The story begins with an eight-foot-tall lady surrounded by ghost story ladies.

The scene changes.

In Ogata Mayuko's bedroom.

Natsume Fanyu raised his right hand, his thumb and middle finger touching.

Snapped.

A crisp sound.

The time stop of the chaotic clapper was resolved with a snap of the fingers.

As the morning light began to flow again, it poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the entire bedroom in a soft golden glow.

The frozen dust particles in the air began to float again, the edge of the curtains swayed slightly, and a deep whistle came from the direction of Tokyo Bay in the distance.

Mayuko Ogata opened her eyes.

At a glance, I saw a man standing by the bed.

The man was tall and slender, with a rare beauty in his eyes and brows—not the kind of stunning beauty that needs to be recognized at first glance, but a special beauty that you won't forget once you've seen him.

What's most captivating is the upright and honest air about him, like the morning mist in the mountains—faint yet irresistibly drawing you closer to see him more clearly.

When he looks at you, his eyes are clear and gentle, without any aggression, as if to say:

You can rest assured that I'm here.

Such people often make people forget what standards were initially used to measure beauty.

His mere presence, simply standing there, was a pleasure to behold.

Not stunning, but even more stunning.

Mayuko Ogata slowly sat up straight.

She pulled her slipped robe back up, then raised her eyes and looked at the man beside the bed with the calm gaze one would give when facing the opposing side's ace witness in court.

"Natsume Fanyu?"

"Exactly."

Natsume Fanyu nodded slightly, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

She truly deserves the title of "Queen of the Legal World"!

Having just escaped a month-long torment by evil spirits, the first thing he did upon waking was to confirm the identity of the person who had come.

"Ayano asked you to come," Mayuko Ogata said.

"Yes."

Mayuko Ogata remained silent for a moment.

Her gaze shifted from him and slowly swept across the bedroom.

The tape that filled the gaps was still intact and in its place.

But the chilling atmosphere that had kept her awake for a month had disappeared.

"What about the weaver?" she asked.

"They've already left."

Mayuko Ogata's fingers curled slightly.

She remembered the last words she heard before she lost consciousness:

Will you remember me?

The voice still lingered in her mind, as soft as a cherry blossom petal falling onto the water.

"From now on, your life will be completely normal." Natsume Fanyu's voice was calm and unhurried.

Mayuko Ogata did not respond immediately.

She walked barefoot to the dressing table, looked at herself in the mirror, remained silent for a moment, and then turned around.

Her tone regained the competence and directness characteristic of a queen of the legal profession.

"When the payment bill is sent to my law firm, I will have the finance department process it immediately."

"No need for payment," Natsume Fanyu shook his head.

Mayuko Ogata's brows furrowed slightly.

She never believed in the word "free".

In her worldview, anything that doesn't cost money will inevitably cost more elsewhere.

"However..." Natsume Fanyu changed the subject.

"I would like to ask Ms. Ogata to help me investigate a shrine."

Mayuko Ogata narrowed her eyes slightly. "A shrine?"

"That shrine is related to Maori; she was once a deity enshrined in that shrine."

Mayuko Ogata's pupils contracted slightly, and she couldn't help but feel a little surprised and alarmed.

She paused for a moment, then said:

Which shrine?

"That's exactly why I need you to investigate."

Natsume Fanyu walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, his gaze passing over the layers of rooftops in the Minato Ward and looking towards Tokyo Bay.

"I can only see the general location and appearance."

"The torii gate has collapsed, half of the main hall has crumbled, there is no shrine name, no shimenawa (sacred rope), and no statues."

"The entire shrine has been erased from people's memories, and it can't even be found in the land records."

"But the binding on the heart of the woven garment is tied to the core of a spirit that corresponds to a worshipped deity."

Mayuko Ogata's expression remained unchanged.

But she tapped her right index finger lightly on the belt of her nightgown.

That's a habit she has when she's thinking about crucial issues; she developed it during her law school days and hasn't changed it since.

Natsume Fanyu's gaze lingered on her face for a moment before he continued:

"The ability to erase the name of a deity and sever all ties between a shrine and the world is not something an ordinary person can do."

"Especially the step of erasing the name, for the gods, the name is the anchor."

"Removing the name is like pushing a ship out of the harbor, leaving it to drift at sea forever, never to reach the shore again."

"You're a lawyer, you should understand what this means better than I do."

To erase the legal entity.

Mayuko Ogata's finger remained above her belt, not falling.

Of course she understands.

In the legal world, erasing the existence of an entity means erasing all its rights, all its obligations, and all traceable evidence.

If someone could completely erase a shrine from all records.

Its name was completely removed from all documents, and even land registers could not find any evidence that it had ever existed.

There must be an extremely large and professional force behind this "person".

This power could not have been formed in recent decades; it must have been traced back to much earlier times.

Meiji period, Edo period, and even earlier.

"I'll look into it," Mayuko Ogata said.

He answered with three words, a crisp and decisive reply.

"Start with land records, then the records of nearby shrines, and then local chronicles and old maps."

"If someone tampered with the records, there will definitely be clues left behind."

"No one can truly be flawless."

Even the so-called "god".

Natsume Fanyu looked at her and suddenly understood why the landlady always had an uncontrollable pride in her tone when talking about Ogata Mayuko.

It wasn't because of her professional status, nor because of the Nikkei's title of "Woman Leader of the Year".

Rather, it's because this person's first reaction to any problem is always "What can I do?"

It takes courage to face evil spirits without flinching.

But to not back down when faced with an unknown force that involves gods and the erasure of history is something else entirely.

That's the kind of certainty you only have after you've lived your life as a code of law.

"What if we encounter aspects beyond human control..."

Natsume Fanyu conjured an ordinary business card out of thin air and handed it to her.

"Come find me here."

"I will." Mayuko Ogata took the business card and glanced at it.

Natsume Fanyu turned his gaze away and looked out the window at the gray-blue surface of Tokyo Bay.

Above the sea, the crack suspended in the void is slowly widening at its edges.

Inside the crack, something extremely slow and extremely heavy was turning.

It was as if something had turned over in the dark before opening its eyes from a deep sleep.

"Dare to show your face, and I'll beat you to a pulp!"