Ibaraki Prefecture.

In the ghost car, Kamiyagawa tells Tsurumi Aoi about the reason for the change in blessings:

"Do you remember the red and black dress you saw in your dreams? The figure you said would catch your attention the most, it was Mary, whom you had seen before. ”

Miss Mary.

When Tsurumi Aoi went to study at Kamiyagawa last week, she met this Shikigami under her teacher.

I have the impression that it is a very powerful and beautiful weirdness.

When Tsurumi met Mary, the other party sat quietly beside Kamiya-sensei like a delicate doll.

Tsurumi Aoi still doesn't know much about the situation in the teacher's family, she only knows that Miss Mary's status in the teacher's family is the same as that of a housewife.

And when I first met Mary, the blessing on Tsurumi had not disappeared.

While she instinctively feared Mary's strong aura, she could also feel a strong attraction from the other party, just like in her dreams.

"Mary herself is Aragami, huh...... This is no secret in the strategy room. Her authority is similar to that of Daikokuten, which your family has worshiped for generations, which is probably why her presence will attract your attention. ”

"And, you know, Aragami is the boundary between weirdness and gods. It's a strange story that has become an Aragami.,You can still break through to a higher level.。 ”

Kamiyagawa tried his best to use words that the little apprentice could understand, and set the stage for what had happened in the last two days.

Tsurumi Aoi opened her mouth and didn't speak.

The girl's mind is sensitive and delicate, and she has already sensed something.

"The Great Black Heaven that your family has worshiped for generations, he is not the deity of this pillar god. Daikokuten was born in India, and his essence makes sense in India, right? However, a long time ago, there was an avatar of Daikokuten who crossed the ocean and came to Japan with the spread of faith. ”

"What I can tell you clearly is that the incarnation of the Great Black Sky has fallen for some reason, and only a wisp of divine consciousness remains in the world. And the power that has blessed your family for generations is inseparable from that wisp of divine consciousness. ”

"Because of your presence, I have made contact with the divine consciousness of Daikokuten, and we have reached a consensus. As a result, the legacy of the Great Black Sky incarnation here will be inherited by Mary, including the blessed protection on you. ”

Kamiyagawa said.

It basically explains what happened in the past two days, but things like how he got in touch with Daikokuten's divine consciousness and what kind of consensus he reached with that wisp of divine consciousness are omitted.

As for Mary's inheritance of Daikokuten's inheritance, it doesn't hurt to tell Tsurumi Aoi.

Next, Kamiyagawa has to go to Yoshikoji Temple to persuade Tsurumi Shinchi to worship Mary, and sooner or later the people of the Tsurumi family will find out about this matter.

Tsurumi Aoi's brain was racing, but she still couldn't process the information her teacher had told her.

Kamiya-sensei said that his subordinate Miss Mary inherited the legacy of the gods?

In that case, is she still considered an Aragami?

Or has it been transformed in the direction of the gods?

Kamiya-sensei, can you drive the gods?

This kind of appalling thing seems impractical to anyone.

But only here in the Kamiya River......

He is recognized by everyone and deserves to be the ceiling combat power of the soul exterminator. After only two years of appearing in the soul removal industry, he stood in a position beyond everyone's reach.

He has the ability to communicate with ghosts and gods, and his skills are also derived from an unknown and powerful mysterious ghost.

If it were him, maybe he could really do it?

Tsurumi Aoi, who was sitting in the seat of the ghost car, was in a state of subversion of the three views, and was shocked to the point that it was difficult to recover, and at this time, he heard Kamiyagawa next to him add: "Tsurumi, because you are my apprentice, I am telling you these things, but I still hope that you will not reveal it to others." ”

In fact, for Kamiyagawa, what he told Tsurumi at the moment is not too much of a secret.

The countermeasures room knows that the ghost god disciples drive a group of Aragami disciples.

If there really was one of his Shikigami who broke through the shackles of the Aragami and ascended to a higher level......

After a large-scale shock, the industry will probably choose to accept it.

What can you do if you don't accept it?

After all, the ghost and god disciples have performed too many miracles.

Even, a small number of people in the countermeasure room have a certain amount of psychological preparation for this kind of thing to happen, such as Yusei Kenyu, who has been endorsing Kamiyagawa.

Therefore, Tsurumi emphasized that this was a secret, more like a test and test of Kamiyagawa's obedience and loyalty to the little apprentice.

