According to Yui, the helicopter is bringing us to another shrine. I’m not really familiar with the Gifu prefecture, so I ask Yui about the place.

‘The name of the shrine is called Kogane Shrine. It’s famous for its financial blessings. Since the shrine is near a city center, hundreds of thousands of worshippers visit it during each New Year visit.’ she explains.

‘Is it a coincidence that a shrine which specializes in financial blessings is called Kogane?’ I couldn’t help but ask.

‘I’m pretty sure it is. People will see the name of the shrine and go there to pray. When they did achieve financial success, they will claim that the magic of the shrine worked.’

‘Even when there are real Gods around?’

‘Even so.’

‘Please do not assume that us Gods are omnipotent.’ Tatsuya joins in the conversation. ‘Even we are bound by ancient rules that forbid us from interfering with the mortals.’

‘Oh, right. Kuromi mentioned it to me once.’ I remember.

Tatsuya tilts his head in confusion. ‘Who is this Kuromi? I pretty much know the names of all the Gods, but I do not know of such name.’

‘You might know her better as Styx.’ I provide.

‘Ah, the Greek Goddess that governs one of the rivers of the Underworld. But since when did she has a Japanese name?’

I proceed to tell Him about my contract with her, and how she wanted me to give her a name.

‘That is an odd request.’ He comments when I was done.

‘No kidding. I was expecting her to demand half of my lifespan or something.’

‘You mentioned that she wants to live among the mortals. Where is she now?’

‘She’s working as one of the cleaning staffs in my school.’

‘I do not harbor any malicious intent towards those who go around doing cleaning duties, but why did she chose that particular job?’

Just as I was about to give my awkward answer, the pilot announces that we’ll reach our destination in ten minutes.

‘So, what’s gonna happen once we land?’ Saya asks. ‘We’re not going to hand Tatsuya over to them obediently like they want us to, right?’

‘Obviously not.’ I answer. ‘But they’re the ones with the upper hand, since they have hostages with them.’

‘I have an idea, but it’s up to Zaimoto-san to accept it.’ Yui tells us.

‘What do you have in mind, Yui?’

‘Since you’ve heard the dark history of the Shinto Priests from Kojima-san, you know of the war the two sides had, correct?’

‘Yeah. She said that it’s more like a match rather than a real war.’

‘Back in the older days, we always solved disputes through this kind of matches. As time progresses, this method is deemed to be too barbaric, so it was rarely used. I think this is one such time.’

‘I guess you’re right. It’s not like talking things over will solve the issue we have this time.’

‘How exactly does this match works?’ Isa-senpai asks curiously.

‘The rules are quite simple. Both sides will compete against each other with the same number of participants. Pretty much anything goes in this match. Explosives, Regalias, all sorts of shikigamis. They will fight until the leader of one of the side is unable to resume battle. After the match is over, the winner is pretty much allowed to do anything to the loser.’

‘Even taking their lives?’ I remember what Tanabe did after his match with the Shimada clan.

Yui nods grimly. ‘Back in the earlier days and even now, priests and shrine maidens are supposed to be concentrating on serving the people and the Gods. Any forms of disputes among ourselves aren’t encouraged in the slightest. That is why our predecessors want us to solve our differences with a match that comes with a penalty without any lines drawn.’

‘That’s harsh.’

‘I agree. My father had been trying to abolish this cruel process, but he was constantly opposed as almost everyone else is a traditionalist who want to uphold old rules like this. Back to the topic at hand. No matter how dangerous this match is, this is our only way of rescuing the hostages.’

‘True. With the way things are, we’ll have to fight each other sooner or later anyway. Might as well make the fight formal and hope they’ll keep their words if we manage to beat them.’

While we’re still talking, the helicopter has reached Kogane Shrine. Unlike Okumiya Shrine, the Kogane Shrine is very big and surrounded by large and long walls. It can easily house hundreds of people in there. One other thing is that the place has lots of street light, which is why I can still see the place clearly even though it’s nighttime right now.

