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

The next morning, the house was bustling with activity.

Qingkong and Aunt Qiuye are in charge of making breakfast today.

Kotegawa and Kenji started taking stock of what they needed to bring and loading things into the car.

Yu Jia unplugged all the appliances she didn't need. Even though she had a key to the house, she didn't really want to come over alone if no one was home.

After breakfast, while we were packing and moving our luggage, Uncle Gui Ma and his family arrived, bringing gifts with them.

Hu Tao also came; she just came for a stroll and will head to Nagano after the New Year.

Birdsong, which lives just one room away, has also arrived.

Ishikawa Yasuhiro couldn't show his face, so he sent a message to say hello.

After tidying up, Kotegawa locked the door. Before getting into the car, he looked at Takanashi standing by the roadside, took a small box from the car, walked over and handed it to her, smiling as he said, "Consider this an early New Year's gift."

Takanashi paused for a moment, then reached out and took it, saying thank you.

Kotegawa nodded, feeling relieved yet also a pang of disappointment. He waved goodbye one last time and got into the car without looking back.

Chapter Fifty-Two: The New Year (Part Two)

Kotori Hana and Yuka watched the car drive away until it disappeared at the end of the street and could no longer be seen before they turned their gaze away.

Yuka looked at the gift box in Takanashi's hand, her eyes brimming with curiosity: "Quick, open it and see what goodies Kotegawa gave us!"

Takanashi looked down at the box: "Didn't you receive it?"

Youjia gave her a strange look: "Of course not, it's not like we won't see each other next year, and giving a New Year's gift is so weird!"

"……strangeness?"

"Huh? Wasn't it because I thought I might not see you again next year that I gave it to you in advance..." Yuka raised her hands, tucked her head between her legs, made bunny ears, and said in a very cute tone, "Isn't that right?"

Takanashi was stunned for a moment, then instinctively retorted, "How could that be! I haven't even decided whether I want to leave or not!"

Yuka was also taken aback, and even more puzzled: "Really? We thought you had already made up your mind... Didn't they say they would offer Chiko-sensei a job? What are you still hesitating about?"

"It's not that simple. Besides, my mom doesn't need a job..." Takanashi looked down at the gift box and suddenly asked, "This gift... does it mean she wants me to go?"

"I don't know, he must have said something to you, right?" Yujia pointed to the box: "Maybe it's in here."

"Probably not, he always says what he thinks..." Takanashi looked at the box in his hand, hesitated for a long time, and finally looked at her: "It's weird, isn't it? He's clearly already Sora's boyfriend..."

Youjia was stunned again, full of doubt: "What does it have to do with anything? It's true that he's Qingkong's boyfriend, but he's still our friend, right? What's wrong with giving a gift? We didn't hide it from Qingkong just now."

“That’s not what I meant, Kotegawa…” Thinking of Kotegawa’s “wolf’s ambitions,” Takanashi Hanamai felt another tightness in her chest. She looked through the box, stuffed it into her pocket, and said, “Never mind, I’ll look at it next time!”

It would be awkward if there were something bad inside.

"Huh? No way! Let's see together, I'm curious what he'll give us, is it still raw gold or something..."

Takanashi turned and ran home, with Yuka following closely behind, eventually running into the house as well.

Anyway, she had nowhere to go today, so staying home was fine.

In the bedroom on the second floor, Takanashi looked at her speechlessly and complained, "I should have added another suitcase and put you in the car to take you back to Nagano!"

“If my dad hadn’t forbade it, I would have gone with him in the car just now.” Yuka rubbed her nose. “Nagano is so much fun. The scenery is beautiful and the air is fresh. It’s much better than Tokyo.”

“I said Yuka…” Takanashi was even more speechless: “Aren’t you embarrassed being such a third wheel?”

Yuka thought about it seriously for a while, then lay back on her bed, rolled around a few times, and said, "Well, sometimes I do feel a little bit, but Kotegawa and Haruka aren't the type who like to be all lovey-dovey and clingy, so most of the time we get along very well. And Kotegawa has said more than once that he's very grateful that I live here."

