Hida City, Itomori Town
Golden sunlight stread through the glass, casting a warm glow inside the room.
Yukino Yukari slowly opened her eyes, feeling an unexpected sense of contentnt.
Usually, upon waking, remnants of nightmares would still linger in her mind, leaving behind an unshakable sense of dread.
Often, she found herself unable to distinguish whether she was still trapped in a nightmare or had returned to reality. But today...
Sitting up, she let the blanket slide down, revealing her slender yet graceful figure.
Turning her head, she gazed at the rising sun and stretched with a radiant smile.
Her body felt full of energy.
In the past, she had relied on alcohol to sleep, yet even after an entire day's rest, she would wake up feeling exhausted and powerless.
The mories of yesterday sharing lunch and dinner with the divine Hojou Kyousuke kept replaying in her mind.
A satisfied smile graced her lips as she got out of bed, neatly folded her blankets, and stored them away in the closet.
The floor, once littered with empty beer cans that tripped her up, was now spotless.
Last night, she had fallen asleep embraced by beautiful mories, not alcohol.
As she dressed and applied her makeup, a new anticipation filled her heart.
Never before had she looked forward to starting a new day so eagerly.
If not today, then maybe tomorrow.
Or the day after.
Or perhaps a week later. It didn't matter—as long as she kept moving forward, that divine man nad Hojou Kyousuke would eventually appear again.
A newfound hope had woven itself into her daily life.
She no longer feared the arrival of tomorrow.
Instead, she welcod it.
Hojou-kun would listen earnestly as she shared her troubles.
He would personally feed her delicious food.
He would gently remind her, "Yukino, make sure to eat properly."
Ah, that's right. She had to eat well and nourish her body; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to help Hojou-kun with his work in the future.
With this thought, Yukino set down her briefcase and stepped into the kitchen a place she had long feared.
Eating had beco a painful chore ever since food lost its taste, and the kitchen had turned into a space she avoided.
But things were different now. Even if she still couldn't taste anything without Hojou-kun's presence, eating had taken on a new aning.
No longer just "to survive," but "to live for Hojou-kun's return." With that in mind, she stirred the miso with newfound lightness.
A simple al of miso soup, grilled fish, and rice was quickly prepared.
Though she was eating alone, she still took the ti to arrange the dishes neatly on the table. Sitting formally on the tatami, she pressed her palms together.
"Itadakimasu."
With heartfelt sincerity, Yukari expressed her gratitude.
'Hojou-kun, even in your absence, I'm eating properly.'
Thinking that, the al before her no longer seed so daunting.
A blissful smile graced her face as she picked up her rice bowl.
She reminisced about how Hojou-kun had gently fed her the previous day, and without hesitation, she scooped a bite into her mouth.
'...Huh? There's a taste! A faint sweetness!'
Yukino's eyes widened in surprise, her mouth slightly agape.
She chewed again, but the taste had already vanished.
It wasn't an illusion she was certain of it.
Pondering for a mont, she recalled the image of dining with Hojou-kun.
Bringing the miso soup to her lips, she took a sip.
There it was again a subtle sweetness!
As she envisioned Hojou-kun carefully dividing the grilled fish into bite-sized pieces before gently offering them to her, she took another bite of her own grilled fish.
Still no fishy taste—just that sa, delicate sweetness.
"When I think of you, even water becos sweet."
The phrase surfaced in her mind, and she imdiately felt flustered.
How could she be so disrespectful to a divine being?
Surely, this fleeting sweetness was a blessing from the gods, proof that thinking of him brought true devotion!
She lifted the miso soup again, parting her lips slightly to take another sip.
The broth, which should have been salty, now carried a gentle sweetness.
A faint blush spread across Yukino Yukari's delicate face.
'—Beep-doo~'
The mont she heard that sound, she hastily put down her bowl and reached for her phone.
It was a special ringtone—one she had set for Hojou-kun.
"Yukino-sensei, would you like to have lunch together at noon?"
Oh... It was Mitsuha.
The unfamiliar honorific imdiately told her that the sender was not Kyousuke.
A small pang of disappointnt settled in her heart, but she quickly understood Mitsuha's intentions.
No doubt she had been entrusted with this task by Hojou-kun.
