Chihaya finally nodded and straightened up, resuming her usual composed posture.
Yuu breathed a silent sigh of relief.
‘She’s just worried about me,’ he thought.
He knew Chihaya cared about him.
But still—supernatural power you can actually practice firsthand?
It’s only natural to get hooked, right?
Oh right.
He forgot that Chihaya wasn’t all that interested in Curse Art.
Back when he’d asked her about it, she’d said,
“I only study it because it’s a required subject for Miko.”
For Chihaya, Curse Art was work, an obligation—not a passion.
So she couldn’t understand why someone would spend an entire morning practicing with a piece of silk cloth without getting bored.
He snuck a glance at Chihaya’s profile.
She was beautiful.
Under the sunlight, her cool white skin gave off a luster like polished jade.
Yuu felt his cheeks warm slightly and looked away.
Chihaya didn’t notice.
“Hungry?” she asked.
“A little.”
“Then come inside and get ready to eat. The lunch delivery should be here soon.”
Chihaya stood up and turned to go inside.
Yuu muttered an “Okay” and prepared to follow.
Futaba straightened up from the corridor pillar, walked over to Yuu, leaned forward, and brought her face close to his.
“How’s the practice going?”
Futaba’s smile was adorable.
“Not bad.”
Yuu said flatly.
“Made some progress compared to yesterday.”
Futaba blinked.
“As expected of You-kun.”
She didn’t press further and turned to head inside as well.
But inwardly, she was puzzled.
‘What’s going on? You-kun’s attitude seems different from before? He was blushing when he peeked at Chihaya earlier, so why is he so unflappable when I get this close to his face?’
Hitomi walked up to Yuu and handed him a cup of tea.
“Have a drink. Your throat sounds hoarse.”
Yuu took it and drank a big gulp.
The tea was warm, just right for drinking.
“Thanks.”
Hitomi smiled without saying anything, turned, and went inside too.
Yuu sat on the porch, holding the teacup, gazing at the hydrangeas in the courtyard.
The blue petals glowed with a soft light in the afternoon sun.
A butterfly drifted over the flower bed, its wings flapping slowly as it floated lazily into the distance.
He was thinking that Healing was much harder than Purification.
Purification had only taken him less than a week to master, but Healing probably wouldn’t be that quick.
Still, he wasn’t in a rush.
Take it slow.
He’d get it eventually.
Chihaya poked her head out from inside the house, a smile on her face.
“You-kun—time to eat. Or… are you not hungry?”
The chill in her voice made Yuu’s back go cold.
“Coming, coming, right now!”
Yuu jumped up and dashed straight into the house.
***
Lunch arrived quickly.
Grilled fish, miso soup, pickled vegetables, white rice—about the same spread as the last few days.
But today there was an extra plate of tempura: fried shrimp and vegetables wrapped in a thin, crispy batter, golden and crunchy, looking appetizing enough to make anyone’s mouth water.
Everyone sat around the table, pressed their palms together, said
“I humbly receive,”
and picked up their chopsticks.
Yuu shoveled a mouthful of rice and grabbed a fried shrimp, chewing with relish.
He’d spent all morning training his Spiritual Power, so his energy was depleted and he was starving.
His table manners were sloppier than usual.
Chihaya glanced at him and frowned.
She opened her mouth, about to correct his eating habits, but the words caught in her throat.
She picked up her teacup and took a sip instead, deciding not to correct him this time.
She’d already scolded him several times earlier—too much would be counterproductive.
After the meal, the server came in to collect the dishes and brought everyone a fresh cup of hot tea.
Yuu took a sip from his cup, then suddenly remembered a question.
“By the way, what were you all talking about this morning? I was so focused on practicing that I didn’t pay attention.”
Futaba leaned back in her chair, opening and closing her fan, then opening it again.
“We were talking about Curse Art.”
“About what, specifically?”
“About how the same Curse Art channels Spiritual Power differently.”
Futaba gestured with her hands.
“For the same technique, the three families’ Spiritual Power flow is mostly the same, but there are big differences in the finer details.”
Hitomi added softly from the side, her voice gentle.
“It was quite insightful. We should exchange ideas more often.”
When Chihaya heard this topic, her expression became uncomfortable again.
She set down her teacup and gave a slight bow.
“Because of that, we left You-kun aside. I truly apologize.”
Yuu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Chihaya, one apology is enough. I’m not upset.”
Chihaya straightened up, looked at him to confirm he wasn’t just being polite, then nodded and picked up her teacup again.
