After dinner, Yuejianye You came to the courtyard. His father was already there waiting for him.
Hearing You’s footsteps, Yuejianye Zhenyue turned around. Moonlight enveloped him from behind, as if draping a veil over him. He was silent for two seconds, then spoke:
“I’ll cut to the chase.”
“I’m not an ordinary person.”
“I am Tsukuyomi.”
You doubted his ears.
Tsukuyomi??
The Tsukuyomi from the Kojiki? One of the Three Noble Children? The brother of Amaterasu?
Wasn’t this just a legend?
‘But speaking of Tsukuyomi, the first time he heard the term “Tsukuyomi” was actually in his past life when he read Dragon Clan III. Uesugi Erii… that red-haired, strong yet fragile girl who believed in Lu Mingfei until her dying breath. Speaking of which, Lu Mingfei was truly useless—couldn’t even save Erii. What’s the point of a protagonist like that?—’
‘No! Now wasn’t the time to be reminiscing about novel plots!’
You forcibly suppressed the chaotic thoughts flying around in his mind, trying to calm himself down. He took a deep breath and shifted his perspective.
‘Could it be that he had joined some weird religion?’
‘In his past life, he had heard that there were many strange cults in Japan. Speaking of which, let’s pay a moment of silence for the number one male gunner on the Asian server…’
You once again stopped his runaway thoughts, and his gaze became somewhat pitying. He cleared his throat and said,
“Dad, if you’ve been under too much work pressure lately, Mom and I can find you a psychiatrist…”
His father directly extended his hand.
The moonlight permeating the courtyard, as if attracted by something, began to “flow” visibly. Those silver-white lights converged from all around, gathered above his father’s palm, spun, and finally coalesced into a pigeon-egg-sized orb.
The orb emitted a soft silver glow, its surface as smooth as if polished with 7000-grit sandpaper, hovering quietly half an inch above his father’s palm.
You’s mouth fell open. No. Where had this brought him? Was this still the real world?
‘Was this the golden finger that had been eighteen years late?’
‘Yes, Yuejianye You was also a reincarnator. After coming to this world, he naturally felt he should have some special treatment. System, golden finger—he had tried every method he could think of before the age of six. Of course, as expected, they all failed. From then on, he had settled into a peaceful ordinary life. And now his dad just told him he was a god?’
Seeing him a bit dazed, his father casually tossed the orb toward him. You instinctively reached out to catch it. The moment the orb fell into his palm, the cool touch and hard texture sent a shiver through his body. The layer of moonlight enveloping the orb seemed alive, flickering faintly with his breath.
“Believe me now?” his father said flatly.
You looked down at the orb in his hand, then up at his father’s expressionless face, feeling his worldview was in urgent need of reconstruction.
“…I believe you.”
He held the orb out to return it, but his father didn’t take it.
“Keep it for yourself,” his father said, sitting down on the stone steps in the courtyard.
“Take some time to digest it.”
You sat down as well.
All kinds of thoughts in his mind were like a jigsaw puzzle someone had knocked over, impossible to piece back together for a while.
‘So my surname, “Yuejianye,” means this? The moon seen in the night sky? And my father’s name, “Zhenyue”—true moon? What a blunt way of naming.’
‘Also, as a descendant of a god, in Japan they should call it “Arahitogami,” right? But I’ve lived eighteen years and haven’t found anything special about myself. This Arahitogami probably only has a noble status, with zero practical use.’
He was thinking all sorts of random things when his father spoke, interrupting his train of thought.
“You, you should have studied the Kojiki, right?”
You nodded subconsciously. His thoughts were still drifting elsewhere.
“I am one of the Three Noble Children, Amaterasu’s younger brother, the ruler of Yoru no Shokuhara.”
His father paused.
“And then? That’s it?”
“…That’s it?”
“Amaterasu’s descendants have ruled Ashihara no Nakatsukuni—the current Four Islands of Japan—since the age of myths. Susanoo also has a considerable following among the people. What about me?”
His father’s voice grew a bit gloomy.
“I do have my own shrine at the Ise Grand Shrine, but the number of mortals who are genuinely willing to come and worship me is pitifully small. Not to mention comparing me to the Three Noble Children—I’m probably even worse off than minor gods like the Fire God or the Thunder God.”
You couldn’t help but think inwardly,
‘That’s right. I haven’t really heard about anyone worshipping Tsukuyomi there. Dad is really pitiful. Anyone would be anxious in his place.’
“If it were just this, I could endure it,” his father continued.
“But my elder sister doesn’t intend to let me off so easily.”
His father turned to look at You.
“You, let me ask you something. Tell me honestly.”
“When it comes to a moon deity, who is the first one that comes to mind?”
You was taken aback.
The first one he thought of was Kaguya-hime. The moon princess from the Taketori Monogatari, not some Tsukuyomi.
Seeing him not answer, his father sneered,
“It’s Kaguya-hime, isn’t it?”
You felt a bit awkward.
“Ever since the Taketori Monogatari was born, my dear elder sister has been subtly supporting Kaguya-hime as a new deity. And in modern society, there’s no need to mention it—a beautiful, mysterious bamboo princess who captivated countless nobles? What mortal wouldn’t like her?”
(‘That’s true. Everyone likes a beautiful goddess these days. Sigh, Dad’s disadvantage is his gender.’)
His father’s tone grew colder.
“In movies, anime, light novels, games—Kaguya-hime’s shadow is everywhere. When it comes to Tsukuyomi, mortals’ first reaction isn’t the ruler of Yoru no Shokuhara, but the ninjutsu from Naruto.”
You opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his father suddenly spoke again.
“You, go fall in love.”
“Go reproduce.”
