"The ancestor returned to Asahinai in his later years to tell the truth to others, but it was too late. The people of Asahina Town are terminally ill, fanatically obsessed with and chasing the apparition of the mountain goddess, and every three years a goddess festival is held as a tribute to the lives of innocent maidens.

Despite their efforts to put an end to this, the Patriarch was met with verbal abuse, hostility, and even violent beatings from the townspeople.

Gradually, our family became what they called freaks who offended the goddess, and almost no one wanted to associate with us. Over the years, the mayor's family has also harmed many innocent girls, but there is definitely nothing I can do anymore. If it's you......"

Mrs. Yoshino pretended to be casual and took out a hand-drawn map of the shrine from a photo album and placed it on the table.

The map is intimately marked with the names of each exit and each area of the shrine for easy identification.

"The festival will be held the night after tomorrow, and this year, the girl who was sacrificed as a sacrifice was locked up in the secret room of the shrine, which is usually guarded by only two witches, both of whom are very good at drinking, and the amount of alcohol is not particularly good. I'll take advantage of the coffin inspection and ask them for two more drinks, young man, I know there's no point in doing that, but ...... I always want to do something. ”

"You ...... from the start"

Riki understood everything from Lady Yoshino's eyes.

The old man made a silent gesture to her.

What she didn't do was not because she couldn't do it, but because she had long been lost in the wave of her absolute self and lost her qualifications as a human being and a witch. I'm tired, so I'll stop here today. ”

It was already three o'clock in the afternoon, and there were 57 hours left.

The trip to the grocery store was very fruitful, and by the way, even the cause and effect of the priestess sacrifice and the two cases of the disappearance of weak witches that year were clarified. It will certainly be difficult to find the body, and Sasama is one of the most difficult areas in the world to conquer, and the Metropolitan Police Department will probably give up the search and at most publish some news to inform the public of the truth about the disappearance.

The search for the police is an afterthought, and everything has to wait for the two of them to leave the area to have a chance. Beyond the remaining 57 hours, everyone will be part of the strange conversation, which is certainly not cost-effective.

"Thank you for your hospitality. Also, it's really ...... to reveal so many important clues to us I don't know how to reciprocate. ”

Mrs. Yoshino did not reply, only smiled meaningfully. Mizuki and Tsuki bow to her goodbye and prepare to return to the Onsenauzu Onsen for an intermission.

On the way back, Riji had something else to worry about.

"Miss Tsuki, what is the final outcome of the samurai witch who betrayed Asahina Town, the false mountain goddess? I didn't study ancient Japanese history very well. ”

"She's dead."

"How did you die?"

"This person is not very famous, but there is a record in the "Warring States Witch Record". Hasegawa's life was only a few short years, and it was like a flash in the pan. Perhaps due to karma, her two daughters died one after another, and her wife also died at the hands of the enemy witch in the ensuing battle. Then there was herself, who died at the hands of the daimyo witch Akechi Mitsuhide on the day of the Honnoji Rebellion in June 1582, ending her short life. ”

"It's not bad that it ended like this. That guy is not a downright bad person, but he has deceived the people of the town for so many years, and he didn't give them an explanation until he died. ”

"I agree with that."

Wrapping up a phase of their investigation, the two bask in the mild afternoon breeze and enjoy the brief silence of the storm. Regardless of the fact that there is a regional bizarre, Asahina's unique mountain scenery deserves to be praised in beautiful terms.

A pure place away from the hustle and bustle of the world, there are no concrete forests that are common in Tokyo and Osaka, towering skyscrapers, no huge floating islands floating on top, no airports and air rails, and it has always maintained its original appearance.

The calm surface of the river reflects the unchanging scenery of Asahina, and a hot breeze blows through it, causing the wide natural mirror to shake slightly, and paint with layers of psychedelic golden ripples.

The ripples push the golden leaves and let them drift into the distance with the waves. The red wheel of the sun hangs high in the sky, diligently sprinkling scorching heat.

All good is built on falsehood, and it is difficult to distinguish between fiction and reality.

This situation and this scene made Ruiji can't help but feel a little sad about things that are unique to the Japanese.

Neither the townspeople of Asahina nor the witch who deceived them made it to the end with a smile. Everything arises because of the sacrifice of the goddess and perishes because of the sacrifice of the goddess.

Her spirit fell into a trance, and her thoughts turned into fluttering kites, soaring into the sky, until the moon made a sound in her ears that sounded like a demon's whisper, and she woke up like a dream.

"Ah...... What's wrong? ”

"Miss Sakuma, don't be in a daze just yet. You still have a lot to do and can't rest yet. ”

The action is scheduled for the night after tomorrow, and dozens of hours today and tomorrow are equivalent to free movement time without any restrictions.

All the clues that need to be collected are complete, and there are only a few final steps left before the final breakthrough. The short period of calm before the decisive battle is a good time to prepare for a rainy day.

A lot of things can be done in dozens of hours, and the month has already had a clear set of plans.

The first is the broom. The brooms they brought from the real world all failed without exception in the regional weirdness. Yue checked the mana charge module and flight drive module inside the broomstick, and the two most important modules were in good condition, and the rest of the parts and mana circuits were not faulty.

As for Rygi's broom, unfortunately, it was really damaged.

The most fundamental reason is the model. The antique flying broom that has almost been eliminated from the world, the parts are seriously worn out in the process of long-term use, and the two most critical modules are already the products of the eighties and nineties of the last century, and it is very difficult to repair, even more difficult than reassembling a new model.

Comparing it with the latest broomsticks, it is equivalent to a slide phone and a smartphone, and the user experience is immediately superior.

"Are you nostalgic? People who like the 2000 model are at least forty or fifty years old, and unless they really like it, no young witch will use it. ”

"I have a disease called poverty. I was reluctant to buy a new broom until I was cured. ”

Ruiji has seen the 2023 model of the Ginza broom shop, and the most common one costs 250,000 yen. She and her sister Jingliu use the old models left by their mother, unless they are so rotten that they can no longer be used, they have always been repaired and repaired, and they will be used for a few more years.

"Bad news for you, your broom is completely scrapped."

Yue removed the broom head, and inside was a square chip that was charred black and the panel had melted.