Sharing secrets with others is one of the best ways to bring people closer together.

When the listener learns some of the secrets of the confidant, especially when he knows that he has never mentioned these things to anyone, the listener will feel special and the intimacy with the talker will immediately rise.

This is the "self-confession".

Of course, for this to happen, the listener himself must be a reliable person.

Like a fawn, don't look at her usual delicate and jumpy, but she knows almost everything about the master, and she is tight-lipped about others.

After that, if Tsurumi Aoi can keep this secret to others, it means that her temperament is reliable, and you can try to raise her to be a loyal "family member" like Xiaolu, and then invest more trust.

"Ahh

Tsurumi Aoi put her legs together, her body trembling slightly, and she tried to calm down with the breath of Ah Yan, who had just mastered the fur, and her chest rose and fell rhythmically slightly.

The girl was at Kamiya's house just now, and she was still worried that she would be abandoned.

But now I feel the importance that Kamiyagawa attaches to him.

This sense of importance is more important to her than the secret itself.

She looked up, and her originally gloomy eyes became as wet as a stray dog that had just been picked up: "Teacher, I won't talk to anyone else." ”

"Hmm."

Faced with the girl's promise, Kamiyagawa nodded easily.

At this time, he suddenly realized that he seemed to use the same set of strange talk on the little apprentice.

And just as effective.

Should I say that I am proficient in human nature, or should I be damned......

But anyway, since Tsurumi Aoi has become her own disciple, it is still very important whether she is loyal or not.

As long as Tsurumi is reliable enough, then whether it is because he was able to obtain the Daikokutenjin bone so smoothly thanks to Tsurumi, or out of a promise to the red ghost teacher, Kamiyagawa will do his best to train and take care of the little apprentice.

……

After talking to Kamiyagawa, Tsurumi Aoi didn't talk much along the way.

She probably had to digest the information she had just gotten.

The ghost car soon arrived near Kaiwei, where the Jiguang Temple was located.

The temple that the Tsurumi family has been running for generations is an ancient temple that looks very old, and it bears some resemblance to its corresponding temple in Changsei, but the modern process of urbanization and the changes of time have had little impact on the area.

After getting out of the ghost car, Kamiya and Tsurumi enter the gate of the temple.

The garden design of Yoshikoji Temple is a dry landscape typical of Zen Buddhism.

Finely raked white sand spreads throughout the courtyard, and classic and unchanged dry landscape elements such as stone formations, stone lanterns, evergreen trees, and moss can be seen dotted everywhere.

The trees, rocks, sky, and earth are all decorated with a few brushstrokes, without any bright vegetation or decoration. White sand, green moss, brown stone, the color of the shade can be found in harmony with the other. For example, the fineness of the sand and the roughness of the main stone, the softness of the plant and the hardness of the stone.

In the eyes of practitioners, these monotonous and silent landscapes are the epitome of oceans, mountains, islands, and waterfalls.

Walking in it, you can really feel the quiet Zen.

I don't know if it's because I grew up under the influence of such an environment and culture since I was a child, and Tsurumi Aoi's personality is like a dry landscape, always restrained and quiet.

It is completely different from the lively and noisy, and every move exudes the youthful vitality of a girl.

Of course, the influence of the living environment is only one aspect, and Kamiya feels that the little apprentice Tsurumi Aoi will have such a gloomy personality now, which probably has something to do with her own upbringing.

After entering Yoshikoji Temple, Tsurumi contacted his father again and said to Kamiya with a slight apology, "Teacher, it will take about half an hour for my father to come back." ”

"It's okay, I can wait."

Before coming to visit, Kamiyagawa also contacted Tsurumi Chinobu.

However, Mr. Tsurumi was booked for a ceremony today, and it is estimated that he will not be able to return to the temple until about 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

Kamiya is not in a hurry.

Since Tsurumi has not yet returned, Tsurumi Aoi, who is the eldest lady of the temple, took her master to visit around to pass the time.

They went to the main hall first.

The six-armed Daikokuten, which the Tsurumi family has served for generations, is enshrined here.

The little apprentice skillfully incensed the idol, and stood in front of the idol as usual and patted his hands three times.

Kamiyagawa did the same.

The god bones of Daikokuten have been absorbed by Mary, and the influence of this god on Izumo's eternal life should no longer exist at all. But Kamiyagawa has received great help from others, and even if the owner of this place has "existed in name only", he must be treated with at least respect as a guest who comes to visit.

