A streak of golden light gradually spread through the darkness, followed by a gentle warmth against her cheek.
"Mm..."
She let out a soft, languid murmur and slowly opened her hazy eyes. Those violet, jewel-like pupils shimmered with a translucent glow under the sunlight. Her vision was still blurred, but she could tell she was indoors. The golden radiance beyond the window seemed faint and dreamlike.
Her thoughts were sluggish, her head still carrying a faint heaviness—likely the aftereffect of just waking up.
"..."
She felt herself lying on a futon atop tatami flooring, covered by a lightly fragrant thin quilt. Since there was sunlight outside, it clearly was not nighttime.
"Awake~? How did you sleep?"
A familiar voice sounded from above her.
It was Miko.
She was sitting beside her, a light novel resting across her lap. One hand held the book open, while the other had been gently stroking her cheek as she slept, as though doing so would grant her sweeter dreams.
Only then did she realize the warmth on her face had not come from the sun, but from Miko's palm.
"I..."
She spoke blankly as her vision gradually cleared. She was in the shrine's bedroom—Miko's private quarters.
"Now I finally understand why Ei won't let you drink. Sigh... you really can't handle it. Just a little alcohol and you're completely out of it."
Miko lifted her gaze from the novel and looked at the Shogun's still slightly weak face. Her smooth violet hair lay scattered across the pillow like flower petals.
"...I was drunk?"
Fragments of memory before she fell asleep began surfacing in her mind.
"Yes. You barely drank anything and you were already gone. That can't even be called low tolerance anymore. It should be called getting drunk the moment alcohol touches you~ Hehe."
Though she said so, she had quite liked the drunken Shogun. She had been unbearably adorable—clingy and soft, completely revealing the natural innocence of someone her age.
"...You were the one who made me drink. You said I should try new things."
Lying beneath the quilt, the Shogun shrank down slightly and pulled the edge of the blanket up to her face, leaving only her glistening violet eyes exposed while hiding her faintly flushed cheeks.
"Alright, alright~ My fault. I won't let you drink next time. Satisfied~?"
Miko smiled indulgently and brushed aside the bangs on her forehead.
"..."
The Shogun did not answer, merely gazing at her with a resentful look.
"Hehe~ If only Ei were like you."
Miko sighed sentimentally.
"...What's wrong with her?"
Her voice was slightly muffled from beneath the blanket.
"She's too stiff. Not like you—so quick to understand, even willing to get close to people on your own."
Miko shrugged.
"You're mistaken. I don't proactively get close to anyone—"
"Oh my~ Acting tsundere now~?"
Miko teased with a playful smile.
"..."
She fell silent. The more she explained, the more she would be teased. It was better not to speak.
And as for Ei being stiff...
She did not quite agree.
Ei might be straightforward, but she was not wooden. The clearest proof was how she treated her. That was not something a truly rigid person would do. More often, that "wooden" facade seemed like an excuse—especially when faced with Miko's flirtatious words.
Which meant...
Was Miko really one-sided in this?
If so, wasn't that rather pitiful?
Her gaze unconsciously softened with sympathy as she looked at the older woman before her.
Sniff sniff~
"...!"
She snapped back to awareness just as Miko leaned in close, nose brushing along her collar, her neck, even her hair.
Was this truly some fox habit?!
"What are you doing?"
She instinctively shrank her neck away, confused.
"You're covered in Ei's scent~"
Miko straightened with a sigh.
"Especially your neck... does she cling there every day?"
"..."
She froze.
Images surfaced unbidden—every night, Ei embracing her from behind, burying her face against her neck.
Her cheeks warmed.
"Haa~ I'm so envious of you two. Such deep mother-daughter affection... and here I am, left alone at the shrine drinking away my days. How heartbreaking~"
Miko placed a hand dramatically over her chest, looking tragically wounded. But the Shogun could tell most of it was an act.
"If you miss her that much, why not go see her?"
She sighed and offered advice.
"She's at Tenshukaku. You have permission to enter, don't you?"
"Haa~ Meeting is easy. The hard part is the distance between hearts."
Miko shook her head.
"...The distance between hearts? What does that mean?"
"Haa... it's too early to explain that to you. You wouldn't understand yet. Adult matters—children shouldn't interfere~"
Miko grinned teasingly.
"Who says I'm—" She coughed lightly. "And what about you? You're only a few years older than me. Stop pretending to be so mature... Hmph."
Slap.
