A Smooth Confession

“If it is truly destined... is escape futile?” Seimei murmured after hearing Kagura's words. His eyes flickered as he gazed at the sky, his thoughts unreadable.

“Haha, if there is such a thing as a fixed fate, then there is nothing to be done... but whether this is truly destiny is something I’ll only know after trying. Regardless, I should probably avoid going out for the next few days.” As Seimei spoke, several small paper figures wearing aprons ran out from a building on the other side of the courtyard. Though their expressions were invisible, their frantic movements suggested they were in a state of panic.

“Those are... the kitchen shikigami. Why are they so flustered?” Kagura asked curiously. The paper figures rushed up to her and began gesturing silently. Kagura nodded repeatedly as if she understood exactly what they were trying to convey.

“I see... Seimei, we have a bit of a problem,” Kagura said slowly, turning to Seimei. He frowned slightly upon hearing this.

“A problem?”

“Yes. The kitchen shikigami just said that the house is out of rice and ingredients. It’s going to be hard to cook anything.”

“We’re out of food?” Seimei’s frown deepened. Ever since he had moved into this courtyard, he had never encountered such a situation.

“Yes. Usually, Yura would buy the food and deliver it herself, but she seems to have been too busy to come by lately. Plus, we used up a lot of supplies during the last gathering... Seimei, we need to go into the capital to buy some ingredients,” Kagura suggested. Seimei’s expression turned solemn.

“Yura...”

There were no servants in Seimei’s residence; all chores were handled by shikigami. However, shikigami were ill-suited for grocery shopping. Most merchants were ordinary mortals without spiritual vision; they couldn't perceive shikigami, which were largely beings of the demon realm. Having shikigami cross the boundary into public spaces during broad daylight was also bad for optics.

Thinking it over, Seimei reached into his sleeve for a white katashiro paper figure, intending to create a human-shaped shikigami to run the errand. However, he realized he had run out of paper. With a helpless sigh, he looked up at the sky and muttered to himself.

“Just going out to buy one thing should be fine, right?”

Heian-kyo, Onmyoryo.

Inside the Astronomical Pavilion, Yura—who was currently sporting dark circles under her eyes while processing documents—suddenly felt a jolt of inspiration. She shivered as if struck by something, immediately dropped her brush, and scrambled over to a water basin on the other side of her desk.

Reflected in the basin was the entrance to Seimei’s residence. The gate slowly opened, and Seimei stepped out. After checking his surroundings, he began walking away. Seeing this, Yura’s heart skipped a beat. She immediately began remotely controlling a hidden shikigami to tail him and record his path.

“This direction... could it be...?” Yura’s face darkened as she watched him. He was heading exactly toward the Asakura Residence.

“No... I can’t be sure yet. This road leads to many places. I need to follow him a bit longer...” As she spoke, she commanded her hidden shikigami to close the distance. But after only a few steps, the vision in the water basin flickered violently and then vanished, returning to a normal, still surface.

“The link was severed? What happened?! Was it discovered?” Yura gripped the edges of the basin in shock. That shikigami had been treated with multiple layers of concealment; even Seimei shouldn't have been able to find it so easily.

“What’s going on... what happened over there? No... there’s no time to worry about the shikigami. What’s important is... Seimei! If he really solved the riddle and is heading to the Asakura Residence...” The thought made Yura scratch her head in a frenzy of anxiety. Finally, she steeled herself and made a decision.

“Forget it! I can’t just sit here!” She shoved aside the pile of documents and stood up, sprinting toward the railing of the Astronomical Pavilion. She vaulted over the edge, letting herself fall straight down from the Five-Story Pagoda.

“Tanrou!”

Amidst a burst of blue flames, Yura summoned the giant wolf shikigami and landed on its back. The wolf kicked off several rooftops before hitting the ground and bolting out of the Onmyoryo. The passing Onmyo-sei watched the blurring shadow in utter confusion.

After exiting the Onmyoryo, Yura rode Tanrou at full speed through the streets of Heian-kyo, racing toward Seimei’s general direction and startling crowds of pedestrians along the way.

“Faster... faster... almost there... he’s just ahead...” Yura focused entirely on steering Tanrou through the city streets. However, as she charged straight ahead, a merchant caravan suddenly pulled into a crossroad directly in her path. They were so close a collision seemed inevitable.

“Stop! Stop!” Yura frantically pulled back on Tanrou. The giant wolf managed to skid to a halt just before the terrified merchants. However, Yura—who had spent too much time on desk work and was out of practice with riding—lost her grip and was launched forward by the momentum.

“Waaaah!” With a look of pure shock, Yura flew over the caravan in a high arc. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced for the impact, but instead of hitting the hard ground, her fall was cushioned.

“My, my... I knew something would happen the moment I stepped out, but I didn't expect it to be you... Yura.”

A familiar voice reached her ears. Yura opened her eyes in a daze to find herself pinned on top of a wryly smiling Seimei. It was clear that Seimei had been right there when she flew over, and he had caught her, only to be knocked down by the force of the impact.

“Seimei! It really is you! You haven't reached that place yet! I made it! Thank goodness!” Yura’s shock turned into pure joy. Seimei stared at her, taken aback by her intensity.

“I certainly didn't expect to run into you here, Yura... Anyway, let’s get up first.”

Yura started to move as if to stand, but then her expression hardened. She decided to stay exactly where she was, staring seriously into Seimei’s eyes. As she did, she cast a Repelling Barrier to keep the noisy crowd away.

“Yura?”

“Listen, Seimei! I have something to tell you! Something I’ve wanted to say for a very, very long time!”

“Haha... whatever it is, can we stand up first—”

“No! We’re staying like this!”

Looking down at Seimei, Yura’s face flushed bright red. She took a deep breath and shouted.

“I love you, Seimei! I’ve loved you... so, so much... for a very long time! I’m always thinking about you! If possible, I want... I want to be your wife! I want us to be together for the rest of our lives!”

About a dozen meters away from where Seimei and Yura were, Miketsu stood on the branch of a tall tree. In one hand, she held a heavy bludgeon; in the other, she dangled a black cat shikigami that was currently seeing stars. Watching the scene in the distance, she let out a small sigh of relief.

Everything was proceeding quite smoothly, wasn't it?