After that, Kamiya followed Tsurumi Aoi to the cemetery.

The cemetery of Jiguang Temple, at the foot of the mountain not far from the temple, is quite large, and the tombstones are stacked on top of each other.

The two stopped in front of one of the inconspicuous tombstones.

Kamiya looked at the name on the tombstone: Tsurumi Sakurako.

Tsurumi Aoi: "This is my mother. ”

The area around Tsurumi's tombstone is very clean, and someone should have cleaned it regularly.

After lighting a stick of incense sticks for her mother, Tsurumi Aoi sat down on the side of the tombstone.

The atmosphere was always sullen and not good, and Kamiya began to find a topic with the little apprentice: "What kind of person is your mother?" ”

"Mom, she's very strict."

The girl sitting on the edge of the tombstone seems to have finally relaxed a little:

"In the past, everything in the temple was controlled by my mother. When I was a child, my mother always disciplined me and told me to follow the rules of the temple. Can't talk loudly at home, can't eat food with a pungent taste at home......"

"When I was a child, I would wonder why my mother was always so gentle with other people, but she was fierce with me."

"I remember when I was still in elementary school, I once bought a curry rice on my way home from school, probably out of rebellion. Well, food that pungent the taste. ”

"Of course my mother was angry when she saw it. When she said to teach me, I cried and cried and asked her, why can't you eat the food of her hometown in front of the gods, even though Daikokuten is a god from India. ”

Kamiya listened quietly to Tsurumi's narration and did not interject.

Should I say it or not, the little apprentice still had a sense of humor when he was still Lori......

"I still remember my mother's expression." Tsurumi Aoi's gloomy eyebrows widened a little, but soon frowned slightly, "Mom is always very strict with the little things in life, but there is only one thing, even if I can't do it well, she won't blame me, that is...... Learn the magic of the house. ”

"Mom probably saw that I didn't have that talent. She told me that there was still a lot of time to go, so I could take my time. ”

"Later...... Mom is gone. So in fact, there is not so much time. ”

"The blessing was originally on my mother, but then it came to mine."

"But I'm not a qualified recipient, and I won't be able to learn any of the techniques at home no matter how hard I try, and my mother will probably be disappointed in me. After my mother was gone, my father had a very hard time, but I couldn't share the family affairs. ”

"My mom never said it, but I knew she wanted me to be a decent soul slayer. The people of the Tsurumi family should be good soul slayers, but I can't do it. Even in the face of weak strange talk, they are helpless, and can only wait for the protection of blessings. ”

"Even ...... Last night, when I didn't feel the power of blessing, I was so scared that I didn't know what to do, and I was so scared that I shrunk into a ball. ”

"I hate how cowardly I look now."

Probably because he heard the secret from Kamiyagawa, Tsurumi felt that he should also tell Kamiyagawa something that he rarely told others.

It's rare for her to say so much.

The rewarding nature of self-confession.

"Tsurumi." Kamiyagawa finally spoke, "I can't comfort you by saying that sooner or later you will become proficient in the matter of magic. One thing is for sure, you're very talented in kendo. I don't know what your mother's expectations are for you, but you can definitely do it to be a good soul slayer. ”

"But if you're just practicing kendo......"

"It's not just about practicing kendo, haven't you already learned the breath of Aya? Trust me a little more, Tsurumi. Not to mention that the power of blessing will return to you sooner or later, even if you don't have that power, you are the apprentice of the ghost and god disciples. ”

Tsurumi Aoi looked at Kamiyagawa without speaking, her hair being blown up by the breeze and fluttering gently.

The cemetery was silent, only the incense sticks in front of the tombstones were shining, and the smoke that diffused rose zigzagly.

……

After worshipping Tsurumi Aoi's mother, Kamiya's master and apprentice left the cemetery, and Shinchi Tsurumi, the presiding officer of Yoshikoji Temple, also returned.

The three of them exchanged pleasantries for a while and then went to the reception room of the monastery.

In the room, Kamiya and Mr. Tsurumi sat down across the wooden coffee table in the host and guest seats, respectively.

The last to enter the door was Tsurumi Aoi, who closed the door, walked to the edge of the Kamiya River, knelt down, and sat down face to face with her father.

"Uh......"

The corners of Tsurumi Shinchi's eyes twitched twice invisibly.

Why did the daughter sit across from her so naturally? (End of chapter)