I Teach Kendo in Tokyo Chapter 11: No spring at the Shrine

After a while, Kazuma and Tamamo finally arrived at the foot of the shrine.

When Kazuma arrived, he discovered that next to the torii gate where the stone steps of the shrine start, there is a sign with an introduction to the shrine.

"Shionizumi Shrine... Looks like it's dedicated to the **** of spring water?" Kazuma muttered as he continued to look back.

I just complained about the festival here called Meiquan Festival, which is a bit like a random piece made up by tourism officials. I didn't expect the name of this festival to match the shrine.

According to the introduction on the sign, the body of the **** enshrined in this shrine is a stone. In the past, there was spring water gushing out from under the stone. Gradually, hunters who hunted in the nearby mountains began to gather near the water source, and then cultivated some fields. .

Later, a Shinto priest came and built a shrine near the stone.

Now there is no more spring water under the stone, but the well water that the residents have dug is still sweet.

After Kazuma read the contents of the standing card, he turned to look at Tamamo.

Tamamo said: "It seems to be a folk belief that has nothing to do with youkai, and this happens occasionally."

"Occasionally? Wouldn't it be because of the beliefs of the residents that related monsters or gods were born?"

"No." Tamao shook his head, "Let's go, let's see what happened to the plaster made of Kappa's scalp."

He Ma looked up at the long stone steps and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Is the stone steps too long?"

"Don't complain. Before you were injured and hospitalized, I went to ask you for an amulet to speed up your recovery, but you have climbed such stone steps a hundred times over and over again."

"Really? As tall as this one? Is there such a shrine in Tokyo?" Kazuma looked suspicious.

Tamamo: "Yes. Well, it's not as high as this, but it's quite high."

"I see."

He Ma looked up at the long stone steps, and decided that the long pain was better than the short one. Suddenly, he rushed all the way and ran directly to the top of the stone steps.

His speed was so fast that he almost collided with the shrine maiden who was sweeping the floor.

"Wow!" The witch was startled and took a step back, but her left foot stumbled on her right, and she fell hard.

Kazuma looked at the shrine maiden while recovering her breath.

This must be the Hiroko who works at the shrine. She is indeed a relatively ordinary girl, as the hotel female general Ms. Kamashima said. She has acne and freckles on her face. She has a good figure like Kiryu Dojo. A beautiful girl with fair skin is incomparable.

However, if she used concealer and foundation to cover up her acne and freckles, she would still be able to see it. If she was chased by such a girl in her previous life, it would be the rhythm of surrendering immediately and getting married.

In the past life.

Kiryu and Ma deeply realized the goodness of traveling.

After looking at it, Kazuma's breathing has completely calmed down. Apart from the sweat on his forehead, it is almost impossible to tell that he has just finished running such a long stone steps at a high speed.

He took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat on his hands, and then reached out to the girl: "Sorry, I scared you, didn't you fall?"

"No, no." The girl grabbed Hema's hand and stood up. After standing up, she immediately let go of Hema's hand, and her face flushed.

"Who are you?" the girl lowered her eyes and asked.

Kazuma: "Kiryu Kazuma, who came to Tokyo for vacation, lives at Hina Grange on the opposite mountainside. Are you Miss Hiroko who works here?"

"Ah, I am." After hearing Kazuma's self-introduction, Hiroko's face flashed with surprise, she raised her eyes and looked at Kazuma quickly, "From Tokyo? Yes?"

He twitched his brows for a moment: Meiji University Institute of Fantasy Creatures? Could it be the group of students who had an accident last year that the convenience store uncle mentioned?

He didn't rush to ask, but continued chatting along the line: "No, I'm the Kendo Club of the University of Tokyo..."

"The Kendo Club is here? We don't have a dojo here, only hot springs." Hiroko was even more surprised.

"It's not a kendo club house. We were invited by Sauni Music to create in the mountains." He Ma sighed in his heart as he spoke. It's been a long time since the other party didn't recognize him immediately. .

Bo Zi looked at Hema again, and then asked, "Invitation by Sonny Music? So are you working at Sonny Music?"

He Ma Xin wanted to see my first reaction at my age like this.

He smiled and said, "No, I'm a musician."

"Musician? Eh? This... Then you are really handsome."

"I'm eighteen."

When the voice fell, Bozi took a step back, looked at Hema from head to toe again, and then shook his head: "I don't believe it, what works do you have?"

He Ma immediately hummed a few words about his previous work.

Hiroko frowned and muttered while recalling: "This song is so familiar... I feel like I heard it in school, and it seems like it's in the tape that Qiu Jiang picked up... Ah, kiryu! Are you the one! That one! That!"

