Chapter 92: The Night

Minamoto Kiyomoto walked into the large banyan tree, crossed the boundary between reality and illusion, and arrived under the torii gate.

Strolling along the mountain path, the Hakusan Shrine, illuminated by the distant setting sun, was magnificent and empty, like a palace with its people gone.

Passing through the divine gate, around the worship hall and the main hall, was Kamibayashi Miko’s home.

“I’m back,” he took off his shoes and walked into the spacious wooden room.

Kamibayashi Miko sat on the veranda opposite the living room. As long as she was at the shrine, she seemed to always sit there and cultivate.

When she was tired of cultivating, she would still sit there and watch the clouds coming and going in the sky.

In the living room, Himemiya Izayoi was half-lying on the tatami, lazily holding a book.

“You still know to come back,” Himemiya Izayoi looked up at him. “I thought you had abandoned the two of us.”

“Why would I abandon you?” Minamoto Kiyomoto put down the textbook with the white cover and took out a bottle of iced jasmine tea from the refrigerator, pouring it into a glass.

“Without us, you can elope with the young girl.”

“Nonsense!” Minamoto Kiyomoto laughed.

He was raising his cup and drinking the flower tea when Shirako, wearing an apron, came stomping on the wooden planks and appeared at another entrance to the living room.

“Come and light the fire!” she almost roared. “You’ve been living here for two days and haven’t helped once! No matter what happens today, you’re staying in the kitchen and lighting the fire!”

“Wait a minute,” Minamoto Kiyomoto took another sip of tea. “I’ve been busy these two days. It wasn’t on purpose.”

“Don’t give me excuses! Hurry up!”

“Coming, coming,” Minamoto Kiyomoto had to put down his cup and go to the kitchen to light the fire.

For dinner, they had stir-fried pork with komatsuna, stir-fried vegetables with tofu cubes, lotus root cake, half-grilled tuna, and miso soup.

Minamoto Kiyomoto poured the sauce from the stir-fried pork with komatsuna over the hot rice.

For the first bite, he first ate the crispy komatsuna, then had a mouthful of the soup-soaked rice;
For the second bite, he placed the pork on the side of the bowl and shoveled it into his mouth along with the soup-soaked rice;
Tofu, tuna, and slowly ate a piece of lotus root cake. At this time, he could take the opportunity to admire the moving etiquette of the two miko eating.

“Hmm, delicious! Delicious!” Minamoto Kiyomoto praised repeatedly.

“Hmph!” The only thing Shirako was satisfied with him was the expression on his face when he ate. He looked like he was enjoying it.

“By the way,” Minamoto Kiyomoto remembered something. “Shirako, next week, please help Yuki open her bones. She hasn’t practiced yoga before and can’t do many of the movements.”

“You’ve seen her whole body, and you still care about physical contact?” Himemiya Izayoi said while drinking soup, looking at him from over the rim of her bowl.

“…Where did you get that news?”

“You don’t need to know,” Himemiya Izayoi said with a girlish coyness.

“You brought Itomi Yuki onto this path. Have you thought about how to take responsibility?” Kamibayashi Miko suddenly said.

“What I did was different from what you did back then,” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at her. “I didn’t lie to her, and I told her all the dangers. I even tried to stop her. It was her own choice. I have no obligation to be responsible for her.”

“It doesn’t matter if she dies?” Kamibayashi Miko asked.

“Of course not,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said. “After all, she’s Sayaka’s sister, a sixteen-year-old high school girl, and her temperament is so similar to yours.”

“Which of these is the most important?” Himemiya Izayoi asked.

“The last one.”

“Ahem—” Himemiya Izayoi made a meaningful sound. “If there was someone with a temperament like mine, what would you do?”

“Stay as far away as possible,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said without thinking.

“Why?” Himemiya Izayoi asked curiously.

“Too scary.”

“In what way?”

“Scary in every way.”

“I’m not going to do anything to you. What are you afraid of?” Himemiya Izayoi said with a laugh.

“What else are you going to do to me? You’re already scary enough without doing anything.” To prove how scary she was, Minamoto Kiyomoto turned his back to her and ate.

