Editing The Unexplored Summon Blood Sign:Volume7 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 3===

There were many varieties of cicada, so the sounds of their cries changed depending on the time of day. They had not made much noise during the night and they seemed to make more of a ''jiii jiii'' than a ''miiin miiin'' during the morning.

There was no need to switch on the air conditioner. The wind blowing across the mossy garden and through the window screen was enough to stop their sweating. The refreshing Japanese building was protected by that water and air.

(Although the wood smells fairly new.)

Kyousuke and Biondetta sat on cushions in front of a tea table and glasses of barley tea were placed in front of them. Due to the ice in the tea, cold condensation covered the outside of the glasses.

“…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………”

“Now. Higan, do you know why Renge is collapsed on the tea table and refusing to move?”

“No. What ''are'' you doing, Renge?”

“Nothing,” was all she weakly said from the gap between her face and the table.

Meinokawa Higan was the shrine maiden said to be Renge’s twin sister. Their facial features were almost identical, but her long hair was blonde and her eyes were a transparent blue. And this was not due to dying her hair or wearing color contacts.

She was a Summoning Ceremony vessel.

As proof, she wore restraints that bound her own mind and prevented evil spirits from possessing her against her will. In her case, she wore a leather blindfold pushed up onto her forehead and a racehorse’s bit lowered around her neck.

“Well, as long as someone can get us in contact with her, it doesn’t really matter who.”

“Come to think of it, what brings you here, Shiroyama-san?”

“Are your parents here right now?”

“They left a note on the message board saying they were going to a neighborhood association meeting. Um, I think it’s a reminder that burglars will come to the village disguised as tourists.”

That was a very working class reason to miss someone, but then Biondetta narrowed her eyes.

“Huh? But we’re summoners and vessels, so if your entire family works on the front lines, wouldn’t they be completely forgotten by a gathering of normal people?”

Renge weakly waved a hand with her black hair spread out on the table like a dead jellyfish. She seemed to be saying to keep quiet about that ''especially in front of Higan who remained ignorant of it all.

…The greatest achievement of the Meinokawa Shrine was the construction of entirely artificial vessels using the Joruri Method and pairing them with the family’s skilled summoners for a stable supply of fighters.

It was a bit of a confusing concept, but if they specialized in “construction”, then it was possible some of them did not become summoners or vessels despite being so deeply involved with the Summoning Ceremony.

Although that meant the pairs like Renge and Higan would still be forgotten by normal people.

Renge finally raised her head.

“Well, pretty much everyone who lives around here is a Meinokawa. Even if the family name in front of the house changes, they’re still some kind of relative, so plenty of people remember you even after you fall into the world of the Summoning Ceremony.”

“That would explain how lively the village seemed for its supposedly declining population. There must be a large gap between the population remembered by the official records and the population forgotten by them.”

The Meinokawa Shrine had once been taken by a Queen-worshiping group called Guard of Honor due to the debt racked up the gambling addiction of the twins’ parents. So even if they were surrounded by relatives, there must have still been a line drawn between them.

Kyousuke thought for a bit.

“There are some aspects of the Meinokawa Shrine’s system I don’t understand, so could you explain something for me?”

“Sure.”

“When trying to contact someone, would it be rude to go over your parents’ heads since they must be the current priests? Or can I get permission from shrine maidens like you? Is there a single, direct hotline, or are the lines drawn out in a network?”

“Who are you trying to contact?”

Kyousuke leaned in toward the black-haired summoner’s ear since she did not want Higan to know about the artificial beings. And he whispered to the girl who blushed at his unexpected approach.

(The very first Joruri Method. Meinokawa Aoi-san who is enshrined as your secret god.)”

And finally…

“This way.”

The twins parted ways and Meinokawa Renge alone guided Shiroyama Kyousuke and Biondetta. Blonde Higan puffed her cheeks out like rice cakes, but due to the great secret she carried, Renge could not let her sister know about the details of the Joruri Method. So Renge gave Higan a long series of chores to keep her busy in the kitchen: “Cook some somen, chop up the pickled vegetables in the underground ice room, thaw some corn, rub some soy sauce on it, cook it, and then cheer on the high school baseball team on TV.”

Meinokawa Aoi.

