"I was also saved by Soujiro-san. Of course, my grandma was saved too. But, how should I put it, rather than worrying about touching a swelling, sometimes it's better to be irresponsible and treat me a little roughly. But, that's a technique that only Soujiro-san can use. I feel that way too.

"That's right. It's a technique only that girl can use."

"That's true."

Yoshino and Koharu looked at each other and chuckled.

"That's right, Koharu. I didn't want to lose to Soujirou, so I made some new Japanese miscellaneous goods."

"What is that?"

"Hehehe" Yoshino smiled at Koharu's sparkling eyes.

"Just wait a minute."

With that, Yoshino left the room and switched off the lights in the living room with a click.

"Hey grandma, why did you turn off the lights?"

While I was confused by the sudden darkness in the room, Yoshino returned to the living room with a lamp in her hand.

The lantern was shaped like a small birdcage and was woven from bamboo sticks.

A chick-shaped candle is placed in the center. "Wow, wow, this birdcage-shaped lantern is so cute!"

"Yeah, it's cute!"

Yoshino placed the lantern in the center of the table with great interest.

"Did your grandmother make this?"

"That's right. We just received some chick-shaped candles, and I thought of this. If you're worried about candles, LED lamps are a good idea, too. "

Koharu nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

"This is so cute."

"Here's a present for you."

As Yoshino quickly hands it over to Koharu, her face cringes and she says, "I'm so happy."

"Could this be the first one?"

"It's a bit odd, but the first one is Channin."

"Well, no need to apologize. Who's going to be the first one?"

"It's Mioto-chan. I gave it to Soujirou."

"That's right."

"... She's a chick just like you."

Yoshino whispered, gazing at the chick-shaped candle and laughing.

"Huh?"

"That's right. By the way, Koharu, this is a continuation of what we were talking about earlier. It was about waterfall training."

Yoshino looked up as if she had just remembered something, and Koharu straightened up and said, "Yes, yes."

"It's no good for amateurs to train at the waterfall on their own without proper guidance. The Dragon God did a great job of showing us around."

As Yoshino breathed a sigh of relief, Koharu thought, "After all, the dragon god had stopped it," and shrugged her shoulders at her awkwardness.

"As Ai-chan said, waterfall training is tough, but I think it can open the gates of energy and awaken spiritual power."

" Yeah "

"But really, Koharu. For a human being, just living in this society is enough training for them, even if they had to be hit by a waterfall. Living side by side with jealousy, envy, greed, and competition is an even more arduous training than seclusion in the mountains and being hit by a waterfall. Don't you think so?"

Yoshino said this with a mischievous smile, and Koharu nodded, smiling as well.

"That's so true."

Human relationships and competition.

The two sides of things, dreams and hopes, setbacks and despair.

Koharu nodded in agreement, saying Yoshino was right; the rough waves of human society must be an extremely harsh training, comparable to retreating to the mountains and being hit by a waterfall.

"But it seems like your grandma isn't like that. She doesn't seem to be involved in things like competition, jealousy, or envy."

"I'm a little jealous," Koharu remarked, but Yoshino frowned and shook her head.

"Well, there you have it."

"Huh?"

"I've been feeling so frustrated lately."

"W-Who?"

"Soujirou! This is my shop, but it's been completely taken over. Japanese sweets, Japanese sweets." "Oh... my grandma was worried about it too."

"Of course. That's why I made something new. Well, unlike Japanese sweets, I can't make them in large quantities, and to begin with, I wanted customers to flock to me like the Japanese sweets that Soujiro makes, so I wanted to make something that would please people."

As Yoshino said this and dropped her eyes to the birdcage-shaped lantern, Koharu responded with "Hmm."

The ceiling of the birdcage is open, which may be to allow the heat to escape, but it also seems to indicate that even though the bird is caged, it is always ready to fly away.

"...But it's wonderful that out of frustration, these adorable Japanese miscellaneous goods were born."

When Koharu said that, Yoshino shrugged her shoulders and said, "Yeah, I guess so," looking a little embarrassed.

"I'm embarrassed to be competing with someone my age, but it's true."

Frustration, envy, jealousy and anger.

If you let these things build up, negative energy will begin to swirl around you and could destroy you.

However, if you use that energy to take positive action and drive growth, it can produce good results.

─ ─ This is why the present world is so interesting.

I felt like I had heard a voice like that somewhere.

"It must be Wakamiya-kun," Koharu thought with a smile.

It was a long, gentle autumn night, with small lanterns illuminating the newly hatched chicks still unsteady on their feet. Chapter 2: The commotion of the festival and matcha chestnut daifuku.

one

The second weekend of November is Gakutoku Gakuen's cultural festival.

It is called the "Maple Festival."

Although the school buildings are partially separated, the event is held jointly with the elementary, middle, high school, and university departments, so it is expected to be quite lively.

Koharu's class had initially been thinking about opening a cafe, but since it overlapped with other classes' ideas and there wasn't much twist to the idea, they reworked the idea and ended up with a "sweets place."

Everyone wears adorable tsumugi or komon kimonos and serves rice dumplings and oshiruko.

This idea had come from Koharu.

The class discussion wasn't going very well, and an irritated atmosphere began to hang over the classroom. The "anyone can come up with ideas" atmosphere reached its peak, when Koharu spoke up, "Hey, you know, how about that sweet place over there?"

Koharu, who can hear the voices in people's hearts, is able to shut them out to a certain extent by wearing the amulet that Yoshino made for her. However, I only mean to a certain extent.

The strong emotions are conveyed.

The frustration and irritation in the classroom at that moment would have been noticeable to any ordinary person, but for the sensitive Koharu it was unbearable.

In the tingly air, I thought, "Ah, at times like this I want to eat the Japanese sweets made by Soujiro-san," so I began to think, "What about a sweet place?"

When Koharu suggested it, everyone in the class looked at her and said, "A sweet shop might not be bad."

"My uncle is a Japanese confectioner, so I think he'll be happy to discuss it if you ask."

With those words, Koharu's class's offering became "Ichi no Kumi Sweets." Needless to say, "Ichi no Kumi" came from class 1-1.

"Hey, since we're here, why don't we all wear Japanese clothes? Komon or Tsumugi."

The executive committee member brought this up during the course of the discussion.

"Komon" is a slightly rougher kimono than Houmongi, with small patterns scattered all over, while "Tsumugi" gives the impression of being a more casual kimono. Roughly speaking, if Houmongi is a dress, then Komon is a one-piece, and Tsumugi is a slightly cute everyday wear.

"Yoshino has many such kimonos so it should be possible to borrow one," Koharu agreed.

The other students agreed, saying, "I don't have one, but my mother or grandmother did," and it was decided that traditional Japanese clothing would be required at "Ichi no Kumi Sweets Shop."

With the help of Sojiro, we were able to create the Japanese sweets menu and recipes, and the Kaede Festival got underway on the second Friday of November.

And then the second day, Saturday.

"Please come in. Welcome."

Koharu turned around, the sleeves of her adorable small-patterned kimono - a white background with red, yellow, and green maple leaves scattered all over it - fluttering gently.

Koharu's class's offering, "Ichi no Kumi Sweets Shop," was a great success.

Since it was a sweet shop after all, they decided to make it as Kyoto-like as possible, and so the students, who normally used standard Japanese, decided to use the Kyoto dialect for just that day.

A red noren curtain is hung at the entrance to the classroom, red cloths are placed on the tables, handmade red umbrellas are also provided, and Japanese-style background music such as koto and shamisen is played.

Perhaps attracted by the Japanese atmosphere, the place was constantly packed with customers, and the students, all dressed in adorable tsumugi or komon robes and aprons, carried lacquered trays and seemed to be busily walking around.

Ai, wearing a small patterned kimono dotted with small yellow and red flowers, was preparing tea and plates of Japanese sweets on a tray behind the curtains and remarked, "It's amazing."

"I never imagined it would become this successful," he said. "Everyone worked so hard to create a peaceful atmosphere."

When Koharu nodded in agreement, her classmates who had been listening to the story turned around vigorously.

"Sakurai-san, that's not all!"

"That's right, it's all thanks to Sakurai-san's uncle's recipe!"

With everyone saying that, Koharu felt pressured.

"I'd like a matcha chestnut daifuku, please."

"I also want the Matcha Chestnut Daifuku! I heard it's really delicious."

A voice came from the table.

The class discussed what to order for the menu, which consisted of red bean soup and mitarashi dango, but they all talked about wanting something else, so when Koharu asked Soujiro about it, he suggested, "How about green tea chestnut daifuku?"

Matcha Chestnut Daifuku is a mildly sweet, slightly bitter matcha flavoured mochi rice cake stuffed with a refined sweet bean paste filling and soft sweet chestnuts.

As a prototype, Soujiro made matcha chestnut daifuku for all 31 students in his class, including his homeroom teacher.

Koharu will never forget the faces of everyone who shouted with joy, "It tastes delicious!" And the atmosphere in the classroom was soon filled with warmth. Seeing everyone like that, Koharu truly believed that delicious food can make people happy.

So, using the recipe given to them by Sojiro, everyone made "Matcha Chestnut Daifuku", and as a result, "Matcha Chestnut Daifuku" became a huge hit.

"This is better than I expected."

"Maybe it's better to decide the quantity from the beginning and sell it as a lump sum."

"Wait, if there's any left over I'd like to take it home."

As her classmates talked about this while working behind the scenes, Koharu's cheeks relaxed with joy, pride, and even a hint of embarrassment.

"Even so, when I tried the matcha chestnut daifuku made by Sakurai-san's uncle, I thought it was so delicious that it brought tears to my eyes, but the ones we made only tasted "normally delicious," so I never expected them to become this popular."

"Well, even though it was the same recipe, I thought the Japanese confectionery craftsman's work was different."

Saying this, her classmates turned towards Koharu.

"Hey, I wonder if Sakurai-san's uncle will come during this period."

"Yes, I want to say thank you."

Koharu, who was preparing tea, was a little surprised at the sudden question, but nodded in agreement.

"Well, maybe I can come after lunch today. If my uncle comes, I'd like to show him around, so you can take a rest then."

"Hmm, well, any amount is fine. Sakurai-san, you're a great contributor."

"Hey, what kind of person is your uncle? Is he a quiet, grumpy, strict guy?"

"But she makes sweets for the whole class, so she's a really kind person at heart."

Everyone's eyes lit up with interest. Perhaps they were imagining a "grumpy old man craftsman," but listening to the story, Ai was so shocked by how different this was from reality that she covered her mouth with her hand to hold back her laughter, while Koharu's cheeks twitched.

"Well, like everyone says, he is kind, but he's not taciturn or strict. And even though he's my uncle, he's still quite young. So he'll bring it out."

With that simple statement, he picked up the tray and carried it to the table, saying, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

It got busier at Sweets Shop Ichinokumi around lunchtime, but by 2pm things had calmed down considerably.

