Afterward, she retraced her steps to the place where the shrine maiden had been before. This time, however, the woman was no longer at the entrance. Puzzled, she looked around and searched for a while before finally finding her beneath a tree upstream from the waterfall.
So the shrine maiden was in a different place each round? Although her location changed, the sign advertising the Test of Courage was the same. Or rather, there seemed to be corresponding signs throughout the woods near Chinju Forest.
"Shogun-sama, you're back."
Ayaka, who had already been waiting there, immediately smiled and came over to greet her when she saw her approaching.
"Mm... Sorry. I kept you waiting for quite a while, didn't I?"
She had gotten so absorbed in talking with Ei just now that she had completely forgotten about the Test of Courage.
"Not at all... I only just arrived too."
Ayaka smiled as she answered.
In truth, she had indeed been waiting for a long time, but she believed that was something she absolutely could not say aloud.
"..."
The Shogun knew perfectly well that she was lying, but she made no attempt to expose her. There was a small, unspoken understanding between them.
"Where is Lady Ei?"
Ayaka asked with concern.
"She went to the beach. She said she wanted to try the Akitsu Yuugei there."
"Akitsu... Yuugei? I don't really remember seeing anything like that. I must not have noticed it before."
Ayaka froze for a moment, then rested her folding fan against her chin in puzzlement.
"It's a traditional game that has been passed down since long ago. Ei and Makoto once played it together. She wanted to experience it again, so she went over there."
She gave a simple explanation.
"Oh... I see. I didn't expect this Test of Courage to have a game that could interest Lady Ei as well. That's wonderful."
Ayaka said with relief.
As expected, Ayaka knew nothing about the strange incidents Shikanoin Heizou had mentioned earlier.
That meant the matter probably had nothing to do with Ayaka, and asking her might not yield anything anyway... Forget it. Besides, she did not think the current atmosphere was suitable for discussing such things. It might even cause Ayaka to switch back into work mode again, which would defeat the entire purpose. After all... she wanted Ayaka to relax and enjoy herself during this Test of Courage.
"Have you spoken with that shrine maiden yet?"
Rather than continuing the previous topic, she glanced toward the shrine maiden on the other side.
"Not yet. I thought I should still go with you..."
Ayaka shook her head.
After all, they had been the winners of the first round of the Test of Courage...
Pfft... This child really hasn't changed at all... She's been like this since she was little. No matter what it is, she always wants to do it together with me. She's always been so attached to me.
"...///"
As though she had noticed the indulgent look in the Shogun's eyes, Ayaka visibly grew embarrassed. She raised her folding fan to cover her face and turned her gaze aside slightly.
The two of them then went together once more to the shrine maiden responsible for working the "front desk."
"Oh my~? Hehe... Congratulations to the two of you for winning the first round of the Test of Courage."
The shrine maiden chuckled a few times. Although she was congratulating them, her expression was filled with an inscrutable air of mystery, just as it always was.
Was this woman personally trained by Miko or something?
"No, we were merely lucky..."
Ayaka responded with her habitual modesty.
"That~ means... you're now one step closer to that pitch-black, viscous truth. Is that a good thing~? Or a bad thing—hmm?"
There she went again. Her voice deliberately trembled in a ghostly imitation, even carrying a faintly resentful tone.
"I wonder what impressions the two of you had of the previous round?"
The shrine maiden asked.
"It was frightening, almost as though everything were real... It was thrilling enough to draw you in completely."
Ayaka offered her so-called impressions. The Shogun remained silent as usual. She had nothing in particular to say and no particular impressions either, because none of it had truly frightened her. Of course, that was not the organizers' fault. The problem lay with her.
"Hehe, thank you... Hearing someone tell the organizers of a Test of Courage that it was 'frightening' sounds like praise to me."
The shrine maiden gave a delighted smile, looking completely satisfied.
"Then congratulations to both of you for passing the first round's trial. The second round of the Test of Courage will begin shortly. Hmm—"
She looked the two of them over...
"I wonder if you've already found your partners for this round?"
She asked in an almost teasing tone.
"...Not yet."
The Shogun answered, and Ayaka nodded as well.
