Chapter 182: Long-lost Distant Relative?!

"Yotsuha is in Chiba too?"

Haruto was a bit surprised.

Three years had passed.

That little rascal Yotsuha should be in middle school by now, a proper young girl.

If the guardian deity of Itomori hadn't been taken away by Haruto, then according to tradition, in another two years, Yotsuha would also experience body-swapping.

This was a hereditary trait of the Miyamizu family.

Mitsuha's mother and grandmother had both experienced body-swapping, though their memories were erased afterward.

It was only due to Haruto's interference that Mitsuha retained her memories. So, why had this shrine maiden-in-training come all the way to Chiba?

Did she sense something and come looking for the guardian deity?

As Mitsuha typed on her phone, messaging her sister, she explained,

"Half a year ago, there was a large-scale blindness incident in Itomori, but after seven days, the residents' sight was automatically restored. Later, this event was hyped up online as divine guidance, attracting many travelers and worshippers to Itomori."

"Our family has been serving as shrine maidens for generations… so we made a little money from it. To avoid affecting Yotsuha, we sent her to study outside of Itomori."

"Recently, Yotsuha's school organized a summer training camp, and their destination happened to be Chiba, so we planned to meet up, but I completely forgot…"

As Mitsuha spoke, Haruto felt numb.

Divine guidance, my ass.

Absolutely absurd!

At this moment, Haruto deeply felt the butterfly effect caused by timeline changes.

However… it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Besides, calling it divine guidance wasn't exactly wrong.

From a hierarchical standpoint, Haruto was far beyond a conventional deity.

And that blindness incident? It was indeed a form of guidance, meant to prevent an anomalous outbreak.

Seeing Haruto's strange expression, Suzume had a hunch and curiously asked,

"That town-wide blindness event… don't tell me you were the one behind it, Haruto?"

Having witnessed the anomalies of the other world and Haruto's immense power, Suzume had no doubt that he was capable of blinding an entire town.

Hearing this, Haruto simply nodded, not bothering to hide it.

After all, both Mitsuha and Suzume were aware of the existence of anomalies, there was no harm in telling them.

Originally, Haruto had tricked them into coming here with the intention of erasing their memories.

But now, he realized they had serious potential as investigators.

"That blindness event was to prevent an anomaly from erupting and to stop Itomori from being erased. Now that I think about it, the guardian deity of Itomori bringing me back three years ago to meet you two… maybe it was all to prevent that disaster."

Mitsuha and Suzume were momentarily stunned, but after a brief pause, they accepted it.

"I need to go meet up with my sister first. Haruto, let's go on a trip together in a few days!"

Mitsuha said, grabbing Suzume's hand, ready to make a run for it. She couldn't let her best friend sneak away alone.

However, Haruto waved his hand and said,

"Perfect timing. I don't have anything going on, so I'll come with you. Yotsuha doesn't know me yet, after all."

Hearing this, Mitsuha and Suzume readily agreed.

So, Haruto arranged for a car and drove to the location of Yotsuha's school training camp.

In Japan, school training camps were usually organized by clubs.

They were mostly for skill training, competition preparation, or simply to strengthen club bonds.

Yotsuha's camp was the latter.

It was more like a summer retreat than serious training, there were only a few official club lessons, with most of the time dedicated to travel and play.

Arriving outside a hot spring inn in Chiba, Haruto parked the car.

Two figures stood quietly near the entrance, waiting.

As soon as Mitsuha stepped out of the car, she quickly ran toward her sister.

She was feeling a little guilty.

"Sis, what took you so long?!"

Yotsuha Miyamizu asked, tilting her head to glance at the car her sister had arrived in. She didn't recognize the brand, but it clearly wasn't cheap.

Yotsuha was a little shocked.

Since when could her sister afford to ride in such a fancy car?

Meanwhile, Haruto and Suzume leaned against the car, watching the scene with amused smiles.

"Yotsuha's really changed… she's nothing like the brat I remember."

Haruto said with a chuckle.

Yotsuha had grown significantly. She was nearly as tall as Mitsuha now, had let her hair grow long, and tied it into twin-tails.

Her face had lost its childhood chubbiness, and she now closely resembled a younger version of Mitsuha, a true beauty in the making.

Suzume nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, three years is bound to bring changes. What about me? Do you think I've changed, Haruto?"

Haruto looked at Suzume for a moment before replying,

"You have. You've matured."

Hearing this, Suzume beamed with happiness.

Meanwhile, on the other side, things weren't going as smoothly. Mitsuha looked a little awkward.

She couldn't exactly tell her sister that she had been so focused on a handsome guy that she forgot about her.

"There was a bit of trouble on the way, so I got delayed,"

Mitsuha finally settled on this vague excuse.

Yotsuha narrowed her eyes.

Was her sister up to something weird?

She suddenly recalled how three years ago, Mitsuha had suddenly run away from home and then returned with a huge sum of money.

Could it be…?!

Having reached middle school and entered adolescence, Yotsuha had learned a lot about the world.

Cough cough...

"And who is this?"

Sensing the mood getting awkward, Mitsuha quickly changed the subject.

Yotsuha wasn't someone with a long attention span, so she was immediately distracted.

"This is Amano Hina, my best friend from elementary school who moved up to middle school with me!"