The crowd thinned out, and my classmates let out a sigh.

Their homeroom teacher, Otome Sensei, looked at them with appreciation and said, "You all did a great job."

"But it's only the second day, Sensei. And we've only just gotten past noon."

"That's true. But I was glad that so many boys came too."

"Well, there were some really cool girls there. Not quite as good as the 'Beautiful You' girls at university, though."

"People like that are rare."

"Beautiful Lady" refers to Mioto.

There were female students who secretly adored him, but they didn't even know his name and just called him "Beautiful Prince." Since no one mentioned Mioto's name, Koharu thought it would be strange to say, "The beautiful person everyone's talking about is my relative," so she kept quiet.

As we were all chatting away, a tall man came through the red noren curtain.

"Come and welcome to Sweets Shop Ichi no Kumi..."

One of his classmates finished speaking and choked on his words.

Wondering what was wrong, Koharu looked up and opened her eyes wide.

"Hey, you're doing it, Koharu."

There, Soujiro was seen with one hand raised.

"Wow," Koharu said, walking over.

"Thanks to you, both yesterday and today were a great success. The 'Matcha Chestnut Daifuku' that Soujiro-san taught me is very popular. Thank you so much."

Koharu said this and turned to introduce Soujirou to her classmates, only to find them all standing there in shock.

"Eh... by any chance, is that person Sakurai-san's uncle?"

"Are you a Japanese confectioner?"

When everyone asked her to confirm, Koharu simply nodded and said, "Uh huh."

"My uncle's..."

As Koharu began to introduce himself, Soujirou stepped forward and bowed.

"Koharu is always looking after you. This is Sakurai Soujirou."

His classmates and teacher both stood there with wide eyes.

"Hey, hey, thank you for taking care of me this time."

" thank you "

After a moment, everyone thanked her, bowed their heads, and turned to look at Koharu.

"Um, well, Sakurai-san."

" Yeah ? "

"Uncle, isn't he really cool?"

"Yeah, I thought so too. She's tall, has a nice figure, and a pretty face."

"I thought she was a model."

Everyone looked stunned.

"Koharu, everyone is such a good kid."

Soujirou nodded with great satisfaction, while Koharu next to him gave a wry smile.

"Hey, will Koharu be able to get ahead?"

"Ah, well, neither Ai nor I have had a break until now... Ah, her friend Ai Mizuhara, who she always eats lunch with, is here."

Koharu introduced Ai, who was standing a step away.

"Hello, my name is Ai Mizuhara."

Ai hastily bowed her head,

"Hello, this is Soujirou. Koharu is always looking after me."

Soujirou flashed an incredible smile that he never showed at home and bowed his head.

"Hey, Ai, if you'd like, let's go around together."

"Eh? Is that okay?"

"Ah, come on, let's go together."

"Wow, I'm happy. Thank you very much."

Koharu and Ai turned around to look at everyone.

"Well, we'll be going on break then, thank you very much," he said with a bow, and left the classroom together with Sojiro.

Left alone in the classroom, his classmates and teacher looked at each other with their mouths open.

"There was another person on the level of 'My Beautiful Lady'."

"Well, the types are completely different."

While my classmates were whispering to each other, "It's unfair to call someone like that my uncle,"

"... he's single."

Saotome-sensei blurted this out with a straight face.

Everyone was given a two-hour break, so Koharu, Ai, and Soujirou took their time looking around the Kaede Festival.

As I walked with Sojiro through the school corridors, enveloped in the lively atmosphere of the school festival, men and women of all ages turned to look back at us.

Ai, walking half a step behind, let out a sigh of admiration.

"What can I say, you stand out like you're walking with a tiger," Ai muttered under her breath. Her words were so spot on that Koharu burst out laughing.

"It really feels like walking with a tiger."

"That's right, everyone will have to avoid it."

The two of them were laughing together when Soujirou turned around to look at his watch.

"It's almost time. Let's go."

"Huh? Where?"

"It's in the square on the north side. Mioto called me today and said, 'If you'd like, please come along, Koharu-chan.' Apparently the archery club is doing something."

"Mio-san said, 'Koharu-chan'..."

Though she thought it was probably just a polite remark, Koharu's heart felt filled with joy.

"Koharu, your face is relaxed, it's relaxed."

Ai nudged her with her elbow and Koharu hurriedly tightened her expression.

I heard he had been on hiatus for a while, but I wonder if he's back on the road yet.

I would like to see him, but I'm worried that he might still be depressed.

With these worries in mind, Koharu headed with the others to the plaza on the north side of the university building.

As I walked, I saw some high school students running towards me.

"Oh, he's definitely a fan of Mioto-san."

Koharu responded to Ai's murmur with a "Hmm" and nodded in agreement.

"There are fans out there, as expected of Mio-tan."

"Oh," Soujirou muttered, and Ai blinked.

"Soujirou-san, do you call Mioto-san 'Mio-tan'? You two seem to be good friends."

Koharu shrugged at his words.

"I'm not sure if we're close, but I'm just teasing you. You're always ignoring me."

"Oh, is that so?" I laughed, and soon we arrived at the north plaza.

There was a red and white curtain hung there and an archery range set up.

Ropes have been strung up, likely for the safety of the spectators. Five men and women dressed in kyudo uniforms are lined up in a row, each holding a bow.

There was a round target in front of his line of sight.

However, Mioto was not to be found among them.

"Mio-san is nowhere to be seen."

Ai stretched her neck and spoke, and Koharu nodded without saying a word.

The visitors, presumably hoping to see Miohito, were murmuring, "She's not there!"

At that moment, a loud bang of a Japanese drum rang out, and everyone was so shocked that they fell silent.

Next came the beating of the Japanese drums, and then another loud bang rang out, which was the signal for the first archer to fire his arrow.

The arrow hits the target perfectly, right in the center, and the spectators let out cheers of "Wow!"

The drums started to beat again, and the archers took turns firing their arrows. Some missed the center, but when a club member's arrow hit the target, everyone shouted "Wow!" and applauded.

The archers took a bow, the drums sounded again, and a new target was prepared.

This time it's a wooden target.

As the drums rang out, the sound of hooves could be heard coming from somewhere.

Koharu and Ai exchanged a look, wondering if that was the case.

Just as the sound of hooves kicking the ground grew louder, a man on horseback appeared from behind the curtain. Wearing a battle hat on his head, a mizuginu kimono and hakama, and a archery racket, he came racing towards them with a bow in his hand.

"Hey, Mioto-san."

The dignified sight made Koharu blush bright red up to her ears and instinctively put her hand over her mouth, while next to her, Soujirou narrowed his eyes coldly and said, "I see, that horse archery is really embarrassing. He's quite cynical."

From the top of his galloping horse, Mioto stands tall and fires an arrow.

The arrow hit the target perfectly right through the center, splitting the board in two.

At that moment, a loud, yellow, deafening cheer erupted.

"S-so beautiful, just as you would expect from a 'beautiful young lady'."

"Why didn't I take a picture?"

As the female visitors talked enthusiastically, Ai nodded and said, "Um."

"That was really cool. It was not a foul."

"Right?" Ai asked, peering at Koharu, and with her face still bright red, she could only reply with "Um."

"It looks like things are picking up a bit."

Koharu felt relieved when she heard Soujirou mutter this to himself.

Good thing he's recovered.

As I was taking a deep breath to calm my pounding heartbeat, Mioto looked my way, bowed, and raised his hand.

The women around me rolled their eyes and said, "No way!"

"You raised your hand to us."

" can't believe it "

Ai looked at her with a cold look as she squealed, "Kyaa kyaa."

"That's not true, Mioto-san was waving to Koharu."

"...Hmm, I think it's Soujirou."

"Well, Mio-tan, you really love your brother."

Soujirou crossed his arms and nodded approvingly.

"It's frustrating that I can't deny it."

Koharu spoke with a frustrated tone, causing Ai to burst out laughing.

Even now the women around him were still casting passionate glances at Mioto, but Koharu quietly lowered her eyes.

Until now, I had admired Mioto as an amazing opponent, but I also felt like he was somehow close to me.

But now it seemed so far away, so out of reach, and I felt lonely.

Afterwards, Koharu, Ai, and Soujirou went around looking at the school festival.

Soujirou bought us some candy, crepes, and candy apples, and we ate them while looking around the stalls.

The two of them looked adorable in their small patterned kimonos, and they heard comments like, "They're a pair," and "Those kimonos are nice," and they looked at each other in embarrassment and both shrugged their shoulders.

"Is there anywhere you want to go, Koharu?" Ai asked, and Koharu shook her head.

"Especially Ai?"

"I was thinking of going to see the performance by my middle school 'Okaken' club, so do you want to come with me?"

Hearing this, Soujirou asked in a confused manner, "Oka Research?"

"It's the 'Occult Research Society'. Ai belonged to it when she was in middle school."

Koharu answered without hesitation, and Soujirou responded with "Oh, I see."

"What kind of things will the 'Okaken' group do?"

"Maybe a haunted house?"

As Soujiro and Koharu continued to ask questions, Ai laughed and said, "A haunted house."

"I wasn't told what I was going to do, but I was told, 'We're going to do something serious, so please come along, senpai.'"

"That's something we have to do, senpai."

When Koharu tapped her on the shoulder, Ai shrugged and said, "Stop it."

"Something like a 'real thing' about the 'Oka Research Club' where middle school students gather..."

Koharu gave a wry smile as Soujirou shut his mouth after saying that much.

I could predict the next words, "I have no choice but to have a bad feeling," and I knew Koharu felt the same way.

two

The "Occult Research Society" event was fittingly held in a rented hall on the first floor of the tower in the courtyard.

Yes, it is a cursed tower that is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a young girl who once committed suicide by jumping off a building - Ai's farce, of course - and it is a building that was familiar to Koharu and Ai.

However, for other students, it remains a frightening place.

"Using that tower? That's just like the Oka Lab. Want to join?"

"No, I'm scared, so I won't go in."

Some students could be seen getting close to the tower and looking puzzled.

Koharu, Ai, and Soujirou gave the students sidelong glances and entered the tower without any hesitation.

The entrance was wide open, and as soon as I entered I was greeted by an arrow pointing to the end of the road and a black sign reading "Afternoon Tragedy and Occult Research Society Meeting - Something Good Will Happen Tonight." The fact that it said "three o'clock" and "tragedy" and the skull and crossbones mark were quite ominous.

"It's three o'clock in the afternoon and tonight."

As Soujirou put his hand over his mouth to hold back his laughter, Koharu lightly nudged him with her elbow.

Upon entering the inner hall of the venue, the light was blocked off by black curtains, and candlelight flickered mysteriously in the darkness.

In the dim light, six students wearing black, hooded cloaks, like those of magicians, were sitting around a round table.