Mai also shyly added,
“I think… wouldn’t it be better to combine all three methods?”
But Yuu’s mind was elsewhere.
Same Curse Art, different channeling methods, passed down for all these years—and no one had ever thought to consolidate and optimize them?
‘Typical sectarian thinking,’ he mentally complained.
‘Every family hoards its own legacy, thinking theirs is the best and everyone else’s is inferior. The result is the same technique being practiced separately by each family, with no one thinking to borrow the strengths of others.’
But—wait.
That meant he actually had an opportunity here.
He had members of the Nissho, Mochizuki, and Tsukuyomi families right beside him.
You could say he was sitting on half the essence of Shinto Curse Art.
They were all one Family now.
At least internally, he could push for some technical iteration.
Integrate the strengths of all three families, learn from each other’s merits—that could only bring benefits, never harm.
Yuu set down his teacup and cleared his throat.
“I think Mai makes a really good point.”
Mai had been sipping her tea in small mouthfuls.
Her face suddenly flushed bright red.
‘You-kun praised me! He said I made a good point!’
Mai’s heart felt sweet and warm, and the corners of her mouth curved up uncontrollably.
She lowered her head and giggled to herself.
When Futaba heard Yuu’s words, her eyes darted.
‘Right. Now’s not the time to dwell on You-kun’s unusual attitude.’
He was opening the floor for everyone to exchange Curse Art knowledge—and that was very advantageous to her.
Her plan needed exactly this—getting close to Hitomi, learning from the Nissho family, even the Mochizuki family’s knowledge.
If she could openly exchange under the banner of “mutual learning,” that was far better than sneaking around looking for opportunities on her own.
She couldn’t exactly ask for deep secrets right off the bat, but this was effectively breaking the ice.
This was a good opportunity.
She set down her chopsticks and spoke with a smile.
“I think You-kun is right. Each family has its own strengths. Learning from one another is how we improve.”
Her tone was light and airy, as if stating something utterly obvious.
Hitomi tilted her head, calculating quickly in her mind.
Yuu wanted to push this forward.
Chihaya’s attitude was evasive.
Futaba supported it.
Mai went without saying.
If she objected, it’d be one vote against four—pointless.
If she agreed, she’d not only go along with Yuu’s wishes but also leave an impression of being “open-minded” in front of everyone.
She could benefit from the fusion of the three families’ Curse Arts as well.
Moreover, as the representative of the Nissho family, if she could play an active role in this, she’d gain more influence in the household.
And besides—she genuinely thought it was interesting.
“I think it’s worth trying.”
Hitomi spoke, her voice still gentle.
“But we shouldn’t start with anything too complicated. Let’s pick the simplest technique first, have each family present their own approach, and see if we can integrate them.”
Chihaya glanced at Hitomi.
‘This woman. Quick on her feet. I underestimated her before. She doesn’t understand elections only because she never received that kind of education—but I can’t treat her as some naive novice. Strange. Does this generation of the Nissho family really have this much talent? And someone like her isn’t even the next heir?’
She knew clearly that Hitomi’s support wasn’t entirely because it was “interesting.”
She had her own considerations—to perform in front of Yuu, to build an image in front of everyone.
But Chihaya couldn’t object either.
Because what Hitomi said made sense.
Starting with the simplest technique kept the risk manageable and wouldn’t touch on any family’s core secrets.
And—if they could genuinely integrate a better technique, it would benefit everyone.
It was also the first thing You-kun wanted to push forward.
Logically and emotionally, she ought to agree.
But… was Futaba’s motive really that pure?
She couldn’t tell.
She glanced at Futaba.
Futaba was all smiles, her expression unreadable.
Chihaya sighed inwardly.
Whatever.
Futaba had already drunk the Divine Grace, so the stance issue was resolved.
Hitomi was never an enemy to begin with—she was the Miko of Amaterasu, with no direct conflict against Tsukuyomi.
Exchanging Curse Art knowledge shouldn’t cause any problems.
She nodded.
“Fine.”
Futaba’s smile deepened.
Hitomi smiled too.
Mai was still lowering her head and giggling, completely oblivious to what everyone was discussing.
Her mind was still replaying
“I think Mai makes a really good point.”
Yuu looked at everyone’s reactions and felt a little smug.
One casual suggestion, and everyone agreed.
Looked like his status as “Divine Child” was useful for getting things done after all.
He’d actually expected Chihaya to object—she seemed like the most rule-bound of the group—but it went smoother than he’d thought.
He was about to say something more when his cell phone suddenly rang.