Chapter 78

"Tell me, when will they reconcile?"

Ginjima Yui poked Oibai Alan who was standing next to him drinking water.

Even though he has known Gong Shuangzi for a long time, Alan, who claims to know the two of them very well, dare not make a guarantee.

He shook his head.

"I'm not sure. I always feel that their quarrel this time is not the same as before."

As usual, the two of them can reconcile after one night at most and the next day

- but this is the third day since Qingcheng came, and there is still a difference between the two. There is a solid barrier.

"Hey! Stupid pig, here you go!" Gong You passed the ball to Gong Zhi angrily.

Although he had a bad taste in his mouth, Qiu Qiu still considered Miyaji's position considerately.

Tianhai held the record book and glanced at the scene in front of him, with a smile on his lips.

Zeng Shiyi commented on Gong Yoo's lifting of the ball. The sentence "Every lift to the attacker is a love letter" is the most true portrayal of Gong Yoo as a setter.

It's just that this love letter no longer looks like the pink one that was carefully prepared and sprayed with perfume in the past. It turned into a love letter crumpled up into a piece of scrap paper and stuffed into my hand

- the content remained the same, but the attitude was very bad.

Tianhai also got used to the game, so Gongyu came to him or Oshiro to practice lifting the ball, and Miyaji came to Iwaizumi and Kakuna to practice the rhythm of spiking.

Regarding this situation, Coach Kurosu immediately became vigilant, but there was nothing he could do.

"These two brats! They are so enthusiastic, as if they are about to transfer to Qingcheng."

Little did he know that his words came true.

Soon after, it was true that the two brothers stayed in Inarizaki, but Hun'er followed Qingcheng's bus back to Miyagi Prefecture.

·

Before Kurosu found Gong Shuangzi and talked with them, Tenkai found Kitano Shinsuke first.

"Is it really okay for them to be like this, Bei?"

The Spring High School Qualifiers are about to be held, and they cannot play in such a state.

Amami has found a nemesis that can perfectly control the two of them - maybe also add Kakuname. It seems that this genius secondary attacker is also a little afraid of Kitai Shinsuke.

As soon as Tianhai said this question, he seemed to feel that he was dazzled.

Why did he see the other person's face turn cold?

When he blinked, the young man in front of him returned to his usual plain expression.

"Coach Tianhai has taken the trouble. After the training match at noon tomorrow, I will take them to Inari Shrine. Maybe it will be good when they come back."

Bei put down the volleyball in his hand and explained: "My grandma is a shrine maiden there.

The two of them had been talking about going to see what the preparations for the Autumn Festival would be like. It just so happened that there was a rehearsal tomorrow. "The

preparations for the Autumn Festival will last for a week, and during this period, no outsiders will be allowed to enter or exit the shrine."

"Autumn Festival?" Tianhai showed a yearning look.

The last time he and Shoyo went to Hyogo Prefecture, he wanted to see the festival at Inari Shrine. It was a pity that he could not catch up with the grandest sacrifice at that time.

There are only three festivals a year that really attract all Japan and even many foreign tourists - the Fifth Festival, the Autumn Festival and the New Year Festival.

in May, September and January respectively.

The Autumn Festival is a harvest festival held in autumn to thank the gods for the harvest and products.

People who come to worship will offer various harvest items, such as rice, fruits and vegetables, at this time.

Unexpectedly, although I didn’t catch up with the official festival this time, I did catch up with the rehearsal!

The shrine witch is even North's grandma!

"I really want to go" appears on the sky and sea, and pink flowers and bright stars seem to be floating around.

Seeing this, Kitai Shinsuke also invited: "If Coach Tianhai also wants to come, you are also welcome to come.

Players and coaches in Qingcheng are also welcome. We just need everyone to help prepare for the sacrifice ceremony..."

" Okay, okay!"

After Tianhai thanked him, he quickly went to find Coach Irihata to discuss the matter - this opportunity is not to be missed, and it will never come back!

