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

Across from her, Sora Honba, who was engrossed in eating, looked up in surprise. The food in his mouth instantly lost its flavor, and he stared at Hanako Takanashi with a tense expression.

"No way!" Takanashi Hanamai said irritably.

"So that's not it..." Honba Sorata breathed a sigh of relief, the heavy weight that had been hanging over his heart lifted again, and the food tasted delicious. He buried his head and continued eating.

"What exactly happened?" Motoyo Yuka asked, looking at her with great curiosity. "Something's definitely wrong! We've known each other for so many years, you can't hide anything from me."

Little Bird Swimming wanted to deny it, but she swallowed the words back.

After being touched on the head by Kami Kotegawa during PE class this morning, she keeps thinking about him, and her heart races whenever she thinks of him... This makes her a little flustered and at a loss.

If you talk about this with a good friend, maybe they'll know what to do...

She hesitated for a moment, then looked at Benchang Youjia and said, "Touch my head."

Yuuka was taken aback, her face full of surprise: "Huh?"

"Stop talking nonsense, just touch it, I... I have some things I want to figure out," Takanashi Hanamaru urged.

Being patted on the head is more embarrassing than I imagined. I can hardly even bring myself to talk about it now, so I won't tell anyone the details. I'll just try to confirm it myself first.

"Oh..." Honjo Yuka didn't think anything of it, but as soon as she reached out her hand, she suddenly realized something and quickly withdrew it. Her eyes gleamed strangely as she guessed, "You...you weren't touched on the head by someone, were you? And by a boy?"

The little bird looked on in astonishment as it swam among the flowers.

How come this girl is always so clever and perceptive about these kinds of things?

Wouldn't it be better to use that same effort on your studies?

What a brilliant mind you've wasted on gossiping and tricking Glasses Guy!

"I guessed right!" Motoba Yuka said with certainty, observing her reaction. Then, she asked excitedly, "Who? Who's so bold? Tell me! I promise I won't tell anyone!"

"Nobody's here!" Takanashi Hanamai thought regretfully, her anger and embarrassment rising.

The two of them started arguing.

On the other side, Sorata Honma was completely dumbfounded...

Chapter Thirty-Five: As long as you pay, that's all that matters.

After having a full lunch, Kotegawa Kamimi went back to the teaching building with the Shirakawa siblings.

On the way, Shirakawa Nozomi took out his phone, glanced at it, and said, "I have to go to work this afternoon. You can go home by yourself."

Shirakawa Kurumi responded with an "oh," as if it were commonplace.

Kotegawa Kami asked curiously, "Are you going somewhere to exorcise a spirit? Do you need more people?"

This is because some bounty missions are not issued to casual bounty hunters like them; only official Onmyoji, priests, and special personnel can accept them.

So if Shirakawa Nozomi needs thugs, he'd be happy to volunteer. As long as there's money to be made, everything is negotiable; he's not picky about his workers.

Shirakawa glanced at him: "No, it's a part-time job as a supermarket sales promoter."

"A part-time job at a supermarket?" Kamiko Kote was taken aback, looking surprised. "Why not take exorcism jobs? Those pay well, right?"

Shirakawa Nozomi put his hands behind his back and slightly raised his chin: "I want to go, is that not allowed?"

"Oh, I was just asking casually..." Kotekawa Kami thought to himself. If he were a full priest, he would definitely not let go of any of the internal bounty missions from the Special Division.

This guy really doesn't know how lucky he is!

However, at this moment, Shirakawa Kurumi, with her hands behind her back, slowly said, "He is an apprentice priest and is not qualified to take on bounty missions on his own. Normally, he can only follow behind the official priests and act as their underling."

Shirakawa Nozomi's expression stiffened, he snorted, and stubbornly said, "Just wait and see, I'll definitely get promoted this year!"

"Yeah, keep up the good work! Even though I heard that the same thing last year."

"..." The little priest was speechless, his face flushed with annoyance.

Kotegawa Kami looked thoughtful; no wonder he was so angry that he kicked the tree that day…

It turns out that Shirakawa Nozomi isn't a formal priest yet. It seems that Glasses-kun's information wasn't quite accurate!

The treatment of novice priests and full priests differs greatly.

Apprentice priests do not receive a salary; instead, they have to pay tuition fees every month until they can become official priests.

Besides this, trainee priests also have to do odd jobs without complaint, be bossed around by their seniors, and are the most vulnerable to being bullied. Afterwards, they will be given the excuse that this is a necessary form of training...

It's quite bizarre anyway.

This is no secret; you can find it with a simple internet search.

Basically, it's all negative news about places like the Special Department and the Yin-Yang Bureau.

When he was young, he was also curious about Onmyoji, but he was scared by all those complicated rules.

Unless you come from a family of Onmyoji or something similar, in addition to the conditions mentioned above, you will have to sign a lifelong "contract of servitude" and be prepared to "die at any time".

This country's control over supernatural abilities is outrageously strict.

This is precisely why Kotegawa Kamimi is a leisurely bounty hunter.

It wasn't that he didn't want a comfortable life, but the price was simply too high.

