They arrived at Sakagami Village after traveling on the old and shabby bus for more than an hour. As soon as Otome Sakagami got up, she saw that the five people in front of her were already getting off the bus. She quickly followed them. Otome Sakagami had also caught the attention of Kimura Kazuki and his group as she was also getting off the bus at Sakagami Village.
"Hi." Otome Sakagami met their gaze and greeted them politely. "I'm from Sakagami Village. I've never seen you guys before. Are you guys here to look for someone? Anyway, I can show you the way."
Sakagami Village was not a famous attraction but a small village and there were only dozens of families living here. There were no traces of a big city and it was being surrounded by farmland. A road which was made out of gravel but not cement could be found in the middle of farmland.
By just looking at the road, it was apparent that Sakagami Village was still an undeveloped village.
"Hello." Sei Shigeru who was the oldest stood out and replied pleasantly with a kind face. "We are here to pay homage to Sakanoue no Tamuramaro."
Sakanoue no Tamuramaro was known as Bushin in Japan. He was a military official during the Heian Period in Japan. Moreover, he who had passed away for more than a thousand years was also known as the Guan Yu of Japan.
According to the Chronicles of Japan, Sakanoue no Tamuramaro was the descendant of Liu Azhi who was the great-great-grandchild of Huaxia's Emperor Xian of Han.
Sei Shigeru was of course not here to pay homage to Sakanoue no Tamuramaro. In fact, it was just an excuse.
The Majin who was being suppressed by Unto Shrine in Sakagami Village was about to break through the seal. Thus, he was here under the request of the Deity Rising Palace to destroy the entire Unto Shrine.
Unto Shrine had been suppressing the Majin for generations. It was obviously noticeable if the seal was broken. However, it was strange that Unto Shrine did not inform the Deity Rising Palace about the loosening of the seal. After all, it was counter-intuitive that they did not call for help even when the seal was about to break.
This was why the Deity Rising Palace would ask Sei Shigeru for help. Obviously, they would not involve people who were incapable in this suspicious situation as it might cost them their lives.
However, they did not expect that someone from Sakagami Village would follow them as soon as they had gotten off the bus.
"I see." Otome Sakagami smiled. "I can bring you guys there, but I've no idea where the ancestor was being buried as I've never worshipped him since I was a kid. You guys will need to ask around in the village. By the way, my name is Otome Sakagami and you guys can call me Otome."
"Thanks a lot, Otome." Sei Shigeru was very friendly. He introduced Otome Sakagami to the others as they were walking.
"These two are my grandson and granddaughter. They are about your age." As he was saying, he pointed at Kimura Kazuki and Harunaka. "Two of them are my friend's grandson and granddaughter. They tagged along as they are curious about it. They really admire Master Bushin."
When she heard this, Otome Sakagami came to a realization. "No wonder you guys are holding swords. You guys must be kendo players…" She got curious and continued, "There's also a Kendo Association in my high school and I've heard that the Jade Dragon Flag competition was not long ago. Did you guys participate in it?" Obviously, Otome Sakagami did not know that Kimura Kazuki and Furuhashi Harunaka who were standing in front of her were the champions of the Jade Dragon Flag National Competition.
But, even if Otome Sakagami knew, she would not have cared about it.
"Yeah, we participated in it," said Kimura Kazuki. He was about to lie. But, after thinking through it, he felt that it was better to tell the truth as she would know by just searching on the internet. Therefore, there was no need to lie. Moreover, their intentions for coming to the village would be suspected if his lie was exposed.
Along the way, Otome Sakagami was acting all lovely and cute. She had asked a lot of questions, but most of them were not related to Kimura Kazuki and the others' identity. Of course, she was also curious about the attire of Sei Shigeru, Asuka and Mei.
However, Sei Shigeru only took Otome Sakagami as an ordinary girl and thus he did not want to tell her much. After all, they might use the government's power to dismiss the villagers from Sakagami Village if they encounter issues later on.
The Majin breaking through the seal was definitely not a matter that could be underestimated. They would either need to destroy it as soon as possible or reinforce the seal.
Under the lead of Otome Sakagami, Kimura Kazuki and his group soon arrived at the internal area of Sakagami Village.
It was already close to noon and thus they could smell a savory aroma as they passed by the houses. As they walked by the houses, they could also see some old men sitting under the trees, enjoying the coolness. The old men would greet Otome Sakagami as they saw her.
Sei Shigeru and Kimura Kazuki exchanged a look. Then, both of them gently nodded.
They were actually wary of Otome Sakagami as she volunteered to offer help. But, it seemed like she was really from the Sakagami village. Perhaps it was just her being outgoing and nice and thus she welcomed them enthusiastically.
However, Harunaka still felt strange as she could feel that Otome Sakagami was looking at her senior differently. Her gaze was filled with strong curiosity. The reason why she could feel that was mainly because of what her mother had said, asking her to be careful of Otome Sakagami and that she was up to no good. Without giving her the chance to ask, Furuhashi Sakurakyu blatantly told her to be careful that Otome Sakagami might win Kimura Kazuki's heart over.
This made Harunaka shy. It seemed like her mother had already noticed her feelings for her senior. However, she did not take it seriously as she felt that her senior would not have fallen in love with a girl whom he had only met once.
Senpai is so perfect, thus it is normal for girls to fall in love with him at fight sight.
When Otome Sakagami arrived at her house, she waved and said, "Grandfather Shigeru, I'm home. I won't be following you guys around. But you guys can come and look for me at my place if you face any problems. I'll be at home for the entire summer break. Just shout my name and I'll show up."
"No problem," said Sei Shigeru as he nodded politely. As he was about to say goodbye, Otome Sakagami blushed and took a piece of paper and pen out of her bag. She wrote something on the paper and went to the side of Kimura Kazuki. She then shoved the note into his hand and ran into her house bashfully without saying a word.
"See? I already told you that this girl is interested in Kimura Kazuki. Harunaka, you must be careful of her!"
"Master Kimura is just way too popular," said Asuka with jealousy. When he first saw Otome Sakagami, he was already attracted to her. As he was talking to her along the way, he was being conquered by her lively and cute character. His love ended without even having a real start. Most importantly, Otome Sakagami definitely did not know of their strength. Thus, he had lost to Kimura Kazuki even in the eyes of an ordinary person.
But both of them barely spoke to each other along the way.
Can it be that girls nowadays love lukewarm guys?
Mei patted Asuka's head and glared at him, warning him not to talk nonsense.
"Let's get up the mountain."
Kimura Kazuki kept the note in his pocket. After all, if he were to throw it away immediately, it would hurt her feelings.
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