"Sasa… Bayashi…"
Ei stared at the face smiling warmly at her, her mind going completely blank. For a moment, she didn't know what to do with her hands or where to look.
In her dazed gaze, Lin Mo smiled gently and walked toward her step by step, drawing the Shoguness into his arms.
Ei felt that familiar embrace again.
Her fingers brushed against the black wings on his back.
At last, she could be certain.
The Sasa Bayashi she had yearned for over a thousand years had truly returned.
"Sasa Bayashi… it really is you…"
Her voice turned hoarse without her realizing it.
"Mm. It's me."
As Lin Mo spoke, he couldn't help but lift her braided hair, breathing in deeply with an infatuated sigh, savoring Ei's unique scent.
That braid, faintly glowing with a soft violet light, still carried the same familiar fragrance.
Among everyone Lin Mo knew, the most pleasant scents belonged to Makoto, Ei, the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya, and Guizhong.
After thinking it over, he concluded that it was probably because they were gods.
Their bodies carried an especially distinctive aura, one that irresistibly drew ordinary beings closer.
Just like the tiny sparrows that would unconsciously flutter down onto Ei's fingertips.
Right now, Lin Mo was no different from one of those little birds, instinctively drawn to her presence.
But… there seemed to be something new mixed into Ei's scent.
Flour?
Glutinous rice?
Sugar?
Puzzled, Lin Mo slowly opened his eyes.
One glance was enough for him to understand.
The source of that smell was the tricolor dango that filled the entirety of the Plane of Euthymia.
"Ei, did you make all of these dango yourself?"
There was a trace of relief in Lin Mo's gentle voice.
"So you really did work hard to learn how to make sweets."
"Sweets…"
Still basking in his warm embrace, Ei suddenly remembered something.
She hurriedly pulled away from him, her gaze anxiously sweeping across the ground of the Plane of Euthymia.
"My… my dango?" Her eyes filled with panic.
"I just finished a skewer that was absolutely perfect…"
"It was the most successful batch I've ever made…"
She was on the verge of tears.
She had wanted to show Lin Mo, to prove that she really had been practicing seriously.
But… the dango was gone.
"The dango?"
At that moment, Lumine asked in confusion from the side,
"You mean this?"
Everyone followed the direction she was pointing.
When they saw it, Chiyo, Yae Miko, and Kitsune Saiguu all showed awkward expressions.
Because the direction Lumine pointed to—
Was right beneath Lin Mo's foot.
The skewer of dango had been completely flattened by a single step.
The molten filling had oozed all over the ground, clearly no longer edible.
"My dango… my dango…"
Ei stared at the ruined sweets beneath Lin Mo's foot, her face instantly crumpling as despair washed over her.
This was her one and only successful creation in thousands of years!
And this time, Sasa Bayashi hadn't even been there to help—she had made it entirely on her own.
Thinking of that, her breathtaking face filled with grievance, tears glimmering at the corners of her eyes.
"Ahem… why would there be a skewer of dango here?"
Lin Mo felt awkward as well.
"Ei, look."
He quickly helped her up and looked straight into her eyes.
"I'm back now. I'll be by your side just like before, so…"
"So from now on, I'll make all the sweets for you, okay?"
Those words instantly swept away all the grievance in Ei's heart.
That's right.
With Sasa Bayashi here, why did she ever need to make sweets herself?
"Mm."
Ei nodded, then buried herself back in Lin Mo's arms, savoring that warmth she hadn't felt in a thousand years.
"Ei! Don't you think you're ignoring us a bit too much?!"
Not far away, Chiyo complained loudly.
"It's not just Sasa Bayashi who came back, you know~ Haven't you thought about giving me a hug too~?"
Only then did Ei react.
Reluctantly, she stepped out of Lin Mo's embrace and lifted her eyes to the smiling faces before her.
"Everyone… you're all back…"
Her expression was dazed.
The overwhelming joy made everything feel unreal, like a dream.
Chiyo came trotting over barefoot, her pale feet pattering softly against the ground, arms spread wide.
Only then did Ei realize—
The right arm she herself had severed all those years ago had somehow grown back.
Yet the broken oni horn on one side of Chiyo's head made it clear how much pain she had endured in that battle.
Seeing Chiyo again now, Ei's guilt from that day surged up from the depths of her heart.
"Chiyo… about what happened back then… I really had no choice…"
As she spoke with deep remorse, Ei opened her arms, ready to welcome that long-overdue embrace.
"Whoosh—"
Instead, Chiyo ran right past Ei and threw herself straight into Lin Mo's arms.
Ei: ???
"Sasa Bayashi~"
Chiyo called out pitifully, her voice soft and sweet.
"My arm feels so sore~ Could you find a quiet place and take a look at it for me?"
Ei: !!!
Kitsune Saiguu: !!!
At that moment, the number of people whose fists clenched in fury increased from one to two.
"Crackle—!"
The sky of the Plane of Euthymia flickered with faint arcs of lightning, responding to Ei's shifting emotions.
"Chi… yo…"
Ei clenched her teeth, her eyes turning cold.
"So this is what you meant earlier by 'haven't you thought about giving me a hug'?"
"Sasa Bayashi~"
"Ei's being so scary~"
Chiyo complained tearfully.
"Back then, she cut off my arm without hesitation~"
"She… she was so cruel…"
That pitiful accusation made Ei's guilt surge up all over again.
"If you can't bring yourself to do it, then let me."
Kitsune Saiguu stepped forward decisively.
Lin Mo knew—this woman genuinely would attack Chiyo without a second thought.
"Ahem!"
Lin Mo coughed loudly to break the tension.
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T/N:
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