"Baishi-san, Baishi-san, big news!
"Do you know that Reimei Temple used to be a large temple comparable to the Meiji Shrine? It's even older than the Sensoji Kannon Temple!
"Besides, my grandmother told me that the abbot is highly capable!"
Baishi Shū received Asada Senna's message right after he finished his morning service the next day. After he finished reading all her messages, he simply replied, "Yeah."
What a conversation killer!
Asada Senna's words held no significant value to Baishi Shū. He was certain that Reimei Temple had its own history of glory. As for the old abbot, he was the one who kept him accompanied for two years, he knew him better than anyone else and of course, he knew he was someone of consequence.
"I'm heading out now."
"Alright, take care."
He stashed the phone back into his pocket and hopped onto his beloved Hakuryuu. With just a few pedals, he dashed off in a jiffy and soon disappeared out of sight.
Today was Monday. School had started and he could not be late.
As usual, he arrived at Hibiya High School after 30 minutes. Even though he did not sense any dramatic increase in speed after consecrating the bike, the ride had undoubtedly become a lot smoother.
After getting down from his trusty steed, Baishi Shū was still immersed in the wonderful feeling his bike gave him. He had the itch to hop onto his bike and go for another round, but he knew he could not do so as the class was about to start soon. Sighing, he could not believe that he would one day be addicted to cycling.
"I just injected some spiritual power and consecrated my bike which produced such a miraculous effect. Perhaps I should try it with other objects in the temple as well!"
She let his mind run wild.
'How about a pillow? What kind of effect would it have if I consecrated it? Sleeping quality +10? Even though I have no use for it since I sleep pretty well, I can give it to the old abbot.'
After all, the old abbot was very old. He slept poorly and would wake up at the slightest noise. Perhaps after using Baishi Shū Brand's consecrated pillow, he would not have any problem sleeping until the sun came up. That way, not only he would feel rested, but his health could also be improved.
After that, Baishi Shū began to consider consecrating other articles such as clothes and daily paraphernalia. However, he found that they would not give significant positive effects, so he soon dropped the thought and searched his mind for other things.
As he was immersed in his own thoughts, the bell rang and the teacher entered the class. Baishi Shū forced himself back to reality and focused on the class.
...
Time flew by quickly during the learning process. In the blink of any eye, the morning session ended and it was lunch break.
Those students who brought their own meals would meet together and find a comfortable spot to feast while those who did not bring their own meals had to go and fill their stomachs at the school's canteen. Since the old abbot was a great chef, it went without saying that he would prepare meals for Baishi Shū to bring to school every day.
Even though it was just several onigiris most of the time, they tasted great nonetheless. Baishi Shū often joked with the old abbot that if he were to open a bento shop, he would surely make a pot full of onigiris. In comparison, Baishi Shū felt he was good for nothing except combating demonic threats.
However, Baishi Shū was not disheartened. He was a monk, and as a monk, he only needed to know how to read scriptures and exorcise evil spirits. After all, not everybody was perfect.
Then, as he enjoyed his meal at his own table, three shadows loomed over him.
'Here they come again.'
"Baishi-san, can we sit here and have lunch with you?"
He raised his head to see Maria Takai and her two good friends, holding their own lunch boxes and gazing at him with dewy eyes. There was no way he could reject them.
"Of course, take your seat," he said.
He was not an insensitive person, and he found no reason to reject the invitation from his peers to have lunch together. As if they had received an imperial edict, the three girls sat down happily and placed their cute pink lunch boxes on the table.
Why was he so famous among the girls?
Baishi Shū had thought about this question before.
'Perhaps having a monk as their boyfriend is new to them. Or perhaps my spiritual power makes them feel safe. It can't be because I'm handsome, right? That's too superficial.'
Truth to be told, Baishi Shū knew that Marie Takai had a crush on him all along. After all, he was not an insensitive person.
But what could he gain from having a girlfriend? To find out the answer, he had created a mind map in his head. Having a girlfriend meant he had to invest some of his time to work on his relationship. He had to keep her accompanied, talk to her when she felt lonely, buy her presents from time to time, and so on. After doing all of these, he would not have much time left and that would certainly jeopardize his schedule of scripture reading and learning.
