Ise Hinata's gaze fell upon the man before her.
He remained as leisurely and self-assured as ever, as if the recent sibling rivalry, which was enough to shake the foundations of the shrine, was merely a play for his post-dinner entertainment.
And he was the sole audience, the sole director.
"So, what exactly do you want to do?"
Ise Hinata spoke, her voice still ethereal, but now tinged with a mortal's wariness and gravity.
Faced with her questioning, Lu Cheng merely smiled.
He did not answer, only surveying the solemn, unchanging abode, his gaze carrying a nearly pitiful scrutiny.
"How many years have you been here?"
A question completely unrelated to hers, yet it was like a precise key, instantly plunging into the heaviest 鎖 in Ise Hinata's heart.
Ise Hinata's body stiffened slightly.
How many years?
Ten years?
Twenty years?
She couldn't remember.
Since she could remember, this courtyard, this shrine, had been her entire world.
Even for schooling, it was the shrine's priests and invited teachers who gave private lessons to her and Ryuichi... For her, the only opportunities to go out were to perform rituals and preach.
Lu Cheng seemed not to notice the change in her expression, continuing to speak to himself.
"Have you... seen what the outside truly looks like?"
He walked to the veranda, his gaze passing through the courtyard, looking towards the direction of downtown Tokyo.
"Living next to this metropolis of Tokyo..."
"Have you truly experienced it? On the sunniest afternoon, wandering aimlessly on the streets, suddenly stumbling upon a dessert shop, enjoying the sweetness filling your mouth."
"Or, in the darkness of a cinema, laughing and crying over others' stories, or in the roar of a stadium, singing along with everyone?"
What he spoke of this time was not some grand principle, nor the mysteries of power and the world.
Instead, it was the simplest, most unadorned, most insignificant daily life of an "ordinary girl."
Yet, these words, falling into Ise Hinata's ears, were more fatal than any bewitching curse.
These words, to her, were like a language from another world, familiar, yet too distant to touch.
At this moment, her heart once again rippled with something called "longing."
That ripple, faint, yet so real that she could not ignore it.
Lu Cheng took in the fleeting flicker of hesitation on her face.
He turned around, the smile on his lips taking on a devilish allure.
"Oh, I saw a dessert shop that recently invited a master chef from Italy, and they've introduced many new ice cream flavors. I think you'll definitely like them."
Having said that, he slowly extended his hand towards Ise Hinata.
It was as if it were an irresistible invitation.
"Your brother, with that Onmyoji boy, should currently be playing hide-and-seek with an interesting demonic blade in the empty stronghold I prepared for them."
"Don't worry, they'll be fine; they'll just be tied up for a bit."
"Before they come crying back to you, you'll have at least a full day to be an ordinary person."
Lu Cheng's eyes were as deep as an abyss, reflecting her current wavering expression.
"How about it, Miss Hinata."
"Are you interested in accompanying me, this big bad guy, for a stroll in the human world?"
Ise Hinata's heart was stirred by unprecedented tumultuous waves!
Reason told her this was a trap, poison, another scheme by this man to dismantle her mental defenses.
But emotion, that human emotion suppressed for far too long, was screaming wildly.
Go!
Go and see!
Nothing bad will happen... She breathed slightly, her chest rising and falling erratically, her eyes, reflecting the moonlight, losing focus.
After a long while, she finally found her voice, but it carried a barely perceptible tremor.
"If it's too long, the shrine priests will find out..."
"And, I... I cannot leave the borders of Japan; otherwise, the National Luck will lose control."
This was her last line of defense, her last "condition."
However, Lu Cheng nodded readily, as if he had already anticipated her words.
"I've taken care of everything; they won't find out."
"And, we're just going to explore Tokyo."
The smile on his lips deepened as he offered the final, irresistible "assurance."
"Even with me present, you can still use your full power at any time."
"If I do anything that makes you feel in danger, you can strike at me at any time, or... return by yourself."
"I promise, I won't stop you."
This "assurance" was like a tranquilizer, instantly calming all of Ise Hinata's unease.
It gave her the illusion of "everything under control."
Yes, with her power, as long as she was within Japan, and as long as this man didn't play tricks, she could escape at any time.
This, perhaps, truly was a... small "indulgence."
Finally, under the devil's gaze, the Amaterasu Shrine Maiden, bearing the National Luck of a country, slowly closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, all the struggle and hesitation in her eyes had faded, leaving only a resolute determination, as if she had burned her bridges.
She gently nodded.
"Okay."
Lu Cheng smiled with satisfaction.
He snapped his fingers.
Soon, a dark shadow appeared silently in the corner of the courtyard; it was Ruzuki Rin.
She respectfully handed a beautifully wrapped paper bag to Ise Hinata.
Inside was a simple and elegant white dress.
When Ise Hinata took off her sacred, heavy hunting attire and put on the dress of a mortal girl, stepping barefoot onto the cool wooden floor.
She felt as if she had shed a heavy mountain that had weighed on her for her entire life.
An unprecedented lightness and an unprecedented nervousness simultaneously surged into her heart.
It wasn't that she didn't have her own clothes, but she had never felt this way before today... nervous, yet eager.
She followed Lu Cheng, step by step, out of the abode she had never left.
When her feet, for the first time, stepped out of that invisible barrier and onto the cold stone path of the shrine.
She was like a young girl escaping home for the first time, nervous, yet with an irrepressible, almost pathological excitement.
She greedily breathed the outside air, looking up at the sky... Seeing her curious yet wary expression, a playful smile flashed in Lu Cheng's eyes.
Deep within him, a cold voice quietly sounded.
"After experiencing the wonders of the outside world..."
"She will never be able to return to that simple birdcage again."