!
I poured all my will into the wish, then bowed once.
“Ayaka, what did you wish for?”
Takamiya-san asked.
“To find Minato, and for good health.”
“That’s what I expected. Hina?”
“Same.”
Kitaura-san nodded.
“What about you, Riku?”
“The same. And peace.”
“Oh… We all wished for the same things… Takanashi-kun, I hope yours comes true too.”
Without even asking me, Takamiya-san turned back the way we’d come, and everyone followed.
I took one of my precious hundred-yen coins from my wallet, tossed it into the offering box, and hurried after them.
We left the shrine grounds and passed through the torii farther down the road.
“Let’s see…”
“There.”
Ayaka pointed to Sis Linda’s car. We walked over and got in.
“Elvis, Sis Linda, are you all right?”
I asked.
“Yeah. I returned to normal as soon as we passed through the torii.”
“So did I, though this area still feels a little uncomfortable.”
Maybe demons truly couldn’t tolerate a place where a god resided.
Would Ise be the same?
“What do we do now? Since you two don’t feel well, I think we should leave Izumo.”
“Yeah… Okayama is next.”
We took out our smartphones and checked the map.
“To reach Okayama from here, wouldn’t we go as far as Tottori Prefecture and then head south? Or can we use the expressway until we reach a demon town?”
Riku asked.
“No. Apparently, the expressways are dangerous. There might be land mines.”
“Land mines… on the road? Yes, that does sound dangerous. Then we take ordinary roads. The map says four hours.”
That was what mine showed too.
“We could still get there today.”
It wasn’t noon yet.
Even if we ate lunch first, we could arrive by evening.
“Since we’re here, why don’t we visit a hot spring? Matsue next door seems to have a hot-spring district, and since you’ve finally reunited, taking it easy today wouldn’t hurt. Besides, Okayama is a demon town. We’ll be traveling from a human town into demon territory, so we should gather information and proceed carefully.”
That was true.
“Is everyone fine with that?”
I asked.
“I think so.”
“Me too.”
“Yeah. We did just reunite, and Riku should rest.”
“I’d like to sleep on a futon. Last night, I slept on the floor of an empty house.”
No one objected.
“Then let’s go. We’ll stop at a convenience store for lunch on the way.”
I’d wanted to eat soba, but Elvis couldn’t enter the restaurant, so it couldn’t be helped.
“Please.”
Sis Linda started the car.
We stopped at a convenience store along the way, bought boxed meals and other food, and ate in the car as we headed for Matsue.