It didn’t take long after You sat down for the dishes to be served.
Grilled fish, tempura, small bowl soba, chawanmushi, and pickles were spread across the table. You picked up a piece of tempura, dipped it in sauce, and took a bite. Delicious—the batter was crispy, the shrimp was bouncy and firm, and the meat inside was still piping hot.
He noticed the girls had started chatting again.
This time they weren’t talking about divine affairs, curse arts, or Shinto circle topics he couldn’t chime in on. It was trends. It was makeup. Chihaya said she had recently been using a sunscreen with SPF50+ that wasn’t greasy and worked very well.
Mai nodded in agreement, saying she had bought the same one.
Futaba said she had seen another brand in Tokyo that was lighter, and asked Chihaya if she wanted to try it.
Hitomi said she couldn’t wear makeup while working at the Imperial Household Agency, but on her days off she used a certain brand of lipstick that had a very natural color.
The corner of You’s mouth twitched.
‘Wasn’t Hitomi meeting the other three for the first time just two hours ago?’
‘And they had just sent him away—surely they must have talked about something, right?’
‘How did they look so close now? Oh, no, actually, the girls in his class were like that—no matter if they knew each other, they always had something to talk about when it came to makeup. Social niceties, social niceties.’
‘I’ll just focus on the food.’
Heaven and earth are vast, but eating comes first. ‘As for the girls’ conversation—I’ll just watch from the sidelines. I can’t join in anyway.’
Hitomi was also thinking as she chatted.
She needed to learn more about her future husband. Clearly, Chihaya of the Mochizuki family was a good starting point—any fool could see that this girl had the demeanor of a proper wife. Dignified, steady, measured in both speech and action, the type who could hold a household together.
She tentatively asked Chihaya,
“Chihaya, how did you and the Divine Child meet? Could you tell me about it?”
Chihaya raised an eyebrow.
‘The Nissho girl wants to get involved. That’s a good sign.’
She smiled.
“Sure. Our first meeting with You-kun goes back to about a week ago…”
Mai chimed in eagerly from the side, her voice louder than usual.
“That day, we were called over by the Moon Princess first thing in the morning, and she said the Divine Child was coming. My sister and I were nervous for a long time.”
Chihaya continued the tale in a calm, unhurried tone—the tension of arriving at the Tsukuyomi Grand Shrine, the feeling of waiting in front of the Main Hall, the sight of You approaching from afar.
“Later, the Moon Princess brought him over, and we met in front of the Main Hall.”
Chihaya took over the narrative.
“Futaba was there too.”
She glanced at Futaba, her voice very calm.
“She was wearing a shrine maiden robe and suddenly appeared beneath the Torii gate.”
Futaba fanned herself with a smile but didn’t respond.
Chihaya went on to talk about the Hakone trip. How You had been completely absorbed in playing Dou Dizhu on the Shinkansen, shouting loudly. How he’d laughed and begged for mercy when they tickled his feet. Mai added embellishments, saying that You-kun had laughed so hard tears came out, his hair was a mess, his clothes were wrinkled—he looked utterly disheveled.
You buried his head in his food, pretending not to hear.
Then Chihaya mentioned the night at the hot spring.
She phrased it very vaguely, only saying “that night,” without going into detail.
But Hitomi understood—she nodded and didn’t press further.
Chihaya also talked about today. The boat on Lake Ashi, the photo at the Heian Torii, and the moment they’d run into Hitomi at the shrine entrance.
Hitomi listened intently.
She realized that this Divine Child was indeed quite unusual.
Whether it was his direct provocation upon first meeting Futaba—from Chihaya’s account, it hadn’t been a polite greeting but something on the level of “Then just kiss me.” Or his earth-shattering declaration when faced with that flirtatious encounter—”All three of these ladies are my girlfriends.”
All of it made her feel that this future husband of hers was very interesting.
And from the way Chihaya told it, this Miss Futaba hardly seemed like the Divine Child’s fiancée.
She glanced thoughtfully at Futaba but said nothing.
Futaba didn’t notice Hitomi’s gaze.
Because she, too, was very interested in this topic.
She wanted to know the answer—why had the Mochizuki sisters fallen for this Divine Child?
After all, even though she’d been with Chihaya and the others these past few days, there were things she didn’t know. Like that small commotion on the Shinkansen. She found it surprising that the Divine Child could be so clueless about romance. That was unexpected.
But even so, this still didn’t explain one thing.
Why?
Why, in just a few short days, had Chihaya and little Mai developed feelings for him? On the day they first met in Hakone, their attitude toward him had been very clear—it was a mission-driven proximity, not a heart-throb.
That kind of emotion didn’t come from simply meeting someone once and riding a train together.
She fanned herself, her smile like a flower.
“Chihaya, is that all?”
She tilted her head.
“After I left the Tsukuyomi Grand Shrine, what else happened between you and the Divine Child—would you mind sharing?”
The corners of Chihaya’s mouth lifted in a playful smile.
“Ah, about that—”
She paused.
“I can.”
She pulled something out of her skirt pocket.
You squinted—it was that bead.
The one he’d received from his father and given to the Mochizuki sisters the very next day. A silvery white, its surface covered in a faint moonlight glow. In his hands it had only glowed faintly, but in Chihaya’s hands, that light was noticeably brighter, as if alive.
“This is the thing You-kun gave to me and my sister the first time we met.”
Chihaya’s tone was flat, but each word carried weight.
“For no other reason than—’We’re a family.'”
Mai added proudly, her voice much louder than usual.
“You-kun was super cool at that moment.”
When that thing came out, Hitomi’s eyes went wide, and she covered her mouth in surprise.
“Oh my, this is—”
She looked incredulously at the bead in Chihaya’s hand, then at You.
She was speechless.
Even the usually composed Futaba couldn’t maintain her smile.
It was the first time You had ever seen an expression of sheer disbelief on her face.
You could swear that even when Amaterasu descended earlier and Futaba sneaked a peek at him, her shock was nothing like this. That shock had felt more like she was watching a spectacle. This time, it was completely different.
She stared at that bead for a long time.
Then she took a few deep breaths and spoke, her voice strained.
“Divine Child… no, You-kun…”
She gripped her fan so tightly it looked like she might snap it.
“You just gave away something like that? To someone you’d just met?”
Her voice sounded a bit floaty.
“Even if they are the fiancées chosen for you by the gods?”
You was a bit confused.
He asked back,
“Futaba, by the way you’re talking, is this thing really valuable?”
Hearing that, it was Chihaya’s turn to pale.
“You mean to say—”
Her voice suddenly rose.
“You don’t even know what it does specifically?”
She paused.
“The Moon Princess didn’t tell you?”
You scratched his head.
“Mom? She didn’t tell me.”
He thought for a moment.
“Ah, no, I never told her I had this thing—she still doesn’t know.”
The girls looked at him in disbelief.
Four pairs of eyes, four different expressions.
Chihaya was shocked with a hint of exasperation. Mai was simply incredulous. Hitomi was curious mixed with confusion. Futaba had that look of ‘What kind of rare creature are you?’
“You really don’t know?”
Chihaya’s voice was a bit unsteady.
You was getting a little impatient.
“So what exactly can this thing do?”
His gaze swept across their faces.
“Somebody tell me!”