There were a surprisingly large number of visitors, ranging from junior high school students to university students, who stood along the walls, looking with interest to see what was going on.

Everyone was talking in hushed voices and the room was buzzing.

There were probably just under twenty visitors in all, and Koharu was impressed that so many people had come, when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

I turned around in confusion and saw Mioto there.

"!!"

I instinctively wanted to shout out "Mio-san!" but quickly shut my mouth.

"Everyone, thank you for earlier."

Mioto said this in a hushed voice and bowed.

"Hey," said Soujirou as he raised his hand, and next to Ai who returned the bow, "Thank you."

"Mio-san, why are you here?"

Koharu asked in a low voice.

"When I heard that the middle school 'Oka Research Club' was starting up here, I had a bad feeling about it. Then I saw Soujirou-san and Koharu-chan entering the tower."

Mioto whispered in Koharu's ear so no one else could hear.

"That's right."

"Koharu-chan, can you feel anything? Even with the amulet on, you can still sense the atmosphere, right?"

He asked again in her ear, and the breath made Koharu's heart skip a beat.

Right now, the only thing filling the room was the curiosity of the visitors. To put it bluntly, they were looking at it with curiosity, wondering "what are a bunch of chunibyo kids going to do?"

"No, no, nothing in particular..."

As I said that and shook my head, I felt that there was a dark emotion brewing in the room.

Is this hatred?

Since I'm wearing Yoshino's amulet, it's hard to tell.

However, the image it gives is of a little bit of black liquid being dropped into red liquid.

Who here has such feelings?

As Koharu furrowed her brow, the pillar clock struck three in the afternoon with a bzzz, bzzz, bzzz, and a man in a black cloak rose to his feet.

"Everyone, please come to the meeting of the Occult Research Society. I am the club's director, Tanizaki."

The dim light and the hood made it hard to see her face, but the voice sounded like a girl's. Since she was the club president, she was probably a third-year middle school student.

The visitors, who had been whispering to each other and chattering away up until now, now stopped talking.

"What we are going to show you now is a 'séance.'"

It was clear that Soujirou and Mioto were disgusted by his words.

"My bad feeling has come true," they said as they both put their hands to their foreheads.

"There are rumors that this tower is haunted by ghosts. Nearly seventeen years ago, a young girl became so weak that she gave up her own life. She is still wandering around, envious of those of us who enjoy life to the fullest."

Ai lowered her head in apology at the chief's words.

It was Ai's mother who once committed suicide by jumping from this tower. The reason for this cannot be explained in a few words, but it is completely different from the rumors.

Ai felt frustrated at being told such selfish things, yet wanted to refute them, and was conflicted by the fact that she was the one who had started such rumors in the first place. It seemed to Koharu that Ai was now painfully aware of just how foolish her actions had been.

「 ... ... ... ... 」

Without a word, Koharu reached out and took Ai's hand in hers.

Ai looked up in a bit of surprise, then quickly looked down and tightly gripped Koharu's hand in return.

"I would like to summon the young girl's spirit here, listen to her words of regret, and help her rest in peace."

As the club director spoke, the visitors exclaimed, "Wow!"

To those who believed in the rumors about the tower, these must have sounded like grateful words.

However, Ai's mother has already attained nirvana - become light - long ago.

There's no way he would come here, Koharu thought, frowning.

The chief sat down in his chair again.

The six members of the club, including the club president, sat around a circular table and shook hands tightly.

The candle in the candlestick flickers gently.

"That's not good," Soujirou muttered.

"That's true," Mioto nodded.

Performing such rituals can sometimes attract bad things.

They both seemed concerned about that.

However, since nothing was happening now, there was no way to stop it, so I just watched the situation with bated breath.

The six club members held hands, bowed their heads, and began to mutter something to themselves.

The club members begin chanting a spell in English: "Gather the spider, rattail snake. Tap the table. Now they bring."

The visitors were feeling tense due to the strange atmosphere in the air, but the expressions on Soujirou and Mioto's faces, which had been tense up until then, suddenly relaxed.

"There's no problem."

" I agree "

Koharu agreed with what the two were saying. They were creating a rather cheerful atmosphere, but it seemed that neither the spells they were chanting nor the club members had any power to attract anything bad.

The spell repeated the same thing over and over again. At first I couldn't hear it, but then my ears got used to it and I could hear it. "Gather the rat's tail, and the snake's tail. Knock on the table. I will summon them now."

"...This is an arrangement of the spell that Madame chant in the theme park 'Haunted Mansion'."

Ai coldly told him, and Soujirou must have burst out laughing, so he put his hand over his mouth.

"Sorry, I'm just going out into the hallway for a bit," I said, going outside so as not to disturb anyone.

"I'm sorry, but I feel like I'm being confronted with the pain I once felt, so I can't bear to watch."

Ai also seemed unable to bear it and quickly went outside.

Koharu thought to herself and went outside too, but the moment she got ready to go outside she felt the room suddenly fill with hatred and she turned around as if she had been hit by a bullet.

Mioto seemed to feel the same way and gave me a grim look.

The spell stopped, and a growling sound like that of a beast echoed around.

The club members stop chanting and look up.

"Y-You did it! Did you summon something?"

One of the club members let out an unexpected cry of joy, but quickly shut his mouth.

The chief was on his hands and knees on the table.

"--!"

As the candle flame flickered in the candlestick, the chief growled like a beast, his eyes rolled up, and drool was dripping from his mouth.

Most notably, a strange smell suddenly filled the air, as if it was coming from somewhere.

The smell was so bad, like rotten fish, that everyone covered their noses and mouths with their hands.

"B-Bro, Chief?"

When one of the club members asked in a trembling voice, the man roared and jumped on her.

"It's dangerous!"

Mioto, who was standing a short distance away, quickly clapped his hands and turned his palms down.

The chief suddenly fell flat on the table, almost to the point of being crushed.

The force of the blow nearly caused the candlestick to fall over and it was caught by a male visitor nearby.

After only a short time of slumping face down on the table, the chief quickly tried to stand up.

"Everyone, I think she has entered a trance-like state. It's very dangerous, so please leave the room."

The moment Mioto yelled this, the club president got on his hands and knees again, letting out a roar, "Guaaaahh," and everyone else let out a shriek and ran away.

Pushing and shoving, pulling at their hair, they all tried to get away first. Koharu stood there in a daze, stunned by the truly extraordinary scene.

Mioto had deliberately called the chief a "hypnotic state," but there was no doubt that something was clinging to his body. Something must have been summoned during the "séance."

"Koharu-chan, leave the room too."

Mioto said this as he stood in front of Koharu.

Now that everyone had fled, the curtains in the entrance were drawn open and a dim light streamed into the room.

The chief was still sitting on the table, breathing heavily, his eyes bulging, and drool dripping from his mouth.

It was an incredibly negative aura.

"W-what on earth is attached to it?"

" ...That's right, how should I put it, it's a gathering of lingering jealousy and envy here and there. I wonder how it came to this," Mioto frowned in confusion, wondering what kind of spell it could be.

At the sudden commotion, Soujirou and Ai, who were presumably outside the tower, came running into the room with pale faces and asking, "What on earth is going on?"

Suddenly, the club members standing near the entrance came up to Ai with teary eyes.

"S-senpai, please help the chief."

"I can't believe it turned out like this!"

As her juniors clung to her and begged her, Ai rolled her eyes and said, "But, but..."

"It's okay, I'll..." Mioto was about to nod, when...

"No, this kind of thing is mine."

Soujiro took a step forward.

Mioto gave a slight smile and nodded.

"That's true. You were faster at this than I was. Koharu-chan, Ai-chan, get out of the room."

Koharu nodded obediently and left the room, but Ai reluctantly left the room saying, "I want to see it."

Even after they went out into the corridor, Ai and the other club members seemed to be sneaking peeks into the room so as not to disturb them.

It seems that the Oka Lab really loves this kind of thing.

However, Koharu absolutely hated the negative aura emanating from the possessed club chief's body, and although she was curious about how Soujirou would perform the exorcism, she didn't feel like taking a peek.

Feeling unwell for some reason, Koharu crouched down and put her hands over her mouth.

Then, in front of Koharu, a handkerchief was suddenly swiftly placed.

" Are you okay ? "

Confused, she looked up and saw a male student who appeared to be of the same generation looking at her with concern.

He has soft, light hair and clear eyes. He's a cute-looking boy.

He was also the person who caught the candlestick in that room to stop it from falling over.

It was a face she'd seen somewhere before, and Koharu squinted her eyes, wondering who it could be.

"Oh, well... it's fine."

"You're Sakurai-san from class 1, right? The transfer student."

As this continued, Koharu nodded awkwardly.

"I'm Miyoshi Sakuya, a first-year student in class four."

At Gakutoku Gakuen, boys' and girls' classes are separated from the junior high school level, and the classrooms are on different floors.

For first-year students, classes 1 and 2 are girls' classes, and classes 3 and 4 are boys' classes.

"We're both first-year students..."

"Yeah, and I'm also a friend from Tokyo."

"Huh?"

"Unlike Sakurai-san, I only started this spring. So when I heard rumors at the end of summer vacation that a transfer student from Tokyo was coming to class 1, I was a little happy. I wondered if we could become friends."

He said this with a carefree smile that seemed to ease her sense of caution, and Koharu naturally began to smile as well.

"Thank you, I'm fine now."

"So your handkerchief is fine," she said, gesturing with her hand as she tried to stand up, but he grabbed her wrist and helped her up.

"It must be really hard to even stand up in a kimono."

"Sorry, I'm not used to wearing it."

"But it really suits you. It's adorable."

Sakuya narrowed his eyes as he smiled, causing Koharu to blush.

"Oh, I should probably go too. Class 4 is running a cafe. If you'd like, come over tomorrow or the day after that."

"Uh, yeah," Sakuya said, and Koharu nodded.

"So, hold on to your handkerchief," Sakuya said, placing the handkerchief in Koharu's hand and then hurriedly leaving.

"So, come to the classroom tomorrow to return it," came a voice from a short distance away.

"... Huh?"

Koharu held a handkerchief in her hands and stood with her mouth open in surprise.

The handkerchief had a Shiba Inu pattern.

...For some reason, the handkerchief fit him perfectly. "Miyoshi Sakuya, huh?" Koharu thought with a smile, and Ai and the other club members burst into murmurs, "Ohhhhh."

"What? What's wrong?"

As Koharu approached, Ai turned around vigorously.

"Sojiro-san turned that child back in an instant! Just like this, just like that."

Ai raised her index finger and then stretched out her arm, drawing a five-pointed star in the air.

When he finished, he bent his arm and stretched it out again, pressing his palm against the wall.

The other club members then turned around and nodded vigorously.

"When I did that, the chief leaned back even though my palm hadn't even touched him."

"The way to draw a pentagram is from the top to the bottom right and then from the top left to the side right."

