Chapter 85: Izayoi, the Seventeenth Morning

Himemiya Izayoi walked up to him and looked at the dazed Minamoto Kiyomoto with a grin.

Minamoto Kiyomoto came back to his senses and bowed with a smile, “Greetings, Your Majesty!”

“No need for formalities,” Himemiya Izayoi said in the majestic voice of the “Lord of Kyoto,” and raised her plain hand虛.

Minamoto Kiyomoto raised his head, and the two of them looked at each other and laughed at the same time.

“Sister Izayoi, you’re amazing,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with admiration.

“Not as amazing as you, Young Master Kiyoshi,” Himemiya Izayoi said with a smile. “A Kosen in four months, the master of the Xiangye crown, the number one genius in Japan in history.”

“That’s true. It seems I’m not as amazing as you,” Minamoto Kiyomoto stood up straight with his hands behind his back.

Himemiya Izayoi didn’t speak, but just stared at him with her sparkling, smiling eyes in the night.

Minamoto Kiyomoto felt that her black hair was like ‘starry sky liquid,’ made of the blackest thread spun by a witch from the darkest winter night.

If this silence continued, there would be danger.

“What do you want to see me for?” he asked.

“You forgot? If I can compare to Kamibayashi Miko, you’ll grant me one condition. You were stunned twice, right?”

Himemiya Izayoi tilted her head and held up two fingers between them with a smile. Her posture was beautiful, and her fingers were so tender that it seemed like a sweet spring would flow out if one took a bite.

“My head,” Minamoto Kiyomoto rubbed his head, “is now full of the scriptures in the Xiangye crown. I can’t remember what happened before.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” Minamoto Kiyomoto nodded.

“Actually, you are my slave,” Himemiya Izayoi told him about the past with a straight face.

“…I have amnesia, not stupidity.”

“Hmph,” Himemiya Izayoi turned around. “I knew you would play tricks. I’m going back.”

Although she said this, she just turned her back to Minamoto Kiyomoto and did not take a step.

Minamoto Kiyomoto saw a poisonous snake with its mouth open in her. When he walked in by himself, this was a thousand times more powerful than any of Ashiya Doman’s “extermination curses.”

“Alright, alright,” Minamoto Kiyomoto couldn’t resist.

He took the lantern from Himemiya Izayoi’s hand, held it for her, and said, “One condition, but it can’t be too much.”

Himemiya Izayoi turned around with a grin, stretched out her empty hands, and hooked them around Minamoto Kiyomoto’s neck.

“How could I bear to make you do something excessive?” her tone was intimate, and he could smell the fragrance from her mouth.

“This is already excessive,” Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t dare to look directly at the pretty face in front of him and gestured to her arms that were hooked around him with his eyes.

The bright yellow gold-threaded Tang dress, the wide sleeves slipped slightly, revealing her onion-like arms. He didn’t even dare to reach out and take them away.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Take me for a walk,” Himemiya Izayoi still maintained the posture of hooking his neck.

“A walk? Where to?”

“Besides the Kamo River, wherever it’s lively, we’ll go there—this condition isn’t excessive, right?”

“Not excessive, even very lenient. I thought you were going to ask me to be your boyfriend,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

“You wish!” Himemiya Izayoi poked his nose with her right hand, laughed, and left him with a fragrant wind.

She walked a few steps forward. Just as Minamoto Kiyomoto was about to follow, she suddenly turned back.

The corners of Himemiya Izayoi’s mouth lifted slightly, revealing a superior and provocative smile:
“That kind of thing, I want you to kneel down and beg me yourself.”

Her playful laughter, teasing and coquettish, her stunningly beautiful face, gorgeous and innocent.

Minamoto Kiyomoto suddenly remembered what Kamibayashi Miko had said, ‘futile’—it was futile for anyone to resist Himemiya Izayoi’s charm.

But he had already decided to be single-minded towards Kamibayashi Miko.

Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a smile, “I’m afraid I can’t obey.”

“You’re worthy of calling yourself a subject? A mere commoner,” Himemiya Izayoi said with contempt, still looking beautiful.

“That’s just right. Tomorrow you can give me a title, preferably the kind that gets money but doesn’t have to work.”

“I can give it to you, but do you dare to accept it?” Himemiya Izayoi tilted her head and looked at him with a grin.

“Dare, why not?”

Himemiya Izayoi sighed pretentiously, took elegant steps, and walked into the distance, saying:
“I said you were a fool, and you really became a fool? If I could give it, I would have given it on the spot. But in that case, you would be a person from Kansai. How could you get benefits from Kanto?”

Minamoto Kiyomoto walked to her side and held a lantern for her.

“A title is irrelevant. It might even stimulate the Ogosho to give me greater benefits.”

“A marriage between you and Kamibayashi Miko?”

“Can it be like that?”

“Unfortunately, Kansai doesn’t have a Divine Miko, only the miko of Ise Shrine. Do you want her?”