He Ma thought that it was finally time for me to pretend, so he nodded with a coquettish expression: "Yes, I am."

Bo Zi gasped for cold-hot air.

That's right.

"I'm going to call Qiu-chan!" Hiroko turned around and ran towards the building that was probably run by the shrine.

Kazuma, who was directly thrown down, opened his mouth halfway, and looked down at the broom that the girl had just thrown on the ground when she was sitting on the ground. She thought to herself that this girl has this kind of personality.

No, Mikako won't be shy in front of strangers at first.

Mikako is famous for her familiarity, and she has the feeling that anyone she sees will go up and pat her shoulders, "Hey buddy, do you want to go and burn Night City to ashes".

Kazuma picked up the broom, leaned against the torii pillar at the end of the stone steps, and looked back down the mountain.

Tamamo is just like an old lady, climbing the stone steps one by one.

He Ma suddenly wanted to rush down and shout at her: "No, you have to go up the stairs twice at the Naval School, come again!"

At this time, Tamamo raised her head, met Kazuma's eyes, and made a "you go first" gesture.

He Ma was about to shout "I'll wait for you" when he heard Bo Zi's voice from the direction of the social office: "Well, I'm sorry, I forgot to ask you, do you have any needs for coming to the shrine?"

So he and Ma turned around and walked towards the shrine office, and replied, "I'm here to sell the poultice that is said to be very spiritual, and by the way, learn about the history of this shrine."

It was originally planned, but now I have to add one more thing with Ma: ask about what happened last year.

Bo Zi appeared behind the sales window next to the gate of the social office: "I want to buy plaster, Lord God just finished a new batch yesterday."

"Is this plaster really made by God?"

"Yes, God Lord goes to the mountains to pick up herbs and then grind them to make medicine. He always says that the mountains are full of treasures." Bozi replied as he took out the things packaged in plain cardboard boxes and put them on the table. On the surface of the box, "Schönbrunn's rubbing cream" is written with a brush.

"Is this a real calligraphy?" He Ma asked.

"It used to be, but now it was made by people from the Tourism Promotion Association using their printer." Bo Zi paused, "What else?"

"I came here to find inspiration to create music." Kazuma smiled at Hiroko, "It would be great if you could show me a tour of the shrine. It would be better to have some introduction."

Bozi tilted his head: "Isn't the introduction written on the sign at the foot of the mountain? I'm just a part-time worker, and it's the Lord God who sees me and my grandmother as each other and pity me that I work here, the matter of the shrine. I really don't understand.

"Ah, if it's a festival, go to the village office or the tourism promotion association to learn more."

"So, can you show me the shrine? You are a witch."

Bo Zi pursed his lips and thought for a while, then nodded: "Okay, but if I show you the shrine, you have to sign my friend's autograph."

"Is that the girl named Qiu?"

"Qiu Jiang is a boy." Bo Zi corrected with a smile.

Kazuma's first reaction was to warn the boy named Qiu not to have a snowball fight, but this "Chainsaw Man" meme was not available in 1981.

So he said, "Oh, what a youth."

"No, there is no youth development, just friends."

"I understand, I understand." He Ma laughed, "Is it okay to sign, as long as he doesn't dislike my ugly characters. So can you show me the shrine now?"

"Yes, yes, I'll come out right now! By the way, the plaster... ah, I bought it after visiting the shrine, right, then put it here."

Bozi ran out again, and then started to introduce directly: "This building, as you can see, is the office of the shrine. I usually work on the first floor, and the second floor is a warehouse for storing various items. The connected one-story house is the residence of the Lord's family..."

While listening to Kazuma, he turned his head to look in the direction of the stone steps.

Tamamo hadn't climbed up yet.

Thinking about it in Osaka before, she was also slow when she ran out of the hotel. Could it be that this is not acting, but that she is really not good at sports?

So before she ate my teeth, she really couldn't escape?

Kazuma raised his eyebrows, looked away and continued to listen to Hiroko's introduction to the shrine.

"This is the main square of the shrine, and the stalls for subsequent festivals are mainly set up here. At the end of the square is the Imperial Palace, but Miquan Shrine is special, and the Imperial Body is not in the temple. This temple is only a place for ceremonies. The imperial body is here..."

Bozi is really just introducing, what a building is and what it is used for. There is no decoration or additional content at all. The explanation is boring.

Behind the palace of the shrine is another stone-stairs road, which is much narrower than the one at the main entrance, but the density of torii gates is much higher, and there are basically three stone steps for one torii gate.

