Chapter 214: Japan (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 214: Japan (7)
Iano's Shrine Maiden Robes clung to Rin's body.
The saying "the clothes make the woman" certainly held true.
“It… suits you well.”
Rin had ended up stripping down to her underwear before changing.
…I’d accidentally resonated with her and saw everything.
Well, this was…
“Truly,” I muttered, dazed.
At that, Rin, her earlier boldness gone, shyly lowered her head and smiled.
To break the awkward silence, I cleared my throat and asked, “So… have you verified it? Whether the robes are authentic.”
At my words, Rin tightened her grip on her sleeve and replied, “Yes, I'm certain. They belonged to my ancestor.”
Now that it was confirmed, the next step was simple.
“Shall we head back, then?”
Rin nodded.
It was time to finalize the exchange.
We left the Association's testing room.
Watching Rin walk down the hallway, she looked no different from an ancient goddess descended upon the modern world.
Every eye in the vicinity was drawn to Rin.
Rin still walked behind me.
We returned to Hanazono Shrine.
Instead of leading me to the main shrine, Rin went straight to the tatami room where we had first met yesterday.
It was the room where I had first seen her.
As soon as she entered, she unhesitatingly opened a sliding door at the far end of the room, one that had been covered by a large hanging scroll.
So that's what was behind the wall.
A neatly arranged personal altar.
The scent of old wood washed over me.
– Srrr….
Once again, Rin slipped out of her clothes.
I didn't stop her, merely watched.
She shed the robes and stood before the altar, completely naked.
Then, she carefully folded the shrine maiden robes and placed them reverently on the altar.
In that state, she knelt before the altar, clasped her hands, and began to pray.
Her lips moved, but no sound escaped.
“This is a ritual to ask my ancestor for her blessing upon this item,” she explained as she slowly began to put the shrine maiden robes back on in front of me.
With that, it seemed the robes now truly belonged to Rin.
“Let's go at once.”
Having completed the ritual, Rin guided me.
We left the room and headed back to the shrine's empty central courtyard.
There, in the middle of the gravel-covered courtyard, stood a black altar that hadn't been there before.
Resting upon it was Artemis's Bow.
Rin walked to the altar, carefully lifted the entire glass case, and handed it to me.
“I’ve received it.”
I nodded.
Sion and the others would probably be here soon.
This thing was a pain to carry alone.
“…And…”
Rin reached into the wide sleeve of her new shrine maiden robes and took out a small, ornate box.
It was a beautiful box, exquisitely decorated with mother-of-pearl.
She opened it and picked up the small ring inside.
Then, she politely offered it to me.
“It is nowhere near enough.”
“……”
Even after handing me two holy relics, Rin kept her head bowed low, unable to lift it.
“My debt to you, my benefactor, is endless.”
Payment for breaking a centuries-old curse.
And for returning her ancestor's artifact, which she thought was lost forever.
She had given me two holy relics, but it seemed she felt even this was a paltry reward compared to the salvation she had received.
I placed a hand lightly on her shoulder and had her raise her head.
“It was a fair trade.”
I said it as a courtesy, trying to ease her burden.
I was satisfied.
Rin would be useful later on, after all.
But Rin still held the ring aloft with both hands.
She looked me straight in the eye and asked in a trembling voice, “Please… would you permit me the honor of placing it on your finger myself, Benefactor?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
I was planning on putting it on right away anyway. Might as well let her.
I held out my left hand to her.
Rin carefully took my hand. I could feel her fingers trembling.
Rin's ring was heading for…
‘My ring finger…?’
The placement was a bit odd, but I could just move it later.
The moment the cool metal touched my skin…
“Thank you…” Just as Rin was about to speak, her voice filled with emotion—
“Wow.”
A voice, remarkably clear and pure.
A voice that was, in its own way, quite chilling.
Rin and I simultaneously turned to look toward the shrine entrance, where the voice had come from.
“That's my husband.”
The owner of the voice was Cheon Yeo-wool.
And standing there were five women, side by side.
“……”
Rin looked at them cautiously, then slowly stepped away from me.
The five “wives” watched us as they slowly crossed the gravel courtyard.
Without missing a beat, Rin straightened her shrine maiden robes.
Then bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
“It is a pleasure to meet you all. I am Kisaragi Rin, head of the Yatagarasu.”
She slowly raised her upper body and scanned the faces of the five women.
“It is an honor to meet Sir Jung Hae-in's… wives.”
What the.
How did she know?
I could understand her knowing Sion and Chae-ha, since she'd seen them, but still.
She was sharp.
Her words slightly thawed the girls' icy atmosphere.
