Sister Sion's Donkey (1)
Here it is, Sion!
Ninomae Hitomi waved her hand energetically. Han Seoyeon, who had been scanning the surroundings, spotted her and turned her steps toward her.
Then, upon confirming the vehicle beside Ninomae Hitomi, she slightly furrowed her brows.
“…So this is the day I get to ride in a limousine.”
“Haha, that’s right.”
Ninomae Hitomi also smiled wryly. Indeed, how many times in a lifetime would one ride such a vehicle.
“Waassea? Hop in!”
“…Isn’t this drunk driving?”
“It’s fine. The driver’s seat is on the left.”
Then the drunk person joining the conversation and the young lady who was the sponsor of this trip.
“Hello. Sister, long time no see.”
“Hasn’t it been long since the off-collab?”
There, the werewolf and the miko.
“Is anyone else still here?”
“We’re going to pick you up now.”
Ninomae Hitomi answered that way and laughed brightly.
“A hot spring trip, I’m looking forward to it.”
The destination of this vehicle, which was neither ordinary in appearance nor in content, was some hot spring ryokan in Saga Prefecture.
To understand why the situation had come to this, one must go back a bit further in time.
×
“Well, since we managed to defeat the boss, isn’t it okay?”
“Ugh, but that’s true.”
Han Seoyeon, looking at Mary Tepes—Ninomae Hitomi—smiled faintly.
It was about the game they had done in yesterday’s broadcast.
She had done actions for efficient clearing, but they had become shackles and caused her unnecessary hardship.
“──Sister Sion.”
As the two were talking, a light step approached.
It wasn’t a metaphorical meaning, but actually a light step in terms of mass.
Ninomae Hitomi turned her head to look at the source of the voice.
A Japanese woman with a quite small build. Despite the small glasses and the literature department, for some reason she was dressed in white clothes.
There was only one such person in this university.
“Professor Senjoji?”
Ninomae Hitomi’s expression became quite bewildered by the sudden appearance of her faculty advisor.
Just before lecture time, in the lecture hall. It wasn’t strange for the professor to enter.
…If it was her lecture that was about to start, but she didn’t know that.
She didn’t know well, but seeing her come at this time, it seemed there was some special business.
Since she had called Han Seoyeon just now, the purpose might be that side.
“If there’s work to assign, come to my research lab after the lecture.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Han Seoyeon nodded her head, and the professor made a satisfied sound ‘um’ and turned her body, leaving the lecture hall in a hurry.
“…What is it?”
Ninomae Hitomi, staring blankly at the sight, opened her mouth in wonder.
“Well, it should be related to site visit. As usual.”
“Ah…….”
Upon Han Seoyeon’s words, Ninomae Hitomi understood.
Han Seoyeon often went on site visits instead of Professor Senjoji.
In return, she seemed to be given some convenience in grades and a bit of compensation……
“This is completely like being a errand boy, or a grad student, isn’t it?”
That’s right. No matter how, it was unlikely for the sight of a university student, even a student, even a foreign student, being arbitrarily used for the professor’s research to look good.
Because of that, the Senjoji Professor, who was being evaluated to drop every time she came to assign work to Han Seoyeon, despite her outstanding appearance, excellent lecture skills, and generous grading.
“Research on the anomalous.”
“…Ah! I see.”
Up until now, she had vaguely avoided it, but now she could say it. Han Seoyeon whispered quietly so as not to be heard around.
Indeed, if it was investigation of anomalies, it was beyond the competence of even a Holy Knight.
“I’m one of the people who cooperated to let me enter the university, and the compensation is also reasonably paid. It’s not really a site visit, but more like a half-historical theme tourism.”
She shrugged and added.
“That’s right. Are you going with Ninomae too this time? I think it’s a pretty good experience.”
“Me?”
“It’s not dangerous at all. It would be good as a light trip.”
“Um…….”
Ninomae Hitomi pondered. No matter how she thought, it felt like stepping into the ‘back world’ that Han Seoyeon had mentioned.
“Okay. Let’s go once.”
But soon, recalling what Seoyeon had done in the past, she nodded her head.
It was if she was in debt, to say the next time let’s go out together to play.
“A trip with just the two of us, it’s kind of thrilling.”
Ninomae Hitomi said with a bright smile.
Thinking about it, this was the first time she went on a trip with Han Seoyeon.
“Ah, it’s probably not just the two of us going. Since there’s someone I usually go around with, I wanted to go together this time too.”
…Ninomae Hitomi’s expression suddenly crumpled.
×
The research lab of Professor Senjoji… well, the official name is ‘professor’s office’. She just wrote it on the door herself and claims it.
“Professor. It’s Han Seoyeon.”
“Come in!”
What was seen right away when the door opened was a mountain of papers. From bound books to single prints, piled up in a mess, it didn’t look like a room where people live.
Soon, beyond that mountain, a small figure in her thirties, which one couldn’t believe, peeked out.
This time, what impulse was it? Wearing a fox mask.
“Oh, Ninomae is here too?”
“I’ve recently stepped foot in this area.”
“Then it’s fine. If Sister Sion says so, it should be okay.”
Ah, sit down first. The professor pointed to the sofa and said.
Of course, books were piled on it too, but Han Seoyeon, as if familiar, cleared it off and sat down.
“The thing I want you to investigate is this side.”
Without any roundabout talk, straight to the point. This was the habit of Senjoji Professor, who Ninomae Hitomi knew well.
