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“And I’m just someone working under that crazy person… Sigh.”

Narumi let out a long sigh.

They say no one knows the ways of life, but who would have guessed that she would end up being led around by the very person she used to torment? Even if a straw mat merchant were to descend, she wouldn’t have dreamed it would turn out like this.

“No. Since it’s related to wisdom, should I compare it to Amenouzume-no-Mikoto…?”

Honestly, even if a goddess from mythology showed up, I doubt she would have expected this to happen.

The story of a bullying victim rising in glorious revenge is so cliché, it’s almost ironic that it rarely occurs in reality…

Honestly, it would have been better if it had just ended there. Such works of fiction have a conclusion, and the story after that is seldom mentioned.

If this were a creative work, Narumi might have found her freedom.

But this is reality.

Moreover, the person holding her leash seems half-crazy…

There’s no need to talk about daily habits.

The way they stare blankly at that strange wooden statue like a fanatic, or ascend the shrine roof on a starry night to pray, believing it would absorb divine energy, it’s unnerving. Normally, they display an undercurrent of madness in every action, yet when the deity appears, they smile as if they’re someone else entirely…

“I’m terrified. Actually.”

Before being shackled by Saigo Rise, Narumi had once heard a thumping noise from behind the shrine while managing it. At that time, she had thought perhaps a wild boar had come to smash the shrine, so she went out with a bow… but instead, she found a woman jabbing a straw doll into a tree at the shrine, her eyes rolled back in her head.

Her hair was soaked in sweat, and several burning white candles were stuck in a headband. Moreover, the white kimono she wore, appearing hastily crafted from white fabric, looked as though it belonged to a ghost, drooling endlessly from her mouth.

While hammering the straw doll, she seemed to have struck her fingers as well; blood oozed from several lost fingernails, and yet that woman was diligently hammering away at the doll.

As soon as she made a sound, the woman swiftly turned her head—

The horror was beyond anything seen in a horror movie.

“She’s scarier than that woman…”

Yet, Narumi found Saigo Rise much scarier than the woman who had secretly intruded to perform the ‘Cursed Ritual’ at the shrine.

The glimpses of madness, zealotry, along with the ‘training’ where Narumi was mercilessly tormented with heaps of information…

Ugh.

Thinking about that training sends chills down her spine.

It was like some cult initiation, drilling her with incessant details about prayers and behavior expected before the deity…

Back then, Narumi thought she had fallen into a cult, her life doomed to brainwashing…

Well, she now knew that, while slightly sinister, it wasn’t actually a cult.

“Or maybe… No, it can’t be…”

Honestly, she wasn’t sure.

The eyes of the power holders coming to see Saigo Rise seemed dazed as if they were on drugs, they collected all sorts of divine objects radiating evil energy, bought up houses rumored to be haunted by ghosts, and sent ‘suitable people’ to those houses for a few days before bringing them back…

Truthfully, it didn’t feel like a cult, but it seemed even more dangerous.

It felt like some secret society…

“I don’t know… I’m just a minor player,” Narumi thought while stopping her considerations.

Though thoughts are free, if they keep going, they tend to show on the outside.

With the manic woman occasionally conducting surprise interrogations, it’s easy for something to get caught.

Narumi didn’t want to go through that ‘training’ again.

It’s called training, but…

If she endured that insistently a few more times, she felt she might genuinely be brainwashed.

“But I’m curious. What on earth do they do with that centipede they made…?”

—

The pathway leading to the main hall passed beneath a bright red torii.

Square stones neatly lined the ground, flanked by short iron pillars arranged in order. White strings hung from the holes at the tips of the pillars, forming a fence, and outside the fence, a moss-covered stone lantern welcomed visitors.

Did the believers offer this?

The stone lanterns, seemingly carved from granite, stood in varying sizes, some softly glowing, perhaps containing lights inside.

The gentle light attracted critters, causing them to buzz nearby, while moths gathered around, getting fried and falling lifelessly to the ground with a crackle.

Though the flowers blooming among the moss had no scent, butterflies approached them, yet their surfaces were being swept clean by moths twisting and turning, still alive.

Walking down the dust-free pathway leads to the main hall and the worship hall.

The sacred space where a body is enshrined—a domain permitted only to important persons blessed by the deity.

Those who walk the path and reach the shrine bow while thinking of the deity enshrined in the main hall.