But then Kang A-rin spoke up from among them.
“So what exactly are you doing right now?”
Kang A-rin smiled, but her red eyes shot a glare at the ring.
“It is a relic left by Lady Iano.”
"It will be of great help… with vitality."
“Vitality?” Kang A-rin repeated.
Rin answered calmly, “Yes, vitality.”
“I have heard that for a great man such as the Hero, who has many people to look after, a corresponding level of vitality is… essential.”
Sion's face flushed at the blunt remark.
“It is a small token of our Yatagarasu clan's sincerity. May the nights of our benefactor… and all his wives be ever more peaceful.”
After she put it like that, they seemed to be at a loss for words.
After all, the beneficiaries of the ring wouldn't be me, but my “wives.”
Though, to be honest, I'd have to defeat the Evil God to really make use of that ring without worry.
In any case, it must have sounded good to them.
It was, as expected, Cheon Yeo-wool's laughter that broke the suffocating silence.
“Oh, my. You are so very thoughtful, Lady Rin.”
Cheon Yeo-wool eagerly grabbed Rin's hand.
Watching this exchange take place, I finally turned away.
And I handed the silvery-white bow I was holding, Artemis's Bow, to Sion.
The moment Sion saw the bow I offered, her expression changed.
“Use it well.”
“Yeah…!”
With trembling hands, Sion accepted the bow, which was as tall as she was.
As she gripped it, the bow gradually shrank until it was the perfect size for her.
– Vmmm….
The bow let out a clear hum, as if it had found its master.
“Shall we go?” I asked.
With this… the main objective of our trip to Japan was now complete.
*
For the next two days, we had an absolute blast.
Rest is also a form of battle.
It might have even been more intense. I trust no one is ignorant of this truth.
And so, this morning. It was finally the day we were to leave Japan.
We were lined up at the Portal Clearance Office, waiting to go through the procedures.
“How was it?”
I asked Sion, who was standing next to me, having tossed aside all her other luggage to clutch her new bow as if it were a lover.
As soon as she got the bow, she'd locked herself away in a private training ground in Japan for two days straight, just fiddling with it.
“Fucking amazing.”
“Huh?”
I couldn't believe my ears.
Sion uttered those strange words with an ecstatic look on her face.
In fact, Sion hadn't been quite normal ever since she came back from that private training ground.
She had a crazed look in her eyes.
‘Jung Hae-in, get out here!’
I had been resting in my room when someone started pounding on the door as if to break it down, shouting.
Wondering what was wrong, I rushed out to her.
The moment I did, Sion threw her arms around me.
Her whole body was drenched in sweat, and her breath was hot.
‘I love you!!’
With that one phrase, she pounced on me like an animal.
She started sucking on the nape of my neck, rubbing her body against mine like a madwoman.
I remember having a hell of a time calming her down that afternoon.
Recalling that memory, I tried to make sense of her answer.
It was almost time for departure.
“Gate 6, bound for Gaon. Portal processing will be closing shortly.”
All we had to do was step through the portal.
The trip to Japan hadn't been bad.
“Yawn…”
Cheon Yeo-wool was the first to disappear into the portal with a yawn.
Kang A-rin and Yu Hana followed after glancing back at me, and Yoon Chae-ha waved before she went in too.
Now, only Sion, still clutching the bow like a treasure, and I were left.
Sion went in, and just as I was about to take the final step myself—
“Wait a moment!”
I turned my head.
Standing there, panting for breath, was a woman in a casual hip-hop outfit: a loose, oversized hoodie, baggy pants, flashy sneakers, and even a fanny pack around her waist.
“Who…?”
I was momentarily on guard, wondering how this stranger knew me.
But the moment she lifted her head, revealing her face from under the shadow of her hood, I couldn't believe my eyes.
It was Kisaragi Rin.
Her clothes were the complete opposite of her elegant shrine maiden robes.
“Sir Hae-in…”
“Yes.”
What's going on all of a sudden? Is there a problem with the curse?
“Thank you for everything…”
Still in that outfit, she bowed deeply before me at a ninety-degree angle, the same formal gesture as yesterday.
“Ah…”
It seemed she had come all this way just to say goodbye and thank you.
Judging by her clothes, it was probably her own decision to come.
“Right. Well, I'll see you next time.”
After exchanging farewells with Rin, I turned and stepped into the portal.
“Yes…!”
“Yes! I'll see you soon!” Rin's energetic voice called out from behind me.
‘Soon?’
I hesitated for a second…
She must have misspoken.
I tried to ignore it and surrendered myself to the blue light of the portal.