A group of Dark Swordsmen, wrapped entirely in black clothing and looking very much like ninjas, walked warily down the street. One of them poked his head into the dilapidated house for a couple of seconds, hesitated, then decided not to enter and quickly left with his companions.
A few moments later, Ye Chui and the others crept out of the ruined building. Thanks to Ye Chui’s shadow magic, ordinary people could hardly notice them when they hid in the darkness. Ye Chui led the group along the forest path marked with the sign “Ancestral Temple, Imperial Forbidden Ground”.
The Dark Swordsmen who had just left were talking in low voices.
“Do you think those people might have hidden inside the Ancestral Temple? Should we request permission to search it?” one of them suggested, glancing towards the tall wall that stood within the forbidden grove.
“The Ancestral Temple isn’t a place scum like us can enter whenever we like,” another replied.
“Things aren’t the same as before. His Majesty the Emperor hasn’t appeared for over a month. He might already…” The speaker stopped himself in time. Everyone knew what was happening in the Tidal Empire right now, but it remained a taboo subject. After a pause he continued, “I’ve always been curious about what the Ancestral Temple looks like inside. I’ve heard only the most beautiful and pure maidens are qualified to become shrine maidens.”
“You’d better pray you never get the chance to go in,” an older Dark Swordsman said with faint mockery. “The Ancestral Temple is a cursed place. Only those favoured by the Witch phantom beast can remain safe inside. Anyone else will be attacked by terrifying monsters. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Once I was ordered to deal with several corpses, thugs who had sneaked in hoping to watch the shrine-maiden succession ceremony. Their deaths were horrific. Not a single piece of them was whole…”
At this point the Dark Swordsman could not help shivering. He swore, “Anyway, no matter what, I never want to set foot in that cursed place!”
His words successfully killed the others’ curiosity about the Ancestral Temple.
Little did they know that the very people they were hunting were now walking curiously along the forest path and soon reached the wall of the Ancestral Temple, more than five metres high.
…
By now it was early evening. Ye Chui released “Red Wings” to scout and confirmed no one was around the grove. He decided to climb over the high wall. The entrance to the Ancestral Temple looked like an ordinary courtyard gate, but it was tightly shut. Through his grimoire Ye Chui could see seven people lingering just inside the gate. Not wanting to cause unnecessary conflict, climbing the wall was the best option.
“I’ll go over first. Once I’m inside I’ll open a space portal to bring you all in. Wait for my signal,” Ye Chui told everyone. Then he quietly used earth magic to extend a series of stone steps along one side of the wall. He stepped onto them and climbed carefully to the top. After making sure there were no traps or magical defences, he lay flat and looked over to the other side.
In the dim light everything below was slightly blurred, but he could make out drifting steam and the glint of rippling water. It seemed to be a hot-spring pool. Ye Chui had heard that hot springs were almost everywhere in the Tidal Empire; some wealthy nobles even built their mansions directly above the sources so they could enjoy warm baths whenever they wished.
He checked his grimoire again. Its map now covered the entire Ancestral Temple. He saw many white dots moving about, but none directly beneath them or nearby. This area was safe.
So Ye Chui flipped over the wall. With the aid of wind magic he drifted down gently like a falling leaf. His feet gradually felt warm air, then finally touched the surface of the spring water. It really was a hot spring, surrounded by wooden walls to keep the steam contained. There was very little solid ground to stand on, so with water magic Ye Chui stood steadily on the surface of the pool.
He thought about how they had been travelling non-stop these past days without a proper bath. Maybe later he could soak here for a while? He glanced around. Steam filled the air and blurred the surroundings. The grimoire map confirmed no one was present, so Ye Chui waved both hands. Blue light shimmered before him, and a portal quickly opened on a flat patch of ground beside the spring.
Debbie, Gu Ni, Green and the others stepped through one by one. They looked around curiously. When they saw the hot spring beneath Ye Chui’s feet, Debbie declared with eager anticipation that she absolutely had to enjoy a proper hot-spring bath later. Her previous experience at the mountain-town springs had left a deep impression.
Then, just after everyone had entered and Ye Chui closed the portal, a timid, crisp voice suddenly rang out: “W-who are you people?”
Along with the voice came the sound of splashing water. Ye Chui and the others froze and turned towards the source.
There was someone here!
Ye Chui immediately checked his iPad map. Apart from themselves, no other figure appeared. This made no sense! Even undead would be detected by his grimoire.
He waved his hand to disperse the steam. On the far side of the pool, a person who had been almost entirely submerged, only their head showing, came into view, a girl with a cute face, shoulder-length wet hair, and fair skin.
She had been soaking there the whole time, just her head barely above water. Ye Chui had trusted his grimoire’s detection too much and never noticed her!
The girl also saw Ye Chui and the others clearly now. She hurriedly climbed out of the spring, revealing a pale, smooth back as she reached for a wooden tub on the bank that presumably contained her clothes. Ye Chui reacted instinctively. He pointed, and with a dull thud [Spark Execution] incinerated the tub into ashes. Only then did he realise what it was.
“My clothes…” the girl cried softly.
Splash!
Because he was so startled, Ye Chui’s magic faltered. He had been standing on the water with water magic; now he lost focus and plunged straight in. After floundering for a few moments he managed to stand again.
The spring girl had opened her mouth, ready to scream.
“Don’t make a sound!” Amid the splashing, Ye Chui rushed to her side and hastily covered her mouth with his hand.
