Two Worlds, Starting with Kaguya of Penglai Mountain

It was exactly the time of the full moon, with the bright, round moon hanging high in the sky.

Kurokawa Kazuya walked through the town, which had been simply cleaned up after the festival.

The morning hustle and bustle is still fresh in my memory, but it instantly turns into silence at night.

This is the most widespread perception in this land: the darkness and the unknown of the night are the deepest fears, and this fear also brings a large number of monsters that haunt the night.

Nighttime belongs to the world of monsters.

And this full moon night is the most suitable time to complete rituals related to yokai.

The golden liquid flowed in Kurokawa Kazuya's hands.

This thing is a core element of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden's heritage, a medium used to concoct blood.

Aside from some less common lineages, the cultivation paths in this world are actually limited to two: the path of gods and the path of demons.

The secret arts of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden manifest in the form of treating the city as a deity and connecting herself with the city.

In reality, it's about making the city itself a figment of one's imagination.

Based on the concept of a city, everything in the city is integrated into one's own virtual image, and thus brought under one's control.

The city is me, and I am the city.

There is only one true core to this secret art, which teaches people how to bind the entire concept of the city together.

During the festival, Kurokawa Kazuya cannot be considered a complete Hakurei Shrine Maiden, as he is still in the process of merging his own illusory image with the city.

During this process, although he was able to use the authority of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, he merely used it.

If left unchecked, his connection to the city will weaken over time as others contribute more to it.

It's as if he successfully created a throne for this city.

However, this throne is not necessarily tied to him; in the future, when others contribute more to the country than he does, the throne may change hands.

And now-

Through several days of celebration, Kurokawa Kazuya had already spread his influence throughout the town and inscribed his concept into it.

He has completely taken control of the country and intends to transform it according to his own will.

Change the rules so that the throne will always belong to you.

Ta da da~ da da da da~

The full moon in the sky still shone with its bright light.

As Kurokawa Kazuya walked, he arrived at the riverbank near the town and saw the figures that were already waiting there.

She wore a white short-sleeved shirt, a yellow long skirt, and a jacket draped over her shoulders.

Her blue hair swayed in the night wind. When Kurokawa Kazuya arrived, Hanami Anna was standing by the river, quietly watching the moon reflected on the lake.

Upon hearing footsteps behind her, the girl, who had her hands behind her back, immediately turned around.

Anna Hanami: "You came so slowly."

Kurokawa Kazuya: "There's no way to set this up without drawing blood. If it weren't for the fact that the people of Hourai have unlimited blood, I'd still be lying down somewhere by now."

He explained as he slowly walked to the girl's side.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "I'll leave the rest of the ceremony to you, Hachiman."

Hanami Anna: "Tch~ You only contact me when you need something, I'm not someone you can call anytime."

The girl muttered something under her breath.

Meanwhile, Kurokawa Kazuya glanced at the blue-haired girl standing beside him out of the corner of his eye.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "Hana, are you sure you want to speak in this tone?"

Since Hanami's breakup announcement, the two have basically stopped talking as closely as before.

The tone you're using right now is actually a bit off.

Anna Hanami: "Unsure."

The blue-haired girl shook her head in denial.

As for whether she regrets it, Banami doesn't really regret the choice she made. As time goes by, she has gradually come to understand her own situation.

She definitely needs to be separated from Kurokawa Kazuya for a while.

At the very least, one must break free from the state of gradually relying on the other person as a source of emotional support due to loneliness and confusion, and truly integrate into the world from one's own perspective to find one's own place.

This is not to say that relying on someone is bad.

The two people in a romantic relationship are inherently interdependent.

Rather, when one has nothing, pathological dependence can lead people to more extremes.

As you discard more and more of your own things, as you pay more and more attention to the other person's affairs, as your own thoughts are gradually eroded, as your entire life is filled by another person.

Because they have nothing, they have no sense of security whatsoever.

At first, I would feel uneasy because the other person had romantic interactions with someone of the opposite sex.

Afterwards, they will feel annoyed when the other person interacts with members of the opposite sex.

Then I get annoyed because the other person makes eye contact with someone of the opposite sex.

It's becoming increasingly extreme and exaggerated.

In the end, it doesn't matter if it's someone of the opposite sex or someone of the same sex or even a family member. When one's only source of emotional support becomes overly intimate with that person, an instinctive stress response will occur.

Aggressive individuals may develop into what is known as yandere, while those who are not aggressive may become depressed due to constant internal conflict.

The question of whether or not to go back is not a big deal when it comes to such a spiritual issue.

Anna Hanami: "Kurokawa, what have you always been thinking?"

Kazuya Kurokawa: "Me?"

He turned and smiled at the blue-haired girl beside him:

"I don't really care whether you go back or not. After all, that's several years from now, which is too far away."

