# 604
Chapter 605 – The Seven Gods of Fortune
“What kind of deal?”
“If I can give your blade a soul, I want you to come with me to a certain place.” Amemiya Haruki’s face was dead serious.
Lin Qiye exhaled only after hearing this.
For a stranger, a straightforward transaction felt far safer than inexplicable kindness.
“Where?”
“I can’t tell you yet, but it’s dangerous—and… Magatsu Blades can’t be used there.”
“So you want me as your bodyguard?” Lin Qiye saw it at once.
Amemiya Haruki’s power came from the Magatsu Blade; if that power were sealed, he’d be as helpless as Lin Qiye had been in Japan. He needed someone who could fight without a Magatsu Blade.
An outsider like Lin Qiye was perfect.
“Exactly.” Amemiya Haruki pressed on. “Don’t answer now. After we find the man who can repair your blade and give it a soul, you can decide.”
Lin Qiye thought for a moment, then nodded. “Fine. We’ll talk then.”
Amemiya Haruki’s shoulders loosened.
“When do we leave?” Lin Qiye asked.
“Before that, I have some business. Two weeks from now, go to the Tsuribune Tea House at Shinsaibashi in Osaka. Put a fifty-yen coin in the potted plant on the left just inside the door. I’ll find you.”
“Got it.”
Lin Qiye was quietly impressed.
Worthy of a “Fierce Ghost”-level fugitive— even the rendezvous sounded like a spy novel.
Amemiya Haruki gave a small bow and turned toward the dark mountain.
“Wait!” Lin Qiye called.
He stopped, puzzled.
“We’re allies now, right?” Lin Qiye asked solemnly.
Amemiya Haruki considered. “We are.”
Lin Qiye stuck out his hand, face grave.
“Lend me some money.”
…
“Thank you for shopping—please come again~”
To the clerk’s sweet farewell, Lin Qiye pushed out of the convenience store, plastic bags swinging. He was in full disguise: plain blue hoodie pulled low, black mask covering half his face, hood shadowing the rest.
Nyx’s black coat had melted into night over his skin— invisible from the outside.
Only drawback: whenever he walked behind a woman, she’d shoot him the “creep-alert” stare.
The Oracle Envoy’s left eye had been modified; his face was probably on file. Without access to Forbidden Ruins, shape-shifting was impossible, so crude camouflage had to do. He dodged every camera—easy in Yokohama’s outskirts where coverage was thin.
Bag stuffed with food and toiletries, he glanced at the pale dawn, then headed off.
…
Outskirts, shipping container.
“Little Yuzuri, what day is it?” Under dim light, Grandma Tsuru paused her paper-crane folding, voice raspy.
Yuzuri Nana, crouched in the corner digging through the mattress, answered, “Sunday, I think.”
“Sunday… Then we’re not visiting the Fortune God this week?” Grandma Tsuru set down her crane, cloudy eyes on the door.
Yuzuri Nana hesitated.
“This week…”
Grandma sensed it. “You used to go every week. What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing.”
The ritual had started with her mother—weekly prayers at the shrine so the Fortune God would hear their wishes and shield them from evil. She’d kept it up, but yesterday’s chaos had driven the date from her mind.
Police had hunted her all day; surely they’d given up by now. The shrine was only two streets away—should be safe.
Yet it wasn’t only the police she feared.
After a long tug-of-war inside, she nodded.
Perhaps only sincere prayer could keep the demon’s claws from them.
“We’ll go. Wait for me, Grandma.”
She pulled a tiny wooden box from the mattress, opened it: a handful of coins and worn bills—about nine-thousand yen in all. Their entire savings.
She tucked a thousand into her sleeve, helped Grandma Tsuru to her feet, and stepped into the morning.
Down deserted roads they walked.
Blue sky, birds wheeling overhead; warm sun made Grandma Tsuru’s eyes slit with pleasure.
“Lovely day, little Yuzuri.”
“Yes. There was heavy rain last night.”
“Unusual for this season.”
The city smelled of fresh earth. In kimono and wooden clogs they shuffled toward town.
Twenty minutes later they reached a bustling shrine.
Locals knew which deity to court: students prayed to Sugawara no Michizane for exams, lovers to the god of romance; most people, though, came to the Seven Gods of Fortune—
Daikokuten, bringer of luck and harvest;
Ebisu, patron of wealth;
Bishamonten, god of wisdom and war;
Benzaiten, goddess of eloquence and music;
Fukurokuju, of happiness and long life;
Jurōjin, the long-lived sage;
Hotei, the laughing monk of good cheer.
Here, you may choose whom to worship—
but you must believe.