Sū ěr wasn't joking; he really thought the statue he had fashioned before leaving was quite good. When he was searching for ancient texts in the Higurashi Shrine, he had seen it placed solemnly on a cabinet covered with red cloth. At the time, he was quite satisfied that the old man recognized its value.
It seemed he just hadn't accounted for the young girl's embarrassment.
"Alright, alright—don't come any closer!" Sū ěr pacified the girl, but when he saw Kagome looking like she was about to charge at him, he suddenly raised his voice to stop her.
"W-What is it?" She couldn't help but stammer in nervousness. It had to be said that when this handsome Yōkai got stern, he was actually quite frightening—at least, Kagome was intimidated.
"Stay right there. It's not safe to come any closer," Sū ěr said, sighing in relief when she stopped. He wasn't exaggerating; the spiritual energy density near the Goshimboku was currently high enough to make an ordinary person faint.
The fact that Kagome, who looked like a mere middle schooler, could still speak normally was because she wasn't an ordinary person—at least, not the ordinary person she thought she was.
Without much explanation, Sū ěr simply tapped his own chest, then pointed... at the girl across from him.
Finally realizing something was wrong, Kagome—who had thought the light coming from below was from the glowing seals—looked down at Sū ěr prompting. Only then did she see the source of the white light.
It was coming from her chest.
A sphere of light was radiating a soft white glow. Kagome suddenly realized that the clothes on her chest seemed to have vanished—no, even the flesh and bone seemed gone, replaced only by the light emitted by that sphere.
Surprisingly, she didn't react with terror or panic. The girl, who was unexpectedly brave, even tentatively reached out a finger to touch the orb, though she stopped herself at the last moment.
The orb showed no sign of leaving Kagome. Even though it looked like it was pressed right against her skin to Sū ěr, it hadn't broken through that final boundary. Nevertheless, Sū ěr felt a stream of mysterious information flying toward him from that light.
It wasn't a physical power, but pure information—an intangible concept. Yet it wound itself around Sū ěr fingertip. Think, connected to his soul, also captured this anomaly. Even without a detailed item description popping up like in a game, it was enough for them to realize instantly: this was what they were looking for.
So, what was the next step?
Taking his eyes off his fingertip, Sū ěr and Think both looked toward the ancient well that had been resealed with wooden planks and charms. They both stepped forward.
"W-What are you two doing?!" Seeing Sū ěr walking toward her with a solemn expression, Kagome instinctively curled inward for safety, yet despite her fear, she didn't retreat a single step.
"Don't be afraid. We aren't bad people," Sū ěr said, sounding like a fourth-rate actor in a third-rate drama. He took large strides and, in an instant, brushed past Kagome to stand by the ancient well.
Then, he ripped off the well cover that had been so painstakingly nailed down and tossed it aside. To be honest, seeing the charms her grandfather had so solemnly applied fluttering uselessly beside this Yōkai... Kagome felt a strange sense of desolation.
As expected, Grandpa was unreliable. What happened to "extremely effective against Yōkai"?
Sū ěr didn't have time to worry about the girl's feelings. As he led that intangible concept toward the well, the tugging sensation in his heart intensified. It felt as though he could leave—or rather, cross through time—with just one more step.
Stop? Or let it happen?
"If we wait for another chance, this little girl might not be so cooperative," Think said casually, her eyes glancing at the orb in Kagome's chest.
She called her a "little girl," but she was looking at the orb.
"Yeah, there's no need to delay. It's something we have to do sooner or later, so let's just get it over with." Even though he had anticipated this moment, Sū ěr found he wasn't feeling particularly downhearted now that it was here.
"Let's finish up and come back quickly. We'll go straight to Amaterasu and get some answers," Sū ěr decided. "If that box-like world really has a place where Jibril can descend, it can only be at the source of that galaxy."
"Hmph... that mindless brute..." Think muttered a slur in the Elven tongue, though she only cursed once or twice before diving directly into Sū ěr body. "No other place would be sufficient to hide a secret that matches the power of that bird-man. The key is still Takamagahara [The High Celestial Plain/Heaven]... Heh, you better stand firm this time."
"Ahaha... don't worry," Sū ěr gave an awkwardly polite laugh. He knew he had probably ended up in this era because he had instinctively stepped back in surprise last time. "But it worked out, right? You like this era too, don't you?"
[Drop dead.]
"Uh..." Reeling from Think verbal blow, Sū ěr looked up and gave a kind smile to Kagome, who had overheard their conversation. He took his other hand out of his pocket and tossed something toward her. It stopped mid-air right in front of the young girl.
It wasn't anything complicated: a note he had written long ago with his thumbprint on it, and a piece of gold that was currently shifting and flowing like liquid—don't ask why it was gold again. It might sound incredibly tacky, but gold was truly the only "glittering little darling" Sū ěr had to offer as a gift.
As for the money he made working, after paying rent, there wasn't much left. Not to mention that he and Think, having no need to worry about survival or the future, had spent the rest on food and entertainment.
"Yo, little Kagome, can you do me a favor?" Sū ěr snapped his fingers with a cool, casual air. He wanted to act like the kind of 'big brother' figure that young people like, so the girl would do the work... I mean, help out of the goodness of her heart.
"I told you not to call me 'little Kagome'! Are we even that close?!" Though she had been dazed by everything she'd seen, Kagome snapped back to her usual self in an instant. "And how does a Yōkai like you know my name anyway?!"