“Ah, she left. I wanted to ask for her thoughts on my clothes,” Rachel said regretfully, watching the door Cindy had exited through. It seemed she wanted opinions from outside their circle.
“Cindy also mentioned it, so why don’t we pray to the gods?”
“That’s right. We came for the New Year’s visit after all, so we should make our wishes.”
Rachel agreed with Marie’s suggestion.
“Well then, shall we move to the sanctuary?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s.”
Kent and his companions left the room, walked down the corridor, and headed to the sanctuary.
“Looking again, I just realized that the prayers are done one by one,” Rachel said, sounding surprised after they had moved to the sanctuary. In front of the statues of the gods, a line had formed, and people were offering their prayers individually. Looking at the crowd, the people who had been listening to their conversation earlier were forming a long queue.
“Is there a problem with doing it one by one?” Marie asked, tilting her head slightly.
“No, if that’s the norm here, then it can’t be helped, but from my and my older brother’s perspective, usually there’s a donation box in front of… oh, there isn’t one here. Anyway, there’s a box to put money in, and if you throw money into it, you can pray anywhere from any spot,” Rachel explained.
“I see. Why is it necessary to put money in?”
“Ah, I need to explain that from the beginning, don’t I?”
Rachel explained the custom of offerings to Marie.
“I understand. So that’s a tradition. Then I should make a generous offering…”
“Marie, they said there isn’t a donation box here.”
“That’s right. That’s right. Listening to your story, Rachel, made me feel like I had to put money in.”
Marie scratched her head, looking embarrassed.
“I will pray for prosperity in business.”
“Then, what should I pray for?”
Marie and Rachel seemed to be contemplating their prayers.
“For now, let’s get in line. If more people come later, we’ll have to wait longer.”
“That’s true.”
“Let’s do that.”
Kent, followed by Rachel and then Marie, decided to join the end of the line.
“Hey, hey, Older Brother,” Rachel said, tugging on Kent’s sleeve after a short while.
“What is it?”
“Um, some people are glowing faintly when they pray, but what is that?”
“Hmm? Glowing? Let me see, you’re right. It glowed. Huh? That person didn’t glow.”
“I can’t see anything, though?”
Hearing Rachel’s words, Kent also observed the people praying at the front of the line. Indeed, some people were faintly glowing. However, Marie seemed unable to see it.
“Ah, it glowed.”
“This person didn’t glow.”
They didn’t know what condition caused the glow, but it was true that about one out of every few people was faintly luminous. Noticing this, Rachel whispered to Marie so she could understand.
Then, as the line moved forward, it was Kent’s turn.
“Please proceed to the front and pray before the goddess. If it is deemed truly necessary, the goddess will surely extend a helping hand to you,” said a female staff member guiding at the front of the goddess statue, speaking to Kent.
(Hmm, I hadn’t thought of anything to pray for. That’s right. If I’m going to pray to the gods, it should be that.)
Kent recalled a scene from a manga he had read long ago.
(Please give me the panties of a young woman!)
Kent blurted out that prayer without thinking.
“Oh, Older Brother! You’re, you’re glowing!” Rachel exclaimed, looking flustered.
“Hyau!”
“Kya!”
Simultaneously, Rachel and Marie let out squeals.
“Fufu, what’s wrong, you two? Huh? What is this warm sensation?”
Kent found himself holding a warm pink and black piece of cloth in each hand.
*Sniff, sniff* “It smells a bit, but it’s an exciting scent.”
Kent sniffed the cloths in his hands. They had a slightly strange smell, but it was an odor that evoked a sense of sexual excitement.
“So, what are these cloths? Uwah, this is…”
Upon examining the cloths, Kent realized they were women’s underpants.
“Oh, Older Brother! Those are the underwear I was wearing!”
“K-Kent, those are probably mine.”
It seemed the pink panties belonged to Rachel, and the black ones to Marie.
“When did you take them? You pervert, Older Brother!”
“That’s right! If you wanted them, you could have just asked. I would have given them to you anytime.”
Rachel, her face flushed with embarrassment, and Marie, also red-faced but with a hint of happiness, spoke their minds.
“Give them back!”
“If Kent desires, you can keep them.”
Rachel snatched her panties back from Kent, but Marie showed no inclination to reclaim hers.
“I’m going to go put my panties back on. Marie, let’s go!”
“Eh? I don’t really mind, though~”
Marie’s panties were taken by Rachel, and she was then pulled away from the sanctuary.
“It seems they’ve gone to put their underwear back on,” Kent muttered to himself, half-jokingly.
“You are a demon,” said a female staff member standing by the goddess statue, her words piercing Kent’s heart.
