The morning sun shines brightly through the window, and a light fragrance fills the room.
Akane Kirino woke up before the alarm clock rang.
Maybe it was because of exhaustion, or maybe the bag of peach wood powder that had been burnt to ashes had played its role. She went to bed very early last night and her sleep quality was very high.
She had a dreamless night, and she didn't delay from waking up to getting up. She just felt refreshed.
Opening the curtains, the new girl from last night was still floating alone in the sky.
The white face and black robe, illuminated by the golden morning sun, don't look so scary from a distance.
According to Soya, they were reorganizing the investigation network and waiting for the next destruction.
"Thanks for your hard work--"
In the kitchen on the first floor, Kirino Keiko, who was preparing a lunch, glanced out the window.
"Akane?"
...
Akane Kirino came to the old house after going out. Soya had gotten up early as promised and was sitting in the dining room eating breakfast cooked by himself.
The food in Huangquan had no taste at all. After he settled down here, he never treated himself harshly in terms of food.
At this time, he was having breakfast with Asagiri Suzu, who had just moved in yesterday.
"Very energetic."
"Uh-huh."
"Are you all ready?"
"certainly."
"Just in case, check it again."
"Why did Zonggu say the same thing to mom..."
When going out, Akane Kirino was not surprised to see Asagiri Suzu accompanying her.
When they got on the tram, there were still many empty seats, so the three of them found a seat and sat down casually.
Today is just the entrance exam for Danhai University. Some schools are still in class as usual. Two or three students wearing different uniforms can be seen in the carriage.
"The light and high student uniforms are cuter than those in ordinary schools."
"Yeah."
"Yeah, this is a very important prerequisite for choosing a school. It's a pity that because of today's entrance exam, they are all on holiday, otherwise Zonggu would be able to see him."
"I'll have a chance to see you soon."
Kirino Akane smiled, "Thank you~"
Zonggu didn't explain much, and chatted for a few more words, focusing on the receding scenery outside the car window.
Dankai High School is located in Takayama Town, Otsu City, on the west bank of Lake Biwa. Going from Jinhu City, you have to bypass almost half of the lake;
However, the tram line around Lake Biwa does not completely follow the lake shoreline. According to Akane Kirino, you can only see the lake from the tram a few stops later.
The first half of the journey is the same as the route to Kyoto. You need to transfer at Yamashina Station, transfer from the Biwako Line to the Kosai Line, and turn north.
The tram stopped and stopped, and at various stops along the way, it picked up many students who were going to Danhai University to take the entrance exam.
Soya focused more on the outside of the car window. When the crowding in the car made him pay attention to his surroundings again, he realized that there was a somewhat familiar girl sitting next to Kirino Akane.
Based on the uniform on the other party, he quickly remembered that she was Akane Kirino's "ordinary friend" who ate and went shopping together.
"When did it appear..."
Logically speaking, they should have got on the train at the same platform, but she was not seen at that time.
Seeing that Soya finally came to his senses, Kirino Akane stopped kicking his feet and said: "Soya, remember to come early at noon, let's have a lunch together."
"I see."
"..."
The girl next to her opened her mouth, but couldn't speak.
After another ten minutes, we could finally see the lake from the tram.
It's just that there's still some distance between the lakeside and the tram line. Although several buildings in between don't block the view, they do affect the aesthetics.
"Almost there."
Kirino Akane was also looking outside, her face couldn't tell whether she was relaxed or something else.
"From the moment you can see Lake Biwa, after three stops, it will be Dangao."
"Yeah."
After a while.
"Omi Naniwa Station, we've arrived——"
There were quite a few people wanting to get off at this stop. As Soya squeezed out two steps, Asagiri Suzu, who almost tripped, grabbed one of his arms.
Before he could take a step, his other arm was also grabbed.
"..."
"There are so many people!" Akane Kirino said.
The girl who had not spoken much was also pulled tightly by her. Zonggu dragged the three of them and squeezed out of the carriage with difficulty.
As Wu Ling got out of the car, he let go of his hand and stopped to look ahead.
Along the way, the distance between the tram line and Lake Biwa is getting closer and closer. When you get off at the stop, there is only a road around the lake a few meters wide in the middle.
The lake ripples, flooded with the rising sun, and the water meets the sky.
"Let's go."
"Um."
After leaving the station, a stream of students in uniforms of various colors gathered, pointing out the direction of Soya who was coming here for the first time.
"Is it at the bottom of the hillside over there?"
"No, the school is on the top of the mountain."
"..."
Zonggu narrowed his eyes. But his field of vision was heavily blocked and he saw nothing.