"I don't like their sweet talk... Are they even a couple?" Takanashi leaned back in his chair and suddenly asked, "What does 'thank you' mean?"

"Futegawa is rarely home, so I spend most of my time with Haruka. It's only recently, when Aunt Akiha is around, that he's been behaving himself for a while..."

Takanashi sighed, "Yeah, I haven't seen him much all semester."

Yuka stretched, revealing her smooth belly, but she didn't care. Looking at the ceiling, she recalled, "But Kotegawa is really amazing! You don't know, even that monster taller than a mountain had to beg for mercy from him yesterday! Maybe studying is already dispensable to him?"

Takanashi thought for a moment and said, "Although studying is for finding a good job, it's not entirely about work. Studying can increase wisdom and broaden horizons, which is for a better life, but life is more than just work..."

“Only talented people like you and Kotegawa could say something like that…” Yuka retorted, then asked, “So what are you thinking? Are you going?”

The topic has been brought up again, and Takanashi shook her head haphazardly: "I haven't thought about it yet... What do you think Kotegawa means? He suddenly sent a gift, does he want me to go?"

"How would I know! What did you say to him?"

"...No, I haven't told him about this yet."

Yujia sat up in bed, staring blankly at her: "Huh? You didn't tell him anything?"

The little bird looked away: "...No chance."

"What do you mean there's no chance?" Youjia was utterly speechless. "But you've already told me and Qingkong, so he'll definitely know too! If you don't tell him anything, won't he think you're rejecting him... Huawu, what are you thinking? If this happened to my brother, he'd cry!"

Takanashi felt inexplicably guilty, but still said, "Furugawa and Glasses-kun are still different..."

Yu Jia scoffed: "I admit my brother is a crybaby and not as good as Kotekawa, but this is like Kotekawa wanting to immigrate to live abroad and telling everyone but not you. Would you feel good about that?"

Hua Wu thought for a moment, and a strange feeling of sadness welled up in her heart. She shook her head and said sadly, "I was just thinking that even if I asked him, I probably wouldn't get any answers... He's probably like you all. Although he doesn't want me to leave, he won't say anything about things that concern my future, and he'll leave it to me to decide."

A single sentence hit the nail on the head, and Youjia felt a tightness in her chest. She thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "But at least he should be told... If you really leave, can he keep pretending to be deaf and dumb forever? You can't hide this kind of thing from someone."

The bedroom fell silent for a moment.

……

On the other side, after driving for almost six hours, the car finally arrived in Ina City, Nagano Prefecture. Kote River drove straight home without stopping.

The first thing he did upon returning home was to do a thorough cleaning. However, this time Kotegawa was smarter. He took out several talismans from his pocket and threw one into each room, instantly making the rooms look brand new.

Aunt Qiuye was completely stunned.

Kotegawa went out and unloaded the truck and moved things with Uncle Kenji. Everything was in good order.

It seems that Chihaya and her family across the street went to her grandfather's house in the city; no one was home.

It was only afternoon when Uncle Jian, having finished his work, took a sip of water, changed his clothes, and drove to the fields. Aunt Qiuye, meanwhile, took the gifts she had bought and delivered them to each household.

On the second floor, Qingkong put down her luggage. Kotekawa, who was in the same room, opened the window facing the back mountain. Looking at the familiar scenery, he breathed softly, hugged Qingkong who came over, and wrapped her in his clothes.

Qingkong looked up at him: "Unhappy?"

He thought for a moment and said, "No, it's just that there's something I can't figure out."

"...Is it about Hanamai being invited by the music university?"

He shook his head and said in a low voice, "I'm just thinking about what conditions are needed to become a god."

Qingkong paused for a moment, then said calmly, "In any case, it's definitely not about marrying three wives."

Kotegawa chuckled twice, picked up the girl, and jumped out of the window: "Let's go find that big turtle! It's been taking care of the family all this time."

Chapter Fifty-Three: The New Year (Part Three)

On his first night back in his hometown, Kotegawa finally slept in bed, and with Yoshi not around, he could talk to his girlfriend under the moon again.

