At the peak of the mountain, there was fog and mist.
Clumps of sunlight broke through the clouds, forming beams of light that illuminated the area.
Thin white mist floated over the pure Lake Itomori as the wind blew, causing the lake's surface to shimmer.
"It's beautiful. What a pity. If only I could have come earlier, I could have seen the sunrise."
"Look, it's that man again."
"That's definitely him."
"What is he doing? Is he praying for something?"
Not yet?
Haruto also looked towards Tachibana Taki, but at this moment, nothing was happening.
Or should he say it had failed?
His heart was stirred to reclaim the lost spiritual power in this land. As for whether a miracle could happen next, that was uncertain.
At this moment, Haruto noticed that the young man's face suddenly showed joy. At the same time, there were some ripples in space and time.
❀❀❀
I am Tachibana Taki, from Tokyo, studying at Tokyo Metropolitan Jingu High School. A year ago, my peaceful and boring life suddenly changed because I met a girl.
A girl named Miyamizu Mitsuha.
After waking up, I swapped bodies with a girl named Miyamizu Mitsuha, and this is the beginning of my acquaintance with her.
❀❀❀
I am Miyamizu Mitsuha, the successor of the Miyamizu Shrine in Itomori Town, and I live with my grandmother and my sister.
I miss life in the big city and vowed to go to the big city in the future.
However, this dream suddenly became a reality in a strange way.
I became a boy.
NO.
More precisely, I swapped bodies with a boy named Tachibana Taki.
And this is how our story unfolds.
I knew Taki liked Okudera-senpai, so I helped Taki and successfully made a date with Okudera-senpai.
At first, this was something to be proud of, but for some reason, my heart felt a bit dull.
As if something that should have belonged to me was pushed out by myself.
So foolish.
Later, I realized that I had fallen in love with Taki.
I desperately went to the big city of Tokyo, but when I finally found him, he showed a confused expression, staring at me as if I were a stranger.
I returned.
And the bond between us seemed to have ended.
At first, I thought so. But one day, he suddenly appeared in front of me.
That idiot actually found the chewing grape I made and drank it. Oh my God, how could he drink something like that!
Fool!
Stupid, stupid!
I thought the bond between us would continue like this, and after overcoming the upcoming disaster, I could go find him.
However, he disappeared again.
But this time, he didn't come back.
❀❀❀
Under the dim light, a girl in uniform looked around with a vacant expression, wondering why she was here.
"Mitsuha!"
Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded, and the girl's eyes trembled slightly. She quickly turned around and saw a familiar figure running towards her.
Her vision gradually became blurry.
Taki.
He was back again.
❀❀❀
Haruto averted his gaze and looked behind Mitsuha. There was a thin, hazy curtain there, and he could faintly see the familiar blue sky, white clouds, a small bridge, and flowing water.
Is this really happening?
But Itomori Town actually exists in this world.
So, it's not just the native border residents, but people from this world can also go to Gensokyo under certain circumstances?
Then, what about the people in Ichinose Town? Is it possible?
Haruto pulled back his thoughts and quickly calmed himself.
He had decided that even reversing time and space would reverse the tragedy of Ichinose Town if they were not dead.
Of course, this could not be better.
However, now that the possibility was confirmed, handling it would be much easier.
As the man and woman disappeared, Ichika bit her cherry lips and said, "So he has been waiting for that girl?"
"I thought he was foolish, but it turns out he was waiting for someone~"
"Unlike some big scoundrels of men these days, evil men, playboys, hentai."
"Hm?"
Haruto squinted and looked at Ichika.
Ichika coughed, quickly changing the subject, and asked curiously: "Did you see how that girl appeared?"
"Seems like she just appeared out of nowhere?"
They couldn't see that thin curtain, so of course, they didn't know how Mitsuha appeared.
"That boy had prayed earlier." Ichika murmured to herself: "Is the Miyamizu Shrine really useful? If so..."
The five sisters took a breath, then looked at each other for a moment, as if they had made a decision.
Seeing this scene, Haruto turned his face and looked into the distance.
Pray?
Because he allowed them to come, so they returned like this.
It seemed very regrettable.
As Haruto's heart stirred, a sudden gust of wind blew from the mountain. Amid the girl's cry, the corner of her skirt fluttered, and white mist rolled in, suddenly arriving.
In the thick fog, the faint sound of wooden footsteps suddenly echoed.
Miharu covered the end of her skirt. Despite her embarrassment, she quickly lifted her ears and said nervously: "Listen quickly, what is that sound?"
Ichika blinked: "It sounds like footsteps?"
Yotsuba involuntarily shrank to Haruto's side, tugging at his clothing, and asked in a low voice: "Kuromori-san, is there a ghost?"
"H-ghost?"
Beside her, several girls trembled, and Nino gritted her teeth in anger: "Yotsuba, please stop talking nonsense!"
At first, they were a little scared, but now that Yotsuba said this, it was even more frightening!
Itsuki tugged at Haruto's clothing and looked curiously: "Kuromori-kun, is it really a ghost?"
Haruto raised his eyes and said, "It's not a ghost. Listen carefully. That's the sound of wooden shoes."
If Rena knew she could scare the five daughters pale just with the sound of footsteps, it might be very heartbreaking!
Ichika nervously grabbed Haruto's clothing, looking around with wide eyes, and whispered: "I just said it was the sound of footsteps, but such a sharp sound can only be heard when stepping on hard ground, right?"
"Kuromori-kun, let's hurry and go. I feel like the atmosphere suddenly became colder."
"Yes, let's hurry and go!"
Haruto suddenly wanted to know Rena's expression.
It must be very interesting now, right?