Chapter 323 Shiori's Wish for Love
After finishing the hot spring bathing activity at noon, the three returned to their rooms for a nap.
Perhaps it was because it was difficult to muster up that kind of interest after relaxing, so after changing back into her pajamas, Ezaki Suguha quickly fell asleep on the bed. Seeing this, Sawayama Haruno didn't have the heart to disturb her any further, so he held her in his arms and fell asleep too.
It was not until around three o'clock in the afternoon that he got up in a daze and went to the bathroom, and then he regained a little consciousness.
“The hotel bathroom is so high-end.”
Sawayama Haruno casually pressed the flush button and looked at the series of buttons next to him, lost in thought.
There was a button for washing buttocks, and he recognized it.
But I don’t know what the other functions are. The one with the word HOT should be a heated seat cushion, right?
High-end toilets are different. If you are going to move in the future, you might as well remember to buy such a toilet when decorating your house.
At least in winter, it is very practical.
Sawayama Haruno sighed while washing his hands.
When he returned to the room after shaking off the water, Suguha Ezaki was still lying on the bed, soundly asleep.
Seeing this, Zeshan Haruno couldn't help but slow down his movements. He slowly took out a new set of clothes from his travel bag, changed into them, and quietly went out.
He wanted to take this opportunity to go out for a walk. He definitely couldn't stay in the room all the time. After all, Suguha was sleeping, and he didn't know whether Mine Shiori next door had woken up. In this case, he might as well go out and see if there was anything fun nearby.
Having made up his mind, Sawayama Haruno soon stopped hesitating and walked up the road after leaving the hotel. He soon noticed a sign pointing to a shrine not far away.
Since he had nothing to do anyway, Sawayama Haruno didn't think much about it and continued walking towards the shrine above.
After about fifteen minutes, he soon saw the bluestone steps leading to the shrine on the mountain. Halfway up the stairs, there was a huge dark red torii gate that had lost its former luster.
It seems to be very old.
Sawayama Haruno stared at it thoughtfully for a while, and soon continued to walk upwards.
There are so many shrines on the island that even their government is not aware of it. This is because the religious divisions in the ancient island regions were very serious. In addition, they generally believed that there were so-called "eight million gods" in the world, that is, whether it was the sun, the moon, the climate, or the birds and beasts, they could all be worshipped here.
Therefore, the number of shrines in the island nation among the people is far beyond the imagination of others.
It is indeed difficult to see those wild shrines in Tokyo, but as long as you go to more remote areas, you will definitely find them in the suburbs.
Sawayama Haruno guessed that what he was climbing might be a wild shrine that had been abandoned many years ago. Because it was out of jurisdiction and no one took care of it, even the torii gate had lost its former glory after being exposed to wind and sun.
How should I put it? It feels a bit too different from the shrines in Kyoto.
The shrines he saw in Kyoto were mostly large in scale, and he had never really observed the smaller shrines.
But it does have commercial value after all, so it's normal for someone to continue to take care of it. For example, the shrine I'm visiting now is located in a remote area, so how could anyone stay here to take care of it?
With this thought in mind, Zeshan Haruno walked slowly on the bluestone steps. However, halfway through, he quickly realized that his idea was wrong.
"what"
As if he had noticed someone coming behind him, the middle-aged man who was sweeping fallen leaves with a broom halfway up the bluestone steps turned around in confusion.
"Is this gentleman also here to pay homage?"
"Ah, hello."
Sawayama Haruno subconsciously greeted the other party.
"I came here for tourism and happened to see a shrine here, so I thought of coming to take a look," he explained.
"So that's it."
The middle-aged man smiled and said, "I am the chief priest of this shrine. If you want to go up and visit, please feel free to do so. However, there are really many people coming here today."
"Is there anyone else besides me?" Sawayama Haruno asked curiously.
"There is also a newlywed couple, and the other one is probably a child who came alone."
The middle-aged man who served as the chief priest explained enthusiastically: "They just met me, and they should have entered the shrine now."
"Really? Thank you."
Sawayama Haruno nodded politely at him, then continued walking up.
For some reason, when he heard the other party say "a child who came alone", he suddenly had a strong premonition in his heart.
Sure enough, after walking for another seven or eight minutes, he finally arrived at the shrine. As soon as he entered the door, he saw a petite figure standing in front of a large water tank.
The other person was holding a long spoon and standing there carefully fetching water.
However, because the water tank was too big and she was not tall enough, the action of drawing water seemed extremely difficult.
“It’s really her.”
