The first settlement in Itomori was established because of a meteorite mine, while the second was formed around Itomori Lake.
The former brought valuable minerals, while the latter provided abundant fish.
Despite the dangers of the first catastrophe, people still chose to build a town here for survival.
Perhaps this is why the Miyamizu Shrine holds such a revered status in Itomori.
In ancient times, people placed their hopes of resisting the Star God in the shrine.
They prayed for the safety of their hard-built home, entrusting their wishes to an unseen divine force.
Gazing at the shimmering Itomori Lake before him, Kyousuke found his thoughts drifting.
While Kyousuke pondered the origins of Itomori's faith, Yukino Yukari's emotions fluctuated wildly.
In the end, she chose to remain steadfast in her way of life.
So what if Hojou-kun wasn't the Star God or the Weaving God? With such incredible power, he was undoubtedly divine in his own right.
The fact that he had managed to take the shrine maiden from the Weaving God only proved he was the stronger deity.
With that thought, a smile returned to Yukino's face, and a slight tingling sensation spread across her small feet once again.
The sun gradually sank toward the horizon, casting golden light upon her.
She resembled a mermaid rising from the water—not one singing a siren's song, but one laughing with pure joy.
"Mitsuha, Yukino-sensei! It's about time we head back!"
A voice called out from the distance. Teshigawara stood on the shore, holding a net brimming with fish.
"Let's go, Yukino." Hojou Kyousuke stood up from the rock and, out of habit, extended his hand toward Yukino Yukari.
"Mm." Yukino grasped his hand tightly, her face glowing with happiness.
The group made their way to Yukino's home. Kyousuke and his two friends continued working in the vegetable garden, clearing more land for cultivation, while Yukino carried the fish Teshigawara had caught into the kitchen.
———————————————————————
—Tokyo
Miyamizu Mitsuha rode Kyousuke's motorcycle at an agonizingly slow pace toward school.
After parking, she walked into the classroom.
"Kisaki, good morning!"
Kisaki Tetta, upon seeing what he assumed to be his elder brother, had been about to greet him.
But the moment he heard that familiar voice, his smile froze.
Lowering his voice, he corrected himself:
"Good morning, Miyamizu Mitsuha."
Mitsuha immediately noticed Kisaki's change in expression, but before she could dwell on it, her attention was caught by something else.
"You actually remembered my name? As expected of the second-ranked student, Kisaki."
In Tokyo, aside from Sakura Shouko and a few others, Kisaki Tetta was the first person to call her by name.
Even though he still saw her as merely a split personality of Hojou Kyousuke, Mitsuha couldn't help but feel delighted.
"This afternoon, Hojou and I were supposed to go to the publishing house to sign a contract."
"But since you're in control of the body today, it's up to you whether or not to go."
Since the classroom was filled with students reading quietly, and their voices were kept low, Kisaki wasn't too concerned about their unusual conversation being overheard.
"A contract? For what?" Mitsuha asked as she took out her textbooks.
"Hojou's manga has been confirmed for serialization in a magazine. Today is the official signing, after which they'll start paying him royalties." Kisaki summarized the situation as concisely as possible.
"Oh! You mean One Punch Man?"
Mitsuha's eyes lit up.
Wow! She hadn't expected Hojou's manga to actually make it into a magazine.
That was amazing!
"Yes. If you don't want to go, I can reschedule it for when Hojou is back…"
"I'm going!"
"…Alright." Kisaki turned away, ending the conversation and focusing on his studies.
Mitsuha opened her language textbook.
During these body swaps, Kisaki always made sure she did her assignments.
Although it was painful, she gritted her teeth and studied hard—if only to ensure Kyousuke wouldn't embarrass himself too much in the next exam.
Before long, lunch break arrived.
Though the Weekly Shounen High editorial office was located in Chiyoda, which was just next door, Kisaki Tetta, knowing his brother's enormous appetite, decided to excuse them from an additional class period.
On the road outside Higashi High School, Kisaki watched Mitsuha ride the motorcycle at an even slower pace than Kyousuke had the first time he ever rode it.
Realizing that taking the expressway was out of the question, he sighed and wondered if taking only one class off was really going to be enough.
"Just follow Kasuga Avenue for about three kilometers, then turn onto Hakusan Avenue for another two kilometers. I'll ride slowly—keep up."
Originally, he had considered suggesting they take the subway instead, but seeing Mitsuha's excited expression, he gave up on the idea.
Whether it was Kyousuke or Mitsuha, once they had made up their mind, there was no changing it.
He also decided against letting Mitsuha navigate, she could barely handle riding the bike as it was.
Trying to read a map at the same time would probably end in disaster.
Half an hour later, they finally arrived in Chiyoda.
After parking the motorcycle, Kisaki let out a sigh of relief.
At least Kyousuke's body was still intact.
"That brown building up ahead is Eishuu Publishing. The Weekly Shounen High editorial office is inside."
"Oh, this place is really close to Chidorigafuchi."
Seeing the towering skyscrapers in the distance, Mitsuha suddenly recalled her experience at the Sakura Festival.
Hearing this, Kisaki involuntarily turned his head.
Wait… so during the Sakura Festival, was it this personality that took over and went out with all those beautiful girls?