The helicopter lands right in front of the front gate. Zaimoto is standing like a statue over there, waiting for us to approach him.

He looks pretty much the same as the last time I saw him. The only difference is that he has a haunted look on his face, as if he couldn’t get any sleep after getting Yui involved in his revenge plot. Or he had too many things on his mind until he got insomnia. I don’t know.

‘Greetings, everyone from the Royal Blade Academy. And the great Dragon God.’

He looks down at Tatsuya and bows at Him. Tatsuya acknowledges his curtsy with a simple nod.

‘I would be more than happy to give you a warm welcome.’ he continues. ‘Unfortunately, I’m not the Assistant Head Priest of this glorious shrine, and there’s the circumstance where we’re the enemy. For now, please come in.’

He turns around and enters the gate. We follow him silently.

‘Where are all the hostages, Zaimoto-san?’ Yui asks him while we’re walking.

‘They’re all inside the shrine.’ he answers without turning around. ‘Don’t worry. None of them are harmed.’

Yui doesn’t say nor ask anything more than that one question. I guess she plans to continue when all of us are inside.

Zaimoto brings us inside the shrine and guides us until we reach the main hall. There, all the priests and the shrine maidens who don’t possess any spiritual powers at I met at the Okumiya Shrine are waiting for us. They avert their gaze as soon as they saw us, and they have a guilty expression as well.

Zaimoto sits down in front of them, and the rest of us do the same opposite them.

‘I’ll cut to the chase,’ Zaimoto begins immediately. ‘please hand over the Dragon God, and we’ll release the hostages. Refuse, and I won’t ensure their safety.’

‘I have a counter-proposal for you, Zaimoto-san.’ Yui tells him.

‘I’m listening.’

‘We settle this with a match.’

Stolen story; please report.

Zaimoto’s followers momentarily forgot to look away in guilt so that they could look at Yui in shock. Even Zaimoto himself looks surprised.

‘A match, you say?’

‘Yes. A match.’

Zaimoto takes back his composure by coughing at his fist.

‘Yui-kun, do you even realize the stake of having a match in situations like this? Shall I remind you that the winner is allowed to ask anything from the loser? Literally anything?’

‘I’m well aware of the danger.’

‘Do you? Being threatened with the safety of the hostages is nothing compared to the stakes you have to risk once oyu lose the match.’

‘Not so.’ Yui disagrees. ‘We’ll be at a huge disadvantage if we lose. That is, only if we lose. From my point of view, our situation will become much better should you decide to accept the duel.’

Zaimoto chuckles. ‘Both of your parents are known to be cautious folks. I wonder where did you get your courage to take risks.’

‘From my friends, of course. I could never reach the place I am right now without any of them.’

‘I see. Very well. I accept your challenge.’

‘Thank you. Shall we begin right away?’ Yui asks while begins to get up.

‘Now now, there’s no need to rush.’ Zaimoto stops her. ‘All of you have travelled far from Mountain Fuji just to come here. As such, you must be tired. If my side manage to win, people might not be satisfied of the result. Hence, we should do this first thing in the morning tomorrow.’

Yui sits back once she hears his proposal.

‘In that case, first thing in the morning tomorrow it is. And now that we’re not fighting each other right away, I would love to ask you some questions.’

‘Please, ask away. I’ll do my best to satisfy your curiosity.’

‘First of all, you said none of the hostages were harmed. Does that include Former Head Priest Tanabe as well?’

Zaimoto smiles sadly. ‘Since you’re asking for him in particular, I take it that you’ve already known of my lineage?’

‘Yes. One of my friend has investigated your background. My apologies if it offends you.’

‘No matter. No secrets are safe forever, mine included. Sooner or later, someone somewhere will find out. Back to your question in hand. He’s perfectly fine. At least, I didn’t go inside his room and disturb him when I got here. He probably noticed that something is amiss, which is why he didn’t come out from his room at all. I’ve sent my shikigamis to stand watch outside, and that’s about it.’

