Chapter 116: Indulging in Kyoto

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On October 2nd, Minamoto Nagatoku came to visit with Minamoto Kiyomi and Minamoto Kiyone.

In the hotel lobby, there was an elegant lounge area where well-dressed women often sat for discussions.

Minamoto Kiyomoto came down from upstairs and saw the three of them sitting by the floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Brother Kiyomoto!” Minamoto Kiyomi stood up, waving enthusiastically, a sweet smile on her face.

Minamoto Nagatoku and Minamoto Kiyone also rose to their feet.

Minamoto Kiyomoto walked over, nodded at Minamoto Kiyomi, and sat down.

“Is something the matter?” he asked.

“It’s nothing. We heard you were here, Kiyomoto-kun, so we came to pay a visit,” Minamoto Nagatoku said. Only after he sat down did Kiyomi and Kiyone take their seats.

“Not for the Demon Body Spell?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked with a smile, then said to the approaching attendant, “Coffee, thank you.”

The waitress, with her hair in a traditional Japanese style and wearing a long-sleeved kimono, bowed respectfully and turned to leave.

“How could that be?” Minamoto Nagatoku showed a slightly humble smile. “Up in Hokkaido, quite a few people have already turned into mindless monsters because of the Demon Body Spell.”

“Now I understand,” Minamoto Kiyomi said with some lingering fear, “why you didn’t make the spell public back then, Brother Kiyomoto.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto said nothing. He picked up the coffee the waitress had brought, looked at the sacred bamboo outside the window, and took a sip.

His father had been burned to death for coveting the power of the “Vermilion Bird.” Ordinary people, even if they wanted to pull chestnuts from the fire, had no way to do so. They couldn’t even risk their lives in exchange for power. While tragic, it was also a form of protection.

But with the “Demon Body Spell” made public, the only barrier left was ‘yokai remains’. Countless people and innumerable families would exhaust their fortunes, even resort to any means necessary, to try and ascend to the heavens in a single leap.

At that point, it wouldn’t just be these practitioners who would die.

The yokai that seized the practitioners’ bodies and reawakened, even with only a tenth of their full power, would still be a disaster for practitioners below the Kasen level and the general public.

But no one cared. Before they got it, they would only curse Minamoto Kiyomoto, who had intended to publicize the spell, accusing him of hoarding the “Demon Body Spell.”

Even after getting it, like in Hokkaido, someone had probably already claimed he hadn’t revealed the complete incantation.

For the sake of this spell, if it weren’t for Kamibayashi Miko and Himegami Izayoi, he would have long been surrounded and killed on some mountain at some point, deemed to have ‘become a true yokai’.

He had wholeheartedly tried to do good for the world, only to attract such infamy. The reason he could endure it until now was not only because of Kamibayashi Miko, his mother, and his deceased father, but also because of Manjuan-shonin.

Whenever he was influenced by the yokai remains and thought about just releasing the “Demon Body Spell” and watching these people with a cold eye, he would remember that morning in Hakone, walking through the tall cedar forest with Manjuan-shonin.

At that time, Manjuan-shonin had told him:

‘The difference between a Buddha and a demon is but a single thought. I hope that in the future, when you face the demonic path, you will remember us kindlers who know our mistakes and are willing to impart our power to you.’

What Minamoto Kiyomoto was doing now was just as he had said back then: ‘I hope it is a god leading the way, not bringing disaster.’

The three of them remained silent, waiting as Minamoto Kiyomoto pondered.

“Forget about the Demon Body Spell,” he said, putting down his coffee cup. “I’ll find some other spells for you.”

He didn’t bother to explain his reasons for not giving it.

In truth, everyone had misunderstood one thing: Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t care much for the “Demon Body Spell.”

First, the success rate was too low.

Second, his own divine power was advancing by leaps and bounds every moment. Becoming a Kasen, and surpassing the Kasen level, was in the near future.

“Thank you very much!” Minamoto Nagatoku placed his hands on his knees and bowed his head.

Lifting his head, he added, “Kiyomoto-kun, do you have any thoughts of returning to the Minamoto clan?”

“Returning to the Minamoto clan?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked.

“Yes,” Minamoto Nagatoku lowered his voice. “Many in the clan still believe that you are the rightful head of the Minamoto clan.”

Beside them, the expressions of Minamoto Kiyomi and Minamoto Kiyone changed, showing worry and panic.

If Minamoto Kiyomoto agreed, bloodshed within the Minamoto clan was inevitable.

Minamoto Kiyomoto smiled, wanting to say, ‘A clan without even a Kasen, a bunch of rabble, what could I do with them? Raise them like children?’

But he was a humble person, at least on the surface.

“Count me out. I don’t even have enough time for my own training,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

“That’s true,” Minamoto Nagatoku nodded. “Unlike us, your strength, Kiyomoto-kun, is still on the rise.”

“If you’d like, Uncle Nagatoku,” Minamoto Kiyomoto took a sip of his coffee, “I’d be happy to support you.”

“What?!” Minamoto Nagatoku was stunned.

Minamoto Kiyomi and Minamoto Kiyone turned to look at their uncle and father, hoping he would refuse, yet also hoping he would agree.

Minamoto Nagatoku clasped his hands tightly and said:
“Minamoto Kiyohiro was chosen by the clan and approved by Her Majesty to be the head. If it were you, Her Majesty would not object, as your father was the head before. But for people like us, Her Majesty would not permit it.”

“Isn’t that simple?” Minamoto Kiyomoto wondered what the big deal was. “I’ll explain things to Her Majesty. You can proceed without worry.”

As he said this, he suddenly lost interest.

So what if he made Minamoto Nagatoku the head of the Minamoto clan and brought the clan under his control?
The “Lord of Kyoto,” who ruled the entire Kansai region, was already “his person.” Why was he wasting precious time here trying to subdue a small clan?

Minamoto Nagatoku still hadn’t made up his mind.

“Please allow me a few days to think it over. I will give you an answer then,” he said.

“No hurry,” Minamoto Kiyomoto replied perfunctorily.

The three of them invited Minamoto Kiyomoto to visit Uji anytime and then left, their minds full of thoughts.

Minamoto Kiyomoto gazed at the sacred bamboo, finished his coffee, and went back upstairs.

He didn’t go to his room, 208, but to Kamibayashi Miko’s room next door.

“I’m finding these people more and more boring,” he said, plopping down on the sofa, to Kamibayashi Miko who was by the window.

“How did you get in?”

“A lock-picking spell. Want to learn?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked.

Kamibayashi Miko couldn’t be bothered with him and changed the subject, “How are they boring?”

“Spells, power, all that stuff. It’s all boring.”

“Don’t you talk about love all day?”

“Is that the same thing?”

Kamibayashi Miko looked at Minamoto Kiyomoto, and he met her gaze.

After three seconds, Minamoto Kiyomoto broke into a smile. He stood up from the sofa, walked to the window, and sat down opposite her.

“I’ll reflect on it,” he said with a laugh. “We’re all ordinary people. Me too.”

“That’s not what you should be reflecting on,” Kamibayashi Miko said. “You have great talent, which is why you find them boring. If you weren’t talented, I’d still be taking you around the country in an RV doing small tasks.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad. As long as I’m with you, you wouldn’t dislike me for not being talented, right?”

“Who knows what would have happened if things were different?”

“Agreed,” Minamoto Kiyomoto nodded. “I read in a book that there’s no such thing as coincidence in this world. What happens is destined to happen, and what won’t happen, will never happen.”

He paused for a moment, then said to Kamibayashi Miko with a smile:

“Just like you finding me in the library. It was fate.”

Kamibayashi Miko gave a laugh that was both amused and disdainful, picked up her tea, and took a leisurely sip.

Thinking about it, Minamoto Kiyomoto’s development had indeed exceeded her expectations.

The identity registered with the Onmyoryo was used only once. The ‘Rokuro Loves a Beauty’s Yogurt’ duo had now become ‘Takamagahara’.
She had given him clothes and a mask to conceal his identity for missions.

The clothes were now optional, and the mask had become his toy for infiltrating Shintoism.

But there was nothing to regret or celebrate.

As Minamoto Kiyomoto said, there are no coincidences in this world. What has happened has happened, and what will not happen will never happen.

In the morning, they trained and discussed spells. When they went downstairs for lunch, the waitress told them that many people had sent gifts, which were all at the front desk, along with a pile of invitations thick enough to boil a kettle of water.

“The moment we leave Hakusan Shrine, all sorts of troublesome things start happening,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said to Kamibayashi Miko, declining the waitress’s offer to help with his napkin.

Kamibayashi Miko also refused the waitress’s help.

“Do you still want to settle down here now?” she asked with a hint of mockery.

“Thinking about it carefully, what’s so bad about the three of us—you, me, and Izayoi—living on a lonely mountain! At worst, we can dig a river on the mountain and plant cherry blossoms and maple trees!”

The kimono-clad waitress served sashimi, tempura, steak, and sushi in succession.

After the meal, Minamoto Kiyomoto said, “Since we’ve come all the way to Kyoto, why don’t we look around and find some local specialty shops?”

Kamibayashi Miko, eating a dessert served in a tall glass, nodded.

“I wonder if Izayoi is free,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said, taking out his phone.

“Hello, hello,” he said into the phone’s microphone.

“Here, here,” Himegami Izayoi replied quickly, her voice low.

“Do you think she’s taking her phone out from inside her court dress right now, hiding from the Lord of Kyoto and her handmaidens to secretly send me a voice message?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked Kamibayashi Miko.

The corners of his mouth couldn’t help but lift at the thought of the comical scene.

“What are you doing, over,” he said, a hint of laughter in his voice.

“Spying on my lover. It seems he’s on a date with another woman behind my back, over~”

Minamoto Kiyomoto sat up straight, his sharp eyes scanning the restaurant.

“Hello, hello,” this time it was Himegami Izayoi’s turn.

“Here, here,” Minamoto Kiyomoto replied in a low voice.

“I bet you, you fool, are foolishly looking around for me right now, over~” Himegami Izayoi’s voice was filled with laughter.

“…” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at Kamibayashi Miko.

Kamibayashi Miko was eating her dessert with a blank expression. After two seconds, she finally couldn’t hold it in anymore, turned her face away slightly, her slender shoulders shaking.

“You’re so annoying!” Minamoto Kiyomoto scolded with a laugh.

“Fool, fool, fool~, hahaha!” Himegami Izayoi’s cheerful laughter came through.

“Alright, I’ll stop teasing you. What’s up, tell me,” she sent another voice message.

Minamoto Kiyomoto put the phone to his mouth and said:

“Miss Kamibayashi and I are planning to debut on YouTube with a ‘Shop Exploration Series’. Our first stop is Kyoto. Do you want to join?”

“You-what?”

“Nothing, just inviting you to eat with us.”

“Let me see, hmm— (the sound of rustling papers could be heard) —around four o’clock.”

“Okay, Miss Kamibayashi and I will wait for you at Kamo Ohashi Bridge, over.”

“Say ‘end’.”

After listening to the voice message, Minamoto Kiyomoto picked up his phone again and said, “End.”

“End,” Himegami Izayoi replied.

After lunch, the two of them strolled along the Kamo River.

After walking for a while, they sat down by the riverbank again.

Kamibayashi Miko watched a white bird standing in the water, then watched it fly away, startled.

Minamoto Kiyomoto lay on the grassy lawn, his hands pillowed behind his head, his laurel wreath tossed aside in the grass, staring blankly at her side profile.

A few pigeons, having flown in from who knows where, gazed at the river surface even more leisurely than the two of them.
In the river, two black carp wagged their tails and swam downstream side by side.

At 3:45, the two borrowed bicycles from the hotel. Kamibayashi Miko took one, and Minamoto Kiyomoto took two, pushing them to the Kamo Ohashi Bridge.

In the setting sun, Himegami Izayoi approached from the west.

Before she even got close, her eyes met Minamoto Kiyomoto’s, and they both broke into laughter.

“Let’s go by bicycle,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said cheerfully.

“I don’t know how to ride,” Himegami Izayoi’s tone was equally cheerful.

Just in case, Minamoto Kiyomoto confirmed, “You really don’t know how, or you want me to give you a ride?”

“When have I ever lied to you? You tell me.”

“…Never.”

Before exploring the shops, the three of them went down from Kamo Ohashi Bridge to the bank of the Kamo River.

Kamibayashi Miko sat on a bench, watching Minamoto Kiyomoto teach Himegami Izayoi how to ride a bicycle.

Himegami Izayoi sat on the women’s bicycle, steering, while Minamoto Kiyomoto held the back seat from behind, steadying the bike.

“I’m letting go?”

“You dare!”

“I’m really letting go now!”

“Don’t you dare!”

“What’s there to be afraid of? You’ve been ten thousand meters up in the sky!”

“Oh, you mean the bicycle? I thought you were talking about letting go of me,” Himegami Izayoi said innocently.

“…”

After learning to ride, the three of them sometimes rode side by side, sometimes in a single file, and sometimes grabbed each other’s arms, letting the other person pull them along without pedaling.

Sometimes they were separated by a tram. At those times, the two would wait for Minamoto Kiyomoto on the other side, and Minamoto Kiyomoto would take out his phone and take pictures of the two of them waiting for him.

They weaved through the streets and alleys of Kyoto.

Only after dark did the three of them stop in front of an izakaya.

Pushing open a wooden sliding door, the room, crowded with orange light, immediately flooded out and pooled at their feet.

Along with it came the sound of people talking loudly.

After sitting down, the waiter brought towels and a few small dishes. The three of them ordered a pot of warm sake.

Before the main course arrived, they drank sake and ate the pitifully small portion of edamame and ginkgo nuts roasted until their skins were slightly charred.

“I almost forgot the important business. I should notify Sayaka,” Minamoto Kiyomoto reached for the edamame.

“Mine,” Himegami Izayoi, with a pod still in her mouth, reached over and took the last pod of edamame.

“Really?” Minamoto Kiyomoto picked up his sake cup.

“Things taste better when you fight over them.”

“Miss Kamibayashi doesn’t fight for it, and she enjoys her food just fine,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

Kamibayashi Miko’s slender, snow-white fingers picked up the last ginkgo nut, dipped it in a little salt, and put it in her mouth, chewing slowly.

Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at the pile of shells in front of the three of them. He had eaten the least.

Noticing his gaze, Himegami Izayoi pushed all her shells over to his side.

After the duck meat, roasted to be crispy on the outside and tender and firm on the inside, was served, Himegami Izayoi asked for a different kind of sake.

“Boss, Dassai,” she called out in a soft Kyoto accent.

“Coming right up!” The boss brought a bottle of sake. “Miss, you look like you know your sake!”

“Oh? Is there a story behind it?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked curiously, examining the bottle.

“No story, I just like to drink Dassai with strongly flavored dishes,” Himegami Izayoi said.

Minamoto Kiyomoto opened the bottle and poured a cup for her and Kamibayashi Miko.

“Cheers.” The three of them clinked their cups together.

After taking a sip together, they all picked up their chopsticks in unison and took a piece of duck meat.

Just as they were getting a little tired of the duck meat, the boss immediately brought out the second dish.

“Grilled saury!”

The three of them ate and chatted idly. At some point, a light rain began to fall outside.

Outside was the dim sky and the patter of rain; inside was the warm orange light and the sizzling sound of grilling meat.

They ate until the rain stopped, then rode their bicycles back.

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