“Ouo Shrine (Big Fish Shrine)?”
“Ah, the place with the whale torii? In Saga Prefecture.”
“Ninomae is right.”
The professor nodded her head.
“Recently, there’s been a rumor circulating on the net that this shrine is blessed. I wanted you to check if there’s any change.”
“I understand.”
Han Seoyeon skimmed the materials the professor handed over roughly and put them in her bag.
“This too, please receive.”
Then what Senjoji Professor brought in was a two-night stay voucher for some ryokan.
Ninomae Hitomi quickly searched and it looked like a quite high-class hot spring ryokan.
“Originally I had prepared only this… but if Ninomae is going too, I need to get one more. This will be quite troublesome.”
The professor sighed, saying it’s an unexpected expense. Even though it was a quite large expense, the fact that the response was this much was amazing.
“Anyway, that’s the only business. You can go now.”
“Then, excuse me.”
“Ah, e-excuse me.”
As the beginning was concise, the end was also concise. The professor’s attitude where the greeting was 0 in the red zone, Ninomae Hitomi hurriedly bowed her head.
Then she followed Han Seoyeon out of the professor’s office.
“Ah. And that mask, if it looks like it’s worn by a ghost, it’s better to take it off.”
“Eek, I almost had a big accident.”
Leaving the professor, who was hurriedly taking off the fox mask, in the room after Han Seoyeon’s last words.
“…If it’s something possessed by a ghost, wouldn’t it have been better to tell me a bit earlier?”
“Professor Senjoji is tolerant of such things, so it’s fine.”
Han Seoyeon answered with a light smile to Ninomae Hitomi’s concern.
“Originally, because of my constitution, I have to ask others to investigate.”
“Constitution?”
“Sensation, mystery, intuition… anyway, the senses related to anomalies. The professor is so bad at it that it’s absurd.”
She couldn’t see ghosts, blessings or curses had no meaning, even with faith, prayers didn’t reach……
“Like the nullification ability users in manga. It’s the worst constitution for anomaly research.”
In short, it’s a universal example where aptitude and preference don’t match.
Despite this, she holds the position of professor, which is amazing.
“So she does preliminary investigation herself and leaves the actual investigation to others.”
“That’s… tough.”
Ninomae Hitomi smiled wryly.
“But is it worth investigating just because it’s a blessed shrine? Even reserving an expensive ryokan.”
“Well, saying it’s blessed is often just superstition.”
In the world of anomalies, the back world, rumors of being blessed are likely just empty talk.
But occasionally, real things are mixed in. There are some shrines where real gods are enshrined.
“A representative example of a real spirit attached is Akaba Akane, the Yugure Tama of the first generation, who works as a miko at Takaku Shrine.”
And the Ouo Shrine mentioned by the professor this time also falls into that case.
“Moreover, if it’s not simply ‘blessed’ but ‘has become blessed’, then the value of investigation is clear. It means something has changed.”
“If it changed like that, for what reason?”
“That’s something that can’t be known without investigating.”
A miko suddenly became a god, or the enshrined god was replaced, or the god suddenly became capricious… or for some reason the divinity became stronger, or a third anomaly invaded… etc.
“Our side is benefiting from it, staying in an expensive ryokan, good.”
“…Are all people working in the back world this rich in money?”
Han Seoyeon, who throws away Akaspa like crazy and has a nice apartment in Tokyo. And the professor who doesn’t bat an eye even though one more person is staying in this expensive ryokan.
Ninomae Hitomi said with astonishment.
“That’s not it. This is just that the university and the country scraped it off as research funds.”
“Even the country?”
“The fact that it’s an anomaly researcher who has both ability and credibility is rare. It’s like the professor, a genius, would receive some national support.”
Genius. It’s not lacking to call her a genius since she got a professorship at 24.
“The other expenses will be reimbursed if I submit them organized.”
“Three people’s travel expenses for free…”
If thinking it’s free tourism, it might be worth doing the errand…
Hot. No. Ninomae Hitomi hurriedly corrected the thought of rolling into the pit of grad student.
“Who is the person going with us?”
“The professor’s younger sister. The age difference is quite a bit, but she says she’s been doing the investigation instead of the professor since before I came.”
Well, after becoming an adult, she does voice acting work too. Han Seoyeon said it as if it’s nothing special, then fiddled with her phone.
“There are photos, shall I show you?”
Why is the photo of that person on Sister Sion’s phone? Ninomae Hitomi’s eyes were about to become hazy for a moment, but soon her eyes widened.
A photo taken with Han Seoyeon side by side. It wasn’t unpleasant that her arm was subtly pulled and they were close, but more than that, something else was worrying.
“…Senjoji?”
“Eh? Ah, yes. Well, since it’s the professor’s younger sister….”
Both are unmarried, so of course this side is Senjoji. Senjoji thought that way, but soon realized that Ninomae Hitomi’s reaction was strange.
‘It doesn’t seem like she called the name in that meaning.’
Rather, it was like…
“Is she a friend?”
“Yes…”
Ninomae Hitomi with quite narrow interpersonal relationships. However, she nodded her head.
“Friend… classmate.”
It was also in the form of going above Han Seoyeon’s expectation diagonally.
‘It definitely wasn’t ‘university classmate’. If it was that much, she would have just said ‘friend’ and moved on.’
“Senjoji Chiyo. I’m also an Anathema 2nd generation.”