Poor big bro… I have to cure his dissociative identity disorder! And during kendo club practice after school, I'm making sure Mitsuha trains extra hard.
Physical muscle memory should be the best way to reawaken Kyousuke's true self!
Upon entering the office building, they informed the receptionist of their appointment with Tetsuya Muramura.
Once their reservation was confirmed, they were given the floor and room number.
Standing inside the elevator, Mitsuha, who had been excited just moments ago, suddenly felt nervous.
She was about to sign a contract on Kyousuke's behalf.
Scenes from TV dramas about contract scams flashed through her mind, each ending with a protagonist being utterly ruined. She steeled herself:
'I have to read every word carefully. I won't let Kyousuke spend the rest of his life enslaved to some corporate overlord!'
Meanwhile, Kisaki was also feeling apprehensive.
Kyousuke had entrusted him with handling the negotiations with the magazine.
His strategy?
Leveraging Kyousuke's reputation as the strongest delinquent in Tokyo to market the manga.
The most powerful hero, Saitama from One Punch Man, combined with the most notorious fighter, the "Handless Demon"—together, they were bound to take the manga world by storm!
Now that the personality had switched, there was no telling if any unexpected situations might arise.
"Welcome, welcome! EGOIST-sensei and Kisaki-kun!"
As a sign of respect, Shimomura Tetsuya had come down to the elevator to personally greet them as soon as he received the call from the front desk.
'EGOIST? Who's that?'
Mitsuha was momentarily confused but instinctively extended her hand for a handshake.
"What does EGOIST mean?" she asked in a low voice while Shimomura enthusiastically explained the different office departments.
"It seems to be part of the name of the group that works with Hojou on his manga… Or maybe it's the name of a singer he really likes."
"Either way, he's using it as his pen name. In the publishing industry, it's common to address authors by their pen names," Kisaki Tetta explained.
"Ohhh, EGOIST, huh? That actually sounds pretty cool."
Mitsuha was surprised at Hojou Kyousuke's knack for coming up with names.
Shifting her attention back to Shimomura Tetsuya, she recalled Kisaki's earlier introduction.
To think that the editor-in-chief of such a famous magazine was also the father of one of their subordinates—Hojou really had some convenient connections.
The hallway walls were plastered with posters of manga Mitsuha didn't recognize.
Meanwhile, Shimomura continued his enthusiastic pitch about Weekly Shonen High's glorious history, hyping up the opportunity by claiming that EGOIST-sensei had made the perfect choice in selecting their magazine.
Not that anyone could tell from his cheerful demeanor, but just this morning, Shimomura had been locked in a fierce debate with his fellow editors about One Punch Man.
The vacancy left by that recently hospitalized mangaka was in a prime slot, and every editor was fighting to get it for their own authors.
"A high schooler drawing a manga? No way that's gonna sell," one editor had scoffed.
Though the art and story were undeniably impressive, lying with a straight face was a necessary survival skill in this industry.
"Give Skating King's spot to him. Shift Skating King further down."
In the end, whether it was because of the terrifying legend of Hojou Kyousuke's ability to create bestselling novelists overnight, or because Shimomura's son had warned him, "If I can't buy One Punch Man next weekend, your whole magazine is getting surrounded!"—or maybe Kisaki Tetta's promotional strategy won everyone over—Shimomura ultimately secured the highly coveted placement for One Punch Man.
"Alright, this is the full contract. Do you have any questions, EGOIST-sensei?" Shimomura went through each clause carefully.
Normally, he wouldn't take the time to explain things so thoroughly to a rookie author, but considering that his son would soon be transferring to Higashi High, he wanted to ensure a good relationship with Kyousuke.
As the chief editor, he was pulling out the same level of enthusiasm he had back when he first started in this industry.
"What does 'cooperate with promotional activities' mean?"
Mitsuha, who had been listening until her brain nearly short-circuited, pointed at the last section of the contract.
Even though she didn't understand most of the legal jargon, she forced herself to stay focused and ask.
With a serious expression, she slammed her finger down on the contract as a scare tactic.
In TV dramas, this was when the shady businessman would flinch and reveal their guilt. Mitsuha locked eyes with Shimomura, waiting for his reaction.
Sure enough, he froze.
"Uh… Hojou, your face is terrifying right now," Kisaki muttered behind her.
He had been watching the exchange with an increasingly concerned expression and quickly tugged at Mitsuha's sleeve.
"Oh! Right, sorry about that, Editor Shimomura."
It finally hit Mitsuha—of course, anyone would be terrified seeing Kyousuke's infamous death glare.
Even she had been intimidated by it before.
"This is a standard clause included in all our contracts. All our authors agree to the same terms."
"It mainly covers things like signing events and potential TV appearances, which would help boost sales," Shimomura explained, dabbing the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
At the same time, he couldn't help but question his decision to have his son transfer into this guy's school.
Was he really making the right choice?
Well, the paperwork was already in motion… He could only pray that Masao would start behaving himself.
"In that case, no problem! Here's to One Punch Man being a huge hit!"
Mitsuha picked up Kyousuke's stamp and pressed it onto the contract.
"Yes! I'll do my best!"
Still seemingly shaken, Shimomura instinctively gave a deep ninety-degree bow.
'…Wait, are editors always this polite?' Mitsuha wondered.