If you miss this opportunity, the next time will be January and May. At that time, I was busy with Chungao and IH and couldn't come.

The preparation period before closing the shrine is not something that tourists can go to at will!

There must also be many interesting customs and sights in the preparation phase.

"What! Sacrifice? I want to go too, I want to go too!!"

As soon as they heard that there were sacrifices and performances to watch, Qingcheng's players couldn't hold themselves back and rushed to coach Irihata to ask for permission.

"If I can't go to the shrine tomorrow, my life, my soul, and my spirit will no longer be me!"

Zhonghe, who loves shrines and sacrifices very much, can no longer keep up the appearance of the "reliable" captain and squats in front of the shrine. Coach Irihata requested from his leg.

Coach Irihata agreed - he also wanted to pray for Qingcheng for the next Spring High Qualifiers.

·

The "Autumn Festival" that caused quite a stir did not stir up much turmoil in Miyaji's heart.

It was indeed a pleasure to be taken to see the sacrifice by Mr. Kita, but now the egg tarts and rice balls in front of him were obviously more important.

"Coach Tianhai, is it ready to eat?"

He looked at the oven with longing in his eyes. His hand stopped in front of the oven basket in mid-air.

It seemed that as soon as Tianhai said "yes", he would open the oven and pop one into his mouth.

Tianhai focused on pinching the rice balls, but because the disposable gloves were not very handy, the speed was much slower than he expected.

"No, Aji. We have to wait a while."

He couldn't make room with his hands, so he had to stare at Gongzhi closely, fearing that he would burn his hands in too much haste.

Unlike making puffs at home before - the cream inside the puffs can be eaten directly. He first prepared a small bowl of strawberries for each student to dip in the cream.

The inedible egg tart liquid cannot do this, so the little fox can only endure it hard.

Unlike Aoki, Inarizaki has the habit of taking a lunch break at noon. Training started at 2pm.

As soon as Tianhai figured it out, he had nothing to do, so he borrowed the restaurant's pastry kitchen to make some snacks.

Gong Zhi inside the door didn't say anything, he just wished he could pull him off. There were wailing sounds even outside the door.

"Coach Tianhai! Are you okay?"

Gong You was lying on the door, and his voice came vaguely through the door.

The two brothers were at odds with each other and were not even happy to be in the same kitchen. Gong Zhi broke into the kitchen first, but Gong Yoo would rather hold back the deadly aroma than come in.

However, Miyaji inside the house smelled the aroma but couldn't eat it, which was probably a little more painful.

"There are still ten minutes."

Tianhai looked at the oven clock and gave an accurate number - otherwise, what would happen if the two foxes had to smoke at the same time and become confused?

A very uncomfortable ten minutes passed for the palace twins. Tianhai also shook his sore hands.

After all, it is different from the snacks that you prepare at home in advance and ask Shiyi to bring them.

This time I borrowed the Western confectionery restaurant in Inarizaki, so naturally I had to bring some of the Inarizaki ingredients.

There were many members of Qingcheng, Inarizaki's main players and coaches, and they made dozens of rice balls of various kinds.

Gongzhi restrained himself for a long time, then swallowed under Bei's gaze, separated everyone's portions, and started eating.

"For students who have lunch break, give it to them in the afternoon."

Tianhai took off his apron and followed him out of the kitchen.

Most of Inarizaki chose to take a lunch break, leaving only the Miya brothers and Kita who controlled the order of the two. Everyone from Qingcheng came.

Gong Zhi and Gong Yu glanced around and noticed that Kakuna was not waiting in the restaurant, but had gone to take a lunch break.

The two of them mentally divided the other's share into half for themselves.

There seems to be a tacit understanding in everyone's mind - "dessert after meal".

Compared with the still hot egg tarts, rice balls are obviously more attractive to this group of teenagers who are hungry for carbohydrates.

Most of the team members reached out towards the impressively stacked tower of rice balls.

"There are different flavors, you can choose." Tianhai also sat in the seat left for him by Iwaizumi.

