What a twist! The loser heroine!

Huh? Is this some new setting from a light novel? I don't remember my Japanese history teacher ever teaching this. Wen Shui thought to herself.

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

Seeing this, Yoshiki explained, "It is said that if you are watched by the gods during a shrine visit, you may be able to change your own fate and that of the people around you."

"Sigh~ Changing fate, does it mean changing the 'extremely unlucky' result in the lottery to 'extremely lucky' or something like that?"

"No?" Yoshiki counted on his fingers seriously: "Things like interpersonal relationships and fortune will change in the future."

"You're only in the first year of junior high school, so don't read so many light novels. If you get obsessed with making up settings, your grades will suffer." Wen Shui misunderstood Yoshiki's words as referring to the strange settings in light novels.

"These are just topics that classmates are spreading among themselves. Brother, you don't need to worry. Yoshiki doesn't really believe in these things either."

Yoshiki was the first to step onto the approach to the shrine. Through the torii gate and the Shinto path that people avoided, she quietly looked at the towering shrine, her little head lost in thought.

"Huh? Yoshiki, stop spacing out."

Hearing his elder brother's urging, Yoshiki quickly went upstairs.

"Good~"

◇

"Dingling~"

The clinking of coins came from the offering box, and Wen Shui could hear it clearly even through the bustling crowd.

What a quiet day. After finishing my shrine visit, I'll go back and read the latest volume of "Magical Girl Doesn't Want to Go to Work".

As Wen Shuihe was thinking this, he heard a suppressed yawn coming from behind him.

"Oh dear! Xiao Lian, you can't do that. It's very disrespectful to the gods!"

"Hehe, sorry..."

The soft scolding made Wen Shui turn around, and the person who had just yawned was standing right behind him.

She was a rather tall girl; that was Wen Shui's first impression of her. A thick mask covered her face, and she was bundled up in a black cotton-padded coat. A cute cotton hat with a brimmed hem protected her ears and head; Wen Shui could only see long pink hair hanging down from the brim.

The girl was scratching her head shyly with her gloved hand, looking a little naive.

Is it that cold today? She's wearing so many layers; she must be very sensitive to the cold.

After glancing at it, Wen Shui turned back without thinking too much about it.

"Brother, it's our turn!"

In front of her parents, Yoshiki, now addressing them differently, spoke thus. She held out her hand, a 5-yen coin lying quietly in her palm.

"Here you go, brother didn't bring your wallet this morning, did he?"

Wen Shui took the coin and thanked him, saying, "That's right, thank you, Jia Shu."

The father turned around, touched the warm water on his forehead with his finger, and said kindly, "Still so forgetful, Kazuhiko. You're going to high school this year, so you need to correct your shortcomings."

"I will keep an eye on my brother! Father, please don't worry!"

"Yoshiki is really reliable~"

"I will correct it, Mom, please don't chime in..."

The procession moved forward gradually.

Having finally endured the family trial, Wen Shuiheyan dropped the coin into the offering box. He and his family members clasped their hands together, closed their eyes, and bowed in prayer.

"I hope my wishes will come true in the new year," he said to the gods.

"Ring~" "Ring~"

The coin made a crisp, clear sound, which lingered in the warm water where sight was shut off.

"Pfft hahaha."

Wen Shui suddenly opened her eyes: "Huh?"

The laughter just now was...

He looked around and saw that the people who came to worship were throwing coins into the wooden box, their expressions normal, and no one seemed to be laughing heartily.

"strangeness?"

Who is laughing?

He was about to look away when he saw the girl who had been yawning and looking sleepy, holding two coins between her gloves and pretending to throw them away.

"and many more--"

Without thinking, he reached out and stopped the girl.

"Um..." A soft, hesitant female voice came through the mask.

Wen Shui was a little embarrassed, but she still braced herself and took one of the two 5-yen coins from her hand, gesturing to her.

"Don't put in 10 yen..."

"Oh?! Thank you!" The girl bowed slightly in thanks.

Wen Shui handed back the 5 yen in her hand, but to her surprise, the girl who had straightened up shook her head, her bright eyes filled with gratitude: "You don't need to give it back to me, consider this coin a thank you gift?"

"Ah, well, I'll accept it then. Goodbye."

Seeing that more and more people were focusing their attention on her because of this little incident, Wen Shui, who had always played a background role, felt a little uncomfortable.

So he immediately followed the girl's lead and turned to walk towards his family who had already walked away.

Where he couldn't see, the girl looked at the coin in her hand, then at the boy's departing figure.

“Again…” the girl murmured.

“That child is such a good person,” her mother said.

"I didn't have a chance to ask his name..."

"Anyway, it's not far. Let's go up and thank them after we've finished our worship."

"Ok!"

◇

Under the shade of trees, a brother and sister stood side by side, waiting for their parents to pick up the car, each holding a freshly made takoyaki (octopus ball).

“My elder brother has been at the shrine for quite a while now.”

"Hmm, something's happened." Remembering the strange laughter she'd heard at the shrine, Wen Shui asked, "Yoshiki, did you hear anything strange just now?"

"Huh? No, why do you ask that, elder brother?"

"Is that so...? Maybe I'm just imagining things."

