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

Kotegawa nodded slightly. If that were the case, it would be more believable.

"Did Aunt Ishikawa say where Taro from the Fukuda family is?"

Xiaoqian shook her head and handed him the largest firecracker in the bag: "He didn't say."

Kotegawa casually took it, lit it, and threw it into the river.

"boom!"

After an even louder explosion, a larger splash of water erupted, and Xiaoqian giggled happily.

Two people, one big and one small, were standing on the riverbank fishing with explosives. A little further away in the river, a large head silently emerged from the water. However, once it saw who was standing on the riverbank, it immediately retreated back to the bottom of the river, splashing water everywhere. It then ran against the current.

Kotegawa glanced at it but ignored it.

After they finished setting off the firecrackers they brought, the two returned to the village. Little Qian, who had been skipping and hopping, had already gone home and was waiting to have dinner and continue setting off fireworks.

Kotegawa also entered his house, where Uncle Kenji was chopping wood in the yard.

There are many people in my family, and the kitchen is not big enough, so we need to use a traditional earthenware pot.

He rolled up his sleeves, walked over, and said, "I set off some firecrackers with Xiaoqian earlier."

"Yes, I heard you." Uncle Jian let him take the axe, bent down to tidy up the split firewood, thought for a moment and instructed, "Go buy two boxes of shrimp, three catties of strawberries, and a tea set later."

"Okay, sure." Kotegawa readily agreed. The girls, including Haruka Kurumi, all really liked eating shrimp.

He held an axe in one hand and firewood in the other, lifted it lightly, and chopped it down, splitting the firewood in two. The whole process was done with effortless steadiness.

The firewood was like paper in his hands; in just ten minutes, he had chopped up most of the firewood on the ground.

Uncle Jian called a halt, saying there was enough firewood and that he should go buy some things.

Kotegawa handed him the axe, went inside to wash his hands, and drove away.

There's only one small shop in the village, but it doesn't sell fresh shrimp; you have to go to the city to buy them.

Before he left the village, he caught a glimpse of several middle-aged men standing by the rice paddies, shouting something. Thinking of what Chizuru had told him earlier, and then of Kenji chopping wood at home to prepare a meal, Fukuda Ietaro's story seemed to have a bit more credibility.

After all, if you think about it carefully, apart from that bratty kid who was about the same age as Chihaya, no one else from the Fukuda family had ever appeared at their doorstep.

After he left the village, in the shadows somewhere deep in the mountains, a humanoid creature slowly opened its eyes. It stood up, its scarlet eyes gazing into the distance, and then its figure instantly transformed into a blur, rushing down the mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, several shrines standing in front of the forest emitted white light, and countless talismans on the iron chains also emitted rays of light.

In the wide river, a giant turtle suddenly leaped out of the water, its eyes fixed on the forest.

Deep within the forest, under the shadow of the leaves, the humanoid creature moved with undiminished speed, crashing down like a cannonball. The iron chains, as thick as an arm, only managed to stop it for three seconds before shattering into countless pieces of metal, and cracks appeared on several shrines as well.

The giant turtle in the river swallowed hard and slowly retreated back into the water.

The humanoid creature that rushed down to the foot of the mountain glanced at it, showed no intention of attacking, and turned its gaze into the distance before disappearing into the village again.

……

While still on the road, Kotekawa suddenly felt a pang of heart palpitation. He stepped on the brakes, frowned, and waited for the palpitation to subside before subconsciously touching his chest to make sure he was alright before continuing to drive.

He waited at a traffic light, drove to his usual commercial street, browsed through several shops, picked out three boxes of shrimp, and then bought strawberries and tea sets. After loading the car, he drove straight back without stopping.

When he returned to the village, he suddenly saw several special vehicles heading towards the back of the village, along with villagers watching from behind.

He was surprised for a moment, then drove home.

In the courtyard, Uncle Jian, dressed in coarse Wu clothing and wearing an apron, was frying chicken pieces by the earthen stove, while Youjia was helping to add firewood.

