Volume 6 Chapter 16 The True Middle School Syndrome
After that, we got off the car at the foot of some mountain.
Somehow, I have many chances to come to the mountains, like in the summer vacation.
As I thought so and stretched my back, Yotsuji said.
"We have to walk from here. It's easy to get lost, so follow me closely, okay?"
"...Yeah, yeah."
"And you're just an Anti-Demon Official who was asked to do a job by Seirin, but don't mention Seirin's name as much as possible, okay?"
"Got it."
I nodded as I loosened my stiff body.
Tsuchimikado had prepared an identity for me as an Anti-Demon Official for this. He was suspicious, but he was the first rank.
That means I'm a fool who was lured into enemy territory by Tsuchimikado's deception.
Now, I started walking behind her.
The weather was good, and unlike the demon's mountain before, the hiking trail was well maintained. It was easy to walk normally. I felt like I was going on a picnic rather than a fight.
"By the way, you're his subordinate, right?"
"? Yeah. Something like that."
"Even though you're not an anti-demon official, where did you meet?"
It seemed like Yotsuji had gained strong trust from Tsuchimikado. Tsuchimikado, who infiltrated the New World (Try Order), was the only force that could be moved without being noticed by them.
Yotsuji tilted her head and said,
"It wasn't really a special meeting. I was quite troubled myself. I guess that's how it led to the present, after hearing various stories."
"You seem carefree."
"Human relationships are not such a big deal, are they?"
Yotsuji laughed heartily. I couldn't imagine that suspicious man deepening his friendship with Yotsuji, but if I say that, it would be similar for me. From the perspective of those around us, it would be unbelievable that I am with Tsukiko and Lisha.
Trust between people is something that others cannot understand.
After walking for about an hour, we saw a single torii gate. However, there was no shrine nearby, and it was partially broken.
In the process of cutting through the mountain path, only the torii gate remained intact.
Yotsuji stopped there.
"This is the entrance."
"This torii gate?"
"Yeah, it serves as the entrance to enter the barrier."
"Oh, I see. It's a Shinto-based magic, right?"
I'm not very familiar with it, but I think Torii is supposed to be the gateway between the sacred and secular worlds, serving as a boundary line. It would probably be disrespectful to use it as an entrance to a barrier.
But Yotsuji shook her head.
"No, I don't think it has anything to do with it. Maybe there was just something that served as a good landmark, so they used it."
"What audacious recycling."
If they do that, the god originally enshrined there will probably be angry.
Well, maybe they're not there anymore.
While I, unable to hear the sound of the bell, felt the resonance of impermanence, Yotsuji made a triangle shape with her thumb and index finger.
'In the present, we venture into the unknown, following this path.'
Then she chanted something and twisted her right hand downwards while keeping her thumb together.
Then, from the wobbling Torii gate as the starting point, there was a sense of something distorting.
But there didn't seem to be any change in the surroundings. Although something definitely changed, the strange sensation of not understanding it remains.
Feeling frustrated and unable to put it into words, I instinctively looked around.
"So this is how we entered?"
"Yes, that's right. It feels like we're being tricked in some way."
"I see, it definitely feels like that."
"Actually, I think you're right about that. It's not really a different dimension beyond this point; it's a place that only people affected by magic can enter."
I heard a similar story not too long ago. Kagami-san said that the house we live in is also a station that normal people can't reach, so it might be quite common.
"It was originally a place where gods were worshipped, so it must have been a sacred site. Whether they were real gods or creatures like youkai, we can't be sure. Right now, it feels like the Try Order is using it for their magic."
"They're really making the most of it. They might anger the gods."
"Just keeping the place from being forgotten or developed and destroyed might be better than nothing, in my opinion."
I see, there's that perspective too.
Yotsuji started walking as she talked.
"By the way, Yuusuke, you seem to know more about this magic stuff than I thought. I thought you only knew about magic from another world."
"I'm not that knowledgeable about it. I only know as much as your average 'chuunibyou (Middle School Syndrome)' patient."
"Chuunibyou?"
"Never mind."
Even if she looks at me with those innocent eyes, there's no way I can explain it. 'Chuunibyou' is a contagious disease that many boys go through at least once. But my 'chuunibyou' is different from others. After all, I've experienced the real thing, so it's only natural that I would investigate and try things like Earth magic and miracles. I even tried a few manga techniques.
To cut to the chase, as someone who had become accustomed to magic from another world, I couldn't use Earth magic. Well, I probably just didn't know the right way to use it, but it's not like I had any particular use for it.
In hindsight, if I had used magic recklessly, I might have ended up in the custody of the Anti-Demon Special Forces. From their perspective, I would be nothing but a dangerous individual.
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