"Aomori, you're finally back."
Inside the Mori Paranormal Detective Agency, Ditto breathed a huge sigh of relief upon seeing Aomori return.
Over the past few days, facing the "wolf-and-tiger" customers all by itself had been utterly exhausting.
"Being a human really isn't easy."
When it was a monster, it could solve problems with force at any time. But in human society, violence was rarely the best option.
"Ditto, you've worked hard. Has anything unusual happened lately?" Aomori picked it up, kneading its soft, squishy body as a reward with a full-body massage.
"Muu muu... Recently, a young boy named Mob came to the door asking for help. I went with their group into a base and defeated quite a few people. Those guys were pretty persistent; I almost had to transform."
Remaining in the form of Kogoro Mori meant its available skills were limited to [Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist] and [Exploding Heart Release Fist], which was indeed a disadvantage against a group of espers.
"So soon? That part of the story has already passed," Aomori said, raising an eyebrow.
It was a bit of a shame he hadn't been there to witness Reigen Arataka's "high-light" moment.
"Also, I received an invitation today. Someone wants us to perform an exorcism," Ditto added.
"An invitation? Let me see."
"It's right there on the desk."
"Alright." Aomori picked up the envelope. "It only lists a time and location without a reason? But if the client is this specific financial group, it must be that incident."
"I'll go with you when the time comes."
"Okay!"
After helping settle some lingering issues Ditto had left behind, Aomori took out his Laptop and logged into the website for the [Alliance of the God's Destined]. He found that the various "exorcism" videos he had filmed of Miko had incredibly high engagement and had attracted a massive following.
"This field of leeks is ready for harvest. I should find time to organize an offline event."
With that thought, Aomori began tapping away at the keys.
…
Makoto was troubled.
After joining the [Alliance of the God's Destined], he thought he would finally make contact with the paranormal. Instead, the website had only updated a few videos and then gone silent.
He watched those few videos repeatedly every day, but the restlessness in his heart remained unsoothed.
Tonight, he was browsing the site as usual. Just as he was about to log off, he found to his delight that the announcement board had been updated.
"Meeting the day after tomorrow... an event?" Makoto read the notice aloud, his expression bright with excitement. "Great!"
"I wonder if I'll get to see that miko girl this time?"
…
After handling things on that end, Aomori returned to the shrine the following day.
Looking at the completely renovated, unrecognizable shrine, he momentarily thought he had taken a wrong turn.
Not only was the main hall magnificent and golden, but the open space in front had been paved with stone bricks. The surrounding area was filled with clusters of flowers, making it look like a beautiful garden.
"Not bad. Those two girls are quite sensible." Aomori nodded in satisfaction. They were definitely on the right track; he would have to reward them handsomely next time they met.
Absol and Pidgeot were the same as ever, looking very happy to see Aomori.
The Two-Tailed fox cub, Nibi, who had been sleeping previously, was now energetic and full of spirit. As soon as it saw Aomori, it lunged into his arms, acting spoiled.
"You little rascal." Aomori patted its small head and played with it for a while.
Afterward, he set up Barrier Techniques around the perimeter again, hiding the shrine from view.
"Should I hold an opening ceremony?"
Gathering everyone for a celebration seemed like a fine idea.
…
Meeting the Divine Messenger and the Kami-sama, Toru Taki felt this was the luckiest thing that had ever happened in her life.
A few days ago, she had taken the holy object granted by the God and placed it on the forehead of her gravely ill grandfather.
Her grandfather had opened his eyes immediately. He looked around and suddenly smiled with immense joy.
"So... you were all here all along. It's wonderful to finally see you."
Only then did Toru Taki understand what the God meant by "no need to search." They had always been by her grandfather's side.
She looked at Koka perched on her shoulder and asked, "Why can I only see Koka and not the other yokai?"
Koka, who was blissfully savoring a large piece of chocolate, said, "Toru, do you want to see them?"
"Yes!"
"Easy. Leave it to me."
