Chapter 187: Sitting and Chatting: What Exactly is Love?

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“Is she angry? Was I too hasty?” In the living room, Minamoto Kiyomoto perplexedly withdrew his gaze and asked the people present.

“Too perfunctory. Girls usually value ceremony,” Ayako said, eating an egg roll, seemingly not too concerned about her son’s marriage, because she immediately turned her head and praised Shirako’s craftsmanship.

Shirako snorted, not out of pride, nor at Ayako, but at Minamoto Kiyomoto, who did not intend to marry Lady Miko.

“Miko.”

“Let’s eat first,” Kamibayashi Miko interrupted Minamoto Kiyomoto.

Minamoto Kiyomoto poured the soup into his rice, slurped two mouthfuls, and then took a bite of fish…

The series of events just now had consumed a lot of his brainpower, and he was actually a little hungry.

After breakfast, Minamoto Kiyomoto and Kamibayashi Miko, who had not cooked, were responsible for washing the dishes—Himegami Izayoi had run away, and the blond princess would not wake up until noon.

As for Rikka, she had no concept of assigned responsibilities, as long as she was comfortable.

Minamoto Kiyomoto was in charge of washing the dishes, and Kamibayashi Miko dried the dishes he had washed.

“Miko, there’s something I have to tell you again: who I marry is not important to me. My love for you is the same.”

“Hmm, I know,” the reply was very plain.

Minamoto Kiyomoto sized up her expression, trying to see if she had any grievances, dissatisfaction, or other emotions.

“What are you looking at?” Kamibayashi Miko laughed, her gentle white cloth gently wiping the bowl. “Will you love her more because of marriage? Or will you be more considerate of her because of the marital responsibilities that come with marriage? Even if we don’t get married, we still have responsibilities to each other.”

“I’m very happy that you say that, but the so-called ‘concubine’ of the government also needs to be registered and has marital responsibilities.”

“No.”

“Huh?”

Kamibayashi Miko put down the clean bowl.

“If I register as a concubine, my status will always be below hers. I’d rather be a lover.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto opened his mouth, wanting to say something. Kamibayashi Miko pointed at the sink, signaling him not to stop.

Minamoto Kiyomoto washed another bowl, rinsed off the foam, and handed it to Kamibayashi Miko. The words he wanted to say just now, he didn’t want to say anymore.

“I’ve thought about it carefully,” he said. “If you register as a so-called ‘concubine’…”

At his careful choice of words, his fear of showing that he loved someone more, the corners of Kamibayashi Miko’s mouth twitched, and she found it amusing.

Of course, if he really showed that he loved Himegami Izayoi more, she would also really give him a look. Women are just such creatures.

“…To outsiders, they will think that you lost to the Ise Miko; on the contrary, if you are a lover, others will think that the Ise Miko is not capable and can’t control me.”

“I didn’t think so.”

Only Kamibayashi Miko herself knew whether she really didn’t think so.

After all the bowls were washed and dried, the two of them put them back into the cupboard neatly one by one.

“Besides the reasons I mentioned before, I also find marriage troublesome. Choosing a date, picking a venue, holding a wedding, and so on, I don’t like any of them,” Kamibayashi Miko elegantly put down her rolled-up sleeves.

The curve of her wrist was beautiful enough to become a new scenery on Shodoshima Island. Minamoto Kiyomoto could look at it all day.

“Didn’t my mom just say that women pay more attention to form? According to my observation, it’s indeed like this,” he said curiously.

“I’ve seen hydrangeas that bloom in winter. There are always exceptions in this world.”

“That makes sense.”

“When you get married, where should I be?” Kamibayashi Miko suddenly asked.

“Waiting for me at home?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked tentatively.

“Which home?”

“Hakusan Shrine, where else?”

“Izayoi agreed?” Kamibayashi Miko tilted her head slightly as if sizing up his expression and asked him with a smile.

“I can make the decision on this matter,” Minamoto Kiyomoto was very manly.

The two of them returned to the living room. Ayako and Rikka were watching TV. Uehara Moe had come at some point and was preparing to go out with Shirako.

They had agreed to go skateboarding yesterday. At that time, there was also Noi, but now… besides exceptions, there are also changes that are always beyond the plan.

Shirako had changed her outfit today.

A dark green winter cotton jacket, with the collar open, and only a white T-shirt inside;
On her not-long but well-proportioned legs, she wore sporty casual pants that were convenient for movement;
Her hair was tied into a dashing ponytail, and she wore a hat. In her left hand, she held Minamoto Kiyomoto’s old skateboard.

A delicate and vivid little face, a cool and petite girl.

“You look very good today,” Minamoto Kiyomoto praised.

Shirako swept him a cold glance, full of murderous intent, and ignored him.

“Lady Miko, I’m going out,” she said to Kamibayashi Miko.

“Hmm.”

“Moe—” the sound of Uehara Moe’s friend calling for her came from downstairs.

“Shirako, quick, they’re here!”

“Let’s go!”

The two of them rushed downstairs.

“Be careful!” Ayako subconsciously reminded.