“This isn’t a problem of a Divine Miko and an Ise Miko. I don’t like arranged marriages. I like to rely on my own abilities.”

“Ahem,” Himemiya Izayoi laughed.

“What’s wrong?” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at her beautiful side profile curiously.

“Nothing, I just found out—”

“Found out?”

“Nothing.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto stared at her proudly for three seconds, then turned his face away and looked ahead.

“What’s wrong?” Himemiya Izayoi asked curiously.

“Nothing, I just found out—”

“How dare you play tricks on me! Tomorrow I’ll order you to go and pick up all the cherry blossom petals in the city!” saying this, she reached out to pinch Minamoto Kiyomoto’s waist.

“You can’t control me!” Minamoto Kiyomoto twisted away.

“Kansai is all mine. In the future, I will be the master of Japan. Where can you run!” Himemiya Izayoi said with a smile.

◇

At nine o’clock at night, there were stalls everywhere near “Yasaka Shrine,” and the people coming and going were wearing yukatas.

Many lanterns were hung on the stalls, and in the night, they flickered with a hazy light like orange jellyfish.

The sizzling sound of fried noodles, the bright red apple candy, the squid glowing with fire, and the heat of roasted corn lingered.

This was the food, and there were also people.

A child holding his breath to fish for water balloons, a young girl scooping for goldfish, and a young man in front of a shooting target.

In such a grand feast, even the gods would take the opportunity to blend in and wander around, forgetting to go home, right?
If you don’t believe me, look at the young girl in the bright yellow gorgeous dress. She playfully tucked her fan behind her head and held food in her hand.

Beside her was a young man holding a lantern and wearing a mask on the side of his face.

The two of them were dressed in ancient clothes, with a graceful posture, so handsome that they were like a mirage in this festival.

“Damn, these two Japanese people are so fucking good-looking!”

Minamoto Kiyomoto turned his head, smiled at the person, and disappeared into the crowd with Himemiya Izayoi.

“Fuck! I saw a ghost!”

◇

Around the dance stage of “Yasaka Shrine,” many lanterns were hung, and a miko was dancing a prayer dance on it.

On the high roof of the main hall of the shrine, Minamoto Kiyomoto and Himemiya Izayoi sat side by side, with lanterns placed casually at their feet.

As far as the eye could see, there were crowds of people and lively lights. The whole city was immersed in the joyful atmosphere of the festival.

“How’s the crape myrtle I gave you?” Himemiya Izayoi asked.

“It’s in a vase,” Minamoto Kiyomoto replied.

“Scary,” Himemiya Izayoi said as if to herself, and then asked him, “Did you say scary after you received the flower?”

The fair cheek, under the reflection of the bright yellow lantern at her feet, added a bit of charm and nobility.

“I guess so, I don’t remember,” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at the miko on the dance stage.

“Why did you say scary?” Himemiya Izayoi’s voice became lower and lower, full of temptation. The lingering affection made one’s whole body tremble.

“Why?”

“Look at me,” Himemiya Izayoi stretched out her fingers and turned Minamoto Kiyomoto’s face.

The two of them were face to face, with only the night and the wind between them, and no other barriers.

Minamoto Kiyomoto’s heart was pounding. For the second time in his life, he felt an emotion that was not controlled by his willpower.

His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. Finally, he turned his face away.

Below, it was bustling with noise and excitement. On the roof of the main hall of the shrine, it was silent.

After a while, Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at Himemiya Izayoi.

She was looking at the lights below with a blank expression. In the night wind, the swaying cherry blossom hairpin looked very lonely.

Seeing this scene, Minamoto Kiyomoto was as if bewitched by a fox spirit. He couldn’t help but take her left hand.

Her hand was cold, and his hand was hot, like a hot summer and a cool popsicle. The opposite two formed a perfect match.

“Haha, you fell for it!” The previously expressionless and lonely Himemiya Izayoi, the next moment, laughed more brilliantly than the fireworks.

Minamoto Kiyomoto stared at her without saying a word.

“Are you angry?” Himemiya Izayoi asked with a tilted head and a smile.

“No,” Minamoto Kiyomoto swallowed. “I don’t know if it’s your hand or my hand, but it seems to be sweating.”

The sweaty hands of the two were the touch of summer.

Himemiya Izayoi turned her face away and looked at the lights below again. This time, her eyes were shining with a throbbing light.

“Holding hands… is hotter than I thought,” she blinked and said.

The fireworks shot into the sky, blooming brilliantly. The kagura was solemn, and the crowd was bustling. In an instant, the dark night seemed to be filled with color and became enchanting.

“Isn’t this another one of your tricks?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked.

“Yes,” Himemiya Izayoi replied without thinking.

She felt her cheeks burning, so she stretched out her right hand like a child, touched Minamoto Kiyomoto’s cheek, and found that it was as hot as her own. She revealed a satisfied smile.

The night was very beautiful.

◇

On the morning of August 17th, the atmosphere of the Summer Festival still lingered in the air.

