Capítulo 46: Chapter 46: The King Arrival! Monkey God's Shrine!
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Mount Nikko, home to Toshogu Shrine, Futarasan Shrine, and Rinnoji Temple.
It was a popular tourist destination during Japan's consecutive holidays. As it was peak tourist season, Mount Nikko was teeming with visitors. Men and women, old and young, individuals and families, couples, foreigners - all sorts of people were there.
Within Toshogu Shrine, in a sanctuary closed to the public, a young woman stood barefoot beside the sacred spring of Mount Nikko, preparing to purify herself for a ritual bath.
The crystal-clear spring water flowed gently, reflecting the girl's image.
Her deep purple hair, as soft as clouds, cascaded down to her waist. She was dressed in a pure white Hime Miko outfit, a scarlet ribbon tied around her waist.
She had a delicate, oval-shaped face, slightly rounded, with playful dimples on her cheeks. Her skin was as white as snow, her face perpetually adorned with a smile. She was truly beautiful.
Her bright eyes, however, held the wisdom of years, yet also a spark of childlike innocence.
The young woman extended her slender hands, about to untie her clothes.
Crack! A soft sound. The scarlet ribbon tied around her waist cracked, almost snapping in two.
"A sign of great misfortune!" The purple-haired girl untied the ribbon and carefully examined the crack. For an ordinary person, it might have been a random accident. But for her, a Hime Miko of the highest rank, such an accident was impossible.
"It happened once before, a hundred years ago. It was the same omen as when that Pope arrived." She murmured softly, then summoned a talisman with a spell.
Gently placing it in the spring water, she watched as it changed color from deep purple to flax, a symbol of ancestral bloodline regression and the mark of a high-ranking Miko's power. Channeling her magical energy, she began a divination.
The talisman gradually absorbed the cool spring water. On its blank surface, two ancient seal characters appeared: "Great Misfortune." But before the character for "misfortune" could fully form, it faded away, and the character for "fortune" emerged.
As the phrase "Great Fortune" solidified, the talisman shimmered with a faint golden light. Invisible waves spread outwards, and the talisman leaped from the water like a paper fish, crashing against a sacred pillar beside the spring.
Looking at the talisman embedded in the pillar, the young woman blushed deeply.
"Lady Toujo! The Devil King is coming! The monster from Ashikaga is here! He must know about the divine presence!" A frantic voice called out from outside the shrine as a figure rushed in.
It was a young Miko with neat brown hair, around ten years old. Her normally cute face was crumpled with anxiety. The news of the Devil King's arrival had terrified her young heart.
"Kiyo, come with me to greet His Majesty," Toujo said, her head lowered, her purple hair hiding her expression as she quickly left the shrine.
"Yes, Lady Toujo! Wait, why are your ears so red?" The little Miko followed closely behind, noticing Toujo's unusual behavior from their long-standing familiarity.
"It's nothing!" Toujo's face flushed as she denied it.
Because she had been in seclusion for a century, the world had forgotten her existence, and naturally, her abilities as well.
All that remained was the impression of Toujo as the Miko of Calamity. However, compared to her power to bring disaster, Toujo's true talent lay in divination.
The divination technique she had just performed was called "Water Divination." The characters on the talisman were marks etched by heaven and earth themselves. The shift from "Great Misfortune" to "Great Fortune" was a prediction of the outcome of the Devil King's arrival, signifying danger averted.
But what made Toujo blush furiously was the talisman's final action. Due to the environment, the only accurate high-level divination she could perform was "Water Divination." And in the interpretation of "Water Divination," a talisman embedding itself in a sacred pillar symbolized the red thread of fate, a sign of destined love.
Does this mean the King will fall in love with me at first sight? Toujo's heart pounded with panic. Since childhood, she had served as the Miko of the West Heaven Palace, dedicated to the Monkey God, for over 200 years.
As a Miko serving a god, she was required to maintain both physical and spiritual purity. But Toujo's lifespan was nearing its end. After centuries of suppressing her desires, her maiden's heart, once as still as water, had been completely disrupted by this sign of fate.
Meanwhile, Haru and Sora, riding in Sayanomiya Kaoru's Hummer, entered Nikko City, heading straight for Toshogu Shrine.
"Are we here?" Sora asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes as she looked at Sayanomiya Kaoru in the driver's seat.
Haru also opened his eyes, looking out the window with a sense of unease. Did I feel something watching me? Was it that monkey?
"We should be there in about ten minutes. I've already notified the people at Toshogu to welcome us," Sayanomiya Kaoru said, her eyes focused on the road, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. Despite being underage, Sayanomiya Kaoru had been driving for five years and was already an experienced driver.
Ten minutes later, the Hummer slowly came to a stop, and the three of them got out. Bang! As the car doors closed, Sayanomiya Kaoru led them towards the abode of the Monkey God.
Nikko Toshogu Shrine was a mausoleum dedicated to the deified Tokugawa Ieyasu, known as Tosho Daigongen. It was a magnificent and opulent shrine, frequently visited by school trips. They looked at the five-story pagoda, ascended the stone steps, and passed through the torii gate. They entered the sanctuary through the famous Yomeimon Gate, passed the Haiden (worship hall) and Honden (main hall), and continued on to the Okusha (inner shrine), following the designated route.
However, Sayanomiya Kaoru diverted midway, heading towards an inconspicuous building.
It was a small, unadorned hut. The front side wall, where a typical house would have its entrance, was carved with monkeys from one end to the other. Monkeys with their eyes closed, monkeys with their mouths shut, monkeys covering their ears, monkeys sitting, monkeys looking at the sky, monkeys lying down – over a dozen monkeys were carved there.
Sayanomiya Kaoru took out a talisman, dispelled the barrier, and entered the vast forest behind the building. Haru and Sora followed closely.
This was the area between Futarasan Shrine and the grounds of Toshogu Shrine. It was inconspicuous, and thanks to the barrier, tourists didn't notice it.
After about fifteen minutes, they arrived in front of an ancient shrine.
"Welcome to the West Heaven Palace, Your Majesty, the Devil King." A deep purple-haired Miko, leading a small brown-haired Miko, greeted them with ancient Japanese noble etiquette.
As the greetings ended, Toujo and Kiyo raised their heads.
"Toujou Miki!!"
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