My daily life of exorcising demons and falling in love with a witch.

The ema (votive plaques) at Hatsuyuki Shrine all depict a white-haired girl doing something.

She wore a short, pink kimono with cherry blossom patterns and furisode sleeves. Her lower body was bare, and she wore white tabi socks and wooden clogs.

That's Sakura Goddess.

Her name, Chuxue, comes from this.

Yoshiyuki looked at the notice and found that it explained what each type of ema (votive plaque) represented.

For example, the most unique "Kirien" ema (votive plaque). The first snow on it is depicted with a naginata cutting a red thread.

That red thread represents the destiny that binds the two people together.

This sight reminded Yoshiyuki of a weapon that Sakura Yuki Chiai carried on her back.

Perhaps it was because Lady Sakura used this weapon that she started using it too.

He then looked at the ema (votive plaque) for "driving away disease".

This is also very interesting.

The somewhat silly-looking first snowflake is happily smashing rice cakes with a wooden hammer on the ema (wooden plaque).

The description says that the rice cake represents illness, and the scene depicted on the ema symbolizes the First Snow God using divine power to dispel it.

When Yoshiyuki saw this, he was reminded of Sakura Yukichi's mother.

Although the first snow couldn't cure her severe late-stage leukemia, it amplified the effects of medications that should have been ineffective, extending her life by ten years, allowing her to raise Sakura before leaving this world.

Delaying human death is something that gods generally find very difficult to do.

This is enough to show that Sakura is really amazing.

Yixing also had more expectation and confidence that the god would grant his wish to be trampled on by his master every day.

He feels that recently, he has become more accepting of his own slight abnormality.

It's probably because he became a city dweller.

City dwellers have so many ways to have fun. So it's not surprising that some of them are a bit perverted.

Yes, that's right. That must be it.

It's all Tokyo's fault.

Because the amulets and ema (votive plaques) were very inexpensive, Yoshiyuki and Erina discussed it and decided not to buy them.

On the one hand, we hope to leave them to those who need them more.

On the other hand, it's also because they all feel that since they don't have any particular wishes they hope to fulfill, it's best not to use ema (votive plaques) to convey their desires to the gods.

That would make things even harder for Lady First Snow.

Because wishes conveyed through ema (votive plaques) are more likely to attract the attention of the gods than those expressed through prayer in the temple. They will also receive higher priority in processing.

Therefore, it's best not to cause the gods any more worry.

Of course, many people are unaware of these things. Some people don't truly believe that gods can grant their wishes, so they write down even trivial matters on ema (votive plaques).

For example, hoping to win more prizes with the drinks they're selling recently. Basically, it's all very trivial.

This kind of prayer is so inconsiderate of the deity you are worshipping; it's simply adding to the trouble.

But most gods don't get angry over the trivial wishes of mortals.

At most, they'll just ignore such pointless wishes.

"Oh! Everyone's here!"

As the door opened, Sakura Yuki Chiai's voice suddenly came from the shrine maiden's residence.

She walked out carrying a wooden sign, chuckling sheepishly, and waved to everyone.

Sakura Yuki Chiai was still wearing that off-the-shoulder short-skirted shrine maiden outfit and white stockings, with wooden clogs on her feet.

The shrine maiden's robes were decorated with red cherry blossom patterns.

"Sorry, I didn't notice before." Sakura smiled as she walked towards the three of them, waving the sign in her hand. "It took me a while to make this sign... Have you all been waiting long?"

"Ah, it wasn't long at all!" Erina replied, hugging Hime. "Only half an hour."

"Huh? That long? I think I've only been inside for less than fifteen minutes..."

"Don't listen to her, we've only been here for ten minutes," Yixing said, turning to look at the sign with some curiosity: "What's going to be written on this?"

"Actually, it's already written! Look—hiss!"

She wanted to turn the sign around.

However, he suddenly shuddered and gasped for breath, causing the sign to slip from his hand and fall to the ground with a "thud".

"Hey, what's wrong!" Erina exclaimed in surprise.

"It's nothing, it's nothing! It's just a splinter."

"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Yixing instinctively stepped forward and said with concern, "Oh no, let me see!"

"Oh~ you scumbag servant, are you trying to take advantage of this to touch my hand?"

"No! Miss, you're overthinking it!"

"It's okay, I can fix it myself." Sakura Chiai carefully pulled the small splinter out of her fair fingers and breathed a sigh of relief: "Luckily, it wasn't stuck too deep... You really have to be extra careful with this kind of wood that hasn't been properly polished."

"Yes." Yixing bent down to pick up the wooden sign and suggested, "Let me help you carry it."

"Ah, no need, Maekawa-kun. I can do it myself!"

"It's alright, it doesn't take much effort. Let me do it." Yoshiyuki said, turning his head to look at the outside of the shrine gate: "Shouldn't it be stuck at the bottom of the outer steps?"

"Yes! How did you know, Maekawa-kun?"

"Because what's written on it obviously needs to be placed where tourists can see it immediately," Yixing explained, pointing to the sign's contents. "And since the bottom is pointed, it has to be able to pierce the ground. The courtyard is all gravel paths and brick floors, so that definitely won't work."

"Maekawa-kun's reasoning is amazing!"

Sakura immediately showed an expression of admiration.

"Of course!" Erina exclaimed smugly. "After all, she's my servant!"

The sign reads this notice.

[Due to my upcoming school term, starting April 1st, except for public holidays, no shrine maidens will be available to receive visitors at this shrine. Please make your own prayers, draw fortune slips, and shop at your own expense. Please do not donate amounts exceeding the listed price to the donation box. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and hope for your understanding!]

[Also, if you have a very urgent matter and cannot wait for me to return, you can go to Sakurajima Academy and explain your purpose to the gatekeeper. They will then notify me to meet you at the school gate.]

[Hatsuyuki Shrine Miko, Sakurayuki Chia]

The most touching sentence on this sign is, "Please do not put more than the price tag into the donation box."

Sakura Yuki Chiai's principles are evident from this.

"It's completely self-service..." Erina looked at the sign, somewhat surprised. "Isn't that okay? Won't customers just steal things? They might even try to break into the donation box!"

"I believe that guests would never tamper with the donation box," Sakura Chiai shook her head and said in an extremely gentle tone. "As for whether guests occasionally take things without paying, I'm not really sure. Because every time we tally up the accounts, there's more money in the donation box than the proper amount should be."