Becoming a god in a low-key way in the supernatural world

She covered her ears in pain and quickly called for a stop before Kotegawa could continue singing.

Kotekawa Kami looked at her nervously and said, "I told you, you sang really badly... Are you alright?"

Takanashi Hanamai took a light breath, looked at him and said, "Your voice is quite good, full of energy, and powerful. You are actually very suitable for singing."

"Stop fooling around, let's talk about something serious." Kotekawa saw that his own people knew about his own affairs, and said that saying he was good at singing was like saying a bear was good at wearing a cassock.

"I'm not just giving you the runaround!" Takanashi Hanamai hummed. "If you don't believe me, we'll see! But before that, let's deal with other issues!"

She held up a slender, white finger and emphasized, "First of all! You used too much force! Let's not even talk about where the tune is, since there isn't one anyway. You used almost all your strength to roar, so there's no way you could find the right tune."

She sat down next to the electronic keyboard and continued, "You need to learn to control the volume and practice your pitch while you're at it."

Kotegawa Kami stood in front of him, trying to learn.

The little bird, Hanako, hummed a melody, which Kotekawa Kami heard and memorized. He felt he had mastered it, and so when he opened his mouth... he remained motionless.

Huh? What was that again?

The little bird hummed the song again.

Kotekawa Kami tried to say "ah" for a long time, but still couldn't get it out.

The girl stopped and looked at him with a strange expression.

Kotegawa's old face immediately turned red. He hadn't expected Kotegawa to be so slow to develop a talent for music. Indeed, not singing all these years had been a wise choice.

"How about we just practice the school song?" Kotekawa Kamimi suggested. "We don't need to sing it very well, just sing it out loud."

Takanashi Hanamai said irritably, "Even if you want to practice the school song, you have to learn how to pronounce it first! Otherwise, your voice will be too conspicuous!"

"Then I'll have to trouble you." For the first time, Kotekawa Kami didn't dare to object.

In terms of singing, Kotori Hanamai is the exorcist Kami of the Kotegawa world.

"Let's start with pitch practice. This time, pay attention to controlling your strength and use your chest to produce sound..."

Kotekawa Kami opened his mouth and, following the notes she played, promptly made an "ah" sound.

After practicing for a while, he actually got the hang of it and started to gradually reduce his strength. The sound he produced became more and more peaceful and penetrating.

Takanashi Hanamaru watched him with satisfaction, not in a hurry, and continued to practice the most basic techniques little by little.

It wasn't until dusk was approaching outside the window that the girl's mother called again, and the two stopped, packed their things, closed the door of the exorcism guild, and prepared to go home.

"Thank you, Takanashi," Kotegawa Kami said sincerely on the way back.

Even if you spend money to hire a teacher, it's not guaranteed that you'll get the same results as Takanashi teaching him. First of all, the teacher's skill level might not be as good as Takanashi's, and secondly, they might not have the patience to be completely patient.

No one wants to teach a clueless idiot over and over again without getting bored.

But Takanashi patiently broke down the most basic elements again, almost like a preschool teacher, trying to correct the trajectory of Kotegawa Kami, who had gone astray in his singing career, and get him back on track.

Although he had only practiced pitch for three hours, just before leaving, Takanashi Hanamaru made him sing the first line of lyrics again—and the effect was as if a completely different person was singing it.

This is what a good teacher and helpful friend are all about.

Takanashi Hanako's lips curled into a smile, and Yoru felt a great sense of accomplishment. She said cheerfully, "Well, you know that's good! Let's continue tomorrow! We don't have much time left!"

Kami Kotekawa nodded repeatedly and asked, "Are you hungry? What would you like to eat? It's on me!"

"What do you want to eat?" The girl tilted her head and thought for a moment. "But Mom has already made dinner and is waiting for me. Tonight it's my favorite cream shortbread..." Her eyes suddenly lit up. She looked around and whispered, "How about you carry me back?"

"Huh?" Kotekawa Kami was taken aback, then took off his backpack and handed it to her, squatting down and saying, "Come on up!"

Birdsong Flower Dance's cheeks flushed slightly. She lowered her head to straighten her clothes, patted the hem of her skirt, said "Excuse me," and leaned down to hug his neck.

This wasn't the first time Kotekawa Kami had carried her on his back, so he did it with practiced ease. He lifted the hem of her skirt slightly and asked, "Is this alright?"

"Well..." Even through the school uniform skirt, the warmth of the two large hands pressing against her thighs was still palpable, making the girl tremble slightly.

She took a soft breath, suppressing her shyness, pressed herself against his back, and whispered in his ear.

Looking at the road illuminated by the streetlights ahead, Kotegawa Kami couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Shinpei! This road..."

Chapter Seventy-Two: The Eve of the Festival (Part One)

More than half a month has passed in the blink of an eye, and the rainy season has also been over for more than half a month.

In front of the living room's floor-to-ceiling windows, Youjia lay on a yoga mat, gazing at the gray sky outside, longing for sunny days.

The whole house smells musty, it's damp and stuffy. Even though I just took a shower, it still feels sticky and uncomfortable.

She puffed out her cheeks and blew air onto her forehead, causing a tuft of hair to stick up high before silently falling back down.

Today is a weekend of doing nothing...

Mikazuki went to work at the coffee shop as usual. The energetic young man practiced martial arts in the courtyard despite the light rain. She had been working at home for a week straight and was exhausted. She didn't want to move at all and just wanted to lie there until the rainy season was over.

