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

“Eight thousand yen!” the man in sunglasses explained. “This is the most unique service in Kokura City, so please pay the bill quickly, there are other customers waiting behind us.”

"But...but you've only been riding for five minutes, you haven't even covered the whole street!" a girl protested. "You're overcharging, sir!"

The man in sunglasses sized her up, his gaze traveling down from her ample breasts, and chuckled, "This old man can ride for more than five minutes, you know."

The girl was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage: "You! You pervert! I'm calling the police!"

"Call the police? Even if the police come, it's none of their business!" the man in sunglasses shouted. "We have clearly marked prices! We didn't force you to take the ride! Honestly, which school are these students from? Trying to evade the fare!"

People peeked out from the shops on both sides of the road.

Another girl lowered her head, tugged at the other girl gently, and whispered, "Let's let it go this time. It was our fault for not asking about the price before we got on the bus."

The man in sunglasses grinned again.

"He's obviously extorting us! He's also sexually harassing us!" The first girl protested, pulling out her phone: "I need to find a teacher!"

Seeing that his tried-and-true tactic had failed, the man in sunglasses' face darkened. He unbuttoned the first button of his shirt, revealing a tattoo, and threatened, "Miss, if this gets out of hand, none of us will benefit!"

When the girl who was about to make a call saw the tattoo, she flinched and dropped her phone.

"Hurry up and give me the money!"

The two girls silently took out their wallets.

The man in sunglasses glanced inside and saw many 10,000 yen bills. He immediately regretted not taking more. Sure enough, people from Tokyo were all easy targets.

At that moment, a hand suddenly blocked the two girls' wallets.

Just as the man in sunglasses was about to take the money, he suddenly looked up and saw a boy, who was also wearing a school uniform but was unusually tall, looking down at him.

"Furugawa-kun!"

The two girls were immediately pleasantly surprised.

"Take your phone and go back to the teachers. Tell them about this. I'll take care of things here," Kotekawa instructed.

The two girls said anxiously, "I'm sorry, we've caused you trouble again."

"It's not your fault, they're just too cunning," Kotekawa said cheerfully, waving his hand to let them go back.

The girl who dropped her phone picked it up, hesitated for a moment, bowed deeply, and then ran back with her companion.

Kotegawa watched them leave, then looked at the man in sunglasses.

The man in sunglasses watched helplessly; it wasn't that he didn't want to speak, he just couldn't bring himself to do so.

Behind Kotegawa, several friends who had also gotten out of the car looked around. Yuka asked with a puzzled look, "Why aren't they reacting?"

Both Qingkong and Xiaoniaoyu shook their heads.

The junior priest glanced at it and said, "It's not that there's no response, it's that you can't speak."

"Hmm...what do you mean?"

The young priest choked for a moment, then walked up to the middle-aged man in the floral shirt who had initially blocked his way, raised his hand and pushed him aside. Even as he fell to the ground, the man remained in the position of pedaling a bicycle.

Jia stared in disbelief, exclaiming in amazement, "Wow, it's a shame this driver isn't an actor!"

Qingkong Hutaohuawu burst out laughing, and Youjia laughed after she finished speaking.

……

A few minutes later, Fujiwara-sensei arrived, accompanied by a sprightly old man dressed in a white, subtly patterned priest's robe. Ichijo Shizuka, however, was absent. He glanced at the several men in floral shirts and sunglasses lying haphazardly by the roadside, then led them into the nearby izakaya (Japanese pub).

A few girls were looking at the menu, debating what to buy to eat.

Kotegawa sat at another table looking at the menu.

Fujiwara-sensei walked over with his hands behind his back, sat down next to him, and pointed to the old priest, saying, "My old friend, the head priest of Yasaka Shrine, Priest Gon-sei-kai."

Kotegawa looked over, and the other person was also sizing him up.

The old man bowed slightly, his hands forming a hand seal, and said solemnly, "I am Matsumoto Tsuruichiro, serving the three lords: Susanoo-no-Mikoto, Kushiinada-hime-no-Mikoto, and the Eight Pillars of the Goddess."

Yasaka Shrine is a shrine that enshrines many deities. The main deity is Susanoo-no-Mikoto, and the other deities are also the Three Noble Sons.

Kotegawa made a hand seal and returned the greeting: "Kotegawa Shinkan, a true king under Kitagami Takezō."

Because of the different divine order, certain etiquette must be observed.

Matsumoto Tsuruichiro bowed again: "Nice to meet you."

Fujiwara-sensei watched and listened silently. After the two of them sat down, he said to Kotegawa, "The matter is almost clear. What do you plan to do?"

"Let's see if they know what's good for them." Kotegawa replied, "If they do, everything is fine; if they don't, then let's just keep a few less menaces in this world."

These words were spoken calmly, but Fujiwara-sensei almost dropped his teacup. The old man glanced at him helplessly, said nothing more, and turned to his old friend to complain, "Ichiro, the atmosphere here is really terrible! My student was extorted by your people and was sexually harassed. This can't go on without a resolution."

Matsumoto Tsuruichiro shook his head repeatedly: "I spend all my time at the shrine, how would I know about such things? Those kids are slippery too, they know who they dare to mess with and who they don't dare to mess with, they're even slipperier than rats in the sewers."

Mr. Fujiwara shook his head as well: "Sigh, with my old bones and limbs, I came all the way from Tokyo, and I still have to clean your yard. I must have owed you something in my past life!"

Matsumoto Tsuruichiro pondered for a moment.

