Seeing that she was staring at the cat in her arms again, Riki Tsunomiya stroked the cat's head and took a few steps toward her. The gentle aura surrounding her was like a spring breeze, as fresh as the spring air covering the mountains and fields.

“This is my cat, her name is Acha.” Riki Tsunomiya handed the cat to her. “Would you like to hold her?”

Su Deng suddenly looked up. "What did you say it's called?"

Ninomiya Riki asked, "Ocha, is there something wrong with this name?"

"Meow~" As if in response, the cat in her arms meowed and affectionately rubbed its head against her.

Su Deng looked at Tsunomiya Riki, then at her cat, and was somewhat taken aback.

Seeing her standing there in a daze, Riki Tsunomiya called out to her, "Haruko?"

Su Deng snapped out of her reverie, her eyes darkening. "It's nothing, it's a very nice name."

Riki Ninomiya smiled. "You can hug it."

"No." Su Deng shook her head, gave her and the cat in her arms a deep look, then turned and went down the mountain back to the garden.

Momoko was at the door. "What are you going to see Riki Tsunomiya for?"

Under the big tree on the mountain, Riki Tsunomiya began to dance again, graceful and beautiful beyond compare. The black cat moved to a different rock and continued to watch her dance from there.

Peach pouted, "Many people say that the shrine maiden must be her."

Su Deng pursed her lips. "Do you know who she is?"

"Her?" Momoko said, "The eldest daughter of the Ibaraki Tsunomiya family."

Su Deng: "Anything else?"

"The others..." Peach scratched her forehead and thought for a moment, then whispered, "She's a psychic, beautiful and gentle, you could say she's terrifyingly perfect."

Su Deng looked at her, "If she's so perfect, why don't you like her?"

Peach snorted, "Just because she's too perfect, everyone says she's chosen by the gods. If that's the case, then why bother with candidates? Are we supposed to hold onto hope, use her as a foil, and then despair?"

Wushan Shrine is the most sacred and closest to the gods among all shrines!

If one becomes a shrine maiden at Wushan Shrine, becoming a shrine maiden is just around the corner, and becoming the shrine's chief priest is not impossible.

That was their faith, the place all witches longed for!

The conditions can be extremely demanding.

Riki Ninomiya meets all the requirements of a shrine maiden, and even surpasses them perfectly, yet they still find a bunch of candidates to compare with them. Isn't that just using them as a foil?

Therefore, none of the priestess candidates liked her.

Su Deng seemed to be deep in thought. "What exactly does 'spiritual communication' mean?"