Early the next morning, Yuuko inexplicably felt a numbness in his right hand.
It felt as if something had been pressing on his right hand while he slept last night... This situation had been going on for a long time, but it usually went away after he got up and moved around, so Yuuko didn't pay much attention to it.
Perhaps he just slept in an awkward position and pressed on his right hand?
Yuuko reluctantly got up and moved his body, allowing blood to flow back into his right hand, immediately dispelling the numbness.
However, it was just his daily routine of washing up.
Stepping out of his room, Yuuko found that the little fox in its den was gone.
"Did it run off to play like usual again?" Yuuko muttered, not paying it much mind.
The pink fox he kept at home almost always snuck out during the day and only returned at night; Yuuko had long grown accustomed to this.
After washing up, Yuuko changed his clothes and headed out.
Today, he was going to the Grand Narukami Shrine... The Grand Narukami Shrine is located on Mt. Yougou, directly north of Inazuma City.
On the mountain stands an ancient sacred sakura tree, a tree that is the object of worship for all the shrine maidens of the Grand Narukami Shrine.
It is said that hundreds of years ago, when Inazuma faced a disaster, it was this sacred sakura tree that shielded Inazuma from it.
It could be said to be a divine tree possessing infinite power.
Yuuko's reason for coming to the Grand Narukami Shrine today was actually to draw a fortune slip to check his luck, as his new book had just been released.
Basically, whenever Yuuko had free time, he would wander around the Grand Narukami Shrine.
Of course, Yuuko didn't actually believe in the metaphysics of fortune slips.
The main reason he frequently visited the Grand Narukami Shrine was because Yae Miko, the Editor-in-Chief of Yae Publishing House, was the chief priestess of the Grand Narukami Shrine... After all, she was the Editor-in-Chief, so for the future of his novels, he had to frequently show his face at the Grand Narukami Shrine, hoping to gain Yae Miko's favor.
After leaving his home, Yuuko traveled north, then followed the path up Mt. Yougou, and before long, he arrived at the Grand Narukami Shrine on the mountaintop.
As soon as he entered the shrine, he saw Inashiro Hotarumi, one of the shrine maidens.
Upon seeing that the visitor was Yuuko, Inashiro Hotarumi greeted him with a smile:
"Master Yuuko, have you come to draw a fortune slip again today?"
"Yes." Yuuko nodded, then said, "Drawing a fortune slip is secondary; I came today primarily to find Yae Miko. Is Yae Miko here now?"
The shrine maiden Inashiro Hotarumi thought for a moment, then replied:
"Hmm, Guuji-sama should be under the sacred sakura tree. Master Yuuko can go directly to Guuji-sama, but..."
Inashiro Hotarumi's face showed some hesitation, as if she was considering whether to tell Yuuko.
Yuuko frowned: "But what?"
Inashiro Hotarumi shook her head and smiled, "It's nothing. Master Yuuko, please go in."
Although he found Inashiro Hotarumi's reaction strange, Yuuko didn't think much of it. He nodded and said:
"Then I'll go ahead."
"Please take your time, Master Yuuko." Inashiro Hotarumi bowed to Yuuko.
Afterward, Yuuko parted ways with Inashiro Hotarumi and walked towards the depths of the shrine.
To be honest, the shrine maidens in this shrine were all very enthusiastic, often showing concern for Yuuko.
They were just a bit overly enthusiastic, almost like the editors at Yae Publishing House.
This made Yuuko quite puzzled.
It was understandable for the editors at Yae Publishing House to be enthusiastic about him, as his book had achieved some success.
But what was the reason for the shrine maidens at the Grand Narukami Shrine being so kind to him?
It couldn't possibly be because he had a handsome appearance like a reader, so the shrine maidens had a good impression of him, could it?
Yuuko was not such a narcissistic person.
Walking deeper into the shrine, Yuuko saw a woman dressed entirely in purple walking in the opposite direction on the corridor.
The woman had a solemn expression, wore a purple kimono, and had her hair tied up like a village girl.
Yet, she exuded the aura and majesty of a great general.
Yuuko knew that this woman was the deity of Inazuma, the Raiden Shogun, a god who wielded the power of lightning.
As the Raiden Shogun walked along the shrine corridor, all the other shrine maidens and visitors, regardless of what they were doing, bowed their heads to her.
In Inazuma, the Raiden Shogun was such a figure, revered by all.
But Yuuko showed no reaction, continuing on his way until he brushed past the Raiden Shogun.
Just as they passed each other, the purple figure suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at Yuuko with a stern expression:
"You..."
Suddenly called out to, Yuuko also stopped and turned to look at the Raiden Shogun.
For some reason, an immense aura suddenly erupted from the Raiden Shogun, with faint purple lightning flickering around her.
The naginata hanging behind the Raiden Shogun seemed ready to be drawn at any moment.
The Raiden Shogun's sudden display of power instantly flustered everyone in the shrine corridor.
One by one, they turned pale and didn't know what to do.
No one knew why this deity had suddenly become enraged.
As for Yuuko, looking at the Raiden Shogun exuding such an aura, there was no fear on his face, only a slight puzzlement.
He also didn't know what had suddenly gotten into the Raiden Shogun.
Could it be that she was angry because he hadn't bowed just now?
Just as Yuuko was thinking this, the aura emanating from the Raiden Shogun suddenly dissipated.
She turned around and said faintly, "Was it an illusion? It's nothing..."
With those words, the Raiden Shogun slowly walked away, gradually exiting the shrine corridor.
This strange scene caused everyone in the shrine corridor to look at each other, all wondering what had just happened.
Even Yuuko was utterly bewildered.
He had clearly felt killing intent from the Raiden Shogun just now, but it had vanished in an instant.
Yuuko scratched his head:
"Could it be that not bowing made the Raiden Shogun angry? But it shouldn't have been enough for her to emit killing intent towards me..."
Sighing helplessly, Yuuko turned and continued forward... On the other side, as the Raiden Shogun walked out of the long shrine corridor and arrived at the main entrance of the shrine.
She didn't rush to leave, but instead turned back to look at the shrine corridor she had just exited.
Her face displayed an extremely cold expression, as if she were an emotionless machine.
The Raiden Shogun frowned deeply and murmured in a low voice:
"Why did that person just now give me such a lingering sense of fear? Was it an illusion...?"
"That person might be an unknown variable... All unknown variables are enemies of Inazuma, enemies of 'eternity'..."
As she murmured these words, dazzling purple light glowed in the Raiden Shogun's eyes...