"You haven't? Then you'd better find one quickly~ If you still haven't formed a team when the competition begins, I don't need to tell you what'll happen, do I~?"
The shrine maiden asked with a cheerful grin.
"Haa... Let's go, Ayaka..."
She sighed and called to Ayaka.
"Mm..."
"Hehe, then I wish the two of you good luck finding your partners~"
Watching the two figures leave once more, the shrine maiden covered her mouth and offered them a simple blessing.
There were still fifteen minutes before the second round of the Test of Courage began. Almost none of the contestants from the first round planned to continue into the second. After all, having already lost the first round, there was little point in participating again.
As a result, most of the second round's contestants were newcomers who had only just arrived. After registering their names, they scattered around the surrounding area in search of partners, making the outskirts of the forest rather lively for a time.
Although things were somewhat chaotic, fortunately many people already knew one another, so they quickly formed teams and informed the shrine maiden before entering the waiting area.
Naturally, that left the people who had yet to form teams and were still alone. They made up only a small proportion, but there were still quite a few of them. After all, most of those remaining were strangers who did not know one another, making it difficult to pair up. If they failed to form teams within the allotted time, they would be eliminated, which was making them rather anxious.
That problem, however, was no concern for Yoimiya at the moment. She had no intention of searching for anyone else, because she had just spotted the troubled Ayaka. Her golden eyes immediately lit up—
"Hey~! Ayaka... Over here~!"
With a bright, adorable smile, she waved toward the hesitant ice-colored girl ahead of her.
"...?"
Ayaka came back to herself and looked toward the voice. When she realized it was Yoimiya, she relaxed slightly, then walked over to greet her.
"Miss Yoimiya... You came to participate in the Test of Courage too?"
"Yep! Shogun-sama told me before that there was a Test of Courage here. I've taken part in plenty of them already, so how could I possibly miss this one? Well? How is this Test of Courage?"
Yoimiya asked her cheerfully.
"Mm, it really is quite good... It's just a little..."
Ayaka awkwardly covered her mouth with her fan.
"Huh? Is it really that scary? Hearing you say that just makes me want to try it even more!"
Yoimiya's interest immediately surged.
"No. It's simply that I personally have some difficulty dealing with this sort of thing."
Ayaka shook her head.
"I see. Don't worry, you can just hide behind me later. Huh, but... I heard you were the champion of the previous round, weren't you? If you're afraid, how did you win?"
Halfway through speaking, Yoimiya realized something did not quite add up and grew curious. If Ayaka was afraid of ghosts, then... how had she found the item? Had she stumbled upon it by accident? Been lucky? Or—
"Ah—I get it! Ayaka, I never expected you to be a hidden master of Tests of Courage! Even though you're scared, you still managed to figure out the trick. As expected of the Shirasagi Himegimi. Haa, I could never do that."
She stroked her chin with a serious expression and began analyzing the situation.
"Um... Actually, it isn't what you're thinking... I teamed up with Shogun-sama during the first round."
Ayaka answered awkwardly.
"Huh? With Shogun-sama? Oh, right! Now that I think about it, Shogun-sama did tell me before that she was going to participate. No wonder... That makes perfect sense, then. Haa, but it doesn't matter~!"
Shogun-sama was certainly incredibly powerful, but when it came to a game like the Test of Courage where everyone had to follow the rules, Yoimiya was not intimidated by her in the slightest. After all, this was not a martial contest. Under the rules of a game, everyone was equal—or perhaps everyone simply had to rely on luck!
"Ayaka, how about teaming up with me~? If the two of us join forces, I can't guarantee we'll win, but we'll still have a very good chance of taking the second round, don't you think?"
Yoimiya leaned closer and asked her that.
"...All right. I'll be relying on you, Miss Yoimiya."
Looking at the girl who was as energetic as ever, Ayaka smiled faintly and nodded.
She also relaxed inwardly. Fortunately, she had run into Miss Yoimiya. Otherwise... she might not have been able to find a partner at all. Almost everyone around them was someone she did not know well, making it difficult to decide whom to approach.
"Great! Then it's settled!"
Yoimiya energetically raised her hand, shining like the sun in the middle of the night.