Chapter 175 Mai Shinomiyai has a New Plan
“Ring ring ring—”
Accompanying the melodious bell, the long-haired girl sitting in the last row of the classroom skillfully tidied up the textbooks on her desk. Although the girl’s movements, even when doing such trivial things, appeared extremely elegant, they couldn’t conceal her anxious mood.
Well, in a sense, it was only the second day since Mai Shinomiyai came to Shikoku Gakuin. Mai, who had always been well-bred, wouldn’t say something like wanting to escape due to the boredom of studying.
On the contrary, having made new friends yesterday, she felt that school life was incomparably happier than the boring and tedious shrine maiden training at home.
The things taught in school were also very novel to the girl. Stories of heroes, the use and counteraction of abilities—for the information-deprived Mai Shinomiyai, it was like opening the door to a new world, giving her a more detailed understanding of this world dominated by ability users.
In summary, Mai Shinomiyai, experiencing academy life for the first time, naturally had no objections to studying and living there. The real reason for her eagerness the moment school ended was…
Shinichi Sato was leaving school.
After roughly learning some information about Shinichi Sato through Yū Nakamura and others yesterday, Mai Shinomiyai silently began to formulate a plan in her heart.
Although her initial idea of using her transfer student status to establish a friendship with his girlfriend Kazumi Shimizu had fallen through, it had, in a way, given her a new opportunity.
A gift sent as an apology for being new to the school and not understanding the situation, when prepared with sufficient etiquette, was something most people couldn’t refuse.
Kazumi Shimizu, who looked cold and unapproachable, might be difficult to handle. However, after learning about Shinichi Sato’s personality from Yū Nakamura and the others, Mai Shinomiyai deliberately took advantage of the time when the two of them walked to school together. This guy, who seemed like a “nice guy” on the surface, would definitely accept her gift to maintain that persona.
However, the subsequent development of events did not go as Mai Shinomiyai intended. The amulet she sent, which would slowly burn when encountering undead creatures and provide feedback, did not give her any corresponding message. This meant that the person she suspected seemed to have little connection with the “Underworld.”
At least, that’s how it seemed in the current state.
Of course, such a simple probe was not enough to dispel Mai Shinomiyai’s suspicion of Shinichi Sato. After all, this was the first divine descent of Great God Sangfu, who was enshrined in the shrine, in recent years. Unless it was a matter of faith, ordinary deities would not issue divine revelations so easily.
[I can only say that he is currently disguised as a normal person, or that he is not from the Underworld, but clues related to it can be found on him.]
Mai Shinomiyai’s heart flashed with many conjectures. She slowly put on her backpack and, timing it with the moment the boy and girl left the classroom, followed them from a slight distance.
Divine revelations from gods had always been very mystical and vague. Just like the revelation this time, it was only [a person hiding a great secret]. This was something Mai Shinomiyai had comprehended through her extraordinary spiritual sense.
If it were her uncle, Masatsugu Shinomiyai, he could at most discern the general direction indicated.
However, the more this was the case, the more it gave Mai Shinomiyai a headache. A great secret—what kind of secret was it? Was he a dangerous person directly related to the Underworld, or was he an informant who held information about the Underworld, or did he possess clues to resolve this crisis?
With Mai Shinomiyai’s own spiritual sense, she could only comprehend the divine revelation that flashed by to this extent. She would have to find out the rest herself.
Fortunately, on the very first day of arriving at the new class, relying on her spiritual sense talent, this outstanding psychic girl among the younger generation had identified the person foretold in Great God Sangfu’s divine revelation.
This boy named Shinichi Sato, although on the surface he seemed like an ordinary student in the regular department, at most a little more robust in appearance than other boys.
But in the world-level that the boy was unaware of, the surging spiritual pressure that was completely unlike that of a normal person told Mai Shinomiyai that this person was definitely problematic.
[I carved a special tracking rune into the amulet. This way, I can confirm what kind of small secrets this guy is hiding behind him.]
Mai Shinomiyai walked along the small path home with her small bag, seemingly strolling along. The tall girl was looking at the roadside stalls as she walked, as if wanting to buy something.
But at this moment, Mai Shinomiyai’s thoughts were entirely focused on a young couple not far away. The blond boy was saying something eagerly to the girl, and the thin black-haired girl had an impatient and helpless expression, yet she listened attentively and responded to the boy, as if this was the unique way this student couple interacted.
[And should I pay attention to Kazumi Shimizu? Although the amulet I gave her didn’t seem to provide any feedback, her spiritual observation made her seem very strange…]
Seeing the boy and girl ahead who seemed to have spotted a small stall and were buying something, Mai Shinomiyai casually stopped at a shop, ordered a skewer of grilled sausage, but the eyes materialized by her spiritual power above her head were constantly looking at the two in front of her.
When she was rejected in her attempt to make friends, Mai Shinomiyai seemed to feel a momentary sting, but it quickly returned to normal. Coupled with the girl’s extremely indifferent expression and the rumors about her personality in class, it made Mai Shinomiyai suspect for a moment whether this cold girl was actually an undead being.
Of course, all of this was just the girl’s wild thoughts. After all, under her unmistakable spiritual eye, everything would reveal its true form. And this thin and cold girl, like other ordinary people, had no spiritual fluctuations.
As for the other possibility of having no spiritual fluctuations, it was automatically overlooked by Mai Shinomiyai. What a joke! Her extremely high spiritual sense could even glimpse the radiance of Great God Sangfu. How could it be that she couldn’t see it because of too high a rank?
[Besides, she’s probably just not good at communicating with people she’s not familiar with, which is why she acts like that…]
Looking at the girl in the distance, blushing as she handed her half-bitten food to the boy beside her, even Mai Shinomiyai couldn’t help but show a hint of longing. The grilled sausage she was chewing suddenly didn’t taste as good.
…
“Then, Kazumi, I’ll be going first. See you tonight!”
At the diverging intersection, the blond boy said goodbye to the girl in front of him with considerable force, while also making a gesture of holding a phone, indicating he would contact her tonight.
“…”
The boy’s loud behavior ultimately only earned him a roll of the eyes from the girl. With a look of disdain, she waved her hand, acknowledging his farewell. Kazumi nodded and walked in the direction of her home.
And at a distance from the intersection, Mai Shinomiyai, holding a book and pretending to look at it, inexplicably curved her lips into a smile. She gently returned the magazine to the stall and walked into the alley beside it.
A pale yellow talisman slipped from the girl’s sleeve, transforming into clusters of blue energy that enveloped her. As the girl’s figure gradually disappeared into the alley, her previously tall and beautiful figure completely vanished into the air at that moment.
