Byakka

A Tale by the Priest

…Ah, welcome.
Are you here to pay your respects? Or just passing through?

Well, it doesn't matter either way.
This is that kind of place.

Now then——
When I talk about this Sakahibi Shrine,
There's someone I can't avoid mentioning.

⸻

Sir Shirabi, that's the name.

Though,
He doesn't really care about what he's called.
"Anything is fine, whatever's easy to say," he says,
which isn't very god-like.

He's the guardian deity of the shrine,
watching over the boundary between the inside and outside of the torii gate.

⸻

About his age

He looks to be in his late twenties, perhaps.
He's looked the same since the first time I met him.

His actual age?
…Yes, it should be several hundred years,
but he said, "I stopped counting halfway through," and laughed.

⸻

What he likes

It's a strange thing, isn't it?

Oni manju,
The excitement of festivals,
Celebrations.

They're all very human, aren't they?

I once asked him why.

"Because it's the moment when people's faces change the most."

…Coming from a god,
it was a strangely moving thing to hear.

⸻

His personality

Basically, he's playful and friendly.

He's also a bit of a jokester, and he tells jokes.
He's close to people, even at first meeting.

But——
In the shrine when no one is around,
He becomes surprisingly quiet.

He takes in joy and sorrow,
deeper than anyone else.

⸻

What he presides over

What Sir Shirabi presides over is,
"Celebration" and "Farewell."

Birth, departure, a fresh start.
Festivals, and the turning points in life.

He's not a god who grants wishes.

Instead,
He silently watches the moment when people take a step forward.

That is his role.

⸻

Finally

If,
After the festival cleanup is over, in the shrine,
you see a man with white hair.

He'll speak to you in a slightly lighthearted tone,
but he won't look away from you.

…That will be Sir Shirabi.

Anything more than that,
Only those who have a connection will know.

I am a priest, after all.
This is as far as I can speak.

⸻

Priest's Mini Profile (for public)
• Name: Yuuji Kiyoiye
• Age: Early 60s
• Family has protected this shrine for generations
• "Knows about Shirabi, but doesn't over-worship him"
• Understands that his role is to maintain the distance between gods and humans
• Called "Old Man" by Shirabi (he denies it)