CH 24

‘Huh? Why is she so angry about this?’

‘Shouldn’t she be defending her patron god to the death? Why is she agreeing with me?’

If Ruri’s words were heard by anyone, it would definitely cause a commotion within the Koujirou family.

Maybe it’s because there wasn’t anybody but Ryuto around could she finally express her true feelings.

She expressed her profound disgust for her patron goddess, even going so far to call her trash.

To be honest, she had harbored these intense feeling for many years.

Whenever she prayed to Numin, she couldn’t help but want to smash the statue into millions of pieces.

Why?

The origin of her becoming a witch could be traced back to the myth [The Legend of the Cave of Heaven]

The deity Susanoo was acting mischievously, so Amaterasu, the Goddess of the Sun, got angry and hid in the cave, and the world was plunged into darkness.

The gods quickly gathered around the cave, trying to coerce her to come out, but she ignored them.

Hence, somebody asked Koujirou Numin to begin dancing outside the cave, on an upside-down bucket while swaying a bamboo leaf. The dance was incredibly difficult, and her clothes loosened, exposing herself to the gods.

Because of this, Amaterasu was seduced, and she came back out of the cave.

This was considered to be the origin of this Japanese dance, and it was soon developed into a dance for rituals, giving birth to the profession of “shrine maidens.”

“She would sway to the left, sometimes to the right, perhaps upwards, maybe downwards. Her skirt would sway in the wind and expose herself, and that was what Koujirou Numin looked like whenever she danced.”

Looking at the statue before her, Ruri clenched her fists tightly, chanting the lines that she had long memorized.

Of course, that dance would be inappropriate to perform in public.

Let alone the legend of her exposing herself to the gods.

Numin had publicly shamed herself to lure a goddess out of a cave.

After learning of the origin of the statue, Ryuto couldn’t help but be speechless.

‘Is this not a Goddess of Stripteases?’

Back in his world, having a god like this would be outrageous.

“This seems…”

“Doesn’t it seem mean?” Ruri smiled.

She faced the statue again and continued, “To be treated like a plaything to the gods, having to expose herself… and yet, she is the most revered god in our family.”

Ruri didn’t think that a god like this deserves her worship and respect. What is there to learn? What is there to worship?

There was a saying that eight million gods watched as Koujirou Numin exposed herself, stripping to lure the Goddess of the Sun out of the cave.

And these eight million gods were unable to pull out a useless, deadbeat god who was hiding in a hole. 

When she learnt the origins of the dance she had practiced for years, she couldn’t help but want to vomit.

The more she read about Shintoism, the more she felt that the gods in Shintoism were all evil.

The emperors who relied on this sect to rule over their people… Ruri thought all of them were scumbags.

Since they were closely affiliated to the royal family, Ruri knows what goes on behind the scenes.

Ruri knew very well that these rotten nobles had zero intention of worshipping the goddess of their family; they only ever cared about being greedy and selfish.

Using the gods to manipulate their followers and secure their position, making profits out from innocent people…

The patron goddess of their family was used to help the royal family rule over innocent people.

And since she was born into it, Ruri has to waste her life dedicating herself to this nonsense.

“Ryuto, I am the one next-in-line to be the designated ‘shrine maiden.’ I’m not allowed to have my own life before and during my duty, do you understand that?”

“Obviously.”

He gritted his teeth a little.

The average rule of a shrine maiden is about 25 years.

Therefore, she won’t be able to have a normal life until she’s at least 40 years old.

She’s not allowed to fall in love, she can’t get married, she can’t travel abroad, she can’t travel to faraway lands, she can’t… There were many things she can’t do.

The only thing keeping her company is the statue in the shrine.

With her character, she would definitely be unhappy if she just resided in the temple for more than 20 years.

Especially after she realised that her duties were effectively meaningless, excusing the rotten behaviours of the nobles.

Ryuto could understand her hatred.

After venting out her hatred, Ruri sighed a breath of relief.

She turned her head back to Ryuto and whispered, “Do you understand me? Your pursuit of me is meaningless. It isn’t my choice to begin with. Stop before you fall deeper.”

Ruri hoped to dissuade Ryuto’s behaviour.

If Ryuto continued to pursue her, he would definitely be in danger.

It wouldn’t be as simple as a castrating needle the next time he’s threatened.

After all, a human life is worth nothing to nobles.