"Yuri should come too~ It's been so long since Yuri last visited Grandma, she misses you. This is perfect. In that case, how about everyone stay with us until the end of winter break? I welcome Erica-san and Liliana-san to come together too."
As a result of her naturally open and cheerful personality, the Hime-Miko of the Sword offered a new suggestion.
Erica and Liliana's expressions changed immediately. Their faces seemed to be saying "Rather than taking independent action, let us join forces together instead..." as they planned their next move.
Facing this unstable situation, Yuri objected alone.
"This is so lacking in common sense... For such a large group to suddenly rush there without notice."
"No problem there. Even for an illegitimate child left behind by my deceased grandpa, as soon as grandma found him, he was immediately taken in to live with us the next day."
"N-Now that you mention it, I do recall such an event..."
Godou was rather shocked by this exchange that suddenly revealed the private affairs of another's family.
On the other hand, Yuri fell silent as if vaguely acquiescing.
Glancing at the other's faces from time to time, she seemed to be pondering something. Speaking of which, she was a high-class young lady who easily blushed unexpectedly due to the synergistic effect of her docility and inexperience in worldly ways.
No good. If Godou did not try to stem the current tide of opinion, things were going to develop in a most unfavorable manner!?
Just as Godou was about to speak up frantically, Yuri went "Ah" and spoke quietly.
"Ena-san, it does not work out. We have to attend the Great Purification Rite the day after tomorrow."
"Eh?"
"Furthermore, starting from New Year's Eve, I have to be at Nanao Shrine for three consecutive days. Even Ena-san will be obliged to go forth to some village and work at the shrine there."
Godou realized from Yuri's reminder. Now that he thought about it, the two girls were miko after all.
The period before and after New Year's should be one of the busiest times for them. However, the premier Hime-Miko clutched her head in her arms in shock.
"Eh, even Ena is required to do that?"
"After all, this is our duty and obligation as Hime-Miko..."
"Annoying. In past years I was always training in the mountains and completely forgot about it!"
Ena screamed towards the heavens. Then Liliana asked:
"Mariya Yuri, what is this Great Purification Rite?"
"It is a purification ritual held during the year end when all of us Hime-Miko belonging to the 'East' gather together. But to be honest, given a choice I would prefer not to participate. At least, not for this year..."
Yuri sighed with a gloomy expression.
Just as Godou was surprised by the negativity displayed by the dependable high-class young lady, he suddenly heard a cellphone's lively ringtone. The sound came from Yuri's bag.
"Excuse me." Apologizing, Yuri took out her cellphone and took the call.
The conversation lasted for a couple of minutes. After the call, she put her cellphone away.
Then Yuri slowly spoke to Godou.
"The call was from Kaoru-san. Basically, regarding the Great Purification Rite we were just talking about, whether we should invite Godou-san to come along or not."
"Me? Joining a gathering of the Hime-Miko?"
Yuri explained the situation as Godou listened in surprise.
I see, if that's the case—after hearing the reason, Godou nodded immediately.
Part 2
The morning after Christmas, Godou suddenly informed his sister:
"By the way, I have to go out to do something tomorrow, so I probably won't be back until late."
On the breakfast table there was no one else but the two siblings. Shizuka went "Huh" as she sighed with worry.
"Are you going with Erica-san and the rest of the group?"
"......"
"I knew it. Onii-chan really did achieve explosive growth over the past half a year. Rumors have already spread all around the neighborhood."
"Saying I'm very similar to Grandpa again...?"
"It's gone beyond that level. 'Already like this in his teens, he'll probably surpass his grandfather by the time he's in his twenties!' was what the man at the commercial association said. Very unlike Grandpa in the way you went for foreign girls, that was what everyone discussed with great interest."
"W-What is everyone saying!? This is completely unfounded!"
"In that case, you should show a little restraint in the way you suddenly bring home all these girls from who knows where. And on Christmas Eve, you even invited Mariya-senpai's younger sister—an elementary schooler. Furthermore, you even said you were going on an expedition with that popular-looking handsome guy to pick up girls."
Apparently, Shizuka had judged Sayanomiya Kaoru's gender to be male.
Explaining the truth would probably complicate the situation further. Godou decided to not to correct that detail, but instead forced the conversation to bring up another person.
"Didn't I invite another boy as well? Yeah, there was that dude with the slightly fierce gaze, who may turn out quite handsome in the future."
"Ah, you mean that boy whose face was filled with arrogance. Him... Hmm..."
Speaking of Lu Yinghua, Shizuka began to contemplate for some reason.
"What about him?"
"Actually, I did feel slightly concerned. Somehow I get a sense that he's actually far more subservient than that look on his face would suggest. How should I put it, a bit of an underling flavor to him. He looks kind of used to bowing down to a superior..."
Godou was shocked by Shizuka's mumbling commentary.
His little sister here could very well be extraordinary. To think she would discern the dark side(?) of his nephew on their first encounter... Godou secretly prayed for Yinghua, hoping he would not be ordered around like an underling regardless of the circumstances which might bring him to cross paths with Shizuka in the future.
As the siblings' conversation reached the end of their meal...