As everyone squealed, Mioto opened the door to the room wide.

"The head of the club has been appointed. Members, would you like to join? It seems that Soujiro-san will be giving a valuable lecture."

As Mioto smiled brightly, the other club members turned pale and hunched over as they went into the room.

Ai and I both went into the room with the same expressions on our faces, not wanting to be scolded.

After making sure that everyone had entered the room, Mioto shrugged and said, "Oh well," as he came out into the hallway.

"Koharu-chan, are you alright? Are you feeling okay?"

"It's okay. Is it true that from what those kids said, Soujirou performed the exorcism?"

Koharu took a step closer and asked, and Mioto nodded and said, "That's right."

"At that time, Mioto-san told Soujirou-san, 'You were the first to do this,' but what did he mean by that?"

When Koharu asked further, Mioto simply replied, "Ah huh."

"The thought that wraps around that child is 'jealousy', and the nature of Soujirou's power is 'fire', so it's the quickest way to deal with it. The best thing to do is to burn it away."

"The nature of the power? What does that mean?"

"It would be a long explanation, but do you want to know more, Koharu-chan?"

Mioto looked down at Koharu and tilted his head.

"Yes, yes. I want to be a shrine priest like my grandmother."

"As someone who wanted to become a shrine priest, I should have taken a closer look at Soujirou's exorcism," Koharu said, and then she lowered her eyes in regret.

"...Koharu-chan, do you want to become a shrine priest like Yoshino-san?"

Mioto's eyes snapped open.

"Yes, yes, I know I don't have enough strength, but..."

"That's not the case. But it's still surprising."

" Accident? "

"Koharu-chan hated her own powers, so I thought she might have chosen a way of life where she would avoid contact with them as much as possible."

"At first I didn't want to, but I thought it was really admirable that my grandma was using her special power to help people, and when I saw Soujirou-san borrow Wakamiya-kun's power to help Mioto-san..."

That was all Koharu said and then she kept quiet.

That's right, at that time... I was the one who wanted to save Mioto.

At that moment, Koharu realized that it was this incident that gave her the push she needed to become a shrine priest.

Yes, I wanted to be the one to save him.

That's because I like him.

Once again aware of her own feelings, Koharu's cheeks flushed and she felt steam rising from her head, so she lowered her eyes.

"I-I thought it would be nice if I could become someone who could save someone," Koharu said, blushing and with her head bowed, and Mioto smiled softly.

"...Really, let's talk about this at a more leisurely pace when we have more time. You don't have that much time right now, Koharu-chan, do you?"

Hearing this, Koharu started and checked the clock.

"Oh no, break time is almost over."

I put my head back in the room and saw

"Well, that being said, it's not unreasonable to think it would be interesting, but make sure you never hold a 'séance' just for fun again. And don't do that, Mr. Kokkuri, you'll get into some dangerous situations."

Sojiro said this in a relaxed tone that didn't sound like he was preaching.

Even so, the club members, including the club president, and even Ai, looked at them sincerely and nodded in agreement, saying "yes."

"Hey Ai, we have to get back to the classroom for two hours."

Koharu beckoned towards her and said, causing Ai to look up as if she had been bounced off.

"Oh, I see, it's been a while. Soujirou-san, I'm really sorry about the juniors this time. And thank you for today. I'll be off now."

Ai bowed her head vigorously and left the room.

"Koharu, we have to hurry."

"Um, um, Soujirou-san, Mioto-san, it's time. Thank you for today."

Koharu also bowed her head and ran busily down the passage.

Soujirou, who had emerged from the room with Mioto, looked at the two of them and his shoulders shook.

Soujirou turned around and saw his teammates still standing tall in a row.

"Well, that's why I hope you learn your lesson and never try to summon spirits again."

"Yes," everyone said in unison.

"However, I don't think there's anything wrong with liking the mysterious or the occult. I think it would be good if you continued to enjoy your activities without resorting to forbidden magic, and I look forward to seeing something different at next year's school festival."

When Soujiro finally smiled, everyone's eyes lit up and they all said "Yes" in unison.

"Well then," I thought, as I was about to leave the room, when everyone bowed their heads and said, "Thank you so much."

Soujirou raised one hand and left the room, walking down the hall with Mioto, tilting his head.

"But it's strange."

"Yes, it's true. It's a fun séance, and something strange comes along."

"Maybe it was an old building. It had a moldy, old feel to it."

Soujiro goes outside and looks up at the tower.

"That's true. But still..."

Mioto let this slip out and looked at Soujiro and said, "Well, that's fine."

"Changing the subject, Koharu-chan said she wanted to become a 'prayer priest'. Do you want to hear it, Soujirou-san?"

"Oh, a long time ago. I mean, weren't you listening?"

"Yes, I just heard it for the first time. What did you think?"

"Hmm, well, both you and I have complicated feelings."

"I guess so."

Mioto chuckled.

"But I was happy. Now I don't have any feelings like 'I'm doing this for the Kamo family,' but I honestly felt happy."

"It's ingrained," Soujiro laughs.

"That may be so, but that's not all."

"Is there anything else?"

"...For now, I think I'll talk to Yoshino-san about it."

Mioto said this, turning up the corners of his mouth and looking up at the sky dyed in the setting sun.

Around the time Koharu and Ai returned to the classroom, Miyoshi Sakuya had also returned to his own class, Year 1, Class 4.

"Ugh, you," his all-boys classmates let out dissatisfied murmurs as they looked at Sakuya. Class 1-4's ​​performance was "Doggie Cafe," and all the students were wearing dog ears on their heads and aprons around their waists.

"Isn't the break too long?"

"Sorry. I heard that the Oka Laboratory was doing something at that tower, and I thought it sounded fun," Sakuya said unashamedly, putting a dog-eared headband on his head.

"Inside that tower? As expected of the Oka Research Club, you're fearless."

"You're scared," his classmate said in a frightened tone, to which Sakuya laughed. "So, did anything interesting happen?"

"It was interesting, but one day a girl from the Oka Research Club got into a state of self-hypnosis, or self-suggestion, and started feeling really weird, and it caused quite a stir."

"Really? That's so funny, isn't it?"

"But she was a middle school girl, so for some reason it was just painful to watch, and it left a bad taste in my mouth," Sakuya shrugged as he put on his apron.

"Well, that tower is pretty dangerous, isn't it? I shouldn't have gone there."

"Well, I guess it's okay because I was able to get closer to a girl I've had a crush on for a while."

"The one you were interested in?"

"A Pair of Transfer Students"

Sakuya said with a smile.

three

Gakutoku Gakuen's cultural festival, the Kaede Festival, went off without a hitch.

Koharu's class won the Kaede Award, which is given to several highly acclaimed classes, and all her classmates were happy and were able to write a happy page about their youth.

The day after the school festival was a substitute holiday, and Koharu was so exhausted that she slept like a log and had a hard time getting up.

I have to get up and help out at the store, but I'm so sleepy I can't get up, or so I thought in my sleep.

I couldn't wake up, but as I continued to feel sleepy, I had "that dream" again.

I had just finished some work and returned to my room.

I sat on the tatami mat, feeling uneasy and restless.

I'm sure that person will be coming soon.

That's what I think.

At that moment, a young man's voice asked, "May I come in?"

I nodded "Yes," added in my mind "Sorry for waiting," and bowed.

Then the young man appears.

Trying to hide the pounding of my heart, I slowly raised my head.

The young man's face still cannot be seen.

Please, let me see your face... let me see your face.

I put out my hand pleadingly and someone grabbed it.

The realistic sensation woke Koharu up from her dream and snapped her eyes open.

All she could see was Mioto taking her hand,

"Ugh."

Koharu let out a silly yell and raised her torso vigorously.

Confused, Koharu wondered why he was here and whether she was still dreaming, but when she looked at Mioto, he gave her an apologetic wry smile.

"I wanted to surprise her. I knocked on the door and asked, 'May I come in?' and Koharu-chan said, 'Yes.'"

"Ah..." Koharu began.

I put my hand to my forehead, wondering if that voice was real.

The door to the room was left open, giving it a Mioto-like feel.

"Um, well, what happened here so early?"

Koharu was so shaken up she didn't understand anything and just ran her hands through her hair as she asked.

"It's early. It's already eleven-thirty."

Mioto laughed, "Hehehe."

"Huh?"

Koharu checked the clock and opened her mouth wide again.

"I won't wake up, but I'm still sleepy" was the thought that she had repeated to herself over and over, but she couldn't hide her surprise at how long she had been sleeping.

"Koharu-chan, you must have been tired. Really, I'm sorry."

"No, no, nothing like that. Um, is there something I can help you with?"

"Greetings."

"Being teased?"

As Koharu tilted her head in confusion, Mioto sat upright and straightened his posture.

"As of today, I'm staying at this house. Koharu-chan, I look forward to seeing you."

With that he bowed deeply.

"-Huh?"

The words caught my ears clearly, but it took me a while to comprehend them.

What would it mean for Mioto to be staying in this house?

"I'm not a big deal, Yoshino-san, but please tell me that you don't mind my behavior."

"Um, well, what's going on? Did something happen with your family?"

Koharu becomes worried that the conflict may have caused him to break ties with the Kamo family and become unable to stay at home, and she leans forward.

"Oh no, no, it's fine. There's nothing like that." "If that's the case, then why?"

When Anna, Mioto's older sister, asked to stay over for a few days, he got angry and called her "how shameless." He probably never would have thought to leave his house for no reason and come and look after her here.

"I wanted to be by Koharu-chan's side."

When Mioto said that, Koharu let out a silly "Heh."

"When I heard you say that you wanted to be a shrine priest like Yoshino-san, I thought that the reason why I had the strength left was that maybe it was necessary to support you. I thought that for a while, I would be by your side and arrogantly let you act as my instructor. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it."

As Mioto bowed his head again, Koharu gasped and her eyes wandered.

"Um, well, don't lower your head like that. How long is that 'for a while'?"

"That's something I don't know for sure at this point. If I ever feel that you need me as your guide, then I'll go home."

"... Ha, haa."

"But, this is just my own selfish request and it's all only if Koharu-chan says 'yes'. What do you think, Koharu-chan?"

Mioto said this and looked at Koharu.

I felt intimidated by the seriousness in his eyes.

"So basically, you're going to become my live-in priest and home teacher, right?"

"That's true."

"Phew," Mioto's expression softened.

It was truly an unexpected occurrence, but Koharu thought that he had made up his mind and had come forward like this.

"That's very much appreciated. If you're okay with that, Mioto-san, please, I'd be happy to help out."

Koharu, forgetting that she was still in her pajamas, climbed out of the bed, sat upright on the rug, and bowed her head to Mioto.

"That was great, Koharu-chan. Thank you very much."

Mioto took Koharu's hand and smiled happily.

"Yes, yes."

As Mioto took her hand, Koharu nodded without being able to meet his eye contact due to her racing heart.

