Chapter 174: The Family of Miko for Generations, Yotsuya Miko's Date
Watching Yoru reach out towards the deck of Tarot cards, Mai and the others held their breath, waiting expectantly.
What kind of card would he... pull out?
Strength? Judgement? Death? Justice?
Or perhaps...
The Lovers?
It was truly curious.
In this silent atmosphere, Yoru drew a Tarot card, flipped it over, and placed it on the table.
Seeing the pattern on the card, Mai, Miko, Rio, and Yui were all stunned.
"Eh? Blank?"
Seeing the blank card face, Yoru looked speechlessly at Godmother Granny.
"I say, you are a famous spirit medium after all, why did you get a pirated deck of Tarot cards? Forgot to print it?"
Godmother Granny replied grumpily.
"What pirated, don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. This is a layer of insurance this old woman left behind."
"I'm not the kind of swindler who bluffs and analyzes randomly; I am a genuine spirit medium."
"To prevent touching upon some destinies that cannot be analyzed with this old woman's spiritual power during Tarot card divination, and suffering severe backlash, I specially put a blank Tarot card in."
Speaking of this, Godmother Granny paused, looked deeply at Yoru, and said in a deep voice.
"Drawing this card proves your destiny has exceeded the limit of this old woman's ability; this old woman cannot see through it."
"Oh, I see."
For such a result, Yoru was not surprised. While Mai and others felt a bit disappointed, they also felt it made sense.
For things like divination, if it was just some charlatan talking nonsense, naturally it wouldn't matter.
But for someone like Godmother Granny, genuinely using spiritual power to peer into destiny, naturally there are certain limitations.
Yoru's power was too strong; his own destiny was not something ordinary spirit mediums could pry into.
This was very normal.
Just then, Godmother Granny's peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of something behind Mai, frowning tightly.
"This is...."
Oda Noto came out from the inner room holding four glasses of water, also noticing that small white phantom behind Mai, and showed the same expression as Godmother Granny.
"Is this... a spirit?"
What the two of them saw was only a small cluster of blurry white mist.
But in the eyes of spirit mediums like Mai, they saw Menma, wearing a white dress, with a petite figure, wearing a silly smile.
"That's one of our own, don't mind her."
Hearing Yoru's sentence, Oda Noto nodded.
He also knew that those evil spirits, ghosts, and the like completely didn't dare to get close to the opponent.
"So..."
Oda Noto handed the four glasses of plain water to Mai and others, then took out a bottle of ice-cold Coca-Cola, handed it to Yoru, leisurely drinking tea, and asked.
"What's the matter looking for this old man this time?"
Yoru unscrewed the Cola, took a sip, and smiled.
"Not a big deal, just wanted to ask you, is there any way to resurrect the dead."
Cough cough cough!
Hearing this sentence, Oda Noto almost choked to death on his tea. After recovering for quite a while, he looked at Yoru with a skeptical gaze.
"No, are you serious?"
Yoru nodded slightly.
"Of course."
Oda Noto let out a long sigh, saying helplessly.
"If this old man had this ability, would I still open a shop here and do exorcisms? I would have been a billionaire long ago."
"Then help me check ancient texts?"
"Checking is fine, but it's best not to harbor too much hope. Even if there is relevant information, it's highly likely just fictional legendary stories."
"Sure."
Yoru responded noncommittally, then asked again.
"I say Noto..."
"Don't."
Oda Noto hurriedly waved his hand.
"You kid, better call me Old Geezer. Suddenly calling me by my first name directly, I always feel you have some troublesome matter to hand over to me."
"Not really that troublesome."
Yoru maintained a friendly smile.
"Say, are there really gods in this world?"
Hearing this question, Oda Noto pondered.
"Ordinary people might think not, but for us spirit mediums, since we all know the existence of evil spirits and ghosts, if there really are so-called gods, it wouldn't be strange, right? Although this old man hasn't seen one with his own eyes."
"Then do you know how to meet a god?"
Oda Noto froze for a moment, then laughed dumbfoundedly.
"Why do you want to meet gods? Don't tell me you are a devout believer? Really can't tell."
"Yeah, I am very devout."
Yoru smiled, using a flat tone to say an astonishing sentence that made the faces of Oda Noto and Godmother Granny change.
"I am very devoutly, wanting to kill a god."
The air fell silent.
After quite a while, Oda Noto looked at Mai and the others, forcing a smile and saying.
"This... this kid really knows how to joke."
Different from Oda Noto's expectation.
Regarding his bantering words meant to ease the awkward atmosphere, the four girls, Mai, Miko, Rio, and Yui, didn't show the slightest sign of joking, but were very serious.
"You guys..."
Oda Noto and Godmother Granny were both dumbfounded, their pupils dilating in shock.
"You guys... really want to kill a god!?"
Yoru replied with a relaxed face.
"Did you think bro was joking with you?"
Oda Noto and Godmother Granny looked at each other. The two old spirit mediums had only one thought in their minds.
This kid...
