Even with chuunibyou, let's learn together!

Page 190

"no!"

Aoba Yuzuki's expression hardened, and she refused with great seriousness.

They will absolutely not let you go to another temple. You must keep the possibility of Mikazuki Temple in your own hands.

"what?"

Hayakawa paused, somewhat puzzled by the girl's reaction.

"Hayakawa-kun, you don't need to worry about the nunnery at all,"

Aoba Yuzuki's expression turned serious, and she said sincerely, "Mikazuki Temple used to have male practitioners, but it hasn't been a nunnery for very long. We never refuse male practitioners, so you don't need to worry about it causing us any trouble."

Hayakawa's eyes widened: "Really?"

Aoba Yuzuki's eyes shone brightly, her face full of seriousness: "Really."

However, at that moment, the two of them happened to walk to the steps of the peeling mahogany gate. There was a wooden sign on the wall next to the stone steps with elegant characters written in calligraphy.

Hayakawa noticed the wooden sign and looked at the words on it with a puzzled expression: "This is..."

Upon seeing those four characters, Aoba Yuzuki froze, for it clearly stated:

[Male Prohibition]

"Miss Yuzuki, what is this?"

Hayakawa pointed to the words on the wooden sign and turned around to ask, his expressionless face seemingly saying, "You said it was okay."

"This... what is this? Yes, what is this...?"

Aoba Yuzuki was completely dumbfounded. How could she have forgotten that the wooden sign she had personally written a few days ago was placed at the door? Now that someone had seen it, how was she going to explain it?

"This is... Oh, how strange. I've never seen this wooden sign before. It seems to have some strange things written on it, like a child's ramblings. Hahaha, it's kind of funny."

Aoba Yuzuki blushed and waved her hands in a panic, trying to change the subject. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, she slammed her fist down: "Ah, I remember now, this is the wooden plaque that my younger sister Haiyue used to practice calligraphy. I threw it over here."

"gone."

Hayakawa turned and walked towards the door, just as the wooden sign that read "No Men Allowed" happened to be thrown at the front door. Who would believe it was a coincidence?

"Don't go!!"

When Aoba Yuzuki saw Hayakawa about to leave, she panicked and rushed over to hug Hayakawa's arm, pleading pitifully, "The future of Mikazuki-ji, the future of Mikazuki-ji!"

What are you saying?!

Hayakawa felt a strange yet familiar pressure on his arm and his expression immediately changed. It was as if Ogata Riju was right next to him again. He was so frightened that his scalp tingled, and he tried to break free and escape as if he had a traumatic stress reaction: "Let me go!"

"I wrote this sign, but it's not used anymore."

Aoba Yuzuki obediently released Hayakawa's hand and explained very sincerely, "Both Hihi-nee and I agree, so we hope you can stay."

"..."

Hayakawa, still gripped by fear, looked at Yuzuki with a cold expression and said, "Why did you do this?"

“Hayakawa-kun…you seem to know absolutely nothing about temples,”

Seeing this, Aoba Yuzuki smiled wryly: "Excuse me for speaking frankly, Hayakawa-kun, you... probably haven't been to any other temples, have you?"

Hayakawa frowned and said, "Yes."

"That's right. If you've been to other temples, you should be able to tell..."

Aoba Yuzuki's delicate and pretty face fell, her eyes were lonely, and she said softly.

"This temple... is on the verge of collapse."

"Can't it be sustained?"

Hayakawa paused, "What do you mean?"

"literal meaning."

Aoba Yuzuki seemed to have opened up as well, and spoke very frankly.

Chapter 287 Mikazuki's Current Situation

Before the rustic mahogany gate are layers of gray stone steps. From the cracks in the stone steps, an inconspicuous plant grows tenaciously, breaking free from its constraints and adding a touch of greenery to the courtyard.

Before the stone steps, a girl in a loose gray monk's robe and a boy in a thin shirt silently gaze at each other, talking about the future of this temple.

"This temple... is already struggling to survive."

Aoba Yuzuki spoke calmly, but her expression revealed a natural pessimism: "The reason is the annual temple and religious conference held here."

"Temple and Religious Affairs Conference..."

Hayakawa didn't understand, but nodded anyway: "Go on."

“In areas of Hokkaido with many Buddhist temples, there is a similar tradition where temples from different regions gather together every year. This is the earliest temple fair. At first, it was just about discussing Buddhist teachings and exchanging scriptures. However, as times changed, many temples became increasingly difficult to maintain without worshippers. Some temples that were really struggling to survive would seek help from other temples at the fair. Some of them managed to stay afloat, but most eventually collapsed.”

"Is that so?"

Hayakawa was somewhat surprised. In his mind, monks could live well by eating vegetarian food, chanting Buddhist scriptures, and drinking dew. How could a temple possibly go bankrupt like a company on the market?

"There's no way around it. Maintaining a temple is quite troublesome. Just the renovation of such a large area of ​​buildings costs a lot of money."

Aoba Yuzuki's voice was filled with a weary sigh. She reached out and touched the mottled cracks on the wall beside her, which had appeared due to a long period of neglect. Deep in her eyes was a tremor of heartache and regret.

Hayakawa fell silent; he knew absolutely nothing about this and was a complete layman.

"Some temples, unable to find help at the conference, simply announced their closure at the meeting,"

Ms. Yuzuki continued, "In order to prevent such things from happening, the major temples that hold the temple assembly have added another responsibility since the assembly began: to monitor temples that are struggling to survive. They have also set standards, and if a temple fails to meet the standards for three consecutive years, it will be disqualified from participating in the temple assembly in the future."