"So, Koharu-chan, are you still sleepy?"

"No, no, I'm fine now."

"My sleepiness has disappeared," he said, shaking his head.

"Don't be so unreasonable. When a person feels abnormally sleepy, it is said that this is the time when the soul grows."

"Growth of the soul?"

"That's right. When the beings that support you are replaced by beings of a higher order, you become like that. And so, after a long period of sleepiness, you grow rapidly in both body and mind, and great things happen."

"Yes, that's true."

"That's right. If the circumstances allow it, it's better to sleep."

"I didn't know that."

"Well, I'll put you to bed."

"Huh?"

"You can lie down. I'll pat you on the back."

As Mioto pressed towards Koharu while still holding her hand, her mind went blank, and as her eyes began to wander again, she heard a loud pop, as if she had been snapped.

When he looked up, he saw Wakamiya, a lovely young boy in a mizuginu kimono, hitting him over the head with a closed fan.

"I see that Koharu-san is in trouble. What exactly are you planning to do?"

Holding a fan in his hand, Wakamiya looks down at Mioto with cold eyes.

"I can sense your presence, but you never show yourself."

"Fufufu," Mioto laughed, and Wakamiya pursed his lips.

"...I see, it's to drag me out. Is this revenge?"

The young prince opened his fan, covered the corners of his mouth, and smiled, narrowing his eyes.

"Retribution? That's all. I'm really grateful to you. But you never showed up. Well, if I had to say it, I'd call it 'retribution'."

"You've got a grudge against me, so why not get revenge? ... Well, I don't mind if you get revenge without doing it to me. But I can't imagine forcing Koharu-san to share the same bed."

"I'm not that close to you. I was just asking if you wanted me to pat you on the back."

"Slap me on the back. What's a young man to say?"

Wakamiya sighed in exasperation, while Mioto shrugged.

"Well, only men use vulgar language, but even gods use vulgar language, don't they? I'm often tempted by my relatives. It's a problem. Can you be careful?"

"... Everything in this world is a mirror. The problem lies with you, the person who attracts such things. Is it because you always desire power?"

When Wakamiya said that, Mioto became choked up and the two of them just looked at each other in silence.

Seeing the two of them, Koharu was in a panic and her eyes wandered.

"Well, you two, I'm going to get changed for now, so please leave the room!" I shouted, blushing deeply.

It was the first day of living with Mioto, and I couldn't help but sense that the future was filled with difficulties. Chapter 3: Incense, Signs, and Music.

one

It's the morning of the second day since Mioto came to the Sakurai family home in Gion.

Koharu woke up at six in the morning as she usually did and opened the window just a little to let in some fresh air. As she did so, she heard the sound of a broom being cleaned outside.

It was strange to see Yoshino sweeping outside so early, I thought, and looked down to see Mioto sweeping with a bamboo broom.

「 ... ... ... ... 」

Yes, he is in the house now.

Not wanting anyone to see her unkempt head, Koharu hurriedly moved away from the window.

Wearing only the uniform skirt and blouse, I neatly arranged my hair in front of the mirror and left the room to find a hallway so polished it glistened.

I walk down the corridor, tilting my head in confusion as to how the floor could be so beautiful.

Koharu went straight to the bathroom and got ready more carefully than usual.

She checks herself in the mirror, nods, then stops before entering the living room, fixes her bangs once more with her fingertips, and shows her face, saying, "Good morning."

"Hey," Soujirou, who was sitting at the counter, called out, and Yoshino, who was standing in the kitchen, turned around and said, "Good morning, Koharu."

Next to Yoshino was Mioto.

It appears she had already finished sweeping and was helping prepare breakfast.

"Koharu-chan, good morning."

"Well, then, let me carry this plate with the bacon and eggs and salad on it."

"Thank you, Mioto-chan."

The tatami mats in the living room were shining as well, and Koharu stood there in a daze, shocked by the morning scene, which was completely different from what she had seen before.

"Oh, good morning," Koharu returned the bow, again awkwardly, and took out dressing and orange juice from the refrigerator and carried them over to the dining table.

Meanwhile, Soujirou was, as always, newspaper in hand, watching the morning news, sipping coffee.

"Mio-chan, it's bread, but it's not bad. At the Kamo household they have Japanese food. But at home we always have bread for breakfast."

Yoshino arranged the finished toast on the counter and looked at Mioto.

"It's a pain," she said, but she didn't seem to have any intention of changing her breakfast habit of eating bread. My grandmother basically likes bread.

"Because everyone at home is so busy, we don't get to eat breakfast together. We each eat what we want. So it's fun to all eat together like this, and I'm always happy with everything Yoshino-san makes for us."

Mioto said that with a dazzling smile on his face, and Yoshino just laughed, "Fufufu."

"Again, Mioto-chan is being a real expert. Hey, did you hear, Soujirou? Everything I make is delicious."

Yoshino turned to Soujiro with a look that said, "Serves you right."

"It's not just delicious, you should be happy. Stop making things up."

Soujirou announced this, his eyes still on the newspaper.

It seems that Soujiro isn't entirely in favor of Mioto's lodgings.

That being said, they are not openly opposed to it.

"Then, polish the floor and tatami mats in the hallway, and even the stairs."

Yoshino also sat down at the tea table and again spoke apologetically.

Koharu was surprised to find out that it was he who had made the hallway floor and tatami mats so beautiful.

"No, this is something that was also done at the Kamo family."

Koharu blinked at Mioto as he said this and sat down in front of the table.

"Oh, is that something that you do at the Kamo household too?"

"That's right. Listen carefully, Koharu-chan. To improve the flow of energy, you need to purify the earth. In other words, having a clean floor improves the air. The floors of prestigious shrines and temples are always kept polished to a high shine, right?"

"Ah, that's right," Koharu nodded, recalling the floor of the shrine.

"The cleaning method is simple: sprinkle coarse salt, sweep with a broom, and then wipe down thoroughly. That's perfect."

Mioto spoke with a firm look in his eyes, causing Koharu's cheeks to twitch.

It's not a difficult thing to do, but when you think about doing it every day, it can be quite daunting.

"It's not bad to do it every day, but if you want to change your gloomy mood or improve your luck, it's best to do it for at least three days in a row. Illness comes from the mind, and improving your mind comes from the bed, in other words, the earth."

Koharu felt as if Miohito had read her mind.

"Yes, yes," I nodded.

Illness begins with the mind, and to improve your mood you need to start with the earth.

Koharu repeated the phrase in her mind.

Koharu was taken aback when Mioto asked to live with her and be her mentor, but it may have been because he thought that by living together they would be able to teach her all sorts of things at random times like this - in other words, he wanted to teach her in a way that would permeate her daily life.

"But you know, even if the floor isn't sparkling clean, I'm in pretty good shape."

Soujirou, who usually skips breakfast, sprawled out on the tatami mat, propped himself up on his elbows, and looked at Mioto.

"Koharu-chan, when I told them that it was good, there were quite a few people who said this. In those cases, I never denied it, but said, "Yes, I think that's how you feel. However, this story may be useful to you if something happens to you, so please keep it in the back of your mind. Please say, "Thank you."

"Yes," Mioto said with a smile, and Koharu nodded with a straight face.

"Hey, don't use me as a teaching tool!"

As Soujiro vigorously raised his torso, Yoshino shrugged and said, "You idiot."

"Well, Mioto-chan and Koharu, hurry up and eat."

"That's true, I'll take it."

" I'll enjoy having this "

We all put our hands together and began eating breakfast.

"Are you also at university in the morning, Mioto-san?"

When Koharu asks if they might end up going to school together, Mioto shakes his head.

"I'm going to take the day off. Yoshino-san asked me to make the room we borrowed more convenient."

As soon as Mioto said that, Soujirou spoke up.

"My grandmother said, 'There are plenty of rooms available, and I don't mind the lodgings, but I'll give it a good clean myself.'"

"What a rude thing to say. I didn't even say "precisely and precisely" twice."

"I told you once."

"I don't remember."

Seeing the two of them still the same, Koharu muttered "Enough."

"By the way, Koharu. Hurry up and eat or you'll be late."

As Yoshino continued like this, Koharu looked at the clock and said, "Heh," then clasped her hands together and said, "Thank you very much," and quickly brought the bread to her mouth.

"Hey Koharu-chan. I'm on vacation so why didn't we chat so leisurely?"

"No, no, it's fine."

No matter how you looked at her, Koharu was not in a good mood. As she ate her breakfast, everyone looked at each other and burst out laughing.

two

"Good morning," Koharu said as she entered the classroom, to find the place enveloped in an indescribably relaxed atmosphere, as if everyone had been exhausted from the school festival.

"Good morning, Sakurai-san."

The voice that came back sounded less energetic than usual.

"I feel a bit let down."

Some of my classmates talked like that.

Perhaps because they were tired, several students were taking a rest. Ai was among them.

"I have a fever so I'm going to take the day off."

Koharu's smartphone contained such a message from Ai.

"You're feeling tired. That's a serious matter," Koharu replied.

Ai, who I was always with, was taking a break, so I was suddenly overcome with the feeling of being alone, but it wasn't that I disliked it.

He gets along well with other classmates and will likely hang out with them if you ask, but he also likes spending time alone.

That's right, I'll go to the library during my break and borrow a book, Koharu thought, looking out the window.

Across from the school building you can see a small building with a triangular roof.

That is the library.

As the school's library is shared by both high school and university students, it is located halfway between the high school and university departments. Like the school building, it is a Western-style building made of brick with an impressive triangular roof, giving it the appearance of a church in a foreign country.

Koharu looked out the window and nodded.

Mioto visited Yasaka Shrine and Tatsumi Inari Shrine, then returned to the Sakurai family home on the second floor of Sakura-an and stopped in front of the room he had been given. The Sakurai family home on the second floor of Sakura-an had a long corridor, and on either side of it were several Japanese-style rooms, including a living room. This house isn't very big, but it has enough rooms that people say you could even run a boarding house there. At the end of the corridor was Koharu's room. On either side of it were Sojiro and Yoshino's rooms, and Mioto's room was next to Yoshino's.

"I'll clean it up. Thank you."

Mioto stood in front of the room, clasped his hands together, bowed, and then opened the sliding doors all the way.

It was a Japanese-style room with eight tatami mats and contained an old low table that hadn't been used for ages, plus a dressing table.

Following the sliding doors, I opened the window all the way and Yoshino popped her head out.

"Mio-chan, even if you say cleaning, you're only going to remove dust."

"That's right. Also, if it's okay with you, Yoshino-san, would it be okay if I organized the closet? I'd like to temporarily store my belongings there."

"But the closet is full. I've been thinking about decluttering, which is the latest trend, but it's not going well."

As he said this, he opened the sliding door to the closet and found a lot of boxes stuffed inside.

"... You're right, it's best to get rid of things."

