That poised and graceful deanor, even Fujiwara Reya, who had seen many beauties, couldn’t help but admire her noble lady aura.
"I hope the two Chairn will show so rcy..." Fujiwara Reya pleaded, then directly got to the point, "Or perhaps, before educating , could you talk about the past of Asakusa Shrine?"
"Yako can tell him, I’m a bit hungry." With that, Mrs. Kasahara began to eat steak, her posture with the knife and fork was very authentic and elegant.
She focused on the delicious Kobe beef, a look of innocent wonder, seemingly truly hungry.
"How would you like to say it～"
Mrs. Hoshimi murmured, flicking her slender fingers against the wine glass. The sound, which should have been crisp and pleasant, for so reason carried a dull chill.
Fujiwara Reya held his breath waiting.
Soon after, the only sound left in the glass was the sizzling of bubbles. Mrs. Hoshimi picked up the champagne, slowly drank it all, then pushed the glass back to Fujiwara Reya.
Fujiwara Reya filled her glass with champagne again.
The drink was golden, bubbling grandly, crystal clear.
"Do you know Natsuki Rin?" Mrs. Hoshimi placed her finger on her temple, thought for a mont, then spoke, "The last priestess of Asakusa Shrine, a genius priestess, she was half-demon."
Fujiwara Reya pressed his lips together tightly, nodding silently.
"And what about Natsuki Makawa?" she asked again.
Fujiwara Reya shook his head.
Actually, he knew.
That was his biological grandmother, but she died many years ago, and he had never seen her.
"She was Natsuki Rin’s mother..." Mrs. Hoshimi said, lifting the wineglass and looking at Fujiwara Reya through the liquor, her expression seemingly imrsed in the mories of distant past events, with slight ripples occasionally appearing in her eyes.
"Can’t even rember how long ago it was. Probably almost fifty years now. Back then, Natsuki Makawa was Shinto’s most powerful priestess, and Asakusa Shrine was the strongest shrine. Besides its large size and many priests, Asakusa Shrine also enshrined the Eight-foot Jade."
"The Eight-foot Jade, one of the three Divine Artifacts?"
Fujiwara Reya exclaid in surprise.
"Yes, one of the three Divine Artifacts, a supre treasure with miraculous effects on the soul." Mrs. Hoshimi took a small sip of champagne, put down the glass, and looked directly at him, "Shodokan coveted the Eight-foot Jade back then, went to Asakusa Shrine to steal it, but was detected by Natsuki Makawa. The most powerful priestess and the most powerful demon engaged in a thrilling battle."
"And what was the result?" Fujiwara Reya asked.
"The result, well, it was half and half, neither could best the other." Mrs. Hoshimi played with her bangs with her slender, white wrist, smiling gently, "A tie with Shodokan, what a trendous accomplishnt. What a pity I wasn’t born yet back then, otherwise, I could have witnessed the most powerful priestess in history."
"I also feel that way." Mrs. Kasahara interjected, then continued to elegantly eat her steak with small bites.
"Hmm, I think I understand." Fujiwara Reya nodded, accepting the setting that his grandmother was the most powerful priestess in history, and continued to ask, "What happened afterward? Since Natsuki Makawa was so powerful, why aren’t there any legends about her now?"
"At the end of the great battle at Asakusa Shrine, Shodokan used a trick, controlled a priest to steal the Eight-foot Jade." Mrs. Hoshimi tapped her nail against the glass, "Natsuki Makawa pursued Shodokan, one human and one demon heading north, eventually disappearing in the snow forests of Hokkaido. What followed was an event seven years later."
Fujiwara Reya furrowed his brows, silently digesting this information.
The juice he initially poured remained untouched, with ice cubes lting, and the glass covered with a layer of condensation.
"During the seven years of Natsuki Makawa’s disappearance, Asakusa Shrine tirelessly searched for her trail, ultimately..." At this point, Mrs. Hoshimi suddenly stopped, looking at Fujiwara Reya with a aningful smile.
That gaze seed to suggest that unless he pleaded, she wouldn’t say another word.
"Is it fun to tease a child?" Mrs. Kasahara scornfully remarked towards her.
Mrs. Hoshimi imdiately retorted: "Who’s shalessly making a child call herself sister?"
"And who just shalessly competed with for a brother?" Mrs. Kasahara, with an elegant expression, teased in a joking tone.
"Mr. Fujiwara, a question," Mrs. Hoshimi turned the challenge to Fujiwara Reya, "If both of us fell into the water at the sa ti, who would you save first?"
"?"
Damn the ancient conundrum of saving soone from water!
Fujiwara Reya said straightforwardly, "Knock both of you out with a stick, then drag you back together."
"Greedy!" Mrs. Hoshimi protested.
"Hey, you can’t have both at once!" Mrs. Kasahara scolded.
At this ti, the two ladies had none of the deanor of noblewon, more like spoiled girls in their late teens.
And also...
What does it an you can’t have both at once?
"Chairman Kasahara," Fujiwara Reya asked her wearily, "Could Asuka’s personality have been learned from you?"
"After all, we’re mother and daughter..." Mrs. Kasahara covered her mouth with a napkin, chuckling, suddenly clasping her hands together in realization: "Since we have a rare opportunity to get together, why don’t we go play golf this afternoon?"
"I’ll call Rinko." Mrs. Hoshimi imdiately took out her phone.
"Calling your daughter to back you up, haha!" Mrs. Kasahara laughed dismissively, extending two fingers, "Two against one, Yako, you lose again and again."
Fujiwara Reya knocked on his glass with a fork: "Getting off-topic here!"
"Don’t be an..." Mrs. Kasahara looked at him pitifully.
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