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"Has Kitahara-kun arrived in Kamakura?"
Mai's message quickly popped up on his phone.
Kitahara Makoto: "At the hospital entrance."
Sakurajima Mai: "Got it. Wait for me at the bookstore."
"…"
Kitahara Makoto put away his phone and walked to the entrance of the bookstore where he had met Mai yesterday.
A moment later.
A black-haired girl with long, straight hair, wearing a windbreaker and sunglasses, her beautiful black hair reaching her waist, walked over, looking quite heroic and dashing.
"Mai?" Kitahara Makoto felt his eyes light up. It was his first time seeing Mai look so heroic and dashing. "Why are you wearing a windbreaker in summer?"
"I just came out of the cinema," Sakurajima Mai took off the sunglasses on her high nose bridge, revealing a pair of bright, charming, and expressive eyes. "The air conditioning in the cinema is very cold in summer, and I felt a bit like I was catching a cold yesterday, so I wore a bit more."
When they parted ways at the convenience store entrance yesterday evening, Kitahara Makoto directly left the necklace with Sakurajima Mai and didn't take it back, letting Mai try to collect mental power on her own first.
Her first stop was the cinema.
Humans only release a large amount of mental power when they are emotionally agitated. So, when watching a horror movie, their emotions would definitely be very agitated, right?
Sakurajima Mai wanted to verify this.
That's why she went to the cinema this morning, specifically to watch a popular horror movie.
"Kitahara-kun, please check if the necklace has changed."
Sakurajima Mai took out the mysterious necklace and handed it over.
Although she had taken the necklace to the cinema, whether it had been successfully charged still needed Kitahara Makoto to determine.
"Let me see."
Kitahara Makoto reached out, took the necklace, and observed it carefully.
A moment later.
"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Mai," Kitahara Makoto said, shaking his head. "The mental power replenished by the necklace is only a tiny bit. It must be that Mai got scared while watching the movie, and it's still far from being full."
After all, it was a tool he personally optimized. Kitahara Makoto could, of course, tell if the necklace had been successfully charged.
"Is that so…"
Sakurajima Mai raised a slender, doll-like finger and gently pressed her brow:
"It seems the shortcut failed."
Kitahara Makoto said softly:
"What are your thoughts next, Mai?"
"An amusement park, perhaps," Sakurajima Mai clasped her right arm across her chest. "I'll try riding a roller coaster when I have time."
Most human emotions are actually quite stable. To generate large fluctuations, emotions like happiness and surprise are difficult to create, but emotions like excitement and fright are much simpler to obtain.
Kitahara Makoto mused:
"You probably can't ride the roller coaster today, can you?"
Sakurajima Mai gently nodded: "Indeed, not today. We'll wait until the weather clears up."
The roller coaster definitely wouldn't be an option today. The weather forecast said there would be rain today. Although it wasn't raining now, it could start at any time. The roller coaster is an outdoor attraction, so it naturally wouldn't be open.
In other words, to verify if the roller coaster works, it might take ten days to half a month… There's no help for it, the rainy season won't end anytime soon.
"What a pity."
Kitahara Makoto suddenly sighed.
"Hmm?"
Sakurajima Mai tilted her head and looked over.
Kitahara Makoto said faintly, "It's a pity I can't bring the necklace to Mai-senpai in my dreams, otherwise it would be fully charged in a minute."
Sakurajima Mai: "..."
"Don't talk about things you can't do." Sakurajima Mai also felt a bit regretful. "Let's go... I'll take you to Enoshima first. I probably know what kind of place you mentioned yesterday."
"..."
The two boarded the Enoden train and slowly made their way to Enoshima.
It's worth mentioning that before boarding the train, Sakurajima Mai specifically wore the necklace to buy tickets. She only wore it for a minute or two before taking it off, so it wouldn't cause much of a problem—
There was no other way before, but of course, she wouldn't try to evade the fare now.
The journey was silent.
"We'll be there after we cross this bridge."
Sakurajima Mai slightly raised her chin, gesturing towards the other side of the stone bridge.
Enoshima is not an island formed by volcanic eruption; it was originally part of the mainland, but it extends too far into the sea and is often submerged during high tide, which is why it's called an island.
There's no need to take a boat to get to the island, as a three to four hundred-meter-long bridge directly connects to Enoshima. You can see that even though the weather isn't good right now, there are still many pedestrians coming and going on the bridge.
Kitahara Makoto looked at Enoshima on the opposite bank and felt a bit disappointed:
"It's quite different from the Enoshima I imagined..."
He originally thought Enoshima was very beautiful, but now that he was here, he found it was just an ordinary small island. Across the bridge was the Commercial Street, with low wooden buildings on both sides. Of course, it might also be because of the bad weather; the sea and sky were both a gloomy gray, and Enoshima naturally lost its color.
"Admiration is the furthest distance from understanding." Sakurajima Mai said, with her arms crossed, quoting Lord Aizen's famous words, "Without the filter, that's the true appearance of Enoshima."
"What Mai-senpai said is very philosophical." Kitahara Makoto retorted, "It's like I didn't understand Mai-senpai before, and I thought Mai-senpai was cute and charming..."
"And now?"
Sakurajima Mai tilted her head and looked over, her beautiful eyes slightly narrowed.
Kitahara Makoto's expression became serious: "Now Mai is even cuter and more charming."
"Tsk."
"..."
The two crossed the stone bridge and landed on Enoshima.
"Mai-senpai, are you hungry?"