Sawayama Haruno was somewhat amazed at the middle-aged priest's accurate description. When he heard the other party use children to describe it, he had already vaguely guessed that it might be Mine Shiori. After all, it was still school time, and ordinary children rarely came to the suburban shrine to play at this time.
Sawayama Haruno shook his head and stopped thinking about it. Instead, he took the initiative to say hello: "Shiori, do you need any help?"
"Eh?!"
Mine Shiori trembled all over and turned back tremblingly with a long-handled spoon in hand.
"Why is Haruno here too?"
"After I woke up, I wanted to go out for a walk, but I didn't expect you to go upstairs as well." Sawayama Haruno stroked his chin and smiled, "I thought you were still resting in the hotel room."
"I thought so too." Mine Shiori whispered.
Can you meet each other?
But it's quite normal. After all, the hot spring hotel is located in the suburbs. The main road leading out of the hotel goes up to the rice fields in the suburbs, and goes down back to the town.
There are only two directions in total. If Sawayama Haruno chooses to go up, he will notice that there is a shrine here anyway.
Thinking of this, Mine Shiori seemed to be convinced by herself and handed out the long-handled spoon.
"Can you help me get some water?" she whispered.
With her height, it was too difficult for her to scoop a spoonful of water from the water tank, and there were no small stools in the shrine that could be raised, which really made it difficult for her.
But fortunately, Sawayama Haruno is here now, so he can take over this task.
"Put out your left hand."
Sawayama Haruno brought up a long-handled ladle with a small spoonful of water, and then asked Mine Shiori to stretch out her hand.
The latter obediently did as she was told, and Sawayama Haruno continued to pour the water from the long-handled ladle into her left hand.
"Next is the right hand." Sawayama Haruno said with a smile.
What he is doing now for Mine Shiori is also known as "purification" among the shrine visits in the island country.
This is a very strict rule for worship. Everyone who enters the shrine must wash their hands and rinse their mouths with water at a specific location, the Temizuya, in order to remove dirt and purify the body and mind.
This shrine is obviously very small, so the palm of your hand was removed and a large water tank was placed at the front door of the shrine as a ceremonial ritual before worship.
Although the sparrow is small, it has all the organs. Zeshan Haruno felt a little emotional.
He patiently helped Mine Shiori complete the "purification" ceremony, and then followed the local customs by washing his hands and rinsing his mouth. Only after he finished all this did he put down the ladle.
"Let's go in and have a look?"
Sawayama Haruno looked at the worship hall in front of him and asked curiously, "There is no hand-washing house, but there is a worship hall and a coin hall."
"I find it strange too. Maybe the water house was demolished because it fell into disrepair?"
Mine Shiori glanced at Sawayama Haruno and whispered, "Someone has already gone in. When I came up, I saw a couple who were also here for tourism."
"Really? That's really strange."
Sawayama Haruno said as he walked towards the worship hall.
The roof beam structure is made of pure wood, and the top of the entrance to the worship hall is in the shape of a triangle with an arc, which is the so-called "herringbone". This architectural style is considered to be quite standard in the island country, and many shrines in various places also have similar structures.
However, after entering the worship hall, it seemed inexplicably shabby. There was only a small table not far from the door and nothing else. It was so empty and seemed a bit lonely.
"It seems that the God is also having financial problems," Sawayama Haruno complained weakly.
He also wanted to see the differences between the shrines in the Kanto region and those in Kansai, but when he came in, there was nothing there.
Mine Shiori obviously didn't expect that this shrine would be so poor. After some hesitation, she whispered, "Forget it. Since we're here, why don't we go to the Coin Palace?"
Although it seems that there is nothing I can offer as a gift, but since I have come this far, I might as well donate something. Who knows, maybe it will bring some good luck in the future?
In a shrine like this where people are so poor that they can barely make ends meet, 500 yen is enough to make the gods happily bless you, right?
No, how could I have such thoughts? I must have been led astray by Haruno.
Mine Shiori suddenly puffed up her cheeks and glared at Sawayama Haruno in a cute way, but the other party had already walked towards the Coin Palace in front and did not notice her little look at all.
"Ah, there's something in the coin hall. The ema and the donation box are all there. So is this thing placed here?"
Sawayama Haruno picked up a small wooden sign and waved it at Mine Shiori with a smile.
"How about writing down your wish?"
".Then, write one."
Mine Shiori carefully took the wooden sign handed to her, and looking at the blank space reserved for making a wish, she suddenly felt a little dazed.
Can making a wish to God help in love matters?
(End of this chapter)