“Audio hallucinations…” Yoshiki turned around, his eyes filled with worry as he stared intently at Wen Shui: “Brother, are you under too much pressure? You should take better care of your health. Even if it’s for the college entrance exam, don’t push yourself too hard.”

"Don't worry, brother, I haven't reached that point yet—"

"No way! When we get home, Yoshiki needs to create a detailed health management plan for his older brother for the upcoming school term!"

"forgive me……"

Just as the siblings were chatting and eating dumplings, a pink color entered Wen Shui's field of vision.

"Ah! I found you! Good morning!"

Accompanied by such a cheerful voice, the girl who had just met Wen Shui skipped over and stood in front of him. She took off her mask, revealing a beautiful face brimming with youthful vitality, her eyes full of joy.

What a beautiful girl! Are you the female lead?

The same thought arose in the minds of the brother and sister. Wen Shui, who hadn't had much interaction with female classmates since junior high school, was completely stunned.

Upon witnessing this, Wen Shuijia's eyes froze instantly. She quietly took two steps back and began to carefully examine this uninvited guest who seemed to be very familiar with her elder brother.

"Good morning..." Wen Shui replied, a little puzzled. "May I ask what you need me for?"

"I'd like to formally thank you for what just happened." The girl smiled broadly, and the sunlight emanating from her smile almost blinded Wen Shui.

"However, I don't know your name yet." She said, "My name is Himegami Karen, nice to meet you."

"My name is Kazuhiko Wenshui."

"Wen Shuihe Yan, what a beautiful name."

Himegami Karen grabbed Wen Shui's hand, a sudden action that startled both the brother and sister.

"Huh? No, this..."

"That was really close! I almost said goodbye to my destiny with the god." Holding Wen Shui's hand, Himegami Karen said somewhat embarrassedly, "Luckily, Wen Shui helped me out." (Note 1)

She took a roll of paper out of her pocket and slowly unrolled it. Wen Shui saw the words "Great Fortune" written on it, which was obviously a fortune slip drawn at the shrine.

"Look! Maybe your luck has even changed! Thank you!"

"No, no, no, I just happened to see it and helped out, it's nothing..."

"You're completely wrong, Mr. Wen Shui. My mother always said that meeting is fate, and helping each other is also fate. Mr. Wen Shui was able to meet me among so many people and even help me—"

"This must mean that I'm destined to meet Wen Shui Jun, right?"

Not very good at dealing with lukewarm responses from overly enthusiastic people, she nodded somewhat awkwardly and said, "Ah... I guess so."

Wen Shui's gaze darted around, seemingly trying to find something to talk about to end this sudden encounter as quickly as possible, completely unaware that Jia Shu beside her was beginning to exude a dangerous aura.

But Himegami Karen didn't stop her offensive. She took out her phone from her pocket and handed it to Wen Shui: "Hey! Want to add me on Line?"

"Stare—" The gaze from the side seemed to grow even stronger.

"Huh?!" Wen Shui's eyes widened. "We've only just met, isn't this a bit..."

"But we're so destined to meet, aren't we?" She clasped her hands together, holding her phone between her fingers, and put on a pitiful expression. "Please, for the sake of the gods who brought us together, I beg you~"

"Don't use the gods as an excuse..."

A minute later, Wen Shui looked down at her Line contact list, which had grown by one person. Then she looked up and waved to Himegami Karen, who had returned to her parents and was skipping and waving goodbye.

Then, he helplessly covered his forehead.

"Sigh... What is all this nonsense..."

At that moment, the intense gaze from beside her made Wen Shui realize that something was definitely wrong.

"Brother, elder, great man."

The deliberate, slow, and deliberate tone made the situation even more ominous.

"Wait! Yoshiki, this is..."

"While I understand my brother's desire for friends, adding him on Line without any consideration is too fast!"

"There's nothing I can do. I simply can't refuse someone like Himegami," Wen Shui said softly and weakly.

"My older brother actually said the last name of a girl he'd only known for less than half an hour without any hesitation, and immediately acted like they were very familiar with each other. This isn't like how my older brother acted back in middle school."

"Wait a minute, Jia Shu, at least include punctuation!"

Ignoring his older brother's complaints and falling into some strange state, Yoshiki Numizu stared intently at Karen Himegami's receding figure.

Himegami Karen...she broke through her brother's defenses so quickly, she seems difficult to control...

She is definitely not a suitable candidate for my future sister-in-law; she's a dangerous woman.

It seems necessary to investigate this thoroughly.

[Buzzing—]

Her phone vibrated. Wen Shui picked it up, and a Line notification popped up on the screen saver. A cute rabbit avatar was jumping around. With a mix of trepidation and excitement, Wen Shui clicked on it.

Himeno-Ren (姫の恋) is the online name used by Himegami Karen. It sounds a bit like a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur) love-struck persona, but it does have some connection to her name.

Thank you so much for today! (Read)

The boy carefully chose his words, his fingers flying across the screen.

Meanwhile, Karen Himegami, already seated in her car, eagerly turned on her phone.

It's nothing. Please feel free to contact me if you need any help in the future. (Read)

They just started with polite pleasantries...

The girl smiled and sent a message.

【Okay! I'll remember that!】 (Unread)