At the top of all the torii gates are hanging ropes, and the royal coins on the ropes are fluttering in the wind.

When climbing the stone steps, Bozi didn't mean to speak at all, probably because he thought it was an ordinary stone step and there was nothing to say.

Kazuma took this opportunity to inquire: "Why did you think I was a member of the Meiji University Fantasy Creature Research Society just now?"

"Huh? Because we are here to travel during the peak season, either the uncles in suits who look great, or the wives in gorgeous kimonos, and few young people come here. Last year, the group of older brothers and sisters were very conspicuous, and we chatted with me. A lot of Tokyo stuff."

After Bozi said this, she was silent again, feeling that she was simply answering the question, and she didn't mean to start a small talk through the question.

Kazuma could only continue to ask questions: "I heard that there was an accident in the mountains last year, and one was killed and one injured. Are these young people also?"

"Yeah." Bo Zi's voice became low, although Kazuma could only see her back, but she could guess her expression based on her voice.

After waiting with Ma for a few seconds, he decided that Bo Zi was not willing to talk about this matter, so he did not continue to ask.

When you get back to the hotel, ask Kayama Akira, who is also from Meiji University.

He glanced ahead across Bo Zi, and found that the stone steps were quite long, so it was a bit boring to climb the stone steps in silence, so he planned to hum something.

It happened that the stone steps and the torii gate reminded him of the folk song "Passing Song" sung by Tamamo.

"Stealing sandals, stealing sandals..." He Ma hummed in a low voice. The first two lines of this song are often called "stealing sandals".

Bo Zi shuddered obviously, then she turned her head and shouted: "Don't sing! Shut up!"

He Ma was startled by Bo Zi's sudden emotional change, and said "sorry" subconsciously.

Bozi also reacted at this time. She lowered her eyes and said embarrassedly: "I, I am, I shouldn't be shouting so loudly. My grandma and I depend on each other. When I was a child, my grandma always told me that I couldn't sing this song on the mountain. song."

Kazuma: "Why?"

"Because people in this village used to drink alcohol to a child who couldn't afford it, and let him fall asleep and take him to the mountains to throw it away. My grandmother said she didn't do this when she was young, but in the eleventh year of Taisho Kanto University After the earthquake, life got tough again, and I just started doing it again."

Bo Zi bowed to Hema: "In short, I'm very sorry! But please don't hum this song in the mountains, it will bring misfortune, last year..."

Her words came to an abrupt end.

Kazuma: "You mean last year the students of Meiji University sang this song in the mountains, so there was an accident?"

"I didn't say that!" Hiroko hurriedly denied, "It's just that when they came last year, I took them to visit the shrine, and it was also when I was walking down the stone steps to see the Goshen, and Miss Akanishi also sang this song. Song..."

Miss Akanishi, it seems that Akanishi is the surname of the "Dr. Yokai" girl mentioned by the convenience store uncle.

Hiroko continued: "Ms. Akanishi is very familiar with youkai. After I told her what my grandmother said, she also assured me that it would be alright. Although folklore is based on what happened in the past, But in the end it's just a legend."

Kazuma suddenly felt that what this Miss Akanishi said sounded familiar.

It reminds me of a monster who has been using science to explain supernatural events and prove that monsters don't exist.

Hiroko looked at Kazuma: "Miss Akanishi and the others have an accident at the end. Although it may be just a coincidence, I think Kiryu-san will stop singing, it's unlucky."

Kazuma: "Would you rather believe it or not?"

"Huh?"

"Chinese proverb."

"Huh? Ah, so, as expected of a student from Dongda University, he is amazing."

He Ma suddenly felt that the identity of a student of Dongda University was very useful. Whether he spoke Chinese proverbs or made accurate judgments on the international situation, the people around him would only sigh, "As expected of Dongda University. student".

The idea that Tohoku University students must be elites is ingrained in the Japanese DNA.

Do anything with the horse and their DNA will move.

Hiroko turned around and continued to lead the way, but this time she took the initiative to speak: "Miss Akanishi and the others give me the feeling that they are very similar to Kiryu-san, they are very knowledgeable, and they can say very deep words, or share Knowledge I have never heard of."

Meiji University, once called the twin of the empire together with the University of Tokyo, is now over, but the university's prestige seems to still be there.

"The late Watanabe-kun was very good in English. He always held an original English book and taught me a lot of English slang..."

He Ma immediately recited a poem by Byron in English and asked, "Is it better than my English?"

Bo Zi looked back at He Ma in surprise: "Uh... sorry, because my English is bad, I can't tell which of you has better English."

