Chapter 97. Qiao Qiao’s Summer Vacation Plans

June 26th dawned bright and clear.
The citizens of Nagoya went about their lives as usual, rising early for work, bustling through their daily routines.
Yet something inexplicable had happened.
It seemed that a gas explosion had occurred at the Nagoya TV Tower, which affected the television station as well, causing many programs to be delayed.
Fortunately, thanks to a strange incident at the tower a couple of days prior, no one remained there after work, and thus there were no casualties.
Of course, a few night owls who stayed up all night witnessed, through their windows, the TV Tower erupting with radiant light—a colossal phantom warship appearing above the city, firing a single shot that extinguished the tower’s glow.
Because the event was so sudden, almost no civilian footage remained, and so it gradually became an urban legend in Nagoya.
Qiao Qiao returned to Tokyo on the Shinkansen at noon.
He was lucky enough to make it in time for the afternoon classes.
Many details, in fact, he only learned later from Asano Ariko.
The python had been subdued by the main force of Atsuta Shrine, and its remains were distributed to various research institutes for study.
The anaconda, being a descendant of the great serpent, could not be disposed of lightly and was sealed beneath the shrine under layers of enchantments.
As for the remaining snake spirits, they posed no threat.
Afterward, the anaconda was forcibly summoned several times, and the exorcists were able to reconstruct nearly all its schemes.
First, through years of preparation, it planted numerous odd triggers throughout Nagoya.
Then, leveraging its inherited power, it infiltrated Atsuta Shrine and stole the Sword of Kusanagi.
Originally, their plan was to exploit the chaos following the sword’s theft, create bizarre incidents for the exorcists to resolve, and use the snake scales left behind as markers. Ultimately, they would construct a ritual to forge the Jewel of Four Souls, transforming Nagoya—deprived of the divine sword’s protection—into raw material for the jewel.
But unexpectedly, though the Sword of Kusanagi couldn’t withstand the anaconda, its spirit escaped.
The monsters had to remain in Nagoya, searching for the sword spirit.
Later, upon discovering its whereabouts, the python led a band of snake spirits as bait to draw the main force, while the anaconda slipped back into Atsuta Shrine to retrieve the sword spirit.
All of it was perfectly logical.
Except for one question.
The heart of the ritual at the TV Tower required a monster to set it up.
Both the python and the anaconda were elsewhere at the time, so who was at the tower?
Within the anaconda’s memory, there was indeed a being who conspired with it in this affair.
Yet that entity remained shrouded in mystery—even the anaconda had never glimpsed its true form.
This became a lingering concern for the Exorcist Association.
Such mastery of large-scale Jewel of Four Souls fabrication, able to cooperate with a monster as formidable as the anaconda, manipulating both exorcists and monsters at will—
It was worth serious attention.
Atsuta Shrine.
Asano Ariko lifted her head from her phone screen, stifling a yawn.
Sitting upright in the main hall was, frankly, tedious.
She wore the most formal shrine maiden attire: in addition to the traditional scarlet hakama and undergarment, she had donned a pure white outer robe and a ceremonial crown atop her head.
Within the hall, the priests and shrine maidens maintained solemn expressions.
Representatives from various Exorcist Associations sat composed and upright.
Today’s event was the divine summoning ceremony.

Yes.
The Sword of Kusanagi had once been lost, but fortunately, it possessed a spirit.
The sword spirit had returned to the shrine and even manifested, saving all of Nagoya.
It was truly awe-inspiring.
Today’s ceremony was to mark the sword’s return to Atsuta Shrine.
Of course, all this was told to the shrine by Qiao Qiao.
At the time, even Asano Shoji had no idea that the Sword of Kusanagi had transformed into the Yamato and obliterated the Nagoya TV Tower with a single salvo.
He had assumed it was some new equipment of Qiao Qiao’s.
Due to the sword’s request, Qiao Qiao told no one that its spirit had possessed Asano Ariko.
For Ariko, her memories of the past few days were hazy and indistinct, but overall, she felt normal.
The Sword of Kusanagi’s mastery over memes was sufficient to cause her to overlook these events entirely.
As for changes to her body—
Ariko’s spiritual power had perhaps doubled, but that was not unusual for adolescence.
Thanks to the shrine incident, Qiao Qiao’s reputation in the exorcist circles had grown.
No doubt he would receive more commissions in the future.
Now—
The chief priest of Atsuta Shrine, Asagami Ninsaburo, recited prayers with focused intensity.
At that moment, several shrine maidens entered carrying a small palanquin.
Their steps were steady as they placed it before the altar of incense.
Mist swirled ceaselessly around the palanquin, obscuring its contents from view.
Ariko peered curiously but could not discern what lay within.
When the ceremony ended, the crowd dispersed.
Asagami Ninsaburo went alone to the sanctuary.
He bowed, passed through the curtain,
and approached the offering platform.
As the final act of the ritual, he needed to verify the Sword of Kusanagi itself.
The sword’s blade, damaged in the battle between Qiao Qiao and the anaconda,
was shattered beyond repair—even the finest craftsman could not restore it.
The fragments had been gathered and placed upon a side altar.
Upon the main altar rested the new sacred vessel of the Sword of Kusanagi.
It was a model of a battleship—
with a proud main battery, massive hull, embodying the glory of the era’s most formidable weapon of war.
It was a model of the Yamato.
Asagami Ninsaburo gazed at the model,
his expression troubled.
But since things had come to this, there was nothing more to be done.

He bowed once more before leaving.
After he departed, the Yamato model was swiftly enveloped in swirling mist—
as it had been for a thousand years.
......
Qiao Qiao’s month-long review had proven effective.
As he had predicted, his study sessions had indeed been interrupted by other matters.
On July 10th, the final exams at Minecastle University Affiliated High School concluded at last.
Everyone sat in the classroom, listening to the homeroom teacher outline summer plans.
Yet most students’ minds were far from school or even Tokyo.
“Our family’s vacationing in Hawaii this year.”
“I envy you. I’ll be freezing in the Alps instead.”
“I hope to earn enough at my part-time job to take my girlfriend traveling.”
“The new ‘Child of Heaven’ movie premieres next week—shall we see it together?”
“I want to attend Coket one last time this year. Next year it’s during Golden Week, so I’ll have no time to go.”
The teacher spoke from the podium about the supposed summer assignments and activities.
The students discussed their real summer plans below.
“Qiao, how are you spending your vacation?”
Sakamoto Kazuya, who had been energetically making karaoke plans with three girls, turned to Qiao Qiao, who was listening attentively to the teacher.
“Hm, I’ll probably focus on work and study,” Qiao replied.
“Ah, Qiao, you’ll never find a girlfriend with that attitude,” Sakamoto frowned slightly.
“It’s fine,” Qiao thought, grateful for Sakamoto’s concern.
But Qiao was simply too busy.
Thanks to the Atsuta Shrine incident, his reputation in the exorcist circle had grown again.
Regardless, he was the first to discover the anaconda’s infiltration and delayed it until the main force arrived.
This should help with future exorcist work, he thought.
When the homeroom teacher finished assigning summer tasks, Qiao took out his phone.
With summer’s arrival came ghost stories, watermelons, beaches, and a surge in exorcist commissions.
He checked the afternoon’s commission.
The client lived in Nakano Ward—a self-proclaimed manga artist.