Tokyo: Starting with the Shrine Maiden

In other words, there are no clues at all.

Four thousand words. Second and third updates.

Chapter 143. Chiyome's Past

"Will you tell me the location of that magical artifact only after I find the princess?"

Chiyo was silent for two seconds before asking.

"Yes."

The merman replied matter-of-factly, "If I tell you now, you won't go looking for the princess."

"You're making things difficult for me!"

Kaoru Aizawa couldn't help but interject, "There's nothing there, how can you find her? You don't even know if she's alive or dead!"

"Who says I don't know?"

The merman snorted and said, "Deep within the ruins lies the merman race's most precious treasure, the Three Goddess Scepters. If you can obtain it, you might attract the princess to come and see you."

Kaoru Aizawa's eyes lit up immediately.

The Three Goddess Scepters sounds like a valuable item.

Of course, the key point is that it is the only clue.

"Only those with the purest bloodline of the Merfolk can use it."

The merman added, "That means only the princess can activate it."

What lies deep within the ruins?

Chiyo's tone was somewhat agitated.

She already had some guesses.

"You should know."

A hint of pity appeared in the merman's eyes. "After all, you escaped from here once."

"The Ascension Ritual of the Queen of Isohime".

Chiyome twitched her lips, revealing an unpleasant expression. "Who is using it?"

"Your former lord, Takeda Gen."

The merman's lips curled up as he said, "After you escaped, he risked attempting an ascension ritual, which resulted in the complete annihilation of thousands of elite soldiers of the Takeda clan, with none surviving."

Haruhiko suddenly looked around at the buildings.

This is clearly the place where the Takeda clan once lived.

He had roughly understood Chiyo's background.

They were subordinates of the Takeda clan, who dominated the region a thousand years ago.

He participated in the ascension ceremony and was transformed into a mermaid, and managed to escape and went to Tokyo University.

Because of a certain magical artifact, she has been searching for the ruins of the merfolk.

No wonder Haruhiko had never seen her in her mermaid form.

It turns out she wasn't a real merman.

"Although the ascension ritual failed, he did not truly die because of the effect of the Three Goddesses' Scepter."

The merman's smile vanished, replaced by anger.

The Three Goddess Scepters are the most precious treasure of the Merfolk, and are considered extremely sacred in her heart.

Now that she has been monopolized by Takeda Gen, she naturally cannot control her emotions.

"I understand."

Chiyo breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

There is at least a slight possibility.

"What is Takeda Gen's strength?"

Kaoru Aizawa asked with a solemn expression.

Like Haruhiko, she had almost figured out the whole story.

I never expected that my opponent would be a great figure from a thousand years ago.

He must have been at the fifth level back then, so what about now?

"His ascension ritual failed, and now he's just barely surviving."

The merman scanned the four people, thought for a moment, and said, "There won't be any problem with two fifth-tier individuals."

Whether it was a thousand years ago or a thousand years later, those in the fifth rank are among the very few great figures.

However, since there were gods at that time, the fifth rank didn't seem invincible enough.

"let's go."

Chiyo said without any hesitation.

After leaving the square, Haruhiko looked back once more.

The illusion of the previous battle had vanished, leaving only a lone merman wandering about.

"Could there be a problem with what she said?"

Haruhiko asked the question with the mindset of a gamer.

He always felt it wasn't that simple.

Upon hearing this, Aizawa Kaoru turned to look at him, and laughed a few seconds later.

The tense atmosphere immediately eased.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Haruhiko asked confused.

"That's right."

Kaoru Aizawa explained with a smile, "I just feel that you are smarter than my daughter."

"Hey!"

Aya Aizawa immediately retorted, "I'm right here! How can you speak ill of me to my face?"

"I'm your mother, what's wrong with me saying a few words to you?"

Kaoru Aizawa glared at her, her coquettish tone revealing the unique charm of a noblewoman.

Especially as a fifth-tier psionicist, although she may not be as beautiful as a young girl, her temperament is more mature and composed.

"Actually, I thought of that too, but someone beat me to it."

Aya Aizawa pouted and said.

"What did you think of?"

Kaoru Aizawa softened her tone, revealing the gentleness characteristic of a mother.

"The merfolk might be deceiving us."

Aya Aizawa analyzed, "According to her, the ascension ritual resulted in the deaths of several thousand elite soldiers of the Takeda clan. This is clearly a manifestation of absorbing spiritual energy, so why did she survive?"

Both spirits and non-spirits are spiritual beings.

No magic circle makes a specific distinction.

If it was a side effect of failure, there's no reason why the merman would have escaped unscathed.

"Did she die during the ascension ceremony?"

Kaoru Aizawa thought for a moment and then asked.

"No."

Aya Aizawa shook her head and replied, "She herself said she died in that war."

The three of them looked at Chiyome.

Noticing the gaze, she hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's a war between the Takeda clan and the Merfolk."

Kaoru Aizawa suddenly remembered the information she had consulted when investigating the merfolk.

The Takeda clan dominated eastern Japan and the East China Sea at that time.

In order to seize the world, he planned to cooperate with the Merfolk, but for some reason, the two sides became enemies, and he ultimately suffered heavy losses.

Thinking about the so-called sublimation ceremony, she understood the reason.

"Takeda Gen wanted to use the sublimation ritual to create a queen of the merfolk, and then use her to control the merfolk."

Kaoru Aizawa said in a deep voice, "But it was discovered, and then war broke out."