Mioto narrowed his eyes slightly at the collection of obviously unnecessary items.

"That's true. Well, maybe someday," Yoshino said with an unashamed laugh.

"For now, I can organize the inside. Would you mind letting me do it?"

"Well, that's a relief, O-Ki-Nii."

As Yoshino spoke with amusement, Mioto gently touched the pillar of the closet.

"By the way, Yoshino-san, is there "something" in this closet?"

"What is it?"

"I was sleeping here last night and I heard music coming from the closet."

"... Music? The sound of a flute or a koto or some other instrument."

Yoshino had also heard the music played by "non-humans" before, so she immediately became serious.

"Yes. What was it called? It was a mechanical sound, like an organ."

"Orgol..."

Yoshino let this slip out and grimaced.

During her lunch break, Koharu headed to the library as planned.

Stepping into the church-like library with its impressive triangular roof, I found classical music playing inside the room and could see university students quietly reading and studying.

Regardless, what a wonderful library it is, Koharu thought, feeling excited as she turned her eyes to the bookshelves.

"Ah, this ..."

I picked up the beautifully bound book, thinking that this was a series I had been following for a long time.

It's amazing how many sequels there have been.

As I flipped through the pages, a smile relaxed my cheeks.

Koharu had always loved reading, but over the past year she'd been so preoccupied with her own affairs that she'd drifted away from reading books.

I'm so happy, it was a pleasure to read.

Since I had already bought this book, I decided to buy it at the bookstore and put it back on the shelf.

Thinking back, I first came across the first volume of this series in my school library.

I liked it so much that I ended up buying it, and have since bought the whole series.

I want to put my favorite books on the shelves in my room and read them over and over again. And the excitement I felt when I opened a brand new book I had just bought was something I couldn't beat.

For Koharu, libraries and reading rooms are places where she can find a favorite book that she wants to keep with her forever.

As I looked around the room, examining the spines of the many books, I noticed a door leading further inside.

There is a sign on the door that reads "Best Works Exhibition Room."

「 ... ... ... ... ？ 」

What is the best work?

Tilting my head, I opened the door and found a large room with several students inside.

On display are creations made by students from past and present years.

Various creations, including wooden carved dragons, kimonos and wall clocks, are exhibited in chronological order.

Koharu looked at the exhibits with interest, wondering if they were the best works of art created over the summer vacation.

Koharu stops in front of a work that was created more than forty years ago.

There was a toy Ferris wheel there.

Although it is called a Ferris wheel, it has a fantastical design with gondolas, carriages and horses.

In a nutshell, it's like Merry Go Round turned into a Ferris wheel.

What's more, this was also an organ. As the Ferris wheel turned, music began to play and a small bird appeared from the centre, like a cuckoo clock. The title of the work was "Karakuri Organ".

"Amazing," Koharu gasped, but what surprised her more was the name.

『 三 年 二 組 賀 茂 吉 乃 』

" ... ... lie "

Koharu blinks at the mention of her grandmother's name.

Come to think of it, I once heard that my grandmother was a classmate of the principal of this school. Yoshino was also a student at Gakutoku Gakuen.

As Koharu stares at the Karakuri Organ,

"Koha-chan"

Someone is standing right next to me, peering into my face.

"!!"

Koharu was so startled that she jumped backwards.

"Don't be so surprised."

The one chuckling was Miyoshi Sakuya, whom he had met during the "Okaken" commotion at the school festival.

"M-Miyoshi-kun."

"Yes, this is Miyoshi-kun," he said, saluting.

"Thank you for the handkerchief that time."

Koharu bowed awkwardly.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry, Koha-chan, you came to my class to return my handkerchief, but I was busy."

Yes, the day after the school festival, Koharu visited Miyoshi Sakuya's class, 1st year class 4, to return the handkerchief.

The class was running a "Dog Cafe" and the boys were serving customers wearing dog-ear headchops, so it was quite busy and we couldn't get in, but they called him over and we were able to thank him and return his handkerchief.

"Koha-chan, I'll prepare a table for you right away, so please have some tea. I want to talk about Tokyo."

Although he said that at the time, Koharu just shook her head and said, "Everyone is lined up, so what are you doing?", bowed to him, and left the classroom.

Even though we had only met and spoken once, I felt uncomfortable about the fact that she had suddenly started calling me by the pet name "Koharu" which had been shortened to "Koha-chan."

I know I say this, but I have a hard time with people who ignore the sense of distance and push forward.

In that sense, a girl with a more cautious personality like Ai would probably suit her, Koharu thought. She bowed and said "Thank you," and was about to leave when,

"This piece is a graduation commemorative piece."

Sakuya said as he looked around the room.

"...Graduation commemorative work?"

Koharu stopped in her tracks and looked back.

"That's right. When you become a third-year high school student, you make something that you like."

"What do you like?"

"Anything is fine. For example, if you're good at sewing, you can sew a kimono, if you're good at drawing, you can draw, make a craft, compose a song, write a letter, or anything else. You can make something that uses your special skill, and then the students will vote for one work from each gender, and the best work will be selected. , which will be exhibited here."

As Sakuya spoke, Koharu responded with an "Oh really?"

This means that Yoshino's work was selected as the best in her grade.

That's amazing!

However, this is a wonderful and perhaps convincing piece of work.

I look at "Karakuri Organ" again in admiration.

"What?"

Looking back, I noticed that the other years' best works were exhibited, one each for men and women, but for Yoshino's year there was only one work. In other words, it was only Yoshino's work.

"What's wrong?" Sakuya asked, peeking in.

"Oh, I thought there was only one best work of the year."

"Oh, I want to see a joint work this year. A joint work between a man and a woman."

Sakuya said, pointing to an explanatory notice posted on the wall.

"Huh?"

Looking closely, one could see that there were names placed on either side of the work.

One is "Kamo no Yoshino." The other is "Toudou Shuhei."

"Karakuri Organ. The Ferris wheel was made by Kamo Yoshino, and the organ was made by Toudou Shuhei."

Such an explanation was posted on the wall, and below it was an overall review.

"The first thing that caught my eye was the Ferris wheel that looked like the one in Merrygoland. And the little birds that appeared like cuckoo clocks. This alone was enough to make you dream and excite anyone who saw it, but I was even more amazed to find that it was made into an organ. But there was one more surprise. Each gondola has a cylinder on it, so you can change the tune depending on your mood. All the tunes are by Vivaldi. There are four cylinders: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. However, there are five gondolas. The fifth gondola has no cylinder. Perhaps the intention was to allow those who own this organ to choose their favorite piece. This work, which stirs the imagination in such a way, is an outstanding piece that received an overwhelming number of votes and was selected as the best work.

"Huh?" Koharu muttered.

"I guess they were a couple after all."

Koharu was surprised when Sakuya said that while still staring at the work.

"A couple?"

"This girl, Kamo Yoshino, and this guy, Toudou Shuhei. Our school has always had separate classes for boys and girls, and yet they're all put together like this. I can smell a romance somewhere."

Sakuya fanned his nose with his hand and sniffed, laughing with amusement.

「 ... ... ... ... 」

There's no way there's such a thing as a couple.

My grandmother fell in love with my grandfather at first sight and married him.

No, I don't know about what happened before that.

Koharu's heart pounded as she took off her jacket and folded it up in the empty space on the table.

It's because I have a charm in my pocket. Part of me doesn't really want to know, but I really wanted to check.

"Hey, Koha-chan, what happened when you came? Was it hot?"

"Uh, uh, a minute."

Koharu ignored what he was saying and gently touched the Karakuri Organ.

At that moment, the pre-bell rang, "ding, ding," and Koharu let go of her hand.

"---!"

I could tell just by touching it.

This work is packed with a lot of love.

Just as Sakuya said, Yoshino was probably in love with a man named Toudou Shuhei.

My heart is pounding.

"Hey, Koha-chan, it's about time we got going."

Feeling a light tap on her shoulder, Koharu instinctively made eye contact with him and said, "Ah, ok."

I thought it was all over, but it was only for a short time...

Koharu felt confused.

Sakuya takes Koharu's jacket and hands it to her, saying "Here you go."

"Thank you, thank you."

Koharu awkwardly takes the jacket and puts it on.

"Now, let's hurry."

Koharu gulped as she watched Sakuya walk away quickly.

What's going on?

Even though I made firm eye contact with him, I couldn't hear a word coming from his mind.

Meanwhile at the Sakurai household...

For a while Yoshino grimaced as she couldn't remember, but then she suddenly opened her eyes wide, exclaimed, and clapped her hands.

"Yeah, maybe that's it."

Yoshino leaned forward and took out a metal cylinder from a small drawer in the closet.

"This might be it," Yoshino said, showing it to Mioto.

"Is this an Orgol cylinder?"

"That's right. The real thing is in a different place."

Yoshino laughed with satisfaction, "Hehehe."

Seeing that smile, Mioto nodded as if he had just remembered something.

"Maybe it's the organ that you made as your graduation commemorative piece?"

"That's right. That brings back memories."

Yoshino lowered her eyes to the cylinder in her hands, as if reminiscing about a time long gone.

"What kind of music is this?"

"It's Chopin."

"Chopin," Mioto said, snapping his eyes open.

"I'm sure all the pieces on the organ that was on display as a graduation commemorative piece were by Vivaldi. But is this one by Chopin?"

When Mioto asked Yoshino to confirm again, Yoshino nodded and said, "That's right."

"Well, now I would call it a 'heartbreak song', not a 'heartbreak melody.'"

Yoshino joked and showed the cylinder to Mioto.

"... In fact, is this perhaps a 'different song'?"

As they were talking, Mioto asked, recalling the melody he had heard in his dreams, and Yoshino looked at him as if she was looking into the distance, nodded and said, "That's right."

"I honestly thought that Shigeru-san was the one who was your first love."

"I've had some experience with love before. But it was just unrequited love."

"Is that so?"

"... I was about to graduate from high school and was getting a mountain of marriage proposals every day, but when I got dumped by this guy, I got desperate and thought, 'I don't care who it is, so I'm going to get married,' and I got interested in matchmaking, and in the end I decided on Shige-san. Well, I guess it was momentum."

"Eh, really?"

As Mioto blinked in shock, Yoshino smiled mischievously and said, "Not at first."

At that moment, Sojiro's voice came from downstairs saying, "Hey, a customer's calling you," and Yoshino looked up in surprise.

"No, no, I had to ask Soujirou to take over the counter for a little while. Really, Mioto-chan, you should be more careful. No matter what cleaning tools you use, it's fine."

"Yes, thank you very much."

"So, I'd like this," Yoshino said, handing the cylinder to Mioto.

"I understand. Yoshino-san, may I keep this for a little while?"

Mioto gave her a meaningful look, and Yoshino lowered her eyes for a moment, but then nodded and said, "Yes."

"Thank you very much."

