Chapter 443

When the two people inside the room had recovered their strength, it was already dusk outside.

Uesugi Muneyuki embraced Shirakawa Mai from behind, one hand still pressing on her thigh, feeling the delicacy and smoothness of her stockings.

Since Uesugi Muneyuki had grasped Shirakawa Mai's weakness, she had lost the initiative in private; in public she remained that radiant, strong-willed senior student, but in private intimacy she could only be manipulated by Uesugi Muneyuki.

This gave Uesugi Muneyuki a feeling of having completely controlled this woman.

Of course it was not merely a feeling—he truly had complete control over the senior student.

"What time is it?" Shirakawa Mai, now too exhausted to move, asked weakly.

"Around five o'clock, I suppose." Uesugi Muneyuki was equally exhausted, his spirit completely drained, nearly about to faint, so he could only indulge himself a little and dared not continue.

"Pfft~ Really—we let Asuka rest a bit, and then it just went on and on." Shirakawa Mai laughed breathlessly: "I knew it—Muneyuki, you just like seeing me powerless to resist being bullied by you, every time you deliberately short-circuit me to be satisfied."

"Then senior, you really do have foresight~"

Saying this, Uesugi Muneyuki reached out and pressed his hand on Shirakawa Mai's lower abdomen, silently reciting in his heart.

Pure Lotus Water!

Instantly the previously chaotic room became spotless as new, and so were Uesugi Muneyuki and Shirakawa Mai themselves; after a brief tidy-up, Shirakawa Mai took out a pair of brand-new black semi-transparent indoor stockings and put them on, smiling as she lightly tapped Uesugi Muneyuki's forehead, her languid satisfaction radiating brilliance: "Alright, this time I'm full, next time you also need to be this energetic!"

"Of course, I've always been a hardworking knight!" Uesugi Muneyuki embraced Shirakawa Mai's waist and planted a heavy kiss on her lips.

When the two returned to the hall, they saw Saito Asuka holding a PS4 controller playing The Witcher 3, only to see Geralt leap down from a small house, landing from less than a meter away, letting out a painful cry, and dying.

"Moo~" Asuka groaned in annoyance, then saw Uesugi Muneyuki embracing Shirakawa Mai as they came down; the girl's expression was both resentful and displeased, her small eyes glaring wide, she muttered: "You two—enough already?!"

"Hehe, Asuka Sauce still not used to it?" Shirakawa Mai laughed brightly, her words carrying deep meaning, causing Asuka to blush deeply.

Indeed, Asuka immediately retorted sharply at Uesugi Muneyuki: "Mr. Uesugi is great in every way, but he's still a pervert! A perverted stocking fetishist, a perverted leg fetishist, a perverted foot fetishist! You might as well give up—I could never be like Mai Elder Sister, oh oh!"

"Ah, this" Shirakawa Mai blushed for the first time, she angrily pinched Uesugi Muneyuki's expression.

It's all your fault! Is your weakness just being used like this all day by you?

"Ugh, Asuka, saying that hurts my heart so much!" Uesugi Muneyuki clutched his chest, feigning heartbreak.

"Really? Why does Mr. Uesugi look like he has no trace of hurt, but instead seems a bit pleased?" Asuka continued her barrage, venting her resentment fully, then the girl indicated what should be done next?

"Recreational activities are about over, let's eat something and rest first, then prepare for the serious matter." Shirakawa Mai now turned serious: "Some things, I want to tell you."

In the evening, Shirakawa Mai ordered a high-end sushi platter from Ginza; the three ate something to recover some strength, and when they arrived at the Japanese-style room of the Roppongi luxury mansion, Village Flower Princess Arimura Hana was already seated there.

The sliding door closed gently, shutting out the cold; the dim yellow paper lantern cast a warm glow on the shoji, yet failed to truly dispel the chill surrounding her.

Arimura Hana knelt on the plain mat, her spine straight as modified bamboo, her posture bearing the elegance etched into her marrow.

Having shed her heavy scarf, that light gray mouse-patterned kimono revealed fine textures in the soft light, the collar strictly overlapped, exposing a neck so fragile it seemed almost translucent, joining with her pallid face to form a silent snowfield; beneath her neatly aligned black bangs, those large, round, lustrous eyes drooped, their gaze fixed intently on the tea set before her, long lashes casting faint shadows below, concealing all the surging dark currents within.

Her movements were extremely light, extremely slow, carrying an almost sacred ritual feeling: first warming the bowl—fingertip lightly touching the rough edge of the black raku tea bowl,

pouring hot water slowly in, then slowly pouring it out into the wastewater bowl, nitrogen and argon vapor rising.

Next was preparing the paste. She used a small tea scoop to take out emerald matcha powder from the tea caddy, wrist suspended, motion precise as if measuring with a ruler. The powder fell soundlessly into the warm bowl bottom, accumulating into a small mound of tranquil hill.

Lastly, whisking the tea. She single-handedly lifted the heavy kettle, the water flow like a silver chain, pouring into the tea bowl, while her other pallid hand firmly gripped the bamboo whisk, wrist suspended, power applied, motion from slow to fast then back to slow, the tea striking the bowl wall, producing fine, clear, rhythmic "shasha" sounds, echoing in the quiet tea room, like the faint sound of snow accumulating on bamboo branches. Fine foam gradually rose, covering the deep green tea liquor, resembling thin ice melting on an early spring lake.

Her crow-feather-like princess hairstyle softly clung to both sides of her cheeks. Throughout the process, her lips remained tightly pressed, her expression one of near-transcendent tranquility, as if all her worries, under this flowing tea ceremony, had temporarily found peace.

【Please use.】Village Flower Princess served the matcha in turn to Uesugi Muneyuki, Shirakawa Mai, and Saito Asuka, she stared at Saito Asuka, pondering: 【Is this the human who wants to awaken inner energy?】

【Yes, look at her, this face—could she become a new god?】Uesugi Muneyuki placed Saito Asuka before Village Flower Princess.

【This face isn't promising, I think there's no hope, her talent is far inferior to that of this shrine chief seat, and it's too late, but with proper awakening, she could still grasp some inner power.】Village Flower Princess remarked casually.

【That's enough.】Uesugi Muneyuki, on the contrary, did not want Saito Asuka to overparticipate in the inner world, for it was too dangerous, but the girl had best have some self-defense ability, and even if she didn't want to, she had already come into contact with the inner world.

Uesugi Muneyuki and Arimura Hana's communication, in the eyes of Shirakawa Mai and Saito Asuka, was incomprehensible; the girl was greatly surprised that another beautiful, cold, elegant older sister had appeared, yet when her innate talent let her quickly realize, the woman before her was not human.

This frightened Asuka into trembling, she hid behind Uesugi Muneyuki's back, pressing against him, daring only to expose a small head,

her small eyes full of panic, Uesugi Muneyuki paid no mind, after all, facing it was inevitable sooner or later; instead, he first discussed the serious matter with Shirakawa Mai and Village Flower Princess.

Suo Masao's son Suo Ryouhei was still hospitalized in the University of Tokyo Medical Department; after 21 days in ICU, Suo Ryouhei had been transferred to a general ward, but initial estimates suggested a series of treatments and surgeries would last up to half a year before discharge.

Even after discharge, Suo Ryouhei would need to live with a crutch and a urine bag, and he would spend his life suffering from testicular phantom pain and recurrent urinary tract infections.

In a certain sense, this was already a "human" whose biology had been zeroed out.

"Suo Masao never used inner power." Shirakawa Mai reported her findings: "Besides that,

there was nothing particularly noteworthy discovered."

"Really? It seems this National Diet Member and the Kansai New God are not closely related, or at least not core members." Uesugi Muneyuki frowned and nodded, he said softly: "We were right not to act rashly."

"The Kansai New God hides deeply; we currently lack sufficient information, fortunately the other side also hasn't come rashly—"

"Not so." Arimura Hana suddenly said coldly: "Someone has already come!"

"What?!" Uesugi Muneyuki and Shirakawa Mai, who had received his translation, were startled.

Arimura Hana showed the two a screen:

After the New Year trio, recently another three Kansai people came to Kanto to investigate, they went to Tokyo Disney Sea, investigating the recent "Snow Maiden" legend, wanting to see if it was related to the inner world.

Unfortunately, they encountered Arimura Hana; Village Flower Princess summoned a great snake that swallowed them whole, soon the three were melted into a pool of blood, then Village Flower Princess infused energy to make their appearances mimic, thus a bizarre creature was born with three heads, three human bodies, overlapping tails like snakes.

This scene was too horrifying, making Uesugi Muneyuki's expression grim, Shirakawa Mai even covered Xiao Feinia's eyes.

"Thank you—. But we seem to have discovered something strange—Mai, Village Flower Princess, have you noticed, the Kansai New God and his subordinates seem unwilling to enter Tokyo?" Uesugi Muneyuki pondered, then said softly: "Even if it's Saijo Yasue, is that her own power and support from the Kansai New God?"

"Quite simple, because gods do not see gods." Arimura Hana said casually: "Because the Living God resides here."

"Living God?" Uesugi Muneyuki tried asking, knowing Village Flower Princess disliked answering questions: "Could you elaborate?"

"The Living God is the eternally unbroken family within the Imperial Palace." Village Flower Princess seemed in a good mood today, she seemed to be recalling the past again: "Even if the Old Gods' power is now withering, even if the Anointed One's halo has already shattered, even if the Old Gods have left this world over a thousand years ago, the existence of the Living God still retains some power."

"The so-called Lost History Eight Dynasties actually truly existed, and each of those imperial lineages was a new god, even appearing as Empress Jingu and the Tennō both being new gods, this is the Living God Family, and also the foundation of their ability to remain an unbroken line."

"But with the passage of time, the Old Gods departed, the last new god of the Living God Family was Crown Prince Shōtoku, after which the Living God Family produced no more new gods."

"Their rule gradually decayed, their strength gradually waned, due to repeated inbreeding they became intellectually deficient and suffered many congenital malformations, yet they remain a very long-standing Living God Family; no one knows if anything remains in the family, especially the treasures left by the Old Gods."

Village Flower Princess suddenly fixed her gaze on Uesugi Muneyuki, a glimmer of expectation appearing in her eyes.

"Uesugi, you are different from them, or rather, you are different from everyone in this world!"

"Even though the Old Gods have departed, even though the Main Gate of the High Plain of Heaven has long since been closed."

"Please also ascend the Throne, and become the King of Maha Bo!"