But it was not spring.
It was late autumn.
The great pine in the courtyard of the Pillar General's mansion had already lost most of its needles.
Bare branches wove a spiderweb across the sky. Looking through their gaps, one might imagine the tree had divided heaven into separate pieces: leaden, dim, laden with dark clouds—pieces of every somber shade.
Most of the earth around the cenotaph beneath the pine had been dug away. Gray soil still covered its surface. Fallen needles lay piled atop it, slowly decaying into the ground.
He was not here.
The Pillar General's mansion stood empty.
Raiden Ei stared at the cenotaph, her eyes shifting faintly.
This feeling was familiar.
As though she had experienced it before.
Kiyono Raimei had once left in the same way. No matter how she searched, she could never find him, as though spring had already ended and would never come again.
Bleak, pale autumn light covered the courtyard steps and fell across Ei's face.
Spring would not return.
Ei looked away from the cenotaph and toward the other person present: the girl named Lumine.
She remembered her. Lumine had fought La Signora in a Duel Before the Throne, and she had always remained beside Kiyono—beside Kiyo Seigan.
To Ei's surprise, Lumine appeared equally bewildered.
The golden-haired girl shook her head, eyes widening in confusion. She called several times toward the inner rooms, but no one answered. Her brows drew together. The golden light vanished from her eyes as anger overtook her, like a lioness returning to her den only to discover her cub missing.
"Kiyo Seigan?"
"Kiyo Seigan!"
"Lord Kiyo and my grandfather left early this morning."
Kiyono Sara opened the gate and entered the mansion.
When she saw Raiden Ei, her eyes contracted in astonishment.
"...Your Excellency Narukami?" she asked uncertainly.
Ei nodded calmly. "They left before us?"
"Yes." Kiyono Sara answered with complete seriousness. "They went ahead to Mt. Yougou with wine and food. Lord Kiyo said the rest of you should hurry."
"Everyone is to gather beneath the Sacred Sakura."
The tengu general imitated Kiyo's tone with perfect solemnity, autumn light reflected in her composed eyes.
"He said, 'Anyone who comes late gets no wine and no food.'"
Ei did not notice the quiet breath of relief that escaped her when she heard Kiyono Sara's words.
The strange unease within her heart subsided for the moment.
"Grrr! That Little Corpse really has no conscience!" Paimon landed upon Lumine's shoulder and planted her fists upon her hips, clearly furious beyond endurance. "There won't be any food left for Paimon!"
She stamped her feet and tugged frantically at Lumine's hair.
"Lumine, we have to go!"
"Mm-hm." Lumine nodded.
Her agreement came through clenched teeth.
Stupid Kiyo Seigan. How dare he go to Mt. Yougou without her?
"Bastard Kiyo Seigan!" Lumine cursed.
"Bastard Kiyo Seigan!"
The same woman's voice came from the mansion kitchen, still blurred with sleep.
Bare feet slapped furiously against the tatami. Whoever had just awakened was clearly in a terrible mood and rapidly approaching.
The wooden door flew open.
Snow-white hair appeared first, every strand shining with the cool light of autumn.
The great Salt God—Lia—had only just awakened. A trace of sleep still lingered in her clear autumn eyes.
The instant she saw Lumine, all that drowsiness vanished. Only hollow cold remained.
Lia stared at her. Undisguised malice filled her voice.
"Blondie."
Her teeth clenched hard enough to make a faint grinding sound. Pine shadows covered the side of her face, while no emotion showed within her golden eyes.
"Blondie!"
Miss Lia remained as offensively powerful as ever. The very first word she spoke upon their reunion was an attack upon Lumine's hair.
"What did you do last night?"
Her tone had already become an interrogation.
Last night?
Lumine blinked. Then she seemed to remember something. A victorious smile appeared upon her lips as she lifted her chin and looked down at Lia, deliberately drawing out her answer.
"Guess~"
Guess.
The malice in Lia's eyes deepened.
Ever since the battle, Lia had slept within the Salt Ruler. Strictly speaking, she had not been entirely unconscious. She retained a faint awareness of the outside world.
And last night—
Inside that very kitchen, directly before her—
"Say something romantic to me."
"Say more."
That Blondie. That Lumine.
She had done something so utterly shameless right in front of Lia!
