The next morning, You slid open the bedroom door and walked into the living room.
Chihaya and Mai were already seated at the table.
Then he saw Hitomi.
Hitomi sat next to Futaba, still wearing that gentle smile, but with dark circles under her eyes. They were faint, probably concealed with foundation—not noticeable unless you looked closely.
But You’s angle as he sat down caught the light, and he saw them clearly.
“Hitomi, did you not sleep well?”
Hitomi’s smile stiffened for a moment, then returned to normal.
“A little. I’m not used to a different place.”
“Oh.”
You didn’t think much of it.
Chihaya glanced at Hitomi but said nothing, picking up her teacup and taking a sip.
Mai leaned in, tilting her head to look at Hitomi’s face.
“Hitomi-nee, you have dark circles under your eyes. Did you have a nightmare?”
Hitomi reached up and touched under her eyes, then smiled.
“No, nothing like that. I just didn’t sleep well. Thank you for worrying about me, little Mai.”
Mai nodded and didn’t press further.
She picked up a piece of tamagoyaki and put it in Hitomi’s bowl.
“Hitomi-nee, eat lots. It’ll give you energy.”
Hitomi smiled gently.
“Thank you, little Mai.”
She put the tamagoyaki in her mouth.
But she was clearly distracted.
Mai smiled sweetly and sat back, pouring sauce over her rice.
You noticed that Hitomi’s gaze kept avoiding something. Not him—it was Chihaya.
Every time her eyes were about to meet Chihaya’s, she would look away in advance—at the bamboo outside the window, at the teacup on the table, at her own fingers.
And her face would flush faintly, so subtle that you wouldn’t notice unless you looked carefully.
Chihaya noticed too.
She held her teacup, sipping slowly, letting her gaze sweep over Hitomi and then pulling back.
She didn’t press further.
Futaba sat at the edge, her fan unopened, held in her hand, tapping it against her knee in a desultory rhythm.
Her gaze was fixed on Hitomi, never moving away.
‘Of course she could tell Hitomi hadn’t slept well. Not just that—there was something off about Hitomi’s entire state today. Her eyes wandered when she spoke, she spaced out occasionally, and when she picked up food with her chopsticks, she would suspend it in midair for a while before putting it in her mouth. And when she looked at Chihaya, her face would go slightly red.’
Futaba pieced together these fragments in her mind.
‘Something definitely happened to Hitomi last night. Not ordinary insomnia—something she couldn’t bring herself to talk about, something that made her feel guilty in front of Chihaya.’
Futaba’s interest was piqued, but now wasn’t the time to ask.
She withdrew her gaze, picked up a piece of tamagoyaki, put it in her mouth, and chewed slowly.
Breakfast proceeded in a strange silence.
No one spoke much.
After finishing, Chihaya stood up.
“Let’s go to the yard. We’ll continue training today.”
The group moved to the yard.
Sunlight had already climbed up, casting a warm yellow light on the wooden floor of the corridor.
The bamboo in the garden swayed gently in the wind, leaves rustling.
Chihaya spread a cushion in the corridor and had You sit down.
“Today we’ll continue practicing ‘Purification.’ First, solidify the basics.”
You nodded, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes.
Spiritual power flowed from his chest, trickling down his arms, flowing through his shoulders, his elbows, his wrists, stopping at his palms.
He opened his eyes, picked up the white paper in front of him, and guided the spiritual power into it.
Soon, water stains appeared on the paper.
He recited the incantation, and the water stains disappeared.
The whole process was faster than yesterday.
Chihaya watched from the side, her expression still cool and dignified, but there was clearly a hint of happiness in her eyes.
You practiced several times, then stopped.
He suddenly remembered something.
Four days ago, when he first met Hitomi, after Amaterasu’s Divine Descent, when she approached him, he sensed the existence of the soul.
It was a strange feeling, like there was suddenly an extra dimension inside his body that he had never known about.
He hadn’t known it existed before, but after sensing it, it felt like it had always been there.
So many things had happened afterward that he almost forgot about it.
He opened his eyes.
“Hitomi, I have a question for you.”
Hitomi was lost in thought.
She was thinking about last night—the divine oracle from Amaterasu Omikami, the warm divine grace in her chest, and the word “legal wife.”
She remembered Chihaya’s face, her dignified and cool demeanor, the way she exuded that wife-like aura from the inside out.
Then You suddenly called her name.
“Hm?”
Hitomi snapped back to reality.
