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Kagura Hikaru's spirits lifted when an unfamiliar shrine, suspected to be related to the female corpse clad in shrine maiden attire that was thrown into a well, suddenly appeared in his familiar hometown.

"Grandma, where is that shrine?"

"It's on..."

Kagura Hikaru's grandmother explained the exact location of the shrine, on a mountain not far from home.

"The path might be difficult to navigate, it hasn't been maintained for a long time." Seemingly recalling something, the grandmother's face dimmed a little, "After all, no one goes there to worship anymore."

Kagura Hikaru felt something strange and cautiously probed, "Did something happen at that shrine?"

He detected an unusual tone in his grandmother's voice.

Just as she mentioned before, in this rural area, many old customs and rules were still preserved, and many of the elderly were superstitious.

If there indeed was a shrine in this town, it was impossible that he was only just finding out about it now.

Perhaps something taboo had occurred at the shrine.

Kagura Hikaru's grandmother opened her mouth, stared blankly for a moment, then shook her head and sighed, "About thirty years ago, a girl in the town took over the shrine. She was well-liked, and the shrine flourished with worshippers at that time, largely thanks to her."

"What happened after that?"

Kagura Hikaru's gaze flickered, his thoughts unreadable.

"What happened after? Well... she disappeared." The grandmother fell silent for a while, "The search team and the town's folk spontaneously went to the mountains to look for her but couldn't find any clues. After that, no one was willing to take over the shrine, and it gradually became desolate, with no one else going there."

"..."

By this point, Kagura Hikaru had confirmed the identity of the girl.

The female skeleton dragged out from the well must be that of the missing shrine maiden.

She wasn't lost on the mountain; she had been murdered and her body buried in the well, hidden from daylight for thirty years.

"What was her name?" asked Kagura Hikaru.

The grandmother looked a bit surprised but still answered his question, "She was Mizuno's child, named Yuna, only nineteen when she disappeared... about the same age as Hikaru now."

The grandmother went back to her room to rest, while Kagura Hikaru didn't set out right away. Instead, he ate the rice balls left over from entertaining guests yesterday and patiently waited until the sun was about to rise and the sky showed a faint light before putting on his shoes and stepping outside.

The morning air was still noticeably cool, but as the sun rose over the mountain and sunlight shone upon him, the warmth quickly began to return, making Kagura Hikaru's steps a bit lighter.

Still dressed in the black suit from the funeral, his tall stature and aloof demeanor made him seem no different from an adult, and in these clothes, he was the spitting image of a funeral company employee at work.

The elderly, out and about for morning chores, had no desire to converse upon seeing him, simply giving him a calm look before going back to their own tasks.

It seems that even in a countryside accustomed to death, people involved in funeral work aren't particularly welcome.

Kagura Hikaru didn't mind as he straightened his tie, stopped by the convenience store to pick up a bottle of mineral water, and then headed up the mountain.

He followed the main road halfway up the mountain, then chose the rightmost of three forks in the path.

The deeper he walked, the worse the condition of the road became, with rough stone steps covered in fallen leaves, clearly no one had walked this way in a long time; the fencing was no longer reliable, and occasionally branches blocked the path. Kagura Hikaru carefully stepped over them, to avoid slipping down like Kiryu Hina had in Sendai.

As time passed, the trees around him seemed to grow denser, creating an increasingly somber atmosphere; it was eerily silent except for the occasional bird call, with not even a murmur of the wind.

The surroundings became darker, and the chill in the air grew more pronounced.

Even though the sun had already risen, Kagura Hikaru had the bizarre illusion that it was 'sunset.'

It was at this moment that he saw the distinctive stone lanterns of the shrine, lined up on either side of the road, leading up a stone staircase slope.

Kagura Hikaru looked up and could vaguely see a hint of red at the end of the slope, the torii gate of the Shrine.

He sighed in relief, it seemed he hadn't found the wrong place.

The path to the Shrine was a set of steep stairways, the kind that elderly people need to be especially careful on, not particularly safe.

But ascending the steps gave Kagura Hikaru a feeling of heading 'towards heaven', and he had to tilt his head back to see his destination.

He was somewhat amazed, realizing that these stairs were designed this way to embody the reverence for the gods.

After all, ahead was the 'domain of the gods'.

The staircase wasn't long, and Kagura Hikaru quickly arrived at the top of the slope.

The weather-beaten deep red torii gate stood not far away, like a giant doorway, erect there, its red paint suffering from much flaking and peeling.

In Shinto customs, the torii gate essentially acts as a 'door', passing through it symbolizes entering from the world of humans into the realm of the gods, and one must not be disrespectful.

Of course, Kagura Hikaru wasn't superstitious, but he wouldn't deliberately do anything absurd either.

He glanced at the fox statues on either side of the torii gate and walked briskly into the Shrine.

Passing through the torii gate, in front was an ancient-looking Shrine, surprisingly large in scale, but now overrun by various plants, covered in fallen leaves, with a damaged roof that had lost a hole, shrouded by the shadows of trees.

Kagura Hikaru walked past the moss-covered purification basin, headed straight for the main hall.

He looked at the Shrine in front of him, giving off the smell of rotting wood, threw a five-hundred-yen coin into the offering box, and carefully tugged at the dangling bell above—this was to remind the deities that someone had come to make a wish, 'look at me'.

Then, following the standard prayer procedure, he bowed twice, clapped twice, and bowed once more, closed his eyes, pressed his hands together, and voiced his wish, "I hope grandpa is at peace in heaven, and if reincarnated, may he fall upon a good family."

One final bow.

And he left.

Although he was sure that the body he found was the Shrine Maiden who disappeared from this Shrine thirty years ago, he had no intention of searching for clues here.

So many years had passed; even if there were clues, they would have mostly been lost by now.

Moreover, there was no need for him to get involved in such trivial matters; all he had to do was keep an eye on the middle-aged man from the prophetic visions.

However, just as Kagura Hikaru turned to leave, an unexpected voice came from behind him.

"Many people have made wishes here, but it's my first time seeing someone pray for the deceased, how strange," the voice said.

Kagura Hikaru stopped in his tracks and spun around.

Standing behind the offering box was a Shrine Maiden, looking at him curiously.

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She had soft black hair, a slender waist, and was clad in a somewhat oversized red and white Shrine Maiden Attire, her skin fair and features delicate, with a pair of doe-like, sparkling eyes that left a memorable impression.

Was this a fairy of the mountains or a ghost?

For a moment, Kagura Hikaru was extremely vigilant, his muscles tensed.

This Shrine had been abandoned for decades; it was impossible for any Shrine Maiden to be working here—and if there were people, they wouldn't let the Shrine fall into such disrepair.

He immediately thought of the skeletal remains, the body of a Shrine Maiden tossed into a well, clothed in Shrine Maiden Attire.

"Cough cough, don't be afraid," said the girl, noticing his alarmed expression, and embarrassedly brushed her hair back, "I'm not someone suspicious; my name is Mizuno Yuna, and I work as a Shrine Maiden here."

Kagura Hikaru remained silent.