Around 10 am.
Having just passed through the temple gates, Luo Shu stood in the plaza gazing at the ancient, majestic Mahavira Hall in the distance, and further beyond at Tokyo Tower, unable to resist commenting:
"Now this is what I call grand!"
Beside him, Megumi Kato also surveyed the scenery, tilting her head slightly as she asked:
"I never imagined Senior Eriri's father would hold the funeral at Sensō-ji Temple..."
"I always thought this was just a tourist attraction..."
As she spoke, Megumi turned to look at the police officers maintaining order outside the temple gates and added blankly:
"But didn't they say this place doesn't hold funerals for the public?"
"'Not open to the public' means not open to commoners," Utaha Kasumigaoka interjected with a derisive laugh as she entered the plaza. "Only those ancient noble families or current powerholders are permitted to hold funerals here."
"The Sawamura Family's main lineage descends from the Kishu Gosanke of the shogunate era," Utaha continued. "Though just a branch family, since it's the branch family head who passed, they're naturally allowed to use this land for the funeral."
"Though 'allowed' isn't quite accurate - the temple's abbot lineage shares ancestry with the Sawamuras. The temple's private cemetery already enshrines the Sawamura ancestors' memorial tablets."
"So essentially, when Sawamura family members pass, their funerals are normally held here - though only the family head and his wife are permitted to have their ashes interred here."
"Therefore, the so-called 'not open to the public' more accurately means not open to anyone outside the six Gosanke and Kyosanke families."
"Eh? Is that how it works?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu and Megumi turned to look at the utterly shocked Eriri, their expressions uniformly speechless.
'So you didn't even know about your own family's ancestral temple?'
'That's just... something else.'
At that moment, Kisara, who had entered the square last, rubbed her arms as if stepping into winter and said unnaturally:
"This place feels really uncomfortable... Is it an exorcism barrier?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu reached out to support Kisara, raised an eyebrow, and surveyed their surroundings with his Spirit Sight.
Through Spirit Sight, he saw the barrier covering the entire Sensō-ji Temple like an inverted bowl:
"Seems this temple has some skill..."
"It's the ancestral temple of the Sawamura Family after all. Isn't it normal for it to have some skill?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka spoke calmly, even somewhat dismissively:
"Or rather, it would be abnormal if there weren't any sorcerers stationed here, considering it's one of the six warrior families' shared ancestral temples."
"In fact, if the intel is correct, this should be one of the warrior families' training grounds for sorcerers. The monks practising here are all members of the Sawamura lineage and other families involved in the mystic side."
Eriri looked around in surprise upon hearing this and said nervously:
"Eh... is that so? But I don't feel anything unusual... apart from the aunties and uncles being very hospitable and the vegetarian food being delicious... There doesn't seem to be anything special?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu and Megumi Kato exchanged a speechless glance.
Megumi wore a rare expression of helplessness.
"Eriri is quite an impressive person in her own way."
Just as the two were at a loss for words, Kisara let out a soft hum, seeming even more uncomfortable as she leaned weakly against Luo Shu.
Noticing this, Megumi approached with some concern, attempting to support Kisara's other arm.
Yet her outstretched hand was effortlessly brushed aside by the latter.
"Hmm?"
Megumi glanced up at the seemingly frail Kisara, nodded with slight realisation, and promptly ignored the demon's pretence.
With sharp eyes, Luo Shu noticed this scene, his lips twitching slightly.
He suddenly realised an issue: while the barrier before them was somewhat effective and capable of warding off evil, it seemed incapable of restraining a greater demon of Hero Rank like Kisara. At most, it might cause some discomfort—but only to that extent.
Though he'd guessed the truth, Luo Shu didn't push away Kisara, who was feigning weakness, instead allowing her to lean against him as he turned his gaze towards the main gate. There, Sayuri Sawamura was conversing with a buzz-cut man in monk's robes beside a black hearse.
"That monk is...?"
Since he wasn't part of the main family, Luo Shu had arrived at Sensō-ji Temple earlier under staff guidance, making Sayuri and the monk unfamiliar faces to him.
Utaha Kasumigaoka glanced at him calmly and said, "That monk's religious name is Jingnian. His secular identity is Sayuri's uncle—Eriri's elder relative."
"They're likely discussing funeral details. Given that Mr Robert was a believer of the Anglican Church in life yet is being buried in the Sawamura Family's temple grounds, there must be some conflicts..."
Luo Shu couldn't help but retort, "Are you sure Sayuri isn't asking her uncle to perform rites so the Sawamura ancestors will torment her husband in the afterlife?"
"I distinctly heard her using words like 'suppress' and 'annihilate.'"
"See? Monk Jingnian looks troubled—oh, now he seems angry. Looks like Sayuri's recruited him to her side. Did she use excuses like infidelity or cheating?"
"You didn't use Mind Reading earlier? Then how did you extract all these details about monastic names and temple origins?"
Facing his sarcasm, Utaha remained utterly unruffled: "Mrs Sawamura deliberately moved so far from you and Eriri before consulting her uncle. Couldn't you at least pretend not to hear?"
"My fault for having sharp ears?"
Luo Shu replied drily while observing Sayuri, who seemed to have reached an agreement. His eyes lingered on her black kimono before he chuckled: "I actually thought she'd dare to wear that flamboyant kimono here."
Meanwhile, Kisara, still clinging to Luo Shu, glanced around curiously: "So our task today is finding a quiet spot until the wake begins?"
"No, normally we'd stay until the wake concludes. Aside from meeting the Aldegia Kingdom's crown princess afterwards, I doubt anyone will seek us out."
With a smile, Luo Shu nodded towards the temple staff who'd parked their car earlier: "Let's go. We'll have the monks find us a quiet place until the ceremony starts."
Originally, Luo Shu assumed today would be uneventful.
Yet by afternoon, before the ceremony commenced, he sensed something amiss.
At a pavilion within Sensō-ji Temple, Luo Shu stared blankly at the unexpected arrivals—Toyomi Fujiwara, Chika Fujiwara, Maya Natsume and her little sister—plunging into deep contemplation.