"It's some distance away from the residential area. It's very quiet, the air is fresh, and the view is very good." Kirino Akane said, "At the same time, it is one of the top schools in Shiga for higher education, high quality..."
No matter how it sounds, it sounds like the introduction in the admissions brochure.
Walk all the way to the bottom of the hillside. There are two ways to go up the mountain: the steep and long steps, or the relatively gentle but long winding road.
"Kirino."
"What?"
"Come on for the exam."
"Thank you...Eh? No, I have to go up there at least once!"
...
As an unrelated person other than a candidate, Soya tried his best to climb up the countless steps and was unable to enter the private Danhai High School that had become an examination venue.
"See you at noon then."
"Well, come on."
"Uh-huh!"
Kirino Akane dragged her friend into the examination room, while Soya and Asagiri Suzu sat in the Hamono Cafe outside the school.
The sun has risen, and the view from the top of the mountain is indeed very good. Looking from a distance, the vast Lake Biwa is calm and waveless, with mountains beside the lake and the city looming.
The scenery is wonderful and refreshing - if you can ignore the girl from the underworld flying towards you in mid-air.
"..."
Soya didn't take any more risks, and under Asagiri Suzu's gaze, he picked up the amulet on the table.
"Are you still coming this way?"
She nodded.
He had already put on the amulet and felt confident, so he did nothing.
Chao Wuling stared at the sky outside the window for a while, then looked away.
"Going back."
Zonggu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"..."
Perhaps what makes me feel more at ease is actually her in front of me?
After not seeing each other for two years, Souya got acquainted with this young childhood girl again. Zongya found that he was seeking a sense of security from her, consciously or unconsciously, especially when he realized that her indifference was actually the result of thousands of years of emotional ups and downs.
If she lives for a long time, or exists for a long time, she will know many more things than others, not to mention that the person she has followed over the years is the former master of the underworld.
"The last time we set up a net to search, it took about a month."
Soya picked up the coffee and took a sip, "If the evil spirit hasn't escaped from Kinki yet, it will probably take that much time this time."
"Um."
Because the tactics of the Underworld Daughter will not change.
Setting up a net to sweep up and check the location of the evil spirit one by one from the outside to the inside was the limit of what they could do - and thanks to their ignorance, he was not captured.
And if the evil spirit doesn't show up, even though Asagiri Suzu has the spirit-killing technique, he won't be able to use it.
"This time, the shrine will probably not be involved."
Soya guessed, and then thought of the injured young miko. She wondered whether the serious and stern Sugawara Kyoko would be the cause of the accident...
He quickly shook his head again.
If you don't have time to take care of yourself, how can you care about others?
Destroying that evil spirit can only make him temporarily stable for a while. What he wants is to end it once and for all.
To do this, he must find and kill the eight thunder gods born by Izanami one by one, and use their power to repair the boundary between the world and the other world to its original appearance.
"Big thunder, fire thunder, black thunder, dismantling thunder, young thunder, earth thunder, thunder... and there is also thunder."
Soya silently recited the names of the Eight Thunder Gods, then looked at Asagiri Suzu, "Have you seen them?"
She shook her head.
"Teacher only met a few of them when he first left Huangquan."
That is already history...
Soya suddenly realized that whether it was Kirino Akane's entrance exam or the traces of evil spirits and the Eight Thunder Gods, the more he could do was wait.
"It doesn't matter……"
He looked at the coffee cup and murmured.
"I still have a lot of time."
"..."
Out of sight, Chao Wuling shook his head.
...
At noon, Kirino Akane came out of school and ate lunch with Soya and Asagiri Suzu.
Including an "ordinary friend" who came with him, the four of them sat at the top of the long steps, two by two.
"How does it feel?"
"As expected of being indifferent."
"Let's keep working hard this afternoon."
"Yeah, I will. By the way, what did Souya and Suzu do this morning?"
"Let's go have a cup of coffee first."
Zong Gu turned around, wanting to point it out to her, "Then go to the bookstore over there..."
"Don't turn around suddenly." Akane Kirino immediately pressed down her friend's uniform skirt.
"……Feel sorry."
He could only look ahead, "I will read in the bookstore from now on until you come out."
Holding the lunch box, she squeezed to the side and leaned against her companion.
"Let's spend the afternoon like this. As a thank you, I will treat you to dinner!"
"Don't be so polite..."
Zong Gu picked up a piece of egg roll and said, "After all, I also want to see what my future school will look like."
"Hey~ Souya has decided to take the Dangao exam too?"
"It would be better to say that now there are only two choices: come or not come..."
"What's the meaning?"
Zonggu didn't say much.
The afternoon was spent waiting with nothing to do.
In the evening, when he returned to the Kirino family's old house, he showed her the admission notice of Danhai University in an envelope.