Unfortunately, Qingkong wasn't in the mood for heart-to-heart talks. She was so tired that she didn't want to move a single finger and fell into a deep sleep in her boyfriend's arms.

Kotegawa closed his eyes slightly, cleared his mind, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

It's so quiet tonight; there wasn't a single strange sound coming from the mountains. It's a bit odd.

In the pitch-black room, a light suddenly appeared, and a buzzing vibration came from the bedside table. Kotekawa reached for his phone, glanced at the caller ID, and answered the call directly.

"Hello, is this Kotegawa?"

"What are you doing in the middle of the night?"

"I'm so bored at home! Qingkong isn't replying to my messages. How about I come over and hang out with you guys?"

Kotegawa was speechless for a moment, then said, "The New Year is the day after tomorrow, so just stay put and we'll go back in a few days."

Winter break is the shortest holiday; basically, school starts again just a few days after the Lunar New Year.

"But these past few days have been so difficult!" Yuka on the other end of the phone seemed to be tossing and turning in bed.

After listening to her fuss for a while, Kotegawa said, "At least we can spend the New Year at home. If Uncle Takama agrees after the New Year, he can come over if he wants. We can go to Heian-kyo together and also visit Kyushu to eat some good food."

Yuka excitedly exclaimed, "I...I'm coming right now!"

"What are you doing here now? We're also celebrating the New Year at home!" Kotegawa's tone was slightly harsh: "You should just stay home and talk to us after the New Year."

"But it's so boring during the Lunar New Year when no one's around."

"Isn't Takanashi still at home? You can go and play with her."

“But Hanamai still has to work, how can I keep bothering her!” Yuka said, somewhat discouraged. “Kotegawa, is Haruka taking a bath? She’s not replying to my messages.”

"Uh... She's quite tired because she just got back today and has a lot to do. She's already asleep." Kotegawa said, looking at the girl in his arms without changing his expression.

"Huh? How much work did you make her do? Kotegawa, you're so strong, and you still made a girl do heavy work, aren't you ashamed?"

"Qingkong is just a restless person by nature... Alright, that's enough for now, I'm going to sleep too, we can talk about it tomorrow."

"Hey, wait a minute! There's one more thing!" Yuka cleared her throat and tentatively asked, "Furutegawa, can we bring Takanashi along next year?"

"Huh?" Kotegawa was taken aback and quickly said, "Don't do anything reckless! She probably doesn't have time to come over and play! She's busy thinking about transferring schools, and besides, it's the New Year, are you going to leave Ms. Senko alone in Tokyo?"

"Hmm...that's true." Yujia felt embarrassed, but after thinking for a moment, she said dejectedly, "But if we all go out to have fun and don't take Hana, wouldn't she be too pitiful?"

Kotegawa hesitated, "Then why don't we just not go? Let's just wait for school to start. Don't the second-year students have a school trip? It'll be the same when we go."

After the start of the new semester, students will study for two months before spring break. After spring break, the first week after entering the second year of high school will be a five-day school trip. The destination will most likely be Kansai or Kyushu, with a very small chance of going abroad. However, Kano High School is just an average high school in Tokyo, so the probability of going abroad for a school trip is extremely low.

Upon hearing that her wonderful trip was going to be canceled, Youjia became a little anxious: "Don't rush to cancel! Let me think... let me think it over carefully! Maybe I can come up with a win-win solution!"

"Okay, take your time to think about it over the next couple of days..." Kotekawa hung up the phone and tossed it back onto the bedside table.

Qingkong, fast asleep, shifted slightly and rubbed her eyes with one hand: "What's wrong?"

"I'm so bored that I'm thinking of coming back next year."

"Yuka's coming?" Haruka, who was rubbing her eyes, suddenly paused. She pushed Kotegawa's stomach with her left hand under the covers and said weakly, "No, no, it's not coming... What's wrong with you? Aren't you tired?"

Kotegawa, reacting again, moved back a little: "Ignore it..."