Koka swallowed the remaining chocolate in one gulp, flapped its small wings, and flew in front of Toru, touching its forehead to hers.
Its entire body began to glow, the light gradually spreading to Toru.
She felt a warmth in her eyes. When she opened them again, she could see the yokai gathered around her grandfather.
"Koka, you're amazing!" Toru picked up Koka and nuzzled it, her heart full of joy.
"Hehe, I am a Divine Envoy, after all."
"Yes, the most amazing Divine Envoy!"
A few days later, Toru's grandfather passed away. He went peacefully, with a group of yokai there to see him off.
While sad, Toru felt fortunate that she had been able to help him fulfill his wish before he passed.
Between her grandfather's peace and the removal of her own curse, she owed the God a debt of life.
"Meeting the Divine Envoy and the Kami-sama was truly wonderful. I must work hard to help the Kami-sama find other destined individuals."
Through observation, she had noticed two boys in her grade acting suspiciously, often talking to thin air. Now that she could see yokai with Koka's help, she only needed to see them talking to spirits to confirm they were also people who could see the supernatural.
In other words, they were "destined individuals" of the Kami-sama.
But before she could find proof, another matter came knocking at her door.
"Found you."
On her way to school today, a yokai with an abnormally large head blocked her path.
"You?!" Toru's pupils shrank. She remembered this yokai instantly, it was the one who had cursed her.
Terrified, she instinctively backed away.
"Human who broke the promise... you dared to break my curse? I'm going to eat you!" the yokai roared.
Seeing the murderous glint in its eyes, Toru knew things were bad and immediately turned to run.
"Don't you run!" The big-headed yokai gave chase.
The sight of the chase through the streets was quickly spotted by Natsume and Tanuma, who were also on their way to school.
"Natsume, I'm not seeing things, am I? Is that yokai chasing a girl?"
"No, I see it too. You're right." Natsume gave chase without a second thought. "That girl might be in danger!"
"I'll help too!" Tanuma ran after him.
"Koka, do you have a way to deal with it?" Using her familiarity with the environment, Toru temporarily lost the big-headed yokai and hid in a dense patch of bushes.
"Ugh, if it were the old me, I could crush it with one hand. But right now, I'm lacking the strength," Koka said, clutching her collar, looking equally nervous.
"Ah, then what do we do?" Toru whispered, covering her mouth.
"It's okay. Let me ask the Kami-sama first." Koka closed its eyes, extending a finger from each hand to draw circles on its head.
Toru didn't dare interrupt Koka's communion and silently watched the surroundings.
"Got it!" Soon, Koka opened its eyes and told Toru the plan.
"Th-This... is this really okay? It feels a bit embarrassing." A shy blush crept onto Toru's face.
"Look at the time! There's no time for that. Don't worry, there's no one here. No one will see you."
Perhaps their voices were a bit too loud. The big-headed yokai pushed aside the grass and discovered them: "Found you!"
"Toru, no time to hesitate!" Koka said urgently.
"Okay... let's do it!" Toru said, resigning herself to fate.
"No one can save you! Give me your life!" The big-headed yokai reached out with a giant hand.
Just as the hand was about to grab her, at the final second, Koka transformed into a ball of light that enveloped Toru, forcing the yokai back.
"What is this bright light? I hate this feeling!" The big-headed yokai retreated repeatedly.
When the light dissipated, Toru, who had been wearing an inconspicuous brown coat, had been transformed. She was now wearing a pink, breezy dress, revealing a pair of fair, long legs tucked into tall boots.
She wore a headband sparkling with jewels, gloves on both hands, and held a star-topped wand in her right hand.
The big-headed yokai's eyes widened, and even Toru was stunned by her own outfit.
"Is this... a Goddess transformation?"
Sensing the power surging within her, Toru no longer felt afraid.
"Evil yokai! You abuse your power, coerce humans, and commit injustices. Today, I shall eliminate you in the name of the God!" After reciting the lines that came to her naturally, Toru looked solemn and unleashed her finishing move as Koka instructed.
