Cloud smiled.
He knew the fish had taken the bait.
He hesitated no more. Turning Chizuru's delicate body over, he gently drew this shy shrine maiden into his embrace.
Their eyes met.
One pair blazed with aggression and love.
One pair swirled with shyness, anticipation, and tender affection.
"Chizuru..."
"...Mm."
No more words were needed.
All emotion melted into a deep, possessive kiss.
"Mm, don't touch there..."
...
After a long while.
The clouds parted and rain ceased.
The room held only the intertwined, slightly rapid breathing of two people.
Chizuru now curled in Cloud's arms like a contented cat.
That dignified, holy face was now covered in an enchanting blush, desire lingering in her eyes and brows.
Those bright eyes were now hazy with allure, looking at Cloud as if they might drip water.
"You... you scoundrel..." She extended a jade hand to lightly thump Cloud's solid chest, her voice so sweet it could melt bones.
"Are you satisfied now?"
"Not satisfied." Cloud grinned mischievously, lowering his head to gently bite her crystalline earlobe.
"Ah..." Chizuru's body trembled sensitively.
"How could I possibly be satisfied?" Cloud held her tighter, feeling that astonishing softness and elasticity, utterly enchanted. "With you, I will never... be satisfied."
This textbook-level "cheesy pickup line" made Chizuru's heart feel both sweet and embarrassed.
She buried her face in Cloud's chest and whispered a reminder: "You... keep it down... Sister... Sister is right next door..."
"Next door?" Hearing this, Cloud's mischievous smile deepened.
He quietly extended a thread of his divine sense outward.
Sure enough.
In the adjacent room, Maki Kagura sat cross-legged on the tatami, eyes closed, but her slightly trembling body and the abnormal flush on her cheeks completely betrayed her.
She wasn't asleep at all!
With her powerful divine sense, she had probably heard everything that happened here more clearly than a live broadcast!
Well, well!
This was basically... premium content, free listening!
In Cloud's heart, an even bolder, more thrilling idea began to form irresistibly.
He leaned close to Chizuru's ear and said in a voice only they could hear, with a roguish grin: "What do you think... if I put in some effort and... win over your sister too?"
"What?!"
Hearing this, Chizuru suddenly raised her head, staring at Cloud in shock.
But contrary to Cloud's expectations, her face showed no anger or objection.
Instead—there was a hint of anticipation!
"You... are you serious?" she asked quietly.
"Of course I'm serious." Cloud thought she didn't believe him and immediately pledged his loyalty. "I swear, I'm sincere to every girl in my harem!"
"No... that's not what I meant." Chizuru shook her head. Her expression became complex and pained.
She sighed softly and said: "Actually... I support you."
"Huh?!" Now it was Cloud's turn to be dumbfounded.
Support me?
What... what kind of operation is this? Encouraging her husband to "expand his territory"? And the target is her own sister—isn't that a bit too magnanimous?!
"You don't know." Chizuru's voice dropped lower. "In our Kagura family, every generation has two shrine maidens who inherit the Yata Mirror. One is the Guardian Shrine Maiden, responsible for inheriting the family's mission, protecting the seal. She must never marry, must maintain her pure body, dedicating her entire life to the family."
"The other is the Continuation Shrine Maiden, responsible for carrying on the bloodline."
"This generation, Sister... is the Guardian Shrine Maiden..."
"And I was originally supposed to be the Continuation Shrine Maiden, arranged to marry into some political family..."
Here, she happily nuzzled into Cloud's embrace.
"...But now, I've met you."
Cloud understood.
Deep sympathy for Maki welled up in his heart.
For the family, sacrificing her own lifelong happiness. This gentle elder sister had borne too much.
"Sister... she's so pitiful." Chizuru's eyes reddened. "She gave all her gentleness and hope to me. She can only... alone, in endless solitude, slowly grow old."
She raised her head and looked at Cloud with an almost pleading gaze.
"Cloud... I know this request is excessive... but... I hope... you can help Sister."
"Help her... escape from that cage called destiny."
"You're the only one who can."
Listening to his lover's heartfelt speech about "sisterly devotion," the corners of Cloud's mouth rose uncontrollably, nearly reaching his ears.
He suppressed his inner wild joy, put on a face of righteous dignity, and thumped his chest in guarantee: "Don't worry, Chizuru! Rescuing fallen... er, rescuing troubled maidens is our generation's duty-bound responsibility!"
"For your sister's happiness, I will... brave any danger!"
And every word of their "heart-to-heart" conversation was transmitted clearly into Maki Kagura's ears in the adjacent room.
Whoosh—!
Maki's face instantly turned red as a boiled shrimp.
Her heart pounded wildly, as if it might leap from her throat.
Embarrassed!
Afraid!
And also... a tiny bit of something... even she didn't dare admit...
—Anticipation?
She felt that heart of hers—which had guarded the seal for decades, long still as an ancient well—had been completely... thrown into chaos tonight by that "shameless couple"... no, that "perfect pair."
...
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