“People from the Tsuchimikado family—what’s your purpose for approaching You-kun?”
As Chihaya’s words fell, the hissing of the air conditioner in the carriage seemed to grow louder.
A few passengers nearby visibly perked their ears, but no one dared turn to look—two beautiful women facing off in the aisle was a show far more entertaining than anything on their phones.
Akane turned her head.
Her expression didn’t change, still that cold, icy look.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, a faint, barely perceptible flicker passing through those wine-red pupils.
“Before interrogating someone, isn’t it proper to state your own name and background first?”
Her voice was frigid.
“Besides, how do you know I’m from the Tsuchimikado family? We’ve met once before, but I don’t recall giving you my name.”
Chihaya froze.
When she’d come over, she’d already formed a hypothesis in her mind—this woman was after You-kun.
Arranged by the Tsuchimikado family, or some other faction?
Several possibilities flashed through her mind, and every single one demanded caution.
But from her tone, it seemed—this wasn’t premeditated?
Chihaya was about to press further when You, sitting beside her, stirred.
Actually, You had been awake for a while.
The moment Chihaya walked over to the seat, he’d sensed it—that familiar, cool, clean fragrance.
He’d kept his eyes shut, thinking Chihaya was probably just checking on him.
He’d pretend to be asleep and avoid being caught between Chihaya and this Tsuchimikado miss in an awkward situation.
Then Chihaya opened with an interrogation.
You’s mind snapped fully awake.
He opened his eyes and saw Chihaya standing in the aisle.
Her expression was calm, but her entire body was wound tight.
The look she gave Akane carried obvious scrutiny and wariness.
The air between the two women seemed to have been sucked dry.
The oppressive tension even made the two office workers sitting nearby quietly pull out their earphones and strain to listen.
You quickly spoke up:
“Chihaya, you might be misunderstanding. I just ran into this Tsuchimikado miss by chance. I haven’t even spoken to her yet.”
He was telling the truth.
But the moment those words left his mouth, he saw Chihaya’s expression shift.
It grew colder.
Chihaya had actually started to calm down—she didn’t have any evidence, after all.
She’d just seen this woman sitting next to You and instinctively…
Then she heard You say, “I haven’t even spoken to her yet.”
Her expression didn’t move.
But something inside her caught fire at those words.
Oh, is that so.
Defending someone else the moment you see her?
She hadn’t even said anything yet, and you’re already rushing to explain for her?
What did you mean by “haven’t spoken to her yet”—are you emphasizing that you two are perfectly innocent?
Or are you saying I need to be convinced?
“You-kun means it was just a coincidence, then?”
Chihaya’s voice was still soft and gentle, but every word carried shards of ice.
You still didn’t realize what was wrong.
He nodded hastily:
“Right, Chihaya, you th—”
He started counting on his fingers.
“We decided to come back last night on a whim. We bought the tickets at the window right before boarding. How could she have known we’d be on this train?”
Chihaya fell silent for a moment after hearing that.
You had a point.
She took a deep breath and pushed down that inexplicable surge of irritation.
You made sense.
A trip decided on the spot, tickets bought at the station—even if Amaterasu Omikami herself had arranged it, she couldn’t have set up a “chance encounter” in the carriage in advance.
She calmed down.
But she still shot You a glare.
That look said it all—you sure thought it through for her, didn’t you?
You shrank back, not daring to say a word.
Her expression softened as she turned to Akane and gave a slight bow.
“I was rude. My apologies. I am Mochizuki Chihaya. A pleasure to meet you, Tsuchimikado-sama.”
She straightened up, her tone returning to its usual poise.
“As for your family name, the innkeeper told us after you left.”
Akane’s pupils contracted slightly.
Mochizuki.
Mochizuki.
Of course she knew that name.
A surname that ranked among the Shinto family clans, the shrine maiden family serving Tsukuyomi.
Her gaze lingered on Chihaya for an extra second.
Black hair, pale skin, cool and dignified bearing—she looked exactly like someone from the Mochizuki family should.
“Mochizuki, is it. Tsukiyomi, Nichisho—I’m genuinely curious now.”
She gestured toward You beside her, those wine-red eyes fixed directly on Chihaya, a note of probing creeping into her voice.