"This rice ball is delicious!" Machii ate a rice ball made with salted prunes.

The slightly salty rice balls paired with the slightly sour umeboshi suddenly awakened Machii's taste buds, as if he had not eaten just now, and his appetite suddenly came up.

Alan, who was not far away, also exclaimed: "This is delicious too, it's eel sauce flavored!"

After all, it was food prepared in his spare time, so Tianhai did not choose very complicated food types.

The rice balls and desserts are all made using ingredients purchased from the restaurant.

Eel is a lunch dish and is still in stock. After asking for one from the chef, I grilled it and added it to the rice ball.

"I just ate it at noon, but it feels completely different." Alan covered his chest, his eyes moist, chewing the shelled eel.

"I think the eels are so fresh that they seem to be dancing in my mouth!"

Tianhai looked at the somewhat exaggerated Alan. I wonder if it was because he stayed in Inarizaki for two days that he also became fond of complaining.

"There is no need to praise like this."

The dancing eel pieces sounded a bit scary...

Miyaji on the side clasped his hands together, praying like a gambler to find out the taste of his favorite blind box rice balls.

"Hey, you guy, why are you pretending to be innocent?"

Gong You swallowed the last mouthful, ignoring Gong Zhi who was still praying and was a little unhappy,

"It's because of you that Teacher Tianhai made food again today! Zhu Zhi!"

Gongzhi single-handedly ate all the snacks prepared by Tianhai - this was enough for the entire Qingcheng players in one day!

"Zhuji" still closed his eyes and continued to pray silently.

Seeing that Gong Zhi didn't open his eyes, his rice ball would be eaten by Gong You. Tianhai reminded him:

"A Zhi, you don't have to choose, there is only one flavor left."

Gong Zhi put the last mysterious flavor Putting the rice ball in his mouth, he suddenly lost his movement, as if his soul had been extracted.

Although Gong Yoo pretended to turn his head and not look at the other person, he was still looking at the other person's condition. Seeing this scene, he didn't care about the quarrel and rushed up to shake his shoulders.

"Hey! Inoji! Are you okay!"

Miyaji opened his eyes, looking dazed, "Just now...I was summoned by the rice ball god."

Rice...the rice ball god?

Tianhai's mouth froze - he just made a few salted egg yolk crayfish rice balls. This smell was very common in convenience stores in my previous life.

Doesn’t Japan have this taste?

Miyaji's reaction was not at all attractive in the eyes of a group of teenagers who had already begun to eliminate desserts.

The egg tarts are thick-bottomed German-style egg tarts. Tianhai uses seasoning materials from the pastry kitchen to make chocolate, matcha and Basque flavors.

Even Bei Zai fell into deep thought when faced with three egg tarts of different colors.

"Which one should I choose?"

Oikawa happily ate a Basque in his left hand and a chocolate in his right hand. "Teacher has set aside the portion for the classmates during lunch break. The rest is ours."

The number of egg tarts in front of him was obviously more than the number of people present . – which means someone can eat both!

Hanamaki and Matsukawa looked at each other, their eyes stern, and their hands stretched out faster than when blocking the net.

Because Miyaji was one step behind everyone and was still eating rice balls, he could only regretfully choose one flavor.

"Fortunately, I have a character name. His is mine."

He muttered, and the words he spoke shocked Touji who was standing beside him and paid him attention

- what a bad fox!

-----------------------------

"Thank you for your advice!"

Inarizaki players and Qingcheng players finished their sixth game since their stay together. This is also the last practice match to thank each other.

Miyaji and Miyayu gathered around Kitano Shinsuke, unable to hide their excitement.

During this two-and-a-half-day stay, Inarizaki lost more than he won.

But even Miyagi, who wants to win the most and is the most unwilling to accept it, admits that under the pressure one after another, Inarizaki's running-in progress has accelerated many times.

