Slurp~
Ei took a sip of sake, closing her eyes as she savored the cool sensation of the fine liquor flowing down her throat. It had been so long since she had last experienced this feeling that she could not help becoming somewhat nostalgic.
Miko, on the other hand, was indifferent. She occasionally enjoyed drinking while reading light novels, so she felt no particular need to savor the occasion.
"This taste brings back so many memories..."
Savoring the flavor lingering in her mouth, Ei sighed softly.
"Under certain circumstances, alcohol represents memories... There's a reason people say that wine can speak in place of words."
Ei took another sip. Her exquisite lips were now moistened by the liquor, making them appear even rosier and more enticing.
The woman beside her noticed this as well. Her gaze darkened with a certain intensity, and a thirst entirely unrelated to alcohol arose within her. She felt an overwhelming urge to lean forward and bite those glistening, moist lips. But she knew she could not do that. If she actually gave in to that impulse, everything would be ruined.
"..."
Ei took another sip before raising her hand and extending her slender thumb, gently brushing its pad across her moist lips and wiping away the stray liquor at the corner of her mouth.
The movement carried a trace of languor brought on by the alcohol, inadvertently lending her an allure quite unlike her usual demeanor. Combined with her breathtakingly beautiful face, she was like a poison that bewitched Miko's heart.
"..."
Miko stared blankly at the woman's profile, unconsciously swallowing.
Raiden Ei... Why do you have to be so alluring? Do you seriously have no idea? You're already devastatingly beautiful, and now you're making gestures like that. It's practically murder!
"...? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Noticing the undisguised gaze directed at her, Ei turned her head and asked.
"Haa... Ei, do you seriously not realize how beautiful you are?"
Miko took a sip of alcohol, allowing herself to become slightly tipsy before asking helplessly.
"...Beautiful? Are you referring to my appearance? Haa... What's there to realize? It's merely an outward shell."
Ei did not particularly care about such things, nor did she find them worth dwelling on. She gently swirled the cup in her hand, watching the reflection of her distinctive features in the liquor. The restaurant's leisurely shamisen melody continued playing in the background, and she found herself rather fond of this comfortable atmosphere.
"Hehe. You know, that's exactly one of the things I love about you..."
Miko smiled casually, propping up her chin as she gazed at Ei with undisguised affection, as though she were looking at her own spouse.
"Love... You mean my face?"
Ei asked.
"Everything about you."
Miko answered.
"..."
Ei looked at her for a moment before averting her eyes and taking another sip of sake.
"There you go again. Are you deliberately avoiding me?"
This time, Miko refused to let her brush the matter aside and went straight on the offensive.
"Avoiding what?"
Ei did not look at her this time. Instead, she gazed at her reflection on the surface of the liquor as she asked.
"...Raiden Ei, are you genuinely oblivious, or are you pretending?"
Miko frowned, an unusually serious expression crossing her face.
"...What do you think?"
This time, Ei turned toward her. Neither her gaze nor her expression had changed.
"...Why?"
Miko asked directly.
"...Why what?"
Ei countered and moved to take another drink. Unexpectedly, however, Miko snatched the cup from her hand before she could do so and set it aside.
"I'm not joking with you. Could you at least show me a little respect?"
For once, Miko sounded genuinely displeased.
"..."
Ei did not become angry. She slowly lowered her empty hand onto the wide kimono sleeve resting across her thigh. Then her violet eyes flickered slightly, and she finally turned to face the pink-haired woman properly.
"You've pretended to be a blockhead long enough, haven't you? Hmm, Raiden Ei?"
Miko leaned closer, propping up her chin as she looked at her teasingly.
"Miko... The Shogun is still—"
"Don't use the child as an excuse... I don't want to hear that~"
Miko refused to give her an escape.
"..."
Ei sighed inwardly, feeling somewhat exhausted. She lowered her eyes toward the hand resting on her kimono sleeve.
"Haa. Miko... I don't want to think about these matters right now."
Ei finally spoke her true feelings.
"Give me a reason."
"A reason? I'm not in the mood. I don't have the energy or the inclination. Is that enough?"
She asked.
Right now, she had not even figured out how to take proper care of the Shogun. Why should she start thinking about her own affairs? Truthfully, she could hardly be bothered to consider herself anymore. She did not know when it had started, but she no longer had the energy to spare much thought for herself. There was no need, nor did she see any meaning in doing so. She would much rather ensure that her child lived a good life.
The Shogun... That's right. Right now, she's the only one I truly care about. As long as this child lives happily, I have nothing else to worry about. Spending time with her occasionally, whether we're going about our daily lives, playing together, practicing martial arts, or sleeping... That's fulfilling enough.
"..."
Miko's eyes flickered, but she did not answer.
"As for the matter between us, actually... Haa..."
Ei could not bring herself to finish.
"It's impossible, isn't it?"
Miko asked, suppressing the pain in her heart.
"It is impossible. But you've misunderstood what I mean. If I... were to enter a relationship with you, I would only be doing you a disservice. I don't want that. That's why I say it's impossible."
Ei answered.
"There you go, making decisions all by yourself again. You haven't changed one bit. You're still as stubborn and rigid as ever, just like before. You've never considered how other people feel about you."
Miko smiled and shrugged somewhat helplessly.
"..."
Ei remained silent, though she continued looking at her.
"But... think whatever you like. Love has never been entirely selfless, and you can't control what I do. So... I can simply choose not to listen to anything you just said."
Miko took a sip of sake.
"Miko..."
Ei sighed inwardly, wanting to say something.
