Bonds Formed

In the night sky above the dark forest, Enmusubi, who was firmly bound, fell into a brief silence after hearing Miketsu's words. She lowered her head, mulling it over for a long time before looking back at Miketsu and speaking slowly.

"Um... you, you do have a point. Overcoming all obstacles to pursue true love certainly comes with many difficulties and risks. But... but as long as both parties work together with one heart, they can overcome everything one day and find happiness!"

"Is that so? In that case, come with me to one more place..." Miketsu did not seem surprised by Enmusubi's words. Instead, she turned calmly and flew into the distance. Yorihime continued to carry the bound Enmusubi, following Miketsu.

After flying through the dark night for a while, Miketsu and the others arrived at a deep mountain far from any town. In a mountain hollow sat a small village. At this hour, almost all the lights in the village were extinguished, and it was submerged in the silence of the dark night. When she saw this village, Enmusubi's expression froze.

"This... this place is..."

"You should be quite familiar with this place. In this village, there are young people you once helped," Miketsu said in a heavy voice. Enmusubi nodded silently in response.

"Yes... they were the son and daughter of two families in this village. Because they had feelings for each other but were kept apart by their parents, I tied their fates together and made them a couple. Finally, they made up their minds to flee from here." As she recalled the events, Enmusubi spoke; this had only happened a few days ago.

"I see... now, continue to follow me..." As Miketsu spoke, she flew to a small hill behind the village. Yorihime followed closely with Enmusubi. Before long, they were all standing atop the hill.

This small hill was extremely ordinary. Its only conspicuous feature was two small mounds of earth, covered in freshly turned soil. Seeing these two mounds, Enmusubi stood frozen on the spot, a bad premonition welling up in her heart.

"This... what is this?"

"These are graves... or rather, living burial pits that have been filled in..." Miketsu said indifferently. Hearing Miketsu's words, Enmusubi stood dazed, stammering as she spoke.

"Liv—living burial pits... you mean..."

"Yes. The couple you brought together was discovered while resting in a neighboring village. They were immediately seized and brought back by the people of this village. Because this village is very conservative and the two of them violated a major taboo of the village rules, the village elders decided to execute a punishment: burying them alive as a sacrifice to the gods."

After hearing Miketsu's explanation, Enmusubi's legs gave way, and she collapsed to her knees with a thud. Her eyes were vacant, as if she couldn't believe her ears.

"Buried... buried alive... no way... they... they died just like that... and it's all... all my fault?" Enmusubi spoke with a trembling voice, looking as if she were about to burst into tears. Seeing her like this, Miketsu sighed softly and then spoke.

"Be glad. When I came to gather clues about you today, I found this village. It just so happened that I arrived as they were about to be buried alive. I used a lightning strike to kill the elder who made the decision, stopped their actions, and gave them a warning. The two of them were saved, and I have already moved them to a much further village."

"Um... what? Then what's inside these..." Hearing Miketsu's words, Enmusubi stopped her crying and turned to look at Miketsu in pleasant surprise.

"It's just the pits that were originally dug being filled back in. There's nothing inside, so you don't need to worry about it."

"That's wonderful! Thank you, Uka-no-Mitama-no-Mikoto! After successfully forming their bond, I didn't pay any more attention to them. Thank you for saving them!" After hearing Miketsu's words, Enmusubi immediately jumped up in joy, a bright smile returning to her face. In her excitement, she didn't even notice how Miketsu was able to summon lightning.

Looking at the happy Enmusubi, Miketsu's expression did not soften much. Instead, she continued in a serious tone.

"The world of mortals is different from that of the gods. Most mortals live in ignorance and conservatism, and they are often beyond saving. In such a society... the pursuit of true love and freedom is accompanied by immense danger. They will not receive the approval of the vast majority. If they are not protected, it is very likely to lead to a tragedy..."

Miketsu knew that even in the modern era, some remote and backward mountain villages still retained extremely conservative and traditional customs, taking extremely cruel measures against villagers who violated them. Not to mention in this ancient time over a thousand years ago, where more than ninety percent of the people were ignorant and conservative. In such a society, engaging in free love was a high-risk endeavor.

"Um... I, I understand... I didn't notice it before..." Facing Miketsu's words, Enmusubi spoke submissively, bowing her head to admit her mistake. Seeing Enmusubi like this, Miketsu didn't say anything more but flew directly into the night sky.

