Chapter 134: Bets Are Placed

The bookmaker’s name was Takashi Arai, a Shinto priest at the Seimei Shrine.

Seimei Shrine, dedicated to Abe no Seimei, is located in the Kamigyo Ward of Kyoto. While small, it draws many visitors due to the fame of Abe no Seimei and the recent surge in popularity of certain mobile games. In a bid to cater to the tastes of today’s youth, the shrine even introduced "gacha" amulets—purchasing one is said to bring good luck in mobile game summons.

Of course, as an insider, Takashi Arai knew that was nonsense.

He had been acting as a bookmaker for the Exorcism Martial Arts Exhibition for four years, earning a tidy sum each year. In the end, a betting pool isn’t about bribing contestants or interfering with the matches, as many might imagine. By managing probabilities and maintaining a delicate balance of the money wagered, Arai could simply pocket the difference. Such is the wonder of mathematics.

Then again, Arai didn't actually rely on mathematics himself.

As a shrine dedicated to Abe no Seimei, Seimei Shrine involves not only traditional Shintoism but also the study of Onmyodo, and Arai was an expert in divination. While he couldn't compare to the masters at the Tokyo Onmyo Bureau, he rarely made mistakes in his betting pools thanks to his fortune-telling skills.

Taking Qiao Qiao’s money, Arai did a quick mental calculation. The pool for those completing the exorcism in under thirty minutes held 200,000 yen. The pool for those taking over thirty minutes held 50,000 yen—well, 70,000 yen now, including Qiao Qiao’s stake. Although the odds for the "over thirty minutes" category were approaching 3 to 1, there was still plenty of cushion.

"Alright, here is your receipt."

Arai handed the receipt, marked with his own spiritual signature, to Qiao Qiao. As a qualified bookmaker, he was known for his integrity.

"Wow, I never expected our usually stingy teacher to shell out twenty thousand yen at once, and on the other side of the bet, no less," Asano Arisu said, surprised.

"What kind of person do you take me for? I’m not stingy; I just prefer to spend my money where it truly counts." Qiao Qiao tucked the receipt away securely.

"But Qiao-san, why did you think the shrine maidens from Fushimi Inari Taisha would take more than thirty minutes?" Niiki Maki was more curious about this.

"As Maki-san said, the Exorcism Martial Arts Exhibition is more like an exam. Since it is an exam, there must be a syllabus and a scope." Qiao Qiao pulled up the layouts of the venues used in the Exorcism Martial Arts Exhibition over the past five years on his phone. Since all thirty shrines involved were different, and factoring in performance exorcisms, there were over 150 layout maps in total. "I scanned these layouts briefly and compared them to this year's, and I noticed a problem."

"Wait, Qiao-san. You finished looking at all of them? That was less than five minutes ago, wasn't it? You can look at a layout map in two seconds?" Niiki Maki found it hard to believe.

"Mmhmm, as expected of our teacher," Asano Arisu nodded repeatedly. Sitting down and observing was just the teacher’s standard operating procedure.

"Yes, these layouts actually follow a pattern. For instance, the year before last, the focus was on the maidens' ability to detect sources of resentment within electrical appliances, so many sources were hidden inside them. Last year, the number of simulated vengeful spirits was far higher than in previous years; it must have been a terrifying round."

"That is true..." Niiki Maki seemed to recall some painful memories.

"And this year," Qiao Qiao looked up at the abandoned village in the distance, "the theme this year is likely 'beyond the syllabus'."

"Hmm?" Asano Arisu looked as well, though she could barely see anything. Only the large screen was playing the agile movements of the shrine maidens performing their exorcisms.

"I just confirmed the layout for this year; there are many settings that have never appeared before, including memetic-like sources of resentment. If the Fushimi Inari Taisha maidens are as skilled at the Exorcism Exhibition as the commentators claim, they might actually be ill-equipped to handle this particular type of anomaly."

This was the disadvantage of going first. Subsequent shrines would likely be more cautious. However, if Fushimi Inari Taisha still managed to complete the exorcism perfectly under these circumstances, Qiao Qiao believed their score would be significantly higher. Of course, this "theme" concept wasn't an official designation; it was just Qiao Qiao's own deduction. Settings related to a "theme" only accounted for five percent of all layouts in any given year, but perhaps that five percent had a decisive impact on the final score.

"Wait, Teacher, when you said you checked this year's layout, the provided materials wouldn't have included it, right?" Asano Arisu was confused again. Qiao Qiao spoke as if he had already seen the answer key to the exam.

"Mm, you're right. They didn't," Qiao Qiao said. "So I just looked at it directly."

The two shrine maidens looked at each other, then couldn't help but stare at the forest behind the screen. At this distance, seeing the placement of the resentment sources and the simulated vengeful spirits?

Takashi Arai, who was sitting nearby out of curiosity, also found it unbelievable. But soon, he dismissed it, thinking this young man from who-knows-where was probably just bragging to win favor with the two cute shrine maidens. He wasn't some enlightened high monk or grand onmyoji; how could he possibly have such strong perception of spiritual power?

"Oh, the iconic fox of Fushimi Inari Taisha has appeared."

"Yes, and Shrine Maiden Kumagaya here has used a charm representing the Thousand Torii Gates."

On the two screens, several foxes formed from spiritual energy appeared around one of the maidens, flying to every corner of the abandoned village to search for hidden sources of resentment. Around the other maiden, a dozen faint, red torii gates manifested. From these gates, spiritual energy rained down like droplets, piercing through the buildings and obliterating the simulated vengeful spirits hiding within.

"Truly impressive," Qiao Qiao remarked, listening to the commentary and watching the exorcism while jotting down inspirations in his small notebook.

Time ticked by. At the twenty-five-minute mark, the Fushimi Inari Taisha maidens had already thoroughly swept the area.

"Looks like it really will only take thirty minutes," Asano Arisu said. She didn't feel happy about having guessed correctly; she glanced at Qiao Qiao. If the teacher, who valued money so much, lost twenty thousand yen... she shuddered to imagine it.

Qiao Qiao, however, remained exceptionally calm.

"That's strange," Niiki Maki said, looking at the commentary screen. "If they finished all the exorcisms, there should have been an announcement."

By now, all visible sources of resentment and simulated vengeful spirits had been eliminated; theoretically, the exorcism should have been complete. Yet, the conspicuous announcement never appeared. The Fushimi Inari Taisha maidens clearly hadn't expected this situation either, but they maintained their professionalism, gathering together to discuss the details of their exorcism in an attempt to find the oversight.

Takashi Arai glanced at Qiao Qiao. Was this guy really that good? Was he hiding his true power?

The thirty-minute mark passed quickly. The maidens from Fushimi Inari Taisha dispersed and searched the village again, but still found nothing. The commentators ran out of things to say and resorted to awkward small talk to kill time. This continued until the sixtieth minute. Since the time limit for the Exorcism Martial Arts Exhibition was sixty minutes, once the time was up, they were forced to leave regardless of whether the exorcism was completed.

The Fushimi Inari Taisha maidens had to withdraw, looking dejected. The crowd began to murmur.

"Qiao-san, where was the last source of resentment?" Niiki Maki asked, burning with curiosity.

"It's quite simple," Qiao Qiao said, pointing to a spot in the village.