Chinese Cat-Eared Maid Café — Yum Cha Fusion House.
It was probably, in the minds of certain people, the real-world place closest to a two-dimensional heaven.
After countless calculations and meticulous budgeting, they had finally managed to create an excellent Chinese-style interior inside an ordinary classroom.
Satsuki and her group were led to seats by the window. Based on the number of guests, several cups of Pu'er tea and some snacks were served first.
It had to be said—the service alone earned high marks. These little touches, appealing both visually and in taste, made most people feel too embarrassed to simply eat for free.
When it was time to order, the Chinese cat-eared maid playfully pointed at the QR code on the table.
"Dear guests, our shop supports mobile ordering. You can also register as a free member for additional discounts. Please feel free to give it a try."
"Oh~ I've heard about this. In the Chinese regions, they've basically entered a cashless society. You just scan a QR code with your phone and you can access all sorts of functions," Erica said excitedly, already taking out her phone to scan the code and download the app.
It seemed that although Erica was a noble raised under traditional Knight education, her ability to accept new things had not deteriorated at all.
In contrast, Yuri beside her said nothing. Although her talent in spiritual power was remarkable, she was rather slow when it came to mobile phones—let alone QR-code payments, which most Japanese still regarded as something "novel."
She could only say softly, "Sorry, I'm not very good at ordering with my phone. Could I have a menu instead?"
Hikaru beside her nodded as well—she was too young and did not even own a phone.
"Of course. Here you are."
The Chinese cat-eared maid cheerfully handed over a thick and exquisitely designed menu.
Satsuki, on the other hand, directly browsed the dishes through the mobile app. Although the main focus was coffee and tea, the place also offered a fairly rich selection of food.
The tea restaurant supplied both Chinese and Western cuisine, as well as many Hong Kong specialties such as pineapple buns with butter, coffee mixed with milk tea, cocktail buns, Mexican buns, egg tarts, buttered toast, condensed milk toast, luncheon meat and egg noodles, stir-fried instant noodles, and more...
Since Erica was nominally the boss of the group—and had long since achieved financial freedom—she declared generously, "Order whatever you like. I'll pay for everything today."
With that, she began browsing through the menu on her phone. Whenever she saw something appealing, she tapped to order it without the slightest consideration for whether they could finish it.
The others hurriedly told her to stop adding more once they saw what she was doing.
The cat-eared maid, however, remained calm. She had seen plenty of big eaters like this before. With polite professionalism, she said, "Since you've ordered quite a lot, we'll serve the dishes in sequence to ensure the best taste. Please wait patiently. Also, if you need anything, simply ring the bell on the table, and an available maid will come to assist you."
After saying that, she bowed to them and went to attend to another table.
"As expected of the promotional shop Lu Yinghua opened here. The staff's movements are skilled, and their service attitude is comfortable—neither overly fawning nor neglectful. To have something of this level appear during the school festival must be a disaster for the other clubs and departments," Erica praised. "That guy may have personality issues, but his talent in martial arts and business is truly astonishing."
"However, opening a shop here without your consent would be impossible. I assume he gave you quite a few shares," Satsuki said bluntly.
"It's called investing with technical expertise. Incidentally, he even wanted to transfer a portion of the shares to you. If you're interested, I can call him over right now."
Satsuki took a sip of tea. "No need. I don't lack money. By the way, from what you're saying, is he still in Japan?"
"A few days ago, I spoke with him over the phone about some business matters. He said his family seems to be preparing to hand over full responsibility for their Japan operations to him. It looks like he'll be staying in Japan long-term."
"Won't his beautiful master cause him trouble?" Hikaru asked.
The moment she spoke, Yuri covered her mouth. "Hikaru, don't say such things casually. That person isn't someone we can discuss behind her back."
"Haha, don't worry. You're under my protection now. I'm a Campione on the same level as that sect leader. She wouldn't trouble you over something so trivial." Erica leaned back in her chair and secretly glanced at Satsuki. "And even if she did come, we have Satsuki here. No need to worry."
"Instead of placing your hopes on me, you'd better train more. You nearly died in the last battle."