She brushed Miko's hand off her cheek and turned over, presenting her back.
"Why so angry~? I was only joking..."
Miko immediately leaned closer, coaxing her as though appeasing a little ancestor.
"...I heard from Kuroda that the novel As the Raiden Shogun, I Somehow Became a Heartthrob~ was personally approved by you?"
Still facing away, she suddenly brought it up.
"Hm? Ah... that bestseller? Yes, I approved it."
Miko blinked, momentarily caught off guard by the shift in topic, then nodded.
"...I see."
She did not continue.
"What's wrong with that novel?"
Miko inserted a bookmark and looked at her with interest.
"Are you still reading it?"
"Not recently. I haven't read the newest chapters. I heard it's reached the arc about that shrine maiden from Watatsumi Island? What happened?"
"...I feel like the author is deliberately targeting Sangonomiya Kokomi. Almost smearing her on purpose, as if out of personal grudge."
"I hadn't thought of that. But... it's just fiction, isn't it?"
"Even if it's fiction, aren't you worried readers will subconsciously associate it with the real person? The characters have real-life counterparts. Wouldn't it damage her image?"
The protagonist's outer shell might be hers, but inside was some reincarnated loser. Personality differences could be ignored. But the other female leads were clearly modeled after real individuals. Was that really appropriate?
"Mm... that's true. But aren't you worrying a bit too much? Perhaps she herself doesn't mind?"
"..."
She hesitated.
Why did she care so much?
No—that wasn't right.
"And what if she does mind?"
"Hehe~ Alright, I understand. I'll read the latest chapters. If necessary, I'll have the author revise them."
After all, using real individuals as references was one thing. Smearing them deliberately was another.
She sat up beneath the quilt, checked that her clothes were still intact, and let out a quiet sigh of relief. Then she remembered something and looked at Miko.
"If you think there's no problem, then there's no need to demand changes. You're the professional in this field. What I said was only personal bias."
She lowered her eyes as she explained.
"Pfft~ I know. Are you leaving already?"
Miko smiled indulgently.
"Mm... it's getting late."
She rose and slipped on her shoes.
"I'll take my leave."
Stepping outside, she returned to the open grounds of the Grand Narukami Shrine. Cherry blossoms drifted gently around her. She waved once toward Miko.
"Have that little one called Pandora come personally tomorrow. I want to see her myself before assigning her work."
Miko added, recalling something.
"Understood."
With that, she descended the stone steps. Her figure gradually disappeared beyond the vermilion torii gates of the Grand Narukami Shrine.
After leaving the gates of the Grand Narukami Shrine, she passed through the torii lining the mountainside one by one, descending step by step along the stone stairs. When she finally reached the foot of the mountain, her steps suddenly paused.
"...?"
She stopped and unconsciously frowned slightly, as though sensing something. Her gaze swept across the surrounding forest.
Rustle~ ×N
A breeze drifted through the trees, brushing past her hair and tugging at the hem of her clothing.
"Haa..."
After standing there for a while and finding nothing unusual, she let out a faint, self-reproachful sigh and continued toward Hanamizaka. However—
Buzz—
"Mm!"
The next instant, an unbearable stabbing pain erupted inside her head.
Just like before.
Sudden. Without warning.
She staggered backward several steps, clutching her forehead. Quickly, she stumbled toward the nearby rock wall, bracing herself against it to keep from collapsing.
"Haa... haa..."
A few seconds later, the pain eased slightly. She leaned heavily against the wall, breathing weakly. In those brief seconds alone, her face had turned pale and beads of cold sweat had formed on her skin. The intensity of the pain was unimaginable.
Buzz—
Occasional flashes flickered through her eyes, like the short-circuiting of an electronic device. Strange patterns resembling lines of code flashed across her vision. Each flicker was accompanied by another spike of agony.
"...!!"
Damn it. Not again.
The headache, which had barely subsided, surged back with renewed force.
She instinctively narrowed her eyes, lips pressed tightly together, her face twisted in pain as she held her forehead. As the torment intensified, her legs began trembling uncontrollably. At last, they gave way.
She slid down along the rock wall, collapsing to her knees. Pressing her forehead firmly against the cold stone, she tried to ease the pain through sheer physical pressure.
...
Several long minutes passed before the sensation—like something drilling into her brain—finally faded.
Now she lay limp against the wall, utterly drained. The once-luminous violet of her eyes had dimmed noticeably. Her lips parted slightly as she continued to gasp for air. She could feel her entire body trembling.
