Hitomi smiled gently and said, a little embarrassed.
“Well… today’s meal is on me. Consider it an apology for causing you trouble these past few days. Thank you all for your care.”
“Really?”
Mai’s eyes instantly lit up, all her earlier dejection forgotten.
“Of course.”
Hitomi’s smile softened a little.
“Order whatever you like.”
Mai immediately raised her hand.
“I’ll add two servings of beef!”
Chihaya glanced at her.
“Mai, that’s enough.”
“But Sister Hitomi said we can order whatever…”
Mai’s voice trailed off, but her eyes remained fixed on the beef section of the menu.
Futaba chuckled and snapped open her fan with a crack.
“Then I’ll help myself too. Add one serving of beef, one tofu, and one shiitake mushrooms.”
Chihaya sighed.
“You guys…”
“Chihaya, order something too.”
Hitomi said with a smile.
“We don’t get to eat out often, so don’t hold back.”
Chihaya was silent for a second.
“Then I’ll also add one serving of beef.”
You watched the scene and couldn’t help but laugh.
“Then I’ll help myself too. Two servings of beef.”
“You-kun!”
Mai’s eyes widened.
“You ordered more than me!”
“Didn’t you say we could order whatever?”
“But…”
Mai opened her mouth, realized she had no real argument, so shut it and sulkily grabbed a piece of tofu.
Futaba tried to change the subject.
“With an annual salary of six million yen, taxes must take a big bite too, right Hitomi?”
Hitomi waved over the waiter, finished ordering the additional dishes, and took a sip of barley tea.
“By the way, Futaba just asked me about taxes…”
She set down her teacup and thought for a moment.
“About twenty percent or so.”
You sighed in relief.
‘That’s not too bad. Same as I thought. More income means more taxes. Feeling better about it.’
“So that means take-home is 4.8 million?”
“About that.”
Futaba smiled.
“That’s still a lot.”
“However,” Hitomi paused.
“I can get a tax refund at the end of the year.”
“Tax refund?”
Mai tilted her head.
“Yes. Since I’m a miko, part of my income can be categorized as religious activity income, so I can get a refund.”
You thought to himself:
‘You’ve got to be kidding me. There’s even more? Monthly income of 400,000 yen is already enviable, and now she gets a tax refund too?’
He asked,
“About how much can you get back?”
“Basically the full amount.”
At that, everyone fell silent, and the air froze.
You’s chopsticks clattered onto the table with a clack.
‘Six million, and she gets the full amount? God, is there no justice? Is this the evil capitalist society? Civil servants use taxpayer money! The rich get their money back in full, while the common people get split 30/70. I’m shaking with rage. What’s wrong with this country? The system is the problem.’
Chihaya’s fingers began tapping lightly on the table unconsciously. Her expression didn’t change, but the tapping became more frequent.
Futaba’s fan stopped again.
‘Six million yen, full amount in hand.’
She silently repeated the number to herself, then quickly recited again,
‘I’m the successor, my future is different,’ but this time it didn’t seem to work as well.
You said nothing, just silently did the math in his head—Hitomi took home 500,000 yen a month, while his monthly allowance was 8,000 yen. What Hitomi earned in one month was more than five years of his allowance.
He picked up a slice of beef, put it in his mouth, chewed a couple of times, and tasted nothing.
“Sister Hitomi…”
Mai asked while chewing beef.
“Hmm?”
“Will you go back to work at the Imperial Household Agency?”
Hitomi thought for a moment.
“Not for now. The email said ‘no need to report on time,’ and I’ll wait for further notice on when to return.”
“So it’s paid leave?”
“Something like that.”
You heard that and felt another critical hit. Right, she doesn’t even have to report to work—paid leave. Six million yen without working.
You looked at Hitomi, envy practically overflowing from his eyes.
He comforted himself internally.
‘Forget it, Hitomi is my fiancée, her money is my money.’
Thinking that way made him feel much better, and the previously bland beef suddenly tasted delicious.
As for Mai, she ate even more enthusiastically. While devouring the food, she sighed internally.
‘So envious… but whatever, it’s not my money anyway. Sister Hitomi treating us to meat is what matters. Sister Hitomi is a good person!’
She picked up a slice of beef, dipped it in beaten egg, and stuffed it into her mouth.
‘Beef is so good.’
The soup in the pot continued to bubble gurgle gurgle. The steam blurred everyone’s faces.
Hitomi let out a sigh of relief. It seemed the salary storm had passed.
Chihaya suddenly asked,
“So Hitomi, will you be sticking with You-kun from now on?”
Hitomi was taken aback, then nodded, a blush rising on her cheeks.
“Yes, that’s right. I look forward to your guidance from now on, You-kun, and everyone.”
***
Three days later, early morning.
In the mountains of Hakone, a light mist had risen. Looking out the window, the distant peaks seemed draped in a white veil. The bamboo in the garden was bent under the weight of dew, sparkling water droplets clinging to the tips of leaves, falling rustle rustle when the wind blew.
Mochizuki Chihaya rarely slept in, but today she did.
She lay in her futon, eyes open, staring at the ceiling. There was a water stain on the ceiling shaped like a cloud. She stared at that “cloud” for a long time, but her mind was on other things.
‘Something’s off.’
‘Something’s been off these past few days. It’s fine that Hitomi joined—she’s always been around You-kun, it’s the will of the great gods Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, and I can’t refuse that.’
‘The problem is Futaba. More precisely, it’s You-kun’s attitude toward Futaba. Ever since the day Futaba and Mai went out with You-kun, things started to go wrong. You-kun’s interest in Futaba suddenly grew. He started talking to her proactively, creating opportunities to be alone with her, probing—this is a dangerous signal.’
Chihaya turned over, facing the wall.
She remembered the expression on You’s face when he came back that day. Subtle—couldn’t tell if it was happiness or guilt, but there was a slight smug curve to his lips. She had seen that expression before—when Mai had secretly eaten her pudding as a child, that was the look on her face when questioned.
‘What is You-kun up to?’
Chihaya’s fingers unconsciously played with her hair. She recalled the curse art lessons over the past few days. You always found chances to ask Futaba questions. Not her, not Hitomi—Futaba. Things like “How are shikigami forged in Onmyodo?”, “Does the Tsukuyomi family have any unique curse art legacies?”, “Futaba, what do you usually do for fun?”—that last question had nothing to do with curse art at all.
Chihaya closed her eyes, then opened them again.
‘I’m not the type to get jealous. But I am the next head of the Mochizuki family. Procreation of the bloodline with the Divine Child of Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto is a divine oracle, a task I must complete. I have to screen the Divine Child’s wives. Futaba’s stance is unclear. I can’t let someone with unclear intentions get close to You-kun.’
‘This is my duty as the legal wife,’ Chihaya thought to herself.