I am a teacher at a girls' school in Tokyo

"Teacher Pingchuan, that's great. We've contacted Xiaoye and she's fine." He was obviously relieved.

"Huh——" With that, Hirakawa Tetsufumi immediately relaxed. It was great that he could still get in touch with her. While waiting for the reply, he had already anticipated the worst-case scenario. If all else failed, he could only call the police or something.

He will definitely feel guilty about this, as he has failed in his duty today.

"So Mrs. Amamiya, where is classmate Amamiya now?"

"This child...she said she was in a shrine not far from the school...where is this?"

"A shrine... I know, the one you pass by on the way from the train station to school?"

"She said yes."

"Then I'll go find her now."

"This, I am now..." Mrs. Amemiya's tone was hesitant, and she seemed embarrassed to bother him.

"It's okay, I'll be closer this way." This is what Hirakawa Tetsufumi said. At the same time, he stood up from his seat, gave a look to Mr. Hisata who had been looking at him with concern, and trotted out of the office.

"…I'm so sorry to trouble you, Mr. Hirakawa."

"It's okay." He answered and hung up the phone. It's hard to run while talking on the phone.

So why did Amamiya Yoru go to the shrine without saying anything during school? The shrine was also visited by Hirakawa Tetsufumi. It was very small and hidden in the woods. It was remote and not very populated.

What's the point of going to a place like that?

Should we bury Mr. Yamamoto's body? For no apparent reason, Tetsufumi Hirakawa had this terrifying thought.

"..."

What are you thinking about?

Chapter 17 The girl in the shrine signed a contract

As a major representative of Shinto culture, shrines can be found everywhere in Japan. From the bustling downtown to the corner of an alley, there may be a shrine. The big ones may cover dozens of hectares, while the small ones may only have a statue.

In short, it is this kind of god culture that believes that "all things have spirits" that has made shrines of the "Eight Million Gods" spread across every corner.

As for the shrine where Amamiya Yoru was… Hirakawa Tetsufumi had also been there. It was probably dedicated to some minor god, and the shrine was only a few square meters. It was located between the tram station and the school. When I passed by on my way to work every day, I could catch a glimpse of its vague shadow through the branches of the trees and along the overgrown path.

——From the fact that it is overgrown with weeds, it can be seen that few people go into this shrine to worship.

It was such a small shrine, why did Amamiya run into it during school hours? She hadn't even come to school in the morning.

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I was late a few days ago. Could it be that I went to that shrine?

Such questions lingered in Hirakawa Tetsufumi's mind, and he was extremely confused. This girl was really hard to figure out, but fortunately, the answer would soon be revealed.

After ten minutes of rushing, he finally arrived at the shrine because he was worried that something might happen to Amamiya Ya. He couldn't slow down along the way, so he was now gasping for breath.

It is noon now, mid-April, and the slightly cold wind of early spring blows on my face, which is slightly damp with sweat, bringing a chill.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa stood outside the woods and looked at the shrine not far away.

In the woods with fresh green shoots, there is an old gray stone torii gate with stone statues of common Komainu standing on both sides. Going inside, the stone slabs behind the torii gate are covered with irregular weeds, leading all the way - just a few meters - to the main shrine.

Next to the main hall, there was a squatting figure, who should be Amamiya Yoru.

After seeing the figure of Amemiya Ye, Hirakawa Tetsufumi immediately breathed a sigh of relief, gently wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, took out his mobile phone, and dialed Mrs. Amemiya.

The call was connected immediately, and a worried voice came through immediately. The mother must have been waiting for a long time.

"Hello, is this Mr. Hirakawa?"

"Yes, it's me. I've found Amamiya-san."

This answer obviously made the lady on the other end feel a lot more relaxed, and the sound of her breathing could be clearly heard through the receiver.

"That's great. Xiaoye... I really don't know what to say. Anyway, I'm sorry to bother you today, Mr. Hirakawa."

"It's out of the way."

"What is Xiaoye doing now? I just asked her on the phone, but she just kept hesitating and wouldn't tell me."

"About this..." Hirakawa Tetsufumi carefully looked at the back of Ryomoko inside the shrine, unable to tell what he was doing. "It may take a while before I can answer you."

"I see... Thank you again, Mr. Hirakawa."

"It should."

After hanging up the phone and putting away his cell phone, Tetsufumi Hirakawa walked into the woods, stepping on the weeds.

Walking forward, it felt like being isolated from the world. The dense trees acted as a barrier to isolate the noise. The woods were quiet with only the sound of his footsteps.

After a few steps to the shrine, Hirakawa Tetsufumi stood outside the torii gate and looked at the girl just a few meters away. It was Amamiya Yo.

She squatted in front of a wooden box, looking at something intently, and didn't even hear his arrival.

What is this for?

With this question in mind, I was about to go forward to find out what was going on, and then, a "Woo~" sound that was obviously belonging to some animal was heard in the shrine.

As expected, the source of the sound was the wooden box in front of Amemiya Ye.

