Chapter 112: The Aftermath of Lake Shikotsu

Today was the first day of Sakuragi High School’s cultural festival.

The school gate, facing Tokyo Bay, was hung with a colorful banner like a circus.

The students, who were talking and laughing, were wearing casual clothes today and didn’t even bring their school bags. The duty teacher, who usually stared at them like criminals, was also nowhere to be seen today.

Instead, there were students in mascot costumes, handing out flyers.

Everyone was full of anticipation for the upcoming cultural festival.

Itomi Yuki got out of the car. When she passed the school gate, she ignored the flyers being handed to her and walked straight towards the school building.

She was wearing her school uniform, her skirt was not rolled up, and even her bow tie was as neat as ever. She was also holding a school bag—this kind of attire was actually out of place today.

Her cold and arrogant demeanor did not make people dislike her, but rather attracted them even more, making them think that this posture was only natural.

Itomi Yuki didn’t go to the classroom. There was no class meeting today. She went to the literature club alone.

After the other two members of the literature club arrived, she said, “Let’s go.”

“…Yes, okay,” Hayashima, who had just walked into the club room, quickly replied.

“At least let me put my things down,” Takashi complained.

From the day they started collaborating with the drama club, Itomi Yuki had changed completely, becoming devoid of any emotion.

She had no personal feelings for anyone or anything.

“Takashi, would it have been better if we hadn’t agreed to the drama club back then?” Hayashima placed her hand on her chest and looked at Itomi Yuki’s back as she walked ahead.

“She said it was her work mode, didn’t she? After today’s performance, the Snow Queen will be back. Ah, no, she seems to be the Snow Queen now.”

Hayashima was amused by Takashi, but when she glanced at Itomi Yuki’s lonely back, her eyes, which had just been smiling, sank like a lake.

“I always feel that it’s not just because of work…” her voice was empty and full of confusion. “Yuki, she seems to be getting farther and farther away from us.”

Takashi lowered his head and said nothing, tacitly agreeing with her.

For some reason, Hayashima’s eyes turned sour, and she suddenly wanted to cry.

In this lively campus, only Itomi Yuki was neither happy nor angry.

◇

On the ginkgo avenue of the University of Tokyo, the leaves on the trees were no longer as fresh and green as they were in spring and summer.

Some were dark green, some were yellow-green, and some were orange-yellow.

“University of Tokyo, your master has returned,” Minamoto Kiyomoto opened his arms, stood in the middle of the ginkgo avenue, and took a deep breath.

The gazes of the students passing by were exactly the same as when he was attacked by a crow in April. It had been a long time.

“If an ordinary person has delusions, the doctor will help them. What if the doctor has delusions?” Himemiya Izayoi asked Kamibayashi Miko.

“They can only die,” Kamibayashi Miko gave a one-step prescription.

Minamoto Kiyomoto took off the ginkgo leaf that had fallen on his head, spun the petiole, and walked towards the two who were pretending not to know him.

“Here, autumn,” he handed the fallen leaf to the two of them.

Himemiya Izayoi was holding a book in her arms. Today, she was a well-behaved female university student.

Just as Kamibayashi Miko was about to reach for the ginkgo leaf, she grabbed her hand and said to Minamoto Kiyomoto, “There’s only one. Who are you giving it to?”

Minamoto Kiyomoto withdrew his hand, spun the petiole twice, and looked up at the ginkgo tree, “Another one?”

A ginkgo leaf that had ripened early, under the gaze of the three of them, slowly fell.

Minamoto Kiyomoto reached out and caught it.

He opened his arms again and announced:

“I think I’m not only the master of the University of Tokyo, but also the king of the world, the master of heaven and earth, the…”

“Let’s go,” Kamibayashi Miko said to Himemiya Izayoi.

“Okay,” Himemiya Izayoi replied with a smile.

“Hey, wait,” Minamoto Kiyomoto followed. “As miko, didn’t you feel the guidance of fate just now? This is heaven’s will that the three of us are together.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Minamoto, we believe in science,” Kamibayashi Miko replied.

“Science…” in despair, Minamoto Kiyomoto remembered her using her phone as a flashlight.

“I don’t believe in science,” Himemiya Izayoi said with a smile.

“Izayoi is the one who loves me the most!”

“But I don’t believe in fate either.”

“Then what do you believe in?”

“I believe in you.”

