Chapter 356: Will Happiness Await in the Future?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 356: Will Happiness Await in the Future?
“I’m heading out! See you later!”
Click.
After a cheerful farewell to her friend, Miyuki opened the passenger-side door and flashed me a bright smile.
I had been watching Miyuki’s friend until that moment.
“Is that Nanase?” I asked.
“Yeah. Haruka.”
I’d heard her name often enough to be curious, and now I was finally seeing her.
She was cute, just as you’d expect from a friend of Miyuki’s. The round bun she’d tied her hair into was particularly striking.
Her chest was small, but that wasn’t an issue. She had a petite build like Miho; it would be strange if she were any bigger.
I opened the passenger window and gave Haruka a simple nod. She bowed back, her hands clasped together, a picture of good manners.
She’s so proper. It makes me want to hit on her all of a sudden.
She seems innocent, though not as much as Chinami. Just imagining a threesome with Miyuki taking the lead made the blood rush south.
Resisting the temptation, I finished my greeting and headed home, chatting happily with Miyuki.
As we were passing through her neighborhood, I noticed the shrine where we had watched the fireworks was quite bustling.
“What’s going on? Is today some kind of holiday?”
“I don’t think so...? They must be having a small weekend event. It doesn’t happen often, but they do it from time to time.”
“Really? You’re not tired, are you?”
“Nope. You want to go?”
“Yeah. Let’s check it out.”
“Okay.”
The shrine wasn’t overflowing, but there was a decent crowd.
After parking, we walked inside.
“Brings back memories,” I said.
“It does.”
She seemed to be thinking of the same memory as me, a faint smile on her lips and a wistful look in her eyes.
I chuckled and looked around, spotting a corner where a few people were lined up. I pointed toward it.
“Is that for omikuji?”
“Looks like it.”
“Want to try?”
“Yeah.”
Next to the omikuji corner was a separate booth for koimikuji—love fortunes.
We went over and waited for the line to shorten. A staff member dressed as a shrine maiden greeted us with a bright smile.
“Hello. Are you here for a love fortune?”
“Yes.”
“That will be 200 yen.”
After I paid, the shrine maiden handed me a copper coin that looked like a 5-yen coin, with a round hole in the center.
“Thank you. Please go to the next booth and toss the coin into the box.”
Following her instructions, we moved to the next booth where we saw a large box filled with white sand.
Dozens of coins already lay inside, a testament to the many couples who had already seen their fortunes.
I was about to toss our coin in when I paused and turned to Miyuki.
“What’s wrong?”
As she asked with a puzzled look, I took the coin and pressed it to the center of her forehead, rubbing it with a bit of pressure.
Press...!
Then, I tossed the coin, now thoroughly imbued with Miyuki’s essence, into the box.
In that short time, Miyuki’s expression shifted rapidly in response to my sudden display of affection.
From surprise to bewilderment, and then to embarrassment.
After displaying all those emotions on her face in a matter of seconds, Miyuki let out a playfully annoyed protest.
“Hey, what are you doing...!”
But a smile was blooming on her lips. She seemed to be enjoying it.
Enjoying the way I expressed my love for her.
I grinned at Miyuki, a faint mark now visible on her forehead. Together, we drew a stick from the container the shrine maiden offered.
The maiden then slowly shook a staff adorned with several bells a few times to wish us luck. Another maiden took our sticks, checked the numbers, and retrieved a neatly folded piece of paper from a box behind her, handing it to us.
It was our fortune.
It was just for fun, but for some reason, I felt a flutter of nervousness.
With that thought, I went to a corner of the shrine and unfolded the paper.
[Great happiness exists in the present and in the future.]
It was a common blessing you’d find in a love fortune.
I’d been worried we might get a cryptic message like [Trust and understand.] or [The understanding of those around you is needed.], so I was relieved it wasn’t anything like that.
Of course, shrines tend to avoid negative fortunes for couples, since getting one in a lovey-dovey mood would just kill the vibe.
“That’s a really good one, isn’t it?” Miyuki said after reading it.
Even though it was just for fun, a fortune that was almost guaranteed to be good, it still lifted my spirits and seemed to hint at a bright future for my harem. I nodded in agreement.
“What’s the expiration date on this?”
“Usually a year.”
In that case, I’d have to get everything sorted out within a year.
With that resolution, I went with Miyuki to the place where people tie their omikuji. After carefully tying ours, we went to make an offering.
Is this the first time Miyuki and I are making an offering together?
In that case, since we got a good fortune, I should go all out and pray for blessings on our future.
I had five 1000-yen bills on me.
I took them all out and went to the exchange booth next to us.
These days, many shrines have adopted modern systems, with strange setups like coin vending machines or even kiosks that accept cards for offerings. I was glad this place wasn't like that.
“Could you change this into 500-yen coins, please?”
“All 5000 yen?”
“Yes. All of it.”
“Understood.”
After exchanging the money, I led a bewildered Miyuki to the front of the offering box, where we stood side by side.
Then, I dumped all the coins in at once. Miyuki gasped in surprise.
“Isn’t that too much for an offering...? And I heard 500-yen coins aren’t effective...”
Nonsense. When it comes to offerings or donations, there’s no such thing as “too much is as bad as too little.”
It’s always “the more, the merrier.” The larger the amount, the more pleased the gods will be.
“That’s for one coin. Ten coins are different. It reverses the effect.”
“R-Really...? It has that meaning, too?”
“Nope. I just made that up.”