Mioto accepted the cylinder and smiled brightly.

three

Upon touching Yoshino's work, Koharu felt a sense of the love her grandmother had felt at the time, and she walked home with mixed emotions.

Koharu gave a wry smile, realizing that she was quite shocked by the news.

Even my grandmother was young once and it's only natural that she had a past where she was in love with someone.

However, for Koharu, whose only image of her was of her grandmother, who adored her late grandfather Shigeru, she was overcome with a feeling of betrayal.

No, no, Koharu shook her head.

She herself had liked someone at her previous school, and now she likes Mioto. People's feelings change, of course. Why was she feeling betrayed?

As I walked through the streets of Gion, I came across Mioto sweeping the road with a bamboo broom in front of the Japanese general store "Sakuraan."

"Welcome home, Koharu-chan."

When Mioto noticed Koharu, he raised his head and narrowed his eyes like a bow.

Yes, he was home right now.

Seeing the smiling Mioto in his indigo kimono with a white apron tucked around his waist, Koharu felt as if she would be knocked out and fall over, but she returned the greeting awkwardly.

"I'm back."

"Was it some kind of school?"

"What's wrong?" Koharu asked in surprise, looking up at Mioto.

"You have a gloomy look on your face."

"...Well, that's not the point. Today, I was in the back room of the library when I saw my grandma's graduation commemorative work."

Koharu spoke in a smug tone, causing Mioto to open his eyes wide.

"A Ferris wheel-shaped organ?"

"Oh, that's right, 'Karakuri Orgol'. Did you know about it too, Mioto-san?"

"Well, I've known about the work itself for a while, but... this is another strange coincidence."

"An encounter?"

"No, it's not a coincidence. It's a notice that we have to pursue."

Mioto nodded, holding a bamboo broom, and Koharu tilted her head in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, take it easy later. By the way, Koharu-chan, dinner will be ready soon."

"Ah, yes," Koharu nodded, and passed through the curtain, then called out, "Thank you."

Whenever Koharu returned home, she would greet everyone with a "I'm back," then take a bath before dinner.

It was just before I got home, when the store was about to close and dinner preparations hadn't yet been completed, so I offered to help out, but my boss told me, "Sojiro is in the kitchen, so you should only help with dinner on your days off. Why don't you go take a bath now?" and so it became a habit.

After the bath, I usually put on my pajamas (a jersey or sweatshirt), eat dinner, and then clean up afterwards.

However, now that Mioto is at home, I feel reluctant to wear jerseys or sweats, and even after taking a bath, even though I'm still wearing my regular clothes, I still end up wearing some of my cutest clothes here and there.

She put on a loose sweater and leggings, and even though she only wanted to go to bed, she fixed her hair and emerged into the living room to find dinner already ready.

On the table there was mizuna, Chinese cabbage, kujo leeks, shirataki, and lots of mushrooms. In the centre there was a clay pot, steaming away.

"Wow, hotpot today?"

"Well, since it's getting cold, I'll have chicken hotpot."

As Yoshino spoke while pouring ponzu into a bowl, Koharu drooped her eyes and sat down in front of the tea table.

"I'm so happy. It looks delicious."

Sitting opposite was Yoshino, to the left was Mioto, and to the right was Soujirou. It was a natural arrangement.

"Well then, eat up. I'll eat it."

"Thank you," everyone says, putting their hands together and beginning to eat.

"Koharu-chan, can you help me get some momiji oroshi?"

"Ah, yes."

Koharu handed him a plate of momiji oroshi that was nearby,

"That maple leaf decoration is my own creation."

Soujirou gave an approving look and said, "Hmm."

"Yes, it's fun. Everything that Soujiro makes is delicious."

Mioto said with a smile, and Soujiro looked at Yoshino vigorously.

"Hey, did you hear? You told Grandma, 'Everything makes me happy,' and you told me, 'Everything tastes delicious.'"

"That's right," Yoshino replied nonchalantly.

"So Mioto, you're surprisingly honest."

"I wonder. I don't lie when it's not appropriate to do so, but I do lie most of the time."

Mioto said that casually, causing Koharu to choke.

"Wha-are you lying?"

"Well, there's no need to lie here, but at school and outside I have to pretend I don't see things I can see, and I have to say things I don't understand. So I've been lying ever since I was old enough to understand."

Mioto picked up a teacup and said it as if it was nothing.

Seeing such a Mioto, Koharu was at a loss for words.

Ever since he was a child, he has been able to see things that normal people cannot see and hear sounds that normal people cannot hear, so how much hardship and pain has he endured up to now?

Koharu herself had been feeling distressed at suddenly being able to hear her own inner voice, so Mioto's words pierced her and caused a sharp pain in her chest.

"Oh, Koharu-chan, I'm sorry for making you look like that. But, this isn't just about me. I think Koharu-chan, Yoshino-san, and Soujiro-san feel the same way too."

" a ... ... "

Koharu looked at Yoshino and Soujirou with a sudden realization.

"Oh, no, I wasn't really affected. There were certainly some things that were bothersome, but nothing particularly distressing."

Soujirou said this while tilting his head.

"...But it really was painful for me, just like what Mioto-chan said," Yoshino said with a wry smile.

"And your grandmother?"

Koharu narrowed her eyes sadly as she looked at Yoshino.

"That's true, but it's in the past," Yoshino said with a smile.

"To begin with, you can see things that are invisible, and yet you can't honestly say that you can see them. You think you're lying, Mioto. You're too innocent."

Soujirou brought the glass of beer to his mouth and said with a sigh.

"Pure, is it?"

"That's surprising," Mioto said, glaring back at Soujirou.

"I was like, 'I can see it, but I didn't think about it and say anything. I'm so kind.'"

As Soujiro continued like this, the other three looked at each other in surprise, and after a moment they burst out laughing.

"It's like Soujiro-san."

"Really?"

Koharu and Yoshino nodded in agreement, and Mioto responded with an "Yes."

"Really, I guess he was no match for me. That's right, it all depends on how you think, and I wonder how good it would have been if I had been thought of like Soujiro-san. But I think I was definitely more sensitive than pure."

"'I think', is that different now?"

"I guess I'm a little better now that I've narrowly escaped death."

"Fufufu," Mioto laughed, and Soujirou nodded and said, "I see."

"Even so, this chicken is really tender and delicious."

Mioto quickly changed the topic and delicately put the chicken into his mouth.

"That's right, it's Tamba local chicken."

Listening to their conversation, Koharu thought, "Now that I think of it, they've only been eating vegetables and no meat," and she reached for the chicken wing with her chopsticks.

The meat easily slides in with chopsticks and can be easily removed.

When you put it in your mouth, there is no unpleasant odor at all, and the unique flavor of the chicken, ponzu sauce, and grated momiji rice add accents to make it taste absolutely delicious.

Koharu narrowed her eyes and said, "Hmm," her face brightening as she said, "It's delicious."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and then we made rice porridge and finished off a delicious and enjoyable dinner.

Four

After the meal, Koharu helped Mioto clean up, then went back to her room to do her homework.

"Luckily I don't have much homework to do today," I mutter to myself as I sit down at my desk.

This desk originally belonged to Yoshino and was in this room all along.

The dark brown desk has a stylish antique design with a top that opens and closes, just like Yoshino, who loves cute things.

On the desk there is an ornate box resembling a jewel box, inside which the amulet is placed.

He stretched out his arm, opened the top of the desk, and laid out his textbooks, reference books, and notebooks on it.

Koharu had a blank period during which she was a shut-in, but somehow she managed to catch up with her studies. Koharu had always had good grades, and most importantly, Gakutoku Gakuen was a private school, so all the teachers were skilled and easy to understand, like cram school instructors.

The other day, my homeroom teacher, Mr. Saotome, tapped me on the shoulder and said, "You might be able to move on to the advanced class when you reach your second year. Keep up the good work, okay?"

If you work hard in the advanced classes, it will be easy to enter Gakutoku Gakuen University, which has a high deviation value.

Yes, it's the same university as Mioto.

However, when I think about it, by the time I entered university, Mioto would have already graduated.

「 ... ... ... ... 」

Suddenly her motivation to try waned and Koharu continued working on her homework, panting.

First of all, do I really need to go to university if I want to become a shrine priest?

Parents may want their children to go on to higher education, but it may not have to be a private university.

I finished my homework, slammed my notebook shut, and stretched my back when I heard a loud knock on the door.

"Koharu-chan, it's me, but is it okay if I come in?"

Hearing Mioto's voice, Koharu turned around as if bounced back.

"Yes, yes, here you go."

The door clicked open,

"It might get a little dusty, but I'll leave the door open. Thanks."

With that, Mioto opened the door all the way, bowed, and stepped into the room.

She must have had a bath already, because her hair was still not completely dry, and it looked shinier than usual. The color of her kimono had changed from indigo to gray.

In his hands he held a ceramic object shaped like a rabbit, from which a thin stream of smoke was rising.

"Please, have a seat," Koharu said, placing a cushion in front of the table and peering at what was in Miohto's hands.

"Is that a product sold in our store?"

"Yes, it's a rabbit incense burner."

"Grandmother, I like rabbits."

"I'd like to see that."

Mioto looked around Koharu's room, which was decorated with lots of rabbit patterns, then sat down on the zabuton with a smile on his face and placed the incense burner in the center of the table.

"Actually, this is the scent I like, and it's the one I buy from this store."

"The incense selected by my grandmother is one of our most popular products. Thank you as always."

Koharu laughed and bowed her head.

Koharu originally thought of incense as something elegant, but with a slight joss-like smell, but after working at the Japanese general store Sakuraan, she learned that incense isn't like that at all.

There are many fragrances called incense that are modern but do not detract from the elegant image and have a truly pleasant scent.

The scent that Mioto had brought was also a sweet and gentle scent, like fruits and flowers melting into smoke.

"This also has a really nice scent."

Koharu sat opposite, sniffed, and narrowed her eyes.

"Koharu-chan, remember that. Anyone can easily identify places with high and low vibrations."

"Eh, anyone?"

"First of all, places with low vibrations smell bad."

"Ugh, does it stink?"

"That's right. Basically, it's been said since ancient times that 'evil things hate good fragrances.'"

As Mioto spoke, Koharu exclaimed, "Ah," and put her hand to her mouth.

"I've heard that story before. When I was given a scented bag before, my grandmother and Soujiro told me that it also has the effect of warding off evil spirits, since evil things hate good scents..."

"That's right. Whether it's a place or a spirit, bad things give off an unpleasant smell. When Ai-chan's mother's spirit appeared last time, there was no unpleasant smell, right?"

"Yes, yes, if you say so."

"But the other day, when the head of the Oka Research Club was acting strangely at the tower, there was a foul smell, right?"

"Yes, yes."

There was an unpleasant smell, like rotten fish.

"So, does that mean places with high vibrations smell good?"

