Anime Crossover: Master is Not Here Today

However, because this phenomenon is so rare, they only found descriptions from netizens online and never witnessed it in person.

Other items include unusually heavy rains in history, mystical phenomena related to rainfall, and even ghosts and gods that control rainfall, etc. This part of the information is quite complex.

"According to the original plan, our next step was to visit this place to see if there were any relevant clues."

While Fujimaru Ritsuka was still reviewing the information, Haibara Ai showed her her phone.

"Weather Shrine?"

"Yes,"

At this moment, Mashu, who was standing nearby, eagerly chimed in:

"The Weather Shrine is said to be the only shrine in Japan related to weather. Although not many people visit it, it seems to be quite famous. It is said to have an 800-year history."

"More importantly, the main deity enshrined at the Meteorological Shrine is Yashinagami, who is said to be able to control eight weather phenomena: sunshine, overcast skies, rain, snow, thunder, wind, frost, and fog."

"That's highly suspicious!"

"Forehead……"

At this point, Mash's tone became somewhat excited, but Fujimaru Ritsuka was puzzled and didn't understand why Mash would say that.

But it makes sense that the head priest of the meteorological shrine is a god who controls eight types of weather.

So, she asked cautiously:

"Um... excuse me, what's suspicious?"

"senior,"

Upon hearing Fujimaru Ritsuka's words, even the gentle Mashu couldn't help but become serious, and earnestly advised her:

"Even if the other party has no contact with Chaldea for the time being, it would be best if you still found out beforehand, senpai?"

Chaldea arranged cultural courses for her, which included introducing the myths and gods of various civilizations.

However, she usually only remembers the most famous ones, or the stories of Servants who have already come to Chaldea.

So she could only chuckle awkwardly, scratch her head, and promise:

"Well, I'll definitely do it next time."

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 326 The Realm of Gods, Peace Negotiations?

However, Mash also knows that Fujimaru Ritsuka has a lot to learn besides dealing with problems when she's at Chaldea.

Therefore, after simply offering some advice to Fujimaru Ritsuka, she continued to explain:

"Logically speaking, the Eight-fold God of Wisdom is not a deity who controls eight kinds of weather, but a god of literature who controls wisdom."

"According to legend, Amaterasu hid in the Iwato, plunging the world into darkness. Yashiro and Kane offered a plan to the eight million gods, which made Amaterasu hear the laughter, joking, dancing and music outside. She couldn't resist pushing open the Iwato to peek out, and Amaterasu, who was placed to the side, took the opportunity to grab her and restore light to the world."

"This is the most famous story of Yashinagami."

"At least that's the case in our world, and I've received confirmation of that from Leonardo da Vinci and the Chaldeans."

After listening to Mashu's explanation, Fujimaru Ritsuka's eyes lit up.

Unusual heavy rain, unusual weather, Japan's only weather shrine, originally a place of wisdom, but inexplicably transformed into Yashinagami, the god who governs eight types of weather...

No matter how you look at it, the other party seems to have an inextricable connection with the current unusually heavy rain.

Therefore, Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately decided:

"Then, let's head to the Weather Shrine to investigate!"

……

...

The Weather Shrine is located in Suginami Ward, Tokyo. Although it is a long-established shrine with a history of over 800 years, it does not attract many worshippers.

After donating 500,000 yen to the shrine, Fujimaru Ritsuka and her party received a warm welcome from the shrine.

Despite the warm welcome, the shrine now only has one short, balding old man who is also hard of hearing. He serves as both the chief priest and the head priest.

In addition, there is his young grandson.

According to the old priest, although he has a son and daughter-in-law, his unfilial son has no intention of inheriting the shrine for the time being. The couple currently works at a company, from nine to five.

Therefore, during the day, only he and his grandson, who came home from school in the afternoon, were in the shrine.

Upon learning that Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others wanted to learn about the story of the Weather Shrine, the old priest began to tell them a story while leading them into the shrine.

"Regarding this heavy rain, I've been hearing a lot on TV lately saying things like 'breaking historical records' and 'unusually heavy rain'... It's utterly ridiculous!"