“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Big sister loves you the most. Here, big sister’s lotus root cake is for you.”

After a while of fooling around, Minamoto Kiyomoto sat up straight and ate properly.

“Today is September 2nd. I’d like to remind everyone here that my birthday is on September 9th,” he said casually.

“I know, I know. I’ll give you a one-hundred-million-yen ring then,” Himemiya Izayoi said impatiently.

“This, the ring is a bit…”

After dinner, Minamoto Kiyomoto washed the dishes. Kamibayashi Miko, Himemiya Izayoi, Shirako, and the little butterfly, the two people and two shikigami, went to the hot spring together.

Whenever this happened, Minamoto Kiyomoto would listen to the sound of the water washing the dishes and look at the snow-white, hemispherical bowl, and couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild.

After everyone had finished their baths, the three of them sat on the veranda, eating edamame and drinking sake.

Shirako and the little butterfly were not playing chess today, but drawing pictures for each other.

“Have any fragrant stories happened while you were living here?” Himemiya Izayoi held a brightly colored edamame and asked Minamoto Kiyomoto.

“Look at my arms, they’re intact. My legs can also walk. There are no cuts on my face. You know if there are any,” Minamoto Kiyomoto took a sip of sake and then picked up a pod of edamame.

“I think, even if you secretly smelled Miko’s underwear while she was taking a bath and brought it back to your bedroom, she wouldn’t be willing to hurt you,” Himemiya Izayoi said with a smile.

“Is that so?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked Kamibayashi Miko.

“You can try,” Kamibayashi Miko’s smile was very kind.

“I don’t need to try to know,” Minamoto Kiyomoto waved his hand, indicating that there was no need for such a thing.

Kamibayashi Miko glanced at Himemiya Izayoi, “If you take her underwear, it should be really fine.”

“Hmm—” Himemiya Izayoi held the edamame in her mouth, pondered for a moment, and nodded in affirmation, “That’s right.”

“I have a question. Why do I have to steal underwear?” Minamoto Kiyomoto was puzzled.

“Then what kind of dirty things do you want to do?” Himemiya Izayoi stretched out her hand, gesturing for him to say whatever he wanted.

“…If it has to be something dirty, rather than stealing underwear, I’d rather walk directly into the hot spring pool and see all the beauty in the world.”

“And then die in beauty?” Kamibayashi Miko helped him complete the story.

“Not good,” Minamoto Kiyomoto leaned his back against the veranda pillar, his right knee bent, his right elbow resting on his knee, and the empty wine cup he had just drunk from in his hand.

“Then what’s good?” Himemiya Izayoi asked, then gathered her sleeves and poured him wine.

Thinking of her identity, looking at her snow-white wrist, and the charm of her every move, Minamoto Kiyomoto once again muttered in his heart: scary.

“Even Konohanasakuya-hime would wait until a person reached their most beautiful moment before letting them die. My death would be too unjust,” he said.

“For you, is there anything more beautiful than seeing our bodies?” Himemiya Izayoi asked.

“Of course it’s taking a bath with you, idiot!”

“Drink less,” Kamibayashi Miko took away the wine cup that Minamoto Kiyomoto had just brought to his lips.

“…” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at her with the posture of drinking, his hand still holding the wine cup empty.

Kamibayashi Miko smiled and returned the cup to him.

“I thought your happiest thing was to be with Miko,” Himemiya Izayoi said. “It turns out you plan to be with the two of us.”

“When did I ever say that?”

“Taking a bath with two people,” Himemiya Izayoi said in an innocent tone.

“I was just following the topic of the hot spring, and that was just a joke!”

“Sometimes exaggeration is just to cover up nervousness, and jokes hide the truth.”

“I don’t even know if I’m hiding the truth myself?”

“I’m not talking about you,” Himemiya Izayoi looked at Minamoto Kiyomoto with a smile and said in a quiet tone that she had never heard before, “I’m talking about myself.”

His heart couldn’t help but beat faster.

This witch whose voice and demeanor could intoxicate people.

