Itomori Town was a box.
Extending from beneath their feet, the surroundings were folded into right angles like standing walls, with a lid placed over the dome—in the folded Itomori Town, two corners that were originally far apart were now intersecting right above their heads.
Miyamizu Mitsuha could even look up and see a place that would normally take a long time to reach by bicycle.
It was almost within reach.
"Yaha! How's that? The Shrine Maiden is as cool as ever today!"
Miyamizu Mitsuha remained silent in the face of Mori Tsukisa's flamboyant laughter. The girl had never seen such a sight—not just her, but anyone who had been baptized by modern society, those sci-fi and fantasy movies, those hot-blooded anime, and imaginative novels: anyone, anyone would seemingly be able to say with certainty that they were no longer surprised by any imaginable scene or phenomenon.
We can maintain a peaceful state of mind.
Facing all the bizarre wonders of the World.
Right? Wrong.
Miyamizu Mitsuha realized that those words on the internet were pure nonsense.
If someone had told her before today, "I can fold Itomori Town—like a square box, have you seen one? I can fold the far left and far right sides of the town, starting from the two ends furthest apart..." Miyamizu Mitsuha would probably have laughed, imagined the scene in her mind, covered her mouth, and given a bored-looking compliment: "How amazing."
If a boy said it, she might have added: "That's really amazing."
That would be the extent of it.
But when it all actually happened before her eyes, that trembling and sense of horror, the invisible suffocation and pressure squeezing her heart, that magical yet creepy scene... she didn't raise her hands in shock and excitement; she didn't widen her eyes and try to touch the bushes folded horizontally at 90 degrees—and she certainly didn't wave to the upside-down townspeople who seemed oblivious right above her head.
Miyamizu Mitsuha only felt afraid.
"I often think about making the Mirror Dimension into little squares and flipping them over to play a lottery game with Arrietty..."
Mori Tsukisa trotted over and took the true Shrine Maiden's slightly trembling hand.
She let go, leaving a piece of candy in her palm.
"Eat it, don't be afraid."
Arrietty sat on her shoulder, holding a pen made from a cat's whisker, scribbling on a small scrap of paper.
'The true Shrine Maiden dances in ritual. She looks at the plump girl who also calls herself a Shrine Maiden and asks: What is your dance like?'
'The fake Shrine Maiden says: I don't know how to dance.'
'Then what can you do? the true Shrine Maiden asks innocently.'
'Destroy the World and fold space.'
'Her figure, murky as the abyss, hides in the shadows. Her blood-red eyes stare at the twilight sky, and behind her gaze, clawing lava flows across the heavens.'
—"The Biography of Mori Tsukisa, King of Slimes, Shrine Maiden, Witch, Eternity Silver Moon, Lock and Key of Dimensions, Mad Princess, black swan of the Tower, Foul-Mouthed and Meddlesome God-Insulter, Mischief Maker, Vanguard of the Dribbling Charge, Her Majesty the Most Beautiful in the World, Psychopath Who Transcends Life and Death, Long-Haired Fairy-Tale-Obsessed Female with Small Feet and a Habit of Biting Her Fingers, Walker of All Realms."
Arrietty didn't care that the titles were longer than the text. On a whim yesterday, she had "borrowed" a whisker from a country cat to make a pen and began recording her queen's experiences and every word and action.
When they were collected into a book one day and Mori Tsukisa's name spread throughout the thousands of Universes... this would be her dark history.
Ha! Ha! Ha!
The Little Sprite was going to use this book to live an Eternity high-sugar life!
Mori Tsukisa knew, of course, she just didn't care much. As long as things were interesting, she could always find a random excuse to dock the Little Sprite's candy later.
She liked her Attendant being so innocent.
While the Little Sprite was looking down and recording, Miyamizu Mitsuha had completed the mental journey from fear to shock and then to acceptance. The girl felt around the "box," touching the folded "walls" with her fingers.
The texture was no different from usual.
"This is the Mirror Dimension, a projection of the real World."
Mori Tsukisa casually gave a few bits of popular science and then brushed it off. Inside the mirror, the two girls sat on a fluffy tree trunk and chatted. Miyamizu Mitsuha's curiosity about Mori Tsukisa now surpassed her curiosity about Tokyo.
"I thought I was possessed by a fox..."
"Haha! Well, Mitsuha, is the other side of the World interesting?"
"Rather than interesting, it's more like terrifying..." Miyamizu Mitsuha murmured, leaning against the tree trunk. "To think that there's a group of strange creatures living in places we've never discovered, secretly spying on us; they might even mock human ignorance and clumsiness, manipulating magical powers to easily interfere with the real World..."
Mori Tsukisa thought this sounded too strange—at least, it wasn't very fair to "magical creatures" like her.
"Little Mitsuha, it's not people like me who manipulate the World." Mori Tsukisa pointed to herself. "I'm not that annoying."
"...What?" Miyamizu Mitsuha didn't understand.
"Eh, you're as innocent and cute as my Attendant."
—Her hair was given a sharp tug. It seemed someone knew she was talking about them.
"Mori Tsukisa... who exactly... are you?"
"I am a beautiful and elegant girl, an ever-eye-catching hot summer princess!"
—'I am a hot little princess!' the witch said so arrogantly (shamelessly): 'I am the most beautiful woman in the World!'
—At a certain cafe one day, the image of the "hottest woman in the World" being dumped and crying her eyes out is still on loop in the author's mind.
—The Legend of Mori Tsukisa, Walker of All Realms
As for the saying 'hot and spicy,' Miyamizu Mitsuha felt that in a few more days, when the summer Sun completely enveloped this land, such a possibility might indeed arise: considering Mori Tsukisa's figure, even in winter, she should be very charming.
But... who asked you about that?
The girl's banter diluted Miyamizu Mitsuha's surprise and fear. She touched the dissipating chill on the back of her neck and pointed at the folded land in the sky.
"Is this Tsukisa's magic? It's incredible... are many people in the World like Tsukisa?"
Mori Tsukisa swayed on a tree branch and nodded: "Yes, yes, the World is in chaos now! Demons crawl out of hell, Angels slaughter wantonly; Little Sprites eat human flesh with fangs, blessed holy texts turn into devilish creeds; during the day, werewolves walk the earth, and at night, under the moonlight, the Shadow of Vampires glides by."
"Snow women hide in shrines, and monsters sleep under beds; hanged female ghosts perch on treetops, staring at pedestrians coming and going, their eyeballs sinking into lake Water, waiting for camping Children."
"Everything is in chaos!"
Miyamizu Mitsuha expressionlessly snapped the small branch in her hand.
Liar, you can be even more exaggerated.
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