Right from the start, Old Master Ji expressed his unconventional views, seemingly disdainful of the expert reports on television.

Under the curious gazes of Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others, he spoke eloquently:

"People nowadays always talk about 'the first time in the history of observation,' but when exactly does that refer to the start of observations?"

"At most a hundred years."

"And what about our Weather Shrine? It has existed for eight hundred years! Not to mention the weather that appears with the world."

"Cough cough!"

At this point, the old priest couldn't help but cough twice, and his grandson, who was accompanying him, quickly patted his back.

After calming down a bit, he continued:

"In the end, the weather is the mood of the heavens, a domain controlled by the gods. Regardless of human nature or social norms, whether it is torrential rain or drought, it is merely a manifestation of the heavens' mood. How can it be considered anything abnormal or normal?"

"In this ever-changing world, we humans can only hold on tightly to the temporary dwelling place given to us by heaven, so as not to be left behind."

“In the past, people have always been clear about this.”

The group followed the old palace priest into the inner hall. As soon as the door was opened, the old palace priest looked up at the ceiling.

Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others looked up following the old priest's gaze and saw a magnificent painting that covered the entire ceiling of the room.

"This is……!?"

Upon seeing this, Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others widened their eyes in surprise.

The painting depicts a rather strange scene—

The clouds swirl, and a white Eastern dragon weaves through the mist. But beside the dragon, a giant whale swims, surrounded by countless schools of small fish, making it hard to tell whether one is in the sky or in the ocean.

"What a fantastic scene!"

"And it's so beautiful!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mashu couldn't help but gasp in amazement, and even Haibara Ai couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

More importantly, although the painting in front of them did not depict any rain, the three of them unanimously thought of the continuous heavy rain, as if there was some connection between the two.

"Right."

Seeing their reaction, the old priest smiled with satisfaction and introduced them with some pride:

"It is said that this is the view seen by the first weather shrine maiden, and it is also the starting point for the establishment of our weather shrine, which is now 800 years old."

"Weather Witch?"

Noticing an unusual form of address, Fujimaru Ritsuka looked on with a questioning gaze. The old priest explained:

"Although the heavens are merciless, there is a thin thread connecting heaven and man, and that is the weather shrine maiden."

"The mission of weather witches is to heal the weather. They listen to people's urgent wishes and make them reach the heavens. They are special people. In the past, such people existed in every country and every village."

Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others nodded, as they were indeed familiar with this.

Then, Fujimaru Ritsuka asked with some curiosity:

"Since the weather is neither normal nor abnormal, how can we talk about [treatment]?"

The old priest looked at her with surprise and explained:

"【Healing】of course refers to our human perspective. Whether it's seeking sunlight or rain, only the weather shrine maiden can make it happen."

Fujimaru Ritsuka understood, then looked up at the painting on the ceiling and fell into deep thought.

Since this painting is what the weather witch, who connects heaven and earth, saw, could this be the so-called "realm of the gods"?

Are the white dragon, whale, and school of fish among them gods? Or some other kind of being?

Is this heavy rain also the will of that deity?

"only,"

Suddenly, the old priest spoke again:

"Everything comes at a price, and the weather shrine maidens seem to all have a tragic fate."

Fujimaru Ritsuka narrowed her eyes slightly upon hearing this.

Cost? Or an equivalent exchange?

What will be the price for the weather witch who begs the heavens to change the weather?

life?

In any case, according to the old priest, gods reside in the sky, and changes in the weather are merely changes in the gods' moods. They disregard worldly customs and do as they please, and only the weather witch can communicate with them and temporarily change the weather.

Fujimaru Ritsuka was not unfamiliar with this kind of god image that disregarded worldly customs and human sentiments, because there were also several god servants with this kind of personality in Chaldea.

As for the other party's view that humans can only follow the weather and the gods, she reserved her opinion for the time being.

Since the weather shrine maiden can communicate with the gods, it means that the other party is also capable of negotiating terms.

After all, the rainfall issue isn't something that requires a life-or-death struggle. If we can find a way to talk to the other party and resolve the problem peacefully, that would be ideal.

Otherwise, we can only try to see if we can win.

only……

How can she get to the realm of the gods?

(End of this chapter)