Minamoto Kiyomoto avoided her gaze, picked up his wine cup, and was about to drink when he saw Kamibayashi Miko looking at him, and put the wine cup down again.

“Starting from this month, I will specifically look for difficult yokai. You should be prepared,” Kamibayashi Miko said as if she hadn’t noticed Minamoto Kiyomoto’s embarrassment.

“Okay,” Minamoto Kiyomoto replied.

Himemiya Izayoi looked at this scene with a grin and happily ate her edamame.

After resting, it was time for cultivation again. The divine breath was like a waterfall of light, pouring into the bodies of the three.

After finishing his cultivation, Minamoto Kiyomoto returned to his room and read a book by the window for a while.

He reread a sentence from Du Fu—’After reading ten thousand books, writing is like having a god’s help.’ Combined with his studies and cultivation, he had some new insights and learned new things by reviewing the old.

He turned off the light and went to sleep…
“…What is it?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked.

“I missed you,” Himemiya Izayoi’s voice was sweet and enchanting.

The noisy chirping of insects just now had completely disappeared from Minamoto Kiyomoto’s ears. Where did so many insects go?

He wanted to sit up, but was pulled back by Himemiya Izayoi.

“Be quiet,” her arm snaked around his neck. “Aren’t you afraid of Miko finding out?”

Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t dare to move, and he couldn’t move.

“The two of us, sleeping together like this, is not good,” he was a little nervous, and his heart was beating fast.

“It’s okay, the ‘Lord of Kyoto’ absolves you of your sins,” her pink lips breathed into his ear.

The soft and charming voice seeped into the bottom of Minamoto Kiyomoto’s heart. His body felt as if an electric current had passed through it, and his heart trembled.

“This is a bit bad,” he said subconsciously.

“What’s bad?” Himemiya Izayoi asked softly in his ear.

“The warm breath, hitting my ear, warms all the way to my heart. And the physical contact, the fragrance on your body… the situation at this time is very bad.”

Himemiya Izayoi chuckled twice, then suddenly became quiet and said in a low voice, “I feel it… little scoundrel.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto began to struggle.

“Don’t move. I’m not wearing anything underneath,” Himemiya Izayoi held his neck and wouldn’t let go.

Minamoto Kiyomoto stopped moving again.

She was only wearing a yukata. Just lying on the bed, her alluring collarbones and slender white legs were already exposed.

If he accidentally pressed somewhere and her clothes slipped off, he wouldn’t be able to do the same as he did with Itomi Yuki.

Himemiya Izayoi’s beautiful neck, prominent collarbones, and full chest, a feminine body curve.

Just imagining the scene, his Adam’s apple rolled.

“What is it?” his voice was a little hoarse.

“Shameless,” Himemiya Izayoi laughed and touched his Adam’s apple with her finger. “I’m here to settle old scores.”

“Old scores?”

“The matter of you kissing Miko.”

“My relationship with you, no matter who I kiss, it doesn’t count as an old score.”

“You held my hand and watched the fireworks with me, didn’t you?” she continued to play with his Adam’s apple.

“That was because of the atmosphere at that time, and I was deceived by you.”

“I’ll tell you a reflection I’ve had from ruling Kansai for so long,” Himemiya Izayoi’s leg rested on Minamoto Kiyomoto’s. “No matter how many external factors there are, when a person makes a decision, the one who finally convinces him is always himself.”

He remembered holding hands at Hachimangu Shrine, and Himemiya Izayoi’s nervous and sweaty palms.

She was putting on a brave front!

Minamoto Kiyomoto reached out his hand. Although his heart was to force Himemiya Izayoi to leave, his action was as if he couldn’t wait, and he held her waist tightly.

Himemiya Izayoi fell silent. Her soft body leaned against his. Just this simple action made both of them breathe a little heavily.

It was as hot as being in a steamer, and they were both sweating.

After finally coming back to his senses, Minamoto Kiyomoto was afraid of holding her too tightly and slightly loosened his grip.

“Silly, it’s okay to hold me tighter,” Himemiya Izayoi said in a hazy tone.

