Chapter 19: The Heavenly Feather of the Amano-In
Rainy night.
The streets are quite desolate.
Nagi, dressed in a red and white shrine maiden outfit, approaches the Amano-In residence from mid-air.
She silently lands on the roof.
Looking at this mansion with a courtyard, Nagi can’t help but sigh, “Truly worthy of the Amano-In.”
However, the mansion appears somewhat old.
It seems it was built a long time ago, only recently having someone move back in.
“One must not let the existence of extraordinary powers be made public.”
This is common knowledge.
So Nagi does not plan to contact Amano directly.
The person who should really be speaking with Amano has just arrived at the front gate.
……
……
“Dad, Mom…”
Amano, still not fully awake, stretches out her hand.
But all she can touch is a stack of cold paper.
Heavy rain pours outside the window.
The sound of raindrops hitting the window awakens her from her dream.
The spacious room is not lit.
This morning, Amano had already contacted Makki and arranged to meet him at her home tonight.
To ensure the confidentiality of their conversation.
She has already sent away the household staff.
The glow of the computer screen illuminates her lonely figure.
Amano’s purple eyes gradually awaken, tinted with a faint reddish hue, turning into a seductive purplish-red.
What lingers in her mind are the recent beautiful dreams and memories of playing and frolicking with her parents as a child.
But at this moment, reflected clearly in her eyes, are only the computer in front of her and the cold papers.
Amano silently withdraws her outstretched hand and begins to massage her aching temples.
Her purpose for coming here is straightforward.
She simply wants to uncover the reason for her father’s strange behavior—
No, she’s lying to herself.
Amano covers her eyes with both hands, as if to hide her fracturing heart.
What she truly desires is for her father to look at her again.
Whether it’s about suddenly transferring to Kawano City or going to great lengths to investigate what concerns her father—
It’s all to attract her father’s attention.
She desperately wants proof.
Proof that she still holds a place in her father’s heart.
So, she continues to delve into what her father cares about, even if it puts her in danger.
As long as her father can look at her once more…
The ringing doorbell snaps Amano’s thoughts back to reality.
After confirming the visitor’s identity, she remotely opens the gate in the courtyard.
She tidies her appearance and personally goes to the front door to greet him.
Makki Ichiro.
He is someone Amano overlooked.
He is a teacher at Hoshikage Middle School.
He is also a consultant for the Special Research Division.
In theory, during the investigation of the Special Research Division, it is impossible to overlook such a person.
So, after Amano obtained his contact information from Kanade last night and tried to investigate his identity,
She was somewhat surprised.
His profile was quite “perfect.”
Perfect enough to make one eliminate him from the list of suspects at first glance.
This reminded Amano of the data on “Special Environment Management Association” (SEMA).
Amano opens one side of the heavy double door of her home.
What comes into view is Makki, dressed in a suit.
In his early thirties, he has a friendly and earnest face, making him exceedingly unremarkable.
If placed in a crowd, one could easily lose track of him in the blink of an eye.
This was Amano’s first impression of Makki.
“Sorry to disturb you so late, Amano-san.”
“Not at all, thank you for coming out in this weather, Teacher Makki.”
Makki puts down the umbrella in his hand, revealing a harmless smile.
Communication is his strong suit.
When he learned about this from Kanade, he couldn’t help but praise the young man for making the right judgment.
“Let’s discuss inside; I’ll make you a pot of hot tea, Teacher Makki.”
“No need to be overly polite; I’ll just intrude then.”
Makki follows Amano as they walk through the spacious mansion.
Along the way, they do not encounter anyone else, making it feel particularly empty.
Moreover, the fact that Amano, as the young lady, personally came to greet him adds to this impression.
Makki can roughly guess what the young girl is thinking, and cannot help but smile wryly.
“White Spirit”, “God Spirit”, “Special Environment Management Association”…
At first glance, these terms do seem related to the previous extraordinary disasters.
But is this really just a coincidence, or is this girl overthinking?
She dismissed everyone, likely out of fear of them getting involved, Makki thinks.
The two take a seat in the parlor, and after some pleasantries, Amano gets straight to the point.
“May I ask, Teacher Makki, do you know about ‘White Spirit’?”
“Of course, it is the deity worshipped at the White Spirit Shrine in Kawano City.”
“….. No, that’s not what I’m asking.” Amano shakes her head. “What I want to know is about the White Spirit related to Special Environment Management Association (SEME)…”
“I didn’t expect Amano-san to know so much. The White Spirit Shrine was indeed renovated with funding from the Special Environment Management Association.”
Makki wears a smile, responding fluently.
And he hasn’t told a single lie.
“Perhaps Amano-san has some misunderstandings; please allow me to be rude for a moment.”
Makki adjusts his sitting posture slightly, entering the zone.
“I have heard about your family situation from Tsuki, and I am deeply regretful. I hope I can do my best for you.”
“As for the suggestion that you lean towards ‘supernatural forces at play’…”
“As a teacher, I can only say that such things exist only in works of fiction.”
“That’s impossible. Even now, you still need to hide things from me?” Amano seems agitated by Makki’s statement, abandoning her formalities.
“Please calm down. Actually, regarding the matters that concern you, I specially looked for some materials today; they should help you.”
Makki opens the briefcase he brought and takes out the documents he searched for today.
“I believe this document can answer the questions you have shared with Tsuki.”
……
On the eaves.
Nagi sits there quietly listening to their conversation.
Even though the sound of raindrops outside is noisy.
The breeze can still carry their words into her ears.
However, conversely,
She can only use her magic to hold down the watch in Makki’s hand.
There isn’t much useful information in their conversation.
It primarily revolves around Amano suspecting the existence of the supernatural, to which Makki provides answers one by one.
If one simply groups together “White Spirit”, “God Spirit”, and “Special Environment Management Association”,
It is indeed easy for those in the know to associate it with the pseudo-deity White Spirit incident.
But Makki also provided a reasonable explanation.
The White Spirit was intentionally created by SEME at that time.
So on the surface, the renovation of the White Spirit Shrine was funded by them.
And the contractor for this project was the “Amano” group.
The time and place match perfectly.
The reason why Amano was able to find these terms in her father’s room is that her father originally planned for her to move to Kawano City, though it ultimately did not come to fruition.
Makki’s explanations fit everything well.
Even Nagi had to marvel at the materials and eloquence this guy prepared.
He sharply grasped Amano’s fragile heart.
He knows that Amano is investigating all this for a reason.
Amano Amano.
Just a little girl yearning for a father’s love.
She desperately wants to prove that it is due to “supernatural factors” that her father no longer cares for her.
Which also proves that, deep down, she does not truly believe in the existence of the supernatural.
So Makki capitalizes on this point and guides her.
For every question she has in her heart, he provides reasonable scientific explanations.
Familiar with the procedures of SEME, Nagi realizes.
SEME has likely begun investigating the Amano family.
These excuses are meant to deceive ordinary people, and they do not believe in any coincidences.
However, conversely, this action—
Also attracted the attention of hunters who caught wind of the situation.
They are always monitoring the movements of SEME.
The moment they learned about SEME’s actions, they planned to visit the Amano residence at night.
They intend to find more clues from this young girl.
That was the deliberately hidden multitude of footsteps amidst the sound of rain.
However, even in that moment, Nagi had already sensed their presence.
The hunters are drawing closer.