“…When I write my autobiography one day, I will definitely write this sentence: ‘On September 28th, under the half-yellow ginkgo tree of the school, Izayoi smiled so sweetly. A pleasant Monday morning.'”

Himemiya Izayoi laughed happily and couldn’t help but hold Kamibayashi Miko’s arm.

“Not bad,” Kamibayashi Miko commented.

“At least I’ve taken French literature and read ‘The Complete Works of Shakespeare’,” Minamoto Kiyomoto, holding three books, “Physiology,” “Medical English,” and “Pharmacology,” put his hands behind his back like a scholar.

“Shakespeare was English,” Kamibayashi Miko said.

“Of course I know that! What I mean is, I’ve taken French literature and read ‘The Complete Works of Shakespeare.’ The two are parallel!”

Kamibayashi Miko had a look on her face that said, ‘I know you don’t know which country Shakespeare is from. You don’t have to pretend.’

“If it weren’t for the fact that I can’t beat you…” under the gaze of the two, the king of the world, Minamoto Kiyomoto, decided to endure the humiliation.

When they reached the Faculty of Letters, the two of them entered the building, and Minamoto Kiyomoto had to continue walking forward.

“Young Master Kiyoshi.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto turned his head and saw Himemiya Izayoi in front of the literature building, her fingertips on her lips, blowing him a kiss.

Minamoto Kiyomoto clutched his heart, as if his heart were about to stop.

“Haha~” Himemiya Izayoi’s innocent and slightly charming laughter made many people stop in their tracks.

Minamoto Kiyomoto also put his fingertips to his lips and blew her a kiss.

Himemiya Izayoi clenched her fists and pretended to scream excitedly, which was very cute.

Minamoto Kiyomoto was also amused.

This witch, no, this demon.

Continuing forward, he came to the territory of the medical faculty. Most of the students along the way knew him and greeted him one after another.

“Why haven’t I seen you for so long?”

“I took a leave of absence to learn manga.”

“Manga?”

“‘Dragon Ball’.”

“Oh. How’s it going?”

“I’m back to continue studying medicine.”

“Hahahaha!”

“You’re laughing too exaggeratedly.”

Asana and Inaba, who were originally friends with Minamoto Kiyomoto, no longer spoke to him.

The classmates he was chatting with now didn’t even have his contact information, and they wouldn’t ask each other.

After class at noon, the three of them met on the lawn in front of “Yasuda Auditorium.”

The medical faculty was far away. When Minamoto Kiyomoto arrived, Kamibayashi Miko and Himemiya Izayoi had already arrived.

Beside the two of them was a doll-like beautiful girl.

Delicate and smooth skin, black hair draped over her shoulders, and a gentle temperament. It was the miko of the Hokkaido shrine, Rokka, who had the title of ‘Senmo’.

At this time, the sun was just right. On the lawn in front of “Yasuda Auditorium,” there were children playing everywhere.

These children, and the adults with them, were all intentionally or unintentionally observing the three of them.

“Why are you here?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked Rokka, whose hair had turned black. He walked over and took away the gazes of most of the women.

“You helped Hokkaido. Lord Taiko asked me to give you a reward. What do you want?” Rokka said.

“We’ll talk about it later. Let’s find a place to eat first,” Himemiya Izayoi interrupted Minamoto Kiyomoto, who was about to speak.

Since they were going to discuss matters of the cultivation world, they naturally couldn’t eat in the school cafeteria.

The four of them walked along the ginkgo avenue towards the school gate.

At noon, the University of Tokyo, with its modern and European-style buildings intersecting and echoing each other, formed a unique and quiet atmosphere.

“If one more person comes, will another leaf fall?” Himemiya Izayoi opened her hand and looked at the dense ginkgo tree shade above her head.

“You’re a university student now. You have to believe in science,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

“Miko, Miko, he said to believe in science!” Himemiya Izayoi pulled Kamibayashi Miko’s wrist and laughed happily.

Kamibayashi Miko smiled and snorted, it was unknown whether it was contempt or that she had known it all along.

“The three of you look very good,” the Hokkaido miko said.

“…”

Kamibayashi Miko sized up Himemiya Izayoi and Minamoto Kiyomoto;
Himemiya Izayoi sized up Kamibayashi Miko and Minamoto Kiyomoto;
Minamoto Kiyomoto remembered the feeling of being buried in the ground by the Hokkaido miko.

“It seems that the progress is very smooth,” Himemiya Izayoi’s face was smiling, but there was no smile in her eyes.

