"This..."
Hearing Lin's words, hesitation surfaced in Yuria Niguredō's eyes.
If it were any other matter, she might have walked away without looking back.
But it just had to be this matter.
Lin was the existence she had been searching for since she was little.
Now, he had finally appeared.
But one question cost one hundred thousand yen.
Although it wasn't a huge amount for her, taking out that much at once wasn't a small feat either; it would take a little time.
"Alright, I agree."
Gritting her teeth lightly, Yuria Niguredō stared straight at Lin. A trace of anticipation surfaced in her eyes.
This was an answer worth one hundred thousand yen.
She hoped Lin's true identity was truly as he said—something that would shock the entire world once revealed.
Lin looked at her with a smile. "What is enshrined in a shrine?"
"Huh..."
Yuria Niguredō froze, not expecting Lin to ask her a question in return.
However, she subconsciously replied, "What's enshrined in a shrine is of course a God... Wait!"
As she spoke, she suddenly realized.
Her eyes instantly went wide as she looked at Lin with a face full of disbelief. "You... are you saying..."
Lin looked at her, the smile on his face unchanging.
"!!!"
Yuria Niguredō was dumbfounded.
It was as if a large stone had been thrown into the calm surface of the water in her heart. With a thud, water splashed into the sky, setting off ripples of waves.
Lin actually said he was a God!
Her first reaction to this answer was disbelief.
Impossible, how could he be a God?
But thinking of how she could see evil spirits, and how Lin instantly killed an evil spirit with a wave of his hand, it didn't seem impossible.
So Lin really is a God...
In her shock, Yuria Niguredō focused her gaze on Lin's face.
No wonder his facial features were so good-looking, seeming flawless. And his skin was even better than a girl's. Standing in a crowd, he gave people the feeling of a shining sun.
If he were a God, everything seemed to make sense.
Looking at Yuria Niguredō, who was dumbfounded with wide eyes and a slightly parted mouth, her face filled with shock, Lin chuckled softly. "How about it? Buying this answer for one hundred thousand yen was very worth it, right?"
"Worth it..."
Hearing Lin's inquiry, Yuria Niguredō slowly came back to her senses and couldn't help nodding to give her answer.
There really are Gods in the world!
Since confirming the existence of things like evil spirits, she had gone to some shrines to try and find Gods. However, she found nothing. She couldn't see a single God. The protective talismans sought from those shrines were useless against evil spirits.
It seemed Gods didn't exist at all.
Yet now, there was a God sitting right beside her.
"Any more questions?" Lin asked. "If not, then write the IOU."
Hearing this, Yuria Niguredō hurriedly said, "Of course there are."
"Speak."
Just as Yuria Niguredō wanted to ask something, she suddenly thought of a matter. "Wait, do you still charge money?"
Lin smiled faintly. "That depends on what your question is."
"..."
Yuria Niguredō fell silent for a moment. A while later, she hesitated and said, "You... uh, Lord God, are there exorcists in Tokyo? Does this question cost money?"
She was a little nervous in her heart. After all, she already owed one hundred thousand yen, and the creditor was a God.
Lin smiled and said, "You answer a question of mine first, then I'll decide whether to charge for this question."
"Please, go ahead?"
Yuria Niguredō was a bit puzzled. Knowing Lin's true identity, she couldn't help but be more restrained.
Lin asked despite knowing the answer, "Why are you asking about exorcists?"
He paused, then continued, "Remember to tell the truth. Don't try to lie in front of a God."
Yuria Niguredō's pupils trembled slightly. However, she had no intention of lying about this question to begin with.
So she said very honestly, "Because I've always wanted to find an exorcist as a teacher, to learn some exorcism methods to deal with evil spirits."
She had been able to see evil spirits since she was young. Trying to tell others only resulted in rejection and isolation.
Every time she saw an evil spirit, she had to pretend not to see it, because the moment she saw an evil spirit, she had a feeling: once the other party discovered she could see them, there would be danger.
Later, in order to deal with potential evil spirit threats, she began looking for various means to exorcise evil spirits, such as various exorcism tools or finding exorcists.
The result was nothing.
Hearing this, Lin smiled and said, "So that's how it is. Then I won't charge you for your previous question."
"The answer is no."
He had used spiritual perception to roughly scan this patch of land that was Tokyo. He didn't find existences like exorcists. Even if Granny Mitsue and Romm from the world of Mieruko-chan existed, they weren't in Tokyo right now. They were likely in other places.
"None..."
Hearing this, Yuria Niguredō was somewhat stunned, then greatly disappointed.
At this moment, Lin continued, "If you want to obtain the ability to subjugate evil spirits, finding an exorcist to apprentice under isn't the only path."
"What else is there?"
Hearing this, Yuria Niguredō couldn't help blinking. Her eyes moved slightly as she looked at Lin with a mix of doubt and curiosity.
Lin hooked the corners of his mouth into a light smile. "It's very simple. Become a Shrine Maiden who serves a God, obtain a God-bestowed power, and you can easily subjugate evil spirits."
"Ah!!!"
Hearing Lin's words, Yuria Niguredō let out a cry of surprise. Her small face instantly turned red as blood. Emotions like astonishment and shyness in her heart were revealed at a glance on her face.
Become a Shrine Maiden serving a God.
She only knew one God right now; the meaning was already very obvious. She never expected Lin to say such a thing.
So Lin's underlying meaning was to have her become his Shrine Maiden?
Lin continued speaking, "The danger level of this world is much higher than what you currently know. There are even existences that can destroy the world."
"Even if we don't talk about other things. Even just speaking of evil spirits, what you can see now are just some low-level evil spirits. They are all small fry."
"There are stronger mid-level evil spirits and high-level evil spirits. With your spirit vision ability, you can't see them at all."
"If you don't want to encounter life-threatening danger, you'd best turn a blind eye to those evil spirits just like before."
"!!!"
Hearing Lin's explanation while shy, Yuria Niguredō's eyes slowly widened, and her small mouth opened slightly.
A look of shock surfaced on her face.
She completely hadn't expected this world to be so dangerous, and that the evil spirits she saw were just some small fry. She couldn't even see stronger evil spirits with her ability. There were even those capable of destroying the world.
Lin smiled faintly and said again, "Time is about up. Write the IOU; I have to go."
He stood up and stretched as he spoke.
"I..."
Yuria Niguredō came back to her senses and opened her mouth, hesitating to speak. Her gaze flickered, her expression fluctuating.
Finally, she nodded gently. "Okay..."
She took paper and pen out of her schoolbag and began to write the IOU.
"How should I write it?"
Just after writing the two characters for "IOU", she couldn't help but freeze for a moment.
Lin chuckled lightly, "It's very simple. Just write that you voluntarily owe Lin one hundred thousand yen."
Hearing this, a flash of strangeness passed through Yuria Niguredō's eyes. She finally knew Lin's name.
She quickly wrote the IOU.
Lin took the IOU and casually put it in his pocket. "Alright, I've received the IOU. We'll meet again if fate allows."
"Bye-bye, be careful on the way."
After saying that, he turned directly and left.
"..."
Watching Lin drift further and further away, Yuria Niguredō had a complex expression.
________________________________________
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