Zongman I fight weirdness in everyday world

At the same time, inside a room at the Itomori Town Inn.

Several men and women of varying ages, dressed in ordinary clothes, were sitting in the room.

"She hasn't returned yet."

"Forget about her if she doesn't come back."

Hearing this, a young man with a long scar on his face said calmly.

"To actually believe that there is some so-called god in this remote town, and to insist on acting alone, who knows where she's run off to. If she ruins Lady Izanami's plan, I will kill her with my own hands."

"Hmph, you are truly devout."

Another middle-aged man with wrinkles on his face and a slightly burly figure snorted coldly, a cold killing intent flashing in his eyes.

"Whether the so-called Izanami is a true god or an incarnation of someone, it is still unknown. I don't want to be treated as a chess piece to be discarded at will, being played in the palm of someone's hand."

"Then you can also act freely, just like the Tomb Fire."

The Tomb Fire that the young man referred to was obviously Tamura K介, who had set fire to an entire building and invaded Kyoto City on his own some time ago.

"Then, your end will be the same as his. This is the consequence of disobeying Lady Izanami's will."

Speaking of this, the young man changed the subject.

"However, in order to execute Lady Izanami's plan, it is indeed necessary to confirm whether the god worshiped by the Miyamizu family for generations truly exists. If so, it must be eliminated first."

Another young woman in black with short hair frowned slightly.

"Then wouldn't it be better to directly ask the shrine maiden of the Miyamizu family? The place where offerings are made, or the shrine, if it exists, is likely to be in these two places."

"Are you stupid?"

The man with the scar on his face glanced at the woman who spoke and slowly said.

"Since we couldn't get the specific location from the residents, it means that the Miyamizu family's shrine maiden will not easily reveal this matter."

"Hmph, won't tell? Then kill them one by one, especially that cute little girl, what's her name again? That's right… Miyamizu Yotsuha, what I like most is killing children."

"Are you out of your mind?"

The young man narrowed his eyes slightly.

"If something goes wrong, and they learn that the Miyamizu family's shrine maiden is dead, can you guarantee that 'Kira' or 'Mask' won't come here? If those two guys come, will you deal with them?"

Hearing the names Mask and Kira, the atmosphere in the room changed significantly.

Except for lunatics like Tamura K介, most of the spiritual power users transformed by Izanami were very afraid of these two people.

Kira was fine, his so-called deeds were just punishing some human criminals.

But 'Mask'… was an existence far beyond their level.

"Then what do you say we should do, huh? Tenjo-sagari?"

The young man, whose code name was based on the Tenjo-sagari in the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, the demon that likes to hide in dark places and feed on human essence, slowly spoke.

"There is a shrine festival tonight, which is open to the public. Perhaps the god worshiped by the Miyamizu family will also appear at that time. Even if he doesn't appear, if the shrine maiden is going to offer kuchikamizake tomorrow, we only need to follow her to find that hidden location."

… …

An hour and a half later, outside the Miyamizu family's shrine.

"Yoshing, Mitsuha looks very beautiful in her shrine maiden clothes."

Hearing Natori Sayaka's words, Teshigawara Katsuhiko, the bald-headed son of the local construction company owner, snorted unhappily.

"Of course, unlike some people, who don't have a girly side at all."

"Hey, who are you talking about?"

"Hehe, of course I'm talking about you, otherwise would I be talking about Yoshing?"

"You…"

Just as this bickering couple was arguing, a crisp bell sound suddenly rang.

"Ding-ling-ling"

Everyone gathered outside the shrine instantly quieted down.

The next second, Miyamizu Mitsuha, wearing a red and white shrine maiden outfit, with her hair styled up and wearing golden hair ornaments, holding a bell-like instrument in her hand, walked out slowly with her sister Yotsuha.

When she saw Yoshing standing not far away, looking at her with a smile, her face couldn't help but blush, but she still maintained her usual movements and began the ritual process, shaking the instrument in her hand, and dancing a slow and elegant dance with her sister Yotsuha, the meaning of which was unclear.

Chapter 304 Direct Attack on the Shrine Maiden, the Appearance of "Mask"

After the dance ended, Miyamizu Mitsuha and her sister squatted down together, grabbed a handful of cooked rice from a wooden box and put it into their mouths, covering the lower half of their faces with the wide sleeves of their shrine maiden clothes, and began to chew slowly.

Watching the white translucent liquid spit out from Miyamizu Mitsuha's lips and fall into a small square box, several young people of her age in school uniforms couldn't help but start discussing.

"How disgusting…"

"Ew, she can actually do it in front of so many people…"

"What a weird and disgusting ritual. Miyamizu-san looks gentle and quiet, but she does such disgusting things. Maybe she's a disgusting person too… What's the point of such a god-worshiping ritual? It should have been canceled long ago, right?"

"Miyamizu-san, it must be hard for her…"

Hearing the discussions of the people below the stage, Miyamizu Mitsuha just closed her eyes, seemingly expressionless, but in reality, her heart was very complicated.

Chewing rice in front of so many people and then spitting it out to make kuchikamizake to be offered to the gods, this process did make her feel very ashamed.

The main point was that there was also a most important person watching on the scene today.

Would Yoshing, seeing her doing such a behavior, also feel that she was disgusting at this time, just like those people?

Thinking of this, Miyamizu Mitsuha couldn't help but open her eyes and peeked under the stage while she was packaging the box containing the kuchikamizake.

