After the final exams
The rest of that day’s exams went fairly well.
Several of the topics I had reviewed yesterday showed up on the test. It made me think that trying to guess what would be on the exam wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
Still, one math problem I couldn’t solve kept nagging at me. So after all the exams for the day were over, I stayed behind alone in the now-empty classroom and took another look at it.
Huh?
What on earth had I been thinking when I tried to tackle something this difficult?
I couldn’t even remember.
I stared at the problem for a while, but in the end all I could do was let out a deep sigh.
There are still two days of exams left. I need to get ready for tomorrow, too.
When I reached the bicycle parking area, there was a boy there. A kid from my neighborhood. I’ve known his face since we were little, but we’ve hardly ever talked.
He fixed his gaze on me and said,
“It’s been a while.”
“Yeah… I guess it’s been about two hundred years between us, hasn’t it?”
I answered before I could stop myself. I quickly clapped both hands over my mouth.
Huh? What did I just say?
The boy laughed.
“Hey, hey, you don’t even realize it yourself. If you’re going to descend into a body, you should make it clearer for the host. That’s kind of cruel, you know.”
The host… me?
Descend? Did he just say “descend”?
“There’s no need to rush. Just because something has descended into you doesn’t mean you have to act right away.”
Again—my mouth moved on its own.
Huh? Huh?
The boy laughed again, but his eyes weren’t smiling.
“A great evil is about to emerge. And soon, its counterpart will appear.”
“So what? It’s not my role to go around exorcising evil.”
Again. I was talking with him, alone, without understanding what I was even saying.
“Still the same as ever. I wonder what the point of your descent is. Even the sea god of this country is hard to understand.”
Sea god?
Sea god?
Me?
“Each of the eight million gods has its role. None of them are all-powerful. That’s how things are supposed to be in this land.”
Again, it came out of my mouth.
The boy gave a small smile and got on his bicycle.
“Someday, I’ll be calling on you. Take care of it then.”
With that, he rode out through the north gate.
I went back home.
I was confused. And it was right in the middle of exams.
Then I thought about the math test. Right before I’d had that sudden flash of insight on a difficult problem—like something had struck me on the head.
Was that when the sea god supposedly “descended” into me?
If so, was that inspiration also the work of a god?
“Hey.”
I spoke to the god who might be inside me.
“Why did you descend into someone like me?”
I said it out loud.
“There are plenty of smarter students out there. You didn’t have to choose me.”
No answer.
Come on, say something. I’m the one confused here.
…
Nothing.
What would happen to me now that a god had descended into me?
That thought crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it as unimportant.
Tomorrow was another day of exams. And the day after that too.
I gave up trying to communicate with the god and sat down at my desk.
Tomorrow would be biology and geography. So much to memorize.
I began reading the textbook aloud, then copying it into my notebook as I read—engraving it into my hands and brain. It was the study method I’d used since childhood.
Final day.
When the last exam—modern Japanese—ended, our homeroom math teacher said, “I’m handing back your math tests. When your name is called, come get it.”
At this school, everything is ranked—grades included—so even test papers are returned in order of score.
I’d only solved three questions, so obviously my name would be near the end.
It felt like being told, right to my face, that I was an idiot. I hated it.
“Kinashi Sotoko.”
I was surprised to hear the very first name. A murmur of “ohhh” spread through the classroom. A girl with long hair and black-rimmed glasses stood up from a seat by the window.
Kinashi-san really does seem like a model student here.
She’s plain, totally devoted to studying, but you can feel her strong will.
If she didn’t wear those glasses, she’d probably be more popular with boys, but she doesn’t seem to care about that at all.
She must have confidence in herself.
“Nikaido Shion.”
The next name was called. Then the next, and the next. It would be a while before my turn came.
“Yamazumi Rin.”
…Huh?
“Yamazumi, are you not here?”
“M-me?”
I hurried to my feet, and the teacher said, “Who else would it be? When your name’s called, come up and get it already.” A few boys laughed out loud.
The paper I was handed had a big “60” written on it, with a bold flower circle marking.
On my way back to my seat, I made eye contact with Kinashi-san. She gave me a strong look and a thumbs-up.
Back at my desk, I looked at the test again.
I’d only gotten three questions right. And yet the final problem had a big circle, even though I hadn’t finished answering it. The rest were blank.
The score didn’t make sense, so after school I went to the staff room to see the teacher.
“Yamazumi, you really developed that problem quite far,” he said right away, praising me.
“Um, I only solved three questions, and I didn’t even finish the last one… so why did I get 60 points?”
He blinked, then laughed. “What, you want me to lower your score?”
I could feel my face flushing.
No, that’s not what I meant. Or… I guess it kind of is.
I really am an idiot.
Why do I always say unnecessary things?
As I stood there speechless, he said, “You tried that last problem, didn’t you?”
