Chapter 10: January — The First Shrine Visit

At the first shrine visit of the year with her friends, a loud voice—one she had heard somewhere before—reached Tsumugi’s ears.

“Please let me go out with Tsumugi-san!”

The sheer volume and content of the voice made the worshippers all turn toward the source.
Tsumugi was among them as well.
Standing before the offertory box, shouting with all his might, was Shingo—the familiar close-cropped boy.

“Ah! The one I mean by Tsumugi-san is—”
And right then, Shingo began explaining everything—her full name, her club, her looks, even her personality.

She had intended to ignore him, but his utter lack of common sense made her body move on its own—and before she knew it, she was gripping him by the collar.
“What on earth are you doing?”
Because they were in public, she chose her words carefully, holding her anger down as best she could.
“For now, would you come over here?”
Still smiling, yet with anger seeping through, she led him toward a corner of the shrine.

“Happy New Year.
I look forward to your continued kindness this year as well.
That kimono suits you beautifully.”
In contrast to Tsumugi,
Shingo greeted the new year with a cheerful smile.

“Yeah, happy New Year.
So, what exactly were you doing?”
She returned the greeting, but let her irritation show through without softening it.

“I was making a wish to the gods.
Even for a deity, I thought it might be difficult to pinpoint the individual just from the name ‘Tsumugi-san,’ so I was providing some details to help.”
“Well, you made it possible to pinpoint me even for those who aren’t gods.”
While Shingo kept smiling, Tsumugi’s expression had turned sharp.

“Tsumugi-san, you’ll go out with me, right?”
“Obviously not.”
She said it coldly, let out a sigh, and left the spot to rejoin her friends.

“Gods! Do your job!”
Shingo’s cry was lost amid the bustle of the shrine-goers.