Minamoto Kiyomoto had already forgotten his purpose and held her body again, tightly.

In this dark room, the two of them greedily coveted each other’s bodies through their embrace.

Minamoto Kiyomoto’s chest was numb. His hands roamed over Himemiya Izayoi’s beautifully curved back and tight side, touching and feeling.

“Idiot, I really can’t breathe,” Himemiya Izayoi gasped in his arms.

“Sorry,” Minamoto Kiyomoto quickly loosened his grip.

“Is this your first time holding a girl?”

“Yes.”

Last time he kissed Kamibayashi Miko, he held her shoulder. Does that count as holding?

Minamoto Kiyomoto felt that he had let Kamibayashi Miko down, but the next moment, another thought came to him: you’re not even dating Kamibayashi, how can you be letting her down?
No, the first thing you do when you pursue someone is to cherish your body for that person.

That woman won’t be with you, but she won’t leave you either. She’ll always be by your side. In that case, isn’t being in a relationship with Izayoi the best choice?
No.

Where is it wrong?

“It’s my first time being held in someone’s arms too,” Himemiya Izayoi sighed with satisfaction in his arms. “Do you still remember the scene of our first meeting?”

“I remember, Gotokuji Temple,” Minamoto Kiyomoto replied.

“At that time, you were standing foolishly in the cherry blossoms, looking at the petals all over the sky. It made people want to go up and tease you. From that moment on, I cared about you.”

“I thought I was the only one who was moved at that time.”

“Silly,” Himemiya Izayoi chuckled. “You don’t think I would just blow cherry blossoms on anyone’s face, do you? You were the first.”

“Hmm?” The two of them were whispering when she suddenly sat up, her volume returning to normal.

“What’s wrong?” Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at her with confusion.

“You said you were moved at that time?” Himemiya Izayoi asked.

“I was moved, but at that time I was only interested in cultivation.”

“Then why did you fall in love with Kamibayashi Miko first?”

“Why?” Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t know either. “Maybe this is love—you don’t need a reason to like someone. A feeling suddenly appears in your heart, something that comes out of nowhere.”

“I can probably understand,” Himemiya Izayoi looked at Minamoto Kiyomoto for a few moments, then lay back in his arms.

Minamoto Kiyomoto subconsciously reached out to hold her. When he touched her waist, he reacted and quickly took his hand away.

“It’s already this time,” Himemiya Izayoi grabbed his hand and placed it on her waist.

Minamoto Kiyomoto had to hold her.

From his own perspective, as a normal man, of course he wanted to touch a woman’s soft body, let alone a peerless beauty like Himemiya Izayoi.

But.

“I like Kamibayashi Miko,” he said.

“You don’t like me?”

“I like you, but I like her more. I want to be with her, so… it’s best not to do this kind of thing.”

“But you’re not with her?”

“I have to be responsible for my love.”

“I don’t dislike you like this,” Himemiya Izayoi said softly.

“Thank you,” Minamoto Kiyomoto replied.

“Kiyomoto.”

“Yes.”

“Since I can remember, whatever I wanted to do, I did it. Whatever I didn’t want to succeed, no one else could make it succeed.”

“The Lord of Kyoto,” Minamoto Kiyomoto chuckled.

“It has nothing to do with that position. It’s my ability and personality. You’re the same.”

“Perhaps,” Minamoto Kiyomoto’s nose was filled with her hair fragrance.

Minamoto Kiyomoto packed up and lay back on the bed. He was in a good mood, but also annoyed and pained.

Was what Himemiya Izayoi said true? Was she playing with him? Or was she just trying to prove that she was better than Kamibayashi Miko?

Maybe it was true, it should be true.

No matter what, as the “Lord of Kyoto” who ruled Kansai, she wouldn’t go to such lengths for a game or to prove something to a man.

In that case, Kamibayashi Miko only had her sense of mission as a Divine Miko in her heart. Wouldn’t it be better to be with Izayoi?

‘No, it’s not right.’ Minamoto Kiyomoto said to himself.

(End of Chapter)