From his expression, I could tell that it’s not that he wants to leave Tanabe alone, but he has to since he can’t beat him in a fair fight. I have the feeling that will change immediately if he managed to get his hands on Tatsuya’s power.

‘My next question. Why are you doing all of this? Even after I know the relationship between you and Former Head Priest Tanabe, I have a feeling that it’s not for a reason as simple as revenge.’

Zaimoto’s expression changes immediately. He has a faraway look. Oh boy. I guess it’s flashback time.

‘Did you know? It was not a coincidence that my mother was chosen to summon Sakuya-hime?’

‘Yes. I’ve always found it weird that she refused to dismiss Her from her body after the dance was over.’

Zaimoto nods approvingly. ‘Perceptive, aren’t you? Anyway, she pulled lots of strings so that she could be chosen.’

‘I’m sorry for being doubtful, but she didn’t cause the extension of winter that year, did she?’

‘Oh heavens, no. She’s innocent in that regards. At least, that’s what she told me in the letter she left me. And I choose to believe her.’

‘I see. Please continue.’

‘Thank you. Now, she didn’t cause the winter to be much longer than usual, but nevertheless it gave her an idea. If she could make a God or Goddess possess her and make use of the deity’s powers, humans no longer have to pray for a miracle. Humans can be the miracle. Unfortunately for her, Tanabe-san disagrees. He’s in the opinion that no humans should ever try to become God. That’s just crossing the line.’

‘How about you, Zaimoto-san? Where do you stand in this?’

‘Naturally, I’m on my mother’s side. Why else would I join hands with Lost Children and have you kidnapped?’

Man, I was very close to snapping. But I managed to hold back my anger somehow. I glance sideways at Saya, who was sitting right next to me. Her too, is doing her best to keep her temper in check. Zaimoto, on the other hand, continues with his speech.

‘Just think about it. If everyone has the power of a God, humans will no longer have restrictions! We are free to do whatever we want, and none shall stand at our way!’

Except those that want different things from you. Again, I kept my opinions on his speech to myself. No point getting all heated up over the delusion of a nutcase.

‘Won’t you join us, Yui-kun? Of course, all your friends are welcome as well. Just say the word.’

‘I’m sorry, Zaimoto-san. I would have to refuse your offer.’ Yui declines politely. ‘I believe I can say the same for my friends.’

I nod in agreement. So do everyone else on my side.

Zaimoto looks disappointed. Did he seriously think he could convince her? Or us, for that matter?

‘A shame. To be honest, I’m surprised that Dragon God-sama refused this time. Were you not passionate about saving this planet the last time we spoke to each other?’

Tatsuya’s nostrils twitch in anger. ‘You dare to remind me of that conversation? You lied to me back then! That is why I promised to aid you!’

‘Now now, lie is such a strong word. Besides, I did not lie. It’s true that Lost Children is doing their best to save our dear planet.’

‘By sacrificing your fellow humans in the process.’ Tatsuya adds coldly.

‘It’s regrettable. However, we have to do this if we want to seek salvation.’

From his tone, I could tell that he’s honestly feeling guilty about involving innocent people. The thing is, some people don’t do certain things if it’s wrong. Some knows that it’s wonrg but do it anyway while giving out lots of excuses. He’s one of the latter.

Yui gets up from where she’s sitting. ‘Those were all I wanted to know. Thank you for your time. We would like to be showed the place where we could rest for the night.’

‘Of course. Hiraoka-kun. Please be their guide.’

Hiraoka-san, who I remember as their new help, walks nervously towards us and bows stiffly. We bow back just to be courteous.

Along the way, none of us say a single word. If we met under normal circumstances, I would attempt a conversation with Hiraoka-san. But this isn’t a normal circumstances. She might not have the ability to fight us, but she’s on the enemy’s side nonetheless.

