The winner’s prize was a sweet pastry Kitsune Saiguu had prepared at some point.
The moment she saw the prize, Clementine felt she understood why Ei had such a strange competitive streak in such matters.
She didn’t have a strong preference for this kind of food herself, so after checking that Makoto didn’t mind, she simply shared it with everyone.
There was more than just this one portion of snacks; the atmosphere among the group now felt more like a tea party.
While quietly swiping a few extra snacks, Ei remarked, “Once I practice secretly behind your backs, I will definitely win next time.” If one truly approached practicing Karuta with the same attitude as honing martial arts, securing a victory should be a simple matter.
Kitsune Saiguu, on the other hand, was loudly plotting, complaining that Clementine’s final snatch for the card was so aggressive she might have poked a hole in it.
Clementine defended herself: “I’m not a cat; my tail isn’t a separate creature from me.
Besides, I’ve never done anything to damage public property before, have I?” Hearing this, Makoto couldn’t help but steal a few more glances at the other’s tail.
A slender section of dragon tail extended from beneath the hem of her clothes, making it hard to suppress curiosity about the garment’s construction.
At the moment, the tail was stretching lazily along with its owner’s sitting posture, trailing a long mark behind her.
For a long time before, Makoto had thought the Thunder Dragon’s tail was golden.
Observing closely today, she realized that the dragon tail was lined with silver-white scales, reflecting glints of light with its unconscious swaying.
What she had previously thought was gold was actually flowing lightning distributed evenly beneath the scales.
Perhaps because of the day’s travels, the lightning had unusually dimmed, allowing the natural color of the scales to be revealed.
She had seen the tip of the dragon tail many times; it was in the eye-catching shape of a sword.
There was no misunderstanding about this sword-shaped section; like her horns, it was the color of gold.
If it can even coil around to pick things up, the front part must be quite soft?
This thought suddenly occurred to Makoto.
Then, thinking about how the tail mostly swayed left and right with her movements, he felt he should change the description from “soft” to “supple.” After refining this conclusion, she then realized how strange this train of thought was no matter how she looked at it.
Feeling a bit guilty, he glanced at the others; fortunately, they were all discussing other topics and didn’t notice their Lord’s strange lapse in concentration.
During the days when Clementine and Makoto were researching the Thunder Sakura: Mark II and the success of the final experiment, news of Inazuma’s new milestone victory had already spread.
With Ei’s recent return to sit in state at Tenshukaku, most people felt that with the Shogun’s protection, a peaceful life was about to return.
Kitsune Saiguu was mentioning that the yokai planned to hold an amusement festival that had been suspended for many years to celebrate this event.
As the conversation naturally led there, she incidentally asked for the opinions of the two Raiden Gods and a dragon.
Makoto agreed happily without much hesitation.
Clementine wasn’t surprised she would agree; after all, she had always loved Inazuma’s scenery and customs and had mentioned many incognito visits.
Such an invitation was bound to be accepted.
Kitsune Saiguu immediately nodded and said, “I’ve got it, all three of you are going.” Clementine slowly formed a mental question mark; she hadn’t even spoken yet.
Before she could open her mouth to ask, her words were blocked by the fox’s teasing.
“Makoto has already agreed; could it be you’d actually refuse?” The look the Guuji fox gave her seemed filled with meanings like “Isn’t it true you say yes to whatever Makoto says?”, “Even though you listen to him anyway, you still ask why I didn’t let you decide,” and “A dragon so thoroughly handled is really easy to read.” On the other side, Ei was a bit hesitant, likely about to voice some reasons for refusal, but was also nimbly cut off by Kitsune Saiguu.
“Lord Ei should go too; after all, Her Highness Makoto has already agreed.
Just treat it as tasting everyone’s craftsmanship and seeing how they are all living.
You both have sacrificed so much for Inazuma; isn’t this harmonious scene exactly what you want to see?” “Besides, only by participating among everyone can you better know what they need and get one step closer to realizing the dream of eternity.” “As for concerns about identity exposure, there’s no need to worry at all.
Don’t think everyone will feel uneasy because the Shogun is there; just don’t let them know.
I’m quite skilled at this; with a little magic for concealment, I have yet to find a yokai who can see through my illusions.” Kitsune Saiguu indeed successfully anticipated some of the reasons Ei was about to give, forcing him to swallow his words.
Moreover, Ei had always been unable to bear refusing a friend’s kindness; with things said to this extent, he had no choice but to agree.
Kitsune Saiguu wore a smile of total victory, sweeping a haughty glance over her two yokai companions beside her.
“What did I tell you?
You have to grasp the main contradiction and the right timing, right?” The overly smug fox quickly drew the dissatisfaction of the Oni.
Omiya Chiyo soon began bickering back and forth with Kitsune Saiguu.
After another round of laughing and joking, the time was nearing the depths of the night.
Although the Grand Narukami Shrine sat high atop the mountain and was certainly the place closest to the gods of The Heavens in people’s hearts, it also brought unavoidable problems: transportation to various places was far from convenient.
Given the situation, everyone simply decided to stay the night at the Grand Narukami Shrine.
Anyway, Narukami wouldn’t have any objections to this.