Ryousuke was still immersed in his memory of Tamayo, completely oblivious to the sudden drop in atmospheric pressure around him. He continued describing her based purely on his "21st-century aesthetic" impressions.
"Her personality is very gentle. Good temper, very patient. Her aura... well, it's special. She has this refined, settled charm. She's older than me, definitely. And her figure..."
He tried to recall the silhouette of her elegant kimono, choosing his words carefully. "...Well-proportioned and quite 'developed.' It's very nice."
HUH?!
Rika froze. She instinctively looked down at her own slightly "unripe," youthful frame.
Rika: Σ_(꒪ཀ꒪"∠)!!
Ryousuke-niisan! So you like THAT kind!!! Waaaaah... No! Starting today, I'm drinking a gallon of milk! Eating papayas! I don't believe this! My destiny is in my own hands, not the heavens!
Unaware of Rika's internal screaming, Jigoro was beaming. He nodded repeatedly, his brain automatically filling in the image of a refined, mature lady from a good family.
"Good! Excellent! A gentle wife is a blessing! They say an older wife is like holding a gold brick—she'll know how to take care of you! Tell me, exactly how much older is she?"
Ryousuke, still thinking of Tamayo's four-hundred-year-old poise, blurted out the truth without running it through a "human logic" filter.
"Exactly? Hmm... I'd say she's probably a bit older than you, Gramps."
Pffft—!
The water Shota was drinking turned into a high-pressure jet stream. His eyes nearly flew out of their sockets.
Wait, brother! You went out to slay demons and came back with a Sugar Grandma?!
Rika snapped her head up. The color drained from her pink cheeks, leaving her pale and dazed as if struck by invisible lightning.
Images flashed through her mind: Ryousuke affectionately walking arm-in-arm with a hunched, white-haired crone with a face like a dried plum. The old woman tremblingly offers him a bowl of soup, and Ryousuke feeds her with a doting smile. "Open wide, Grandma-darling... careful, it's hot..."
The young girl's worldview—and her glass heart—shattered into a million pieces.
Jigoro's grandfatherly smile froze, then cracked. His hand gripping the cane trembled violently. The wrinkles on his face seemed to double in depth in a single second.
The entire mountain fell into a deathly silence. Even the cicadas stopped chirping out of pure shock.
Jigoro coughed several times, his voice wavering with profound concern. "Ry-Ryousuke..."
"Yeah?"
"I know slaying demons puts a lot of psychological pressure on a young man. If you... if you ever feel..." Jigoro's throat hitched, his lip twitching. "If you ever feel mentally unwell, you can talk to me! Just... don't do something you'll regret, my boy!"
A deviant! You're a deviant!
Ryousuke scratched his head, feeling utterly confused. "Oh, okay—"
Jigoro stumbled back toward the house, his steps uneven. I have to make Rika spend more time with him! Thank god I asked today! What on earth is happening to the youth of today?!
Ryousuke frowned. Just as he turned around, Rika, with red-rimmed eyes, sprinted into her room and slammed the door.
SLAM!
The world was quiet again. Ryousuke looked at Shota, who simply sighed and patted his shoulder with a look of profound, terrified respect.
"My brother! When you inherit her fortune, don't forget me!"
"Are you sick in the head?" Ryousuke rolled his eyes.
Shota didn't care. He skipped back to his room, whistling. In his eyes, Ryousuke was now a legendary "Warrior of the Aged." As long as Ryousuke wasn't chasing his sister, Shota didn't care if his "sister-in-law" was 80 years old.
Ryousuke sighed. They definitely misunderstood something. Whatever, explaining it will only make it worse. My liver still hurts.
For the next few days, the atmosphere on Momoyama was bizarre.
Jigoro's sighs became more frequent. During training, he looked at Ryousuke with a complex gaze that screamed, "Did I fail as a teacher?"
To nip Ryousuke's "terrifying" preferences in the bud, Jigoro kept assigning Ryousuke tasks that forced him to be near Rika.
"Ryousuke, go help Rika flip the drying herbs."
"Ryousuke, this training dummy is crooked. Go fix it with Rika."
"Ryousuke, the water barrel..."
Unfortunately, it backfired. Rika was visibly "wilting." The cheerful, sun-like girl was gone. She became quiet, lost in thought during training, and barely ate. Her face was a billboard that read: I! AM! NOT! HAPPY!
When Ryousuke spoke to her, she'd either look at her feet and mumble a "mm-hmm" or make a frantic excuse to run away.
Shota, whose social awareness was usually as thick as a roof beam, finally realized something was wrong. One evening after training, he sat down next to Rika as she stared blankly at the porch.
"Rika! What's with you lately? You're like a zombie." Shota tried to use his usual loud cheer to dispel her gloom. "Who bullied you? Tell me, and I'll punch 'em!"
Rika slowly turned her head, her large eyes filled with unanswerable grievance and confusion. She stared at him for a long time before whispering:
"Brother... am I... am I really ugly?"
"HUH?" Shota was baffled. Ugly? His sister? From the mountain to the nearest hundred miles, Rika was the cutest girl around! Every time they went to the village, the local boys would trip over themselves just to look at her.
"WHO?! Who said you were ugly?!" Shota's knuckles cracked. "I'll gouge their eyes out! Saying my sister is ugly? They must want to die!"
Rika felt even more depressed. She sniffled and pointed toward the figure in the training yard, her voice cracking with pure, logical heartbreak.
"Then... then why does Ryousuke-niisan like old women who are older than Gramps?! I'm not that bad, am I?!"
Aha! So that's it!
Shota's teeth ground together as he glared at Ryousuke, who was currently practicing Total Concentration: Constant. You bastard! It's all your fault! Talking about loving grandmas and breaking my sister's heart!
At the same time, Jigoro looked over, his eyes full of worry. Three pairs of eyes—vengeful, heartbroken, and worried—locked onto Ryousuke like heat-seeking missiles.
Ryousuke, who was just mentally calculating where to find some "small fry" demons to reach his 10-year lifespan goal, suddenly felt a bone-chilling shiver. He looked up to find the "Triple Court-Martial" staring at him.
The courtyard was dead silent. The air felt like lead.
Ryousuke blinked, feeling completely innocent. "Uh... why is everyone staring at me?"
He had no idea what he'd done. He'd been a model student for days!
Shota looked ready to explode. "YOU—!"
Caw—!
Before the explosion could happen, a sharp cry pierced the air. A blue-glowing hummingbird landed on Ryousuke's shoulder, delivering an urgent message.
"URGENT! URGENT! Yasui Ryousuke! Rank Kano mission! Caw!"
"Suspected demon activity in Yamagata Prefecture! Investigate immediately! Depart at once!"