What animal is this?

Hirakawa Tetsufumi walked into the torii gate, and the footsteps finally caught the girl's attention. Amamiya Yoru, who was squatting on the ground, looked back and didn't show any surprise when she saw it was him. She just stood up and bowed to him.

"Teacher Hirakawa."

Perhaps her mother had told her that he would be here.

As for Tetsufumi Hirakawa, he looked at the girl in front of him who was causing him trouble, who had come here without permission during school hours and had skipped classes for the entire morning, and he frowned slightly even when responding to her polite greeting.

"Amamiya-san."

"Yes."

"What time is it now?"

"Lunch break."

"..."

The answer is correct, but what Hirakawa Tetsufumi wanted to hear more was "go to school".

But after being diverted, he no longer had a stern face. Instead, he sighed helplessly and asked.

"Amamiya-san, you didn't come to school this morning so you're here?"

"Yes."

"What about being late a few days ago?"

“It’s here too.”

"why?"

"..."

This time he didn't answer, and Amamiya Ye's eyes slightly avoided.

But this is totally useless, right? Hirakawa Tetsufumi looked at the wooden box behind her and took a step forward to see what it was. The result...

Amamiya Ye opened his arms and stood in front of him with a determined look.

"...Amemiya-san, what are you doing?" Hirakawa Tetsufumi looked at the girl in front of him in confusion, "Aren't you letting him see it?" His eyes conveyed this message.

I think Amemiya Ye understood his gaze. She shook her head and said, "Teacher Pingchuan, can you please promise me first that you won't tell my mother?"

"..."

How should I put it... As a teacher, it is really difficult to face such a problem. Because he is responsible for both the students and the parents. Helping students to conceal things from their parents...

How to reply?

Amemiya-san, you don't want your mother to know about this, right?

?

What weird thing is he thinking about?

Hirakawa Tetsufumi frowned in annoyance, and was deeply sorry for the random thoughts. Then, after careful consideration, he spoke:

"I'm sorry, Amamiya-san, I can't promise you right away. But...if I understand the whole story and you can give me a reasonable and legitimate reason, then it's not impossible."

"Really?" Amemiya Ye's face became depressed when he heard half of it, but after he said "but", he immediately showed joyful surprise.

"of course."

It is completely understandable that students have secrets. Even if they are as close as mother and daughter, there should be a certain distance between them. Of course, the following reasons must be able to convince him. If not, I can only apologize to Amemiya-san.

This is what Hirakawa Tetsufumi considered, but... Amemiya Ye seemed to not trust him very much as she had just been her homeroom teacher for a few days.

"This is?"

Tetsufumi Hirakawa looked hesitantly at the little finger that Amamiya Yo stretched out to him.

"This is a contract."

"contract?"

"Once signed, it cannot be broken."

"..."

Well, Tetsufumi Hirakawa understood. The so-called contract is commonly known as a hook.

"But Amamiya-san, I will not tell your mother unless you can convince me with a reason."

Before extending his hand, Tetsufumi Hirakawa carefully repeated his conditions.

However, the girl in front of him continued as if she hadn't heard him: "In this shrine, in front of the gods, once you sign the contract, you can never go back on your word."

"..."

I always feel that the lines are a bit strange. Is it necessary to be so serious? And there are conditions for saying it, right? It's not a direct promise.

"Amamiya-san, I didn't agree directly." He said this again.

And then was ignored again.

In this quiet shrine, surrounded by woods, the girl in front of him stared at him with innocent and expectant eyes.

Facing such looks from female students, it seemed like it would be a sin not to agree.

"..."

So, by the time I came to my senses, I had already signed the contract inexplicably... I was led astray, or rather, I agreed to her agreement.

"Teacher, after signing the contract, you can't tell my mother about this."

After taking his hand back, Amemiya Ye's voice was filled with joy.

The conditions are completely ignored...

And he's already in high school, but he still likes to "sign contracts"? It seems that his mentality is not young enough.

I don't know how to react.

Forget it, let's see what's in the wooden box anyway. Find out why this student has been late for the past few days and didn't come this morning.

Chapter 18 Amamiya Ye, must be an angel...right?

This is a wooden box. The word "奉納" written on the surface of the box indicates the true purpose of the box: it is the shrine's money box, where coins are put into when worshiping the gods.

But that is now a thing of the past. In this old, probably abandoned shrine, the real purpose of this box with a hole in it is:

Home to four cats.

Yes, Tetsufumi Hirakawa saw four cats in the box behind Amemiya Ye, to be precise, one bigger cat and three kittens.

The big cat should be white, but its long life as a wanderer has made its fur look extremely dull, slightly gray. As for the other three kittens, one is white, one is black, and one is black and white.

Moreover, the three kittens had sparse hair and their bodies were wet. They tried hard to open their eyes but couldn't, and snuggled up to the mother cat.

"Is this... newly born?"

Tetsufumi Hirakawa looked at the kittens and the mother cat lying weakly in the box, and made an immediate judgment.

"Yes."