Chapter 141: Growth
Inside the guest room on the west side of the second floor, everything was clean and orderly.
There was not much furniture.
Aside from a white bed, there was only a desk and a bookshelf. Because of that, the room looked unusually spacious, almost empty.
"The talismans are all prepared."
Gin Tsumugi sat at the desk, checking the quantity and quality of the talismans in his hand.
"As for the shikigami, Ro, Shōran... they are all on standby as well."
He was preparing for the great battle that would come tomorrow.
This had always been his habit.
No matter who the enemy was, thorough preparation before battle was indispensable.
Even a lion used its full strength when hunting a rabbit.
And tomorrow's battle would be no rabbit hunt.
It would be a fierce struggle far beyond the battle at Shinomiya Manor. There could not be the slightest carelessness.
"The only thing left is to see how far those guys intend to intervene."
Gin slowly put away the talismans.
"I hope they don't disappoint me."
Compared to the fake known as Nue, Gin was more interested in whether the ones behind Yaksha Oni would truly make a move.
And if they did, in what manner would they act?
If they simply sent Great Yokai-level combat power to assist, then harvesting another wave of role-playing progress would be easy enough.
In that case, the bait and calculations he had laid out earlier would be considered to have achieved their initial result.
If they used some other method, then he would have to judge the situation differently.
"Everything will be decided tomorrow."
Gin stood and prepared to lie down on the bed, intending to close his eyes and rest for a while.
With his current strength, even if he stayed awake for a full week, he would not feel the slightest fatigue.
But long-standing habits were difficult things to change.
When the hour arrived, the body naturally wanted to sleep.
Sometimes, Gin could not help sighing over how troublesome it was to correct a habit.
Knock, knock, knock.
A series of crisp knocks sounded from the door.
Strangely, the knocking was very soft, and the pauses between each knock were rather long.
It sounded almost tentative, as if the person outside felt guilty.
Gin opened the door with some curiosity.
Then his expression paused.
"Mashiro?"
A moment later, his gaze shifted slightly.
"No. You're Ryōyū."
The person standing outside looked like Shiina Mashiro.
But her eyes no longer carried Mashiro's usual ethereal innocence. Instead, they held elegance and nobility, along with the graceful bearing of someone born to luxury and ceremony.
It was Ryōyū.
She had completely taken over Shiina Mashiro's body.
And what surprised Gin most was what she was wearing.
A pink pajama set filled with a cute, girlish style. Her fair collarbones were faintly visible, and her small, translucent feet rested bare against the floor. Her golden hair fell loose around her shoulders, carrying a very faint scent like honeyed orchid.
Most importantly, she was holding a pillow in her arms.
"Ryōyū, you are...?"
Gin had already guessed something, but still asked subconsciously.
Ryōyū's delicate face was slightly flushed. She lowered her head, slender fingers clutching the pillow while fidgeting together in a rare display of girlish nervousness.
The noble and composed Imperial Princess was nowhere to be seen.
After a few breaths, her voice came out very small.
"Aren't husband and wife... supposed to sleep together?"
"Husband and wife..."
Gin was briefly at a loss.
In Ryōyū's mind, they were indeed husband and wife.
And during the thousand-year dream, he had also experienced that period of mutual affection.
He was not against her feelings.
But the Ryōyū standing before him was attached to Shiina Mashiro's body.
Ryōyū seemed to see through his thoughts.
She hugged the pillow and walked into the room. Sitting on the edge of the bed with her knees bent, she said softly, "My body was destroyed long ago during that turmoil in the Imperial family."
Her fingers tightened slightly around the pillow.
"And Mashiro agreed to let me come here tonight."
"She agreed?"
Gin was somewhat dumbfounded.
Agreed?
With Shiina Mashiro's lack of common sense about herself and the outside world, wouldn't she simply nod along if Ryōyū said something?
Given Mashiro's dependence and trust in Ryōyū, even if Ryōyū sold her, Mashiro might obediently help count the money.
Besides, this matter could not be summarized so easily by saying "she agreed."
"Gin."
Ryōyū suddenly raised her head.
There was determination in her eyes.
"I don't want to leave any more regrets like I did a thousand years ago."
Gin looked at her silently.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Outside the window, Kyoto's night remained wrapped in Yin energy and darkness. The distant direction of Nijō Castle was like a black wound carved into the city.
In the end, Gin sighed lightly.
"Then stay."
Ryōyū's eyes trembled.
The tense unease in her expression loosened little by little.
That night, they spoke for a long time.
A thousand years of separation.
The regrets that had never been said.
The things Ryōyū had endured alone.
The things Gin had seen in the dream.
Some words were calm.
Some were difficult.
Some carried pauses so long they felt heavier than speech itself.
Ryōyū eventually fell asleep beside him, her fingers still lightly holding the edge of his sleeve, as if afraid that the person she had waited for across a millennium would disappear the moment she opened her eyes.
For both of them, that night became another kind of growth.
The next day, dawn came slowly.
The sky outside was only faintly bright, still covered by that gray, mist-like cloud layer.
"What a mess."
Gin looked down at Ryōyū sleeping soundly on the right side of the bed.
Her eyes were gently closed, and a sweet smile lingered at the corners of her mouth, as if she had fallen into a wonderful dream.
He had not expected that, in the confusion of last night, their relationship would take another step forward.
But the circumstances were still giving him a headache.
For a moment, he did not know how to handle it.
Much less how to face Shiina Mashiro.
Suddenly, Ryōyū's brows furrowed.
A trace of discomfort appeared on her face, and she let out a faint sound.
"...It hurts."
"Ryōyū?"
Gin immediately leaned closer.
"Are you all right?"
The beauty's eyelashes trembled slightly.
Then her eyes opened a narrow crack, revealing an ethereal clarity mixed with confusion and discomfort.
Gin froze.
"Are you... Mashiro?"
The sight before him left Gin stunned.
For a moment, he did not know what to say.
That fellow Ryōyū had actually hidden herself inside Shiina Mashiro's body at the critical moment and refused to come out.
Shiina Mashiro nodded quietly while enduring the discomfort. She touched her flat, snow-white stomach and said only one word.
"Hungry."
Then she stared blankly at Gin without saying anything else.
"...Sigh."
Gin sighed powerlessly.
At this point, saying anything else was useless.
Any excuse in this situation would only sound pale and irresponsible.
"Wait a moment."
He got up from the bed.
"I'll go prepare breakfast for you."
After saying that, Gin left the room.
Once he was gone, Shiina Mashiro puffed out her cheeks slightly and said in dissatisfaction, "Ryōyū, it really hurts. You lied to me."
"Mashiro..."
Ryōyū appeared beside her, her face carrying a faint blush and an apologetic expression.
On the other side, as soon as Gin came downstairs, he ran into Kuroyukihime, Kasugano Sora, and Kurasaki Fuko.
The three girls looked at him with expressions that carried a mixture of teasing and complexity.
Clearly, they had heard some of the commotion from last night.
Gin could only ignore their meaningful gazes amid his slight embarrassment.
Without saying a word, he walked toward the kitchen and began preparing a simple breakfast for Shiina Mashiro.
....
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