Although she could now eat just by thinking of him, she appreciated the sentint.
Besides, it was important to maintain a good relationship with the shrine maiden serving the divine being.
"Sure, I'll prepare bentos for you, Sayaka, and Teshigawara. Let's all have lunch together," she replied cheerfully.
"Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you, Yukino-sensei?" —Miyamizu Mitsuha
"Not at all. I don't have any classes in the first period, so I have plenty of ti."
"Then I won't be shy. Thank you, Yukino-sensei!"
"See you at school."
As she stared at the darkened phone screen, she paused for a few seconds before breaking into a smile.
Who would have thought that the friends she made in Itomori were an elentary schooler and three middle schoolers?
She didn't rush through her al despite needing to prepare lunch. Instead, she continued eating slowly, savoring the sweetness that lted into her heart.
———————————————————————
anwhile, atop the mountain overlooking Itomori, at the Miyamizu Shrine.
"Mitsuha, no phones at the table."
Sipping her miso soup, Miyamizu Hitoha glanced at her granddaughter over the rim of her reading glasses.
"Yes, Grandma," Mitsuha responded obediently, setting her phone aside. Unlike before, she didn't rush to explain herself.
Instead, she simply smiled.
"Nee-chan, you're acting weird today," Yotsuba mumbled, touching the beautiful braid that had taken her sister a full twenty minutes to weave that morning.
"Huh? So if I don't do your hair, I'm a bad sister, but when I do, I'm weird?" Mitsuha shot back, gritting her molars in frustration.
"That's not it... It's just, you braided it really well today, and you're being so nice. I'm not used to it." Yotsuba's voice was small, uncertain.
"You little rascal," Mitsuha huffed, shoving a big bite of rice into her mouth and chewing forcefully.
"Whew, that's more like it."
'Stay calm. From today, I'll be a good sister! There's no way Hojou Kyousuke can be adored by Yotsuba, and I can't!'
Mitsuha kept a composed expression as she quietly finished her al.
After eating, she washed the dishes before preparing lunch for her grandmother.
Cold als weren't good for an elderly person's health, so she made sure to prepare dishes that could be easily reheated in the oven.
"We're heading out!"
The two sisters spoke in unison before leaving the Miyamizu Shrine, which seed to radiate a sacred glow under the morning light.
At noon, the students of Itomori were surprised to see sothing unusual—Yukino-sensei, who had always eaten chocolate alone in the office during lunch breaks, was now sitting outside, sharing a al with Mitsuha.
In a corner of the schoolyard, where old desks and chairs had been abandoned, Mitsuha and her two friends usually had their lunch.
Holding a pink bento box, she looked slightly uneasy.
Hojou Kyousuke had already explained his connection with Yukino-sensei.
Mitsuha now knew that the gentle and elegant woman sitting before her had mistaken their body-swapping experience for sothing completely different—just like how Kisaki Tetta had misunderstood it.
Her eyes drifted to the small octopus-shaped sausages inside her lunchbox, making her swallow unconsciously.
Even though Yukino-sensei had told her not to hold back, she still felt a bit shy.
"If we enclose the gazebo with glass, we can sit there and enjoy the rain while sipping coffee!"
Sayaka, holding her bento in one hand and chopsticks in the other, continued daydreaming about their ideal café without hesitation.
"Hehe, that sounds nice."
Yukino-sensei, whose voice was unexpectedly sweet compared to her refined appearance, chuckled softly.
anwhile, Teshigawara was already assessing the feasibility of Sayaka's idea.
Among the four of them, Mitsuha felt like the odd one out.
Even Yotsuba would probably fit in better than her, she thought with a sigh.
But what troubled her most was sothing else—sothing incredible that Hojou Kyousuke had ntioned.
This warm and elegant woman in front of her, who was listening intently to Sayaka's wild imagination, had suffered from sothing as terrifying as losing her sense of taste!
That was the real reason Mitsuha hadn't refused the bento Yukino-sensei had prepared for her. But now, she was struggling to find the right mont to feed her.
"Mitsuha, is sothing wrong?"
Yukari tilted her head slightly, noticing that the shrine maiden had been frozen mid-bite, lost in thought.
"Ah, it's nothing... I just wanted to ask if you still need... that."
