"What are you thinking about? You look completely dazed. Secretly getting horny again~?"
Ayaka suddenly leaned close to her ear and teasingly whispered in a sweet breathy voice.
"Ah~ Eh? W-what do you mean horny ///... cough~"
Kokomi immediately snapped back to her senses. Hearing those words made her blush bright red, and she awkwardly coughed.
"Miss Kamisato... please mind your wording. You're the noble White Heron Princess."
She regained her composure and seriously reminded the ice-colored girl beside her. She felt this girl definitely knew far too much. She absolutely was not as simple and harmless as she appeared.
Haa... though now that she thought about it, that made sense too. In this era, who could truly remain the same inside and out?
After considering it, she found herself able to understand. She had also heard about the Kamisato Clan's history. Rather, being able to endure everything and still achieve this level of success was already incredibly impressive. Miss Kamisato must have gone through a great deal. In that case, knowing more than ordinary people was hardly strange.
"Hehe... don't misunderstand, alright? The reason I can chat with you like this is because we've already become familiar with each other. Toward outsiders, my attitude is completely different. At the very least, I'm not nearly this casual."
Ayaka opened her folding fan and lightly fanned herself as she replied.
"...What an honor..."
Kokomi puffed her cheeks slightly and answered gloomily.
"Little one..."
On the other side, Miko suddenly seemed to think of something and called out to Pandora, who was quietly drinking tea beside her.
"Lady Guuji, my name is Pandora. Please address me by my name."
Pandora rarely showed a trace of dissatisfaction, though her tone remained polite.
"Haa~ It's just an affectionate nickname. Don't mind it... I simply wanted to ask whether you've gotten used to working at Yae Publishing House yet?"
Miko sighed speechlessly. Why was everyone around her so rigid?
"If you mean work... although I'm still somewhat unaccustomed to it, I will work hard. After all, it's a job the Shogun and Mother found for me. I will persevere and not disappoint them."
Pandora answered.
"What~? Them? Haa... I was the one who arranged that position for you. The Shogun only spoke to me about it. Otherwise, you wouldn't have entered Yae Publishing House so easily, you know~?"
Miko explained tiredly.
"Is that so~? But if Mother and the Shogun hadn't suggested it, I still wouldn't have gone to work there. So... I should still thank them. Ah... of course, that includes you as well, Lady Guuji."
She was only included as an afterthought?!
Miko felt like she'd been stabbed in the heart and nearly coughed up blood.
Tap tap...
"I need two people to help me. Kokomi, Pandora, come over here."
Wearing an apron like a proper housewife, the Shogun poked her head out and called toward the two girls in the living room.
"Okay..." ×2
Neither Kokomi nor Pandora showed any intention of refusing. They immediately stood and walked into the kitchen together. The reason she hadn't called the others was simply because she was afraid the kitchen might explode.
About half an hour later, the three of them carried the lavish dishes into the living room one after another until the entire table was completely filled.
There were all kinds of delicacies, including several dishes everyone especially liked. For example, Miko's fried tofu, the preserved egg porridge Kokomi loved, and Ei's favorite tempura. As for the others, they weren't picky, so everything was delicious regardless.
During the process, everyone had already poured themselves drinks as well, planning to raise a toast before the meal officially began.
"Shogun-sama, you can't drink alcohol, you know~?"
Seeing the cup of alcohol beside the Shogun, Ayaka immediately replaced it with fruit juice and handed it to her.
"...I'm the only one drinking juice?"
The Shogun awkwardly held her cup and asked.
"I'll accompany you."
Pandora set down her wine cup and poured herself fruit juice as well.
"Good..."
The Shogun was satisfied.
As expected, everyone present could drink alcohol except her.
The group raised their cups together.
"...Then first, congratulations on the Shogun's safe return. And congratulations as well to Lady Makoto and Lady Ei for finally reuniting with one another!"
Ayaka fluently took on the role of host.
"Mm. Sorry, everyone... I've caused you trouble and made you worry. I'll punish myself with a drink."
The Shogun said this before seriously taking a sip of fruit juice. Even though it was fruit juice!
"It's alright... there is no such thing as a completely smooth life. It's enough that you've returned..."
Miko comforted her, and everyone else also voiced their agreement.
"Next... welcome our new friend—Miss Pandora."
Ayaka gestured toward Pandora.
"Thank you... Miss Ayaka, thank you everyone for accepting me... You're all very kind people. Pandora is deeply touched."
Pandora smiled and nodded her thanks to everyone one by one.
As a witch, being treated like this was already enough for her.
No... she even felt somewhat overwhelmed by the kindness.
"And finally, we must also thank Miss Sangonomiya for coming from so far away to help. This time, Miss Sangonomiya truly helped us immensely."
"Ah... it was nothing, really. Only a small effort. For the sake of the Shogun, this is what I should do."
Kokomi raised her cup and humbly replied.
"Alright then, let's start tonight's meal with a toast first~?"
"Cheers!" ×N
Clink~
The many cups collided together with a crisp sound, accompanied by everyone's voices.
...
After the long late-night meal, everyone had finally filled their stomachs. What followed afterward was leisurely conversation over tea.
Within the dark night scenery, Tenshukaku glowed with warm-colored light. The sliding doors of the living room where everyone gathered were shut closed, while cozy candlelight illuminated the interior, draping the center of the room in dim yet warm golden hues.