"Let's go. There is one last place now."

...

Leading Yorihime and Enmusubi behind her, Miketsu left the mountain village and finally arrived halfway up another mountain. Here stood a wooden hut that seemed to have been built recently. Although the hut was new, its door was wide open, and the interior was pitch black and completely empty. Beside the wooden hut were several small plots of land, but they seemed to have been abandoned, with no crops growing at all.

Seeing this wooden hut, Enmusubi's heart couldn't help but twitch.

"You should still remember this house..." Landing on the ground, Miketsu turned to ask Enmusubi. Enmusubi answered somewhat flusteredly.

"I—I know. This is the secluded home of a couple I brought together... the man was a farmer and the woman was the daughter of a wealthy merchant. They fled from home and started a new life here... now that there's no one here, they couldn't have..."

"Rest assured, they are both fine. They weren't attacked by wild beasts, nor were they caught by their families... they abandoned this place themselves and went back..." Miketsu waved her hand, dispelling Enmusubi's worries. Enmusubi looked astonished upon hearing this.

"They went back... didn't they promise to live here in seclusion until they were old?"

"Yes, but circumstances changed. The woman was from a wealthy family. After leaving her comfortable environment, the days of hard labor were something she couldn't adapt to. Once the passion of love faded, she could no longer endure it. The land they cleared from scratch would take a long time to produce crops. Eventually, driven by hunger, she bid farewell to the man and went back..." Miketsu explained with a wave of her hand, and Enmusubi's eyes widened.

"No way... didn't they say they would always support each other and stay together?"

"Indeed... but no matter how sincere the vows or how fiery the emotions, they can't be eaten as food, can they?"

Miketsu spoke with her hands outspread. Struck by Miketsu's words, Enmusubi couldn't help but hang her head, looking dejected. Her entire aura turned gloomy.

"Ugh... another failed bond... am I really a failure as a god of matchmaking? Is it wrong to seek sincere love in this world?" Enmusubi said despondently. Clearly, the things Miketsu had shown her in succession had dealt a heavy blow to her self-confidence, making her doubt the correctness of everything she had done.

Seeing this, Miketsu couldn't help but sigh. She glanced at Yorihime, who understood and released the red rope binding Enmusubi. Enmusubi knelt on the spot, looking up at Miketsu with a hint of bewilderment.

"It's not that pursuing true love is wrong. I also hope that the people of the world can truly be with those they love without any constraints. However, the current era of mortals has not yet developed to that point. Mortal society needs a long time of progress before it can sustain the kind of freedom you pursue. If you form bonds while ignoring the limitations of the era, I'm afraid it will only result in tragedy in the end..." Miketsu said solemnly. In her confusion, Enmusubi seemed to have a flash of realization.

"Society... but, but if that's the case, doesn't my existence become meaningless? If I cannot form bonds for those who love each other, what meaning do I have in this world?" Enmusubi's expression was full of complexity and worry. Seeing this, Miketsu smiled slightly, reached out her hand, and gently patted Enmusubi's head.

"It's not meaningless. The pursuit of true love is an inner expectation of every sentient being. Your existence is by no means superfluous... you can continue to form bonds for those who truly love, but remember: do not just wash your hands of them once the bond is successfully formed as you do now. You need to maintain a continuous concern for the couples you personally brought together, helping them continue to resist difficulties and crises."

"Maintain continuous concern for them... but, but that would consume a lot of my energy. I wouldn't be able to form bonds extensively and spread my faith widely, would I?"

"That is naturally the case. So you will have to think for yourself. Did you descend to the human realm... to gather faith... or to form bonds for true love?"

Miketsu asked Enmusubi one last question. After being stunned by Miketsu's question for a long time, Enmusubi finally focused her gaze, her eyes regaining their determination as she answered.

"I—I am Enmusubi. I am the deity who brings happiness to all living beings. I will provide true and continuous protection for the bonds I have formed, so that the couples I have paired can obtain true happiness..."

In secret, Enmusubi made up her mind. Even if the collection of faith might slow down because of this, even if the establishment of her divine territory would be significantly delayed, and even if it would take much harder work to have her own shrine, she would absolutely not let the bonds she tied suffer a tragedy.