"Something came up on my end. Just explain the situation normally."
This was the message Fujimiya Konomi saw on her phone at nine o'clock at night. She had been playing and splashing around with the other girls in the reserved hot spring and was preparing to take a slightly drowsy Miyauchi Renge to bed.
Below, it simply said that he was now at the shrine with Menma for a blessing ceremony.
The text message seemed fine on the surface.
But it didn't fit Miyauchi Hikage's usual writing style.
In other words, there was some other hidden information that was not suitable to be said over the phone.
Is the problem with Menma's body serious?
However, her role this time was to help cover for him. Since she had received his notification, she just needed to relay the reason he gave to everyone else.
"Eh, Hikage didn't go to the hot springs, but went to Chichibu Shrine with Menma?" After spending a day with Meiko, everyone had gotten used to calling her by the more affectionate name "Menma."
But hearing that Miyauchi Hikage had gone out to the shrine with Menma, Kagayama Kaede, who had still been teasing Renge, suddenly became a little anxious.
Her sense of crisis as the self-proclaimed "main wife" began to erupt.
Today, she had already sensed that after Miyauchi Hikage had spent a few days filming near the high school Fujimiya Konomi attended, the distance between the two of them seemed to have suddenly closed a lot.
Actually, Miyauchi Hikage and Fujimiya Konomi had always had good chemistry.
It was just that she had always been in charge of Asahigaoka Media's external publicity affairs, and in the beginning, she had no experience and always needed his guidance.
And from the perspective of others in Asahigaoka, including Koshigaya Suguru, she and Miyauchi Hikage had a bit of a bickering-couple dynamic.
In addition, both of them were very fond of Miyauchi Renge, and the added topic of taking care of Renge together gave them a natural feeling of an old married couple in the eyes of outsiders.
But only Kagayama Kaede herself knew that her "main wife" status was due to Renge's bonus.
In reality, Fujimiya Konomi, who had spent more time with Miyauchi Hikage at the Asahigaoka Branch School, was the real boss behind the scenes.
Because of Fujimiya Konomi's naturally gentle, water-like personality, she never took the initiative to fight for anything.
Only Kagayama Kaede, as a love rival, could see her intentions more clearly.
However, because the two of them had also known each other since they were young and were "best friends" with a good relationship, they still maintained a basic tacit understanding when it came to the topic of Miyauchi Hikage.
That was: friendly internal competition based on their own abilities, but a united front against outsiders.
That was why she had asked Miyauchi Hikage to go and check on Fujimiya Konomi when she heard that she hadn't been feeling well recently.
But who would have thought that in just a few days, after filming a video outside, Fujimiya Konomi seemed to have taken another step closer to Miyauchi Hikage.
If it was just Fujimiya Konomi, she would have tolerated it.
After all, she had heard that Miyauchi Hikage had met several new pretty girls in Tokyo.
No matter what, even if Asahigaoka was indeed in the countryside, they couldn't just bow down to Tokyo high school girls so easily.
But now, this outside neighbor from Chichibu City, Honma Meiko, was also showing this intention.
And Miyauchi Hikage had even taken her to visit a shrine at night!
Looking at Fujimiya Konomi, it seemed she had known about it all along.
This made Kagayama Kaede feel a bit backstabbed.
Wait, did Miyauchi Hikage send her an email?
Thinking of this, she immediately put down the drowsy Renge and checked her phone.
Seeing that her phone indeed had an email from Miyauchi Hikage sent not long ago, Kagayama Kaede finally nodded slightly.
Although it had the feeling of acting first and reporting later, since both she and Fujimiya Konomi had received the email, then it was fine.
She secretly compared the email Miyauchi Hikage had sent.
She found that the tone on her side was much more casual, and the content of the explanation was also much more detailed.
In the email sent to her, Miyauchi Hikage explained in detail that he had thought Honma Meiko's body was not suitable for hot springs, and considering that everyone else was in the hot springs, she might feel left out, so he had accompanied her to the nearby Chichibu Shrine to pay respects.
It turned out that he already knew the priest at the shrine. Then, after learning about Honma Meiko's situation, the priest offered to hold a blessing ceremony for her.
Now Miyauchi Hikage had to stay at the shrine to help look after Honma Meiko, who was in poor health, and would only come back after her parents arrived.