She couldn't say sothing as embarrassing as feeding soone in front of Teshigawara and Sayaka, so she kept it vague.
"Oh, that? Thank you, but it's fine now. Hojou-kun already took care of it."
Yukino-sensei smiled kindly.
So that was what Mitsuha had been worried about.
Just like Hojou-kun said she really is a kind girl.
"Hojou-kun? Who's that? Soone from our school?"
Sayaka asked absentmindedly, but before anyone could answer, she had already moved on to another topic.
After all, having the stunning Yukino-sensei who was admired by both the boys and girls at school join them for lunch was too exciting for her.
'He took care of it again? Just who is Kyousuke... A god? He can even cure sothing like losing one's sense of taste?'
Mitsuha was dumbfounded.
"Still, thank you for the thought, Mitsuha. I also brought so sweets for Yotsuba. Could you take them ho to her for ?"
Yukino-sensei smiled apologetically. She could tell that Mitsuha had put a lot of thought into bringing it up.
"Oh, no problem at all! Actually, that makes really happy."
Shaking her head, Mitsuha pushed aside her jumbled thoughts.
With the weight lifted off her chest, she looked at Yukino-sensei, whose every movent radiated elegance. That faint sense of unfamiliarity she had felt earlier gradually faded.
'Damn it... I'm so jealous of Kyousuke. How does he know so many beautiful won?'
"Yukino-sensei, why don't you co over for dinner tonight? You can try my cooking, and you can also give Yotsuba the sweets yourself. She'd be so happy to see you."
Mitsuha extended the invitation.
"Really? Are you sure?"
Yukino-sensei's eyes lit up in surprise.
In truth, she had been thinking about visiting the shrine to offer her gratitude.
After all, she had received such a great blessing from the gods, it wouldn't feel right not to pay her respects.
"Of course! I might not have much ti to show you around, though."
"That's perfectly fine," Yukino-sensei replied with a warm smile.
After lunch, there were only two more classes before school ended for the day.
Wearing her brown blazer, Yukari walked behind the three students, listening to Sayaka loudly complain about the struggles of learning math and the weird pronunciation of English words.
The scene made her feel nostalgic, as if she had returned to her own school days.
Back then, she had always gone ho alone. And if a boy so much as glanced her way, the girl beside him would tug his ear and scold him.
As they walked through town, people greeted Mitsuha with respectful bows, addressing her as "Mitsuha-san." As the shrine maiden, she was clearly the center of attention.
Yukino sighed in relief. Having been under the spotlight her entire life because of her beauty, she couldn't rember the last ti she felt this... peaceful.
Unconsciously, a smile crept onto her lips.
She clutched her bag a little tighter, knowing that inside it were the sweets ant for Yotsuba.
Thinking about that small but mature little girl, she couldn't help but look up toward the mountaintop.
There, bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, stood the Miyamizu Shrine.
Every brick, every tile, every detail of the structure seed to glow with divine radiance.
Upon arriving, Mitsuha quickly introduced Yukino to her grandmother, then left Yotsuba in charge of entertaining their guest while she changed out of her school uniform and headed straight to the kitchen.
She trusted Yotsuba would handle things well.
The more responsibility she gave her, the happier the little girl seed to be.
"Excuse for intruding."
Yukino knelt by the low table in the reception room, a cup of green tea placed before her.
Though it was called a "reception room," it was actually just the dining area the Miyamizu family used daily.
"No need to be so formal. It's rare for an outsider to visit the shrine, so I'm quite pleased," Mitsuha's grandmother, Miyamizu Hitoha, said with a gentle smile, dressed in her usual deep-green kimono.
"This is delicious! Thank you, Yukari-sensei!"
Yotsuba had already opened the box of sweets and was eagerly munching on the sticky rice treats.
"Don't eat too much, or you'll have trouble digesting it."
Watching the adorable little girl, Yukino couldn't help but smile.
The urge to rush off and pay her respects to the shrine had quieted slightly in her heart.
Hitoha noticed her granddaughter addressing Yukino Yukari so informally.
Her lips moved as if to scold her, but upon seeing Yukino's unfazed expression, she decided against it.
"Yotsuba, co help carry the dishes."
Mitsuha's voice called out from the kitchen.
"Got it!" Yotsuba answered loudly.