"Haa... haa... haa..."
After several labored breaths, she gradually regained awareness. She turned her head to look at her surroundings, then lowered her gaze to her collapsed posture.
Her white-stockinged legs, now resting against the ground and stained faintly with dust, twitched slightly.
First her legs.
Then her hands.
Finally her upper body.
Huff...
Using one hand to brace against the rock wall, she forced her thighs to support her weight. With her knees pressed against the ground, she managed to straighten her upper body slightly.
"...Haa. This time... was worse than before."
Maintaining that posture, she muttered weakly to herself.
Her body felt sticky. Frowning faintly, she loosened the front of her kimono, letting the fabric part to reveal a stretch of fair skin.
She slid her hand inside along the gap between cloth and skin, brushing over her shoulders, her chest, and beneath her arms along the side of her ribs.
When she withdrew her hand, her palm was drenched in sweat.
Not just her hand—she could feel that her entire garment was soaked through. Most obvious of all was her hair; her bangs clung damply to her forehead.
"Haa..."
Irritated, she wiped the sweat from her brow and flicked the moisture from her fingers before slowly pushing herself upright with the help of the stone wall.
Gradually, her strength returned.
The heaviness in her limbs faded, replaced by a familiar lightness. She could feel her system restoring itself. Proof of it lay in the sweat that began visibly receding, absorbed back into her skin. The clarity slowly returned to her eyes.
She did not move much during the process, merely leaning against the wall and waiting for her body to fully recover.
"...?"
Yet during that time, she once again sensed that same faint sense of discord.
Along with it, she noticed something on the ground before her—drag marks.
They were faint and subtle, but she happened to catch sight of them.
Hum—
She activated her Elemental Sight, sharpening the traces.
Before her eyes, a dark aura hovered over the marks, coiling and extending like a long serpent toward the rear foothills of Mt. Yougou.
This was... the aura of a monster?
She recalled what Ayaka had mentioned yesterday—that monsters had been causing trouble throughout Inazuma recently.
So it was true.
Her body now fully restored, she lifted Engulfing Lightning and followed the direction of the extending aura.
The trail ran deep into the forest. After several minutes, she found them in a small grove at the back of the mountain.
Roar! Roar! ×N
Before her floated several pitch-black canine beasts. Dark energy seeped constantly from their bodies, as though they were born from distorted space itself.
They were gnawing at the exposed roots of the Sacred Sakura.
Rifthounds?
She paused.
Why would such creatures appear here?
From what she knew, Rifthounds were abominations formed from accumulated corruption. They did not simply appear without cause.
Her expression grew serious.
Lightning gathered in her hand as she unleashed it toward the pack.
Crackle!
Boom!!
A deafening explosion rang out.
The hounds seemed to sense her attack in advance. They turned simultaneously and slipped into the void, narrowly avoiding her opening strike.
She showed no surprise.
That blow had merely been meant to draw their attention.
Roar!! ×N
The Rifthounds reemerged from spatial rifts, howling as they lunged at her from multiple angles.
Her eyes locked onto each of their positions in an instant.
She swung her naginata.
Lightning flared, and blades of radiant energy sliced through the air around her, cutting through space itself.
Slash! ×N
In less than a second, the encroaching hounds were severed mid-air. Their bodies disintegrated into ash and twisted back into the void.
Just as she was about to step toward the Sacred Sakura's roots, low growls sounded from behind her once more.
She was about to eliminate them as well—
But someone moved faster.
"Watch out!"
Crackle!!
With that familiar voice, Ei appeared behind her.
Drawing Musou Isshin from her chest, she unleashed Secret Art: Musou Shinsetsu.
In a single strike, all the hounds before them were obliterated.
"...Ei?"
She called softly, confusion tinging her voice as she looked at the other's back while she sheathed her blade.
"Haa... Good thing I arrived in time."
Seeing the enemies destroyed, Ei let out a small sigh of relief and turned with a gentle smile.
"...Why are you here?"
"Me? I saw you and followed."
Ei explained simply.
"No... I mean, why did you come out?"
Wasn't she supposed to be in Tenshukaku?
She felt puzzled.
"Ah, that. I heard from the Tenryou Commission that monsters have been stirring up trouble across Inazuma these past few days. While you were away, I've been observing the outside world. But... as the number of monsters increases, the Commission's manpower has grown insufficient. So I decided to come out today and lend a hand."
Ei folded her arms lightly across her chest as she explained.