Editing Internet Shrine Maiden Tsugumi-chan:Volume1 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 1===

They were in a high school girls locker room.

“Hey, Yahirodono-san. Since you’re last, can I leave the door key with you?”

Yahirodono Tsumugi answered the taller girl by waving the drier in her hand.

“Um, yes. I-I want to make sure my hair is dry…”

“Yeah, hair that long must be a pain to care for. Anyway, make sure you lock up.”

“Chatty,” called a voice from the hallway and the classmate’s head sticking in through the door withdrew. Tsumugi seriously hoped that was a nickname and not a truly unfortunate real name…

Once she was alone in the large locker room, the 1st year high school girl breathed a gentle sigh. Now she could relax. Her long black hair was actually already dry. It really was a pain to care for, though. She first created a large loop at the back of her head, lowered that, and used a large piece of hosho paper to tie it back by wrapping the base in a tube. With that thick wrap in place, the rest of her long hair flowed down her back and spread out.

Then she pulled out her phone and leaned back against the row of lockers.

Quiet surroundings always helped her concentrate on her work.

She called up a site that couldn’t be reached by an ordinary search engine no matter how hard one tried. Specifically, the official site for Kagebarai Tanebi Shrine. Even more specifically, the hidden editing page for the administrator.

It was hard to tell in the short-sleeve sailor shirt and blue miniskirt of her summer uniform, but the short (but busty) girl with her long black hair tied back was a shrine maiden.

(The fortune telling corner for light users is doing well and the regulars on the message board are the same as ever, but I want something more.)

She muttered to herself as her slender fingers moved rapidly along the screen. She eventually decided the small screen was too restrictive and unfolded the phone like a trifold mirror. It transformed into a notebook-sized tablet in no time.

(The number of views is slightly up, bu I can’t get stuck in a rut. Each individual visitor stays a while, so a lot end up sticking around. Are they looking for a sense of closeness? If I want to get closer to them…yes, it might be best to push the advice column.)

Then she was interrupted by a social media message. From the usual suspect.

“Detective> What kind of souvenir do you want?”

“Online Shrine Maiden> Aren’t you in Tokyo? I don’t even know what counts as a local specialty there.”

“Detective> Then that’s one more thing to look forward to. I’ll have a surprise for you when I get back.”

A friend. Although sometimes it felt more like playing house.

Tsumugi chose not to say anything at all at times like this. She simply gazed fondly at the screen. She sensed a human connection in that collection of text and stam-



“Hey, uh, this is getting really awkward, so should I just introduce myself already?”

“Nyuwah!?”



The high-tech shrine maiden jumped straight up. More than 2cm.

The large chest that contrasted her short stature jiggled.

The voice came from directly behind her. Even though she had her back to the tall lockers dividing the room in half.

Tsumugi hesitantly turned around to look.

“Does the name Betsuzaki Rainy ring a bell? You’ve got the kinda super introvert aura that makes me think you don’t know the names of your own classmates.”

Someone was there.

On top of the tall lockers lined up like bookcases in a library. A gyaru was curled up like a cat on a wall!? Had she wanted to spy on Tsumugi’s phone that badly!? Did that make her a peeper in the locker room? How indecent!

Rainy (was that her real name?) was smiling as she spoke and her appearance could be summed up with the word “gaudy”. Her hair was dyed a bright blue and silver and it was heavily equipped with scrunchies and hairpins. Her extremely short skirt had to be folded at least three times and her short-sleeve sailor shirt had been heavily modified, including a triangle cut out of the bottom center, leaving her navel bare at all times. She wore two or three belts decorated with lamé around her hips and, for some reason, she wore a mysterious belt around her right thigh.

“You’re always over by the wall messing around on your phone in the classroom or the cafeteria, Mugikko, so I was curious.”

“I-it’s none of your business… (whisper)”

“Yeah, it’s just so awkward. Every once in a while, the wall behind you’s so shiny it reflects your phone and I can see everything on the screen, which just makes me more curious. Like that online shrine or chatting on social media with a grown-up.”

“Nyuwah!?” Tsumugi jumped straight up. More than 5cm this time. She felt like she had just realized she had been walking around with her uniform’s skirt caught between her back and her boxy school bag. For an entire month.

The gyaru slid down from the lockers.

“I just thought I should tell you sometime. Is now good?”

She couldn’t focus anymore, so there was no point in continuing. Tsumugi left the girls locker room with Rainy and locked the door. Apparently shrine maidens and gyarus both got hungry during the lunch break. The hallway windows were bright and provided a view of a high-tech city that was only three years old. The buildings outside all sparkled brightly.

“I gotta say, an online-only shrine is pretty weird. You really like it that way or something?”

“No. The actual shrine isn’t around anymore. The official site just never got taken down.”

“Oh, hell. Is this a touchy subject?”

“Why would it be?” Tsumugi herself sounded puzzled. “Life is a lot easier when you have a clear goal. I will find a way to rebuild that shrine. See, isn’t it nice to have a dream for the future?”