Saiki Kusuo's footsteps halted in the side yard of the shrine, a little away from the crowd of visitors who were praying. He had just placed a coin and intended to go home immediately, hoping his new year would remain peaceful, without strange incidents.
But suddenly, the air around him tightened.
The thud of time—click!—like the gears of a clock being forced to stop. The sounds disappeared. Even the breath of the wind vanished. People who were walking, laughing, even birds flapping their wings in the air, froze like wax statues.
Saiki's eyes widened slightly.
"Time stopped? Great… who is it this time?"
He sighed, his gaze immediately shifting toward the center of the shrine. From behind the sacred curtain, a soft light appeared, slowly forming the figure of a woman. A glowing white kimono, eyes like the morning sun—with an aura that needed no introduction.
Saiki tilted his head slightly, staring as if already tired of life.
"Oh, fantastic. Now it's the turn of the Shinto Goddess herself. Amaterasu. My peaceful life is completely ruined at the start of the new year."
He leaned against a pine tree, arms crossed over his chest, trying to appear indifferent. But his eyes followed every movement of the Goddess.
Amaterasu walked gracefully, her steps not touching the ground, approaching a young man in the front row. Raku Ichijou.
Saiki frowned slightly.
"So the target is that kid? Of course not me, luckily."
But then he squinted when he realized something—Amaterasu was crying. A God's tears were not an ordinary thing. Especially a Goddess as great as her.
"Wait… the Sun Goddess is crying? That's… clearly not a good sign."
His curiosity overcame his reluctance. He focused his concentration, not with ordinary esper power, but with a subtler inner sense. He tried to "look deeper" toward Raku.
No magic. No telepathy. No esper aura.
But there was something—a faint anomaly, like ripples that refused to be detected.
Saiki muttered softly, almost like a complaint.
"…Not magic. Not esper. But… there's something broken inside. Soul? Don't tell me this is an existential problem."
He saw golden light flow from Amaterasu's hand, enveloping Raku. For just a moment, Saiki could feel the cracks inside that boy—a soul like an old piece of cloth, sewn again and again, yet still fragile.
"Amnesia. Soul wounds. This… is unexpected. If Amaterasu herself steps in, then the problem is at a cosmic level. Great… the more I know, the more my head hurts."
Saiki's gaze shifted. Not far from Raku, two other auras also became visible to him: faint, noisy, but clearly felt.
One shone holy, calm like the flow of a hymn—an Angel.
The other dark, sharp, carrying a heat like burning embers—a Demon.
Saiki closed his eyes, patting his forehead lightly.
"Of course. First the Shinto Goddess descends directly, then an Angel aura, and a Demon aura. Is this a festival of supernatural entities? My new year is truly ruined."
He lowered his head, pulling his purple scarf tighter, trying to suppress a sigh of frustration.
"And that kid, Raku… somehow, I'm curious. Ordinary people couldn't possibly attract the attention of these beings all at once. So who is he really? …Hh, really strange."
Then, like water flowing again after being blocked, time resumed. The sound of people filled the air, children running in the shrine yard, the sound of bells ringing again.
Everything seemed normal again. Only Saiki stood still, his gaze blank, as if already resigned.
"I hope I don't get dragged any further. I just want to live peacefully. But if this keeps up… well, I can already guess: this year will be very, very troublesome."
With lazy steps, Saiki turned around, leaving the side yard of the shrine. But in his heart, the name Raku was already stuck like a small thorn that could not be removed.
.....
New Year's morning, the shrine yard was filled with people wearing kimono and yukata. The sweet smell of dango and faint incense blended in the air, making the atmosphere even more distinctive.
Among the crowd, two figures stood out… quite a lot.
Gabriel White, the angel who now resembled more a gamer addicted to screens, walked with lazy steps, her blonde hair slightly messy. She stared straight ahead with a flat face, as if not caring about the world around her.
Beside her, Satanichia McDowell—with a victorious smile and fiery spirit—nearly dragged Gabriel deeper into the shrine.
"See, Gabriel! I was right! New Year must be celebrated at the shrine! It's not good if you just lock yourself in your room, playing games and staying up all night!" said Satanichia with full confidence, both hands on her hips like leading a demon army.
Gabriel only let out a long sigh.
"Huff… I still don't understand why I have to bother. The best way to celebrate New Year is by sleeping all day. This energy must be saved… for sleep later."
Satanichia patted Gabriel's shoulder hard, as if advising a subordinate.
"Energy must be used for worship at the shrine, Gabriel! You'll thank me after this!"
But before Gabriel could reply with her sarcastic remark, the air around them suddenly changed.
The noise of people disappeared. The movement of all beings stopped. Even the thin smoke of incense at the altar froze in the air as if it were a painting.
Gabriel opened her eyes a little wider, the laziness that usually filled her face now replaced with alertness.
"…Time stopped? Tch, this isn't good."
Satanichia looked left and right, then widened her eyes.
"W-What happened?! Is this… another demon's secret technique?!"
But the answer came immediately.
From behind the shrine, a soft light burst forth, forming a majestic figure that stepped slowly. A glowing white kimono, a holy aura pressing the air until it felt like dawn descending directly onto the earth.
Gabriel stiffened. She knew this aura very well.
"…This holy aura… Amaterasu?"
Satanichia lifted her chin, trying to appear calm even though her body was trembling.
"So this is the Goddess Amaterasu? Hmph, nothing much. Just an ordinary Goddess, nothing compared to me, the great heir of the demon wo—"
Her words were cut off when Amaterasu stopped in front of a boy in the shrine's line—Raku. The Goddess's gentle smile slowly turned into tears, her tears falling onto the sacred ground.
Satanichia gawked.
"Eh?! The Goddess Amaterasu is crying?!"
Gabriel was also surprised, though her face remained cold.
"…Even I rarely see something like this. A Goddess as great as her… crying in front of an ordinary human?"
Amaterasu touched her hand to Raku's chest. Golden light radiated, warm, so holy it pierced into the bones. Raku was shrouded in light, as if his soul was being sewn back together.
Gabriel held her breath. She knew exactly what it was.
"…A direct blessing… from Amaterasu. That's no small matter. Even for a fellow heavenly being like me, that's extremely rare. So who is this boy really?"
On the other hand, Satanichia writhed, her body feeling like it was burning.
"Arghhhh!! This holy aura!! Too bright! Too holy!!"
She fell rolling on the stone floor of the shrine, covering her face with both hands.
"Stop!! I'll melt into dust!!"
A few seconds later, Amaterasu finished giving the blessing. That holy aura began to subside, and slowly time resumed. The sound of shrine visitors, the sound of crows, everything returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
Satanichia was still crouching on the ground, wincing dramatically.
"I-I'm still alive… That aura almost melted me… huhuhu…"
Gabriel only looked at her with weary eyes, then let out a long sigh, as if already tired of facing the world.
"…Hahh. So even Amaterasu descended directly today. My New Year is officially ruined."
She put both hands in her pockets, her shoulders slightly slumped.
"…I hope this doesn't interfere with my game time later."
Without looking back, Gabriel walked away, while Satanichia was still busy rolling around behind, screaming as if the world was ending.