In front of the offering box at the worship hall, the worshiper clasps their hands together while holding onto a thick rope and strikes the hanging bell, making it ring.

Ding-Dong.

With that loud noise, a wish flies forth.

For a Japanese person, this familiar motion is performed many times, and the guest turns to gaze elsewhere.

A young man dressed as a Shinto priest.

The capable person known as Saigo Shinto Priest appears like a shooting star.

He is rumored to be connected to several power holders, including even the high and mighty onmyoji.

“Thank you for making the long trip, Master Akiharu,” Saigo Shinto Priest says as he approaches him.

“Not at all. It’s merely a matter of paying my respects to the deity…”

“No, I’ve heard you have recently achieved something noteworthy. Although as someone who serves the deity, I don’t know well, I believe that alongside achieving something, it’s just as important to consolidate and fully internalize that achievement. You’ve come here using such precious time, how could I not treat you well?”

The warrior who just completed his prayers, Akiharu, smiled at Saigo Shinto Priest’s words.

Outwardly, he acted humbly.

Yet, contrary to his seemingly modest words, his demeanor spoke otherwise.

His shoulders were broad, his back stood straight; he displayed his chest muscles proudly, exuding confidence and pride in his achievements. Then, he cast a favorable glance at Saigo Shinto Priest, who spoke highly of his accomplishments.

Saigo Shinto Priest smiled and led Akiharu inside.

To the guest-receiving area.

Then he began to serve tea, seemingly prepared in advance, to Akiharu as he spoke.

“I had contacted you earlier. I have a good proposal for you, Master Akiharu…”

“I remember. You mentioned there would be an opportunity that might greatly aid a warrior’s achievements.”

Akiharu recalled their previous conversation over the phone.

Just as Saigo Shinto Priest described examples of warriors who achieved meaningful accomplishments through the recent ‘joint operation’ against the great evil spirits, he suggested an important experience that could aid their achievements, even at slight danger.

At that time, they didn’t discuss details due to it being a phone call. Saigo Shinto Priest’s words felt somewhat roundabout, so he didn’t grasp the specifics.

However, he understood one hint that Saigo Shinto Priest conveyed.

The ‘real combat’.

With the chaos of the world dwindling, it was dangerous but far more important for a warrior.

Saigo Shinto Priest had subtly hinted to Akiharu about that ‘real combat’…

“Real combat? Not sparring, but actual combat. If that’s the case, then there’s definitely value in coming here…”

That’s why Akiharu had come.

Even neglecting his training with the sword threads he had just learned to create after reaching a new level.

As Saigo Shinto Priest earlier remarked, consolidating was essential.

To internalize it, making it as natural as breathing, studying various methods to apply it—all these were vital.

But a hundred practices can’t measure up to one real combat.

If the ‘real combat’ hinted at by Saigo Shinto Priest awaited him, then it surely would lead to greater achievements than a hundred days of practice. Perhaps it might come with insights for his next level.

With such hopes in mind, Akiharu gazed at Saigo Shinto Priest, the young man sipping light yellow tea.

He felt a fox-like aura.

He was handsome, no doubt, but there was something odd about him.

Seeming harmless, yet like he could bite down on your nape and tear the flesh apart at any moment.

He was oddly sinister for a Shinto priest…

And then that man opened his mouth.

“Until recently, relations between Japan and Korea were not good. But the intense conflicts that felt like war have been resolved, and now we stand together.”

“Indeed. The joint operation last time was a part of that…”

How noisy it was when they defeated the great evil spirits together.

Even up to now, programs dissect endlessly the events of that joint operation, detailing every participant’s contributions, engaging in debates over who made bigger contributions, Japan or Korea…

For a warrior like Akiharu, such feats were enviable.

In this era where wars aren’t breaking out, how rare is the opportunity to make such achievements!

“What I intend to tell you is that this will be similar. It’s an operation conducted hand in hand between Korea and Japan.”

“Joint operation…? Are you saying like last time with the evil spirits…?”

Saigo Shinto Priest slightly shook his head at Akiharu’s words.

“It’s far more secretive and much closer to ‘actual combat’. Hmm—perhaps it might not bring you the same fame as the previous operation because it’s conducted covertly…”

If Akiharu felt like the fox was smiling, was that just an illusion?

Saigo Shinto Priest’s gaze curled into a slight crescent.

“…A fight with people. Are you interested?”

 

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