Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: The Clingy Widow!
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'Wh-what do I do!?'
After Rubelt left, Yagitsune Ayame fell deep into thought.
She had somehow managed to explain her situation and prevent him from cutting off the sponsorship entirely right from the start.
But Yagitsune Ayame thought to herself.
If Rubelt had gone out of his way to come here in person and declare he was stopping the sponsorship, it was basically a done deal.
He had said he'd discuss it again tomorrow, but there was still a chance he'd end the conversation by confirming the cutoff.
'N-no, that can't happen...!'
If she could just barely hold things together.
If she fired the staff like before and somehow managed everything on her own, she could probably endure the debt in her current state.
But that would be no different from returning to her old standard of living.
No, it wasn't even certain she could maintain that.
Once she let all the staff go and handled everything alone, worshippers might start dwindling away.
What Yagitsune Ayame feared most was slipping back into that old life.
If things had continued in the story's original "barely scraping by" hardship, she might have gritted her teeth and endured.
But she had already tasted despair and poverty far worse than the original story.
And thanks to Rubelt's help, she had savored the joys of a comfortable life.
She didn't want to go back to that existence—never knowing when the electricity might get cut off, scraping by day after day on meager side dishes of bean sprouts.
If she had to handle it alone, she could probably tough it out somehow.
But.
'Kagura...'
Yagitsune Ayame had a daughter.
A precious, lovable girl she wouldn't trade for the world, not even for the apple of her eye.
Yagitsune Ayame never forgot, not even for a moment.
She couldn't forget.
Even when the Yagitsune Shrine was on the brink of total collapse, her daughter had never complained—instead, she'd encouraged her, saying things would get better.
The way her eyes had welled up with tears of joy upon hearing Rubelt's sponsorship was confirmed.
The way she had finally let out all the sorrow and pain she'd been holding inside.
She couldn't make her daughter endure suffering again.
She couldn't twist up that face now brimming with smiles.
She couldn't let tears well up in her precious daughter's eyes again.
That's why Yagitsune Ayame desperately, even extremely, racked her brain for a way to change Rubelt's mind.
She thought and thought about how to ensure he wouldn't cut off the shrine's sponsorship completely.
Something that would please Rubelt.
Something he wanted from her.
Something he lacked but she possessed.
And the image that burned brightest in Yagitsune Ayame's mind was Rubelt averting his gaze, his face flushing with embarrassment and shyness.
In other words.
It was his reaction to her as a woman.
If she could satisfy that side of him...
'...Eek! Wh-what am I thinking!? H-he's Rubelt! He's the same age as Kagura... my benefactor!'
Yagitsune Ayame shook her head furiously, trying to banish the thought.
But no other ideas came to mind.
She had no money.
And she wasn't strong enough to fight, either.
A retired hunter who had clung to her failing shrine without any confidence in safely returning to the field, ultimately saved by Rubelt's aid.
The only thing with any potential was her looks—the beauty that had made Rubelt blush and call her beautiful.
No matter how she tried to think of alternatives, she always circled back to the same conclusion.
Over a dozen times she denied it and searched for other paths, only to arrive at the identical end.
Her chaotic thoughts were steadily tilting toward the conclusion that involved her.
'Rubelt said he's an adult, too. He's a full-fledged grown-up.'
She pushed aside thoughts of him being the same age as her daughter.
She ignored the idea of disrespecting her benefactor.
'Besides, for him to find a woman my age... this old lady... beautiful? That's actually a stroke of luck. A chance to protect the shrine... to protect our Kagura...'
Her priority was always the shrine and her daughter's well-being.
To keep her daughter from suffering poverty and sadness again.
'If I just... keep things on good terms, it'll be fine. No... no problems at all.'
She pondered how to smoothly execute her plan and bring it to a satisfactory close.
And how to make it stick for sure.
Yagitsune Ayame steeled her resolve.
She would use her body to seduce Rubelt.
The next morning.
