"Thank you."
Bowing deeply, Keizo finally left with Hakuji, walking out of the Centenarian Dojo.
"What a stubborn man..."
In the courtyard nearby, the old centenarian who had been observing this scene finally spoke up at this moment.
Leaning against a pillar in the corridor, Mitsuba glanced at him.
"Old man, you're using the wrong word. This shouldn't be called stubbornness—it's having backbone."
"Does little Mitsuba admire them?"
"Yes, I admire them very much. And I like them too."
Her gaze gradually softening as she watched Keizo and his disciple's figures gradually fade into the distance on the street, Mitsuba slowly spoke, her voice gentle:
"Provided they are not enemies, I hope that every kind and unfortunate person in this world can live happily."
By the stone table in the courtyard, the old centenarian, upon hearing these words, picked up his tea bowl and took a sip, speaking in a voice that only he could hear:
"Little Mitsuba is still the same as before..."
"Sister Mitsuba! Stop chatting with the old centenarian! Come teach us sword practice already!"
Lost in thought, Mitsuba didn't notice the old centenarian's barely audible words.
"Yes, yes, yes, you bunch of impatient little devils..."
Hearing the children's urging voices from the dojo behind her, she shook her head helplessly and turned to walk inside.
"..."
Ever since taking Hakuji as his disciple, Keizo began to frequent the Centenarian Dojo more often.
He would occasionally bring Hakuji and his daughter Koyuki along, and each time he would conveniently bring some rice, wheat, and such...
Mitsuba naturally knew that Keizo was using this method to repay her for his daughter's medicine costs.
Although Mitsuba herself truly didn't mind, nor did she particularly want to accept these things that she, as a demon, couldn't even eat.
But she wouldn't stubbornly refuse either, doing something that would wound the pride of these two true men.
"However, lately that young Hakuji and Mr. Keizo's daughter seem to have been quite close..."
The sky had grown dark. After getting off work from the Centenarian Dojo, Mitsuba once again came to the Butterfly Clinic.
Recalling the two young people who had recently been coming to the dojo together to deliver things to her, the corners of Mitsuba's mouth subconsciously rose.
"Could it be that those two children have taken a liking to each other?"
"Two young people of the same age spending every day together—wouldn't something like this be perfectly normal?"
Carrying a bundle of medicinal herbs to the backyard of the clinic to store them, hearing Mitsuba's words from afar, Sumire earnestly explained to her:
"From a physiological perspective, the inner desire for contact with the opposite sex in these teenage boys and girls is often stronger than at any other stage in their lives.
Moreover, I heard from Mr. Keizo that recently, Hakuji has been personally taking care of that girl Koyuki—feeding her medicine, wiping her body, and so on... *huff!*
Anyway, since those two children have gone this far, and both have good character and appearance, if there weren't any feelings between them, that would be the strange thing..."
Finally finished moving all the herbs, Sumire raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, then returned to the clinic. Looking at Mitsuba, who was swinging her legs while sitting leisurely on the counter, she smiled:
"I think, probably before long, we'll need to prepare gifts for Mr. Keizo's family..."
"That makes sense."
Tossing the already peeled pear in her hand to Sumire, Mitsuba looked at her exhausted, panting appearance and said helplessly:
"I say, Little Butterfly, since moving them alone is so tiring, why don't you just let me help you..."
Indeed, it wasn't that Mitsuba was cold-hearted and unwilling to lend a hand.
But because Sumire had never allowed her to enter the backyard of the clinic, she could only sit here doing nothing, watching her busy herself alone.
For Mitsuba, the backyard of the Butterfly Clinic had always been a mysterious place.
From the time they met five years ago until now, Sumire had never permitted her to set foot there.
The reason Sumire gave was:
She was cultivating and planting many precious medicinal herbs in the backyard, quite a few of which couldn't even be bought on the market—worth thousands in gold!
Worried that Mitsuba might clumsily damage these valuable herbs, Sumire simply didn't let her enter the backyard at all.
When she needed to move herbs to the backyard for storage, she always handled it herself alone, never letting Mitsuba help.
It always felt somewhat mysterious...
"No~"
Taking a bite of the pear in her hand, Sumire walked straight up and sat on the counter alongside Mitsuba, imitating her.
"I said no means no. If you dare sneak in, Mitsuba, I won't acknowledge you as my friend anymore."
"Yes, yes, yes..."
"By the way, are you going out again tonight, Mitsuba?"
As if to change the subject, Sumire asked proactively.
"Tonight..."
Recalling the courtesan houses in the red-light district of the neighboring town, having grown somewhat bored from visiting there daily these past days, Mitsuba was about to decline when she saw a footman running quickly toward them from the end of the distant street.
"Although I'd really like to say I don't want to go, it seems I'll still have to go out tonight after all..."
"Is this the Butterfly Clinic?"
Under Mitsuba's gaze, the young footman stopped in front of the clinic and asked loudly.
"Ah, yes, I am Butterfly. May I ask who you are..."
"I was entrusted by Miss Amei from the neighboring town to come here and deliver a message to a Miss Mitsuba!"
[Just as I thought.]
Having confirmed the footman's purpose, Mitsuba immediately hopped down from the counter and said to him with a smile:
"Understood, I am Mitsuba. Please go back and tell Amei that I'll be there shortly."
"Very well!"
Waving with a smile as she saw the footman off, Mitsuba then turned to look at the puzzled Sumire behind her and said earnestly:
"That's how it is, Little Butterfly. The matter I was investigating before is finally coming to fruition tonight—I must go out.
If anything happens at the dojo tonight, please help me keep an eye on it."
"Alright."
Regarding Mitsuba's vague words, Sumire didn't ask further.
Looking at Mitsuba before her, she simply spoke with the same earnest tone, reminding her once more:
"You need to be careful yourself too, Mitsuba."
"Really, what danger could I possibly be in... I'm off."
Shaking her head with a smile, Mitsuba said no more and turned to leave quickly.
Inside the clinic behind her, Sumire continued to watch her departing figure.
Only after Mitsuba gradually disappeared into the night-shrouded streets, completely out of sight, did she let out a soft sigh and step forward to close the clinic's main door.
Alone in the clinic, Sumire turned around and took out from a drawer beneath the counter a book with "Blue Spider Lily Cultivation Records" written on its cover.
"Alright, I should get to my own business too..."
Muttering softly, Sumire took her book and pen into the backyard, using the key at her waist to open the small wooden cabin in the corner of the backyard—only a few square meters in size...
---
(A perfunctory meow(?＞＜)/?)