What she didn't expect was that Yoshing was not in his original position at this time, but was putting his arm around the shoulders of the boy who had just said she was disgusting under the stage, saying something with a smile on his face.

Because the distance was a bit far, Mitsuha couldn't hear the content of the conversation clearly, but she could clearly see that the boy's expression was obviously very nervous. He even lowered his head, looking like a rabbit being targeted by a tiger, pitiful and submissive.

… …

After the ceremony ended, Miyamizu Mitsuha didn't change out of her shrine maiden robes as usual. Instead, she waited until the onlookers had left before immediately walking down from the stage and running to Yexing, curiously asking,

"What did you say to that boy just now?"

"Oh, nothing much."

Yexing replied with a smile.

"Just told him not to casually comment on other people's fiancées, just a friendly exchange."

"What friendly exchange? I don't believe it at all."

Miyamizu Mitsuha subconsciously retorted, then realized what he said, her cheeks flushing red.

"You… … You… … What did you say? Fi… … Fiancée?"

"Yes, fiancée."

Yexing's smile faded, and he slowly said,

"Now that we have time, I can tell you the whole plan."

"Just now, when you were on stage with Yotsuba hosting the ceremony, I noticed a few abnormal people watching from below."

Hearing this, Miyamizu Mitsuha frowned slightly, hesitating.

"Really? I don't seem to have noticed… … What kind of strange people?"

"That's because you're observing appearances, looks, these meaningless things."

Yexing spoke softly, like a patient teacher.

"Mitsuha, do you know how to identify spirit ability users?"

"Uh… …"

Miyamizu Mitsuha thought seriously for a moment before cautiously replying,

"From… … spirit ability?"

"What if they're not using their spirit abilities?"

"Then… …"

Seeing Miyamizu Mitsuha's expression, as if she had guessed something, Yexing nodded slightly.

"That's right, spirit ability users, although they seem to be the same as those higher-level evil spirits occupying human bodies, there is one most important difference: the aura they emit."

"How should I describe it… … Evil spirits occupying human bodies, even if they disguise themselves as humans, still emit a special black aura that can be identified at a glance."

"But spirit ability users are completely different."

"Like me, and those people around me, lurking in this town, transformed by some being, trying to bring a cataclysm to Itomori Town. As long as they don't use their spirit abilities, they are no different from ordinary humans, except for one thing."

Miyamizu Mitsuha asked curiously, "What is it?"

Yexing softly spoke a word.

"Gaze."

"Gaze?"

"That's right, gaze."

Yexing took the initiative to explain to Miyamizu Mitsuha, just like he taught Miko Yotsuya how to become a professional exorcist.

"Especially on occasions like today, everyone's gaze is focused on you and Yotsuba, who are hosting the god-appeasing ceremony. But only spirit ability users trying to find something will look around nearby, because they want to see if the guardian deity worshiped by your Miyamizu family will appear here today. This abnormal gaze is their flaw."

"I see."

Miyamizu Mitsuha looked enlightened, then her pretty face flushed red, and she whispered.

"Then what you said about being engaged… … what does that mean? Is it also part of the plan?"

"Yes."

Yexing nodded, smiling, and said.

"I need a reason to stay by your side, Yotsuba, and your two grandmothers, to protect the three of you. In other words, it would be best if I lived directly in your house. Secondly, tomorrow, when you take the kuchikamizake you made to that shrine, I must go with you. To do these two things without arousing suspicion, the identity of the fiancé of the current shrine maiden of the Miyamizu family is the most suitable."

"I see… …"

Miyamizu Mitsuha pursed her lips and said with a smile,

"What you said to that boy just now was deliberately intended for those guys to hear, so you said that, right?"

"Not entirely."

To Miyamizu Mitsuha's surprise, Yexing actually gave a negative answer, looking her in the eye with a serious expression.

"The main reason is that I don't want to hear others say that about you."

This zero-frame activation, a straight-ball attack without the slightest pre-motion, instantly broke through Miyamizu Mitsuha's defense.

"Yexing… … I… …"

Just as Miyamizu Mitsuha was halfway through her sentence, Miyamizu Yotsuba, who had already changed into her usual clothes and had her hair in two braids, ran over, looking at her sister and Yexing talking there, and said speechlessly.

"Hey, if you have something to say, you can say it when you get home. It's not like you're separating right away. Why don't you two just stick together? Sigh, is this the heat of puberty for high school students? It really gives me a headache."

… …

On the other side, inside an inn in Itomori Town.

"Did you guys notice a high school-aged boy in the crowd watching the ceremony?"

"What, is it strange? He seems to be the fiancé of this generation's shrine maiden of the Miyamizu family."

The young man with the code name Tenjo-shita, as the leader of this group of spirit ability users, frowned slightly, muttering.

"Most of the town's residents don't seem to know that this generation of shrine maidens of the Miyamizu family has a live-in fiancé. It feels like he suddenly appeared… … Isn't the timing a little too coincidental?"

Hearing this, a middle-aged man looked at Tenjo-shita with a blank expression.

"Do you suspect that the boy might be here to disrupt our plan?"

"Probably not."

Tenjo-shita shook his head.

"Apart from Lady Izanami, no one should know about the disaster that Itomori Town is about to face. However, it's better to be careful. If the Miyamizu family is going to offer sacrifices tomorrow… …"