The chief priestess repeatedly confirmed the results of her divination. The results showed no change at all.
This girl before her, according to her fate, should have indeed passed away five years ago.
Of course, fate itself is ethereal and unfixed.
Normally, even if a person's fate shows they will die at a certain point in time, it might change due to a sudden shift in their thoughts or the interference of others from the inner world.
But after such a fate has been changed, it can still be divined to some extent. Although it may no longer be as clear as before, seeing a general path is still possible.
But Honma Meiko's side...
She is clearly still alive now. This means she should have already passed that calamity from five years ago. She ought to have a brand new future.
How could her life path still remain completely unchanged?
Even a special-grade spirit medium who had experienced all sorts of situations was momentarily confused upon seeing Honma Meiko, a girl who was directly connected to the ley line and should have died five years ago.
But she was, after all, very experienced.
At least her expression still didn't let others see any problem.
"If I'm not mistaken, you should have experienced a life-threatening situation five years ago, right?"
Her tone remained calm, but her eyes never left Honma Meiko.
Honma Meiko naturally nodded.
Miyauchi Hikage had already mentioned her drowning incident from five years ago to the Kano-miko earlier. It was fine to say it again now.
So, from her own perspective, she recounted the entire drowning incident.
After finishing playing with her friends, she accidentally fell into the water on her way home alone and nearly died.
Luckily, Miyauchi Hikage arrived in time, bringing a group from Asahigaoka to rescue her. They performed timely first aid and sent her to the hospital, allowing her to survive by a stroke of luck.
Just as she finished recounting this past event, the chief priestess nodded and then said, "First, close your eyes and carefully recall the events of that time, then explain everything in detail, bit by bit."
Then, Honma Meiko's side received a reminder from the diary.
It was just a simple reminder, not a warning.
Honma Meiko subconsciously took out her diary.
["Detecting an unknown force attempting to apply a slight mental suggestion to the host. Spend reading value to clear the suggestion effect?"]
Seeing the diary's reminder, Honma Meiko couldn't help but feel a little surprised.
Is this shrine maiden in front of me using a mental suggestion on me right now?
Is she worried I'm not telling the truth?
Although the diary said "slight" and there was no danger warning, it proved that the suggestion this shrine maiden was placing on her was likely not malicious.
Seeing another prompt appear on the diary, stating she could spend more reading value to analyze the effect of the mental suggestion, Honma Meiko didn't hesitate and chose to redeem it.
So, she wants to know my experience from five years ago as completely and accurately as possible, and wants to use mental suggestion to awaken those memories I can't recall clearly, or perhaps have deliberately forgotten?
After confirming the other's purpose, Honma Meiko hesitated for a moment.
To be honest, although it was indeed an unforgettable experience, she had originally thought she would never forget that day in her life.
But as time went by, looking back on the drowning incident from five years ago, there were indeed many details she couldn't remember clearly.
She couldn't even remember where on that mountain path she had fallen into the water, or where she had been rescued by Miyauchi Hikage and the others.
Since the diary had confirmed that this shrine maiden meant her no harm and really just wanted to get a clearer picture of her memories, Honma Meiko chose not to clear the suggestion. Instead, she opened her mind and let the other awaken her memories from that time.
Anyway, with the diary's protection, I don't need to worry about the sensitive memories in my mind being discovered by others.
Following Honma Meiko's decision, the chief priestess's spiritual power slowly seeped into her mind through her words.
That past from five years ago appeared before her eyes with extreme clarity, including the details she herself had subconsciously overlooked.
It all started with the Super Peace Busters, formed by their group of childhood friends.
First, a group of children who played well together secretly ignored their parents' warnings and ran into the mountains, about twenty or thirty minutes away from the city. They found an abandoned cabin there, spent over a month cleaning it up, and turned it into their five-person secret base.
Then they spent a long, happy time in that secret base. Everyone even carved their names into the base, promising to be friends for life.
A group of boys and girls in their early teens, clearly still in an ignorant state before puberty, yet they liked to speak like adults, using adult tones and self-righteously doing adult things.
Until one day during the summer vacation five years ago, they, already in the sixth grade, were playing in their secret base as usual.
It was just that on that day, perhaps because of the hot weather, the topic of conversation suddenly shifted to the somewhat ambiguous subject of who they liked.
And then that boy, the one who had started the Super Peace Busters, who still came to visit her occasionally but had almost disappeared from her life, perhaps due to guilt. When asked by another girl if he liked her (Menma), he shamefully denied it all and ran away.
Next, she wanted to chase after that boy, but was stopped by another boy who wanted to give her a pretty pink flower. In her haste, she refused him.
Finally, in her rush to go down the mountain and return home, she slipped and fell into the water.
This memory, which had been the fuzziest, became unprecedentedly clear under the chief priestess's spiritual power.
Besides Miyauchi Hikage and his group, the last boy from the Super Peace Busters also saw her fall in the water? But because he was too scared, he just screamed a few times and ran away?
He probably went down the mountain to get help, right? Although she didn't see those three guilt-ridden boys until the next day at the hospital.
Honma Meiko thought this. But in her memory, her drowning self, before completely losing consciousness, finally saw the group of boys and girls who rescued her.
First, a few girls were exclaiming from the side that someone had fallen into the water.
Honma Meiko had no impression of this before; she only learned about it from her parents' explanation after she was rescued. Now she saw it clearly.
It was the two Koshigaya girls, who should have been only nine at the time, and Miyauchi Hikage's older twin sister.
Then, a 14-year-old boy, whose current online persona was Asahigaoka's "Number One Rural Tyrant," wanted to jump directly into the water to save her.