Mitsuha suddenly understood and smiled.

"Hina, huh? My sister talks about you all the time, you two are really close."

Being mentioned, Hina quickly smiled and responded. Not far away, Haruto froze for a moment.

Hina?

Could it be that Hina?

Suzume looked at him curiously.

"What's wrong?"

Haruto shook his head and turned his gaze toward Hina.

"Just ran into a familiar face, what a coincidence."

The girl had black medium-length hair tied into two sections draping over her shoulders. She wore a pink dress with a white sleeveless hoodie over it. Around her neck hung a very distinctive pendant.

Her appearance gradually matched Haruto's memories.

This had to be the Sunshine Girl, Amano Hina.

Haruto pulled Suzume closer, confusing her.

Then, he took out his phone and snapped a photo.

"Nice, all three main heroines in one shot!"

"Haruto, Suzume, come on!"

Mitsuha waved at them.

Haruto and Suzume walked over.

"This is Iwato Suzume, you've met her before. And this is Haruto, he's... a friend I met three years ago in Chiba."

Mitsuha introduced them.

"Suzume-nee."

Yotsuha greeted Suzume politely.

In the past three years, Yotsuha had met Suzume many times and knew she was her sister's close friend, even running away from home together.

As for Haruto…

Yotsuha looked at him warily.

So this was the guy who used sweet words and money to charm her sister?! Very dangerous! Must be careful!

"Nice to meet you, senpai."

Hina bowed politely.

Haruto smiled and nodded back in response.

Then... he reached out and ruffled Yotsuha's hair.

"Hey, Yotsuha, you've grown so much! I remember carrying you when you were little."

Miyamizu Yotsuha: ?!?

Yotsuha was stunned.

What the heck do you mean you carried me when I was little?!

Who even are you, some long-lost distant relative?!

She turned to her sister in disbelief, silently asking if this was true. As a result, Mitsuha pondered for a moment before nodding.

"It seems like that did happen."

Upon hearing this, Yotsuha was completely shocked.

That really happened?

Meanwhile, Mitsuha was thinking that although it had been her body, Haruto's statement wasn't exactly wrong either.

After that, as Yotsuha remained bewildered, the group entered the hot spring inn.

"The environment here is really nice. As expected of a middle school in a big city, getting to have training camp in a place like this!"

Mitsuha looked around and sighed in admiration.

"Come to think of it, during that trip, we traveled all over, but we never did experience a hot spring."

Suzume commented while nudging Haruto with her elbow.

The hint was obvious.

It wasn't that she wanted Haruto to pay for anything. In fact, Suzume's family was quite well off.

Especially after she reconciled with her aunt, their family bond strengthened, and during school breaks, Suzume would even help out at her aunt's company.

Suzume's aunt, once freed from worrying about Suzume, soared in her career, rising from a department head all the way to becoming the company president.

What Suzume was hinting at was more about wanting Haruto to stay.

Catching on, Haruto thought for a moment. Since he had nothing urgent to do, why not take it easy for a bit?

"I'll book three single rooms."

Without hesitation, Haruto walked straight to the hot spring inn's reception desk. Mitsuha was momentarily stunned before a joyful smile appeared on her face.

As soon as Haruto left, Yotsuha quickly tugged on her sister's sleeve.

"Nee-chan, who exactly is that guy? You're not being suga— The internet always says that female college students are foolishly naive. Nee-chan, don't get scammed!"

Upon hearing this, Mitsuha's forehead twitched with annoyance.

"My foolish little sister, what nonsense are you spouting?!"

"But it's true! Nee-chan, you weren't very smart to begin with, and now you've gone to college..."

As the argument escalated, Mitsuha grabbed her sister by the back of the neck in mock frustration.

Watching the siblings playfully bicker, Suzume smiled fondly, while Hina, on the other hand, stared at them with a trace of envy in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Haruto, having arrived at the hot spring inn's reception desk, swiftly paid for three single rooms.

Then, he noticed that since summer vacation had just begun, some schools hadn't even gone on break yet.

This hot spring inn's business seemed to be lukewarm at the moment.

Aside from Haruto and his group, only two schools had booked group accommodations for their training camps.

'Should I just book the rest of the rooms too? That way, if more tourists arrive, it won't get crowded.'

The thought crossed Haruto's mind, and he decided to go through with it.

After securing the remaining rooms, Haruto smiled in satisfaction.

Turning around, he was about to return to Mitsuha and the others when he noticed a new group arriving behind him.

They were all quite young, elementary school students, perhaps?

Haruto recalled that besides Yotsuha's school, another school had booked a large shared room.

It seemed to be this elementary school group?

Haruto didn't pay much attention and simply walked past them.

But as he passed the end of the group, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a girl.

She had fluffy, ash-blond short hair and was slightly lowering her head. Through the strands of her hair, something resembling a hearing device could be seen on her ears.

Haruto paused slightly, taking a second look at the girl.

Could it be... Shoko?

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T/N:

Yoo, I've seen a few suggesting a Pat, but I have this particular hobby of saying....

Daga Kotowaru!

Translator san is an upright and righteous person! He will not make profit of other people's work even if it kills him! Translator san is Translator san!

(Cap! He just don't want another workload.)

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(Translator san doesn't need money at the moment. Xiao~)