Minamoto Kiyomoto was studying a five-element transformation spell from the Xiangye crown when a group of people came to his house in a grand manner.

It was people from the palace, who had come to bestow a reward.

“Minamoto Kiyomoto, a great man of great merit, of a long and distant lineage, with a crown passed down through generations, a descendant of dukes and marquises, a blood relative of the imperial family.”

This was to say that he was of noble birth.

“Possessing the wonder of an immortal, bathed in the brilliance of the sun and moon.”

This was to praise him for being handsome and having a good image and temperament.

“The wonder of the Dao is that heaven and earth obtain it and become form; the essence of qi is that creation takes it and becomes consciousness. These two cannot be possessed by one person. If they are possessed by one person, then he is unprecedented and will be the only one in a thousand years.”

This was to affirm his talent.

“Heaven’s blessing, a single lineage for ten thousand generations, the emperor’s reign for a thousand years, the Lord of Kyoto’s decree: enfeoff Minamoto Kiyomoto as the King of Tsukushi.”

‘King’ was a title given to men outside the direct three generations of the imperial family. In the imperial family’s status, it was only higher than a queen and was the second to last.

But the Minamoto clan itself had been demoted to ‘subjects.’ For Minamoto Kiyomoto to become a member of the imperial family again was an supreme honor for the world.

Most importantly, this was a title that had no work, only money, and a not-low status—it completely met Minamoto Kiyomoto’s requirements.

It seemed that Her Majesty Izayoi was very satisfied with his performance last night.

“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Minamoto Kiyomoto happily accepted.

From now on, a sum of money would be deposited into his card every year. Since Itomi Sayaka was wanted, he had once again obtained a stable income.

By the way, there was also the money from the Kosen. The more Minamoto Kiyomoto thought about it, the better his mood became, and he began to love life.

Kamibayashi Miko, Shirako, and the little butterfly were also watching the show from the side.

“A piglet can actually become a king,” Shirako took the imperial edict from Minamoto Kiyomoto’s hand and looked at it curiously while making a “tsk tsk” sound.

Kamibayashi Miko glanced at it and said nothing.

“What’s wrong?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked her.

“What’s wrong?” Kamibayashi Miko asked back.

“If it were normal, you would definitely say ‘remember to pay back the money’.” Minamoto Kiyomoto sized her up. “Are you in a bad mood?”

“No.”

Even a fool could see that ‘no’ meant ‘yes,’ let alone Minamoto Kiyomoto.

“Is it because of last night?” he guessed. “I remember everything you said to me. ‘A person who wants to do great things should not do some things.’ Because of this sentence, I finally stopped.”

“Yes, you remember everything I said,” Kamibayashi Miko also remembered that she had said that it didn’t matter if he went to find other women.

Thinking of this, she added in a respectful tone:
“Lord King of Tsukushi remembers it so clearly.”

“…”

Minamoto Kiyomoto was thinking, did Kamibayashi Miko know about him holding Himemiya Izayoi’s hand yesterday?

But if not, and he took the initiative to say it, wouldn’t he be confessing without being asked?

But if he didn’t say it, and Kamibayashi Miko knew, wouldn’t his situation be even worse?

Finally, he still said it.

After saying it, he swore to the heavens:
“Miss Kamibayashi, I promise: I am single-minded towards you. Yesterday was because of the fox’s appearance, and I was bewitched. And, most importantly, at that time, I had to agree to one of her conditions. I won’t bet with her anymore in the future.”

Before he could finish his oath and狡辩, Kamibayashi Miko had already wanted to turn and leave. But if she left like this, wouldn’t it prove that she cared?

Not only did she have to stand here, but she also had to say with a smile:
“You don’t need to report to me who you hold hands with. And, isn’t it good? The two of you are a good match.”

Ah, so angry.

For some reason, she remembered a poem from “The Tale of Genji”: “Although the bridal chamber is good, it is not as interesting as an affair.”

Looking at Kamibayashi Miko’s smiling and indifferent appearance, and hearing what she had just said, Minamoto Kiyomoto also fell silent.

The joy of obtaining the Xiangye crown and the happiness of his increased income all vanished into thin air. His heart was even more stuffy than the Kyoto that had returned to the height of summer.

He first blamed Kamibayashi Miko for not being understanding enough, then immediately reflected on himself, thinking that he was wrong and had done something to let her down.

In the future, he could no longer fall for the tricks of the fox spirit Himemiya Izayoi. He had to be even more devoted to Kamibayashi Miko.

Thinking this through, he was no longer angry or frustrated.

Kamibayashi Miko was here, and she couldn’t go anywhere. Whether she really didn’t care now or was just pretending, sooner or later, there would be a day when she had to show that she cared.

A temporary gain or loss was nothing to them.

But for some reason, Himemiya Izayoi’s every smile and frown last night, and the sweaty touch of their palms, would always suddenly surface from the bottom of his heart.

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(End of Chapter)