He got out of the car, carrying three boxes of shrimp, and said, "It seems like quite a few people from the Special Operations Department have come. Has something happened in the back mountain?"

"Huh?" Yuka, who was adding firewood, looked at him blankly: "Special Department? I didn't see it."

Uncle Jian also shook his head: "Perhaps they're here for a check-up."

"Oh..." Kotegawa nodded and carried the shrimp into the house.

The kitchen was also busy, but Ms. Chiko and Aunt Akiba were chatting on their phones.

He greeted them, put the shrimp into the pool, and prepared to clean them.

"Xiao Jian!" Aunt Qiuye looked at him and solemnly warned, "The protective chain on the back mountain is broken. It seems that some great monster has come down the mountain. Do not go out at night."

Kotegawa was taken aback, then exclaimed "Oh!" and began processing the shrimp he had bought. After he had removed the veins from each shrimp, Haruka came over to take over and helped with the remaining processing.

He didn't refuse. He washed his hands, glanced at the sky outside the window which was already turning twilight, and took advantage of the remaining time to step out the door.

He walked to a secluded spot, transformed into clouds, and floated into the sky. There he saw the shattered chains scattered on the ground, and he also saw the special agents urgently calling for backup.

"A monster actually broke in? They've got some nerve!" He was somewhat surprised, and immediately raised his senses to the limit, his gaze sharp as a blade.

At the east end of the village, a blurry black shadow suddenly disappeared into the distance.

His expression shifted, and he instantly gave chase at an even faster speed, while simultaneously activating the Nightmare Domain at an even greater pace.

Strands of golden light transformed into streams of light, and his speed suddenly increased. From a distance, he resembled a golden meteor hurtling down.

The dark figure ahead seemed to know that it couldn't escape if it continued like this, so it stopped in place, then its form blurred and disappeared.

Kote River whistled down, looking around in even greater surprise.

Disappeared? What ability?

He immediately activated [Hunting Instinct], sensing that the aura of the dark figure from before had vanished in a flash within the back mountain.

"Is it a bound spirit? Or a mountain ghost?" He gazed at the distant back mountain, then glanced at the approaching night sky, made the matter a thought, and turned to go home.

Chapter Sixty-One: Fireworks Under the Stars (Part Two)

At six o'clock in the evening, night fell and the earth was enveloped in darkness, with only a golden edge remaining on the horizon.

A streak of fire shot into the sky, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, and a few seconds later, it exploded into a dazzling firework.

Fireworks also rose into the sky not far away, illuminating the night sky.

On the eve of the New Year, the long-quiet village finally had a different atmosphere.

In the yard of the Kotegawa family, Takanashi was carrying a sparkler, glancing to the side every now and then. Kotegawa was leading his neighbor Chihaya and Chika to light a large firework box.

"Hua Wu, look at me! Look at me!" You Jia shouted from the other side.

Takanashi turned his head and saw Yuka swinging sparklers around with both hands, performing a fancy trick.

Be careful with your clothes!

The air was filled with the smell of cooking, and the aroma of food wafted from inside the house. Although the food eaten during the annual festival is usually cold, the air at the foot of the mountain is chilly, and one might feel uncomfortable if they didn't eat something hot.

Furthermore, Kotegawa usually doesn't like to eat cold bento boxes, let alone eat cold food on New Year's Eve.

The firecrackers in the yard went off for a while. When Mrs. Ishikawa from the opposite house came to call her two children back home for dinner, everyone in the yard reluctantly closed the gate, went inside to eat, and watched the Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Battle).

Originally, today wasn't supposed to end so quickly, but rumors were circulating that a large monster had broken into the village. Although special agents had checked several times, for safety reasons, everyone chose to set off fireworks early and lock their doors early to celebrate the New Year.

Inside the house, Uncle Jian brought out the largest dining table in the house, which was covered with a brand-new checkered tablecloth. There were also the New Year's food boxes he had prepared over the past two days, along with prawns, chicken pieces, and sea bream...

