Was 20,000 yen a lot to Baishi Shū? Yes, it was.
Anteriorly, he had to perform two exorcisms in order to earn the exact same amount of money. Besides that, the value of a consecrated jade Buddha amulet was much higher as well.
That being said, anything that related to Buddha such as a Buddha statue, was not suitable to be sold as a commodity because its symbolization was far beyond the value of the material itself. Baishi Shū gave Mayuko Takai the jade Buddha amulet out of his own conscience to help her fight the demon within her heart, so he did not really feel the pain. Instead, he felt very delighted if it could be of help to Mayuko Takai.
After he settled all the stuff, Baishi Shū rose to his feet and bade farewell to Headmaster Takai.
Headmaster Takai saw them off at the school gate before he watched Baishi Shū and his daughter pace away along the street.
'Hold on a second, his daughter?'
Pushing his bike, Baishi Shū asked Marie Takai tactfully, "Takai-san, aren't you going home yet? It is almost 5.00 p.m. now."
Marie Takai replied with a smile as she walked beside Baishi Shū, "It is only 4.00 p.m, and it's still very early! Baishi-san, why don't we hang out nearby? I suppose you rarely come to Ota City, right? I grew up here, so I know a few nice spots. Besides, it is almost time for dinner. How about we have dinner together? It's my treat!"
She had only one goal: she must not let Baishi Shū go!
Based on her original plan, they would have to wait until nightfall if Baishi Shū was going to perform an exorcism in the girls' dormitory. In other words, they would need to spend the entire afternoon together. First, they would go and explore the haunted dormitory building. After that, they would have a sweet and lovely dinner in a restaurant deep inside an alley. Finally, they would stroll along the streets of Ota City with their fingertips probing at each other shyly until their hands eventually clasped together tightly.
Marie Takai even had the names of their children thought out! So, how was there any possibility that she would let Baishi Shū go?
Even though there was a change in the plan, at the very least, she must have a dinner date with him.
Baishi Shū did not know about the fantasies inside Marie Takai's head. He just wanted to go home right now.
Initially, he thought that he would have to perform the exorcism at night time. He never thought that he would bump into a Hare-no-yurei and finish the job before the sun set.
This was a good thing anyhow because he did not have to run around outside and could spend more time reading scriptures and studying in the temple.
The most important thing was that he had earned a million yen! The value of one banknote was 10,000 yen. There were a hundred of them, and they felt hefty in his hand. Summing up the amount of money he had in his savings, he could finally add living quarters to the temple.
Building a house took time. Even a small Japanese-style wooden cottage could not be built in a day.
Under the circumstances whereby they already had a blueprint and the room was just a single-story building, it would take at least half a month. At this moment, Baishi Shū wanted nothing more than to get back to the temple as quickly as possible and hand the money to the old abbot so that the latter could recruit a team of construction workers and start to work on his room while he was in school.
This way, he would have a room to himself within half a month.
After settling his room, Baishi Shū began to think about which part of the temple he could renovate.
'How about a kyozo?'
The sutras and chronicles of Reimei Temple were stored in the small room beside their living quarters. He found it extremely hard no matter if he was going to do some cleaning or look for something else. Therefore, he figured he could build a kyozo. Henceforth, not only could he organize their collection of sutras better, but it could also double up as a study.
'Or perhaps I can mend the road.'
There was only one winding cobblestone pathway that led to Reimei Temple. It was exceptionally inconspicuous in Yoyogi Forest which covered a land of about 70-hectares wide. People usually had a hard time looking for Reimei Temple in Yoyogi Forest, thus it created the illusion that a great hermit was living in the city.
'Should I mend the road so that more visitors can find the temple easier? But the price for mending the road is pretty costly…'
These were the things that Baishi Shū was considering.
Even though both of them were walking together, Baishi Shū and Marie's trains of thoughts were going in two different directions.
At this time, when Baishi Shū heard Marie's suggestion to have dinner together, he suddenly remembered that he had sent a message to the old abbot and told him that he did not have to prepare dinner for him.