"Uh…"

Hayakawa hesitated for a moment, then said, "If I can't participate..."

“If you don’t participate, it’s like being removed from the local temple’s list.”

Aoba Yuzuki's expression was somewhat unpleasant: "Other temples no longer recognize you, and the number of locals coming to worship will gradually decrease. Even if you can barely maintain it, it will be meaningless."

"Oh, that's how it is."

Hayakawa nodded, then cautiously inquired, "Then, Miss Yuzuki, you said this temple is struggling to survive... Does that mean Mikazuki-ji hasn't met the standards for a year?"

Aoba Yuzuki silently turned her head away: "It's been two years..."

Hayakawa: "..."

Isn't this already close to the deadline?

"hiss…"

Hayakawa gasped slightly: "This seems like something serious has happened."

Aoba Yuzuki's face darkened further, and her eyes reddened, making her look like she was about to cry on the spot.

Seeing this, Hayakawa quickly offered a comforting remark: "There's nothing we can do. The conditions must be very demanding. It's normal that we can't meet them."

"Actually, meeting the standards set by the temples and monasteries is complicated but not difficult. As long as you reach a certain number of worshippers each year, have a good reputation among the local residents, and address the temple's maintenance, you can participate in the conference normally."

Aoba Yuzuki shook her head, her expression brightening and her eyes shining slightly. "Moreover, as long as you are a member of the conference, you can receive some subsidies in the past, and they will also help temples that are struggling to operate. When Xixi and I went there two years ago, we received a lot of help. Otherwise, Mikazuki Temple would have gone bankrupt long ago."

"But now it's still not sustainable, is it?"

Hayakawa looked at her and said something.

"Woo..."

Upon hearing this, Aoba Yuzuki's eyes immediately reddened, and her words trembled with a hint of tears: "I...I know, but..."

"Uh…"

Hayakawa sighed and quickly said, "But this doesn't seem to have anything to do with me. To be honest, I know nothing about Buddhism; I'm just starting to get into it."

After hesitating for a long time, Aoba Yuzuki finally gritted her teeth and said, "Hayakawa-kun, come with me for a moment."

Hayakawa asked in confusion, "Come here? Where to?"

"Go to the Buddha hall at the very back of the temple."

So Hayakawa followed Yuzuki to the main hall behind the temple. But as soon as they reached the door, Hayakawa felt his foot sink into the ground with a crisp "creak".

"Be careful, that piece is rotten."

"It's a reminder," Aoba Yuzuki reminded her.

"Oh well."

Hayakawa took a step forward, then looked ahead and paused, pointing at the pillar and asking, "Miss Yuzuki, what does this mean?"

There was a talisman stuck to the pillar, which read "Do not touch".

Without turning her head, Aoba Yuzuki said, "Because it's rotten."

After taking two more steps, Hayakawa saw a long, deep crack in the floor.

Hayakawa: "..."

"Jump over, jump over."

Looking at Yuzuki, who was beckoning him to jump across the crack, Hayakawa fell into deep thought.

then…

"Where's the wall! Where's the wall here?!"

"There's no such thing!!"

……

Before long, Hayakawa, who had gone through many hardships, finally arrived in front of the Buddhist temple. As soon as he arrived, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The psychological pressure of walking just a few dozen meters felt like walking a tightrope.

He looked at the altar in front of him, but he did not see a Buddha statue in the center of the altar; instead, a cloth covered it.

Is it because you're afraid of dust settling in?

Hayakawa looked at the Buddha statue with a puzzled expression. What was that strange curve at the head?

"This is the main Buddha statue in our temple."

At this moment, the girl walked to the altar, took a deep breath, and in a fit of desperation, removed the tattered cloth covering the Buddha statue. Thus, to Hayakawa's astonished gaze, the Buddha statue, its head secured with tape, made its grand entrance.

Hayakawa: "..."

Although he had witnessed the horrific scene on the way here and was somewhat prepared, seeing this scene suddenly made even a novice Buddhist monk feel that it was somewhat blasphemous.

Hayakawa frowned as he looked at the Buddha statue in front of him, his expression strange.

How should I put it? This Buddha statue, which is clearly full of sacred and solemn aura, has a ridiculous feeling when it tilts its head like this. It even has a kind of eerie aura. What is this? An evil god?

The only Buddha statue in the entire temple is crooked like this; it would be a miracle if the temple didn't go bankrupt. Given this blasphemous Buddha statue, it's already quite reasonable that the inspectors at the local temple assembly didn't sentence Mikazuki-ji to death on the spot.

"This looks really strange. Why isn't it being repaired sooner?"

Hayakawa looked at Yuzuki, puzzled.

Aoba Yuzuki silently lowered her head, her face as red as the sunset: "I have no money..."

Hayakawa: "..."

Chapter 288 Joining Mikazukiji

"I have no money..."

As Aoba Yuzuki finished speaking, the atmosphere became somewhat silent.

It's a really real problem, so real that Hayakawa felt a little ashamed, as if he had touched a sore spot.

"That's it..."

Hayakawa looked up at the Buddha statue and asked, "Approximately how much would it cost to repair this?"

"Well, we discussed this at length before. If it's just repairing the Buddha statue, it would only cost 400,000 yen. However, if we want to repair all the decay in the temple, it might cost more than 500,000 yen."