“Who exactly is he, that the shrine maidens of the Tsukiyomi, Nichisho, and Mochizuki families all circle around him alone?”
The question was blunt.
Chihaya’s expression didn’t change.
She looked at Akane, her gaze calm as still water.
“On that point, I’m afraid I can’t say.”
In truth, Akane was already regretting the question the moment she’d asked it.
Wait—didn’t I decide I wasn’t getting involved in this mess?
During those days working at the Snow-Reflecting Pavilion, she’d watched a group of one man and four women and immediately raised every alarm.
She’d quit after a few days at the front desk without even collecting her pay—wasn’t it specifically to avoid these Shinto family troubles?
And now she’d gone and asked on her own?
When she heard Chihaya’s refusal, she breathed a silent sigh of relief.
Good thing the other side declined.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have known how to handle it.
Akane gave a faint “Mm.”
“In that case, let’s leave it here.”
She averted her gaze and looked back out the window.
The tension finally eased.
You secretly tugged at Chihaya’s hand and nodded toward their surroundings.
Chihaya followed his gaze and finally noticed—
The man across the aisle was looking at his phone, but the content on the screen hadn’t moved at all.
The middle-aged woman diagonally behind was pretending to rummage through her bag, pulling out the same lipstick over and over.
The young guy in the front row had given up pretending entirely—he was leaning sideways, ear angled in their direction, his face practically screaming “best show I’ve had in months.”
The whispers were low, but Chihaya’s ears were sharp.
“Total shuraba scene, this is…”
“Both of them are so pretty…”
“The guy looks pretty ordinary…”
Chihaya’s ears turned red.
Not from anger—from embarrassment.
As the next family head of the Mochizuki, she’d been raised on one principle: maintain dignity in every situation.
Being gawked at as the gossip drama heroine in public was not within her definition of dignity.
She took a deep breath, about to say something graceful and leave—
You’s phone rang.
The ringtone was jarringly loud in the quiet carriage.
You pulled it out and glanced at the screen: two characters displayed—Mom.
He apologized and headed toward the connection between carriages.
Chihaya and Akane remained in their seats.
One standing in the aisle, one sitting by the window.
She looked at the back of Akane’s head.
Akane looked out the window.
Neither of them spoke.
The silence lasted about half a minute.
Akane didn’t turn around, but she could feel Chihaya’s presence in her peripheral vision.
She was a bit annoyed—why wasn’t this person leaving?
Didn’t she already say “let’s leave it here”?
Chihaya didn’t leave either.
It wasn’t that she was deliberately standing there.
She’d just realized there was no particular reason she had to leave right now.
If she walked away immediately, it would feel like she’d conceded something to the other woman.
Better to wait for You to finish his call, then take him back with her.
That was a perfectly reasonable justification.
But she was also aware of another reason she’d stayed—she wanted to observe this girl from the Tsuchimikado family a bit more.
Red eyes, ample figure, cold beauty, heir of the head family of Onmyoji.
Chihaya had an intuition that this person wasn’t going to simply vanish from her life.
A few more minutes passed.
You returned.
His steps were slower than when he’d left.
The expression on his face was odd—a mix of tension, frustration, and a hint of anticipation.
He walked to the seat but didn’t sit down.
Instead, he turned to Akane and flashed a tentative, ingratiating smile.
That smile made Chihaya’s heart lurch.
When had You-kun ever made that kind of face at a strange woman?
“Miss… Tsuchimikado,” You’s voice was a bit strained, “I think I need your help. Whatever conditions you have, just name them.”
“Huh?”
They said it in unison.
Chihaya and Akane both made the same sound of confusion.
Chihaya’s eyes went wide, her expression shifting from bewilderment to shock.
Akane turned her head too, those wine-red pupils filled with surprise, confusion, and a trace of wariness.
Chihaya stared at You, her brows furrowed.
She had no idea what was happening—they’d just been strangers who ran into each other by chance, and now after one phone call he was saying “I need your help”?
What had the Moon Princess said to him on the phone?
Akane looked at that ingratiating smile on You’s face, and only one thought ran through her mind—
Is this guy insane?
They’d been at a standoff just moments ago, and now he suddenly says “I need your help,” and “name your conditions”?
The carriage went quiet for a beat.
At the sight of this dramatic turn, the surrounding passengers’ ears perked up once again.