"Also, the places in other shrines that are forbidden to enter, I can take you to see them here."
The girl saw that the two were still hesitating and directly increased her offer.
"Isn't that bad?" Shouko became even more hesitant. "Won't this blaspheme the gods?"
"..."
Tsuna wanted to tell Shouko to believe in science, but he seemed unable to say it; he himself was a miracle...
As for Shouko's hesitation, he also somewhat understood.
Because in Japan, shrines, the main hall where the divine body is enshrined, is usually not open to the public, only accessible to mikos.
And worshippers can only bow in front of the worship hall.
There are also forbidden areas and barriers, which are certain mountain forests or paths in some shrines that are considered divine realms and are forbidden to tourists.
The area here that is forbidden to tourists is the back mountain.
"You have to believe in science."
As soon as the miko said this, the atmosphere immediately became quiet, and Shouko was a little speechless...
Tsuna also looked at her a bit speechlessly; her words weren't much different from blaspheming the gods.
And she was the highest-ranking staff member of the shrine...
"Let's go, let's go."
The girl saw that the two were still reluctant to agree, so she directly took Shouko's hand and led her inside, assuring them:
"Don't worry, only the fallen leaves in the area in front of the shrine are left to be cleaned. The two of you will finish it quickly."
"Alright." Shouko turned back and saw that Tsuna had also followed, then nodded in agreement.
As for the broom, the miko had already taken it back and thrown it aside...
---
Tsuna followed behind the two, turned left and right several times, and arrived in front of a tightly closed wooden painted door.
"We're here. Who wants to open this door?" The miko released Shouko's hand, stepped aside from the doorway, and her gaze lingered on the two.
"Tsuna, why don't you?" Shouko turned back to look at him.
"Either is fine." Tsuna walked directly forward, reaching out to push open the wooden door.
It was just a door anyway, there was nothing new or strange about it.
Pushing open the mottled cypress wood door, the scent of aged wood mixed with incense wafted out.
In the dim light, the golden-lacquered cabinet with peeling paint stood quietly on a high platform, with curtains hanging low like a veil of divine concealment.
The scent of burning white sandalwood faintly floated.
Tsuna saw that the inner space of the main hall was a single rectangular room, with a small area of about 10-20 tatami mats (i.e., 15-30 square meters).
At the deepest part, there was also a sealed lacquered wooden shrine, decorated with golden maki-e (traditional lacquer painting) on the surface, and covered with a white curtain (gosho).
And the miko at the doorway saw that both of them were looking at the cabinet, so she spoke up to explain:
"That deepest part is where the divine body is enshrined."
Seeing that the two still didn't understand, she explained it in a way that was easier to comprehend:
"To put it simply, it's the incarnation of a god. Generally, shrines display mirrors, swords, magatama, natural objects, or divine seals."
"Then the things placed in front of that cabinet are offerings, right?" Shouko didn't point but directly asked.
"Yes." The miko nodded, saw Shouko about to walk in, reached out to stop her, and shook her head, explaining:
"Just stand here and look. I don't want to kneel and wipe the floor again."
Upon hearing this, Shouko quickly retracted the foot she had stepped forward with.
Tsuna stood aside, feeling a bit speechless.
When he first heard the first part of her sentence, he thought she was afraid of blaspheming the gods, but in the end, he realized she was afraid of trouble.
She still respected the gods of Japan, but not much...
"Let's go. We've seen it. Shall we go to the next place?" The miko waited for three or four minutes on the side, and only spoke up after both of them had observed carefully.
"Mm-hmm."
"Okay."
Then, under her guidance, the two toured the shrine inside and out, even taking a peek at her temporary residence.
"Are the other staff members all resting?" After walking around, Shouko didn't see anyone else and asked in confusion.
"Yes." The miko nodded, reached out to push open the storage room door, and explained: "They rest on Saturday. I've let them all go home.
And usually, if other tourists don't see the notice board on a Saturday, I'll remind them and then ask them to leave."
Saying that, she turned back and raised her eyebrows at the two, saying cheekily: "So, the fact that you can wander around here on a Saturday is because I'm being merciful."
Her words were full of the meaning that the two of them should be grateful and thank her.
The innocent Shouko gave her a slight bow to thank her, while she smiled and waved her hand, indicating it was nothing, and walked into the storage room.
"I'll leave this place to you. When you're done, just come to my room and call me."
The miko took out a broom from the storage room and handed it to Tsuna. "There's another broom in the front courtyard, so the only place left to clean is the front courtyard."
As her voice fell, she waved goodbye to the two and left the storage room. "I'll come over to find you later."
"This woman is really at ease, not even afraid that the two of us will just run off."
Tsuna looked at her back as she left without hesitation, and couldn't help but complain.
"Let's go. Let's finish cleaning quickly so we can go down earlier and go play somewhere else." Shouko withdrew her gaze and took his hand.
"Okay."
---
The skirt of the morning glow had just swept past the windowsill, and the noon brass bell had already cast short, slanted shadows on the asphalt road.
"You two, you've worked hard. It's very clean."
Tsuna heard the sound and turned back to look at the miko who had appeared behind the two at some point: "Did you come to check?"
"Just a quick glance is enough. Why would I need to check?" The miko shook her head with a slight smile on her lips and reached out to take the brooms from the two.
"Miko sister, if there are no problems, Tsuna and I will leave now."
"Don't be in a hurry to leave. I haven't given you your reward yet." She spoke up to stop the two from lifting their feet.
Tsuna heard this and turned back to look at her again, wanting to hear what the reward she mentioned was.
He saw her take out a wooden ema from behind her, which had a pentagonal roof-like top and a rectangular bottom, and handed it to the two.
He reached out and took it, and while still confused, he heard her explanation:
"This is a relationship ema, which we are preparing to launch after some time.
You are the first ones. As long as you write something related to relationships on it, you will receive the blessing of the god of matchmaking."
Tsuna handed the ema in his hand to Shouko: "Didn't you just say you wanted to believe in science not long ago?"
"Then do you want it?"
"Yes!" Shouko answered quickly, "But is there only one?"
"Otherwise, how could I say you're the first? Only one of you can write on that ema." The miko took out a black watercolor pen and handed it to Shouko:
"Just make the decision yourselves. Give it back to me after you've written on it, and I'll hang it for you."
"This..." Shouko took the pen and began to hesitate.
"Shouko, you write it." Tsuna, who was standing beside her, saw her hesitation and spoke up directly.
He himself didn't really believe in such things.
"Is that okay...?"
Tsuna saw that she was still very hesitant, and only after saying a few more words of persuasion did she feel comfortable accepting i