The girl who called herself Futaba Tsukuyomi smiled slightly.
“Moon Princess, this is the shrine of Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto. Is it not allowed for me to come and pray?”
Her tone was as if she were saying the weather was nice today.
But Masako’s expression turned noticeably serious.
“Little Futaba, you come here on the occasion of a meeting between the Divine Child and his future divine wife. How am I supposed to believe that you came just to pray?”
“Also,” she paused, her gaze falling on Futaba’s miko attire, “since you come wearing miko clothing, doesn’t that mean you are appearing here as a miko of the Tsukuyomi family, and not speaking to me as ‘Little Futaba’?”
She paused, as if waiting for Futaba to respond, but Futaba just kept smiling and didn’t speak.
Masako continued,
“The god your Tsukuyomi family serves is not Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto.”
You stood to the side, his mind racing.
‘What kind of riddle is this?’
Given his mother’s and the Mochizuki sisters’ attitudes, this Futaba Tsukuyomi was clearly no ordinary visitor. Was she an “enemy”? Not quite—when his mother called her “Little Futaba,” her tone carried a natural familiarity, like she was a neighbor’s child he’d watched grow up. And while Chihaya and Mai were on guard, they didn’t have the tension of facing a true enemy.
‘Wait.’
This uninvited miko’s surname was Tsukuyomi. Earlier, the Mochizuki family name was “Mochizuki”—gazing at the moon, a straightforward expression of “serving Tsukuyomi.” Following that logic, “Tsukuyomi” was probably “moon chanter.”
One who chants the moon. Chanting the moon… plus the dazzling beauty of the girl…
‘The god the Tsukuyomi family serves—could it be—Kaguya-hime? It all matches. Everything matches.’
What his father had said last night, that Kaguya-hime was the culprit behind Tsukuyomi’s damaged authority, and the miko serving Kaguya-hime would naturally be the “opposing faction” of the Tsukuyomi line. No wonder his mother and the Mochizuki sisters were tense when she appeared.
‘But that still doesn’t explain his mother’s “Little Futaba”—if they were rivals, how could she be so familiar?’
Futaba smiled even deeper upon hearing Masako’s words.
“You’re being too distant, Moon Princess. Lady Kaguya is also a subordinate of Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, isn’t she?”
Her phrasing was clever. “Subordinate” did make sense—Lady Kaguya was the Moon Princess, and Tsukuyomi was the Ruler of Yoru no Shokuhara. In terms of rank, Kaguya-hime was indeed a subordinate of Tsukuyomi. But You knew that Kaguya-hime was the one who caused the decline of Tsukuyomi’s incense offerings.
“The main reason I came this time is to meet the Divine Child.”
She took two steps forward, her geta making a crisp sound on the stone pavement.
Then she stopped, looked at You, tilted her head slightly, and blinked.
“Divine Child, do I have the honor of becoming your wife?”
The air froze. Masako’s expression stiffened. Chihaya’s eyes widened slightly, her lips pressed into a thin line.
Mai let out a direct “Eh?”—her voice soft, but clearly audible in the quiet courtyard.
You felt his brain short-circuit again.
‘What is all this? A mysterious girl suddenly appears, wearing miko attire, walks in from under the torii gate, says three sentences, and then proposes marriage? We met for the first time, haven’t even spoken a single sentence yet, and she’s already proposing? Wait. Calm down. Calm down and think.’
You took a deep breath. You steadied himself and decided to stop being passive.
He put on a serious expression and looked directly into Futaba’s eyes.
“Miss Futaba, correct?”
“Correct, Divine Child. It’s Futaba.”
Futaba nodded, her smile even brighter.
“May I ask why you want to marry me? We’ve only just met, haven’t we? And you’re not a miko serving my father.”
Futaba was taken aback. Clearly, she hadn’t expected to be asked that.
She laughed, bending over, raising a hand to cover her mouth, her shoulders shaking. She laughed for several seconds before stopping, the corners of her eyes still moist with laughter.
“Moon Princess,” she turned to Masako, “you didn’t tell him about this?”
Masako let out a sigh. She looked at You, as if choosing her words.
“If a member of the Tsukuyomi family married you, the situation would be completely different.”
Masako’s pace slowed, as if to give him time to digest.
“As a miko serving Lady Kaguya, Little Futaba is also the best of her generation. A god can descend at will onto the miko who serves them.”
You’s heart skipped a beat.
‘He vaguely guessed what was coming next.’
“If she and you—” his mother paused, the word hard to say, “—unite, and Lady Kaguya descends onto this girl?”
Masako’s voice was calm, but every word seemed to carry weight.
“Then the child conceived would be a true divine child, with the dual divine blood of Tsukuyomi and Kaguya-hime, a divine child who could represent the moon.”
You’s breath caught for a moment.
“Your father’s authority is already damaged because of Kaguya-hime’s existence. What if there were such a child?”
Masako paused, her gaze falling on Futaba, then returning to You.
“Then Kaguya-hime could, through her and your child, legitimately claim complete rule over the moon.”
You felt a chill.
‘So that was the meaning. No wonder his mother and the Mochizuki sisters looked so alarmed when they saw her. This wasn’t a simple “another miko family visiting”; it involved a struggle for authority, maybe even throne usurpation. This was a feeler. She was testing their reaction.’
Futaba cheerfully took over the conversation, her tone even lighter than before.
“Moon Princess, you’re being too serious. If I marry the Divine Child, it’s not to usurp Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto’s authority.”
She tilted her head, her expression softening slightly, the aggressive beauty seeming to recede, replaced by a more approachable quality.
“I’ve long heard of the Divine Child’s existence. I came specially today to meet you, and now that I have—”
Her gaze fell on You’s face, her eyes curving into beautiful arcs.
“Is love at first sight not allowed?”
“Besides,” Futaba continued, “if I marry the Divine Child, wouldn’t that be equivalent to Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto and Lady Kaguya shaking hands and making peace?”
You felt a bit uncomfortable under her gaze.
He didn’t believe a single word of “love at first sight.” Someone who met him for the first time today, within five minutes of meeting, said she wanted to marry him, with the excuse of love at first sight—that was a lie.
He directly countered:
“Since it’s love at first sight, then Miss Futaba should kiss me right now.”
This statement clearly surprised everyone present. Chihaya raised an eyebrow without changing expression:
“Divine Child, that’s too frivolous.”
Mai blushed: “How can the Divine Child say such things.”
Masako was somewhat startled:
“You, mother doesn’t remember teaching you to speak to girls like that. That’s very rude.”
You knew well the Mochizuki sisters’ favorability toward him had probably dropped a bit. But he couldn’t care about that now. He stared at Futaba, waiting for her answer.
Futaba’s smile didn’t change at all, still just as bright.
“Oh my, the Divine Child is quite bold. But I get shy too. That kind of thing can wait until you accept my confession.”
Her smile deepened slightly.
Then she took two steps back, lifted her skirt again, and performed a bow. The movement was as elegant and precise as when she arrived.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave now.”
She straightened up, her gaze lingering on You’s face for a moment.
“Divine Child, I’m very happy to meet you today. I hope you’ll seriously consider my words.”
She turned and walked two steps toward the torii gate, then stopped, tilted her head, and showed half her face.
“I believe, if fate allows, we will meet again.”
Then she left. The sound of geta on stone grew fainter, and the red-and-white figure gradually disappeared into the shadows of the trees beyond the torii gate.
Masako didn’t call her back. She just stood there, watching the direction Futaba left, and sighed.
“Little Futaba, always the same as ever.”
You suddenly felt that his “rose-colored harem life” was not quite what he had initially imagined.