“I may not be able to recover from such shock.”
The prayer line was at its end with Kent’s group, so no one was offering prayers at that moment. Next to them, an reception was being held for those who wished to speak with Cindy. Those who completed the reception were being sent to a separate room. Kent could only wait for Rachel and Marie to return, enduring the cold gaze of the female staff.
“Seriously, thanks to you, Older Brother, I had to do extra work. It’s not easy to put these back on with this outfit.”
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Kent.”
It seemed the two had returned after successfully changing their underwear.
“Welcome back. But let me say this one thing. I just prayed that I wanted young women’s panties…”
“Praying is enough to be guilty.”
“You could have just asked directly without praying… And ‘young women’ you say… blush.”
Upon hearing Kent’s words, Rachel’s mouth fell open, and she made a “cancel” gesture with both hands. For a moment, Kent felt a sense of danger and looked up, but no buckets of water or basins fell. Marie, on the other hand, looked pleased.
“Huh? Isn’t that Hanako sitting over there?” Rachel’s gaze landed on Hanako, who was sitting at the front row edge, writing something in a notebook.
“Hanako-chan~, what are you doing?”
“Hmm? Work.”
Rachel went over to Hanako and asked. Hanako, uncharacteristically serious, took a moment before looking up in response to Rachel’s question.
“Work, huh? That’s great, great! What kind of work is it?” Rachel asked.
“Hmm, judgment of prayers. Today, I’m doing God’s work, which is unusual.”
“Wow, God, that’s amazing! I’m curious about what kind of work it is! I’m curious!”
“Hmm, I’m free right now. I’m judging whether to grant the wishes of those who come to pray.”
Hearing Rachel’s words, Hanako showed the notebook she had been writing in to Kent and the others.
“This is…”
“Personal information is totally exposed!”
“Kent’s name is at the end.”
The notebook Hanako showed them contained numbers and names, with symbols like ○, △, × next to them, followed by short phrases.
“Hanako-chan, you write such beautiful handwriting,” Rachel said.
“Hmm, flattery won’t get you anything.”
Hanako’s handwriting was so neat it could serve as a model. Rachel praised it, but Hanako replied expressionlessly.
“Let’s see, ‘× I want a cute girlfriend.’ ‘△ I wish my missing cat would be found.’ ‘× I wish for a lot of money to come in.’ It’s written next to the name,” Marie read from the notebook.
“Ah, my Older Brother’s name is here too. Ah, I see. The numbers written are the numbers printed on the free tickets. Let’s see, what is it? ‘○ I want young women’s panties.’ That’s what you prayed for earlier, Older Brother, right? Are you writing down everything you pray for?”
“Hmm, I am writing it down. ○ means granted, △ means pending, × means rejected,” Hanako answered Rachel’s question without hiding anything.
“Hmm, today is a special day. As a special offer, I’m responding to strong wishes.”
“Hanako, can you read people’s minds?”
“Prayers to the gods are prayers to me. If you wish strongly to the gods, sometimes your wishes are granted. I am observing nearby now, so I can understand your wishes clearly.”
It seemed that today, on a whim of the gods, wishes were more likely to be granted.
“In th-that case, I’ll go make a wish too.”
“Me too, me too!”
“Hmm, that’s impossible.”
Hanako stopped Marie and Rachel, who were trying to join in on the wishing.
“Hmm, wishes cannot be granted to those who reveal the secrets.”
“Ehhhh!”
“No way…”
Rachel and Marie looked very disappointed.
“Um…”
As they were talking, a staff member who was handling the reception for Cindy’s talk suddenly spoke to them.
“Yes? Is there something you need?”
“No, it’s about Hanako.”
When Kent asked about the business, the staff member replied. Hearing this, Kent and his companions took a step back.
“This is the list of people who entered earlier.”
“Hmm, thank you.”
The staff member presented a list with the names of everyone who had entered this time. It appeared to cross-reference the names written upon entry with the numbers on the free tickets.
“Hmm, I’ll copy this into my notebook while it’s still here.”
“Am-amazing.”
“Hanako-chan, you’re such a capable girl.”
Hanako copied the list with incredible speed, creating a table. Despite being handwritten, the lines were perfectly straight, as if drawn with a ruler. In a short time, she completed the list for about thirty people.
“We’d be in your way, so we’ll be going,” Kent said.
“Hang in there, Hanako-chan.”
“See you later, Hanako-chan.”
“Hmm, understood.”
Cindy’s talk was about ten minutes long, so it was about time for those who had finished listening to come and offer their prayers. The three thought it would be rude to disturb Hanako’s important work, so they decided to leave.