But as he was getting in the water, Miyauchi Hikage, who was also only in his early teens at the time, handed him several swimming rings and pointed out that the river current was very strong and he needed to be careful.
"So Miyauchi Hikage actually told that boy back then, 'Your own life comes first, don't force it'?"
Looking at the boy in her memory, who was a year younger than her but whose tone was not a faked maturity at all, making a group of boys and girls, both younger and older than him, subconsciously follow his commands, Honma Meiko couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
But thankfully, she was rescued by that boy in the end. Of course, it was also with Miyauchi Hikage's assistance and command. The boy found a spot in the water where the current was not as strong and was closer to the bank, and they were pulled up using a simple rope temporarily made from several people's clothes.
As for what happened next, Honma Meiko felt a little embarrassed.
Miyauchi Hikage first carefully checked her mouth and nose for any blockages, followed by artificial respiration and chest compressions.
She could even notice in this memory Miyauchi Hikari's gossipy gaze from the side.
Even though she knew he was just performing first aid and had no intention of taking advantage of her.
Without Miyauchi Hikage's professional rescue, even if she had been pulled out, she might not have lasted until the ambulance arrived.
And a little while after that, before the ambulance arrived, she, no longer in mortal danger, relaxed and fell completely unconscious. This part of the memory was a story that could not be observed even with spiritual power.
But for the memories after that, it should be the same to just ask Miyauchi Hikage directly, right?
As Honma Meiko completely and clearly re-experienced the events of that day, the chief priestess also obtained the information she wanted.
The only place that could be considered suspicious seemed to be that cabin they had used as a secret base five years ago.
The chief priestess did not comment on the events of that time. After all, it wasn't strange for a group of 11 or 12-year-old children, on the verge of puberty and in a state of flux, to do impulsive things.
She just rationally perceived through her memories that there seemed to be some problem with that cabin.
Other than that, the chief priestess really couldn't figure out how Honma Meiko had connected with that place's ley line.
"Miss Honma, the place where you drowned back then, can you take me to check it out now?"
After all, the entire area around Chichibu Shrine was under her jurisdiction. Now that a variable like Honma Meiko had appeared in her territory, she naturally had to go and investigate it personally.
Although she would have to temporarily leave the urban area of Chichibu, the connection between the main ley line and those branch lines was still relatively close. Her going to the branch line would not trigger a rejection from the main ley line here.
To make an analogy, it's like having an affair is not allowed, but one can occasionally dote on the concubine who has already been married into the family.
Hearing that the chief priestess seemed to be preparing to go and check right now, Honma Meiko felt it was a bit too hasty.
She was originally thinking about whether to plan it out more carefully, but she didn't expect this chief priestess to be in such a hurry.
"Um... I want to tell my brother and parents first, lest they worry about me if I get back too late."
Although my brother should still be soaking in the hot springs right now, and I kind of snuck out with Miyauchi Hikage.
If it was just for a little while, it would be fine. But going to their long-abandoned "secret base," and possibly dealing with the problem on her, meant she wouldn't be back anytime soon.
The chief priestess naturally had no problem.
She could see it more clearly than the Kano-miko. This girl, Honma Meiko, was so closely connected to the ley line that as long as she learned some basic spirit medium knowledge, it would probably only take her half a year or even a few months to be able to wield special-grade power in Chichibu by relying on the ley line.
This kind of talent was clearly the future pillar of Chichibu Shrine for decades to come. Of course, she had to try every means to keep her at the shrine.
According to her experience, as long as the family issue was handled first, this matter was basically settled.
Thus, the Honma couple, who were originally at home discussing whether their two children were having fun today and what time they would be back tonight, suddenly received a phone call from Chichibu Shrine.
"What? Chichibu Shrine wants to hold a blessing ceremony for Menma?"
Wasn't it just a simple spring outing? How did she end up at Chichibu Shrine?
The couple looked at each other in astonishment.
And since when did their Honma family have so much clout?
Shrine blessings were a normal thing, but usually, it just meant the tourist would go to the shrine, offer some incense, draw a fortune, and get a protective amulet. It would all be done for a few thousand yen.
But a complete formal blessing ceremony provided by the shrine was different. There would be dedicated priests and shrine maidens coming out to perform the ritual, and it would take much longer. Usually, one day was not enough; it had to be held in the shrine for several days in a row.
If you really calculated it, a formal blessing ceremony was much more expensive than holding a wedding ceremony at the shrine.
Wasn't this kind of job usually only taken by small shrines that needed incense money? They had never heard of a large shrine like Chichibu Shrine taking this kind of job.
Besides, Chichibu Shrine was still holding the Chichibu-miya Festival these days. Did they really have time at night to hold a separate blessing ceremony for their daughter?
The Kano-miko who made the call knew how to raise Miyauchi Hikage's status. She said that he had pulled the strings and that they had sensed a fated connection between Honma Meiko and their shrine, which was why they were making an exception.
Then she had Miyauchi Hikage and Honma Meiko, in turn, report their safety to the couple over the phone and explain the situation. She also said that if the two of them were worried, they could come to the shrine now to participate in the blessing ceremony together.
The name of Chichibu Shrine was very reputable in the hearts of Chichibu residents. So after the Honma couple confirmed that the call was indeed from the official phone number of Chichibu Shrine, they immediately expressed their gratitude with delight and said they planned to come over right away.
When they arrive, I'll let them see the blessing site, and then just use some spiritual power to create a simple illusion and let them have a comfortable sleep at the shrine. That should be fine.