This time, he visited the Yagitsune Shrine alone.
"Welcome, Rubelt."
As he climbed the stairs, Ayame herself emerged from the torii gate to greet him.
"Hello, Ayame."
"Yes. Please, come inside first, Rubelt."
He followed Ayame into the shrine's residence.
It was the same room as yesterday.
But what she brought wasn't the same as yesterday.
No tea cakes or green tea—instead, a bottle of sake and sakazuki cups.
In the end, Ayame was following the path he had laid out, trying to seduce and topple him.
But he hadn't expected her to bring out alcohol.
"Rubelt, do you drink sake?"
"I had my first drink recently with Father."
"Oh, really? Congratulations. I'm... sorry about this. Given the nature of our talk, I wanted to borrow a bit of liquid courage. If it's alright with you... would you join me?"
He had originally planned to share his second drinking partner with Master.
Sorry, Master.
I was saving the Heavenly Thunder Brew for us.
But I can't refuse sake offered by a widow trying to seduce me.
After a brief, thoughtful silence, he nodded.
"Sure. If it'll make you more comfortable, Ayame."
"Thank you, Rubelt. You're so... kind."
Ayame uncorked the bottle and sat beside him, picking it up.
"Here, have a cup."
"Yes."
As he lifted his sakazuki, Ayame poured.
The cup filled slowly with a crisp trickle.
Then Ayame poured into her own cup and raised it.
Rubelt and Ayame drank together.
Since he'd only had wine with Father before, this felt refreshingly clear and crisp going down his throat.
It was sake, so it had that signature bitterness.
But after a few drinks, he was used to it—no big deal.
Instead, the sake Ayame offered was pretty strong.
Strong enough to clearly intend getting him drunk for the seduction.
Of course, he wouldn't mention the potency.
Here, he only praised it.
"It's good."
"Really? I'm glad. It's my favorite—I have it occasionally. The name is... Kitsune Goroshi."
Kitsune Goroshi.
Fox Killer, literally.
"At the Yagitsune Shrine? You okay with that?"
"Hehe, it's perfect—'the sake that fells even foxes.'"
Interpretation is key.
"Another cup...?"
"Yes, please."
He knew his tolerance somewhat from drinking with Father.
He was pretty sturdy.
Even if not, his genius training included mana control techniques to metabolize alcohol.
One of his spear-wielding, sake-loving private tutors had developed it to drink more and variety while chasing that buzz.
So no risk of passing out or blacking out.
In other words.
Even if he got "drunk" and slept with Ayame, he could use this to remember everything clearly with his own eyes.
After downing another cup, he spoke to advance things.
"Ayame, could you update me again on your current situation?"
"Yes, Rubelt."
Ayame began her report with a faintly pitiable air.
She had taken out a loan she thought she could repay in two years for Yorugitsune's statue, assuming the sponsorship would continue.
If it ended in two months, she'd have to fire the part-timers and cleaners, and it was uncertain if worshippers would keep coming.
She added words to evoke sympathy, hinting it might trouble Kagura again.
"That's how things stand."
"I see... But surely you have know-how from running the shrine all these years. Worshippers won't abandon you so heartlessly."
"I don't think so. Before you helped us, Rubelt. When the shrine was tipping over, I thought the same. But back then... people just stopped coming."
That's because I made it happen.
"Without your sponsorship, we're truly in danger. Please, Rubelt. Don't cut us off. If you don't..."
Ayame set down her sakazuki and clung to his arm like yesterday.
No—this time, she deliberately pressed her ample breasts firmly against it.
The watermelon-like softness of Ayame's bosom transmitted through his forearm.
Ahh... nice.
No. Don't lose focus. Act flustered first.
"A-Ayame!?"
"You can do whatever you want with my body, Rubelt. If you keep sponsoring us... this body you called beautiful is yours from today."
Straightforward and full-on.
As a male, it was a thrilling, intense seduction straight from Ayame's lips.