It was peaceful, but not lonely.
On the contrary, it felt deeply reassuring.
Because everyone was here.
Almost like a family.
Watching everyone at this moment, the Shogun could not help revealing a blissful smile. She slightly shifted the head resting on Ei's lap while her body lying on the tatami turned partially onto its side. Like this, she drowsily watched everyone chatting together.
This feeling...
Really was wonderful.
As Ayaka chatted with Miko and the others, she suddenly noticed the pair of slender beautiful legs the Shogun had stretched toward her. She smiled indulgently before setting aside her folding fan and gently lifting the other woman's feet onto her own kneeling lap.
At that moment, the delicate feet wrapped in white stockings adorably intertwined together, while the toes twitched slightly as though aware of her actions yet completely unconcerned.
Ayaka then began massaging the stockinged feet resting on her lap with empty hands.
From the toes...
To the soles...
To the calves...
She carefully used soothing massage techniques to ease the fatigue from the Shogun's legs one part at a time.
The Shogun's feet were extremely soft, yet not bloated in the slightest, nor did they possess any excessive fullness. On the contrary, they were exceptionally slender.
The arches were perfect.
The toes delicate and refined.
Their size was close to Ayaka's own—not too large, not too small.
Under the embellishment of the white stockings, they appeared exquisitely alluring, their smooth skin faintly visible through the stockings
Meanwhile, across from them, Miko was currently listening to Ei recount everything that had happened earlier.
"Ah—so the current Ei personally planted the Sacred Sakura Tree within the consciousness space, and it sprouted in Inazuma's past..."
"Haa... no matter how I think about it, it's still something utterly unbelievable..."
Miko pondered for a moment, unable to fully wrap her head around it. In the end, she could only shrug helplessly with a bitter smile.
"Yes... at first, I couldn't believe it either. But all of this was thanks to Makoto and the power of 'that one.' Regarding eternity, her understanding was deeper than mine."
Ei nodded in agreement as she recalled what Makoto had told her earlier.
As for who exactly 'that one' was, she had not clearly explained it. However, Ei could vaguely sense the nature of that power.
Perhaps if she asked Makoto sometime in the future, she would understand.
"Eternity is a concept closely tied to time. Once eternity is touched upon, the concept of time itself becomes blurred."
As she spoke, she subconsciously reached out and gently stroked the Shogun's head resting on her lap, brushing the loosened strands of hair behind her ear.
"Time... may move forward, or it may move backward. Such things can indeed happen."
Pandora nodded.
"...Time itself possesses no inherent meaning and cannot be explained through ordinary logic. So this is the 'turbulence' I sensed back then, huh? Do you still remember? Those urgent flows you felt after entering the room."
Miko looked toward Kokomi and Ayaka.
"Mm... we nearly failed."
Kokomi nodded.
"I... don't really understand it."
The Shogun softly murmured.
"Mm, neither do I completely... but our intuition tells us that the root of everything... was that seed."
Ei gently caressed her face and spoke softly to her.
"But no matter what, Makoto's method protected all of us at the very last moment. That's what truly matters. Without the Sacred Sakura Tree, Inazuma might have long since been swallowed by corruption."
Ei sighed emotionally.
"Thinking about it now, it's actually rather interesting. Back then, you were even trying to prove the Sacred Sakura Tree's secret to me, trying to prove it didn't exist. Unfortunately, you failed."
Miko smiled as she looked at her lovingly.
"...Yes. But now I understand. Because at that time, the Sacred Sakura Tree hadn't been planted yet. How could there have been anything to prove? Haa..."
Ei smiled as well.
"Shogun-sama... how are you feeling now? Does your head still hurt?"
Kokomi asked with concern as she looked at the Shogun lying on Ei's lap, appearing as though she might fall asleep at any moment.
"...Mm? I... it doesn't hurt anymore. My body is gradually recovering too. I'm just a little sleepy."
She immediately snapped back to attention and forcibly kept her eyes open as she answered.
Pfft~ ×N
Everyone was amused by how much she resembled a sleepy little kitten.
"Haa~ What about you, Ei? How are you feeling?"
"I'm alright..."
Ei replied.
"Emotionally, I mean. Have you calmed down? You saw Makoto's consciousness, didn't you?"
Miko asked.
"Mm... I really did see her."
Ei lowered her gaze absentmindedly.
"..."
Miko continued staring at her.
"It's alright. I'm simply feeling a little nostalgic, that's all. I've already decided to move forward. Besides... she never truly left my side."
Ei lowered her eyes toward the daughter lying on her lap with sleepy half-closed eyes, her tone both gentle and affectionate.
"This experience has only made me believe even more that Makoto truly was incredible. Back then, she had already foreseen countless possible futures for Inazuma, including my own immaturity. She even... 'gave birth' together with me to the very key at the center of everything—our child, the Shogun."
"...?"
Hearing Ei's words, the Shogun subconsciously opened her eyes slightly and glanced at her, looking adorably confused and somewhat absentminded.
"If you're sleepy, then sleep..."
Ei smiled gently and covered her daughter's eyes once more. From time to time, she could feel the soft brushing of eyelashes against her palm.
In the end, the Shogun slowly closed her eyes again.
—
—
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven