Chapter 176: First Snow

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“Hey, Kiyomoto-kun,” the boy sitting behind him leaned over. “What does a Shinto Lord do?”

“Manages shrines and stuff, I guess,” another girl guessed.

“That’s a lot of power!” another boy exclaimed.

“Is it that amazing?” the girl asked curiously.

“Of course!” the boy who said it was a lot of power raised his voice. “I often see in the news that some politician in Kanto or some noble in Kansai marries their daughter to a shrine’s priest! From this, we can see that shrines are not such simple institutions, and managing shrines is of course even more complicated!”

“Kiyomoto-kun, aren’t you a Shinto Lord? Tell us,” a girl asked Minamoto Kiyomoto with great interest.

On December 22nd, a Tuesday, at the University of Tokyo, in a large lecture hall in the main building of the medical department, what followed was not a class, but a lecture by the dean of the medical department.

Since yesterday, the news had been widely reporting on ‘Minamoto Kiyomoto, a doctor accompanying the Japanese ship, who remained calm in the face of danger and treated the crew according to local conditions,’ including the matter of him becoming the Honshu Shinto Lord.

“I just became one. I’m not sure what I’ll be doing yet,” Minamoto Kiyomoto replied.

“You’ve been taking leave all this time, what with traveling, changing careers to draw manga, we thought something had happened to your family. So you were preparing for a voyage,” a boy said.

“But what’s the use of a voyage? So many people died.”

“Finding a safe sea route, I guess. With one more transportation route, you can do a lot of things.”

“And the sea, the resources in it are definitely ten times more than the land combined!”

“I don’t envy Kiyomoto-kun for becoming a Shinto Lord. I only envy that he went with Kamibayashi-san and Himegami-san from the literature department.”

“What’s there to envy about that?” a girl said dismissively. “I envy them for being with Kiyomoto-kun!”

“Oh?!” the crowd made a meaningful sound.

“Kana, is this a confession?”

“No, oh, you guys are so annoying!”

“What’s there to be shy about? I like Kiyomoto-kun too. Little Kana, I won’t give him to you!”

“Hey, stay away from me,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said to the boy who said he liked him but was actually teasing Kana.

“Hahahaha!”

“What’s so funny?” the dean of the medical department walked in and asked the students who were gathered together with a kind smile.

“Dean, Shun-kun said he likes Kiyomoto-kun!”

“I was joking! You guys!”

The angry roar made the classroom laugh even more happily.

“Congratulations, Minamoto-kun,” the dean said to Minamoto Kiyomoto.

“Hmm? Ah, this, there’s nothing to congratulate.”

The dean was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, “I’m talking about the matter of the Shinto Lord.”

“Oh, you’re talking about that. Thank you, Dean.”

The dean’s hair was sparse, and his face was ruddy and healthy. These were all symbols of research on senile diseases such as high blood pressure.

Because of this, the dean had many connections in the political and financial circles and was quite influential.

It seemed that this was also one of the reasons why he was able to become the dean in the first place.

This lecture did not talk about specific subjects or surgeries. The dean talked about whatever came to his mind. They were all interesting stories mixed with medical knowledge, or the usual practices and experiences of hospital administration.

The crowd listened with great interest.

Minamoto Kiyomoto looked out the window. From here, he could see Sanshiro Pond. With his extraordinary eyesight, he could even see the chinquapin fruits that had fallen all over the ground.

The day after tomorrow was Christmas Eve, the school’s winter vacation, and also the day of Minamoto Kiyomoto and Kamibayashi Miko’s date.

At this thought, a warm joy and impulse welled up in his heart. He wished he could stand up and punch the blackboard.

“…Clinical professors at national university medical schools must complete the three tasks of diagnosis and treatment, teaching, and scientific research. They are all very busy people. If you become a dean, you have to add administrative work. Of course, I’m very happy to do this physical work.”

The students below burst into laughter.

Minamoto Kiyomoto suddenly stood up.

“Hmm?” the dean was stunned. “Minamoto-kun, what’s wrong?”

“Dean, I’m sorry. I just remembered something. I’m leaving first!” Minamoto Kiyomoto said as he packed his textbooks.

Before the dean could react, he had already hurried out of the classroom.

Leaving the classroom and coming to the corridor, he changed from walking to running.

Going down the stairs and leaving the medical building, Minamoto Kiyomoto shuttled through the campus of withered branches and fallen leaves.

The golden ginkgo trees had already withered, and even the fallen leaves on the ground had been swept clean. The roadside was decorated with Christmas lights.

“Sorry to bother you,” Minamoto Kiyomoto lowered his head, bent over, walked into the literature department’s classroom, and slipped to the side of Kamibayashi Miko and Himegami Izayoi.

“Why are you here? Don’t you have class?” Himegami Izayoi asked him curiously.

Minamoto Kiyomoto put the medical textbook on the table and said, “Look outside.”

The two of them looked out the French window with confusion.

When he was in the medical building, the snow that had just left the clouds was just falling.

