The soft, curvy body beneath Jinno Sumire's shrine maiden uniform was already full and shapely, delicate and graceful.
Today, she looked even fuller, a few shades more mature.
Like a peach tree nourished by rain and dew, bearing plump, juicy peaches. Sweet and tempting.
Feeling a strong sense of accomplishment, Hikari could not help but smile faintly.
Catching the hint of his smile with sharp eyes, Jinno Sumire shot him a sultry glare.
"What are you looking at? Take your filthy hands back and don't move them around. Once you're dressed, hurry up and leave. I still have shrine work to do later!", she snapped irritably.
"Oh right, Aunt Sumire, I have a charm here. Take it and keep it on you at all times," Hikari took out a Clear Mind protection charm that he had nearly forgotten to give her yesterday after being busy and overworked all night, and handed it to her.
Jinno Sumire took it. Seeing that it was just an ordinary-looking charm, she glanced at Hikari with some confusion.
"Why are you giving me this?"
Her confusion was simple. As a shrine priestess, she was the one who usually had miko hand out charms to believers. There were plenty of these things at the shrine. Hikari giving her one felt both strange and a little ridiculous.
And besides, for a shrine priestess not to carry her own shrine's official charm would be even stranger.
Still, it was a gift after all, and Hikari looked quite serious about wanting her to wear it properly.
With that in mind, Jinno Sumire found herself unable to refuse him. She obediently took the charm and wore it on her person.
To avoid attracting attention, she hid it inside her clothes, tightly pressed within her deep cleavage.
Seeing that she had put it on as told, Hikari nodded in satisfaction.
'Mature women really are sensible.'
The reason he gave her the charm was mainly because there were signs of evil energy near the shrine, along with the cracked demon-sealing stone. Relying on Ino Shrine alone might not be enough.
After both of them finished tidying themselves up, they prepared to leave separately.
Hikari would go out first, to avoid arousing suspicion.
But just as he was about to leave, Jinno Sumire looked at his back, and a trace of reluctance suddenly surfaced in her eyes.
She grabbed his sleeve, "Um…"
"Hm?", Hikari turned around, looking at her in confusion.
"Um… Hikari-kun, about today… you absolutely must not tell Little Ai. Understand?", Jinno Sumire said seriously.
"Okay," Hikari agreed and turned to leave.
Honestly, no matter how much they tried to hide it from Jinno Ai, once a child really existed, there was no way to conceal it. When that time came, he would have to give Jinno Ai an explanation.
But since Jinno Sumire did not bring it up, Hikari naturally kept quiet as well.
Watching him leave without saying anything more, Jinno Sumire's beautiful eyes revealed an uncontrollable reluctance.
Her mind could not help replaying that floating, heaven-like feeling from yesterday.
That sensation was simply too blissful, too addictive.
Even though she kept insisting that Hikari forget it and not take it to heart, she herself was not at all sure she could forget.
And it was even harder to imagine how painful life would be if she could never experience that feeling again.
But their ages and identities were right there. They absolutely could not make the same mistake again.
Once she truly had it, she would cut off this relationship and let him be with Little Ai properly.
'Little Ai, Mom won't hold Hikari-kun back for too long. I will definitely return him to you.'
———
On the other side—
Hikari was walking along the road away from Ino Shrine. Worshippers brushed past him shoulder to shoulder. He paid them little attention, lost in thought about what had happened yesterday and this morning.
As for Jinno Sumire's refusal to acknowledge their relationship, insisting it was an accident, and that even if things continued it would be for another purpose, Hikari understood completely.
The situation was complicated. There were many factors behind her unwillingness to admit it.
And before this, Hikari had only suspected it. He had not dared to confirm that despite having a daughter like Jinno Ai, yesterday had actually been her first time.
This was no longer just pretending to be husband and wife, they had truly gone all the way, thoroughly and completely.
They had even passed on the teaching, received the essence, and resolved doubts together. Naturally, he had no intention of letting Jinno Sumire go.
The reason he had agreed to all her talk about forgetting just now was simply to give her some space, to let her calm down a bit.
As for this cold and elegant priestess, Hikari had already set his sights on her.
Of course, he did not even need to do much.
According to what Jinno Sumire herself said, she would definitely need to seek him out several more times to try for a child.
When that time came, after repeated efforts and several rounds of hard work, their relationship would become inseparable. Jinno Sumire would probably not be as stubborn as she was today.
After leaving Ino Shrine, Hikari took out his phone and saw several missed calls and messages from Asakawa Aoi yesterday.
By rights, he should have gone to the Asakawa house first.
But after replying to a few messages, Hikari did not head in that direction. Instead, he walked toward Aunt Miyuri's home.
After all, yesterday, Yoshizawa Eigen, Miyuri's husband's murderer, had finally died.
This news was extremely important to Aunt Miyuri.
So Hikari decided to first bring the news of Yoshizawa Eigen's death back to Aunt Miyuri.
———
About half an hour later, Hikari arrived at Miyuri's home.
Ever since that day when she followed Hikari back and saw Natsuki and the brothers Natsuki Akito and Natsuki Kazuto lying dead on the ground, Miyuri's mood had remained low.
Seeing the corpses of people she once knew lying there so abruptly, blood everywhere, bodies torn apart, was something ordinary people could hardly avoid being traumatized by.
Hikari understood this well, which was why he came straight to her place.
Miyuri, who had been sitting on the sofa looking a little gloomy, heard footsteps at the entrance and quickly turned her head, extremely alert.