“Hey...!”
Miyuki let out a disbelieving laugh and gave my arm a light shove.
“You should have just put the bills in a white envelope with our address... Then the priest would pray to the gods for our good fortune during the dedication.”
That was a thing?
No wonder there were white envelopes on the corner of the exchange counter... So large sums get special treatment?
The world of the gods is just as capitalistic as the mortal realm. I couldn’t help but lament it.
“Why are you telling me this now?”
“Well... I didn’t think you’d just dump all the coins in at once... you idiot.”
“Don’t curse in front of the gods.”
“I meant it as a term of endearment. Did it sound like a curse?”
“Whatever you say.”
Next time I make an offering, I’ll have to bring a hefty sum and put it in an envelope.
There’s a feng shui superstition that offering 45 yen will bring a good relationship from start to finish. If I offer a hundred... no, a thousand times that, wouldn’t the gods be absolutely delighted?
After that thought, Miyuki and I offered our prayers according to the shrine’s rules. Then, I held her hand tightly as we watched the festivities for a long time before finally getting in the car.
Miyuki’s face had been bright ever since I rubbed the coin on her forehead. I had a feeling she was going to drain me of all my energy tonight.
* * *
“Matsuken!”
The next day, I sent Miyuki off to the student council meeting and was heading toward the school building when Hiyori’s cheerful voice called out from behind me. I turned my head.
“What is it...? What happened to your eyes?” Hiyori asked in surprise, studying my face.
I tilted my head. “What about my eyes?”
“You have dark circles. Did you not sleep well last night?”
I have dark circles?
No wonder Miyuki offered to pack me an eel bento for lunch after our three rounds last night...
I’d only gotten a few hours of sleep, but I thought I was fine. It seems my body is more honest than my mind.
If I’m going to live with four heroines in the future, this level of stamina won’t be enough.
I’ll have to start working out or something.
“I slept fine.”
“Really? You weren’t watching porn?”
Was that her roundabout way of asking if I was tired from masturbating?
I thought I’d given her plenty of chastity education the day before and the day before that, but it seems she still has a long way to go.
I flicked Hiyori’s ahoge and chided her.
“Don’t go around saying things like that to just anyone.”
“You’re not just anyone, senpai.”
There she goes again with her habitual flirting.
This is what makes me want to drag you into a corner.
A thought suddenly occurred to me. Yesterday at the shrine with Miyuki, I rubbed a coin on her forehead. I wonder how Hiyori would react if I did the same to her.
And not just Hiyori—I was curious about Renka’s and Chinami’s reactions, too.
“Is that so?”
“Yup.”
“Alright then.”
When I acted like I was subtly acknowledging it, Hiyori flinched... just a tiny bit.
Your body is as honest as my exhausted one is right now.
The way her amateurishness peeks through is cute.
“Has your year decided on a location for the summer school trip yet, senpai?”
“What school trip?”
“I guess you haven’t done the survey yet. They said our class is doing it today.”
“Really? And they’ll go with whatever the survey says?”
“Probably? My friends and I already agreed to vote for the beach.”
If that’s the case, and the beach gets the most votes in all three grades, does that mean the joint school trip I imagined a while back will actually happen?
It feels a little early... but there’s still plenty of time until the trip, so it might be fine.
Miyuki will probably choose a different location since she’s been wary of the ocean ever since she almost drowned, but if the destination is decided by majority rule, that’s a different story.
It was obvious from the current weather that this summer would be incredibly hot, so a lot of students were bound to choose the beach.
If we do end up going to the beach, I’ll have to be considerate of Miyuki and stick to playing in the shallow water with the heroines.
But before that, getting the four of them to close the distance between them is the priority.
“You didn’t threaten them into choosing it, did you?”
“Of course not! Oh, and look at this.”
Hiyori took out her phone and waved it in front of my face. I saw the lemon keychain clinking against the case.
“I saw that yesterday.”
“Look again.”
Does she like it that much?
Go brag to your friends in the classroom that Matsuken bought it for you. That’ll keep the pests away.
“Alright, alright, calm down. Come with me to the school store.”
“Ooh, are you buying me something?”
“Nope. We’re just looking.”
I stated it as a fact and turned toward the store. Hiyori followed, speaking in a mischievous tone.
“I know you’re going to buy me something.”
“Think whatever you want. I just won’t buy you anything, then.”
“Just buy me one thing. Melon milk and a soboro bread.”
“That’s not one thing.”
“I meant one of each.”
“No.”
“I’ll pay you back later, so please? I overslept today and rushed out, so I forgot my wallet.”
“You still haven’t paid back the 100 yen you borrowed.”
“I paid that back with Suichu, what are you talking about...!”
“What about the interest?”
“I’m hungry...”
Her shoulders slumped as she rubbed her stomach.
She looked like she was ready to pull at the hem of her dress shirt, as if threatening to expose herself—something I hate—if things didn’t go her way.
Seeing her ridiculous act, I let out a short sigh as if I couldn’t win.
“Fine, I’ll buy it for you. Just fix your clothes.”
“Okay!”
It was funny how quickly she perked back up.
Miho must get exhausted trying to keep an eye on Hiyori.
No, she’s probably just given up by now.
And so, I headed to the school store with Hiyori, who had started chattering nonstop since the morning began.
I’d already gotten a dose of Miyuki’s and Hiyori’s bright energy this morning. At lunch, I’ll need to balance my mood with Renka’s purple and Chinami’s pink vibes.