As she channeled her energy, the star on the wand began to spin rapidly, emitting a blinding light.
"Lovely Star Flying Impact!"
Toru pointed the wand at the big-headed yokai. Points of light like falling stars shot from the tip, battering the yokai and sending it flying into the distance.
When the big-headed yokai stood up again, its body had shrunk by more than half. Terrified that Toru might strike again, it clutched its head and flew away.
Seeing that she had successfully driven the monster off, Toru jumped for joy. "I'm so strong! I actually sent that yokai flying—"
The rest of her words died in her throat. She saw two boys staring at her, completely dumbfounded. She felt as if a cloud of steam had just erupted from her head.
"Does it look good? How long are you going to keep staring?" Toru said, trying to remain composed.
Right. As long as I'm not embarrassed, they're the ones who are embarrassed.
Sure enough, they became awkward and quickly turned around.
"It... did look pretty good," Tanuma whispered.
"Yeah," Natsume agreed with a nod.
After she returned to her normal appearance, Toru walked up to the two boys, holding a somewhat tired Koka. Her face was still flushed. "How long have you been there?"
"Just now. Just this second," Tanuma said without blinking.
In truth, they had been there since the start of the transformation and had seen the whole thing, but they weren't stupid enough to admit it.
"You didn't hear anything... strange, did you?" Toru narrowed her eyes at them.
"No, no."
"Then... you can see that yokai?"
Natsume and Tanuma shared a look and nodded. "Yes. We saw you being chased on the way here. We were worried, so we followed. We didn't expect..."
"We didn't expect 'Magical Girls' to actually exist in reality," Tanuma finished, his voice full of wonder. "Yokai, Gods, Exorcists, and now Magical Girls... just how many secrets is this world hiding?"
"I'm not a Magical Girl. This is just power granted by a God. Please forget what just happened, understood?"
"Understood, understood!"
The "Ghost-Seeing Trio" were finally gathered. To say they didn't want to talk would be a lie.
However, they were about to be late. They hurried back to school, making it into the classroom with just a minute to spare.
During lunch break, the three of them gravitated toward each other again.
"So you're the Taki-san everyone talks about. You're quite famous at school," Tanuma said.
"Famous for never talking to anyone?" Toru said with a wry smile. "I didn't want it to be that way."
"Was it because of the yokai?" Through their conversation, Natsume realized she wasn't actually a cold person.
"Yes. It was that yokai you saw this morning," Toru explained briefly. "If the Kami-sama hadn't helped me, I might have died. I want to repay Him. Would you two be willing to come with me to the shrine to offer thanks?"
She noticed the strange expressions on their faces. "What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
"The God you mentioned... is His shrine on the other side of that mountain?" Tanuma pointed in a certain direction.
"How do you know? Don't tell me..."
"Yeah." Natsume nodded. "We've met Aosora-sama already. As you said, He is a very kind God. He has helped both of us."
Tanuma pointed to his glasses. "These glasses were given to me by Aosora-sama. They let me see yokai."
"Glasses that let you see yokai?" Toru was envious. "That's so cool. I want a pair too."
"But can't you already see them?"
"That's only because Koka is helping me," Toru said, patting Koka, who was busy munching on cake. "Koka is a Divine Envoy."
"A Divine Envoy?" Tanuma smirked. With a companion like that, why was she envious of his dorky glasses?
"Seems like he's a bit of a glutton too. I think Nyanko-sensei would get along with him quite well," Natsume said with a smile.
"Nyanko-sensei?"
"A cat at Natsume's house. It's actually a yokai."
"Oh."
As they chatted, Koka finished the cake. It let out a satisfied burp and spoke to the three of them: "The Kami-sama invites you to the shrine tomorrow evening to attend a festival."
"Attend a festival?!"
The three looked at each other, seeing mutual surprise and excitement in their eyes.
"Alright! We'll be there!"