“I know!”

Amidst the sound of Uehara Moe and the others thumping downstairs, Minamoto Kiyomoto and Kamibayashi Miko sat in the kotatsu.

The TV was showing a New Year’s interview. A celebrity was walking on the streets of Tokyo, asking passers-by what their plans were for this year. There was also a group of celebrities in the studio who were in charge of roasting.

The middle-aged woman being interviewed now planned to travel to Shonan, not with her family, but with her wives.

“Then what about your husband? Isn’t it pitiful for him to be at home alone?” the celebrity asked.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Haruhi is with him!” the middle-aged woman’s voice was very energetic.

“Is she your daughter?”

“No, no, it’s a cat!”

The guests in the studio burst into laughter, all saying that the husband was too pitiful.

After the middle-aged woman left, the celebrity in charge of the interview, facing the camera, said “uh, uh” twice, as if he had nothing to say:

“Perhaps this is a couple, love.”

“Of course not!” the people in the studio shouted in unison.

At this time, it was not important whether it was or not. What was important was which sentence could bring about a program effect.

Ayako laughed, happily eating pistachios.

“Why is this love?” the Hokkaido Miko asked with confusion. “If you like someone, shouldn’t you travel together?”

“Traveling together is love. Being able to leave the other person at home, or let the other person leave you at home, and travel with your girlfriends, is also love,” Ayako replied.

‘Is this… teaching?’ Minamoto Kiyomoto sized up the two of them, grabbed a handful of pistachios, and placed them in front of himself and Kamibayashi Miko.

Kamibayashi Miko picked one up. The shell was not open. She casually handed it to him.

Minamoto Kiyomoto easily cracked it open and returned it to her.

Kamibayashi Miko, who was already holding a second one in her hand, glanced at him, had to put it down, and continued to eat the first one.

“I don’t understand,” the Hokkaido Miko shook her head.

“If you don’t understand, you don’t understand. It’s not something you have to understand,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said easily. “Love can bring happiness. It’s also good not to like anyone.”

“I want to understand,” the仙藻Miko finished and looked at Kamibayashi Miko. “Miko, why do you like Kiyomoto?”

Minamoto Kiyomoto ate the pistachios, his gaze on Kamibayashi Miko, a smile on his face.

Ayako also looked over, very interested in this topic.

Kamibayashi Miko took a sip of her tea and sized up Minamoto Kiyomoto.

Just as Minamoto Kiyomoto thought she was about to answer, she raised her chin slightly, meaning: Why do you like me?

Minamoto Kiyomoto’s action of peeling the pistachios paused.

Ayako and Rikka looked over. They didn’t care who was being asked, as long as there was a good show to watch.

“Good-looking.”

“I’m also good-looking,” Rikka said.

“You’re not as good-looking as Miko.”

Rikka looked at Kamibayashi Miko, suddenly leaned over, and pressed her face against hers.

The little bit of flesh on their faces was slightly flattened with elasticity.

“Look carefully,” Rikka said to Minamoto Kiyomoto.

Kamibayashi Miko leaned her body slightly, moved away from her face, and pushed her away.

Growing up in the mountains, she not only hated fighting and was tired of the tediousness of marriage, but she also didn’t like people being too close to her.

“Besides good-looking, is there nothing else?” Ayako asked Minamoto Kiyomoto.

“Of course there is, but with Miko’s level of good looks, good-looking is enough,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said and then enjoyed Kamibayashi Miko’s face with relish. “The first time I saw her, I made up my mind to find a girlfriend as beautiful as her.”

“You found one. Isn’t Koyako one?” Ayako said with a laugh.

“Me too,” Rikka nodded in self-affirmation. “I’m even more beautiful than them.”

“The people of Hokkaido are ignorant, and now even their eyes are blind,” Himegami Izayoi walked into the living room.

“Koyako, come, here,” Ayako greeted, already treating her as a daughter-in-law.

Himegami Izayoi, who had sorted out her emotions, walked over, first glanced at Minamoto Kiyomoto and Kamibayashi Miko who were sitting together, and then sat down beside Ayako.

“Mom, who do you think is the most beautiful among the three of us?” the Hokkaido Miko asked Ayako.

Himegami Izayoi and Kamibayashi Miko looked over. Minamoto Kiyomoto took a sip of his tea and smiled, preparing to watch the show.

Ayako never thought that she would also experience a Shura field one day.

“Good looks are not important,” she had no choice but to put on the airs of an old person and say something that suited her age and status. “What’s important is the heart that loves each other.”

“I think good looks are the most important,” the Hokkaido Miko did not agree with her point of view. “If you’re not good-looking, how can you like someone? Even if you’re together, you’ll soon get tired of it.”

“I didn’t expect you to be a firm believer in looks!” Minamoto Kiyomoto exclaimed.

“I’m not. Good looks are a natural choice. Animals have to be good-looking to mate with females, and it’s the same for humans. If they could choose, everyone would make themselves good-looking.”

This was probably the most Rikka had ever spoken.

But contrary to her original intention of saying so much, it further proved that she was a firm believer in looks.

