LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 43
“Festival, huh?”
“That’s right. Since you said you love to have fun, isn’t a festival just perfect?”
Jinseong asked with a wink.
“…I’m not against it. But this seems a bit serious…?”
Rise glanced at Jinseong as if to check his mood.
She seemed worried she’d be a burden to him.
The word ‘festival’ felt so grand that it was a bit overwhelming.
“You don’t need to feel pressured. If it makes both of us happy, isn’t that better than anything?”
As he said that, Jinseong sneakily glanced at the slime.
The slime was busy pulling out spikes from its body and jamming them densely around the sphere of light, creating a makeshift fence. It was patrolling around, almost like a bodyguard.
Seitani seemed to find this amusing, sitting atop the slime and laughing maniacally, even shoving her hand into her throat to stick out her tongue and slap the slime’s head.
With each slap to its head, the slime would flicker brightly from its core, showing some signs of anger, but Seitani continued to whip her tongue around like a whip, hitting the slime’s head repeatedly.
Brrr!
“Yikes!”
Ultimately, the angry slime summoned its divine power and threw Seitani away.
‘Now he’s got the hang of using divine power.’
It was a grotesque sight, one that had become a norm in this already crazed shrine.
‘Seeing him use it so adeptly, it looks like there’s plenty of capacity to spare.’
Jinseong alternated his gaze between the slime and Rise.
The slime’s core pulsated as if squeezing something out, and the extracted divine power swam around inside the slime before flowing out to connect with Rise.
This linked flow poured divine power into Rise’s body, optimizing her physique to match that of Mukuri Kokuri no Inugami.
Since her growth wasn’t complete yet, this opportunity was possible.
‘Seeing that there’s no growing pains, even if the output increases, it shouldn’t be a problem. And with her spirit being so affected by the Heart Demon, her limits are likely high, so if nurtured properly, she could be quite useful.’
Moreover, there was no risk of betrayal.
The divine power Rise used was supplied by the slime she was connected to, and the slime was entirely under Jinseong’s control. Even if there was a shaman better than Jinseong who could take control, he could always make it self-destruct, easily rendering Rise powerless if he wanted to.
Additionally, Rise’s father was mad and followed Jinseong, and with the Sparganum implanted inside him, his body belonged to Jinseong as well. Should Kenji attempt to betray Jinseong, the Sparganum within him would immediately start severing his cerebral blood vessels.
Even if he tried to remove the Sparganum through brain surgery or special abilities, unless all of his ‘companions’—of which there were already quite a few—removed it simultaneously, retaliation would ensue.
‘Since they are all Water Ghosts or evil spirits, no one would let another escape unscathed.’
Kenji and his companions were all ensnared in the traps they had set themselves.
Unless they all held altruistic hearts, they wouldn’t easily escape.
‘Since we’ve entered a relatively stable zone, it might be a good idea to reach out to other shrines.’
With that thought, Jinseong said to Rise.
“Happiness comes from having leisure. Enjoying and playing during the festival, while considering hobbies, generating byproducts to grow the shrine and enhance divine power. Sounds good, right?”
“Huh? Byproducts…?”
Byproducts.
The very word caused Rise’s face to pale slightly.
It reminded her of her past experiences.
“Think about Mukuri Kokuri no Inugami, and the present. Wouldn’t my going there be liberation for them, a blessing?”
Though rough in approach, the result was favorable.
Thus, what he was doing was a good deed.
It was a ridiculous fallacy.
“…Yes. Understood.”
But Rise accepted it as-is.
What she thought was not important; she believed that since she had sworn to serve Jinseong, she should follow him without question.
To help Jinseong with all her might.
That was her duty, in her mind.
“Then I’ll need to know about the festival. Let’s see… Are there any upcoming festivals?”
But with Jinseong’s subsequent question, she couldn’t help but feel her own lack of knowledge.
“Um, I’m not sure…”
Rise knew nothing about festivals.
Being a shrine daughter set to marry an adopted son, she was fated only to assist quietly, hence had not been educated on any of the important matters. Festivals, which were significant events involving the shrine, were among those she had not learned about.