Shizuka's cellphone on the table began to vibrate. Apparently she received a text.
"Ah, it's from Dad. Heh... Onii-chan, come and take a look."
After checking her messages, the younger sister handed the phone over and Godou read content displayed.
'Dear daughter, I'm really sorry about earlier. By the way, Daddy is planning to stay in the Caribbean to enjoy the sun and yachts for now. Would you like to come over for winter break?'
Shizuka's birthday was in early December. At the time, their father originally promised to return home but did not come in the end.
Apparently he was trying to make up for it. For a middle-aged delinquent father, such intentions were commendable. Furthermore, there was a postscript addressed to Godou.
'P.S. Dear son, I won't object if you decide to come, but be prepared for the misery of being excluded from a heartfelt reunion between father and daughter.'
Indeed this was typical of his father's speech. But more than that, Godou was impressed instead.
After all, the father was a terrible human being who could openly declare 'I'm not the type of person who could treat a useless son and a cute daughter equally!' He was still the same as always, making no progress at all.
"It's the Caribbean. Does Onii-chan want to go?"
Furthermore, before Godou's eyes stood the little sister who openly ignored the father's wishes. Indeed, she was an extraordinary character, not one to be fazed by this level of occurrence.
However, thinking that it would be rather troublesome getting along with this twisted father, Godou immediately said:
"Why don't you go alone? I'm going to be staying over at a friend's place for New Year's."
"Why? If you're living in Japan, there's no reason to stay over, right?"
"If I stay at home during New Year's, I'll be forcefully tie
d up and dragged to that party by those relatives. I have resolved to cut myself off from gambling matters this year!"
The Kusanagi clan and its branches always gathered somewhere in Tokyo to hold a New Year's party.
The after party always held a crazy gambling carnival. For a good number of years now, Godou had been forced to participate as the defending champion. The only way to stop this ugly tradition would be to get away from home.
But unfortunately, the grandfather was not home this year.
If he left the house during New Year's, Shizuka would be left alone—
(Their mother did say she was coming, but it was uncertain when exactly before or after New Year's she would arrive. Precisely because the mother was a great fan of parties, she would often go around to attend various parties during this time of the year. Consequently, Godou felt a sense of reassurance at the thought of leaving his mother alone to handle the clan's New Year's party.)
However, given their father's invitation, he no longer had to worry about his younger sister.
As the elder brother resolved himself to go on a trip, Shizuka eyed him with suspicion.
"So the place Onii-chan will be staying at, wouldn't happen to be the home of Erica-san or the others, right...?"
"Don't talk nonsense! I'm completely unlike Grandpa. I will never do anything like that!"
In actual fact, he was inspired yesterday by Erica's suggestion of "living at a friend's."
But he had no intention of living in a girl's home. Godou strongly swore to himself.
After that, the day arrived for the imminent Hime-Miko year end gathering.
Godou left home at eight in the morning to meet up with Liliana. The two of them walked to Erica's apartment and managed with great difficulty to rouse the blonde beauty who always had trouble getting up in the morning.
Then the trio departed from Erica's apartment and took the subway train—
Walking roughly ten minutes on foot from the station, they reached a twenty-story designer's mansion. Their destination was a unit in this building, the gathering place for today.
"Welcome everyone!"
The one greeting everyone at the entryway was one of the inhabitants of this unit, Mariya Hikari.
This place was another residence of the Mariya family's. Their ancestral home was located in the Saitama prefecture, where the two sisters' grandparents originally lived. However, to facilitate the sisters going to school and the parents commuting to work, they had moved to live in Tokyo.
"Is Seishuuin already here?"
"Yes. More accurately, Ena-neesama has been staying over in Onee-chan's room for the past few days."
Hikari replied to Godou's question.
Starting from the day Ena came over from Chichibu, she had already planned to stay for three days or longer.
"Could the Seishuuin and Mariya families be quite close in relationship?"
Liliana suddenly asked.
"Not really. There exists a wide gulf in prestige between my family and the Seishuuins. You could even say that our families are not supposed to associate directly. But since Ena-neesama has that kind of personality, she already became good friends with Onee-chan when they were small."
Entering a childhood friend's home as naturally as if it were her own, Ena became very familiar with the Mariya parents and grandparents, often showing up suddenly without notice to renew her freeloader status.
"Even when Onee-chan is not home, Ena-neesama would play with me, the little sister. She would also make my mother and grandmother spoil her and ask for snacks. As time went on, she naturally became like a part of our family."
"That sort of scene is actually quite easy to imagine..."
Erica nodded, perhaps reminded of Ena's easygoing innocence.
Furthermore, Ena in turn, had invited Yuri to her ancestral home without being concerned with any conventions. Thereafter, the Seishuuin family had not minded the difference in family stature despite being fellow Hime-Miko, and allowed their friendship to continue...
Hikari proceeded to explain the above to Godou and the rest as she led them to the living room.
"Ah, but Grandma Ran, the current head of the Seishuuin family, also seems to like Onee-chan a lot. When Ena-neesama asked her if Onee-chan could be adopted into the Seishuuin family, she answered 'No problem' readily."