Tried it?
Hmm… if you call it trying, then maybe.
But no, that’s not quite right.
I just wanted to avoid failing and kill some time. But there’s no point saying that now. I might just say something else stupid.
“Only four students even attempted that problem.”
He smiled as he said it to me, standing there in silence.
“You, Mishima from Class 3, Saijo from Class 8, and—”
“Um, did Mishima-san and Saijo-kun solve it all the way?”
“What, Yamazumi, are you interested in those two?”
No, that’s not it! That’s not what I meant! I felt my cheeks heating up again.
“They both got all the way to the answer. I’ve been teaching for about twenty years, and someone who can solve that problem perfectly only comes along once every few years. In that sense, this year’s pretty remarkable.”
I see.
“But you know, Yamazumi—your approach was interesting. Mishima and Saijo used the same method, but yours was something I’ve never seen before. Honestly, I was a little moved. I didn’t expect a high schooler to come up with a solution like that.”
Huh?
“You’ve got a knack for math. I guarantee it. You might want to consider going in that direction.”
No way, no way, no way. Please don’t say things like that, sensei. I bombed all the other questions. If mymom heard something like that, she’d get carried away again.
I practically ran out of the staff room.
But still.
It was the first time since entering high school that a teacher had praised me for my studies.
It felt like something soft inside my chest was melting.
That night.
I was lying on my back alone on my bed.
“You’ve got a talent for math.”
The teacher’s words wouldn’t leave my head.
Was that really my own ability… or something bestowed by a sea god who had descended upon me? I couldn’t tell.
Huh?
It felt as if the world had gone quiet.
Someone had come outside. I felt it for some reason. I quietly stepped out of my room.
In the living room, my mother was frozen like a doll. Looking at the wall clock, I saw the second hand wasn’t moving.
Time had stopped.
And yet, strangely, I wasn’t surprised.
I’ve become a god, I thought.
That sense where impossible things no longer feel strange.
I slowly opened the sliding front door.
On the other side stood a girl.
Her white sweater floated faintly in the night.
Seeing her face, I was surprised by the unexpected visitor, and found myself saying,
“It’s been a long time, god of Iyo.”
“Indeed, it has been a while, sea god of Seto.”
The girl said with a small smile.
Sea god of Seto!
So the sea god that had descended into me… was the deity of the Seto Inland Sea?
“Yes.”
The girl in front of me answered with a gentle smile.
Sea god of Seto! So the sea god that had descended into me… was the deity of the Seto Inland Sea?
“Yes.”
The girl in front of me answered with a gentle smile.
“Ishizuchi said the same thing.”
The words came out of my mouth again without thinking.
“Ishizuchi seemed pleased.”
“He complained that he didn’t know why he had descended in the first place.”
The god of Iyo laughed softly.
“As always, you two.”
I listened to the conversation between the two gods in a strange state of mind. Was the girl in front of me—so familiar in appearance—also someone possessed by a god like me?
I asked the question that came to mind.
“…san.”
The god of Iyo tilted her head slightly.
“Tell me. Have you also been possessed by a god?”
“Yes,” she replied.
“What does it feel like to have a god inside you? It feels very strange for me.”
“It’s the same for me. Though I was surprised by the praying during exams.”
Huh? I felt my face turn bright red.
“Really, this is interesting.”
I said.
Huh? Who was I talking to just now?
The god of Iyo chuckled.
Me? Did the god inside me just comment on me? What is this? Is the sea god of Seto saying she came to me because I’m interesting?
“Yamazumi-san.”
The girl called out.
“You’re a very calm person.”
“Calm?”
“Yes. Just like the Seto Inland Sea. Like a quiet inland sea with gentle waves.”
I didn’t know how to respond. Was that supposed to be a compliment?
“Hey,” the girl said.
“Want to go to Ōmishima now?”
“At this time of night?”
“Gods don’t follow human time.”
Before I knew it, I was floating in the air.
A white hand reached out. Long pale fingers intertwined with mine.
“Let’s go.”
She pulled hard.
Whoosh!
In the still cold night of early spring, two high school girls flew through the sky. City lights shrank rapidly beneath us.
“It’s beautiful,” I said without thinking. My breath vanished into the night sky.
“It’s my land,” the girl said quietly.
“I love it so much I could almost hold it tight.”
Huh? I looked at her face.
She says things like that?
Her cheeks were slightly flushed.
“I love it too. I love this country.”
The girl smiled the brightest smile.
Whoosh!
We accelerated sharply, heading northeast.
The sea was like a mirror—completely still.
We sat on a small rock in a quiet inlet beneath a sky full of stars, watching the pitch-black sea dotted with distant fishing lights.
Neither of us spoke.
If eternity exists, it must look like this.
Two girls—two gods—sat quietly on a small rock, gazing at the still sea, as time itself seemed to fade away.