"Of course I'll work hard. But Satsuki should allow me to rely on you occasionally." As she spoke, Erica leaned her body closer.
In response to Erica's blatant act of coquettishness, Satsuki gave her an elegant eye-roll and changed the subject.
"The food's here. Stop leaning on me. You ordered so much—remember to finish everything. No wasting."
"Yes." *3
Not only Erica, but Yuri and Hikaru nodded at the same time. Not wasting food was a shared virtue among the girls—even if it meant drifting further away from their ideal figures.
...
In such a cheerful and peaceful atmosphere, time passed quickly.
Before they knew it, evening arrived.
Under normal circumstances, this would be when students went home after school.
But the school festival was different. In the evening, there would be an equally grand bonfire party and after-festival celebration, along with group dances and the announcement of the High School Division Miss, among many other events. The schedule was packed.
By the way, did that sensitive title just come up—High School Division Miss?
...Incidentally, this year there were actually two recipients of the High School Division Miss title: Erica Blandelli and Satsuki.
Neither of them had personalities inclined toward competitions or beauty pageants of this sort.
So when they heard the news from Hikaru, both Satsuki and Erica looked at each other in confusion.
After a moment, Erica seemed to recall something and said in sudden realization, "I think I did receive an invitation for an event like that, but I found it troublesome and declined. I did send in a few photos though... It must have been because of those photos."
"I have absolutely no recollection of participating in such an event, and I never sent in any photos."
"Lady Satsuki's images were taken by a club member during that tea ceremony performance~" Yuri said, blushing. "It couldn't be helped. Lady Satsuki looked far too beautiful in her qipao. It was impossible to resist. I heard that even during the preliminary rounds, just relying on those candid images, the charm and presence of Lady Satsuki and Lady Erica completely overwhelmed the other girls and gained overwhelming support."
Yuri's words made Erica widen her eyes as she turned to Satsuki. "A qipao? When did you wear a qipao, Satsuki? And you didn't even tell me? That's too unfair. I want to see you in a qipao too."
"Hmph. Maybe in your next life."
While Satsuki and the others were enjoying the school festival.
On the coastline of Kisarazu City in Chiba Prefecture.
Nearby ran the Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line, a toll road stretching across Tokyo Bay, connecting Kanagawa Prefecture to Kisarazu.
It bordered an industrial zone and was not far from downtown Kisarazu or Chiba City, the prefectural capital.
Yet this beach was extremely quiet. During warmer seasons, one could stroll along the shore collecting shells, and in summer there would be swimmers. But now, the sea breeze carried a biting chill. It was not a season suited for outdoor activities.
"Mr. Amakasu, the matter of the Western Heavenly Palace only ended a few days ago. Is it really okay for you to be this relaxed?"
"...I'm just an ordinary salaried worker trying to support myself, not some martyr willing to sacrifice his life. My monthly paycheck is barely enough as it is. Do you expect me to go fight gods?"
The ones chatting were Ena and the notoriously slacking employee, Touma Amakasu.
After a few days of contact, Ena Seishuuin had grown accustomed to his work attitude. Rolling her eyes, she slurped her cup noodles and said,
"Is the intel about suspicious individuals appearing here actually reliable? We've been monitoring for three days and haven't even seen a shadow... I didn't even know this place was under the Committee's jurisdiction. And yet there's nothing here at all."
While complaining, Ena gazed into the distance.
Beyond the windbreak forest lay the beach. In front of them stood only a lone torii gate erected on an open stretch of sand by the sea. There was nothing else. No shrine. Not even a small hut nearby.
Spending three entire days staring at scenery like this—it was only natural to complain.
"Doesn't matter. As long as they don't dock my pay, I don't care."
The tone of the History Compilation Committee member made him sound like a deity ready to grab a bucket and quit at any moment.
Though he and his superior both belonged to the Tokyo Branch and, in terms of authority, should have been the overall heads of the Kantō region, and though he himself possessed considerable concealment skills, his work attitude was thoroughly that of a salted fish.
"By the way, Miss Ena, it seems you haven't gone to see Lady Satsuki lately?"
"Eh? Why would I go see her?"
Ena looked confused at Amakasu's question. But seeing her reaction, Amakasu became even more confused.