Kitahara Makoto asked.
Sakurajima Mai pursed her pink lips slightly: "Not hungry."
"Then I'll eat something, I'm hungry." Kitahara Makoto walked up to a shop. "Do you want takoyaki or sanshoku dango?"
Sakurajima Mai parted her pink lips and said softly:
"Takoyaki, I guess."
Both sides of the Commercial Street were filled with shops selling various souvenirs and food. Kitahara Makoto easily bought two servings of takoyaki, one for him and one for Sakurajima Mai, and they stood at a street corner eating.
Each box contained six takoyaki. Kitahara Makoto ate them one by one, very quickly, finishing them all in less than two minutes.
In contrast, Mai chewed slowly when she ate, even taking two bites for one takoyaki. However, it was quite beautiful to watch; the so-called 'feast for the eyes' probably described the scene before him.
At this moment, a few junior high school students chasing and playing passed by them. One of the little girls suddenly stumbled and was about to crash into Sakurajima Mai.
Mai, whose presence was zero, was like air in the eyes of ordinary people. Others wouldn't actively avoid her; it was always Mai who had to avoid others. Unfortunately, it happened so suddenly that Mai-senpai clearly couldn't react in time.
"Watch out!"
Kitahara Makoto, quick as a flash, extended his right hand and pulled Sakurajima Mai into his arms.
"Mmm..."
The pressure of her chest against Kitahara Makoto's chest made Sakurajima Mai let out a low moan. There was still half a takoyaki on the bamboo skewer in her hand, and it was about to stain her clothes.
Kitahara Makoto quickly lowered his head and bit off the remaining half of the takoyaki, eating it.
Sakurajima Mai took half a step back. Looking at the empty bamboo skewer, a delicate blush quickly spread across her fair, doll-like face:
"...Was it good?"
"It tasted super good." Kitahara Makoto gave a thumbs up. "Thanks for the treat."
Sakurajima Mai: "..."
Mai, with her high attack and low defense, couldn't resist at all. She could only let out a soft hum and turn her head away.
After a quick meal, the two continued their journey.
"The Iwaya Caves, we've arrived." Sakurajima Mai explained, "These are caves formed by years of erosion from ocean waves, and they're one of Enoshima's attractions. Only here do the conditions you mentioned, Kitahara-kun, apply."
"There are only two caves open for visitors; the rest are small caves with no tourist value. I've already noted down their locations."
"Which specific cave meets your requirements, Kitahara-kun, is something you'll have to determine yourself."
"You've worked hard, Mai." Kitahara Makoto nodded. "Leave the rest to me."
The two arrived at the cave entrance. Entry required buying tickets, but a candle lantern was given for free.
"There are so many people?"
Upon entering the cave, the sight of a packed crowd of tourists immediately came into view, leaving Kitahara Makoto speechless.
The entrance to the Otherworld usually has mysterious powers. Kitahara Makoto was certain that the cave in front of him was definitely not the location given by the answer book, otherwise, if so many people disappeared at once, Enoshima would definitely be sealed off.
"Since we're already here..." Kitahara Makoto raised the candle lantern. "Let's take a look around."
"Mhm."
The cave was very narrow, and the ceiling wasn't high; tall people might even hit their heads. Moreover, there was only one path. Tourists returning from the front had to turn sideways to let others pass. Coupled with the already rainy weather, the cave could only be described as damp and chilly. No wonder there were no staff inside; staying there all day would definitely lead to rheumatism.
Fortunately, Mai was by his side. Exploring together made Kitahara Makoto feel that his thirty minutes weren't wasted.
"Clearly, this isn't the cave we're looking for."
Kitahara Makoto and Mai walked out and explored the surroundings, finally discovering an inconspicuous small cave.
"This is it."
Kitahara Makoto stood on the stone at the cave entrance and immediately determined that this was the location mentioned in the answer book.
The Dutiful Exorcist's physique not only allows him to subdue demons but also to see strange things. For example, at this moment, Kitahara Makoto could see wisps of dark aura permeating the cave.
After discovering the location of the cave, the trip to Enoshima came to an end.
Kitahara Makoto and Sakurajima Mai left Enoshima, then temporarily parted ways.
Mai went home to prepare her supply backpack, while Kitahara Makoto went to the general hospital.
"Kitahara-kun, have you found the location yet?"
In the hospital hallway, Chihaya Anon quietly asked about the situation.
"I found it." Kitahara Makoto nodded. "Next is entering the Otherworld and then gathering the healing items."
"That's good that you found it." Chihaya Anon breathed a sigh of relief, her tone worried. "Karin-chan's condition is very bad; I've never seen her so haggard. We must find that phantom sky flower as soon as possible to help Karin-chan recover... Kitahara-kun, when are we departing?"
"No hurry, let's ask the answer book first." Kitahara Makoto opened his backpack, took out the answer book, and handed it over. "Yesterday's answer and today's answer might not be the same."
"Okay."
The task of asking questions was left to Anon.
After the pink-haired girl asked her question, the answer in the book didn't differ much from yesterday's, only the time was slightly earlier.
Seeing the time in the book, Kitahara Makoto silently noted it down, then said:
"The time is almost up. Go say goodbye to Karin-san, then we'll depart."
"..."
A moment later.
The two girls walked out of the hospital room.
"Eh... where are they?" Chihaya Anon looked around, completely bewildered. "How did Kitahara-kun disappear?"
Takamatsu Tomori furrowed her delicate brows: "Hana-chan is also gone."
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