"Excellent!"

Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, Kami Kotegawa knocked on the glass.

Yuka, who was playing with her ahoge (cowlick) in the wind, looked up at him, who was "upside down," and blinked, asking, "What's wrong?"

Kamiko Kotekawa pointed to the clock on the wall: "Shall we go have lunch?"

Mikazuki wasn't home, and he didn't really want to go into the kitchen. As for Yuka, she didn't even know how to roll out dumpling wrappers.

Yujia raised her hands and waved them back and forth: "What's for lunch?"

"Let's change our clothes first, and we can discuss what to eat on the way."

Ten minutes later, the two left their home and headed towards a coffee shop on the commercial street.

Normally at this time, if Kotegawa Kamimi is home, they always go to a coffee shop for lunch. Yuka noticed that ever since the two of them "officially announced" their relationship, they seem to be getting more and more inseparable.

"Furate River?"

"Ok?"

"How did you and Mikazuki spend your time when I wasn't living here?"

Kotekawa Kamimi glanced at her sideways and said, "...Just live your life as you normally would."

"Really?" Yuka rolled her eyes at the sky, pointed at herself and said, "Do you think I'm in the way? If I weren't here, you might have been able to kiss the clear sky sooner."

"If love between two people is meant to last, why should they be together every day and night?" Kotekawa Shinmi recited a line of poetry, and then said, "There are still many days ahead! Actually, I hope you will come more often, so that you can keep her company while I am away."

"Is that really what you think?"

"Kotegawa never lies!"

"Hmph, I'll believe you this time!" Youjia was very happy: "So you can speak up for me to my father."

"What about Uncle Guima?"

“He thinks it must be annoying for me to keep coming here to live, and he wants me to go back.”

"Well……"

"Huh? Why isn't Kotegawa refuting this?"

"So, what do you want for lunch?"

"Then let's have plum fried rice, it's more appetizing."

The two walked all the way to the shopping street. When they were almost at the coffee shop, several boys wearing the uniforms of Kano Academy came towards them and went into the coffee shop before them.

"Wearing school uniforms on the weekend, they must be club members, right?" Yuka casually remarked. "The school festival's eve festival is coming up soon, and club rehearsals are getting more frequent... Isn't the exorcism club also required to cooperate in the protection efforts?"

Kami Kotekawa shook his head: "The school has hired people from the Special Division to handle security, so we're not needed."

The main reason was that Fujiwara-sensei was worried that the people in the Special Department would treat the exorcism club members like underlings and order them around, causing some bloodshed, so the exorcism club was not involved this time.

They continued doing what they were doing.

Kotegawa Kamimi pushed open the restaurant door and walked in one after the other with Yuka. Then he immediately saw Mikazuki taking orders for customers.

He found an empty seat and sat down with Yuka, waiting for Mikazuki to arrive.

Unfortunately, he didn't get to see Mikazuki, because Sachiko Amamiya, dressed as a waitress and also wearing an apron, ran over.

She bowed with a beaming smile: "Welcome! Kotegawa-kun and Yuka-chan, what would you like to eat?"

Youjia raised her hand and said, "I'd like a plum fried rice and a glass of orange soda!"

Kotekawa Kami looked at her and said, "I want ten servings of plum fried rice and three large bowls of beef soup."

"Okay! Please wait a moment!" Sachiko Amamiya bowed again and hurried to the counter, where customers were waiting to pay.

She can't find any staff to work here right now, so when she's really busy, she has to pretend to be a waiter herself, and also handle the cashier, ordering stock, etc... She's incredibly busy.

Looking at Mikazuki Haruka, who was also going in and out of the kitchen, Kotegawa Kami asked, "Has this never been this busy before?"

"They used to be able to stay open for a long time, up until 11 p.m., so there shouldn't be any sudden surge in business, right?" Youjia guessed randomly. Her family had a curfew, and she usually didn't go out at night when she wasn't busy, so she didn't really know what was going on here.

Kotegawa responded with an "oh," propped his head up with one hand, and watched Mikazuki Seigaku flit back and forth like a butterfly among flowers.

Soon after, the fried rice and beef soup they ordered were served.

Youjia smelled the aroma of the breath and immediately became very tempted. She rubbed her hands together and started eating.

Kami Kotekawa didn't stand there dumbfounded. He quickly slicing the sweet and sour plum into small cubes, which was quite appetizing.

Ten minutes later, Youjia finished her fried rice. She sipped her beef soup, glanced at the gloomy sky outside, and casually asked, "What are we doing this afternoon? Still practicing martial arts at home?"

Kami Kotekawa swallowed the last bite of rice and wiped his mouth with a tissue: "Go to school this afternoon to practice the drums."

"Huh? So, does that mean I'm all alone at home now?"

"You can go and play with the birds."

"Well, that's true... Then I'll wait for Mikazuki first, and we'll go together after she gets off work."

The coffee shop only works until 3 p.m. on Sundays. It used to be a day off on weekends, but due to the recent poor business situation, they have to extend their opening hours.

Originally, Kotegawa planned to take Mikazuki fishing and then stay overnight at a hot spring inn.

He got up and went to the counter to pay.

Mikazuki, who had a little free time, came to his side. He ruffled her hair and, amidst the surprised gazes of many guests, took her hand and shook it.

"Youjia will be waiting for you here. I'm going to school later and will be home before five o'clock."