Kousuke, upon arriving at the location of the barrier fluctuation, first checked to see if a “path” through which the divine tool had passed remained.
If the divine tool had truly come to this place, there should be some information left in the barrier, no matter how skillfully the traces were hidden. Kousuke, who had played a part in creating the barrier in this area, was well aware of such matters. Furthermore, with Yutta, who originally set up the barrier, cooperating, any inconsistencies should be discoverable.
Kousuke searched the surroundings while thinking this, but to his surprise, he easily found what appeared to be traces of the divine tool’s passage. He knew they were traces of the divine tool simply because a “path” through which it had traveled from Asura’s divine realm remained.
However, upon finding the “path,” Kousuke’s expression turned grim.
“Your face has become rather strange. Did something displease you?” Shurein said, looking at Kousuke’s face as if he had seen something amusing. Kousuke’s complex expression must have struck Shurein. Without looking at Shurein, Kousuke’s gaze darted around, following the “path.” Watching Kousuke, Silvia tilted her head.
“Is there… something he’s dissatisfied with?”
“Yeah. Well, it’s not so much dissatisfaction as it is the fact that even though the barrier was so meticulously repaired, they deliberately left behind something that would serve as evidence.”
“Deliberately?” Silvia asked, honing in on Kousuke’s choice of words.
“Since they repaired the barrier as they passed through it, but didn’t erase the path they took at the same time, I think it’s safe to say it was deliberate.”
“Is that ‘path’ something that can be easily erased?”
“It’s not easy, but with the ability to repair this barrier so cleanly, it’s something they could ordinarily do,” Kousuke replied. Shurein and Silvia exchanged glances and murmured, “Hmm.” Indeed, as Kousuke said, given the current situation, it wasn’t unreasonable to consider it a deliberate act.
Meanwhile, Silvia had a different thought. “Is there any reason for the divine tool to do such a thing in the first place?”
“That’s what I’m wondering too.” Kousuke’s expression became similar to before, as he, too, was bothered by what Silvia pointed out. According to the letter left in the warehouse of Asura’s Mansion, if they truly didn’t want something found, they should have erased the traces of the path they took. This was especially true if they possessed the ability to do so. Of course, Kousuke considered the possibility that his judgment was mistaken and they lacked such ability, but given how flawlessly the barrier had been repaired, he believed that wasn’t the case.
The group pondered for a while, but eventually, Kousuke shook his head. “…It’s no use thinking about it endlessly here. For now, let’s consider it a good thing that we’ve confirmed the divine tool definitely came here.”
“Indeed.”
“Yes,” Shurein and Silvia nodded at Kousuke’s forward-looking statement. This was undeniably a step forward from having no clues at all. Moreover, Kousuke and the others could do something at this very moment.
To enact his plan, Kousuke turned his gaze to Kouhi. “Could you bring out the Water Mirror, please?”
“Yes.” Kouhi nodded obediently at Kousuke’s request, but Shurein and Silvia tilted their heads.
“Mr. Kousuke, what are you going to do with the Water Mirror?”
“What do I mean? Of course, I’m going to have Silvia use it?”
“Eh!?” Silvia, who had never expected to be asked, widened her eyes in surprise. While Silvia could handle the Water Mirror as a shrine maiden, she hadn’t imagined she’d be using it as a divine tool.
What happened at Mikusen’s Temple was merely a demonstration of its ordinary use; she wasn’t sure if it could be properly used as a divine tool. Sensing Silvia’s anxiety, Kousuke smiled reassuringly. “Silvia, you’ll be fine. Besides, considering what happened during the disturbance, it doesn’t seem like it will go berserk unless you handle it extremely poorly.” The Water Mirror divine tool didn’t exhibit strange behavior as long as it wasn’t misused. From that perspective, perhaps she was overly cautious about it being a divine tool, though this didn’t apply to all divine tools. However, Kousuke believed that for the Water Mirror divine tool, there would be no problem as long as Silvia handled it normally. As Kouhi had just taken it out of her Item Box, it hadn’t shown any signs of rampage even when stored away. Most importantly, among those present, only Silvia, the shrine maiden, knew the correct way to handle the Water Mirror.
While Kousuke repeatedly assured her, “It’s okay, it’s okay,” Silvia began preparing to use the Water Mirror. Although they were in the forest, Kouhi quickly prepared a table for the task. Ordinarily, purified holy water would be used for the Water Mirror, but since there was none, they substituted it with sacred water that had been kept for some purpose. In fact, sacred water was clearly more valuable than holy water, making the latter more suitable for the Water Mirror. Indeed, as Silvia added the sacred water according to the procedure, the Water Mirror accepted it as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Then, with all preparations complete, Silvia asked Kousuke, “So, what should I do with the Water Mirror?” Essentially, shrine maidens and priests use the Water Mirror to perform past-sight or remote-sight by borrowing divine power. Naturally, this was completely different from the fortune-telling Dana had performed. The power used was entirely different – one borrowed from divine power versus one using one’s own. While the Water Mirror could do other things, Kousuke’s immediate request to Silvia was for past-sight.
“For now, could you perform past-sight to see if the divine tool really came to this place?”
“…I’ll try. However, since the target is a divine tool, there’s a possibility it might not appear accurately.”
“That’s likely true. For now, if we can get any clues, that would be good.”
“Understood.” Replying to Kousuke, Silvia took a deep breath and reached out to the Water Mirror.
Past-sight using the Water Mirror involves using divine power. Therefore, which god’s power to borrow is an important consideration, but Silvia did not hesitate and chose one god. That god was, of course, Kousuke. Since Kousuke was what Silvia was searching for, and more importantly, the divine tool had come to this world based on Kousuke’s power, he was the most suitable choice. Additionally, the fact that Silvia herself was Kousuke’s shrine maiden was also significant. Past-sight performed by borrowing the power of the god one worships generally has the highest success rate.
While Silvia was performing past-sight, Kousuke and the others maintained a perimeter of caution. Although it was a forest protected by the World Tree, monsters did not completely refrain from appearing. In fact, they appeared more frequently than in other forests. Therefore, it was necessary to protect the defenseless Silvia. Kousuke and the others’ vigilance would continue until Silvia’s past-sight was complete.
It seems Kousuke is contemplating something.
And now, the Water Mirror makes its appearance!
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this is why it was brought here in the previous chapter! lol
