Until dusk fell and the park broadcast announced its closing, the two yokai finally left Meiji Park and headed toward Chitose Valley Station.
Passing by a street corner where low residential areas and office buildings intersected, Fujiwara Reya counted his earnings with excitement, "In less than an hour, we made 48,000 yen. I knew I had a talent for selling not my body, but my voice."
His money-grubbing demeanor looked quite cute in Yukino Ritsuko's eyes.
"Here, this is for you." Fujiwara Reya took out 10,000 yen and handed it to her, "Don't think it's too little, after all, most of it was earned by me."
"Thank you." Yukino Ritsuko naturally accepted it and casually asked, "By the way, what's your name?"
"...What?" Yukino Ritsuko felt a tightness in her chest.
"Nothing, um... So, where in Asakusa do you live?"
"Scared you, didn't I?"
"...Yes, yes, it did."
"Don't be fooled by my age," Fujiwara Reya gestured proudly at his nose with his thumb, wearing an expression fitting for someone his age, "but I'm a registered, serious priest. If you ever need me, contact me anytime and I'll give you a 20% discount!"
"...Great, just great."
Yukino Ritsuko forced a smile that was harder to pull off than crying.
*In truth, she really wanted to cry. Her good mood from earlier had been completely washed away by him.*
*Sure, yokai and humans could coexist harmoniously... but yokai and priests were sworn enemies, with absolutely no chance of living peacefully together!*
"Hey, stupid woman," Fujiwara Reya waved a hand in front of her, seeing her spaced-out look, "what's wrong? Why are you spacing out while walking?"
"Oh, it's nothing..."
Yukino Ritsuko snapped back to reality, instinctively quickening her pace, "It's almost dark. Let's hurry home."
"Incorrect, it's not 'let's hurry home.'" Fujiwara Reya corrected her, "It's you go to your home, and I'll go to mine."
"...No need to remind me on purpose!"
*In all her life, Yukino Ritsuko had never felt as complicated as she did today.*
The train back to Asakusa was unusually crowded, and the two were squeezed into a corner of the carriage. With people pressed against him from behind, Fujiwara Reya tried his best to create a small space with his hands, shielding Yukino Ritsuko within it.
Facing each other, they were very close.
Even if he breathed just a little heavily, his warm breath would blow against Yukino Ritsuko's nose.
Holding her bag in front of her chest, Yukino Ritsuko glanced awkwardly from side to side. The way they were standing was awful, as if she was about to be pinned against the wall by him, making her feel so embarrassed that she thought she might melt into a puddle of ice water.
The carriage swayed, and Fujiwara Reya's body occasionally leaned forward out of control.
Fortunately, each time he leaned forward, Yukino Ritsuko would promptly hold out a hand to block his chest, avoiding the awkward situation of their bodies pressing together.
"Sor, sorry, did I hurt you?"
"We'll be out soon, just bear with it a little longer..."
"...Okay." Yukino Ritsuko lowered her gaze, her cheeks slightly flushed as she tried to ease the awkwardness, "They're quite big."
"Of course, but besides your eyes, there's also..." Fujiwara Reya instinctively glanced down at her figure, originally wanting to say chest, but thinking it was impolite, he changed to, "and the buttons on your clothes are quite big too."
Was this some kind of lame joke?
Unable to respond, Yukino Ritsuko could only stare at him in a daze.
Their expressions were awkwardly strained as they made eye contact.
The atmosphere was quite awkward indeed.
But it was precisely this close contact that allowed Fujiwara Reya to take a clear look at her appearance.
With an elegant and delicate oval face, a small and beautiful chin, and a graceful nose, she exuded the calmness of a well-bred lady. Her black eyes were even more striking; upon closer inspection, there were faint blue patterns in the whites, making the overall appearance of her eyes exceptionally captivating.
And those small, enchanting cherry lips, slightly glossy and moist, looked as luscious and plump as dewy red grapes in an early morning vineyard.
Fujiwara Reya swallowed.
*He felt a sudden craving for grapes...*
*Thinking about it, as a healthy, normal seventeen-year-old with robust energy, it should be considered a normal physiological reaction to feel parched in such a moment... shouldn't it?*
Feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, Yukino Ritsuko slightly turned her head away, her eyelashes fluttering as her eyes shifted restlessly.
*She felt like she was being eyed by a perverted passenger on the train.*
Her voice turned cold and even carried a hint of anger.
Fujiwara Reya snapped back to reality and quickly looked away guiltily.
*Staring at a woman like that was indeed impolite, and he seemed to have briefly thought about some censored images earlier.*
"I'm sorry... I was just, um, thinking of a biology problem, yes, a biology problem, and I got lost in thought."
"No, it's nothing..."
Yukino Ritsuko let out a breath, composing herself, and stayed silent for the rest of their ride.
At Asakusa Bridge Station, they parted ways by the Sumida River.
Under the last rays of the sunset, Fujiwara Reya returned to Asakusa Shrine.
The overgrown shrine ruins displayed two elegant cherry trees in full bloom. A gusty wind blew in from afar, scattering cherry blossoms, painting the ground a pale pink.
Walking past the torii gate, he looked up.
A pure white figure was silhouetted against the vermilion shrine roof, the Snow Woman blankly watching the setting sun, her legs lightly swinging from the edge of the roof. Her petite, stocking-clad feet looked like two cream cakes—surely they'd taste sweet if licked!
The Snow Woman tilted her head slightly, looking at him
Her crystal-clear lips stiffly puckered, seemingly expressing happiness.
Then, she floated down directly from the roof, wrapped her arms around Fujiwara Reya's neck, and opened her mouth, "Ah~"
Shikigami didn't feel hunger; feeding or not didn't matter, at most affecting their power progression.
How could anyone resist feeding such an adorable Snow Woman baby?
Without hesitation, Fujiwara Reya exchanged 200 points earned today for a popsicle and stuffed it into her mouth.
The Snow Woman ate with a satisfied expression.
"Good girl, Snow Princess." Fujiwara Reya habitually patted the Snow Woman's cool hair.
Since the Snow Woman clung persistently to his neck, he could only support her waist with both hands as he headed into the shrine to fill his own stomach.
Five hundred meters away at the Lemon bakery, Yukino Ritsuko shivered just after stepping through her front door. She didn't know why, but she felt like she was floating, like she had suddenly lost her sense of gravity, as if she might drift into the air any second.