“Where, cough, it was just taking advantage of someone’s misfortune. It was all just a little trick,” Minamoto Kiyomoto replied.

“What’s wrong with a trick? A trick is not wrong. What’s wrong is a bad trick,” Himemiya Izayoi said again.

“A person should be upright, cough, cough.”

“Why are you always coughing?” Himemiya Izayoi looked at him. “Did you catch a cold on the way back from my place last night?”

“Cough, cough, cough, cough!” After a series of coughs, Minamoto Kiyomoto sighed. “I have to go and buy some cold medicine after school today.”

The Hokkaido miko looked at the two of them strangely.

Kamibayashi Miko was indifferent, as if nothing had happened.

Ueno Park has a restaurant called “Innsyotei,” and the four of them chose to eat there.

After the dishes were served, Minamoto Kiyomoto asked the Hokkaido miko, “You said just now that I can choose a reward?”

“Not too much.”

Looking at the doll-like girl eating fried loaches, Minamoto Kiyomoto almost blurted out: please give me money.

But that would be too unpromising and would be scolded by Himemiya Izayoi.

Last night, he had secretly gone over and satisfied his lust for her tongue, but afterwards, he was scolded for a full two hours, all teaching him how to be a man. In short, he had to have prospects and the air of a ruler.

As for the two of them kissing separately on the same day, in “Lake Shikotsu,” Minamoto Kiyomoto clearly felt that his previous life was full of regrets.

He wanted to live a more selfish life in the future.

He cared less about what others thought, ignored their opinions, and did what he wanted to do.

“Can I have the Eight Divine Thunders?” he asked the Hokkaido miko.

The Hokkaido miko, while eating salted and grilled ayu, pondered.

“Yes,” she nodded. “But you can’t teach it to others. You also have to exchange it with the yokai body curse.”

“No problem, but I must remind you not to try the yokai body curse easily. I was lucky both times. If there’s no danger, I would have already asked Miss Kamibayashi to prepare a thousand or eight hundred yokai remains for me.”

“I will tell them,” the Hokkaido miko said.

Her expression was calm. Minamoto Kiyomoto could see that she didn’t care about the life and death of those people at all, just like snow didn’t care whether it fell on mud or on the treetops.

At this point, Minamoto Kiyomoto had already obtained six of the Eight Divine Thunders.

The Divine Miko’s “Great Thunder” and “Young Thunder” (he hadn’t learned them yet, but there were plenty of opportunities);

The Ise Miko’s “Fire Thunder” and “Rending Thunder” (he also hadn’t learned them, and there were also plenty of opportunities);
The Hokkaido miko’s “Hidden Thunder” and “Rumbling Thunder”;
Only the Shinto’s “Black Thunder” and “Earth Thunder” were left.

Minamoto Kiyomoto pondered. When he met Itomi Sayaka, he would ask her for help and think of a way.

The identity of “Tsuru” might be useful.

After school, Minamoto Kiyomoto said he was going to buy cold medicine and separated from them.

He was going to Chiba. Everyone knew that this was a settled matter.

◇

“The drama club’s play was so good!”

“The acting was amazing. When Senior Ryo cried, I cried too!”

“That’s right, that’s right, me too!”

“I heard that the script was written by Itomi Yuki. I can’t believe that the usually cold her could write such a moving script.”

“I can only say that it’s as expected of her. She’s perfect in every aspect.”

Itomi Yuki turned a deaf ear to these comments. She rejected the joint celebration party of the drama club and the literature club, packed her school bag, locked the club room door, and left the school alone.

Her long black hair, her beautiful face, and her calm demeanor were like a dark creature exuding a demonic aura, with a mysterious charm.

“So handsome!”

“Amazing! I’m going to fall in love!”

“Is he an artist?!”

A series of suppressed gasps.

Itomi Yuki didn’t even blink her eyes and walked straight to the back seat of the car, which was already open.

Just as she was holding down the skirt on her hips and preparing to get in, she saw the source of the commotion.

Leaning against the school wall, his left fingertips spun a golden cup like a keychain. His right hand was in his pocket, and he was looking at the setting sun over Tokyo Bay, but he should actually be thinking about something.

She took a deep breath. Seeing that Minamoto Kiyomoto was still pondering, she had to walk over herself.

Itomi Yuki stood beside Minamoto Kiyomoto, her arms crossed, and quietly waited for him to speak.

