It had never occurred to Kaguya that the young noble of the Fujiwara clan before her could completely ignore her ability. In this place where she had frozen causality and stagnated the future, someone was still able to move freely—and a mere mortal at that? This outcome was entirely outside Kaguya’s expectations.
As for Mokou, who had been preparing to leave, she indeed felt a sudden abnormality in the surrounding space. The many monks who had originally come to watch the commotion were suddenly frozen like statues, and birds were suspended mid-air. The world had fallen into an abrupt, eerie silence. This sudden transformation made Mokou stop in her tracks, stunned. At that moment, however, she felt a gust of wind rapidly approaching from behind. Turning her head, she saw Kaguya reaching out, intent on snatching the Jade Bamboo from her hand.
In a flash, Mokou reflexively grabbed Kaguya’s reaching wrist. What she met was Kaguya’s face, twisted in utter shock.
“You... what did you do...?”
“Let—let go!”
Being grabbed directly by the wrist by an unknown man caused a wave of panic to surge through Kaguya. She began to frantically shake her arm, trying to break free from Mokou’s grip, but Mokou held on tight, having no intention of letting go. In this bizarre scenario where only she and this man could move, she was certain he must be the cause of the anomaly.
Kaguya, a princess raised in the depths of a secluded palace, was held fast by the wrist. Anxious and annoyed, she struggled with all her might. To prevent her from causing any more strange incidents, Mokou refused to let go, and for a moment, the two were locked in a clumsy struggle.
However, Mokou’s strength was clearly superior to Kaguya’s. In the midst of their entanglement, Kaguya’s foot slipped during the shoving match. With a sharp cry, she began to fall backward. Instinctively, Mokou reached out to catch her, her other arm wrapping around Kaguya’s waist. Through the loose noble robes, Mokou felt a waist that was slender and remarkably soft.
“You... you are...”
Mokou froze as she realized the other person’s true gender. Her grip on Kaguya’s wrist loosened. Kaguya, her face flushing a deep crimson from the contact, straightened herself up, wrenched herself free, and immediately delivered a sharp slap to Mokou’s face.
“Insolent!”
With that loud crack, the stagnation of space dissolved. Motion resumed, and everything returned to normal. A stunned Mokou touched her cheek, watching as Kaguya ran straight to Eirin, who had just recovered from the temporal freeze.
“Eirin! Quickly, help me teach that detestable lecher a lesson! My ability had no effect on him...”
Eirin, having just emerged from her princess’s ability, was immediately met by Kaguya running toward her and shouting. In that instant, she deduced roughly what had transpired during the frozen time.
The Princess’s ability... was actually ineffective?
“Eirin, hurry and help me... Eh?” Kaguya was about to urge Eirin to punish Mokou, but Eirin unexpectedly placed a hand on her shoulder, speaking in a low, serious voice.
“Enough... Your Highness. Now is not the time to provoke a conflict.”
“What... Eirin, you... mgh...” Kaguya looked at Eirin in shock, but Eirin lightly tapped Kaguya on the head to silence her. She then turned and looked calmly at Mokou.
“Sir of the Fujiwara clan, please forgive my young master’s earlier offense. Since you obtained that Jade Bamboo first, it naturally belongs to you. We shall seek elsewhere...” Eirin spoke dispassionately. Mokou, finally snapping out of the shock of the slap, glanced at the aggrieved and defiant Kaguya beside Eirin, then let out a breath and nodded.
“Very well...” With that, Mokou transformed into a streak of fire and soared into the sky. Seeing this, Eirin also led Kaguya away from Kiyomizu-dera with haste.
On the way back, Kaguya asked Eirin with great indignation.
“Eirin! Why did you let that fellow go?!”
Hearing Kaguya’s words, Eirin sighed softly and turned to look at her with a stern expression.
“Princess, have you forgotten why we planned to bring the second princess to the Eternal Pavilion? It was to control her power so the Lunar Capital wouldn't detect it. And yet here you are, using your abilities recklessly in Heian-kyo. Just how many eyes do you wish to draw upon us?”
“Ugh... I was wrong...” Hearing Eirin’s words, Kaguya realized she had been impulsive, but her face still bore a look of dissatisfaction. “But... even if I didn't act, you could have easily handled that Fujiwara brat...”
“Princess, we still need to operate within Heian-kyo. Do you realize how much trouble we would be in if we specifically targeted the Fujiwara clan, the most powerful noble family in the capital?” Eirin countered sharply. Kaguya found it difficult to argue, yet she muttered stubbornly.
“He’s just a mortal noble... what does it matter...”
“He is more than just a mortal noble. His backing might not be limited to the Fujiwara clan,” Eirin continued, causing Kaguya to look up in surprise.
“Not just the Fujiwara?”
“Indeed... Princess, have you considered why your ability was ineffective against him?”
“Yes, exactly! I’m curious too. Why wasn't that guy frozen? Eirin, do you know?” Kaguya asked eagerly, her curiosity piqued. Eirin answered slowly.
“The essence of your ability to stagnate time and space is actually the manipulation of causality within an area. By infinitely delaying the arrival of the 'effect,' you freeze causality itself. However, your ability cannot affect all causality. There is one type of existence whose causality you cannot interfere with...”
“What? Are you saying that guy is a god?” Kaguya exclaimed in disbelief. Eirin immediately corrected her.
“No, he is not a god. I can sense that much...”
“Then if he isn't a god... how could he ignore my power?” Kaguya pressed. Eirin smiled faintly before explaining.
“Causality possesses a certain continuity, like iron chains interlacing and binding all things together, connecting and influencing them... This means that when a god and a mortal interact frequently, the causal link between them deepens and strengthens. When a mortal’s causality is deeply linked with a god’s, the god's immutable nature can be transmitted through that link...” Eirin’s tone became increasingly grave. “That Fujiwara... is likely a god-blessed.”
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