"Then it's better to use Watanabe-kun's English." Kazuma said, after all, everyone died, "I heard that another one became a vegetable?"

"That's Shigeru-kun, Shigeru Oda."

Hema captured a detail from Hiroko's brief answer: "When talking about the dead one, it was Watanabe-kun, and the one who was in a vegetative state was Shigeru-kun, Hiroko, are you more familiar with this Oda-sang? "

Hiroko nodded: "Well, Watanabe-kun has a kind of aura that refuses people thousands of miles away, while Shigeru-kun is easy-going and loves to laugh. He is Miss Akanishi's boyfriend."

Kazuma: "So Miss Akanishi came down from the mountain and cried so hard, mainly because of Shigeru-kun?"

Bo Zi was silent.

Kazuma feels that his old detective's intuition -- well, the intuition of the future old detective is pulling the alarm.

He had an unprovoked association: falling off a cliff, could it be...

"Among college students, did anyone see the moment Watanabe-kun and Shigeru-kun fell off the cliff?" Kazuma asked.

"No, they scattered on the mountain to find that, that is..."

"Hammer snake."

"Yes, Hammer Snake, they were scattered looking for the Hammer Snake, and when they gathered at the end of the night, they found that two people were missing. Their Minister Takei immediately decided to go down the mountain and report to the Tourism Promotion Association and the Village Office, asking for search and rescue. ."

"A very correct decision." He Ma appreciated it.

It is very dangerous for a layman to climb the mountain at night, so it is better to leave it to the mountaineers and professional search and rescue teams.

"Everyone went into the mountain to find the next morning, and it was too late to find the two of them under a dirt **** at dawn."

When Hiroko spoke, his voice became very low, and he almost couldn't hear him clearly. Her gasp as she climbed the stone steps almost drowned out her voice.

It seems that the memories of that time made Hiroko very painful, but Kazuma continued to ask: "How was Miss Akanishi's condition during the search and rescue?"

"Huh? Of course... anxious and sad."

"Did you see that?"

"At that time, I was the only young girl in the entire hot spring town, so the adults of the village office asked me to accompany Miss Akanishi. Although Miss Akanishi was so anxious that she couldn't sleep, she was nauseated and vomited, but she remained strong until the second day. When the two of them were carried from the mountain to the hot spring street, she broke down and cried."

He Ma silently remembered Bozi's words in his mind.

Actually, he wanted to take out a notebook and write down the main points, but that would mean that the criminal police were investigating the case, which might make Bozi nervous and unwilling to elaborate.

He wanted to continue to ask questions, but the stone steps had come to an end. Bozi stepped on the last stone steps and leaned down with his hands on his knees, gasping for breath.

"These stone steps are obviously not longer than the stone steps in front of the mountain, but why is it so hard to climb up?" Bo Zi whispered, "Kiryu-san, please let me slow down."

Nothing happened to Ma, he looked around.

In front of it is a glade. The ground has been artificially leveled, but there are no floor tiles.

In the northernmost part of the clearing, there is a large rock, with a betting rope tied to the rock, and each knot is hung with royal coins.

That should be the **** body of Miquan Shrine.

Bo Zi calmed his breath, straightened his waist and introduced: "This is our **** body. I said it's inappropriate, but it's really nothing to see."

Nodding with the horse.

The shape of this stone is not strange, the color is ordinary, and there is no inscription or other features. Except for the betting and connecting rope, it is just an ordinary large stone.

I feel like I want to build a shrine, so I might as well use the largest stone near the outlet of the spring as a sacred body.

But it's all here, it's a loss if you don't take a closer look.

So He Ma stepped forward and was about to touch the stone when he suddenly found a ditch-like thing under the stone.

"What is this ditch?"

"Ah, the waterway, it is said that before the Meiji Restoration, spring water will flow out from under this stone. The water that flows out will be stored in this ditch first, and when it is full, it will naturally flow down the mountain through the backwaterway."

He Ma stretched out his head to look behind the stone, and sure enough, the ditch surrounding the stone was connected to a not too wide water channel at the back.

Judging from these facilities, when the shrine was built, the water output of this spring was not very good. The drinking water of the village should be supplied by well water.

What happened to those hot springs on the Young Grange Hill?

It can't be a bomb from the US military, can it?

The U.S. military is full to fry deep mountains?

Could it be that the hot water in the boiler room is the same as those hot spring hotels in China that you and Ma have been to in your previous life?

Of course, it is also possible that violent geological movements have led to the emergence of new hot springs, such as the Great Kanto Earthquake mentioned by Bozi just now.