When she saw it was Hikari, she immediately stood up and hurried over.
"Hikari-kun, you're back!", Miyuri greeted him happily, a charming smile on her beautiful face.
Her happiness at seeing him was real, but Hikari could tell that part of that smile was forced.
So much had happened. Two people she was fairly close to had died, and she had even seen the crime scene with her own eyes. It was naturally hard for her emotions to recover.
So Hikari did not waste time and said directly, "Aunt Miyuri, that guy Yoshizawa Eigen is already dead."
"What?", Miyuri stared at him in disbelief at his sudden words.
"It's true," Seeing her disbelief, Hikari repeated it.
"H-how did it happen?", Miyuri quickly walked up to him and asked anxiously.
"It's a bit complicated. I'll explain it slowly. I had previously asked the Jinno family to put pressure on Yoshizawa Eigen. He was pushed to desperation, and yesterday he couldn't hold back and tried to attack Priestess Jinno Sumire."
"I happened to be there. Aunt Sumire and I worked together, caught Yoshizawa Eigen, and then killed him."
Hikari gave Miyuri a general account of how Yoshizawa Eigen infiltrated the place and was then killed by him.
Naturally, he left out the overly bloody parts and also concealed his improper relationship with Jinno Sumire.
Even so, after hearing it all, Miyuri's eyes widened in shock, staring at Hikari with a mix of disbelief and joy.
As soon as he finished speaking, she threw herself straight into his arms.
"Hikari-kun… thank you… thank you…"
"That man was so ruthless. Auntie was really scared."
"I wasn't just afraid he'd hurt me. I was even more afraid he'd hurt you, Hikari-kun…"
"Wuwuwu!"
"Thank goodness… thank goodness Hikari-kun is here…"
"Hikari-kun is really… really so reliable…"
"Wuwuwu!"
In just a few seconds, Hikari's collar was soaked by Miyuri's emotional tears.
Yoshizawa Eigen's death was clearly extremely important to Miyuri.
It concerned not only her own safety, and her worries about both herself and Hikari, but was also closely tied to the murdered brothers Natsuki Akito and Natsuki Kazuto, whom she once knew.
So upon hearing that Yoshizawa Eigen was dead, Miyuri truly could not control her emotions and burst into loud sobs.
In those cries were relief and excitement, mixed with gratitude and release.
After crying for four or five minutes, Miyuri finally slowly raised her head, her eyes red and swollen.
"Hikari-kun, you're really too reliable. Thank you!", Miyuri said, holding him tightly, sobbing with tears streaming down her face.
"It's okay, no need to thank me. Auntie, don't cry anymore," Seeing her pitiful, tear-filled eyes, swollen from crying, Hikari felt a bit of heartache as well. He gently wiped away her tears and patted her back to comfort her.
"Mmm…", With his comfort, Miyuri's emotions quickly calmed down.
After resting in his arms for a while, Miyuri, still with tear marks at the corners of her eyes, looked up at him and suddenly said, "Um… Hikari-kun, I want to take you somewhere. Can you accompany Auntie?"
"Okay," Hikari nodded in agreement.
Miyuri immediately stepped out of his arms and headed upstairs.
.
.
.
About ten minutes later, Miyuri slowly came downstairs, now wearing a black kimono, holding a small flower basket in her hand.
Hikari had almost never seen her wear this pure black kimono before, but it suited her well.
After all, Miyuri had an excellent figure. Full curves, long legs with just the right softness, and a round, lifted backside. Even compared to the noble priestess Jinno Sumire, with whom Hikari had just shared a night of passion, she was not inferior at all.
Wearing this black kimono, she looked inexplicably sweet and alluring. Even Hikari, who had long since seen every inch of her beautiful body, could not help but take a few extra glances.
But seeing Aunt Miyuri dressed like this, Hikari could already guess her intention, so he said nothing and simply followed quietly at her side.
———
Led by Miyuri, the two left the house.
Following her, Hikari soon arrived at a place that was quiet, almost excessively desolate.
It was a cemetery. Since it was not a memorial day, there was naturally no one around.
Miyuri continued walking ahead on her own. Hikari followed, passing many old graves with weathered, broken tombstones.
Then he came to two new graves standing close together.
The names engraved on the tombstones were clearly "Natsuki Kazuto" and "Natsuki Akito."
In Japan, pure black kimonos were often worn as mourning clothes. Wearing this outfit, Miyuri had indeed come to pay her respects to her once-familiar fiance Natsuki Kazuto and his brother Natsuki Akito.
After lighting incense and paper offerings, Miyuri placed a stick of incense at each of the brothers' graves.
Seeing this, Hikari also accompanied her and lit incense for them.
Kneeling halfway before the graves, Miyuri lowered her head and said, "With Hikari-kun's help, Yoshizawa Eigen is already dead. You can rest in peace now."
"I'm truly very grateful to Hikari-kun. Without him, I really don't know what I would have done."
Under Hikari's gaze, Miyuri knelt before the Natsuki brothers' graves, murmuring softly for a long time.
He understood her actions.
After all, Miyuri had known the Natsuki brothers before. Natsuki Kazuto had even been her fiance.
And before Natsuki Kazuto's death, the two had never said anything about breaking off the engagement. So in a sense, Miyuri could still be considered his fiancee, a woman half belonging to someone else.
Now that the man who killed Natsuki Kazuto was dead, it was only natural for her to come and explain things.
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