“…”
Suddenly, his phone buzzed. Few people reached out to him like this, so he had an idea of who it could be. Indeed, it was from his sweetheart.
“I will be leaving Yamato for a little while now. I can’t say too much about the job, but once I’m back, I’ll take some time off. Could I spend it with you?”
Kaguya smiled at Tsukihi Aragami’s brave love letter.
“Please do. I’ll look forward to it. I’d like to know when you might be back, if it’s not top secret. I’ll meet you at the airport.”
He typed with his index finger, and a reply came almost as soon as he hit send.
“Could I ask you to reward me for a job well done? I’d like to eat some of your cooking.”
Her modest wish brought another smile to his face.
“I’ll make anything you want. Please be careful. I’ll be praying you come back safe and sound.”
Tsukihi sent one last reply—See you soon—and the exchange ended.
Kaguya stood up and left the room. He walked down the long hallway, where he bumped into his Custodian, Eken, who had a bowl of snacks in his hand.
“Oh, are you going out, Lord Kaguya?”
Eken had been worn down in both mind and body the previous year, and the ordeal had left him quite thin at the time—but now he was at peak health. He had gained some height, too.
“I wanted to have tea with you.”
Still, he was a boy at heart.
“Let’s have it later. I was going to visit the front shrine.”
“You sure visit the shrine a lot for being a god yourself,” Eken commented, and Kaguya chuckled.
“I also found it strange at first, but there’s no harm in getting along with other gods. Especially when it’s another local.”
Eken nodded in understanding and took a step. “I’ll go leave the snacks in your room and follow you. Or, may I?”
“Of course. I’ll wait for you here.”
Upon receiving permission, Eken trotted away and was back in the blink of an eye.
“It’s funny; you said it’s strange that I visit the front shrine, and yet you want to come with me.”
Kaguya walked down the hallway as his retainer followed behind him like a puppy.
“Is it? I just want to be where you are.”
Kaguya smiled at his sincere response. “…Thank you. I just thought you might get bored while I pray.”
“When you’re praying with your eyes closed, I communicate with the local god in my own way.”
Kaguya was surprised to hear that. “…You’re not telling me you can hear their voice, are you?” he ventured.
“No way,” said Eken. “It’s just me talking. I talk about what I had for dinner last night, or how I read so many scary stories that I couldn’t get to sleep.”
This boy is always defying my imagination.
Eken was so used to having a god nearby that he had no qualms about chitchatting with Ryugu’s local god, or any of the chiyorozugami.
“…You’re forgiven because you’re a Custodian, but don’t be too irreverent with your prayers. We may not see the gods, but they might really be there. Really, we should act on the assumption that they are.”
Eken nodded. “Does that mean you don’t feel the presence of any spirits, Lord Kaguya?”
“No. I’d be scared if I did, so I like it this way.”
“But you could awaken something supernatural one day. Tell me if you ever do.”
“Why do you always act like I’m some bizarre entity?” Kaguya asked.
“Well, you’re pretty mystic, yourself, aren’t you?”
“Maybe to a regular person.”
“I love you, Lord Kaguya,” Eken said.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“Maybe that’s why I love the supernatural, too.”
“Now it’s getting really weird.”
“I’ve been reading up a lot on folklore.”
“…”
“I like scary stories now, too.”
“…”
“And I find myself wishing for fantastical things to happen,” Eken said.
Did I go wrong teaching him?
Kaguya was confused, but Eken was acting the way he always did.
But…that powerful imagination of his is part of his nature.
Eken had excellent control over Divine Cloak, his Custodian power. The more powerful its user’s imagination was, the better its results. Essentially, there was no reason for Kaguya to be worried.
Eken was just a curious boy who liked the fantastical.
“Look, it’s fine to enjoy those things, but just don’t dive too far into the religious aspect that it harms you. Tell me if you ever feel like you might be ending up on that road.”
Eken was taken aback.
“I already adhere to you as much as possible, though.”
“I’m not a religio— Well, I guess I am a god.”
“Are you thinking I’ll get too into the occult and buy weird vases from bad people trying to take advantage of me? Don’t worry. You don’t sell vases, do you?”
“I do not.”
“I’m just interested in the mystical because you’re a part of it. But it’s nothing huge. Just a vague interest.”
“Vague… If you say so.”
Eken chuckled. “Thanks for worrying about me.”
“Hey, it’s no laughing matter.”
“Sorry. By the way, what are you praying for today?”
“For Tsukihi to have a safe trip. She’s going overseas, so I want her to be all right.”
“Then I should do a real prayer for once, too!”
This boy’s innocence was perilous; the god of night had to keep an eye on him. The two headed over to the shrine to pray for Kaguya’s beloved.
Meanwhile, Iyo was already in the middle of spring. Ayame was watching the mountain cherry blossoms from the mansion in the Town of Summer.
It was a beautiful sight—pink blossoms among the thriving greenery of the mountains.
Ayame could have smiled at the sight of them a short while earlier, thanks to her memory of welcoming Spring as they’d visited Summer’s new abode this year.
She had enjoyed the time she’d spent with the girls.
“…”
But today, not even this beautiful view could clear her mind.
She was worried about her sister’s trip to Kyokoku.
“Ayame, I set it up so you can see the display here, too.”
She heard Renri’s voice from behind. She could tell her husband was trying to be considerate.
There was a tablet on the low table in the living room showing two sets of values—heartbeats—updated in real time.
“This should give you some peace of mind. They only take the watches off for baths, right? You can see they’re alive and well.”
The data was marked Ruri and Raicho.
Ayami and Renri had given them watches that could measure their heart rates, among other things.
The app shared those values here, which let Ayame know they were still alive. It only showed numbers, but it kept her updated on how they were doing even when they were far away.
“…Yes.”
Ayame still seemed worried, so Renri made her sit on the couch in front of the tablet. It was a warm spring day, yet Ayame’s worries cast a cloud over her expression.
Renri sat next to her and hugged her shoulder. He could feel her tension.
“You’re really worried.”
“Yes…”
“They’ll be fine. They have Raicho. He might be weird, but he can protect Ruri.”
“…Yeah.”
Renri wanted to soothe his wife, but he couldn’t come up with any other way to do so. It was the first time the twins had ever been this far away from each other.
I can’t understand how she feels.