Looking at this detailed explanation, and glancing at Fujimiya Konomi's side, which was just a short three or four sentences.
It seemed that Miyauchi Hikage still cared more about her feelings.
Kagayama Kaede even deliberately hid the word count of her email, lest Konomi would also feel disappointed if she saw it.
It was just that the faint smile at the corner of her mouth made Fujimiya Konomi unable to help but complain in her heart what a scumbag this Miyauchi Hikage guy was.
But at the same time, a trace of worry also arose in Fujimiya Konomi's heart.
I hope nothing unexpected happens on Hikage's side tonight.
...
"Achoo!—"
Unfortunately, the one who sneezed from being talked about was not Miyauchi Hikage, but the rather frail Honma Meiko.
Although it was already May, it was still a bit cold walking on the mountain road at night.
Miyauchi Hikage, who could now eat popsicles and wear short sleeves even in winter, naturally took off his jacket and put it on Honma Meiko.
Honma Meiko gave him a grateful look, then lowered her head slightly, looking at the newly updated diary in her hand.
The update time for tomorrow's diary was no different from usual.
As expected, Miyauchi Hikage can't have any connection to the mysterious person.
She had been with him all night. If he was the mysterious person, how would he have time to update the diary?
Although Honma Meiko herself had never really suspected Miyauchi Hikage, and her attitude towards the mysterious person was not that persistent.
But there were indeed many girls in the chat group who were suspicious of all the names that appeared in the diary.
Although Miyauchi Hikage had only been mentioned a few times by the mysterious person.
But because his conditions in all aspects were too outstanding, this male supporting character, who had little presence in his own work, could be said to be a complete steamroll compared to most other known male protagonists.
It could be said that even if you included the supernatural beings from the inner world, it seemed that only that strongest and narcissistic Gojo Satoru could firmly suppress Miyauchi Hikage.
So much so that a few days ago, that Yukinoshita Yukino had proposed to test Miyauchi Hikage a few more times to prevent any fish from slipping through the net, and had obtained the approval of Shiina Mashiro and Kasumigaoka Utaha, the two girls who were closer to him.
But with such a key piece of proof today, it should be able to help clear his suspicion.
Honma Meiko briefly explained in the group, and at the same time quickly finished reading today's diary.
In the mysterious person's own words, he had been so obsessed with researching aliens and youkai recently that he was about to go crazy. So for the time being, he didn't want to talk about anything related to the supernatural. He just planned to go home and rest for a while, and by the way, go and see the debut performances of a few bands and idol groups to relax.
μ's, Kessoku Band, MyGO, GBC...
Fortunately, because the mysterious person had recently distributed a large batch of resources, these bands he mentioned had been tagged by Bocchi-chan almost as soon as the diary was released, showing which work they were from and where they were approximately located.
Although the mysterious person had only mentioned it briefly, as a long-awaited "action notice" from him, it was believed that these performance venues would be quite lively at that time.
Covered in the jacket that still retained some of Miyauchi Hikage's body heat, Honma Meiko finished reading the diary, briefly explained her own situation, and then put away her phone, cautiously glancing at the two people in front of her.
Because of the shared shielding effect of the diary and the chat group, neither the chief priestess nor Miyauchi Hikage had noticed her actions just now.
Miyauchi Hikage, who had already finished his diary last night and scheduled its release time, seemed to have sensed something and turned his head to show a concerned expression to Honma Meiko.
"What's wrong? Can't walk anymore? Need me to carry you?"
Honma Meiko blushed and shook her head. "It's nothing, I'm fine. And we're almost there."
The chief priestess was also paying attention to the situation behind her.
She could feel that as Honma Meiko entered this mountain, the ley line in this mountain range seemed to have become a little more active than before.
Some uncertain thoughts also faintly arose in her heart.
But she still had to wait until they arrived at the cabin to be sure.
After walking for about ten minutes, they finally saw an old wooden cabin by the side of the mountain road.
Since that unhappy disbandment five years ago, this was the first time Honma Meiko had returned to her childhood secret base.
Because her memory had just been awakened by the chief priestess, stepping back into this secret base now, she felt as if she had just been here a short time ago.
But in reality, the layer of dust on the floor of the secret base also showed that no one had been here for a while.
After all, everyone was basically a second-year high school student now. Only she had been held back a year due to her studies and was still a first-year.
