Prayer, of course, was useless. Yae Sakura was merely seeking some psychological comfort to dispel her unease and confusion.
If praying could come true simply because she used to be a shrine maiden, then those things wouldn't have happened back then. And this time, the little curse mumbled in her heart was naturally useless too.
Yae Sakura knew this as well. She sighed helplessly, completely unable to understand why Higokumaru was doing this.
In Yae Sakura's eyes, Kallen was an illusory character created by Higokumaru and should be acting according to Higokumaru's pre-set commands. Her level of intimacy with Evan was undoubtedly under Higokumaru's authorization.
What does Higokumaru want to do? Make me hurt innocent people out of jealousy?
How is that possible? Even if the real Kallen had a change of heart, I wouldn't do such a thing. Five hundred years have passed; does Higokumaru still have such a malicious judgment of human nature?
Although, back then, I was indeed induced by Higokumaru to release the negative emotions suppressed in my heart...
While Yae Sakura's thoughts were flowing, she had already led Kallen and Evan into the village.
The villagers in Yae Village were active—setting up stalls, shopping, walking, playing. Although it looked normal at first glance, considering that Yae Sakura brought two strangers who were definitely newcomers into the village without attracting the villagers' attention, it seemed a bit strange.
Yae Sakura, Kallen, and Evan all sensed this weirdness but didn't delve into it.
The shrine where Yae Sakura lived was located on the back mountain of the village. Passing through the village with its strange atmosphere and following a stone path up the mountain, one could see a shrine. Although it had auxiliary and decorative elements like torii gates and stone lanterns, it lacked more important buildings like the Kagura Hall and the shrine office.
The central main hall, which should have housed the enshrined deity, offerings, and gohei—the most sacred part of the shrine where humans were not allowed to set foot—had become an ordinary residence. The buildings on both sides assumed functions like kitchen, warehouse, and living room, completely lacking the appearance a shrine should have.
Looking at everything before her, Kallen showed a curious expression.
"Is this a shrine?"
In the cities governed by Schicksal, there were no shrines, only churches. For Kallen, whose memories outside the stage play were somewhat blurry, everything here was very novel.
For Yae Sakura, the place before her eyes had once occupied her entire childhood. But compared to the five hundred years of being sealed, it seemed very short.
With a hint of reminiscence in her eyes, Yae Sakura spoke.
"The shrine is not a real shrine, and what is worshipped is not a real god, but an existence that is the exact opposite. It's ridiculous, isn't it?"
"Eh?"
Yae Sakura's words, which seemed to contain many emotions and stories, left Kallen confused for a moment. Seeing Yae Sakura's gaze directed at him, Evan responded.
"When weak people who are powerless to resist face natural and man-made disasters, placing their hope in gods is just an instinctive reaction to survive. Seeking new hope in despair, or even fabricating hope out of thin air—this is not ridiculous."
"What if hope is exchanged for the lives of innocent people?"
Evan's words seemed to remind Yae Sakura of some things. Instead of soothing her mind, her tone gradually became intense.
Kallen pursed her lips, seeming to want to help Evan comfort Yae Sakura. However, Evan naturally wouldn't throw the mess to someone else after provoking Yae Sakura's negative emotions. While signaling Kallen to stay quiet, he responded.
"Then the originally weak become villains, and the innocent become the new weak. This is no longer seeking hope in despair, but a story of abusers and victims."
"Do you want to hear it? The so-called story of abusers and victims."
"I don't like tragedies, nor will I treat others' tragedies as entertainment. But if telling it makes you feel better, I am willing to be a listener."
"Mm, me too."
Kallen nodded in agreement with Evan. She found that many of her thoughts and views were extremely similar to Evan's. This tacit understanding made Kallen feel very comfortable.
However, now was naturally not the time to enjoy that comfort, but to be a listener with awe.
Glancing at Evan and Kallen, who showed similar expressions, Yae Sakura smiled weakly. Looking at the shrine in front of her, she recalled that past.
That was five hundred years ago, a story from a time slightly earlier than when Yae Sakura met Kallen.
In Shinano, due to the lack of rivers, local villages were often plagued by drought. In Yae Village of Shinano Province, a legend circulated—as long as a child from the village was sacrificed to the Fox God, the Fox God would manifest its spirit and bring rain to the village.
That year, the shrine maiden named Sakura had a younger sister named Rin. She was frail and sickly, and Sakura, as the elder sister, naturally took on the corresponding responsibility.
The father, who was the head priest managing the shrine, seemed always busy. Sakura's childhood lacked her father's figure. She mostly took care of food, clothing, housing, and transportation alone, taking care of her sister to the best of her ability, and looked forward to the future with a girl's sentiment.
Let the best doctor treat my sister, take my sister to eat the best food, and then go to the mountain to admire the most beautiful cherry blossoms in the best season.
But everything changed after a drought lasting three months occurred in the village.
Clearly, a ritual had just been held a month ago, sacrificing a child to the Fox God, but the situation hadn't changed. The land yielded no harvest. So, villagers went to the head priest, believing that the bloodline of the child sacrificed before wasn't pure enough to satisfy the Fox God. Now that the situation was so bad, only by holding another ritual and sacrificing a child with shrine maiden blood could the Fox God be moved.
The so-called shrine maiden blood referred to the head priest's child.
The head priest decided to let Rin be the sacrifice. After all, she had been sick for a long time and was hard to cure. If she could make a contribution to the village, it would be considered a worthy death.
These were the head priest's original words.
A sentence that brutally tore apart Sakura's childhood, her promise to her sister Rin, her fantasies about the future—tearing all goodness to shreds in the crudest way.
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