The girl was slender and clearly young. With her mouth covered she let out muffled “mmph mmph” sounds and struggled hard, pulling at Ye Chui’s hand.
Debbie and the others watched the scene, then could not help sending Ye Chui looks of utter contempt. This girl looked even younger than Gu Ni. How could he do that? “President, let me handle it,” Green suddenly offered with great enthusiasm.
“Hm?” Everyone turned suspicious gazes on Green.
Green hurriedly straightened up. “I just wanted to ease the President’s burden…”
Debbie gave Green a disdainful glare, then put on her friendliest smile and walked to the other side of the spring. She crouched beside Ye Chui and the girl and said gently, “Don’t be afraid. We mean no harm. We only came here by mistake after getting lost. We won’t hurt you, as long as you behave…”
“Mmph mmph mmph!” The girl struggled even harder.
Ye Chui rolled his eyes at Debbie. Do you realise that sounds exactly like a female bandit about to rob a house? Fearing that delay might attract others, he quickly told his companions, “Everyone turn around. Let her get dressed first.” Then he spoke to the girl, “We really don’t mean any harm. We’ll let you put clothes on, then we can talk properly. If you agree, nod your head.”
The girl, mouth still covered, nodded vigorously, though her innocent eyes glanced sadly at the ashes of the wooden tub Ye Chui had just destroyed.
“I’ll compensate you with clothes…” Ye Chui said awkwardly. He opened the grimoire shop, preparing to exchange some clothing for her. What should he give a shrine maiden…? Thanks to the points he had once spent unlocking Aquia’s special books, he had access to plenty of otaku films. He remembered the cosplay-style miko outfits that appeared in them, so he spent two points to exchange for a classic white-top-red-skirt miko uniform.
Ye Chui slowly released the girl’s mouth, climbed out of the spring dripping wet, and placed the clothes on the bank. “These are for you. Put them on first.”
Resha and Celty tacitly moved to guard the entrance to the hot-spring area.
The girl climbed out hesitantly. There was a rustling sound as she examined the clothes. She seemed uncertain. “This clothing…”
“Don’t you like it?” Ye Chui asked.
“No, it’s very pretty, just a bit strange. I… I’m actually…” The girl’s voice trailed off.
“Just wear this for now. I don’t have anything else at the moment,” Ye Chui interrupted. He had no idea what the Witch clan’s normal clothing looked like, but he really did want to see a proper miko outfit…
The girl fell silent and began to dress.
If Ye Chui had not cut her off, he would have heard the rest of her sentence: I’m actually a boy!
A few moments later the “girl” (…) finished dressing and said timidly, “I… I’ve put the clothes on.”
Ye Chui and the others turned back around. The child looked about twelve or thirteen, with wet shoulder-length hair framing an even softer, cuter face. The miko outfit Ye Chui had provided gave her a subtle air of sacred ceremony. She looked extremely pretty and adorable.
“Who exactly are you?” the girl asked nervously.
“We sneaked in simply because we were curious about the Ancestral Temple,” Ye Chui explained.
“You’re lying!” the girl interrupted at once. “I can tell when people lie. That is the power of the Witch!”
“Witch?” Ye Chui started. An idea struck him. He scanned the girl’s face with his grimoire QR code, but nothing appeared. He could not invade her memory world at all.
It was not that some powerful force was blocking his mental intrusion; the grimoire simply could not detect the girl’s existence!
The map could not detect her either.
“Could the Witch clan’s power shield someone from the grimoire’s perception? The Shadow Snake phantom beast can do the same,” Ye Chui thought. The grimoire map detection he had always relied upon was apparently no longer reliable here.
“Who are you really? Don’t lie, because I’ll know, and I’ll call for help,” the flushed girl warned warily.
Ye Chui exchanged glances with Debbie and the others. She can detect lies? Then we’ll just tell the truth. Honesty is what we need. Immediately everyone started talking at once:
“We came to save the Tidal Empire.”
“We’re all good people.”
“I like grilled meat.”
“We’re here to help His Majesty and Her Majesty resolve the rebellion.”
“I also like pineapple.”
…
The girl furrowed her delicate brows, trying hard to discern truth from falsehood. The wariness on her face gradually eased. Everything Ye Chui’s group said was indeed true. Then Green suddenly added, “I don’t like lolis at all.”
The girl’s eyes instantly fixed on Green. “You… you’re lying…”
Green: “…”
“Young man, stop lying to yourself…” Ye Chui patted Green’s shoulder, coughed, and turned to the girl. “At least you can tell we mean no harm. We really are here for the sake of the Tidal Empire. So, first, could you please tell us who you are?”
“I am the new clan head of the Tidal Witch clan. My name is Fiore…” the girl introduced herself. She paused, then continued, “Also, there’s something I must clarify. You seem to have misunderstood. I’m actually…”
“Little brother, someone’s coming!” Resha’s warning suddenly sounded.
Ye Chui quickly gestured for everyone to gather close. He used shadow magic to hide them all and whispered to Fiore, “Don’t reveal we’re here. We want to help you, but only you can know we’ve come.” He was not sure the newcomers would be as easy to convince as Fiore, so caution was best.
Fiore started, then hurriedly nodded. “A-alright.”
Footsteps approached. A woman wearing a strange long black dress entered the wooden enclosure around the spring and immediately spoke in an unpleasant, grating voice: “Have you finished your bath yet? Useless thing! My sisters and I have been busy all day and still have to wait for you…”
These words made Ye Chui frown. Isn’t Fiore the new clan head? How come she seems to have no status at all?
