"Thank you so much for helping me find Rin."
After being reunited with her sister through Li Zihan's power, the woman named Sakura expressed her gratitude.
"This is something I promised your future self. Naturally, I'll do everything in my power to fulfill it."
The young man, who truly wouldn't mind commissioning Touko to craft a new puppet body, smiled at the miko named Sakura.
"When we return to the future, I will let you and her meet in the truest sense of the word."
"Words cannot express my gratitude for such a great kindness."
The miko named Sakura bowed slowly to Li Zihan, conveying her thanks.
"If you were about to offer to serve me as an ox or a horse in your next life, please don't."
Sensing that Yae Sakura's words were leaning towards the 'a debt so great it can never be repaid' territory, the young man shrugged.
A debt so great it can never be repaid… that phrase could lead down two paths.
— I will serve you as an ox or a horse in my next life.
— I can only repay you by giving myself to you.
Regardless of which path Yae Sakura was about to take, he wasn't fond of either.
The former meant he was being handed a 'good person card.'
The latter would inevitably make him think of a certain perverted shota-con who was always trying to repay him with her body.
His words left Yae Sakura a bit stunned.
She looked at the young man who might become very close to her in the future, and she seemed to understand something.
She was right. Among people who are close, using overly formal language and phrases like 'a debt so great it can never be repaid' was indeed inappropriate.
"My apologies. I was out of line."
The miko, clearly realizing that excessively stiff etiquette could cause resentment among close relations, looked at the handsome young man with a hint of apology in her eyes.
Speaking of which, what exactly was her future self's relationship with Li Zihan?
Yae Sakura fell into deep thought.
Judging from the way the foreign girl named Seele had reacted—as if a whole vat of vinegar had been knocked over—Yae Sakura felt her relationship with Li Zihan must be quite intimate.
However, based on the fact that while Li Zihan was willing to help her, he made no move to defend her in front of Seele, her future self was likely not his wife or concubine.
Could they be extremely close friends?
Or perhaps… a retainer?
To cross the river of time just to save the sister of a mere friend of the opposite sex, or a retainer…
That seemed a bit far-fetched.
Yae Sakura looked at the young man, who was incredibly handsome and possessed extraordinary martial prowess and abilities, and a faint blush crept onto her face.
He had supposedly come here for the so-called Saintess, yet he had remained cooped up at the Yae Shrine. On the second day, he had rushed to find her sister and had declared without hesitation, "I will let you meet in the future."
No matter how she looked at it, this whole affair seemed to have a hint of scandal to it.
"Excuse me, Li-kun… in the future, what is our relationship?"
Under Li Zihan's slightly strange gaze, Sakura took a deep breath and asked the question.
She had wanted to ask this last night, but couldn't because of Seele. This morning, she hadn't had the chance because of the matter with Rin.
Just what has this girl cooked up in her head?
Li Zihan, who was actually much more familiar with Ling than with Sakura, looked at the miko. She had been acting a bit strange ever since last night—or more accurately, ever since Seele had switched personalities.
He wasn't sure of the specifics, but he figured it was probably an assumption born from Seele's jealousy.
What a truly beautiful misunderstanding.
Feeling that Yae Sakura might have some misconceptions about her future self's relationship with him, the young man pondered his next move.
How should he answer this?
"We're friends," the red-eyed young man said cheerfully. "You could even say we're mere nodding acquaintances."
Nodding acquaintances?
Yae Sakura was stunned. This answer was completely different from what she had imagined.
"Or, to put it another way, I am familiar with every part of you, but you don't really know me at all."
Following that, an exceedingly strange statement left Li Zihan's lips.
"What… what do you mean by that?"
Yae Sakura's delicate, slender brows furrowed. Finding Li Zihan's statement utterly baffling, she fixed her azure-blue eyes on him, awaiting an explanation.
"Just think of it this way: my eyes possess a special ability that allows me to read parts of the lives of certain people," the young man, who had been a janitor doing mid-air splits in his past life, said with a shrug.
What kind of ability is that?
"You don't know me, but I know you."
"Because I have read parts of your life. For example, when you fled the village with Rin. For example, when you made sugar-preserved cherry blossoms all by yourself. And for example, when you performed the Suigōri ritual by the river."
"I can sense your character, and my impression of you is very high. So, when I am in a position to help, I am naturally happy to do so."
So… that's the reason?
He has read my life, watched me flee the village with Rin, watched me make sugar-preserved cherry blossoms all alone, watched me perform the Suigōri ritual by the river…
Wait, the Suigōri ritual?
The "Suigōri" (水垢離), just as its name implied, was a ritual performed before a major ceremony to wash away the impurities of the body with clean water. The general process involved pouring cold, clear water directly over one's body. It could be understood as taking a cold shower.
At this thought, Yae Sakura's face instantly flushed crimson. She stared at the young man beside her, her expression one of utter disbelief.
This guy had seen her perform the Suigōri ritual?!
Doesn't that mean he's seen… pretty much everything?!
If he really possesses such an ability, could he have seen even more private things?
After having been seen doing those things…
Can I still get married?!
Even a modern girl would be thrown into a complete panic by such a situation. For Miss Yae, an ancient miko, being seen completely unclothed by a man was an utterly shocking blow.
The miko's face changed again and again as she stared at the young man who had just unconsciously revealed some truly incredible information. Her beautiful body couldn't help but tremble.
My purity is gone.
I'll never be able to get married.
The miko, who had always maintained a cool and aloof image, suddenly saw the light fade from her azure-blue eyes.
"What's wrong, Sakura?" the young man asked, seemingly unaware that he had just said something truly outrageous as he watched the miko's expression change so rapidly.
In the span of just a few minutes, Yae Sakura's expression had shifted from joy to confusion, then to relief, then to disbelief, and finally, to utter despair. It was practically a performance worthy of a facial expression master.
The girl named Sakura did not answer right away.
She just trembled, as if she had encountered an unprecedented crisis.
After a long while, she finally looked up at the man who had apparently already seen her in her entirety.
Her options for a spouse… seemed to have narrowed down to just this one.
"Li-kun," the miko said, her voice somewhat terrifying as she gripped her spirit-slaying blade. "You will take responsibility, won't you?"
Author's note:
PS: Eight thousand words to finish this.