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From early dawn until the sun fully rose over Yasaka Shrine, Kunou finally opened her eyes in her solitary traditional room.
She pushed aside the futon covers, sat upright, and glanced around the room—empty, save for herself.
This was entirely normal; after all, as the future little shrine maiden of Yasaka Shrine, even without her mother explicitly telling her, Kunou maintained a strict self-discipline routine.
Such as diligently training in Yōkai arts with her mother, faithfully patrolling the shrine mountain each day, and—most importantly—learning how to properly care for herself. All these were essential daily lessons for the future head shrine maiden.
Right now, it was time for her to prepare breakfast.
Without any laziness or reluctance, the petite fox girl quickly folded up and neatly stored away her futon bedding into the closet, then pulled open the sliding door and stepped out.
But when Kunou entered the shrine's inner hall, she was surprised to see breakfast already prepared on the dining table by her mother—Yasaka herself sat gracefully beside it, resting her beautiful face gently upon one hand, with her usual tender smile.
"Eh? Mother, you've already prepared breakfast? Did I wake up too late today?"
The little fox girl blinked in mild confusion, hurriedly turning her head toward the wall clock.
Since deciding she must learn independence, this was an unprecedented occurrence.
Initially, when Kunou had proposed cooking breakfast herself, her mother would still assist by preparing the ingredients each morning. But after Kunou had adamantly insisted she wanted to handle all preparation steps herself, Yasaka hadn't interfered with breakfast-making again.
Could it be she had overslept today, forcing her mother to take matters into her own hands?
However, before Kunou could clearly check the time, Yasaka's soft, soothing voice drifted from the dining table.
"Don't worry, dear. It's still quite early. Mommy just suddenly thought up a new recipe this morning, so I woke up earlier to test it out. Go wash up first, and come eat while it's still hot."
"Oh, okay, Mother."
Hearing that was the reason, Kunou immediately felt relieved.
Shortly afterward, the little fox girl finished washing up and returned swiftly to the dining table, taking up her bowl and utensils under her mother's gentle gaze.
A rich seafood aroma wafted upward from the steaming-hot bowl—it was seafood congee this morning.
Kunou took a careful, tentative taste. Other than being slightly hot, the flavor was indeed delicious and wonderfully savory.
"How does it taste?"
Across the table, Yasaka tilted her head slightly, watching her daughter warmly and expectantly.
Kunou savored the flavor a bit longer, nodding earnestly:
"It's very delicious, Mother. Though... perhaps just a tiny bit fishy?"
"Well, it is seafood congee after all. A little fishiness is perfectly normal."
Yasaka chuckled softly as she stood up from the table.
"All right, Kunou, enjoy your meal slowly. Mommy will take a quick bath."
"Eh? Mother, aren't you eating too?"
The little fox girl asked curiously.
Pausing her graceful steps, Yasaka turned slightly with a soft smile.
"Mommy already ate earlier. The meal was quite hot, so I ended up sweating a bit. What remains here is all for you, dear."
Eh? Mother already ate breakfast?
Kunou nodded, now fully understanding.
With bright morning sunlight filtering through the kitchen window, Kunou could faintly see that Yasaka's elegant kimono clung softly to her mature figure due to a thin sheen of perspiration, accentuating her alluring curves.
"Then Mommy will take a bath first. After breakfast, please continue with your usual shrine patrol. When you return, Mommy will teach you some new Yōkai techniques."
"Alright~!"
Behind Yasaka, Kunou's obedient and sweet reply brought a subtle smile to the beautiful fox lady's lips. As she gracefully stepped toward the bath, Yasaka quietly placed a gentle hand on her abdomen, at an angle Kunou couldn't see.
Well, consider this a small compensation for lying to my daughter just now~
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At the same time, within the Keikain Clan estate:
Having woken up at the crack of dawn, completed her morning training routine, washed up, finished breakfast, and even received approval from the current Clan Head to transfer to a Tokyo school after the summer break, Yura was currently walking back toward her own residence.
Requesting approval had gone surprisingly smoothly—so much so that she still felt slightly incredulous.
Initially, Yura had anticipated strong resistance upon declaring her intent to move away from Kyoto to attend school in Tokyo.
Not only because a future head of the Keikain Clan leaving home for education was an inherently risky proposition, but also because the objections from various elders in the Clan would undoubtedly make things difficult.
She had fully expected objections along the lines of "How can the esteemed Heir of Keikain go seek education in Tokyo?"—"What's Tokyo got that's better than Kyoto?"—and "Do you even consider yourself a true Kyoto native?"
For this, she had even meticulously prepared grand, high-sounding justifications such as "Spreading the Onmyōji culture to Tokyo," "Training and tempering my own strength," and "Allowing Kanto to witness the Keikain Clan's true power firsthand."
Fully prepared to argue eloquently, yet it all turned out entirely unnecessary.
The entire conversation she'd had with the current Clan Head was shockingly brief and straightforward, consisting of merely three exchanges:
["You want to go to Tokyo? Why?"]
["Kyoto is well protected under Yasaka Shrine's blessing. Eastern Yōkai hardly dare to cause trouble here. I wish to go to Tokyo to further train myself."]
["But isn't Bokue already stationed in Tokyo?"]
["Big brother's personality is quite laid-back by nature. If he's alone, I worry he might..." (she mumbled guiltily)]
[...(two seconds silence) "Fine. If you wish to go, then go. I'll arrange for your transfer later."]
That was it. Just that simple.
Although the process could hardly even be called an argument, Yura distinctly remembered noticing a subtle, disapproving expression on the current Clan Head's face when she had described Bokue as "Laid-back."
It had been merely an excuse to achieve her goal—akin to how most children, when requesting a computer, claim it's strictly for studying rather than gaming.
But the Clan Head's reaction implied that despite Bokue's seemingly questionable reputation among other clansmen, he actually had a rather trustworthy image in the eyes of the Clan Head?
Though showing some disapproval, he still consented swiftly. Since when had the Clan Head become so easily persuaded?
Absorbed in thought, Yura soon found herself already back at her residence's front door.
She stepped inside, legs seemingly moving subconsciously until she arrived at Bokue's room and gently pulled open his door.
Inside was neat and tidy as always, yet completely empty once again.
He's gone already...?
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Meanwhile, back on Itogami Island in a certain high-end apartment's penthouse suite:
Bokue's figure suddenly materialized silently from thin air.
Gazing down into the dim bedroom with curtains tightly drawn, he saw Asagi still sprawled across the bed, sleeping soundly with an unreserved, carefree posture.
Smiling faintly at her adorable appearance, he couldn't resist leaning down playfully, gently poking her soft cheek.
"Nnn…"
Asagi mumbled sleepily at the unexpected sensation, unconsciously squirming a little before sleepily lifting her arms upward, loosely wrapping them around Bokue's neck. Still half-dreaming, she murmured softly in a dazed voice:
"Hold me… Bokue…"
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