Has he finally gone mad in the process of fighting evil spirits and ghosts day after day!?
Kill a god?
How could such a thing be possible?
"To kill Him, must first find Him."
Yoru smiled and spoke.
"So I wanted to ask, in your circle, are there any shrine maidens (Miko), shamans, or the like, people who can establish contact with gods."
Oda Noto's pupils shrank slightly, looking at Yoru's half-smiling appearance, an idea arising in his heart.
The opponent wasn't joking.
He is serious.
"People who can establish contact with gods..."
Oda Noto took a deep breath, his brain working rapidly.
At this moment, he recalled everything that happened after meeting Yoru for the first time.
A life lantern began playing in Oda Noto's head.
Just the age of a high school student, yet the strongest spirit medium he had seen in his life.
No matter what kind of exorcism commission, Yoru could solve it.
Moreover, the spirit mediums around the opponent were constantly increasing.
From Miko at the beginning, to Rio, to Mai, and now one more Yui.
One thing Oda Noto was certain of was that, except for Miko, the other three girls, when he first met them, were just ordinary people without any spiritual abilities.
Now, they possessed an aura similar to spiritual power.
Can spirit mediums be created acquiredly?
Did Yoru...
Master the method to let ordinary people awaken spiritual abilities?
No, that wasn't the main point.
Oda Noto still remembered a while ago, the opponent brought a beautiful girl with long straight black hair, and another tall beautiful girl with light blue hair, to find him and inquire about the legend of the Sunny Girl.
And in the story of the Sunny Girl, only the living sacrifice of the Sunny Girl could bring the weather back to normal.
The object of the living sacrifice...
Was the god controlling the weather.
"Could it be..."
Oda Noto's pupils shrank in shock, pointed to the top of his head, looked at Yoru, incredulous.
"Your target is the one in the sky..."
"Correct."
Seeing Yoru admit it without concealment, Oda Noto took a deep breath, calming the restless emotions in his chest.
"Mr. Oda."
Miko had known Oda Noto the longest and could be considered very familiar.
She actively stepped forward, firmness revealing in her golden eyes.
"An existence that uses weather as a threat, and even wants humans to perform living sacrifices, even if calling itself a god, is nothing but an evil spirit coveting human souls."
"And as exorcists, you, like us, take eliminating evil spirits and protecting humans as your duty."
"This is not a multiple-choice question of sacrificing an innocent young girl in exchange for the weather returning to normal."
"Rather than making a choice between the weather and the young girl's life, what we should do more is solve the root of the problem."
"That is, the evil spirit named god."
Hearing Miko's words, Oda Noto and Godmother Granny looked at each other, both showing expressions of both helplessness and gratification on their faces.
They were getting old.
But to be able to participate in the actions of the new generation of exorcists when approaching old age...
Truly thrilling.
"Since that's the case..."
Oda Noto slowly stood up, a trace of color from his youth flashing in the eyes on his aged face.
"Yoru, come into the inner room with me. I have a specially written memo recording intelligence from various places in Sakura Prefecture. Perhaps we can find a spirit medium capable of contacting gods."
"Sure."
After Yoru, Godmother Granny, and Oda Noto entered the inner room, Mai examined the furnishings inside the shop, looking very nostalgic.
"How nice, this place hasn't changed much from when I first came."
"Eh? Have you been here before?"
"Yeah, but at that time, only Yoru could see me, so it was just the two of us coming together. Later we also went traveling to Wakayama city."
"Eh~"
Yui dragged out her voice, puffing her cheeks angrily.
"So Mai-senpai had already gone traveling alone with him long ago. Only saying it now, truly too cunning."
Mai laughed dumbfoundedly and shook her head.
"Still talking about me, haven't you guys gone out on dates with him?"
Hearing this, Yui recalled the scene of spending a night together with Yoru in a small booth of an internet cafe during a heavy rainstorm, couldn't help blushing slightly, saying softly.
"Well, there was one..."
Rio also recalled the scene of setting off fireworks by the river with Yoru, similarly saying somewhat shyly and twistingly.
"Mmhmm... me too."
"You all have?"
Miko seemed somewhat surprised.
"I seem... not to have."
"You don't have?"
Hearing this, Rio, Yui, and Mai obviously looked like they didn't quite believe it.
"How is that possible? Didn't you and Yoru meet on the first day of school?"
"If it's going out alone, there were quite a lot of times."
Miko murmured while recalling.
"Let me think, the first time, seemed to be going to an alley where a 'Door' existed, and then we went home separately."
"The second time, seemed to be coming to this shop... and also went to my house, found the ghost of my father, talked about some things, and then he went home..."
"The third time, was going to an unfinished building full of evil spirits everywhere, eating bento together..."
"Stop!"
Before Miko could continue recalling, Rio interrupted with a complicated face.
"Don't say anymore..."
Rio, Yui, and Mai all had complicated faces, even bringing a bit of heartache and pity in their eyes when looking at Miko.
"Besides exorcism? Did you not have time going out alone with Yoru purely to relax?"
Miko shook her head, saying sincerely.