If it's true that Akutagawa Ryunosuke likes to come here, it may be true in terms of time.

He Ma was thinking about it, and Bozi's voice interrupted him: "Well, have you read it? It's getting late, and I'm in a hurry to go home and cook for my grandma..."

"Okay, I've finished reading it." He Ma decisively ended his thinking and walked towards the stone steps.

Climbing such a long way, just to see a broken rock, no wonder Bo Zi is reluctant to show people.

When they descended the stone steps, the two of them were walking a lot faster. They just chatted a few words about music and "Qiu Jun" and they were finished.

After the two walked out of the back of the palace, Kazuma saw Tamamo standing under the torii gate at the entrance of the shrine at a glance.

She is clearly climbing the stone steps and resting out of breath, but it gives a feeling of being one with the torii, as if she is part of the shrine.

Bo Zi opened his mouth wide and looked at Yuzao: "Huh? This... it's all because of singing with Ma Sang, and the monsters are here!"

"No no, that's my home... My apprentice, Jinguji Tamamo, is a human."

Not really, but it's set like that.

"Huh? Is she a human? I think she is so beautiful, I thought she was a demon fox in the mountains..."

It's the fox in the city.

"Do demon foxes really exist?" He Ma asked.

Bo Zi: "The old people say that it exists, and..."

"Love to eat the hearts of beautiful girls?" Kazuma said what Grandma Noda heard.

"That's right! My grandma used to say that."

It seems that the old ladies in this hot spring town will talk about the foxes who love to eat the hearts of beautiful girls.

Jinguji Tamamo also noticed Kazuma's side at this time, but she didn't seem to be wearing glasses and couldn't see who it was.

Then I saw her bent over and touched the pedestal of the torii gate of the shrine, and then she opened her glasses and put them on, and looked over here.

He Ma is wicked and wants to hide her glasses next time to see if she can't find them and can only do divination.

After putting on her glasses, Tamamo waved to Kazuma and shouted, "How is it?"

"The Imperial Body is really a stone, nothing extraordinary." Kazuma responded.

As for the Meiji University Fantasy Creature Research Association, wait until you get back to the hotel to talk to Tamamo.

Tamamo walked towards Kazuma, and the three met at the square in front of the shrine's palace.

"This is Miss Hiroko." He Ma introduced, "And this is my apprentice Jinguji Tamamo, who I just introduced."

"Hello." Yuzao bowed to Bozi, "My master has troubled you."

"No, no," Hiroko may not be used to being used honorifics, and looks a little flustered, "I'm a witch, although I'm a part-time witch, but it's my duty to show people to the shrine."

"What a lovely Miko-san." Tamamo said with a smile.

"No no, I'm far worse than you."

Kazuma: "She just thought of you as a demon fox who came out of the mountains to fight tooth sacrifices."

Bo Zi's face flushed red: "This... that's because, because you are so beautiful!"

"Thank you. I'm often said to have the style of the big demon fox Yuzaoqian."

He Ma laughed "ahaha" a few times.

"You...wouldn't you also want to see the Imperial Body?" Hiroko asked cautiously~IndoMTL.com~ No, I feel like I've had enough exercise today. I don't want to climb mountains anymore. "Tamazao didn't have a chance, and decisively refused.

Bo Zi was also relieved, she turned and walked to the social office: "Then I will pack a drop of medicine for you, do you have anything else to buy? We have amulets here to bless study, work and love, and you can also write ema. "

Kazuma: "Did you miss a sign?"

The income of the shrine is generally based on three axes: amulet, asking for a lottery, and writing a horse. As for ringing the bell at the gate of the Royal Palace and throwing the game money, it is usually a 100-yuan coin once. Unless it is a big shrine with a prosperous incense, there is no income.

Bozi stopped at the entrance of the office, turned around and smiled awkwardly: "I can't cancel the signing, and I can't solve it even if you beg. I have to wait for the Lord to come back."

Tamamo: "The shrine in Tokyo has already written the meaning of the sign in vernacular, so you don't need to unravel the sign."

"Ah, Tokyo is so advanced, we don't have it here yet." Hiroko showed an embarrassed smile.

At this time, her eyes suddenly turned to the entrance of the shrine.

Kazuma and Tamamo also turned their heads to follow his gaze.

A man in climbing gear has just climbed the stone steps.

"God Lord Sang, you are back." Bo Zi bowed to the man.

"Hmm."

The man nodded, then his eyes turned to Kazuma.

He suddenly widened his eyes: "You are! You are that Kiryu Kazuma!"