"This night out is really fruitful." The smiling expression on Coach Omi's face has become much more real

- getting rid of the smile that made Coach Mizoguchi say "if you narrow your eyes, you are a monster" when they first met.

"Then let's go to Inari Shrine now?"

Tianhai packed his backpack and looked at Kitai Shinsuke.

The rest of the Inarizaki team members stayed together for three days and chose to go home and wait until September to go to the official autumn festival.

In the end, the only people who went to the shrine in Inarizaki were the two brothers of the Miya family, Kitano Shinsuke and Rintaro Kakuna who was dragged away.

Strictly speaking, when Tianhai first came to Hyogo, he saw the torii gate outside the shrine.

But at that time, I saw a forest outside.

But when Tianhai followed Kitano Shinsuke to the shrine, she realized that the shrine was not surrounded by woods, but by vast fields.

This is the most special shrine Tianhai has ever seen.

"The woods are just the outer perimeter, and the inner perimeter is the land for growing food."

Hearing Tianhai's question, Bei casually fiddled with the heavy red iris grass in the land.

Red iris is also known as Inari grass and is considered to be one of the symbols of Inari God. Having such a red field around it is the unique beauty of Inari Shrine.

In the fields, there are also small fox statues hidden among the rice paddies.

"It is said that the Inari God was first built in the Muromachi period. The people of this land believe in the Inari God."

Naturally, a god with "rice" in his name blesses believers with a good harvest, and the autumn festival is also to thank the Inari God.

"Inari-Okami is considered the patron saint of agriculture, commerce and wealth. Possessed of magical power and wisdom."

Bei's introduction was very short, but his tone was indeed extremely familiar.

——It's not like mentioning a strange god that I've never seen before, but a very familiar existence that I often meet.

Tianhai intuitively told him that there was a story between Bei and Inari. Just seeing that he was about to reach the torii gate, he stopped talking for fear of disturbing the gods.

The steps from the torii gate to the shrine are exceptionally clean, with fallen leaves piled neatly around the steps, as if they are being carefully cleaned every day.

Tianhai glanced at Bei who climbed up the steps quietly, and became even more curious about the shrine maiden who educated this boy.

Along the way, even the noisiest brothers Gong Zhi and Gong Yu remained silent until they arrived at the shrine.

There are many people wearing sacrificial clothes in the shrine cleaning the shrine and preparing sacrificial supplies.

When they saw Kitano Shinsuke leading some people to the shrine, they didn't feel surprised, but instead welcomed him with a smile.

"Shinsuke is back! Your grandma is picking rice ears. This year's rice ears are very big, so it's not easy to pick the best ones."

An old man warned Bei, "Go and help her."

" Okay, thank you, Grandpa Iwade."

Bei helped him empty the garbage in his hands into the trash can, and motioned to everyone to look at it first while he went to see his grandma.

Although they are both in Japan, Aoba Shrine and Inari Shrine are very different in terms of their statues and preparations for sacrifices.

Tianhai looked at the huge nine-tailed fox statue in front of him.

The nine tails were waving beside him, as vividly as if someone had actually seen Inari's true form in this world and carved it out of memory.

"Before each sacrifice, the priest, palace priest, shrine maiden, guardian and Suzuki who are responsible for running the shrine will clean the shrine again.

Select the most suitable sacrifices, usually the best rice and melons that grow on this land. Fruits and vegetables."

As soon as Bei left, Gong Zhi and Gong Yu didn't understand anything. In the end, it was Kakuna who stood up and explained to Tian Hai.

"You're not from Aichi Prefecture? How come you know so much about things in Hyogo Prefecture!"

After growing up in this land for sixteen years, they don't know as much about sacrifices as anyone from other prefectures. This makes Miyaji and Miyayu very accurate.

Kakuna waved the phone in his hand, and on the page was a post about the autumn festival shared by the official account of Inari Shrine.

He narrowed his eyes.

It was obviously my first time to come to Inari Shrine, but those eyes and expression were very much like a fox in the field outside the shrine.

"Make good use of search."

He taunted lightly.