“It’s alright. Everything has its right time and place. Giving a sniper a sniper rifle or a machine gun to a machine gunner is simply the correct course of action, don’t you think?”
Yet Jinseong was not disappointed in Rise.
Wasn’t it just a matter of asking someone who knew?
He took Rise to Kenji to ask about the festivals.
“Huh? A festival? Of course! I know it well!”
Kenji replied, his eyes sparkling.
“But that Morita guy probably knows even better! I’m only involved in the festivals happening around here, but he’s a famous bodyguard company owner who sends staff during festivals!”
He pointed at Morita, who had fainted from the mental shock after waking up.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but he’s also a supporter of Shiheng Style. Being a famous bodyguard company owner and a supporter of Shiheng Style, he has a ton of Shiheng warriors as his bodyguards, which makes him quite popular! If you wake him, you’ll hear what you want! Hahaha!”
Listening to this, Jinseong grabbed the air and pulled Morita closer, placing his hand on Morita’s head and softly murmuring a small invocation.
“Ugh!”
Morita trembled like he had been shocked.
“W-who are you?”
Jinseong grabbed a clump of Morita’s hair and said.
“You’ll find out shortly.”
Some of the hair in Jinseong’s hand turned to black ash, and a few became wriggling, thin larvae.
* * *
“Ask me anything you want! I will answer everything!”
It didn’t take long for Morita to prostrate himself at Jinseong’s feet.
Perhaps because he worked in a strictly hierarchical profession, Morita instantly recognized Jinseong as a superior and realized he was someone who could offer pleasures never to be tasted again, becoming a loyal dog voluntarily.
Jinseong seemed quite satisfied with this sight.
“Good. Very good. Then I ask you, do you know of any festivals happening nearby soon?”
“Yes! Of course! There’s a festival in Izumi City happening soon!”
“Very good! Now, explain it to me.”
However, Morita, full of enthusiasm to answer anything, hesitated and glanced at Jinseong and Rise.
“Uh… But, um, next Shinto Priest? Are you planning to go with that shaman girl?”
“Indeed.”
Morita pondered for a moment at that statement.
He then looked at Rise, who looked like a pure shrine maiden and appeared to have never even dated a man, her innocent face strikingly pure.
Finally, he seemed to have made a decision and said.
“…I would recommend another festival.”
“Why’s that?”
“Um… the festival there may not be suitable for you two.”
With a small sigh, Morita spoke in a voice only Jinseong could hear.
“The name of the festival there is the Fundoshi Men Festival…”
“Fundoshi Men?”
“Yes. It’s a festival where countless men wearing only fundoshi get tangled up…”
Jinseong nodded at that.
“Suggest another.”
If there was no alternative, it was one thing, but there was no way he’d want to go to such a place with an alternative in hand.
“Umm… if not that, the next quickest one is… Oh! That’s right! There’s a God Welcoming Festival in Minami-Satsuma City! It’s a massive festival that attracts tourists even from abroad!”
“That’s good. When is it?”
“Exactly in 30 days!”
“30 days?”
Jinseong frowned slightly.
“Is there nothing happening sooner?”
“At least among the things I know, it’s either the Fundoshi Men Festival or this one. This area is currently in a festival drought…”
“Hmm.”
That was not unusual at all.
Festivals were events set for specific timings.
They were held after the harvest was completed, blessing the significant catches before fishing season, or wishing for a good harvest before planting crops.
Thus, festivals often clustered around similar times.
“Then how about other regions besides this one?”
“Well, there’s a Matchmaking Festival in Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture! It’s a famous festival where numerous Onmyoji and Shinto priests gather to bless couples! It’s quite well-known, and various broadcasting stations come to cover it when the festival is held!”
“Onmyoji and Shinto priests, huh?”
Jinseong shook his head.
“Tell me about another place.”
“Um… how about the Yuba Festival in Tottori Prefecture? It’s a festival where various yuba dishes are offered to Inari. It’s highly praised by gourmets. Recently, yuba has been recognized as a healthy food, attracting tourists from all over Japan.”
“Yuba Festival. Inari.”
Jinseong smiled at some of the words that caught his ear.
“That sounds good.”