Is This How You Use a Self-Destruct Switch?!-Chapter 13 : Sigh, Can We Reconcile?

"Thou hast learned the gods' will and must pay five hundred yen."
Reiko was shocked by the other party's shamelessness.
"You're saying the gods' will is a container full of identical bamboo sticks?"
She had thought this would make the shrine maiden feel at least a little ashamed, but she had far underestimated the other party's thick skin.
"This is the gods' will, beyond what you or I can comprehend."
Beyond what you or I can comprehend...
I...
Inhale, exhale.
The silver-haired girl reached out, grabbed the shrine maiden's collar, and pulled her toward herself.
"Have you seen the girl living across the way?"
The shrine maiden glanced at Reiko's clenched fist and very cooperatively nodded her head.
This made Reiko's furrowed brow relax slightly.
"Who does she usually live with?"
The shrine maiden's eyes lit up.
"Five hundred yen."
This girl...
This amazing willpower successfully moved Reiko. Considering the time constraint and the energy completely exhausted today because of Tsuan... Reiko ultimately chose to pay, hoping this would save her some trouble.
The coin flipped back and forth between her fingers. The shrine maiden, satisfied, led Reiko into the inner room, where a crystal ball sat on a table in the center of the room.
The physically and mentally exhausted silver-haired girl sat across from the shrine maiden, watching her manipulate the crystal ball while calculating the remaining time in her mind...
And... does this thing actually work?
Just as she was considering whether to drag the shrine maiden directly to the police station, the crystal ball suddenly flashed with an abnormally bright light, drawing back all of her scattered attention.
"The one thou seekest..."
The one I'm looking for...
"Hair black as ink, eyes red as blood. Dark tresses like clouds, crimson pupils reflecting the moon."
...?
Mm...
Reiko seriously pondered the shrine maiden's description... then...
Black long hair... red eyes... a girl...
"You're talking about Tsuan, aren't you?!"
Really is a con artist, I should immediately call the police and have this person arrested!
As if reading Reiko's thoughts, the shrine maiden immediately stepped forward two paces and grabbed her fingers that were dialing the police.
Then she stared at Reiko's eyes with a pitiful expression...
"Sigh, though the divination is not auspicious, Heaven's heart is merciful..."
Can we reconcile?
"Refund the money."
The shrine maiden shook her head.
"No refunds."
But to prevent Reiko from calling the police, she still explained her divination results... free of charge, of course.
"Ahem, so the person thou seekest is... like this..."
Almost identical to Tsuan...?
Reiko narrowed her eyes, seemingly considering how credible these words were.
To be fair... mm, it wasn't impossible... because if Tsuan's guardian was her relative...
Then how could her relative leave her alone? Could it be...
"500 yen, I'll help you test whether she's still around."
The shrine maiden saw the veins bulging on Reiko's forehead.
"I'll help you test for free, okay? As long as you don't call the police, anything..."
Con artist.
Living right next to Tsuan, probably hasn't missed... deceiving that fool.
But that's not right either. Didn't Tsuan say it was an old lady? Could it be...
"You actually pretend to be an elderly person to commit fraud?! Do you have even a shred of social morality?!"
Using other people's sympathy to commit fraud—this was no ordinary con artist. Heavy punishment was necessary.
"I'm a legitimate shrine maiden! How could I do such things?!"
Words are useless.
Reiko picked up the crystal ball, pretending to throw it on the ground and smash it.
"That's very expensive!"
What the fuck are you saying?
"Do you know the girl across the way or not?"
If you dare say you don't know her to shirk responsibility, I'll smash this and then call the police.
Reiko's smile was bone-chilling, but the shrine maiden's answer made her frown.
"Hasn't the place across always been uninhabited? Where would a girl come from?"
Play... playing dumb?
Reiko held the crystal ball in her hands and continued interrogating.
"When did you move here?"
The shrine maiden, afraid that Reiko might not hold it steady and cost her a lot of money, hurriedly answered.
"I've always lived here? The shrine is behind the mountain, I..."
The cold touch of the crystal ball transmitted through her palm. Reiko felt her temples throbbing. The shrine maiden's testimony was like a cold needle, piercing through her nerves that had become fragile from exhaustion.
Uninhabited... uninhabited...
Before her eyes seemed to appear again that girl who had cried while embracing her.
-Can you see me?
Reiko closed her eyes, feeling for the first time the irritation that this world was completely different from her previous understanding.
'I really don't understand…'
Why, why not just say it directly?
'If what you're saying is true, and what she's saying is also true... then doesn't that mean the one who's lying is me?!'
Sweat born from tension and anger emerged from her palm, inadvertently staining the smooth crystal ball with droplets.
'Calm down... calm down…'
Having encountered too many unexpected events within a single day, Reiko's nerves had become extremely fragile, especially... Tsuan was the point among her tense nerves that she was constantly concerned about.
Her fingers gripped the now slippery crystal ball with force, continuously applying pressure, venting her frustration with force, until it slipped from her hands and crashed heavily onto the floor.
The expected crisp sound didn't occur. Instead, there was the shrine maiden's panicked shouting and a strange sight that suddenly appeared before her eyes.
She saw a black-haired girl holding a katana that looked extremely dangerous just by looking at it, while her other hand was holding... that was...
She tried to identify that figure but found... its image was rapidly disappearing, and at the last moment, it made eye contact with Reiko outside the crystal ball.
Those clear, innocent red eyes revealed her identity.
"What, what was that? Can I see it again?! How much money? I want to see it again!"
She had thought this money-grubbing shrine maiden would directly quote a price, but she... guessed wrong again.
"Thou..."
The shrine maiden organized her words.
"Our divine lord won't allow you to see it again... sorry."
Won't allow me to see it again? But, but...
Reiko clenched her fists unwillingly, but the scene she had just witnessed through the crystal ball also proved... this girl wasn't a con artist, just greedy.
Her phrase "Hair black as ink, eyes red as blood. Dark tresses like clouds, crimson pupils reflecting the moon" really wasn't nonsense...
Then there's no choice but to
"I'll visit the divine lord again another day."
It was about time.
Thirty-two minutes and nine seconds.
A little longer than the promised half hour, but it should... be harmless?
"Tsuan?"
She knocked forcefully on the security door.
No response.
Reiko was somewhat worried... that a certain fool might be searching for her on the street because she came home late.
But the hurried footsteps behind the security door made up for this well.
"Wel, welcome!"