Yukino was about to stand up to help, but Hitoha gently stopped her.
"Guests shouldn't be doing housework."
After dinner, Mitsuha once again left Yotsuba in charge of entertaining Yukino-sensei, then hurried off to take care of sothing else.
"Where is Mitsuha rushing off to?" Yukino asked curiously as she walked down the corridor leading to the main shrine.
"Ah, my sister? She's off to play 'life coach' again," Yotsuba replied with a dramatic sigh, her tone filled with exaggerated sympathy.
"Life coach?" Yukino Yukari blinked at the unexpected term.
It felt oddly out of place in the quiet town of Itomori.
Then, it clicked—this must be sothing Hojou-kun had told Yotsuba.
"Yep! Every day after lunch, Mitsuha puts on her miko outfit and listens to the townspeople's troubles, helping them find solutions," Yotsuba explained matter-of-factly.
Her eyes sparkled with admiration, betraying just how much she looked up to her sister.
She, too, wanted to wear the sacred robes, to sit there and be spoken to with the sa respect the townsfolk gave Mitsuha.
"Mitsuha is really that amazing?" Yukino asked, a bit surprised.
"She used to struggle with it—sotis she'd give great advice, other tis, well... not so much. But recently, she's gotten the hang of it."
"I see."
As they reached the shrine's prayer hall, Yukino took a mont to glance around.
From the first ti she had visited Miyamizu Shrine, sothing had stood out to her—it lacked a proper main hall for enshrining the deity.
There was only a grand worship hall for prayers. It was an unusual setup, and until now, she hadn't had the chance to ask about it.
Now that she was here with the shrine's little miko, she decided to satisfy her curiosity.
"Yotsuba, does Miyamizu Shrine not have a main hall where the deity is enshrined?"
"Oh, the deity is kept sowhere else," Yotsuba answered casually.
"Could it be... Itomori Lake?" Yukino ventured a guess.
That would explain a lot.
A lake vast enough to hold the essence of the divine—perhaps that was why he possessed such an all-encompassing presence.
"Nope, not there," Yotsuba shook her head.
She hesitated for a mont before adding, "It's actually on another mountain. A naless one."
Yukino smiled at Yotsuba's innocent phrasing.
So, the little miko still wasn't fully versed in all the shrine's secrets.
She decided not to press the matter further.
Before long, they arrived at the prayer hall.
"I'll leave you to it then," Yotsuba said with a serious expression. "If you need anything, just call my na—I'll co running right away!"
"Alright. Thanks, Yotsuba," Yukino replied with a smile before stepping into the hall.
"Oh, one more thing!" Yotsuba suddenly turned back with a grave expression. "At night, you might hear so strange animal noises. If you get scared, I can stay here and keep you company!"
Yukino chuckled. "Thank you, Yotsuba, but I'll be fine. There's sothing I want to talk to the deity about in private."
"Are you sure? Even I get scared sotis."
"If I do get scared, I'll call for help. And I know you'll co save , right?" Yukino bent down slightly, making eye contact with the younger girl, her black eyes filled with sincerity.
"Of course! We're friends, after all!" Yotsuba declared proudly, puffing out her chest.
"Alright then, I'm going in." Yukino waved before stepping into the prayer hall.
Since this wasn't a formal shrine visit, she skipped the purification ritual and didn't place an offering in the donation box.
Ordinary worshippers would stop at the donation box, but Yukino wasn't just any worshipper.
Under Yotsuba's guidance, she bypassed it and entered the inner sanctum reserved for more solemn prayers.
The hall was vast and eerily quiet.
Because Miyamizu Shrine lacked a main sanctuary, the prayer hall seed to serve a dual purpose.
The walls were adorned with ancient symbols and paintings—so intricate that even Yukino, a classical literature teacher, couldn't decipher them.
She knelt on the cushion, pressed her hands together, and closed her eyes.
Instantly, a deep sense of tranquility washed over her.
It was different from her previous visit, this ti, her mind felt utterly at peace. All the chaos of her thoughts faded away.
Yukino didn't open her eyes.
She didn't make a wish. She didn't voice any concerns.
She simply let herself sink into the quiet, letting the stillness embrace her completely.
Because she could feel it.
Hojou-kun was watching her.
Reviews
All reviews (0)