While everyone was working hard to pursue their own futures, this secret base that existed in the past, and with the last memory left here not being so pleasant, was naturally forgotten by everyone.
Honma Meiko walked into the cabin filled with nostalgic emotions, but quickly walked out coughing because of the dust inside.
"You two wait outside for a moment. I'll clean up the dust inside." The reliable chief priestess simply used a technique to clean the dust in the cabin.
Because this was also deliberately done for Honma Meiko to see, wanting to leave an impression on her, the chief priestess's movements were very graceful, and the effect of the dust removal was also very stunning.
Almost as a soft green light swept through the cabin, the places it passed over became clean and tidy.
Finally, a small white ball of light floated from the chief priestess's hand to the top of the cabin, illuminating the entire cabin like a light bulb.
In less than half a minute, Honma Meiko felt as if she was seeing such a clean and fresh secret base for the first time.
Is this the power that spirit mediums possess?
No matter how many descriptions I've read in the diary, it can't compare to the shock of seeing it in reality with my own eyes at this moment.
The chief priestess was also very satisfied with Honma Meiko's reaction.
But she also remembered her main task, and immediately began to search in the secret base.
Based on Honma Meiko's memory, she quickly found a few places where words had been carved.
Super Peace Busters. On these words carved into the crossbeam, a trace of spiritual power could be clearly felt.
And at this moment, Miyauchi Hikage also activated his Eye of Destiny.
As expected, the thread connected to Honma Meiko extended from this cabin.
And when Honma Meiko entered the cabin, what was connected to her was no longer a thread, but was almost in the form of a "cocoon," enveloping her entire body.
Similarly, the speed at which that power was drawing life force from her had also accelerated a lot.
But what made Miyauchi Hikage feel a little incredible was that even though this "cocoon" was drawing Honma Meiko's life force at an astonishing speed, the Eye of Destiny still couldn't see any ominous or dangerous aura from her.
It was as if this power's act of devouring her life force was helping her!
"So that's how it is..." Clearly, the chief priestess, being a special-grade, had also seen Honma Meiko's current situation.
She looked at Honma Meiko, who seemed to feel nothing, and a trace of envy even appeared in her eyes. "I didn't expect such an incredible thing to actually happen after the spiritual resurgence..."
She stretched out her hand and brushed it over Honma Meiko's body.
Immediately, that strange "cocoon" stopped its "extraction" from Honma Meiko.
Then, the chief priestess signaled for the bewildered Honma Meiko to sit down.
"What I'm about to say might scare you, so control your emotions first."
Honma Meiko looked at her serious expression and couldn't help but feel a little nervous. "Is... is the problem with my body very serious?"
She subconsciously glanced at Miyauchi Hikage, as if wanting this youth who had saved her life to stand a little closer, to give her some courage to face her end.
Miyauchi Hikage gave Honma Meiko a reassuring look.
"The chief priestess hasn't said what it is yet. Maybe it's particularly good news for you?"
As he said this, he walked behind Honma Meiko.
Honma Meiko, feeling a little more at ease, finally turned her head back to look at the chief priestess.
"I'm ready. You can tell me directly."
The chief priestess nodded.
"This cabin is not built on the core of the ley line, but it is located between the 'meridian' where the nearby ley line communicates with the main line beneath Chichibu Shrine. It can also be seen as a relatively critical 'node'."
"Perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps it was fate. In the words of us spirit mediums who have dealt with ley lines for many years, it was also the ley line here that chose you, who was already running out of time and was exceptionally talented."
"You all used this place as your secret base back then and left enough traces here. And you, who possessed a special talent, resonated with the ley line here during that time, and inadvertently signed some kind of 'contract' with it."
The chief priestess was referring to a corner of the cabin where Honma Meiko had personally carved her own name.
Although everyone had left their names here at the time, the only ones that had received a response from the ley line were Honma Meiko's name and that Super Peace Busters mark.
"And the reason why your body became weak after drowning is because your fate as a human should have indeed ended during that drowning incident five years ago."
"But this doesn't mean you died. If you had died at that time, your soul would have merged with the ley line here, becoming the mountain god of this place, and you might have even, in the future, relying on the power of the ley line, become the first awakened revered god in the Chichibu area after the spiritual resurgence."