Then, she even asked Ayako and the other three women, “Will you let yourselves get old, ugly, and not good-looking?”

After asking, she turned to Minamoto Kiyomoto, “When you came out of the underworld, weren’t you still as good-looking as you are now? If good looks are not important, why don’t you let yourself get old?”

“…” Minamoto Kiyomoto had nothing to say.

Let alone the others, he really didn’t get old until he died. He was still so handsome. He really envied Miko and Izayoi.

“Alright, good looks are the most important,” he could only admit.

“You like me because I’m good-looking?” Himegami Izayoi asked him.

Minamoto Kiyomoto patted the dust off his hands from the pistachios and said, “Before I answer, I want to say one thing first.”

“Hmm,” Himegami Izayoi allowed. The other three also looked at him.

“If I say it’s not because of good looks, that would definitely be a lie. You probably wouldn’t be happy either, thinking in your heart—I’m a peerless beauty, and you don’t even mention it.“

“Nonsense!” Himegami Izayoi felt that what he said was wrong. “I would never call myself ‘old lady’.”

The wrong place seems to be something wrong, no, there’s nothing wrong.

“First of all, it’s definitely because you’re too good-looking,” Minamoto Kiyomoto continued. “Secondly…”

He didn’t say it directly, but leaned close to Himegami Izayoi’s ear and whispered, “Because you’re a good student, the first one to learn how to use a washing machine with me.”

Himegami Izayoi was expressionless and secretly pinched him.

Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t act or pretend. He didn’t pretend to be in pain. He was full of spring breeze and pride.

“Learning how to use a washing machine, what’s with that?” Rikka asked strangely.

“Cough!” The couple, who were about to get married, both picked up their tea cups and drank their tea seriously.

The Hokkaido Miko’s previous statement was correct. The two of them were indeed becoming more and more alike.

Ayako’s gaze was filled with a smile. Kamibayashi Miko, on the other hand, was meaningful, and it was hard to say whether it was blame or a warning.

“Should I also learn how to use a washing machine?” Rikka said as if to herself.

“Someone washes your clothes for you. Why do you need to learn? You don’t need to,” Ayako slowed down the car and brought the topic back on track.

“But, Izayoi’s complexion got better after she learned.”

“…”

The Hokkaido Miko turned her head to look at Kamibayashi Miko, “Your complexion is also very good today. Did you learn how to use a washing machine last night?”

“…”

This train had already gone wild. It was not something that could be controlled by human power.

The victim, Minamoto Kiyomoto, was crushed on the tracks, very miserable—his left and right sides were attacked by the two shrine maidens at the same time, one pinching and one poking.

If Ayako wasn’t here, it would actually be nothing. Minamoto Kiyomoto could even laugh and say a few words.

But, in front of Ayako, it was like a photo he had taken of himself—a little revealing—being seen by his family.

Minamoto Kiyomoto really wanted to ask those celebrities who took sexy photos, how did they face their family’s gazes?

‘Hahahaha!’ Tamahime, who was lying in Minamoto Kiyomoto’s freshman dormitory, burst into laughter on that small bed.

She was holding a book in her hand. Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t remember reading such a funny book.

The book fell to the ground. It seemed it wasn’t the book that was funny.

‘Ouch, my stomach hurts!’ Tamahime tried hard to hold back her laughter, but she couldn’t control it. Her shoulders kept shaking, and her hand was on her abdomen. It seemed to hurt a lot.

Can you feel pain even after you’re dead?

Minamoto Kiyomoto rubbed his forehead.

“Kiyomoto, what’s wrong? You’ve been having a headache recently,” Ayako said with concern.

Kamibayashi Miko and Himegami Izayoi also looked over.

“It’s nothing,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said quickly, afraid that they would worry. “It’s not a headache. It’s someone who’s giving me a headache.”

“Me?”

‘Me?’

No one paid attention to the Hokkaido Miko.

“Are you really okay?” Himegami Izayoi asked with concern.

“If you want to say there’s something wrong, it’s that I’m getting stronger and stronger,” under the kotatsu, Minamoto Kiyomoto touched her leg.

This time, Himegami Izayoi was relieved.

The forgotten Rikka looked at them, then at Minamoto Kiyomoto, thoughtfully.

“Is this love?” she murmured.

“Don’t think about it. No one can explain what love is,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

Rikka raised her gaze and looked at him directly.

“It’s as elusive as the sleepiness before bed. By the time you react, you’ve already woken up and fallen in love.”

Rikka fell into deep thought again.

At this time, the program just now ended, and Ayako changed the channel.

“…Miss Nakajima, how do you make the other person fall in love with you?”

“Appropriate physical contact!” Miss Nakajima, with her exquisite eyelashes and a confident smile, said, “Men are just such simple animals. For example, it’s winter now. I say, ‘My hands are so cold, so-and-so-kun, are you cold?’ and at the same time, I hold his hand. So-and-so-kun will definitely be moved.”

Rikka withdrew her gaze.

“Kiyomoto-kun, are you cold?”

“…”