Then, back to the question: what would he get in return for investing his time into his relationship?
Mental satisfaction? Envious gaze from those singles? None of these could be compared to the constant growth of spiritual power and the sense of accomplishment he felt after eliminating an evil spirit.
As such, that was why he remained impassive towards the affection of the girls at school.
'A student's responsibility is to study and not get involved in puppy love, so sorry, girls.'
"Baishi-san, have you ever heard about the haunted stories in Kondo Private Junior High School's dormitory?" Marie Takai asked.
As expected, the main purpose of Marie Takai was not just to have lunch with him. After sitting down for merely several seconds, she began to talk to him.
The topic she picked was clearly well thought out. Baishi Shū was a monk who actively participated in exorcism. Every teacher and student at Hibiya High School was well aware of that after that incident.
Baishi Shū just nodded simply and said, "Yeah, I've heard about it."
There were a lot of haunted dormitories in Japan. After all, living in Japan was like living in a cauldron of pressure. The number of suicides among students, especially high-schoolers, was relatively high amongst other groups of people in society. Therefore, in such a place where grudge and resentment were highly saturated, it was normal for most of the souls to be twisted and they would morph into evil spirits.
Usually, when a paranormal incident was discovered, the people from the shrine would make their move and settle it before it went out of control. Eventually, the only thing that was left behind was nothing but only fakelore and haunted stories that were passed on by word of mouth.
In fact, most of the main characters in those fakelore and haunted stories were already serving by Kami-sama's side or chanting sutras with Buddha in the Western Paradise.
Therefore, he was not interested in this kind of outdated haunted story, but everyone else was different. For an ordinary person, although they would be terrified when facing an evil spirit, they were exceptionally enthusiastic when they were talking about other people's spiritual encounters.
Marie Takai's friend, a lovely girl with a bob cut, chimed in curiously, "Didn't that happen three years ago? I remember that it's about four girls playing the pen fairy game in their room in the middle of the night and they accidentally summoned an evil spirit.
"Things got so bad that three of the four girls died. It's only when a high monk from the Sensoji Kannon Temple took action that the evil spirit was contained and the last girl was saved."
"Yeah. Actually, I was a student there during my junior year. After that incident, I didn't continue my studies at Kondo Junior High School and transferred to Hibiya High School. It's also because of that incident that I became a non-resident student," Marie Takai said. There was still trepidation in her voice when she recalled the incident.
"So, why are you bringing this topic up now, Takai-san? Isn't it settled?" another girl with a ponytail asked.
"Yeap, it's been solved, but…" Marie Takai replied nervously, "Two days ago, there was a rumor going around in Kondo Junior High School that someone in the girls' dormitory went to the toilet late at night and heard somebody playing the pen fairy game again."
"Argh!" Hearing what Maria said, her two friends jolted up from their chairs and snuggled closer towards Baishi Shū.
As for Baishi Shū, he had finished his lunch and was sipping the soup from his Thermos flask. 'Girls, don't you realize that your actions are very fake? She is telling the story and you two are the comedic foils. Do you think I really can't see through you?'
Be that as it may, Baishi Shū did not plan to shatter their disguise as he knew that they had purposely done that because they wanted his attention.
One of her friends quickly asked, "How come you know so much, Takai-san? Did the school authorities of Kondo Junior High School not find someone to get rid of the evil spirit?"
"My father is the current headmaster of Kondo Junior High School," Marie Takai continued, "My father got somebody to look at it when the news came out, but no anomalies were found. The students said she may have been hallucinating. However, that night, the resident students heard a strange sound again."
After that, she looked at Baishi Shū.
"Baishi-san, I know you are a monk with high spiritual power, so I introduced you to my father. Do you have time today after school? My father wants you to eliminate the evil spirit. Of course, as long as you can settle the evil spirit, he is willing to give you a million yen as your remuneration. Even if you can't find anything, you will still get 50,000 yen…"
Upon hearing this, he put down the Thermos flask in his hand. Then, with an amicable smile, he said, "I'm very free after school."