We passed by lots of rooms. There are so many of them this shrine can pass of as a makeshift hotel if necessary. Right now, I’m pretty sure most of them are used as jail cells for the hostages, as I cannot imagine a dungeon in a sacred place like this.

Surprisingly, Hiraoka-san is the one who started a conversation. It’s even more surprising since she’s timid and tends to get nervous around strangers.

‘I probably sound like a hypocrite right now, but I’m really glad that all of you are safe.’ she tells us while looking back nervously.

‘Not at all. Thank you for your concern.’ Yui tells her with a smile.

‘Um, I know I’m in no position to say this, but I hope all of you won’t hate Zaimoto-sama too much. He had been going through some rough times.’

‘Aren’t you someone who’s newly hired? How can you testify for him when you barely know his true character?’ I ask her curiously.

‘It’s true that I barely have any experience as a helping hand at the shrine. But Zaimoto-san had been taking good care of my family and I way before I formally worked for him.’

‘Can you elaborate?’ I ask.

It’s not that I’m that interested in Hiraoka-san’s background. Rather, I want to know as much things about Zaimoto as possible before we fight each other.

‘It’s just a boring story. My whole family was being constantly harassed by an evil earthbound spirit. As a result, many of my family members have become sick. My poor old grandmother even passed away as a result of the harassment. Zaimoto-san heard about our predicament and took care of the spirit for us. He was indeed successful in the end, but he was inflicted with near fatal wound as a result of the confrontation. After his injury was healed, he knelt in front of us and kept on apologizing for not being able to arrive sooner. He claimed that if only he had more power, my grandmother wouldn’t have to die. None of us blamed him of course. We felt nothing but gratitude towards him for saving the rest of us. Even so, he still looked very guilty.’

‘How did you ended up working for him?’

‘After I’ve graduated high school, Zaimoto-san asked me whether I need a job, as the Okumiya Shrine needs some manpower. Since I don’t know what to do in the future, I took his offer.’

I try my best not to stare at her, since by her story she’s just three to four years older than I am, but she looks like someone who’s in her thirties. I’ll just keep the thought to myself.

Just as she’s done with her story, we’ve reached the guestrooms.

‘There are lots of rooms here. Please choose any room that you like.’

Hiraoka-san pauses.

‘I’m sorry for acting like I own this place, but I can’t find anything else to say. Now then, I shall take my leave. Dinner will be served shortly.’

Yui stops her before she leaves.

‘Before you do, could you show me the room of Former Head Priest Tanabe?’

‘Of course. Right this way.’

Yui looks at us before she follows her.

‘I would like to have some word with him. He might not see kindly to outsiders, so I hope all of you can wait at your rooms.’

The others are fine with it and starts to choose which room they’re spending the night in. Just as I was about to do the same, Yui pulls at my shirt.

‘Can you come with me, Akira-kun? To be honest, I’m kind of scared to talk to him all by myself.’

‘Um, it’s not that I mind, but whatever happened to Former Head Priest Tanabe doesn’t take kindly to outsiders?’

Yui blushes and lowers down her head. She’s also twirling her fingers.

‘Well, you aren’t really an outsider…’ she mumbles.

Seriously. How could anyone, a fictional character or no, be so freakishly cute? If Hiraoka-san wasn’t right next to us I would have give her a huge hug. Since she is I would have to calm myself down and nod.

‘All right. Let’s go.’

It was just a three minutes walk. The paper doors that lead to the room is exactly the same as the rest of the rooms, so you could never tell that someone important lives here.

‘Is there anything else you require from me?’ Hiraoka-san asks.

‘No, this is all. Thank you very much.’

Hiraoka nods and bows stiffly at us again before leaving us. Once she’s gone, Yui goes to the doors and knocks gently.

‘Former Head Priest Tanabe? My name is Kiryuu Yui. I would like to speak with you for a moment.’

She waits patiently without doing or saying anything else. Two minutes have passed in the blink of an eye. Just when I start to think that Tanabe isn’t going to come out, the doors slide open.