Compared to those famous shrines, Kanda Myojin Shrine was not especially large, but its scale was far from small either. Besides the worship hall, there were many other shrine buildings behind it.
As the line slowly moved forward, the group soon arrived before the worship hall.
Beside the approach path stood a temizuya, where visitors washed their hands and rinsed their mouths before worshipping the gods as a sign of respect.
As for the approach path itself, it was simply the road leading toward the worship hall.
"Brr... it's so cold!"
While cleansing their hands, Sato heard several girls let out small cries of surprise, followed by synchronized shivers.
Their reactions were exactly alike, making them strangely adorable.
The water in winter truly was freezing cold. At that moment, fine snow was drifting from the sky, the delicate flakes falling like endless drizzle. Under the night sky, they were illuminated by the lights lining the approach path. Perhaps this was exactly what "falling rain and snow" was meant to describe.
Along the edges of the cleansing basin, faint crystalline frost had already begun to form. Thin layers of ice gradually spread along the rim, making the water feel piercingly cold to the bone.
After cleansing themselves, Sato followed the others and walked before the worship hall.
The enshrined deity of Kanda Myojin Shrine was Kanda Myojin, a collective title for three gods: Ōnamuchi-no-Mikoto, Sukunahikona-no-Mikoto, and Taira no Masakado-no-Mikoto.
Worship was conducted outside the hall itself.
Looking at the three deities enshrined within, there was not the slightest trace of reverence in Sato's eyes. One could even say he was somewhat disrespectfully examining them.
His gaze was calm and indifferent, as though he did not place the three gods before him in his eyes at all.
In Japan, a land said to possess eight million gods, deities seemed extraordinarily cheap.
In that ancient and ignorant age, the people here treated every supernatural phenomenon as a god and worshipped it with incense and offerings.
As a result, the number of gods passed down through Japanese history was countless.
But were these truly gods?
To put it plainly, most were merely spirits born from plants and trees, or other kinds of yokai.
As for the humanoid ones, they were simply humans who had awakened supernatural powers.
The three before him could be considered somewhat famous, but Sato was absolutely certain they were nowhere near as powerful as he was.
About this, he possessed absolute confidence.
After all, he had mastered two complete cultivation systems and all the abilities within them. If those powers were translated into divine authorities or godhood, the strength they represented would be unimaginably terrifying.
Still, the worship ritual continued.
More than anything, this was simply a matter of atmosphere and ceremony. As for whether the people around him were truly devout, that was doubtful.
After all, Shinto in Japan did not possess a unified system. Many local shrines worshipped only regional deities unique to their area, and "Shinto" itself was merely a broad collective term.
Without a complete divine system, genuine faith was difficult to form.
Outside the worship hall stood an offering box.
Sato took out a coin and tossed it in. The box immediately rang with clear clinking sounds.
After making the offering, the next step was ringing the bell hanging before them.
He pulled the rope hanging down a few times, causing the bell overhead to produce crisp ringing sounds.
This was meant to summon the gods.
Clap! Clap!
Standing beside Sato were Hirasawa Ui and Yukinoshita Yukino.
The two girls lightly clapped their hands twice, then slowly closed their eyes and lowered their heads in silent prayer.
Sato also went through the motions.
If the three gods before him truly existed, perhaps what ordinary people said would be something like, "Great gods, please grant my wish..."
As for Sato, he would probably only need to display a bit of his strength before directly ordering them to do as he said.
After finishing their worship, the others were already waiting nearby.
Midnight drew closer and closer, yet the surrounding crowd only continued to grow. Many people had come specifically for the first shrine visit of the new year.
It was said that if one made the very first visit of the year, they would receive the gods' blessing and enjoy good luck throughout the coming year.
"There's a place selling omamori over there. Let's all go take a look!"
In the crowd, Yui suddenly pointed excitedly toward the granting office ahead.
The granting office was simply the place in a shrine where things were sold.
After all, maintaining a shrine required money, and incense offerings alone were far from enough. That was why many shrines sold omamori, ema, and fortune slips.
Omamori were protective charms and talismans.
Ema were wish plaques.
Fortune slips were used to determine one's luck or misfortune.
"Mhm! Mhm!"
Kotobuki Tsumugi excitedly nodded, her curious gaze practically glued to that direction.
Those were omamori! Something she had never seen before! To the rich girl, everything here felt wonderfully novel.
"Next year, I'm definitely getting great fortune!"
Before even drawing a fortune slip, Ritsu confidently declared it while waving her fist.
Beside her, Hikigaya Komachi also spoke full of spirit.
"I'm getting an academic success omamori to bless me so I can get into Private Sogo High School next year!"
Mio smiled encouragingly beside her.
"Yeah! Do your best! I believe you can definitely get in, Komachi. After all... even Ritsu managed to get in!"
"Hah? Mio, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Hehe, thanks Onee-chan. Suddenly I'm full of confidence!"
"Wah! Even you too, Komachi... Hmph! I'm actually really capable, you know! Don't underestimate me, Komachi!"
"Yup yup! Ritsu really is amazing!"
Yui nodded seriously from the side.
"Haha!"
Ritsu's eyes instantly lit up. She patted Yui's shoulder and said, "I knew you had the best judgment, Yui!"
"Ritsu is really amazing when it comes to stealing cookies from me!"
"Pfft!"
...
The granting office was brightly lit.
The walls were covered with all kinds of omamori and ema. Before the shrine maidens were rows of fortune slips, and several shrine maidens sat in a line facing outward.
Sato held Kanna's hand. Behind him were Yukinoshita Yukino and Mio, while everyone else had lined up in different queues.
"Hello, may I ask what you need?"
After waiting for quite some time, it was finally Sato's group's turn.
Standing before them was a shrine maiden dressed in a red-and-white miko outfit, with long purple hair and emerald-green eyes.
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