When Lumine embraced Kiyo, the Salt Ruler had been sitting upon the stove beside them. It had been so close.
Yet Lia remained trapped in sleep, aware of the outside world but unable to awaken fully or emerge from the ruler.
Blondie had taken advantage of her weakness right before her eyes.
Humiliation.
For the great God of Salt, this was an unprecedented humiliation. Her believer had been seduced by a heretic before her very eyes, and his god had been powerless to intervene.
Lia had not suffered such disgrace in a very long time.
If she had slept any longer, Blondie would have stolen her believer completely.
Lia stared at the triumphant Lumine. Deep within her empty eyes, murderous intent seemed to gather.
She had to admit that she had underestimated Blondie from the beginning, giving her the chance to strike while Lia was vulnerable.
From this day onward, Lia could not relax her guard for even a moment.
"Blondie," she said coldly.
Another attack upon her hair.
"Oh?"
Lumine tilted her head and blinked her beautiful eyes, her voice teasing.
"Would you like to hear more details, sleepy little god~?"
"Blondie," Lia repeated.
"Kiyo even made breakfast for me," Lumine said calmly. "And he used the Salt Ruler for seasoning. How was that? Did you feel involved?"
The shadows across Lia's exquisite face seemed to multiply. The killing intent in her eyes grew heavier. Her bare feet pressed so hard into the tatami that taut veins showed at her ankles.
She slowly exhaled, visibly struggling to contain herself. Only after a long while did clarity return to her golden eyes.
Lia looked away from Lumine before the sight irritated her further and turned instead toward Raiden Ei.
She had clearly recognized Ei's identity.
This cool-eyed warrior with hydrangea in her hair and wooden clogs upon her feet was Inazuma's ruler, Beelzebul.
"Another one trying to steal my believer."
Ei did not understand the remark.
Her brows drew together. Though she did not know what the strange god meant, she could plainly sense the undisguised hostility directed toward her.
"Everyone."
Kiyono Sara clapped her hands and interrupted their confrontation.
"If we delay any longer, Lord Kiyo truly will drink all the wine."
Cool autumn light entered through the gaps between the branches and fell in scattered points across them. Kiyono Sara looked at everyone. At last, the face that so rarely showed emotion revealed the faintest smile.
"Let us go beneath the Sacred Sakura together. I'm waiting for all of you."
Kiyono Sara's voice softened.
"That is what Lord Kiyo said."
—
Yashiori Island.
The great fire had reduced the Delusion Factory to ash. The inferno had destroyed everything and cleansed everything. Even the once-barren leaden sky had been burned clear. Sunset descended along the horizon, staining heaven with the luster of glazed glass.
Purging the corruption left by the Fatui was now the duty of the shrine maidens of the Grand Narukami Shrine.
"Let us go beneath the Sacred Sakura together."
"Kiyo Seigan..."
Yae Miko looked at the letter that had just arrived and tilted her head.
"Is that idiot serious?" she muttered. "Who would go? I don't care whether he lives or dies."
The fox lady stretched lazily. Her ears stood high as she narrowed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the sun.
"The Pillar General enjoys drinking too."
Behind her, the Shirasagi Himegimi smiled. Kamisato Ayaka, dressed in a traditional kimono and carrying her usual graceful composure, raised slender fingers and poured Miko a cup of tea.
Behind them stood priests of the Grand Narukami Shrine, soldiers of the Yashiro Commission, and even troops from the Pillar General's mansion—a dense crowd that seemed almost an army in its own right.
In recent days, the shrine and Yashiro Commission had worked constantly to purge the Fatui.
With Kiyo under the protection of the Pillar General's mansion, Yae Miko had been able to concentrate upon that task.
Then the unexpected happened.
"That moron." Yae Miko crushed the letter into a ball and tossed it aside. "A Duel Before the Throne... Only those two could have thought of something like that."
That man—that old bastard who refused to die—could always be relied upon to do something outrageous.
He had never valued his own life.
"It does suit the Pillar General," Ayaka said lightly. "And thanks to him, our work has become much easier."
The Fatui had lost both Kunikuzushi and La Signora in succession. Without Harbingers to command them, their soldiers were leaderless and rapidly collapsed.
The Yashiro Commission had also uncovered financial dealings between Fatui agents and officials throughout the other Commissions. Those accounts would be settled afterward.