"That indeed I haven't. It's either going to exorcise, or preparing for exorcism."
After saying this sentence, Miko finally noticed the very complicated expressions of the three girls in front of her, couldn't help tilting her head, puzzled.
"What's wrong?"
"No need to say anymore."
Mai, who considered herself the master of the harem, was also full of emotions at this moment, actively stepped forward, patted Miko's shoulder, and said earnestly.
"Recently, we've accumulated quite a lot of exorcism commissions. It just so happens Yui and I still need to adapt to fighting evil spirits, so we'll leave first."
"Eh? Going to exorcise? Then I will also together...."
"No."
Rio also stepped forward, took a deep breath, and said softly to Miko.
"Miko, consider it as my plea to you, go play, go play with Yoru, leave it to us."
Too miserable.
Truly too miserable.
Even Mai, who had always been fighting overtly and covertly with Miko and Rio, wanting to defend the status of the master of the harem, couldn't stand watching it anymore.
Miko, who knew Yoru the earliest, when going out alone with the opponent, was actually either exorcising or on the way to exorcise?
It truly makes those who hear it shed tears and those who listen feel sad.
Let Miko have this opportunity.
This child is truly miserable.
....
On the other side, inside the inner room of the shop.
"Let this old man see..."
Oda Noto, wearing reading glasses, flipped through a notebook, murmuring to himself.
"Tsk... these people, not sure if they have real abilities..."
There were many people claiming to be spirit mediums, but eight or nine out of ten were swindlers.
Even Oda Noto and Godmother Granny, who only had entry-level Yin-Yang Eyes and could only see blurry phantoms, completely unable to see the true faces of evil spirits and ghosts, were already famous exorcists in a city.
It could be seen how rare exorcists with real abilities were in this era.
"You old thing, truly useless."
Godmother Granny aside choked him with a sentence.
"Taking such a thick notebook, I thought you really knew some formidable figures, turns out they are all a bunch of swindlers."
Oda Noto rolled his eyes.
"If you are so capable, you Spirit Godmother, then you find one?"
"Hehe, I actually really know one."
Godmother Granny looked triumphant, looking at Yoru and speaking.
"When this old woman was young, I traveled to many places. Those others are hard to say, but there is a Miko (shrine maiden) family living in a remote small town. This old woman could tell they indeed can contact gods through certain rituals."
"Remote? Miko?"
Hearing these two words, Yoru already had a guess in his heart.
"Could it be... surnamed Miyamizu?"
"Eh? How did you know? It is surnamed Miyamizu, the location is Itomori Town. If you want to go, I can make a phone call to ask."
Yoru thought to himself, It really is Miyamizu.
Itomori Town huh...
"No need for now, wait until there's time and I personally arrive there before saying anything."
"Okay."
Seeing Yoru's appearance, Oda Noto really couldn't hold back, asked with a worried face.
"But... have you thought about how to kill a god? If such a god really exists, that is a powerful existence capable of manipulating the weather of all Sakura Prefecture and has experienced hundreds or thousands of years. For humans to want to kill a god, is ultimately too..."
"It doesn't matter."
Yoru waved his hand nonchalantly, revealing a kind smile.
"He doesn't count as much of a god."
"And I am not a pure human either."
"Can only say..."
"He better not let me catch Him."
"If I catch Him, He will suffer greatly."
...
After leaving the inner room, Yoru saw only Miko standing there alone, couldn't help asking curiously.
"Where are Mai and the others?"
"They... had something to do and left first."
"Oh, is that so, aren't you going?"
"I... I..."
Seeing Miko hesitating and stammering, Yoru saw through the opponent's thoughts at a glance and smiled.
"Then if you are free, go on a date?"
"D-d-date... su-sure!"
Yoru's physical fitness far exceeded ordinary people, and his hearing was even more so.
While in the inner room, he heard the conversation of the girls outside.
"Since that's the case, what specifically should we do?"
Miko walked outside together with Yoru, murmuring to herself.
"Yeah... what should we do..."
Just as Miko was thinking, she suddenly saw a large standee placed in front of a cinema, with a very terrifying picture on it.
"Eh? Horror movie?"
Miko's golden eyes revealed expectation, looked at Yoru beside her, slightly twisting.
"Um... I've never watched a horror movie in a cinema. How about... watch it together?"
Yoru rubbed Miko's hair, smiled, and nodded.
"No problem."
The reason Miko didn't watch horror movies was very simple.
She had Yin-Yang Eyes.
If she watched horror movies, it would be very easy to mistake an evil spirit existing in reality for something on the screen and expose flaws.
Even when with Mai and others, if she exposed flaws halfway through the movie, she would be attacked by evil spirits in public, which would be too dangerous.
But being with Yoru, there was no such concern.
Within a radius of several kilometers around the opponent, ordinary evil spirits completely didn't dare to approach.
After buying the movie tickets, Miko blushed with shyness, slightly twistingly reached out her hand, and said in a small voice.
"Um... since it's a date... can... can we hold hands?"