Standing beside the blue-haired girl, I felt the breeze blowing from the lake.

Kurokawa Kazuya's emotions were quite stable.

Having experienced two time travels, he had long since given up any expectations for the so-called future.

He will continue to plan for the future and prepare for it.

He will avoid the inevitable tragedy of the future, unless it is something truly terrible.

Rather than the so-called future, Kurokawa Kazuya prefers to enjoy the present.

He didn't care at all whether or not Banami went back.

Rather than worrying about whether or not to go back, he would rather build up enough feelings with the other person in the present.

It's a pity that Banana wasn't in a good mood, otherwise Kurokawa and Mi would probably have been thinking about pursuing each other long ago during their time together.

Yanai sees Ancai: "..."

Anna Hanami: "I hate this feeling. Doesn't this make me look silly for doing all this on my own? So, does this mean I'm pushing Kurokawa, who has to take care of me, away from me?"

The blue-haired girl glanced at Kurokawa Kazuya and continued muttering to herself.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "Yes, it counts."

Kurokawa Kazuya nodded without hesitation: "Actually, I was prepared at the time. After all, although it looks strange, it's not bad in reality."

He was speaking in words that only Banami could understand.

The latter, standing beside him, rolled his eyes.

"Looking back now, who knows what would have happened?"

She said this, but at this moment the blue-haired girl still believed Kurokawa and Mi.

Words can deceive, but actions cannot lie.

Carefully recalling the way the two interacted before she completely distanced herself, the other party's inclinations became glaringly obvious.

If she really had Kurokawa and Mitsuaki as her pillars of support, given their personalities, they would probably completely submit to her.

At that time, the two of them were truly unique in this other world.

If she were to become yandere, she would probably be very strict and forbid Kurokawa Kazuya from having any contact with any women.

At that time, she will handle all external communications, while Kurokawa and Mi will be responsible for providing advice from behind the scenes and focusing entirely on her.

You asked why Banai could so accurately imagine those scenes when she saw her.

Because of these scenarios, she genuinely imagined what it would be like to be alone again at night after the two of them separated.

A person lies in bed, lost in thought, their mind wandering more and more, becoming increasingly skewed.

Fortunately, in the end, those were all just thoughts, and no action was taken.

Kazuya Kurokawa: "It's a pity that you don't have the chance to have me all to yourself anymore, Hanami."

He shook his head at the blue-haired girl beside him who was constantly muttering.

Anna Hanami: "Only a fool would want a chance."

The blue-haired girl rolled her eyes at Kurokawa Kazuya.

Although she had imagined such a scene, Banami was definitely not the kind of girl who had nothing in her mind except one person.

Kurokawa Kazuya: "Oh, so now, are you planning to get involved, Hanami? I'm already planning to build a harem, so we can take advantage of this time before you leave to develop our relationship."

He nodded seriously as he spoke.

Yanai sees Ancai: "..."

That sounds like such a shameless thing to say.

But I didn't have any particular aversion to it.

She actually really wanted to develop a relationship with Kurokawa Kazuya, such as exchanging bodies before leaving when their feelings were strong enough.

Perhaps this could become her reason for constantly returning to the other world?

However, although he thought this way, he couldn't immediately put it into action.

Anna Hanami: "Let me think about it some more."

When it comes to matters of the heart, it's not something you can figure out just by thinking it through.

If people could convince themselves with reason, there wouldn't be so many disputes in the world.

She's only just recovered a bit, and if she gets too close to Kurokawa Kazuya, who knows if things will develop in that direction again.

As time went by, Banami's connection with the real world became less and less. She stopped posting on social media and stopped using real-world images to pursue fashionable outfits in the other world.

Their attention began to shift to this land, and they gradually found their center in life.

Things have gradually stabilized now.

Anna Hanami: "Who told Kurokawa to think about building a harem?"

The girl muttered something like that, sounding somewhat angry.

Then, the ability to materialize imagination was activated, and a huge speaker, microphone, and battery were materialized by Anna Banami.

The girl shoved the microphone into Kurokawa Kazuya's hands.

Anna Hanami: "Let's get down to business now."

Kazuya Kurokawa: "Alright then, I'll leave everything to Hana from now on."

Nodding, Kurokawa Kazuya raised the microphone.

The secret techniques passed down by the Hakurei Shrine Maiden are still one step short of being completed by Kurokawa Kazuya.

He declared his connection to the land and the city to everyone within his assigned territory.

The ceremony will be officially completed when everyone in the territory expresses their approval in their hearts.

Kurokawa Kazuya had heard rumors about the Hakurei Shrine Maiden. He said that in order to become a shrine maiden, she mobilized almost the entire population of Heian-kyo and gathered people from the surrounding area.

This is also why a shrine maiden is a shrine maiden.