"...Why would the Seishuuin family want Mariya as an adopted daughter?"
Godou puzzled over this sudden question as he sat down on the living room sofa.
Erica and Liliana also sat down left and right of him respectively. The Mariya residence's living room had an area greater than ten square meters. This spaciousness, combined with the ample lighting from the sun, made for quite a comfortable environment.
"It's because ever since Onee-chan decided to follow Onii-sama, Ena-neesama worried that Onee-chan would be treated unfairly."
Godou went "Eh?" in surprise. Why would he become the reason for that?
"Seishuuin, Sayanomiya, Kuhoudzuka and Renjou—amongst these Four Families and their branches, although it's only a minority, there does exist those who arrogantly look down on families of lower stature. Especially those obstinate members of the older generation..."
Hikari spoke with a slightly troubled expression.
"Because Onee-chan is an official Hime-Miko, in theory she should transcend those differences in family origins and be treated as 'Hime' instead... However, there exists people who disagree no matter what."
"I see. So that's where the 'adopted daughter' idea comes from."
Hikari nodded vigorously.
"Just a formal process to allow women not of high-born blood to marry royalty and nobility. With that, the question of family stature goes away."
"However, Yuri should be backed by the support of the History Compilation Committee and Kaoru-san, right?"
Erica interjected as if she completely understood the situation.
"Not if a measure like adoption was not essential? In my opinion, success should be guaranteed if these people resort to this."
"Ah yes. It is exactly as you say. As expected of Erica-neesama."
Hikari smiled with a giggle and replied cheerfully.
"Our family was also very surprised to find out that Onee-chan was being officially recognized as 'Kusanagi Godou-sama's partner.' This is no joking matter after all."
"A-About being my partner..."
Should he be happy for Yuri or should he be concerned with the problem at hand? Faced with this agonizing problem, Godou's face began to twitch. At the same time, he was feeling increasingly apologetic.
"It's because of me that things have become so complicated. If only Mariya had spoken out herself to let me know. Even someone like me should perhaps start getting used to making use of my power and influence."
"Ah, don't worry, Onii-sama."
Hikari smiled without concern.
"Other than when she's lecturing, Onee-chan is a gentle person. Regarding various issues related to family stature, or whether she would garner jealousy because of her relationship with Onii-sama, Onee-chan does not mind such matters. Because of that, I don't think Onee-chan ever felt like she was suffering."
"That's the Yuri I know. For better or worse, she is a girl unfamiliar with worldly ways."
Just as Erica nodded with a knowing expression...
Yuri and Ena—the two people in question, came out from their room, their harmonious relationship clear to see.
As a side note, Yuri was dressed in casual wear with a white blouse, a cherry-colored cardigan and long skirt. On the other hand, Ena was still in her same old school uniform.
She was also dressed the same when she came to the Kusanagi residence recently. Apparently, expecting this carefree and unfettered Hime-Miko to choose other clothes would be quite a challenge.
"Ah... Originally I was thinking of taking everyone to watch the sunrise for New Year's and enjoying Yuri's cooking, passing time in a relaxed and casual way. Flying some
kites or something."
"Well, rice cake soup and red bean porridge can be made any time of the year, you know."[1]
"Really? Then can Ena do New Year's duty at Nanao Shrine together with Yuri and Hikari? Going all the way back to Chichibu would be a pain."
Yuri smiled wryly as she comforted Ena's depressed spirits.
"Well, rather than New Year's, our first priority is getting through today's Great Purification Rite. Even Yuri hates this troublesome work, right?"
"I-It is not really troublesome, but if possible, I would rather not participate..."
Yuri displayed a troubled expression in response to Ena's attempts to recruit her as a spiritual accomplice.
Perhaps this was Godou's first time to witness the Hime-Miko in this manner. Just as Godou felt intrigued, the cellphone in his bag began to vibrate. Godou took it out.
It was a call from the History Compilation Committee's agent, Amakasu Touma.
He had arrived to pick them up.
"Hahahah, to think that the two premier Hime-Miko are thinking of slacking off."
After hearing about the matter, the person laughing frivolously was naturally Amakasu on the driver's seat.
He was driving a minivan to pick up the Mariya sisters and Ena to participate in the Great Purification Rite, as well as Godou, Erica and Liliana who accompanied them.
Carrying everyone, the vehicle followed the Shuto Expressway's loop route to head north to the Saitama prefecture.
"The two premier Hime-Miko? Amakasu Touma, if my memory serves me right, that should be—"
Hearing his statement just now, Liliana spoke up.
"I remember the title of the premier Hime-Miko belongs to Seishuuin Ena alone."
"Yes. Up until recently, that was indeed correct. However, Yuri-san's powers have rapidly developed over the past half a year, and more importantly she is also one of the Hime-Miko with the closest relationship with Kusanagi-san. Hence, Kaoru-san said 'Given these circumstances, it is enough to crown her with any title for a promotion stunt' and thus it was decided with this reasoning."
"I-I had no idea all this was happening..."
As Amakasu disclosed this was what happened behind the scenes, Yuri shyly lowered her head.
"A person of my position, is truly not worthy of such a grand title..."
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