“Snowing?” Himegami Izayoi turned her face in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

“This is the first snow of the year. I think we need to be together.”

“…” Kamibayashi Miko and Himegami Izayoi exchanged a glance and both pursed their lips and smiled.

They thought he was making a fuss, but they were also a little happy.

The snow, which was not much to begin with, had meaning now that he was here.

“Let’s have hot pot tonight, shall we? And some wine,” Minamoto Kiyomoto suggested in a low voice.

“Minamoto-san,” the lecturer on the podium called his name.

“Ah? Here.”

“Recite a French poem about snow.”

“…Is a Chinese one okay?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked tentatively.

“What class is this?”

“…”

He looked at the two shrine maidens for help. Himegami Izayoi covered her mouth and snickered.

Kamibayashi Miko first gave Minamoto Kiyomoto a white look with a smile, then put down the hand that was supporting her cheek, picked up a pen, and began to write in her notebook.

“‘Snow’!” Minamoto Kiyomoto recited.

“Author, Gourmont.”

“Simone, the snow is as white as your neck.”

“Simone, the snow is as white as your… as your…”

Himegami Izayoi turned sideways, blocked Kamibayashi Miko’s notes, and turned her very happy face to Minamoto Kiyomoto.

“as cold as your heart!” out of desperation, Minamoto Kiyomoto made up a line himself.

The French literature students, who had been snickering since Minamoto Kiyomoto came in, finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst into laughter. Some even held their stomachs and laughed until tears came out.

“It’s ‘Simone, the snow is as white as your knees.’ ‘Cold’ is at the end. ‘Simone, your heart is as cold as snow.'”

After the lecturer finished, he helplessly closed his textbook.

“Forget it. Everyone, go and see the snow. Class dismissed.”

The students cheered, shouting “Long live the teacher,” “Long live Gourmont,” and “Simone is beautiful from head to toe.”

“Let’s go, let’s have hot pot!” Minamoto Kiyomoto’s previously honest expression instantly became high-spirited.

“Your treat,” Himegami Izayoi pushed all the textbooks in front of Minamoto Kiyomoto. When he had finished organizing the books and was about to walk out, she put her hands on his shoulders and followed him closely.

Her every move gave people a sense of intimacy, making people feel—mainly Minamoto Kiyomoto—that the relationship between the two of them was extraordinary.

The person treated like this by her would unconsciously ignore the distance and get close to her.

Minamoto Kiyomoto had been on guard against her for this, but that was before July of this year.

Now, the relationship between the two of them was indeed extraordinary. Himegami Izayoi’s expression of intimacy had also changed from verbal to physical contact.

“I’m treating Miss Kamibayashi because she helped me just now. Give me a reason to treat you,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

“Without me, would the teacher have dismissed class early? For this favor, let alone treating me to a meal, you should kneel down and kowtow to this shrine maiden.”

“I quite like to attend classes. This reason is not valid.”

“Then because of love.”

“Hmm—alright, because of love.”

The three of them came outside. The snowflakes were fluttering down from the clear sky. The University of Tokyo was quiet in the snow.

“Should we inform Shirako and the others?” Kamibayashi Miko asked.

“It’s your treat, so it’s up to you. Anyway, I’m only treating you,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

“I didn’t realize you were so stingy,” Himegami Izayoi teased.

“Before I met Miss Kamibayashi, I was also generous,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a look of不堪回首.

“By the way,” Kamibayashi Miko remembered something. “Your Shinto Lord’s salary, remember to directly deposit it into my account. I’ll give you pocket money every week.”

“Pocket money? How much?”

“A thousand yen?”

“A thousand? That’s not even enough for a bowl of ramen!”

‘You eat and live at home. The government provides you with everything else you need. Let alone a thousand, what do you need money for? Let Miko save it all for you,’ Tamahime nagged.

Minamoto Kiyomoto rubbed the space between his eyebrows.

“What’s wrong?” Kamibayashi Miko looked at him, worried, her voice gentle.

“It’s nothing. I just suddenly feel that it’s actually a good thing that you don’t have a mother.”

“What do you mean by that?” Kamibayashi Miko was stunned.

‘What do you mean by that?’

“Nothing, just some insights on spells,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said perfunctorily. “Let’s go!”

Christmas was just around the corner, and the roadside trees on the street were decorated with cheap ornaments, making it very lively.

KFC hung a banner promoting its Christmas set meal.

The girls handing out tissues on the roadside were also dressed as Santa Claus. The only thing that hadn’t changed was their legs, which were still bare.

No matter which intersection they walked to, the melody of Christmas-themed songs could be heard in their ears.

“Christmas is almost here,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said to the two of them, glancing at Kamibayashi Miko.

Kamibayashi Miko held her textbooks in her arms. Hearing this, she freed her right hand and tidied her neat hair.

“Foreign holidays, what’s so interesting,” Himegami Izayoi was not interested.

“Hmm, but it doesn’t matter. As long as you’re happy,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a smile.

