"I am a foreigner and not interested in this kind of activity." Aiden took a sip of tea and spoke the truth.
Maki nodded, showing understanding, then asked with a hint of nervousness, "Then... what about my... performance just now?"
This was a question where he couldn't tell the truth.
"It was very nice to watch." Aiden said against his conscience.
He felt the traditional dance and music of the island country were a bit petty and unsophisticated, but now that Maki was asking him, he could only say something false.
Deception isn't a bad thing, but it must be used in the right place. That's what high emotional intelligence is.
Aiden had suffered losses before; he had nearly made Jeanne really angry once.
But who was Maki? She had become the family head and helmsman at a young age. She shook her head slightly and said, "Aiden, you aren't telling the truth, are you!"
"Uh..."
Aiden felt somewhat embarrassed, but was even more puzzled why Maki had suddenly become so low in emotional intelligence. Previously, she always spoke in a way that considered others' feelings.
However, Maki immediately continued, "Actually, I can understand. Traditional dance and music, especially the traditional dances for praying to the gods, aren't nice to watch or pleasant to listen to. Actually... I don't like them either."
Aiden didn't speak. He felt that what Maki really wanted to say was that she hated the family's destined fate.
Then, after a pause, Maki continued, "Aiden, can you dance?"
She looked at Aiden, a slight ripple stirring in her calm gaze.
"No, I haven't learned." Aiden shrugged.
In fact, Bayonetta had forced him to learn for a few days, but that kind of embarrassing dance was really too much for him.
Moreover, Bayonetta, who loved to display her own beauty, made it so that while learning, he easily ended up learning his way onto the bed, and later they simply skipped the dancing step altogether.
"Then, Aiden, do you want to learn? Maki can also do partner dances."
"Waltz, or Tango?" Aiden didn't know many, tilting his head to ask.
"Latin dance..."
"Ahem..."
Aiden gave a light cough. He felt Maki was hinting at something.
Of course he knew about Latin dance too, a type of ballroom dance, and... well, this was also the reason he didn't say it out loud.
"Alright, just joking. Actually, I know a little of each. But, if Aiden wants to learn, actually Waltz might be a bit better." Maki said with a slight smile.
In her heart, however, she was thinking that Latin dance seemed more suitable. When she learned it with her sister before, two women just couldn't capture that feeling no matter what.
"Let's talk about it when we have the chance." Aiden shook his head. He really wasn't interested in dancing.
However, he felt Maki's character was a bit contradictory. On one hand, she was hiding something from him, and on the other, she was hinting at something. In short, it was very tangled, very conflicted.
"Alright then."
Seeing that Aiden didn't agree immediately, Maki wasn't disappointed either. She just quietly held her tea cup, kneeling and sitting beside Aiden.
But this quietness was only superficial. Her restless hands kept changing their position.
She was thinking about many things, but what she thought about most were the photos Mai had shown her, and also... the scene of her sister actively offering a k*ss to Aiden.
The shrine maiden also very much wanted to try the taste of a k*ss.
Speaking of which, once a person has thoughts in their heart, especially improper ones, it's always easy to feel restless.
And the holy shrine maiden completely exhibited this situation.
In the past, when resting, she could kneel and sit quietly under a tree, in a pavilion, or beside a tea table, holding a tea cup for several hours.
But now, having knelt and sat beside Aiden for just a few minutes, she couldn't sit still anymore.
Watching the shrine maiden constantly adjusting her posture, seemingly somewhat uncomfortable, Aiden asked curiously, "Maki, what's wrong? Could it be you're tired from dancing just now?"
After saying this, Aiden laughed at himself. The shrine maiden is a martial artist; how could she possibly be tired from dancing?
"Probably she's feeling shy sitting next to me." Aiden thought with certainty. Every time Maki sat beside him for a little while, she would be like this.
But unexpectedly, after Maki heard this, a sudden light flashed in her eyes. Then, she changed her posture, no longer kneeling, but sitting normally on the cushion. Then she stretched out her two long legs, which were wrapped in black leggings.
Her sister's initiative had also stirred something in her.
Although they weren't black silk, black leggings on certain women were more tempting than black silk. Just like on Maki, her thighs wrapped in leggings were like the legendary "manga legs", thin where they should be thin, thick where they should be thick, very proportionate. When pressed together, they were like... chopsticks.
"It is a bit tiring. Dancing consumes a lot of energy."
Seemingly to verify her words, Maki began to gently massage her own legs.