“Yuki? School’s out already?” Minamoto Kiyomoto came back to his senses from “Rumbling Thunder.”

“What is it?” Itomi Yuki asked coldly.

She was angry when she saw Minamoto Kiyomoto acting as if nothing had happened.

Minamoto Kiyomoto had originally wanted to pretend to blame her, saying that she was disobedient and had given the letter to her mother in advance, causing him to be scolded. But when he sized her up, his heart inexplicably softened.

“I’m back,” he said with a smile:
“…” Itomi Yuki turned her face away and looked at the setting sun over Tokyo Bay.

“I made you worry.”

“Why didn’t you tell me immediately after you were safe?” Itomi Yuki looked at Tokyo Bay, her tone cold.

“After an event, there are many things to report, and I didn’t bring my phone.”

“You came back to Tokyo yesterday. Why didn’t you look for me? And you didn’t reply to my message.”

“I thought you would know I was safe, so…” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at her small face. “And, compared to my phone, I wanted to tell you face to face.”

Itomi Yuki put down her crossed arms, took two steps forward, and rested her forehead on Minamoto Kiyomoto’s chest, her hands clutching his clothes.

“You liar, you bastard, you lunatic, you should go to hell.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto hesitated for a moment, and finally, he gently held her small and weak body.

“I’ve decided,” Itomi Yuki said in a low voice in his arms. “I won’t rely on anyone anymore.”

“That’s good,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a smile. “But if you really encounter something you can’t solve, don’t be stubborn. You can come to me anytime. Don’t let others see your body.”

Itomi Yuki was still buried in his arms. She clenched her fists and punched him weakly.

“Alright, alright, this is a school. I think your high school life is completely ruined. You’ll be teased for ten years.”

Itomi Yuki finally straightened up and gently wiped her tears.

The originally lively after-school time had quieted down at some point. Everyone around was looking at her.

Especially Hayashima and Takashi, who were walking with the drama club, their mouths were wide open, staring at her in a daze.

‘It’s over. I’ve become the bad sister who seduced her brother-in-law.’ Itomi Yuki knew that she must have been misunderstood.

So, she punched Minamoto Kiyomoto again.

◇

She had wanted to go to a quieter place, but Itomi Yuki couldn’t wait to know what had happened.

“A family restaurant? A young lady from a private hospital would come to a place like this,” Minamoto Kiyomoto sized up his surroundings.

“I only came here recently to discuss the script,” Itomi Yuki said, paused, and then said with a hint of showing off and as calmly as possible, “The drinks here have unlimited refills.”

“…Amazing.”

“Are you being perfunctory?”

“What ‘you’? Call me ‘big brother’ or ‘Kiyomoto-nii’.”

“I’ve decided not to use honorifics with you anymore. Anyway, your relationship with my sister is also fake,” Itomi Yuki picked up her orange juice and took a sip.

“Speaking of your sister, I remember you said you were going on a school trip to Kyoto next month?”

“Yes, what’s wrong?”

“I’ll find a way to let you two meet then.”

“Will it be troublesome for you?” Itomi Yuki put down her orange juice. “I just want my sister to be safe. I don’t really want to see her.”

“I have something to do with her too,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

Itomi Yuki nodded lightly, “Tell me what you’ve been through.”

“That will take a long time. Is it okay with the time?”

“I’ve already told my mother that I’m going to a celebration party with my classmates and will be back late.”

“It’s not good to lie,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a smile.

“You’re the last person who should be saying that to me,” Itomi Yuki said in annoyance.

“My sister is in her rebellious phase and is starting to dislike her brother,” after saying this, before Itomi Yuki could retort, Minamoto Kiyomoto began to narrate what had happened in Hokkaido.

The Middle Ages, survival in the wild, hiding from pursuers in the city, the golden-haired princess, dressing the princess, the magical garden, the world-destroying evil dragon…
As always, his pleasant voice narrated the story. Even the most boring story, or even just reciting the names of the train stations, was never tiring to listen to.

“It sounds like a lewd fantasy adventure, not dangerous at all,” Itomi Yuki listened attentively and couldn’t help but say.

“That was to compromise. What lewd,” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at the sky outside. It was already completely dark.

“That’s all for today. Go back early. Don’t make your parents worry,” he said.

“Yes.”

The two of them went downstairs. Itomi Yuki still waved gently to Minamoto Kiyomoto, and Minamoto Kiyomoto watched her leave.

(End of Chapter)