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

===Part 8===

It wasn’t teleportation or anything like that. Yahirodono Tsumugi sighed softly after leaving the school’s front door ahead of Chatty.

This was really starting to irritate her.

“Detective> I’ve tracked down the past five victims from their phone location data. They encountered it while walking that bridge on foot between midnight and 4 AM when traffic is almost nonexistent. And this appears to be the kind that establishes a link.”

“Online Shrine Maiden> You mean it will still kill you even if you physically escape the haunted location?”

“Detective> Honestly, I’m amazed she’s lasted this long.”

Disheartening. Tsumugi replied with a wilted flower stamp.

“Detective> Contact with a Malign Spirit means death. It usually happens instantly, but it is sometimes delayed.”

“Online Shrine Maiden> So it caught her leg but she managed to escape. And now it’s only a matter of time?”

“Detective> It guaranteed a future death for her. Maybe she’ll panic at home and crush herself in a door or shutter, or maybe she’ll throw herself in front of a truck. However it happens, she will ultimately have her entire right leg crushed and torn off before she’s crushed to death. That much is fixed now.”

“Online Shrine Maiden> With a life on the line, I wanted to increase our odds of success as much as possible by gathering information first, but we can’t afford to delay any longer for preparations. It’s time I visited the location and eliminated the Malign Spirit.”

And just as Tsumugi returned her trifold phone to her skirt pocket…

“Hey.”

Someone called out to her from behind.

It was the gyaru sister, Betsuzaki Rainy.

“If you’re going to save Chatty, bring me with me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t bother with that. I keep telling them to knock it off in the classroom, but they won’t quit using those one-off burner accounts. It’s gotten so out of hand it might not ''just'' be this school’s students anymore. They’re all so damn irresponsible! ''But that’s not the main issue''!!”

The gyaru sister glared fiercely at Tsumugi.

“Don’t underestimate a gyaru’s information network. The rumors about a shrine maiden saving the mother and child at the Apartment of Many Deaths – that’s you. I’ve known you’re the real deal since before I spied on your phone’s screen!! This isn’t about those silly burner accounts and gawkers. There’s someone here who can eliminate the real problem and bring back Chatty’s school life! And if there’s a way, I’m helping!!”

The online shrine maiden of an online shrine sighed.

''She switched modes.

“Rank: Single Dread Star. The Ghastly Crusher.”

“…?”

“I’m asking if you even know what you’re saying. This brand-new city has only been floating in the ocean here for three years, but the Mincemeat Drawbridge is ''real''. I have a general handle on the various conditions and it will ''appear'' to anyone who sets foot there tonight. Carelessly get involved and you will lose your life. Nothing good will come from the involvement of someone without the necessary knowledge and skills.”

“That’s all the more reason I can’t leave Chatty like this!!”

She didn’t even hesitate.

So that was her angle.

“Let me put it more simply: do you want to die?”

“How many times do I have to explain this!? Chatty’s facing that right now! So I can’t just leave her down in the depths! I’m going to save her! …A mysterious online shrine? A shrine maiden who fights real ghosts? I don’t know what your secret is, Mugikko! But that secret has nothing at all to do with me wanting to go save Chatty when she’s suffering right this second!!!”

Tsumugi slowly let out a sigh.

That much was true. She couldn’t argue, so she raised the white flag. The online shrine maiden had just one more thing to say.

“If you do this, you will truly be risking your life. It’s up to you to be ready for that.”