The three of them found a hot pot restaurant. The restaurant was at the corner of a small intersection in a commercial street. The two walls that were exposed were all replaced with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Naturally, the floor-to-ceiling windows were also decorated with stickers of Christmas trees, reindeer, and so on.

They found a seat by the window, eating and listening to the sound of the first snow.

“What are your plans next?” Himegami Izayoi scooped up a thin slice of black-haired wagyu beef.

“Watch a movie?” Minamoto Kiyomoto took a sip of beer.

“Who’s talking about that with you?” she picked up another piece of small crispy meat and dipped it in some chili powder.

“Reform of the practitioner world? Let’s talk about it after the New Year. It’s a holiday this year. Let’s have a good rest.”

“Are you going back to Shikoku for the New Year?” Kamibayashi Miko was eating tofu.

She liked vegetarian dishes like tofu, kelp, potatoes, and cilantro. She didn’t eat much meat, mainly fish.

“I’m going back,” Minamoto Kiyomoto picked up the plate of wild boar meat and put the slices of meat into the pot. “What about you?”

“What you said reminds me of a scene,” Himegami Izayoi put down her chopsticks and picked up her wine cup.

“Oh?” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at her and put down his plate.

“I saw it in a book,” Himegami Izayoi took a sip of wine and played with her wine cup. “The original text is like this—’Mom, I want to drink porridge.’ ‘Make it yourself.’ ‘Then forget it.’ Then the mother took out a pot and started to make porridge with great reluctance.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto laughed twice, finding it very interesting.

“I’m not trying to make you accompany me by retreating,” he explained.

“Then we’re not going,” Kamibayashi Miko said with a smile.

“I was joking.”

“Is it true or false?” Himegami Izayoi picked up her chopsticks again and pressed him with a smile.

“True gold is not afraid of fire. It’s fake!” Minamoto Kiyomoto said righteously.

A song started playing in the restaurant. It wasn’t Yamashita Tatsuro’s “Christmas Eve.” It was sung by a few girls, probably some Nogizaka, Hinatazaka, Kagurazaka, or Peeping Tomzaka.

“Then let’s go back to Shikoku together,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said. “But Shodoshima Island in winter might not be very interesting for you.”

“Hakusan Shrine is even more boring,” after saying this, Himegami Izayoi, as if remembering something, asked Minamoto Kiyomoto with a smile, “What about them? Are they going with us?”

“Shirako and the others? Let’s go together,” Minamoto Kiyomoto tasted a slice of pork. “Hmm, it’s ready.”

The two of them picked up their chopsticks and each picked up a slice of pork.

For a moment, the three of them did not speak, enjoying the taste of the special-grade pork, their mouths exhaling hot air.

The floor-to-ceiling windows of the hot pot restaurant were covered with a layer of white mist. The restaurant was very warm, and the singing was not too loud or too soft.

“I’m talking about the Itomi sisters, and Rikka,” Himegami Izayoi continued the previous topic.

“The Itomi sisters are staying at home with their parents. As for Rikka… we can’t just leave her here alone, can we?”

“You feel sorry for her?”

“A little,” Minamoto Kiyomoto was distracted for a second. “Born in the snow.”

Himegami Izayoi glanced at him and said, “You lost your father, and Miko lost her mother and was abandoned by her father at Hakusan Shrine. Everyone is pitiful.”

“Everyone?” Kamibayashi Miko repeated the word and asked her, “What’s wrong with you?”

“I’ll tell you secretly when we get back,” Himegami Izayoi leaned close to her ear and whispered.

“You’re not telling me?” Minamoto Kiyomoto picked up the wine bottle and poured them wine.

“You’re just an accident. I came to Tokyo for Miko.”

“I don’t like girls,” amidst the sound of pouring wine, Kamibayashi Miko rejected Himegami Izayoi’s confession in a distant voice.

“You’re too much, wuwu~” Himegami Izayoi cried and threw herself on Minamoto Kiyomoto’s shoulder—perhaps this was the purpose of her wanting to tell Kamibayashi Miko a secret.

‘You haven’t told Miko about her father yet,’ Tamahime reminded someone.

‘I’ll tell her after the New Year.’

“Come, cheers!” Minamoto Kiyomoto raised his wine cup.

Kamibayashi Miko raised her wine cup. Himegami Izayoi refused to get up from Minamoto Kiyomoto’s shoulder, pretending to be drunk, and clinked glasses with the two of them with a smile.

After drinking, time seemed to slow down. They were lazy and didn’t want to do anything or think about anything.

Under the table, Minamoto Kiyomoto secretly used his foot to touch Kamibayashi Miko’s foot.

Kamibayashi Miko suddenly glanced at Minamoto Kiyomoto, her gaze cold.

She shifted her gaze, but did not move her foot, her hand supporting her chin.

‘Scum!’

‘Don’t talk nonsense.’

‘You’re no better than Miko’s father!’

‘Much better.’

‘How are you better?!’

‘I sincerely love both of them.’

‘Scum.’