"Aren't you the shrine maiden serving that old gentleman? And don't you hold the Ama-no-Murakumo Divine Sword? That sword is currently in Lady Satsuki's possession, isn't it? Don't you want to take it back?"
"Oh~ right, that did happen. But I think things are fine as they are. Lady Satsuki's strength is far beyond my reach, and Grandpa hasn't urged me to reclaim the divine sword either. It's not bad to just enjoy things for now. After all, ever since a Campione appeared, I, the 'First Hime-Miko,' am no longer that important."
To have witnessed the strength of a Sword Saint was already a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Ena Seishuuin. Back then, she had long prepared herself for defeat.
So there was no trace of dejection in her tone. It sounded more like calm narration. For a moment, Amakasu genuinely could not tell whether she was speaking sincerely or not.
However, he quickly shifted the topic with high emotional intelligence—redirecting it to the location of this mission.
"Miss Ena, do you know why we're here?"
"Kaoru didn't tell me. Do you know something more, Mr. Amakasu?"
As a descendant of ninjas, the ever-slacking Amakasu turned his gaze toward the vast expanse of Tokyo Bay beyond the windbreak forest.
"As expected of a Hime-Miko raised—ah, I mean, trained—amid nature. This place is actually the tragic stage where Japan's proud hero, Yamato Takeru, lost his empress. As a filming location, it's not bad at all."
"Oh? That does sound vaguely familiar."
Such irreverent remarks about mythology came surprisingly from the mouth of a Hime-Miko.
"'I shall take the place of my lord and enter the sea...'"
Ena recited a passage from memory.
It was from the Kojiki.
In modern terms, the story went like this: When the hero Yamato Takeru crossed from Sagami Province at Hashirimizu, sailing across Tokyo Bay toward Chiba, a violent storm arose. The sea became furious and impossible to traverse. To calm the raging waters, his empress, Ototachibana-hime, offered herself in his stead and leapt into the sea.
In short, such events were rather common in Japan's ancient chronicles. Whenever natural disasters or anomalies occurred, a sacrifice would be offered—often women, or sometimes young boys and girls.
To an atheist, such stories might give rise to countless conspiracy theories. But to those within Shinto, the attitude toward them was far more solemn.
As Ena finished, Amakasu nodded and pulled a book from his bag.
On its plain cover was written: Compilation of Oral Legends of Kazusa Province. The binding was utterly ordinary.
He flipped to a certain page and showed it to Ena.
"'After Ototachibana-hime entered the sea embracing a great sword, the blade drifted to a place neither land nor sea. There, a floating island emerged—' I've never heard this version before."
Ena voiced her thoughts and then asked, "Where did this legend come from?"
"Rather than coming from somewhere, it's more accurate to say that for several hundred years, this legend has repeatedly surfaced—as if the story itself possessed a kind of life. Each time, we have to ask a Hime-Miko to erase the memories of the locals."
Such a significant secret?
Ena was astonished. Although Amakasu himself could use memory-manipulation techniques, he still mobilized the spiritual power of a Hime-Miko capable of invoking a Hidden Name.
From what Amakasu described, it was almost as if some mysterious existence were deliberately revealing itself.
But to mobilize the History Compilation Committee for centuries to suppress a single legend—when she thought about it, there was only one possibility...
"The order came from Grandpa and the others, didn't it?" Ena asked sharply.
"That's right. A certain ancient clan issued instructions a thousand years ago. The legend of the floating island and the divine sword manifesting in Kazusa Province—and especially Ama no Sakahoko—must be concealed."
Ama no Sakahoko?
It was the first time Ena had heard that name. She stared at the torii gate before her, then suddenly understood.
Noticing her gaze, Amakasu did not hide anything.
"You're right. The inverted spear lies beneath that torii. I've heard it's buried underground, with multiple layers of tight barriers set beneath the earth."
"The ninjas monitoring this area reported that powerful magi have recently been detected nearby. That's why guards have been stationed here."
"Has Lady Erica been informed about this?"
"Of course. But that lady's attitude toward divine blades differs from the elders'. So now we're at a loss over how to handle this divine artifact."