Unsurprisingly, the question was asked again, and this time Imhotep beat her to the answer.
"Oh... it's Yuu's house." The old woman rubbed the rim of her teacup, staring into Mori Tsukisa's eyes. There was nothing in those pitch-black pupils: "If you buy the shrine, what will you use it for?"
Use?
To live in, of course?
Miyamizu Hitoha slowly picked up an oil-paper package tied with a black cord from the corner of the table, clattering the pastries inside onto a porcelain plate and pushing it toward the people in front of her. Busy with her hands, she said: "It seems you just took a liking to the good location."
"To be honest, many developers have already come to ask me."
Mori Tsukisa wasn't polite; she took two pieces, bit half of one herself, and stuffed the other into Nagini's mouth.
"I don't want to sell to them at all." Under the thick floral glasses, a flash of childlike cunning flickered in Miyamizu Hitoha's eyes: "If it continues to be used as a shrine, this old woman can barely agree."
Mori Tsukisa nodded as if realizing something, understanding this feeling well—a sharp blade should be given to someone skilled at using it. And a shrine passed down through generations, finally being leveled to build skyscrapers... "I understand you, Grandma Miyamizu." The girl put down the pastry and bowed slightly: "Well then, we're going to eat something delicious, goodbye!"
Miyamizu Hitoha:... Imhotep:... Why don't you follow the script...?
"Otherwise?" Mori Tsukisa's confused little eyebrows furrowed into a bunch: "Didn't she say she wouldn't sell..."
Imhotep coughed twice and shifted his seat toward Mori Tsukisa, speaking to the increasingly kindly-looking old woman on behalf of his Witch: "If it's as you say, the shrine's name can no longer be 'Miyamizu'."
"I understand." The old woman finally realized Mori Tsukisa's unreliability and looked at Imhotep: "No matter how you renovate it, its 'use' must be as a shrine."
Imhotep simply turned and said plainly to Mori Tsukisa: "Master, the shrine is just a title. Whether anyone comes to the door—" The man glanced at Miyamizu Hitoha: "—that is not for us to decide."
The old woman remained silent.
"That's it. A shrine can only be a shrine."
Speaking of which, most shrines in Japan are privately owned and allowed to be bought and sold, but few families are willing to sell—things passed down through generations. Mori Tsukisa didn't understand what this old woman was thinking either.
She didn't care anyway: "I'll leave it all to you, Imhotep."
"Please rest assured."
The sisters Miyamizu Mitsuha and Yotsuha looked strangely at Imhotep: In this era, people still call others 'Master'?
—And this was after Imhotep had omitted 'Witch' from the front.
"By the way, Miss Mori Tsukisa is staying at Yuu's house..." Miyamizu Hitoha suddenly changed the subject.
It's not easy for that Child.
She should have had a happy family, but unfortunately... since high school, the girl has been working part-time. Besides saving for university tuition, she has to take care of her somewhat senile grandmother.
"Miss Yuu is a very good person." Although Mori Tsukisa was also puzzled; she hadn't seen anyone else yesterday—nor had she heard the shopkeeper lady mention her family.
Except for that crazy grandmother.
Miyamizu Hitoha nodded: "I don't have any intentions of asking an exorbitant price for the shrine, but Miss Mori Tsukisa, could you do me a favor?"
The girl took a teardrop-shaped blueberry lollipop with a gold-stamped pattern from her bag and stuffed it into her mouth.
"That old woman and I have never gotten along. If possible, please help solve that Child's problem?"
"Problem...?" Mori Tsukisa said with her cheeks puffed: "I didn't notice Miss Yuu having any problems?"
Miyamizu Hitoha put down her teacup and waved, letting her granddaughters see the guests out.
"Maybe you'll find out, Miss Mori Tsukisa."
... "There's something wrong with that shrine owner," Arrietty asked sensitively on the way back, "What did Her Majesty'see'?"
"A human with an extraordinary bloodline," Mori Tsukisa replied casually. "An ordinary person."
"Wow, the Miko is appearing again."
The girl pointed not far away—
The old woman wearing a headscarf held a tattered gohei, still in that same outfit, standing cautiously in front of the door; only the color of the cord on her wrist had changed today.
Seeing Mori Tsukisa return, she widened her eyes and shouted: "Evil spirits begone! Evil spirits begone! Ptooey ptooey ptooey! Begone, begone!"
Here she goes again.
Yuu kept bowing and apologizing to Mori Tsukisa from the side. The girl couldn't pull her grandmother away and could only hold her, letting the old woman wave her arms wildly in place—the passing townspeople had long since grown accustomed to it.
"You are tourists from out of town, right?"
Mori Tsukisa nodded.
The three young people who spoke—one man and two women—were dressed fashionably and beautifully, seemingly out of place with the surrounding villagers. Compared to the simple style here, their manner of speaking was closer to the youth of the Tokyo area.
"Traveling as a family? Eh, why are you staying at Yuu's house?" The long-haired girl had a face full of disdain. She quietly approached Mori Tsukisa, glancing at Yuu holding her grandmother while whispering: "The old woman in that house has a problem here."
The girl pointed to her head: "Here, it seems she suffered some kind of shock. She's crazy all day long."
"Not tourism, we came to find Miyamizu Hitoha."
Hearing that name, the three of them simultaneously showed even more disdainful expressions.
"Hey, do you want to see the festival? You're too early; it's still a few months away." The Boy speaking had semi-long hair and a leather collar with silver ornaments around his neck. Looking closely, he even had two lines of eyeliner drawn—the wobbly lines showed his technique was not practiced.
"I say, are those two 'Miko' from the Miyamizu family that famous?"
"So disgusting, spitting out rice after chewing it."
Mori Tsukisa didn't understand what they were talking about.
"Kuchikamizake, didn't you come for that?" Speaking of the ritual, the three young people were clearly much more interested: "In public, in public, they pick up a ball of rice and stuff it into their mouths. After chewing it mixed with saliva, they spit it out—"
"How does that Miyamizu Mitsuha endure the shame and do this in front of all the townspeople?"
Mori Tsukisa finally understood. She chuckled: "It's just some heritage; using saliva for fermentation is the wisdom of ancient people—do you really dislike Miko that much? She doesn't seem to have done anything to you, right?"
Finding that Mori Tsukisa seemed to be speaking up for Miyamizu Mitsuha, the leading girl glanced at her and said disdainfully: "This kind of thing should have disappeared long ago. Things obsolete by the times should never appear again."
"Oh, you're so vicious," the girl covered her mouth in surprise, "But, speaking of which, your clothes..."
Mori Tsukisa looked up and down at the proudest girl among the three. Her appearance was the most prominent—and the girl clearly knew it.
"My clothes?" She looked down at herself.
"Hmm... so tacky and old-fashioned." Mori Tsukisa nodded seriously, "Did you... sneak out wearing your mother's old clothes?"
The three:... "You are very pretty, but the clothes don't suit you!" Twirling the end of her hair, the girl stood on her tiptoes, looking at the three with a strange expression: "'Things obsolete by the times should never appear again', right?"
"Miss Old Clothes?"
After the three young people left in a huff until their backs were out of sight, Yuu finally hesitated and stepped over.
"Thank you..."
The girl shook the small bells on her ankles, making a crisp and pleasant sound.
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