PHASE 5 - SASUGA, ASUMI-NEE SAMA!!!

“Rikkun… I… I love-”

“Hey, Ric!” It was Heushac’s voice that cut me down. The stinky friend approached us with a waving hand. “Macho Steel wants to talk to you.”

“Huh?” Rikkun tilted his head. Now the red on his cheeks are fading. What a complete moment breaker!

Heushac revealed his phone on his hand and switched it to loudspeaker. Our teacher’s voice echoed around the almost empty classroom.

“Hey Mister Eisenhower, I need you and Mister Efilion here in my house. This is an urgent matter.” Mr. Kent said.

“Why? We didn’t do anything wrong! I don’t think I failed the last quiz.” Rikkun said with disbelief.

“Yeah, me too.” Heushac answered with the same tone.

“Idiots! There are kiddos who just went to town, saying that they are the best PUBG players! Let’s wreck those noobz, shall we!?”

Rikkun, Heushac, and I are expressionless.

But it didn’t take long before the two gaming addicts shifted to a smile.

“How much is in the pot?” Rikkun said with a smirk.

“Fifty bucks.” Mr. Kent answered.

…

There was a short silence. Rikkun broke it when I glanced at him.

“I-I’m sorry, Tiara. It really seems like an urgent matter.”

“Right, right. Fifty bucks is at stake here.” Heushac affirmed with a nod.

“Let’s pick this up later.” Rikkun said as he packed his things and waved goodbye at me. Then the two jollily left the classroom.

Now I’m the only one standing in this lonely place. Wait, what about my confession!?

<>

I’m such a wuss. The weekends came without me having the opportunity to confess my true feelings for him. The romantic atmosphere is really hard to establish, and so is mustering my courage. I think I’ll end up being expelled from the shrine…

Confessions aside, we need to get back to the business.

We rode the bus to Brightmore Town together with my fellow shrine maidens Asumi-nee and Ayano. My two seniors really wanted to see what the burnt Brightmore Shrine looks like. Having veteran Gate Guardians to our party will certainly work in our favor, so nobody objected about it.

We need to meet the man named Eliseo Fontaine and recruit him to join our ranks. Or at least borrow the Goddess Core for my sake.

After long hours of travel time, we are finally here.

WELCOME TO BRIGHTMORE TOWN

That’s what the town entrance says. This place is just a bit less scary at daytime. The rusty old road sign still gives us the “Witch Town” vibes. The aura of the whole place is still malevolent.

Wait, why am I so scared? I’m the Brightmore Witch!

“Wooooow! It’s been a decade since I last saw this place, and it didn’t change that much!” Asumi-nee had her eyes sparkling like an excited kid.

“So… What’s our plan?” Ayano tilted her head to Rikkun. “This town is quite big, and you two don’t want to stay here at night, right? Asking people around will consume much time.”

“Hmmm…” Rikkun held his chin. “Maybe we can find the records on the town hall-”

“Stop right there, Alaric!” Asumi-nee blocked Rikkun’s mouth. “You should at least consider our ideas first, right? You’re the only man here, so you should do all the muscle work. Leave the planning to us women.”

“H-Huh?” Rikkun tilted his head and his face is extremely puzzled.

“The Kozukata Shrine Maidens are generations of genius Gate Guardians, so don’t underestimate us!” Asumi-nee made a warcry!

“Yeah!!! Sasuga, Asumi-nee sama!!!” Ayano and I clapped.

As I expected, Asumi-nee is so energetic and all fired up! Nobody can stop her now!

<>

The stage is set! Lights are on! The mics are ready! We are now prepared for the first Brightmore Concert, set at the town square; the very same place where my mother was publicly burned! Yay!

We ended up singing an acoustic version of an American jazz song, and we’re doing pretty well! There are about twenty audiences watching us, and nobody can paint their faces that are filled with amazement!

“L is the way you LOOK at me~”

“O is the ONLY ONE I see~”

“V is VERY VERY extraordinary~”

I never knew that Asumi-nee and Ayano are great singers. We three even moved in sync! As expected, Kozukata Shrine Maidens are family of geniuses! With this team, we can even go against my own Idol Club!

“E is … EGG…”

That last line was Rikkun’s. He’s currently wearing a copy of our shrine maiden outfit partnered with blush-on, make-up, and a long blonde wig. He appears to have the most sex appeal out of all of us. With that delicate face and white sexy legs, everybody would mistake him as a real woman. He’s so gorgeous when cross-dressing, and I think he’s more beautiful than me in so many levels.

Enough about my weird fetish. Rikkun just screwed the last part of the song.

“Hey…” I whispered. “Did you forget the lyrics?”

“Nope. I’m just fed up with this crap! To hell with it!!!” Rikkun protested as he slammed the wig to the wooden floor. “What kind of retarded idea is this anyway!?”

“Tsk tsk tsk! This is just a crazy idea, not retarded!” Asumi-nee explained with a positive smile. “Why waste time finding Eliseo if we can have Eliseo find us? If that person noticed the news about the glamorous concert of the shrine maidens, then he will be curious and check us out!... Can you at least have your brain think a little, Alaric?”

“That goes to you too!” Rikkun exclaimed as he pointed the audiences. “These people all look at us as if we’re weirdos!”

“Stop shouting, our performance is already ruined!” Ayano yelled.

I just made a sorry smile. I can’t stop any of them if those three are arguing.

Suddenly, some middle-aged townfolks approached Asumi-nee and shook her hand. They welcomed her with warmth as if she was an ambassador from a nearby country.

“Are you ladies from Broadway? I used to own cassette tapes of that song.” One of the grandmothers said.

“Yep~ I’m from Broadway!” Asumi-nee smiled.

“Cool!” The townsperson exclaimed. “Can I get your autograph!?”

“Sure~”

Then Asumi-nee became the subject of the crowd. She started signing their shirts with her beautiful penmanship.

As time goes on, more and more people approached her; farmers, fishermen, kids, and the like. “Please visit our shine in Heightsburg! We have lots of goods there~” Asumi-nee distributed fliers for our shrine as soon as she thought that she will not let go of this business opportunity.

“These cultists don’t really have any idea what Broadway is…” Rikkun coldly commented.

There are too many people here that it became hard to handle. But no good. Asumi-nee's concert plan surely lured a lot of people but we haven't even seen any blonde person here. Maybe we have to create a new searching method.

“Ayano, Tiara, Alaric!” Asumi-nee shouted. “I’ll stay here! You three look for Eliseo! I'll notify you if I found him!”

“Right! We’ll leave this site to you, Asumi-nee!” Ayano cheered.

“We will never give up on finding him!” I waved with a smile.

“I give up.” Rikkun mumbled.