You didn’t notice her distraction and continued on his own.
“Yesterday, when Amaterasu approached me, I sensed the existence of the soul. It was like… a feeling of an extra layer inside my body. Was that spiritual power? Or something else?”
Hitomi was taken aback.
Then she sighed inwardly.
‘This is good too. It counts as narrowing the distance. Even Amaterasu Omikami can’t say I’m not doing my job.’
She composed herself, stood up, walked over to You, and sat down beside him.
Then she leaned closer.
The distance was very close.
So close that You could smell her faint scent of warm jade, mixed with the fragrance of orange blossom, reminiscent of a warm sun—just like Hitomi herself felt.
Her shoulder was almost touching his arm, and the softness of her chest—brushed against his arm lightly.
You’s body stiffened.
Chihaya raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Her fingers tapped lightly on her knee twice.
Mai saw this and started grinding her teeth again, making a grinding sound.
‘Damn it, Hitomi-nee’s weapon is way too unfair. Just because she has big boobs she can do whatever she wants? It’s so enviable… irritating.’
Futaba watched the scene with interest, her smile growing brighter.
She opened her fan, waving it slowly, her eyes going back and forth between Hitomi and Chihaya.
Hitomi’s face still held that gentle smile, but her eyes were serious.
Futaba could tell.
Chihaya obviously could too.
She picked up her teacup and took a sip, saying nothing.
When she set the cup back on the table, it made a slightly louder clink than usual.
Hitomi’s voice was soft, making You think of cotton candy melting on the tongue.
“You-kun, what you sensed is not spiritual power. Spiritual power is a more superficial, more material force. What you sensed is the soul itself.”
You nodded.
“Then what is the soul?”
Hitomi thought for a moment.
“Simply put, it is the origin of a person, the vessel of consciousness.”
“Then when Amaterasu approached me, why did my soul feel stronger?”
“Because Amaterasu Omikami is the deity of the sun. Promoting the growth of all things is her divine authority, and the soul is one of the origins of the human body.”
She thought again.
“In the Celestial Empire, there is a saying that Jing, Qi, and Shen are the ‘Three Treasures’ of a person. Do you know that, You-kun?”
You nodded in agreement, thinking inwardly: ‘I know that very well, probably more than you think, Hitomi.’
He glanced at Hitomi’s profile, then quickly looked away.
The distance was too close—close enough to see the curve of her eyelashes, her sunlit cheek, and even the faint dark circles under her eyes couldn’t hide her beauty.
Her hair brushed against the back of his hand as it fell.
You’s heartbeat quickened by two beats.
He realized this was the first time he had seen Hitomi’s face this close.
She was truly beautiful—completely different from Chihaya’s cool elegance, Mai’s pure innocence, and Futaba’s bright charm.
It was a gentle, soft beauty.
“Can the soul be cultivated?”
Hitomi smiled.
“That’s a good question. Of course it can. Cultivating the soul can make a person’s spirit stronger and their perception sharper. However, secret techniques for cultivating the soul are extremely rare—even the Nissho clan doesn’t have any passed down. But the process of drawing close to Amaterasu Omikami in body and mind itself can nourish the soul.”
You nodded thoughtfully.
Hitomi leaned closer again.
This time it wasn’t just barely touching—it was really pressed against him.
Chihaya’s eyebrow twitched again.
Mai’s teeth grinding grew louder.
Futaba’s smile became even brighter.
You felt his arm being pressed by something soft.
His mind went blank with a buzzing sound, and then he couldn’t think of anything.
He tried to look calm, but he knew his ears were red.
He had been linked arm-in-arm with Hitomi before, but this was completely different.
They were discussing serious matters now—why was this even more exciting?
Chihaya spoke up.
“Hitomi, isn’t that a bit too close? You-kun might get distracted.”
Her voice was calm.
Hitomi looked up at Chihaya and smiled.
“I’m sorry, that was inconsiderate of me. I just wanted You-kun to hear more clearly.”
She moved a little to the side.
Mai’s teeth grinding stopped.
Chihaya picked up her teacup and took another sip, and this time when she set it down, the sound was much lighter.
Futaba’s smile didn’t change much.
You let out a long inward sigh.
‘The blissful torture has finally ended. I think I sensed some dangerous atmosphere from Chihaya just now, but that must be my imagination.’
He thought about things completely unrelated to the question he had just asked, and then realized he couldn’t remember a thing he had just learned.