Fujiwara-sensei then turned to Kotegawa and said, "Ogura is in charge of things now, but if he doesn't take it over, then we'll handle this ourselves."

Kotegawa hummed in agreement.

“Forget it, there’s no reason to make the guests do it themselves.” Matsumoto Tsuruichiro suddenly smiled bitterly and shook his head repeatedly: “This time it’s really embarrassing.”

He took out several folded paper cranes from his sleeve, made a hand seal with his right hand, and a gust of wind rose out of nowhere. The paper cranes suddenly flapped their wings and flew away.

Kotegawa looked on thoughtfully, then lightly tapped his fingertip on the table, like a drop of water falling into a lake, creating ripples.

Suddenly, a strong wind picked up outside the door, accompanied by swirling snowflakes.

Matsumoto Tsuruichiro suddenly stood up, his face no longer able to hide his fear.

“The journey is long, I’ll see you off.” Kotegawa casually said as he was pouring tea for Fujiwara-sensei.

Fujiwara-sensei took a sip, exhaled, and acted as if she hadn't seen anything.

Matsumoto Tsuruichiro gradually regained his composure, but kept his head slightly lowered, no longer daring to look directly at Kotegawa.

More than ten minutes later, the sound of screeching brakes came from outside, and several people tumbled in, some old and some middle-aged, all pale and terrified.

------------

Chapter 204 A Letter

In the second week of May, snowflakes suddenly began to fall from the sky above Xiaocang City. Each flake was as light as willow catkins and as thin as cicada wings. Under the setting sun, it looked as if the gods had sprinkled a handful of broken gold upon the earth.

Inside the izakaya, the scattered tourists followed the owner upstairs, leaving only a few friends on the first floor, each holding a bowl of ramen, slurping it while keeping an eye on the activity at the next table.

However, the people around them couldn't see them.

The Nightmare Realm had already enveloped half the city.

Around the table next to us, three people were sitting, some were lying down, and some were bent over with their hands pressed tightly against their trouser seams, maintaining this 90-degree posture.

The three people sitting there remained silent, yet the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, as if a storm was brewing.

Matsumoto Tsuruichiro put down his teacup and turned to his old friend: "Fujiwara, they were wrong in this matter. They should be punished as they should be, without any leniency. The money they collected from the students will be returned in full. In addition..."

The two people standing next to him quickly put the box they were carrying on the table. When they opened it, they found neatly arranged 10,000 yen banknotes inside.

He pushed the box forward slightly and then said, "Is this the end of it?"

Without even glancing at it, Fujiwara-sensei closed the box, pushed it back untouched, and said slowly, "Matsumoto, you're underestimating us. We just need an explanation, not to take advantage of our misfortune... Who are those people outside working for?"

Matsumoto Tsuruichiro looked at the box in silence for a moment, then turned his head slightly to look to the side.

Among the kneeling people, a man who was obviously quite old raised his head tremblingly, revealing a fat face that was pale and bloodless.

Fujiwara-sensei looked at him, slightly taken aback.

Matsumoto Tsuruichiro earnestly said, "He is guilty and will be handed over to the police, but he won't lose his life."

Fujiwara-sensei remained silent, her gaze becoming complex.

Kotegawa glanced at him sideways and asked, "What crime have you committed?"

Matsumoto Tsuruichiro's expression stiffened, but he remained silent.

The man kneeling on the ground looked blankly at his eyes and muttered, "I lend money at exorbitant interest rates, I use violence to collect debts, men who can't pay their debts sell their organs, women who can't pay their debts sell their bodies, I run a criminal gang, I monopolize high-priced businesses, I rape..."

As he confessed his sins one by one, Matsumoto Tsuruichiro's eyes twitched incessantly. He suddenly raised his head, and a gaze fell upon him, like a sharp blade pressed against his throat.

He moved his Adam's apple and then lowered his head again.

Kotegawa listened quietly to his "confession," realizing that the extortion was nothing at all.

“Although it’s none of my business…” He paused abruptly and looked at Fujiwara-sensei.

Fujiwara-sensei sighed and patted his hand: "He's Ichiro's junior. This time, for my sake, I'll spare his life."

Kotegawa asked, "How do we keep them?"

"Let's hand him over to the police and let him go to jail to repent."

Kotegawa thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay."

He opened his palm, a wisp of dark purple electricity crackling within it, shooting towards the man beside him between the eyebrows, and said, "Go and apologize."

The group of people staggered to their feet and walked outside with slightly stiff steps.

Matsumoto Tsuruichiro, who kept his head down, couldn't help but twitch his brow a few times.

“Under the rules of divine order, divine messengers can duel, and the gods are not allowed to interfere.” He said to Matsumoto Tsuruichiro, “You seem quite unconvinced. If you want to challenge me, you are welcome anytime.”

"No, no," Matsumoto Tsuruichiro said with a forced smile.

Fujiwara-sensei sighed again, stood up, patted his old friend on the shoulder, and said with disappointment, "Time really waits for no one, Ichiro, you, you..."

He then looked at Kotegawa: "It's getting late, let's go back?"

Kotegawa stood up, called to his friends who were watching the show, and together they left the izakaya and headed towards the bus.

On the street, dozens of men in floral shirts stood shivering by the roadside, their heads bowed low. Several others remained motionless, still in their original positions.

Inside the izakaya, Matsumoto Tsuruichiro, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly relaxed, as if an invisible mountain had been lifted off his head.

His face was expressionless, but the muscles in his face twitched unconsciously, sometimes with anger, sometimes with fear.

……