When Soya was seven years old, an earthquake originating from the bottom of the sea caused a huge tsunami.
A huge wave swept through the Northeast, killing his parents, and he was the only one who survived.
After the disaster, his relatives had no time to take care of themselves and no one took him in. Finally, he was sent to a local children's welfare home.
In the beginning, when the situation was the most chaotic, the small orphanage was almost full of homeless orphans;
The staff was overwhelmed, and some of the older children had to take on the responsibility of taking care of the younger ones.
Zong Gu, who was only seven years old at the time, naturally belonged to the group being taken care of. The person responsible for taking care of him was a short-haired girl who looked like she was about to enter middle school.
She is petite and rarely talks, no, almost never. Although she has a pure and pleasant face, she is still very inconspicuous among a group of seven or eight-year-old children.
Most of the time, she just stood there quietly.
It is worth mentioning that her handwriting is very good. Even if she uses branches as pens and sand as paper, each stroke is full and powerful:
【Asagiri Suzu】(Asagiri Suzu)
【"What?"】
【"name."】
In the following seven or eight years, the children in the orphanage were either picked up one after another, or left on their own. There were fewer and fewer people left, but there were always Soya and Asagiri Suzu.
Occasionally, different relatives would come to visit Zong Gu, but they never mentioned taking him home;
But no one came to visit Asagiri Suzu. Even in the orphanage, apart from Soya, who was "raised" by herself, the only person who had a close relationship with her was the life teacher Tachibana Tenko.
Soya grew up very quickly, and could not be said to be strong, but his tall stature was very eye-catching among his peers, while Asagiri Suzu had always been petite;
From looking up to looking down at her, and then looking down at her when we walked together, it was as if time had stopped flowing only on her.
He never knew her true age, but as he gradually grew up, his name for her naturally transitioned from "Sister Chaogiri" to "Sister Suzu", and finally settled on "Sister Suzu".
Now, after he disappeared for two years, he returned from hell and met again in Kyoto. She still looked unchanged.
"bell?"
She stared at him for a while, then nodded slightly, as always.
Soya looked back at Izanami, Asagiri Suzu would appear in this place, and only she could explain it to him.
"Ling is actually my adopted child," she said. "She started following me many years ago."
"Yeah."
It wasn't that hard to understand, especially after he recalled more details from his time in the orphanage.
"By the way, it seems to be from the Nara period (710-794 A.D.)."
"..."
Sotani immediately had a deeper understanding of "many years".
At the same time, a reasonable but unlikely guess emerged in his mind.
"The bell is actually a spirit?"
"No. Not exactly."
"What's the meaning?"
"Compared to this..."
Izanami looked at the other girl at the door of the bar, "Is that Yoshiaki's girlfriend?"
Soya turned around again, and then noticed Kirino Akane who had followed Asagiri Suzu in.
"...Kirino?"
He was stunned, "Why are you here?"
"Soya!"
Zong Gu didn't know why, but this bar was too dangerous and not the place she should be, so he planned to take her out of here first.
When passing by Asagiri Suzu, the two looked at each other for a few seconds.
Her expression remained unchanged, and he smiled a little.
"haven't seen you for a long time."
"Um."
...
"Why did Kirino come here?"
"Why is Soya in Kyoto?"
Soya looked back at the bar, and Izanami waved, calling Asagiri Suzu to her side.
"I'll solve Kirino's problem."
"Eh?" Kirino Akane was startled.
He told the actual situation he learned from Sugawara Kyoko, as well as his inferences about the subsequent changes in the situation.
"The entire army was wiped out?!"
"Um."
Kirino Akane was stunned. To her, a girl from hell was already very scary.
"What kind of evil spirit is that..."
"In short, it is very dangerous and difficult for ordinary people to deal with..."
"——That's right!"
She told him what she had just experienced, and asked: "Why is there such a strange place in the Kyoto Imperial Palace?"
"That is a barrier that protects this place from being discovered by people with strong spiritual senses like Kirino." Soya explained, "People who come in without knowing anything will eventually leave here without knowing anything."
"Eh?"
"Tirino was let in by Suzu."
"bell?"
"That's the girl just now."
"Does Soya know her?"
"Well, she is from the orphanage..." Zonggu paused, "Friend."
"..."
She immediately opened her eyes.
Soya was very aware of her doubts.
But there were too many things to explain in a short while, and the main purpose of his trip had not yet been achieved, so he asked her to wait at the door of the bar and explained to her later.
"Is that kid Fangming's girlfriend? She's so cute."
Akane Kirino was so curious that she couldn't help but poke her head outside. She happened to catch Izanami's gaze, nodded to her hurriedly, and then hid.
"no."
Zonggu denied it quickly, and only after denying it did he realize his unspeakable thoughts.
Be sober, he secretly warned himself.
"Lord Izanami just said that I want Suzu to help me destroy that evil spirit?"
"That's right."
"How to eliminate it?"
"Ling knows what to do."
"..."
Zonggu looked at Asagiri Suzu again, and she nodded.
He was not reassured, "Isn't there any danger?"
"No." She said.
"How?"
"..."
She fell silent again, her eyes moving slightly.
After living together for seven or eight years, Zonggu understood that she was thinking about how to explain to him in the most concise language.
"As long as there is a way, I will explain the specific plan later."
He glanced at the time and said, "It's not too late now. Go to Lake Biwa and deal with the evil spirit. Ling can still get back here before nightfall."
Asagiri Suzu said nothing, but looked at Izanami.
"Fangming."
"Lord Izanami?"
"I thought of what I want Fangming to do for me."
"What?"
Izanami did not explain immediately, but curled her fingers at him.
Zonggu felt her pocket move, and soon, something flew out of the pocket and landed in the palm of her hand.
"What's this?"
"...vocabulary cards. Used for learning English."
"Why?"
"I want to return to my normal life," Soya said. "I want to take the high school entrance examination."
"Really? But it's already the end of February."
"I'm preparing for next year's entrance exam."
"I've already wasted two years, do I have to waste another year? Fangming is such a smart kid, I think it's okay to take the entrance exam now."
"Ordinary schools are no problem."
He asked for the word card back, "My goal is to go to a prestigious school with a high admission rate."
"Suziya wants to experience modern education."
"..."
Zonggu was startled.
Izanami looked at him and Asagiri Suzu and said, "Suzuki will help Yoshiaki deal with that evil spirit. In return, Suzu will be taken care of by Yoshiaki for the next few years of high school life."
"I still have another year..."
"——I will solve the enrollment problem. In April, Fangming and Ling can go to school directly."
"..."
She smiled, "Don't you believe it?"
She is a god who can tear apart the underworld when she is angry. Souya has no reason not to believe in her ability.
"As I said before, I want to stay as far away from the world as Izanami-sama lives in as much as possible."
"But this time, it was Fangming who took the initiative to find this place."
"To be close now is to stay away forever in the future."
"Really? If that's just this level, it's far from enough."
Before Soya could react, Izanami grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in front of him, face to face.
There was another exclamation from the corner of the bar.
Maintaining a slight distance that was about to kiss again, the Mother Goddess opened her lips and whispered:
"I don't like that place very much either. Prove to me that you have that ability, and I will tell you a way to solve it once and for all."
"..."
Outside the bar, Akane Kirino turned around and stretched out her clenched hand towards Kirisuzu.
"hand."
"Eh?"
"hand."
"..."
She stretched out her palm, and the amulet fell into her palm, instantly cutting off her spiritual sense.
"Eh?"
In the bar, looking at the many spirits in front of him, Zongya took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the wooden sword.