Since she was known as the shrine’s secret god, she would not be in an obvious location.

The black-haired shrine maiden guided them to the back of the normal shrine building. She touched the altar wall and the entire wall spun around like something from a ninja mansion.

As soon as she did, the already cool air grew downright icy.

“Is this…?”

“…a limestone cave?”

Kyousuke and Biondetta carefully observed the large space that opened up before them.

It was surrounded by walls of a whitish mineral. Thanks to the many smooth bumps on the walls and the drops of water dripping down them, it felt like walking into the stomach of a giant creature.

“The upkeep of this place is a real pain thanks to all the moisture. The hidden door is airtight, but mold sneaks in through the smallest gaps,” explained Renge as she grabbed some traditional sandals. “Take these shoes. It’s slippery, so it can be pretty dangerous.”

Since they could visually observe the cave, it obviously had a light source. Just like at a construction site, there was scaffolding of steel panels and metal pipes as well as angled ladders instead of stairs. Halogen lights were strung up by thick cables. The low, droning rumble heard in the distance may have been due to a tunnel ventilator.

“We entered through a fancy hidden door, but there are actually entrances to the cave all over.” Her answer was simple. “One route leads to our enshrined god, but there are plenty of other routes too.”

“I see. …Secrecy can be both good and bad, can’t it?”

“Tell me about it. Our ancestors apparently located the sacred ground here without giving it much thought, but they must not have understood the full scope of this vast network of caves. They only later realized how many other entrances there are. Now there are all sorts of sections built up in here: for sightseeing, for crystal mining, and for storing food, buried treasure, or other supplies. And all the ‘discoverers’ believed they had found a different cave.” Renge smiled bitterly. “We might want to forbid them from using the caves, but normal people won’t remember what summoners tell them, so there’s no way to stop them. We apparently filled in the holes in the past, but since they couldn’t remember any of it, they just kept digging back up the same spot. We’ve ended up deciding it’s for the best if the inside ends up a giant labyrinth. And meanwhile, we’re trying to divert the underwater rivers to divide up the caves using the powerful moisture and rapid currents. Although we can’t get too aggressive since the crystals mined here are used for our shrine’s protective charms.”

Her explanation continued as they walked across the metal bridges running across a giant underground lake. It was probably set up so choosing the safer route would take you away from the enshrined god.

The Meinokawa family may have brought in the materials for this as well.

It seemed even religious occupations could be difficult.

“But with all this water in here, it’s kind of creepy to not see any bats, geckos, or other animals. I just hope that isn’t a sign of volcanic gases.”

“Oh, that’s one of the signs.”

“?”

“There are animals in the other tunnels. We haven’t put out anything to keep them away, but for some reason, none of them ever approach the route leading to our secret god. As if they’re showing respect for the sacred ground.”

They walked along the poor footing of the cave for about half an hour.

At the very back of a narrow tunnel, they found a thick steel door covered in gold leaf. The double door’s gold was not a gaudy decoration; it was meant to prevent rusting within all the moisture. The lock actually looked more valuable. It was a giant, bag-sized padlock that had likely been in use for centuries. But that kind of lock did not look like it could be opened from the inside. Looking at it that way, the door almost felt like it led to a cell. Instead of preventing thieves from getting in, it seemed to prevent some great evil from escaping.

“Where’s the key?”

“It was apparently lost a few generations back.” After nonchalantly admitting that, Renge grabbed the antique padlock with both hands. “So you have to grab it like this, twist it this way, and push up on the latch inside. Diagonally…like this!”

With a heavy clunk, the lock really did open.

It looked a lot like an old lady hitting the corner of an old TV to get it working again. One had to question why they even bothered with the lock anymore, but the padlock was so rusted at this point that it seemed doubtful the key would have fit inside even if they did find it. In a way, they may have created a family security lock that was immune to analog picking and digital cyber attacks.

“Beyond this door lies Meinokawa Aoi…our shrine’s god and, in a way, my ancestor,” said Renge concerning the very first Joruri Method. “Are you ready? There is an even greater reason why we can’t place her out front to gather visitors. She is a very…peculiar person, so prepare yourselves.”

With that warning, she opened the thick and golden door.

And beyond those double doors, they found…