"I'm not listening. Nope, not listening, not listening~ What are you going to do about it?"
Miko asked petulantly.
"Haa... Nothing, I suppose."
Ei shook her head slightly. What else could she possibly do?
"Then that settles it. Stop worrying about me. This is my business."
Miko gave a derisive little laugh.
"..."
Hearing this, Ei said nothing further. She knew continuing the discussion would accomplish nothing, so she retrieved the cup that had been moved away, poured herself more sake, and resumed drinking.
During this time, she glanced toward her sleeping daughter. Perhaps the girl had moved her head slightly in her sleep, because a strand of her loose hair had fallen across her face and become caught at the corner of her mouth.
"..."
Seeing this, Ei raised her hand and gently brushed the strand away, tucking it behind her daughter's ear.
"Didn't you just say that your appearance was nothing more than an outward shell?"
Watching Ei's movements, Miko deliberately asked.
"Indeed..."
Ei glanced at her and nodded lightly.
"Then what about the Shogun? Do you think your daughter is beautiful?"
With a mischievous glint in her eyes, Miko asked a question that Ei would have no choice but to consider seriously.
"..."
Sure enough, Ei froze.
"Pfft. Or is she nothing more than an outward shell in your eyes too~?"
Miko pressed on. It was a trap. The Shogun and Ei looked identical, and she wanted to see how Ei would talk her way out of this one.
"Haa... The Shogun is very beautiful. As for whether her appearance is merely an 'outward shell,' that depends on how she herself sees it."
In the end, Ei produced a perfectly measured answer. She affirmed that she considered the Shogun beautiful without contradicting her earlier attitude. It was a reasonable compromise.
Besides, the Shogun looked exactly like her. How was she supposed to answer?
Say the Shogun isn't beautiful? How could a mother possibly say that about her own daughter? But saying she's beautiful would contradict what I said earlier. Miko really does enjoy asking questions that leave me helpless.
"Oh my? You're quite good at this, aren't you? 'The Shogun is very beautiful'~?"
Miko smiled, deliberately repeating Ei's admission in a teasing tone.
"Miko, what am I to the Shogun?"
This time, Ei had an idea of her own and countered with a question.
"Hmm? What? Her mother, obviously?"
Miko answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Exactly. I believe that, in a mother's eyes, her child should always be the best, whether in appearance or in any other respect. That is how a mother ought to think of her child."
Ei explained.
"Hehe~! Haa... This is the first time I've heard you, Raiden Ei, talk about something like this. Ei, could it be that you're completely obsessed with your daughter?"
Miko could not suppress her laughter and raised an eyebrow as she asked.
"What does... being obsessed with my daughter mean?"
Ei was puzzled. It was the first time she had heard such an expression.
"Pfft~ Forget it. That's exactly what you are... Anyone can tell just by looking at you."
Then again, considering how much of a recluse Ei is, that particular trait really doesn't seem out of place on her.
Miko laughed inwardly.
"..."
Ei looked at Miss Kitsune, who had arbitrarily assigned her some strange characteristic, and decided not to argue any further. She did not understand the expression anyway. Forget it. If Miko wanted to label her that way, she could do as she pleased. It hardly mattered.
"The Shogun has been... troubled by something lately."
After a while, Ei looked toward her sleeping child. Her thoughts shifted, and she decided to tell the woman beside her about a certain matter, treating it as casual conversation.
"Hmm? The Shogun is troubled? About what?"
Miko froze for a moment before asking with interest.
"About lifespans..."
Ei answered.
"Lifespans? Ah—I understand. You mean something similar to what Chizuru was going through?"
Miko asked knowingly.
"Mm, more or less. However, for Chizuru, those events have already happened. For the Shogun, it's the possibility of such things happening that frightens her."
"Eh? If that's what you're saying, then the Shogun must have been close to the Kamisato family for a very long time. In that case, when Ayaka's mother..."
"Haa. That's right. When Kayo passed away, she was deeply saddened for a long time. Back then, I had not yet emerged from the Plane of Euthymia. I only heard what she told me. It was the first time she had ever experienced the death of a friend, and she confided in me at length..."
Ei sank into memories of the past.
"Mm... I understand. For beings like us, this is something we inevitably have to experience. The Shogun is still young. She needs to grow stronger and gradually become accustomed to it."
Miko spoke while taking small sips of sake.
"Of course I understand all that. But... going through it is extremely painful. Haa... Seeing her worrying about these things at such a young age inevitably breaks my heart."
Ei looked at her sleeping child beside her with complicated emotions, raising a hand to gently stroke her head.
"The Shogun isn't who she used to be. She's becoming increasingly human. Although she's a puppet, Makoto's influence has made her more and more like a living person, with genuine feelings and emotions.
"More importantly, she's met a group of people who are incredibly important to her. Ayaka, Kokomi... The closer she grows to them, the more intense that pain will become. As a puppet, she could originally have avoided all this. But now, because she possesses a 'heart,' not only has she failed to escape it, her suffering has actually deepened."
Ei murmured absently.
"Gaining something inevitably means losing something in return... Nothing in this world is absolutely perfect. It all depends on the choices she makes."
Miko said.
"..."
Ei remained silent. Her beautiful violet eyes grew increasingly gentle as she gazed at the Shogun, though a trace of complicated emotion lingered within them.
"Ei..."
Miko looked at her, concerned for her as well.
"Haa... It's all right. When that time comes, I'll be there to guide her through it. As her mother."
Ei exhaled, cast aside the tangled thoughts in her mind, and made that promise.