Lowering her head, Maki's attention seemed entirely on her own legs, but the corner of her eye kept noticing Aiden.
The "impure" maiden... no, the shrine maiden was very confident about her legs. Her nearly 170 cm height made her legs a bit longer than Mai's.
Although not as plump as Mai's, her straight, slender, and evenly proportioned legs definitely surpassed Mai's.
'So...'
'Hurry up and look over here!'
The shrine maiden shouted in her heart, but quickly stopped herself automatically, and the little thoughts in her heart didn't show on the surface at all.
On the surface, she still wore that holy expression, calm, gentle, elegant, with a faint smile.
Her sister, who was always by her side, wasn't here; Mai, who started the war, wasn't here; the non-threatening person (Yuri) wasn't here either.
The shrine maiden was also about to start taking action.
And in fact, Aiden did look over, though he didn't look openly, but stole glances.
The holy shrine maiden made it difficult for him to harbor too many improper thoughts. Every time he saw the shrine maiden's serene face, Aiden's heart would calm down. But... just looking at the legs... that was different.
Meanwhile, Maki, while massaging her legs, said, "Dancing requires concentration. Because you're afraid of making missteps, the physical exertion while dancing is even greater than when I practice martial arts..."
While speaking, she bent her left leg, then slowly rolled the leggings up.
The leggings were very elastic, and Maki smoothly rolled them up to her knees, revealing that section of smooth, slender calf.
This was almost no different from taking off stockings, maybe one is rolling up, the other is rolling down.
After rolling up the leggings, Maki continued, "There's a dedicated gym at the company. Every time after work, I go and dance for a while. After all, I'm a shrine maiden; I need to be proficient in my duties, although I only perform for others a few times a year..."
"When I dance, Chizuru practices the Kagura family's ancient martial arts nearby. Hmph, she is particularly inattentive in her practice."
"The family's martial arts are a complete mess; she can practice for a whole day without breaking a sweat. So just now, when Miss Mai accepted her challenge, I was worried she wouldn't be able to win."
"Then why did she look so confident?" Aiden lowered his gaze slightly.
"Because I'm here. If she can't win, I will step in." Maki slightly raised her head. She had noticed Aiden's gaze, then continued, "I'm much stronger than Chizuru. Hmph, I dare say there are very few in the world who can defeat me."
With the Yata Mirror, there were indeed few who could defeat her. But... those who could defeat her were not ordinary people.
Remembering Maki's future encounters, Aiden frowned. Games aren't the same as plot settings; skilled players could even defeat Orochi using characters from the American sports team. But in the plot setting, the strongest ones weren't even human.
However, that was for the future. With him here, the Eight Masters weren't a big problem. He just didn't know how their combat power would manifest.
Thinking this to himself, Aiden said with a smile, "Two against one, you sisters aren't being very fair, are you?"
"We're twins, what's unfair about that?" The shrine maiden said, her face reddening. That really wasn't fair.
Then she immediately asked curiously, "Aiden, if a fight had really broken out just now, who would you have helped?"
"That's hard to answer."
Aiden's old face reddened. At the time, he had thought about helping Mai.
"It really is hard to answer. Forget it, I won't make it difficult for Aiden." Maki didn't want to continue on this topic. She continued massaging her calf.
"Aiden, do you know how to massage?"
"A little bit."
Aiden thought about it; he remembered saying this to someone before. Then his heart jolted violently. He could guess what Maki was going to say next.
Sure enough...
"Then, can Aiden help me massage? Massaging myself always feels like it lacks something. Besides, my legs are already tired, why tire my hands too?"
Maki said, her face red. Seemingly to explain, she continued, "In the past, when my legs were uncomfortable after getting tired from dancing, it was always Chizuru who massaged them for me."
Here, Maki paused, thought for a moment, and continued, "Aiden is going to be my little sister's husband in the future, so you count as my future brother-in-law. I think Aiden won't refuse, right?"
'You've said that, how can I refuse?'
Aiden looked at Maki, thinking to himself, then immediately lowered his head again. While saying these words, the holy shrine maiden's face maintained a completely calm and unruffled expression, making it impossible for him to harbor any improper thoughts. So he immediately lowered his head again, not looking at her face, but at her legs.
Twin sisters, their faces look exactly the same, so why is the feeling they give off so different?
Both have mature, attractive faces and figures. The tsundere Chizuru always made him unable to resist teasing her, while the shrine maiden... well, actually, Aiden wanted to tease her even more.