You froze completely.
“—Huh?”
‘Fall in love? It’s no problem for Dad to support him dating—he’s eighteen. But what does “reproduce” mean? Is it what he thinks it is?’
Seeing his stunned expression, his father actually smiled.
That’s right, smiled. The man who usually always wore a serious expression actually smiled.
“You, you are my child, the divine child of Tsukuyomi, the first generation living god.”
His father leaned forward, his face almost touching You’s nose.
“I only have one request for you—”
“Go and multiply the bloodline of Tsukuyomi. To put it more bluntly, unite with many mortal women and have many children.”
You felt his brain couldn’t process this.
“This is the rule of the gods. Matters of the mortal world can only be solved through humans; gods cannot interfere directly.”
His father straightened up and looked up at the moon.
“Spread the bloodline of Tsukuyomi among mortals, and when the time is right—of course, it might be several hundred years from now—replace the Emperor. Is it only Amaterasu’s descendants who can rule Ashihara no Nakatsukuni? That’s not reasonable.”
You opened his mouth.
He wanted to argue. He wanted to say,
“This is already a modern society,”
or
“If the Americans hadn’t deliberately maintained the Emperor back then, he wouldn’t have survived,”
or
“The Emperor is just a puppet; real power lies with the political parties and the Prime Minister.”—
But his father finished speaking and turned to leave, not giving him a chance to speak.
You stood alone in the courtyard, his shadow stretched long by the moonlight.
He looked down at the orb in his hand, then up at the bright full moon in the sky.
“…Ha.”
You let out an ambiguous sigh.
‘The golden finger has arrived just like that?’
‘The main quest is—to build a harem?’
He didn’t know what expression to make. Absurd? Surprised? Or delighted?
‘A harem. Such a dreamy, beautiful, and surreal word. Although he was a reincarnator, eighteen years of daily life had long dispelled those fantasies. Systems and golden fingers were things only found in anime and light novels.’
‘But then again, forming bonds with beautiful girls, connecting souls and bodies. He admitted it was a male instinct, a primal impulse etched into DNA. But—’
‘Plot elements from fiction happening to him? Too surreal.’
‘Or…’
‘Maybe this isn’t so bad?’
A restless thought suddenly popped into You’s mind.
‘Think about it carefully, this is the kind of development a reincarnator should have. Waited eighteen years, and finally got a proper golden finger and main quest. Although the quest content is a bit… you know… but at least it’s better than nothing.’
His mind in a mess, he turned and went back into the house. He opened the fridge, took out a cola, twisted off the cap, and downed two big gulps.
The carbonation rush shot from his throat all the way to his stomach, and he shuddered.
‘That feels good.’
Having calmed down a bit, he suddenly thought of a question.
‘Does Mom know about this?’
‘If he didn’t confirm this, it would bug him, but—how could he ask?’
‘”Mom, did you know Dad is Tsukuyomi?” That sounds like an anime-obsessed idiot.’
You hesitated for a few seconds, but finally braced himself and went to find his mother.
“Mom.”
“Hm?”
His mother turned around, her face wearing the same gentle smile as always.
“Um… Dad just told me something.”
“What is it?”
“It’s just… he said he’s Tsukuyomi and all…”
He nervously watched his mother’s expression, waiting for her reaction.
His mother laughed. She looked at You with an amused expression.
“Of course I know.”
Her voice was light.
“You, I was originally born into a clan of shrine maidens who have served Tsukuyomi for generations. Marrying Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto was my mission—it was fated from the very beginning. And it is my honor.”
You was stunned, inwardly complaining frantically:
‘Wait, so you two just played me for a fool? Oh, wait, I was already Japanese in this life.’
His mother continued,
“Of course, You, as his wife, I also love him as my husband. So you are not just a divine child born of a mission, but also the fruit of the love between your father and me.”
Those words loosened a tense part of You’s heart.
He hadn’t realized it before, but after his mother said that, he found that he had actually been a little afraid. Afraid that he was born only to fulfill a mission.
But those words comforted him.
Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, his mother said something in a tone of naturalness that made him doubt his ears again.
“Since Zhenyue has told you, then tomorrow, I’ll take you to meet those two children. Let you get to know each other.”
His mother turned her head and winked.
“They’re girls I’ve watched grow up. Very good children.”
Wait, hold on?
What did she mean by “meet those two children tomorrow”? He had just been told today that he was a divine child, and tomorrow he was going to have a blind date? And two at once?
“Wait, Mom, what do you mean—”
“They’re girls.”
“I know they’re girls! But—”
“Very cute girls.”
“That’s not the point—”
“Is there any other problem?”
His mother tilted her head and looked at him innocently.
You opened his mouth but found he had no comeback. The steps sounded fine on paper, but the timeline was a huge problem! A few hours ago he had been a normal high school student, then at night he was told to build a harem, and tomorrow he had to meet candidates.
At this rate, would he be getting married the day after tomorrow?
Even scarier, from his mother’s tone, these two were just the beginning. There might be more coming?
You wanted to say something more, but his mother had already left.
He had no choice but to go back to his room and get into bed. Lying there, his mind was in a mess.
After some time, he finally fell asleep, and even had a dream.
In the dream, he stood in a large Japanese-style courtyard with bright moonlight. Several girls stood around him, their faces blurry and unclear, but he could sense they were smiling.
They surrounded him, drawing closer and closer. They even reached out to touch him.
You snapped his eyes open.
Still his own room. Morning light leaked in through the gap in the curtains.
He reached out and touched the pillow beside him. The orb was still there. Its cool touch reminded him that everything from last night was not a dream.
“…It’s really happening.”
He sighed and sat up from the bed.