Koharu leaned forward a little and asked, and Mioto smiled faintly.

"That's a simple thing, but a place with high vibrations is a place where you feel good, both physically and mentally. But even a place with high vibrations can suddenly become low if it emits a bad smell. Just think about what would happen if you were to put a mountain of garbage in a magnificent shrine or church. , it's easy to understand, isn't it?"

Koharu imagined that scene and, furrowing her brow, nodded, "Yes."

"On the other hand, you can easily raise your vibrations in places like this," Mioto said, dropping his eyes to the incense burner.

"Maybe this is how you burn incense?" Koharu asked, turning her eyes to the incense burner.

"That's right. As I said this morning, after purifying the 'earth', the best thing to purify the area is 'smoke'."

「 ... ... 煙 」

"Smoke has the power to purify places and objects. It's a different story if the smoke is unpleasant and smelly. Incense puts people in a good mood and gives off a pleasant-smelling smoke, so it's the perfect thing to raise your vibrations. So, burning incense like this before you go to sleep at night or in the morning will relax both your body and mind. It would be a waste to do that."

Mioto, who had been looking down at the incense burner, slowly raised his head and gazed at Koharu.

"Now, why don't you relax?"

Seeing Mioto smiling brightly, Koharu's heart skipped a beat.

On a night when the moon could be seen from the window, she was alone in her room with the handsome man she loved. Sitting across from him like this, Koharu's heart was beating like a loud drum, and she was in a psychological state that was far from relaxed.

"... yes, yes, relax."

Even so, Koharu nodded.

My cheeks are flushed and I can't lift my face.

"So, Koharu-chan, we're talking about Yoshino-san's 'Karakuri Orgol'."

As Mioto continued like this, Koharu's mood changed and she straightened her expression and looked up.

"Did you take a good look at that piece?"

"Yes, I saw it clearly. It was an organ that looked like a Ferris wheel from Merrygoland, and it had five gondolas."

"That's right. But did you notice that there was one cylinder missing?"

"Ah, yes. There are four pieces from Vivaldi's 'The Four Seasons': Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, and nothing for the fifth gondola..."

"It was the cylinder for the fifth song, but it was in the closet of the room I was allowed to use."

As Mioto continued like that, Koharu blinked broadly and said, "Eh?"

"That's surprising."

"Yes, yes."

"I heard music coming from the closet in my dream last night, and then this afternoon Yoshino-san told me about it and helped me find it."

"What an incredible coincidence," Koharu gasped.

"That's true. But remember this well, Koharu-chan. This kind of thing is not a 'coincidence' or anything like that. It's all 'inevitable', or to put it in a more obscene way, it was 'planned.'"

"Was it a setup?"

"That's right. Amazing coincidences like this happen to people like us who have extraordinary powers, and to ordinary people too. Most people would probably laugh it off and brush it off as an 'amazing coincidence', but you know what? When this kind of synchronicity happens, it's a sign or a hint that says, 'Pay attention to what's happening.' "You can't just ignore it."

Seeing Mioto's serious face, Koharu naturally straightened up and nodded, "Yes."

"Going back to the topic, Koharu-chan, were you able to touch Yoshino-san's 'Karakuri Orgoru'?"

" yes ... ... "

"Did you see anything?"

"No, I didn't see anything, but I could feel it. I could feel the love. I could feel that he was in love with his co-producer."

It was a heartbreaking, heartbreaking love.

Koharu bowed her head and clenched her fists.

"I asked Yoshino-san, but I don't know what to do, Yoshino-san, but I want to be rejected by that person."

" ... ... picture "

Since her grandmother later married her grandfather, it was clear that she was not in a relationship with her co-producer. Still, Koharu gasped, "Could it possibly have been a case of being dumped and heartbroken?"

"I just assumed that she'd been in a relationship with that person, that her parents had opposed her, and that she'd been separated from them in tears, or some other tragic situation."

"It was just unrequited love. Then he dumped me, and I got desperate, so I decided to go see him."

"So, when you decided to marry grandpa, was it out of desperation?"

"... I think that's something else, but I didn't hear the details either. Yoshino-san, it seems like she didn't tell me the details."

When Miohito said that, Koharu replied, "I guess so," and nodded in agreement.

Nobody wants to talk about their own broken heart.

My grandmother in particular is a very stubborn person.

"But I was able to keep it."

Mioto places the cylinder on the table.

"What will you do with it?"

"I have been given permission to keep it, which means, 'You may use it to find out about Yoshino-san's past.'"

"Eh, is that true?"

"That's true."

"Did your grandma say it was okay to look into the past?"

"We talked to each other through eye contact," Mioto said, placing his fingertips on the corners of his eyes and turning up the corners of his mouth.

Faced with that mischievous smile, Koharu's heart thumped loudly and she put her hand to her forehead, saying, "That was a big drum beat."

"...Are you in the mood, Koharu-chan?"

"No, that's not the case. I've been curious about it ever since I saw 'Karakuri Orgol.'"

"I don't have any interest in peeking into other people's pasts, but I feel like it's somehow necessary."

"I understand."

Rather than logic, the sensation of it being bothering you is a sign and a hint.

"In that case, Koharu-chan, why don't you help me? Just like how you received Ai-chan's mother's feelings before."

" yes "

"Put your hands together in front of the cylinder and ask for permission in your heart."

As Mioto clasped his hands together, Koharu nodded "Yes" and clasped her hands in prayer in the same way.

"Grandmother, let me have a glimpse into the feelings locked away in here."

I say this in my heart.

"Well, first I want you to touch the cylinder with your right hand. Now, where is your amulet?"

"Oh, I took it off, it's fine."

"Well then," Koharu thought, and touched the cylinder with her right hand.

Then, Mioto placed his hand on top of it.

"!!"

There was no time to be surprised.

"I'll accept it too. Koharu-chan, I want to hold your hand just a little longer."

As Mioto continued like this, the large drums inside Koharu began dancing even more wildly.

"Yes, yes."

Feeling her shoulders trembling slightly, Koharu placed her left hand on the table, and without a moment's hesitation, Mioto grasped it firmly.

"... ... ...!"

If I were a locomotive, I would undoubtedly be blowing a loud whistle.

He looked like he was about to run off with smoke coming out of his head, but as Koharu's heart pounded noisily, she dropped her eyes to the hands that were tightly connected to Mioto's.

"Well then, Koharu-chan, put pressure on your forehead and imagine you're sucking it in."

"Yes, yes."

Is it possible to see in this psychological state?

Feeling a slight sense of unease, Koharu fought back against the still pounding of her heart, shut her eyes tightly and clenched her forehead.

─ ─ What emerges is a very spacious tatami room.

It must have been summer, as the glass wind chimes hanging on the veranda were tinkling and I could hear the chirping of cicadas coming from the garden.

The young boy, probably tired from playing, lay down on the tatami mat and took a nap.

Her bangs are fluttering in the gentle breeze.

Someone came over and patted the boy on the head.

When the boy opened his eyes slightly, he saw a beautiful woman with long, pure white hair and bright red lips peering into his face.

"Ah, he's finally woken up. He's finally woken up," the woman laughed happily.

" ... ... who are you ? "

The boy rubbed his eyes and looked up blankly at the woman.

"I am your friend."

She's so young and pretty, so why does her hair have to be so white?

The young boy, with his head still half awake, vaguely thinks of such things.

However, her hair, like white threads, shone brightly and was extremely beautiful.

When asked, "Is this hairstyle unusual?" the boy nodded enthusiastically.

"Don't you think it's a pitiful sight with such pure white hair? I want yours, pure black and beautiful."

"My hair?"

"Yes, and also those lovely cherry-like lips," he said, placing his index finger on the boy's lips.

"And also those beautiful, beautiful, black eyes. Hey, give them to me─Mio-kun."

The woman brought her face close enough that their noses touched and grabbed his head tight.

A bloody smell came from the mouth and the young Mioto screamed, "Aaaahhhh."

"Go over there, go over there!"

He pushes the woman away, then grabs whatever he finds and throws it at her.

As I refused with all my heart, my mother suddenly called out "Mioto!" and grabbed me from behind.

"Stop it already! There's nothing there, there's nothing there! Maybe it's the Kamo blood that's making me do this, but I can't stand Mother who can't see anything! So stop it already!"

When I came to my senses, the room was a mess and my mother was breaking down in tears.

There were faint claw marks on my mother's cheek and it was oozing blood.

"... Did I do this? Did I hit Mom? Please, please, Mom. I don't need to be this annoying anymore, I won't act up anymore, so stop crying."

Tears were about to flow, but I held them back, knowing that it would be no good if I cried.

The one who wants to cry is the mother who has been scared and in pain.

It's not good for me to cry.

The young Mioto pulled his crying mother to him and embraced her tightly.

"---!"

Koharu slowly opened her eyes and looked at Mioto.

"... I'm sorry, I showed you something strange."

Mioto smiled and let go of my hand.

Yes, that was a memory from his childhood.

"Hey, Mioto-san."

"I really wanted to do it one more time, but it's already eleven o'clock at night. I shouldn't be in the room this late."

Mioto looked up at the clock hanging on the wall and said this with the same usual demeanor.

However, it was clear that he did not want the subject to be touched upon.

Koharu's heart ached as she was reminded of Mioto's childhood.

No doubt he had done this many, many times before.

Seriously... how much pain have you had to go through?

Tears welled up in my eyes and I bowed my head.

If I were to shed tears now, it would be taken as an expression of sympathy, and he certainly doesn't want that.

He has overcome many things to get to where he is today.

I don't want to be dug up, Koharu thought in the midst of her anguish.

Koharu was looking down.

"Koharu-chan, are you sure? I don't want to make you feel bad," he said, looking into my face, and I came to my senses.

"No, no, I don't feel bad about it."

"Well, I'll be heading back to my room now. Koharu-chan will be taking good care of the cylinder."

"Ah, yes."

"Good night, Koharu-chan."

Mioto smiled brightly, and I bowed and said, "Good night."

The door slammed shut and Koharu fell face down onto the table.

I had failed, Koharu thought to herself.

Even if he definitely didn't do it on purpose, he must have touched himself somewhere he definitely didn't want others to see.

I feel so sorry that my chest aches.

Koharu remained face down and groaned. When she slowly raised her head, the cylinder came into view.

The fact that he left this there suggests that he may have been entrusted with it.

For now, let's focus on what we can do.

Koharu regained her composure, turned off the lights, and lay down on the bed, taking the cylinder in her hands.

I closed my eyes, pressed my forehead together, and said in my heart, "Please convey to me the feelings my grandmother has contained here."

Slowly emerging is the Gakutoku Gakuen school building.

Surprisingly, the brick buildings looked very similar to how they are today.

However, the uniforms seem to be different from what they are now.

Students can be seen dressed in brown sailor uniforms.

"Ding, ding," the bell rang to signal the end of school.