Several people lined up to wash their hands. Kotegawa strode into the kitchen with his rice bowl, but was quickly chased out by Aunt Akiba, who also confiscated his large bowl.

With so many guests at home, it wasn't appropriate for him to be the only one carrying a bowl as big as a basin.

Kotegawa looked at the palm-sized rice bowl in his hand, hesitated slightly, and then slowed down his eating speed. Otherwise, it wouldn't be appropriate to have to fill the bowl every two bites.

He ate his food with a slightly cautious pace, at about a third of his usual speed, while also keeping an eye on the Red and White Song Festival playing on the television next to him.

The concert was quite good; all the singers were very talented.

After the song ended, Yuka turned around and looked at Kotori, asking, "Hana-mai, will you receive an invitation to the Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Battle) in the future?"

Takanashi, who was eating shrimp, shook her head: "It's highly unlikely. I don't plan to join a company, nor do I plan to release an album."

Yujia blinked: "But who can predict the future? A few days ago I saw someone online asking when Prince Sengo will be invited to the Kohaku Uta Gassen."

“Impossible,” Takanashi said casually, her self-assessment quite clear.

Aunt Qiuye thought of something and looked at Teacher Qianzi with some curiosity, asking, "I heard that Hana-chan has been invited to enroll in a foreign music university with very generous offers. Aren't you planning to go?"

Kotegawa, who was engrossed in eating, suddenly perked up his ears.

Ms. Chiko looked at Takanashi first, then smiled and said, "I'm still considering it. I can't really make the decision on this. It depends on what the child thinks."

Yuka, Haruka, and Kurumi all looked at Takanashi.

Takanashi quietly replied, "Well, I'm still considering it."

Hu Tao agreed, saying, "It really needs careful consideration, as it will affect one's entire life."

“Yes, it’s so far away overseas…” Yujia sighed as well.

Seeing this, Qingkong, who was the only one who didn't say anything, didn't say much either. Although Xiaoniao had tried to persuade her that her life plan was to become a music teacher and continue to be a music blogger in her spare time, there was no such opportunity at that time.

Kotegawa put down his bowl, and when the girls looked at him, he thought for a moment, then picked up his bowl again and continued to eat his rice.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Yuka widened her eyes and asked, "Kotegawa, what are you thinking?"

Kotekawa paused, looked at Takanashi, then at his smiling teacher Chiko, and said honestly, "Of course I don't really want her to go to such a far place, but her own thoughts are definitely more important. Time doesn't come back, and how to live life and how to live it meaningfully are things that only she can decide."

His words were essentially meaningless, because both Youjia and Qingkong thought the same thing.

Yuka thought for a moment and asked, "If you were Hanamaru now, what would you do?"

"I don't know!" Kotegawa said irritably, picking up his bowl again and muttering, "Once you figure out why you're struggling with this, maybe you won't struggle with it anymore."

The little bird paused for a moment, then silently buried its head in eating shrimp.

Yuka, standing beside her, nodded repeatedly and looked at her: "Kotegawa is right. If you have any worries, you can try to talk about them. We can work together to solve them!"

Takanashi nodded gently: "We'll talk about it later. At least for today, I won't think about anything..."

"Yes!" Uncle Kenji put down his bowl, picked up the sauce next to him, dipped the cooked buckwheat noodles in it, and said gently, "Come on, let's cut off all the troubles of this year and next year in one bite!"

After saying that, he took a bite out of the buckwheat noodle.

Kotegawa also picked up the bowl of sauce, picked up the soba noodles inside, and took a bite.

If only I could bite through my troubles.

After finishing their troublesome buckwheat noodles, Aunt Qiuye temporarily turned off the TV, drawing everyone's attention back to the dining table.

Youjia picked up her juice, clinked glasses with Qingkong, gulped it down in one go, let out a soft "ha," wiped her mouth, poured herself another glass, and then poured one for Qingkong as well: "Qingkong, let's stay up all night to ring in the New Year together?"