However, people like Shirakawa Nozomi are much better off. His family has been worshipping at the shrine for generations and has its own family tradition. They can enjoy peace and quiet without being bound by these rules and regulations.

They are one of the most envied groups among the general public today.

With such good conditions, you're still just coasting along as a trainee priest... isn't that a bit too lazy?

Is there anything worth staying for a trainee priest?

He looked at Shirakawa Nozomi with a strange expression, and he really couldn't understand it.

Shirakawa Nozomi's face was almost breaking down.

It's obvious what Kami Kotegawa is thinking.

Shirakawa Kurumi glanced at him and said to smooth things over, "Actually, he's strong enough, but he lost badly when it came to controlling shikigami... Tamako is too cowardly."

"Oh, that's how it is!" Kotekawa Kami suddenly realized, he still vividly remembered the shikigami that was afraid of heights.

After helping Shirakawa Kurumi out of the predicament, she looked at Shirakawa Nozomi, her tone devoid of emotion: "If you still plan to rely on Tamako to live up to expectations this year, then be prepared to be a trainee priest for another year."

“Tamako has made great progress this year,” Shirakawa said with a stern face.

Regardless of whether we have the confidence or not, we can't afford to lose face.

Shirakawa Kurumi gave a soft hum.

Kotekawa Kami sincerely said, "Do your best! Once you become a full priest, if you need to do any tricky tasks, you can call me. I'm pretty good at fighting, and the price is negotiable."

Nozomi Shirakawa rolled her eyes.

Shirakawa Kurumi asked in surprise, "Why are you so keen on those bounty missions? Aren't you afraid of getting hurt?"

"Being broke is the scariest thing," Kotegawa Kami said sincerely.

Looking back on the past few years, he really didn't dare to spend a single penny recklessly.

While other children were eating ice cream and milk candy, he could only watch enviously.

Even in his previous life, he had never eaten these things... In fact, life on the mountain was very tough. Not only was martial arts training tough, but life was also hard. Because dozens of disciples had to rely on their master for support, they rarely had the chance to eat meat. The most memorable time was when the eldest brother caught two snakes while collecting firewood and cooked a big pot of snake soup to satisfy the cravings of the junior brothers.

Now, although living conditions are better than before and we can eat meat every meal, we must be mindful of potential dangers even in times of peace and prepare for the future.

Making more money is never a bad thing.

Shirakawa Kurumi suddenly remembered his appetite and couldn't help but feel a deep sense of sympathy: "That's true. If we didn't have money, we might really starve to death."

"Yes, my appetite has indeed increased a bit."

Believe me, that's definitely not a small amount... Shirakawa Kurumi thought for a moment, then hesitated and said, "How about you team up with me and we try some missions? Your skills are pretty good..."

Kami Kotekawa was taken aback, his eyes widening as he asked, "Eh? You can take on missions?"

"Otherwise, how could we have run into each other last night?" Shirakawa Kurumi rolled her eyes.

She was the one who accepted that mission. Originally, she wanted to take Shirakawa Nozomi on a training trip, but because a certain timid shikigami was much more timid than she had imagined, she almost messed things up.

"I'm officially here! Officially here! I'm in Heian-kyo!" Shirakawa Kurumi said, hands behind her back, trying to puff out her chest.

"You're not even taking the test to control shikigami, so what's there to be proud of?" Apprentice priest Shirakawa Nozomi said with a displeased expression, but she dared not say it out loud, since she still needed to provide lunch for him this month.

Kotekawa Kami was genuinely surprised.

Wow, you're amazing!

"So, what do you want to do?"

Kotekawa Kami snapped out of his daze and said without hesitation, "Take any missions you can. As for the price, how about we split it based on the difficulty and contribution? If it's two people, I'll take a maximum of 40%."

Chapter Thirty-Six: Shirakawa Nozomi, at Least I'm a Quasi-Official Priest

"Taking only 40% is a very reasonable suggestion..." Shirakawa Kurumi nodded, feeling satisfied.

When someone is willing to clearly state the division of money, it means that he is serious and not just talking for fun; he can also distinguish right from wrong, understand the big picture, and know when to advance and retreat... And 40% is also a way of telling her that he is very confident in his abilities and can play a significant role.

"Shall we choose an easier one to try in the next few days?"

Seeing that Kami Kotekawa had no objections, Kurumi Shirakawa definitely needed to test him out; otherwise, why would she feel comfortable forming a team so casually? Even he would have done the same.

The reason we can communicate so well now is all thanks to his little display of skill last night.

“No problem!” Kotekawa Kami looked at her expectantly.

There are several tasks he's been eyeing for a long time.

After all, most of the bounty missions released are of "Difficulty Level 3". Higher difficulty missions are rarely seen, and even if one does appear, he might not be able to compete with others.

With her hands behind her back, Shirakawa Kurumi pondered, "I remember there's a level 2 mission nearby with decent rewards, enough to get you through the trial and error process."

Kotekawa Kami was taken aback, his eyebrows furrowing slightly: "Difficulty level two?"

Isn't that task just a little more tiring than running errands and delivering documents? What's the point of taking it?

It's a bit of a waste of time, and those kinds of tasks are designed for newbies; it wouldn't be fair for him to do them.