Glancing at the time, he reckoned that it was still pretty early, so he could buy some vegetables on his way back to Shibuya.
'I should send the old abbot a message…'
With that thought in mind, he raised his head and saw the traffic light had turned green. He hopped onto his bike and turned to Marie, "I think I will pass, Takai-san. I still have to chant scripture tonight, so I don't have much time. I will catch you another time, okay?"
With those words, he floored the pedals and stormed off before Marie Takaicould even say a word, leaving her standing alone with her bike in tearless grief. "Hold on, Baishi-san! That's not what you said in class. You said that you have a lot of time after school, remember?"
Well, Baishi Shū had not lied about having a lot of time after school. In the face of a million yen, he did have plenty of time.
...
"I'm back."
Pushing the door open, the scene that first swam into Hirokazu Takai's gaze was his warm, familiar home.
Shoes were arranged neatly in the shoe cabinet, and a pair of slippers was placed in front of the door. There was a savory aroma of whatever delicious concoction wafting through the air. He inhaled the delicious smell, and a familiar voice slid into his ears.
"Welcome back. Just a minute. Dinner will be ready soon."
Slipping his feet into the slippers, Hirokazu walked forward. His wife was busy preparing the dinner in the kitchen, and the table was almost set with three sets of bowls and chopsticks. His daughter, Marie Takai, was playing with her phone on the couch.
Looking around, Hirokazu asked, "Is Mayuko Takai still inside her room?"
His wife's movements paused for a second, then she nodded. "That girl… She refuses to come out of her room. But luckily, she doesn't try to kill herself anymore."
The incident that had happened three years ago not only took the lives of three young girls, but it also destroyed the life of a happy family. Their family was used to being blissful, with the four of them sitting down and having dinner together daily, but now, there were only three of them left. Even though Mayuko Takai had been saved in the end, she never recovered from the incident that day. She trapped herself in a torturing chrysalis of self-blame and regret for three years, refusing to make any contact with the outside world.
Hirokazu Takai was both disappointed and furious with himself. In the end, he felt sorry for his daughter as he did not know how to help his daughter walk out of the harrowing event.
Nevertheless, the saving grace was that his younger daughter, Marie Takai, had grown more mature after what happened to her sister. She worked very hard in her studies and emerged as one of the highest scorers in Hibiya High School. She had an excellent chance of getting into a better university and having a better future.
When she heard her father asking about her sister, Marie Takai raised her head from her phone and said, "Dad, I've already passed the jade Buddha amulet that Baishi-san gave to us to Sister."
Mayuko Takai confined herself to the house. She refused to talk to her parents and did not want to know about anything that happened outside. The only person that she would talk to was her younger sister.
Hirokazu Takai nodded. A hint of expectation rose from his heart, but he dared not to hold much hope. After all, he had been disappointed too many times.
Over the years, Hirokazu Takai had sought all kinds of instruments or amulets from different temples and shrines. He even approached some psychologists to help his elder daughter, but none of the attempts worked. He had been disappointed far too many times, so he did not dare to have too much expectation.
"Dinner is ready," his wife called.
Marie Takai leaped up from the couch and went forward to help her mother set the table. Then, she took a plate of food and walked towards her sister's room.
No sooner had Hirokazu Takai and his wife taken their respective seats when they suddenly heard a brisk, sharp crack echoing from the hallway.
Startled, Hirokazu Takai bolted up from his seat and quickly stepped into the hallway. "What's wrong, Marie?"
He entered the hallway and was frozen stiff. His eyes widened in disbelief, and for a moment, his brain went blank. It took him quite some time before he finally found his voice and stammered, "Ma-Mayuko?"
Standing in the hallway was the ashen Mayuko Takai. This was her first time walking out of her room and facing her parents.
She stood there quietly and observed her parents. She found that their hair had turned slightly gray and crow feet had begun to set in at the corner of their eyes due to their age. Tears began to form in her eyes as she crouched down and prostrated on the floor as she sobbed, "Dad, Mom, please forgive me…"