Chapter 9: A Date?

"When you're hungry, eat your fill."
"Whatever troubles you may have, wait until you are full before you consider them."

It is said that this was the family motto of a certain head of the Tsukigara clan. The young lord of the clan, Tsukigara Yomei, wholeheartedly agreed with this sentiment.

"Mm..."

She was in the guest room of the mansion, where she and her retainer and foster sister were staying, having a meal as she did every day.

"This looks delicious..."

As she reached out with her chopsticks to poke at the steaming fish, a wisp of heat rose from where the flesh parted.

"It's sweetfish, delivered to the mansion just this morning," said Matsudaira Inomaro, her elderly retainer with graying hair. The old man laughed heartily, "Caught in the nearby river by cormorants—fat and large, you couldn't ask for a better fish to grill."

Matsudaira Inomaro held his chopsticks, chuckling as he picked up a dried sardine from the plain ceramic plate.

"Still, in this weather, nothing beats a hot pot. If you use persimmons as bait, you can trap the raccoon dogs that love them. The meat of mountain weasels is quite delicious, too, and their tail fur can be made into false eyelashes for women. Besides that, badger meat is very fragrant; I used to buy it at the butcher shop in the castle town. And speaking of raccoon dog meat, some have a gamey smell while others have none at all. Fox meat, however, is completely inedible—far too pungent."

"Is that so?"

The "maiden," her long hair tied back carelessly, listened with rapt interest as she reached out to grab a piece of tempura. Because rapeseed was widely cultivated during this period, rapeseed oil had become quite common, making tempura accessible even to the common folk.

It was evident that although Tsukigara Yomei, her retainer, and her foster sister were living under someone else's roof in the Kurohimeyama family mansion, their basic needs were well provided for. The ingredients delivered daily might not have been rare delicacies, but they were fresh seasonal vegetables; the rice served was high-quality white rice, and fish or meat was provided on festival days. Furthermore, her foster sister Ayaka was a capable housekeeper who excelled at managing their affairs and was a skilled cook. With three hearty meals a day, Yomei did not find this life difficult at all.

*No... it's much better than the days we spent wandering after our territory was seized.*

Discarding any semblance of a refined noblewoman, she stuffed rice and fried food into her mouth with her chopsticks, her cheeks working as she chewed.

"Ayaka, could you get me another bowl of rice, please?"

Just as she made her usual request for a third serving, the bowl was snatched from her hands. Ayaka, who had been silent for some time, could no longer contain herself.

*Thump.* She slammed the rice bowl onto the table.

"Brother! Ayaka can't take this anymore!"

The fourteen-year-old girl had veins bulging on her forehead.

"I don't understand what you're planning, Brother! Think back to what you promised me! We were going to revive the Tsukigara clan! We were going to work hard to distinguish ourselves in the Kurohimeyama family! We were going to reclaim our family's territory as soon as possible—"

Despite her petite frame and total lack of spiritual power, the girl radiated an astonishing aura as she rolled her eyes in fury at her "foster brother."

"Why did you turn into a woman?!"

***

Ayaka pressed forward aggressively, her rage fueling her as she jabbed the handle of the rice paddle against Yomei's cheek.

"Turning into this is one thing! But what have you been doing all these days? You haven't made any attempt to resolve this curse—are you planning to stay like this forever?"

"N-no... that's not it... ugh..."

Yomei was completely helpless against her aggressive foster sister. She cast a desperate glance toward her retainer, Matsudaira Inomaro, only to find that he had already sensed the danger and slipped away, leaving nothing but an empty bowl behind.

*...Traitor!*

She had no choice but to bite the bullet and explain: "D-don't look at me like that, I have actually been thinking about it—"

"Oh? And what have you thought of?" Ayaka paused. "Tell me."

"W-well..." Yomei hesitated for a moment before whispering, "I was thinking, there's that old saying... you know, the one..."

Yomei clapped her hands together and smiled. "Everything will work out in the end; let it be, and try your best!"

Ayaka was silent for a moment before staring at her with an even more terrifying gaze.

"That... is... not... thinking... at all... you're just looking for excuses to drift along, aren't you?"

Next, Yomei was forced by her foster sister into a formal sitting position. With a look that could kill, Ayaka launched into a lecture without pausing for breath. She poured out all the frustration she had been holding in for days, along with her complaints and grievances. The lecture lasted for a full hour—it had, in a sense, reached the level of torture.

Moreover, faced with her foster sister's barrage, Yomei had to remain perfectly still in her formal posture. As a result, her feet were aching, and her head was spinning.

"That's why, Brother, I've told you before: if you had just gone ahead and done the deed with the young lady of the Kurohimeyama house, all these problems would be solved!"

*No, it's not that simple.*

Yomei could only shake her head internally. She could sense that while Miss Kohagi treated her with courtesy, she kept everyone at a distance. They had met several times, but they had exchanged fewer than ten sentences. She could even faintly sense a touch of contempt and coldness in Kohagi's gaze. It was not the look of someone who truly intended to get along with her.

*Still, even if I explained it to Ayaka, she wouldn't understand.*

She sighed in her heart.

"Don't look away, and don't get distracted! Brother, keep listening to my complaints... no, my lecture!"

The girl's angry voice rang out, and it seemed the ordeal would continue. Yomei made a bitter face, unable to even muster a yawn.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, followed by a woman's voice.

"Lord Yomei, Miss Ayaka, may I open the door?"

"A-Ayaka, a guest is here."

***

"Understood."

In front of an outsider, Ayaka quickly shut her mouth. "Coming."

She rushed to the door and slid the shoji open. The visitor was a maid dressed in a brightly colored kimono, kneeling respectfully outside on the veranda.

"The Great Princess has ordered me to deliver these items. They are a modest gift in light of the fright you suffered earlier. I hope Lord Yomei will accept them."

"A gift?" Ayaka was surprised.

The maid bowed ceremoniously, handed over several gold-lacquer boxes, and left quietly.

"What could this be?"

When Ayaka opened them, her eyes widened, and she froze in place. Inside were exquisite women's kimonos of various styles and vibrant colors, all made from the finest fabrics. Beyond the expensive kimonos, there was a small box in the corner. Opening it, the two found hairpins, combs, rouge, eyebrow pencils, and facial toners—all manner of cosmetics.

Her foster sister Ayaka was stunned.

"She... why would that princess send you things like this?"

"There's a letter here, too."

Yomei, now a maiden, pulled out the letter and glanced at it. It read: "On this fine night, would you care for a meeting?"

Is... is this a date?

...

"So, the young master of the Tsukigara family—no, the husband of the Great Princess—is temporarily leaving the Kurohimeyama house to recuperate in Kyoto for a while."

"Oh? That's for the best. If he stayed at the main house, there would be no end to the commotion."

On the muddy mountain path, people were whispering quietly.

"Indeed, indeed. I also think some people are being far too aggressive..."

Standing on the shoulder of Saizo, a chuunin-level ninja, a shikigami crow opened its long beak and spoke incessantly. Thanks to this gossip-loving shikigami's master, Hyakusuke, a low-ranking genin, had managed to keep up with the recent developments regarding Tsukigara Yomei. After all, he was quite invested in the protagonist's affairs.

"Sending him to Kyoto... are they planning to find a healer there?"

Hyakusuke muttered to himself, "At this rate, I might miss the important plot points of the first chapter..."