Ayaka smoothed out the crumpled letter and placed it before the fox lady. Reading the words, she smiled gently.
"It says, 'Everyone will be there.' Will you truly not attend, Lady Guuji?"
"Ignore him," the fox lady said irritably.
"There will be Dango Milk too," Ayaka added with a soft laugh. "Perhaps he will stop liking Kitsune Udon after this."
"..."
Yae Miko pressed her lips together.
"Are you going?"
"...Only to see whether he is dead."
—
"Old man."
Kunikuzushi slowly opened his eyes. He paused, feeling the vivid pain throughout his body and listening to the heart gradually return to an active rhythm.
"We won."
He had won.
Though it still did not feel entirely real.
Kunikuzushi rose and looked toward the sunset above Tenshukaku. Whenever evening arrived, the old man had warmed a flask of sake and drunk it beneath the fading light.
Kunikuzushi took out the jar of malt ale he had dug from beneath the old man's cenotaph.
When he swirled it, the rich aroma carried the fragrance of wheat fields. One breath brought to mind endless waves of grain rolling across the countryside.
Mt. Yougou...
The Sacred Sakura?
He stood with the jar in hand and walked into the distant sunset.
—
"Hold Ioroi's hand!"
The little tanuki extended one round paw toward Mikoshi Chiyo.
"Don't get lost," he ordered solemnly.
Mikoshi Chiyo tilted her head, mercury-white hair spilling to the other side of her neck. She blinked her clear, beautiful eyes. An elaborate jūnihitoe trailed behind her, red maple leaves embroidered around its hem.
"I won't get lost," Chiyo said.
"...Ioroi will!" The little tanuki stamped his foot.
After hesitating, the oni maiden extended her slender hand and gently took his furry paw.
The corruption had been cleansed completely.
She still could not remember many things.
But Mikoshi Chiyo knew one thing with certainty.
She was happy now.
She was walking toward a gathering, just as she had four hundred years ago. Autumn sunset melted among the briars beside the mountain path. Step after stone step held the sunlight, and its warm, lazy glow rested upon the oni maiden.
Everything felt so vivid.
She had forgotten much, but she knew she was going to honor a promise delayed by four hundred years.
Tofu and desserts. Plum wine and sakura wine. Fallen petals spread across the ground, karuta cards and the shrine, and all her old friends.
She knew she was going to such a place.
And so she was filled with joy.
The oni who had wandered for four centuries held the little tanuki's hand and climbed the mountain one step at a time. Sunset fragmented their shadows and drew them long across the stairway, beautiful as a painting.
—
Hanachirusato watched the wine-red sunset. Beneath her fox mask, the faint outline of a gentle smile could be seen.
It was as light as new snow at the beginning of spring, bright yet cold, carrying the sorrow of something about to melt.
It was strange.
She was only a memory of the past, an existence that could not be called real. Why, then, did she feel such joy now?
She had always warned herself not to become too entangled with the mortal world and not to form attachments.
Yet her heart had wavered.
How helpless she was.
"I cannot retrieve the wine we made in the past. Would you be willing to taste wine made by the person I am now?"
"Then it's a promise."
"Everyone will be there."
Everyone would be there.
And so her heart wavered. Though she was only a memory, could she still feel joy? Could she still be reluctant to leave? Before her departure, could she still find peace and happiness?
For Hanachirusato, that experience was the most extravagant and precious gift in the world.
—
The Sacred Sakura stood upon Mt. Yougou.
Kiyo was the first to arrive.
He dug up the jar of new wine buried there. He and Hanachirusato had made it together in late spring, and now their sakura wine had matured.
He had also prepared plenty of food.
Grilled fish from the oven. Sardines. Kitsune Udon. A plate of Dango Milk made with milk and green dango.
Every dish held a memory. Kiyo arranged them beneath the Sacred Sakura, displaying those memories amid autumn light and falling blossoms.
There was also the dish he had promised to make for Lumine.
It was ready too.
Dusk was nearly over.
"...Are you ready?" Sasayuri asked softly.
"Yes." Kiyo nodded. "Time flows differently within a realm of consciousness, doesn't it?"
"No matter how long we spend there, only an instant will pass here," Sasayuri said.
"Good." Kiyo smiled. "I promised I would be home for dinner before sunset."