Chapter 39: Pretend Not to See
"Chicken soup, sushi, tempura..."
In the kitchen, Tsuchimikado Natsume stood by the counter, carefully arranging each dish in the lacquered lunch box before her. Nothing was done carelessly. The rice was shaped neatly, the tempura placed so it would not lose its crispness, the soup sealed separately, and even the garnish was adjusted twice before she was satisfied.
These were all dishes she had prepared herself for Gin Tsumugi.
As for how she felt about him, she was the complete opposite of Harutora.
From the moment he arrived at the Tsuchimikado estate, the young man, about her own age, with that refined bearing and gentle, almost scholarly elegance, had given her a strange sense of familiarity. It was not simple goodwill, nor admiration for a fellow prodigy. It was something deeper and more instinctive, as though some thread in her blood recognized him before her mind could make sense of it.
Like meeting a relative long separated by time.
Otherwise, she would never have rebuked Harutora so sharply in the hall earlier. They had grown up together. It was rare for her to speak to him in that tone.
Still, when it came to Gin Tsumugi, something in her simply refused to tolerate disrespect.
"There."
Natsume closed the lid of the lunch box with a small, satisfied nod.
"Mr. Gin should be hungry by now."
Carrying the box with both hands, she left the kitchen and made her way toward the Tsuchimikado clan's Library.
A short while later, she arrived before a two story pavilion tucked deep within the estate grounds. Above the entrance hung a plaque bearing two ancient characters in elegant calligraphy.
[Library]
Within this building were preserved the Tsuchimikado clan's accumulated secrets across a thousand years of history. Ancient rites, lost spell formulae, classical talisman arts, esoteric techniques, and even a number of forbidden rituals inherited directly from Abe no Seimei himself. Among them were names that carried enough weight to send tremors through the modern world of Onmyodo, such as [Taizan Fukun Ritual] and [Soul Summoning Technique].
This place was one of the clan's greatest foundations.
Ordinarily, only members of the Tsuchimikado main family were permitted to enter freely. Even branch family members had no such right.
Gin Tsumugi's entry had only been possible because Natsume herself had granted permission. With Tsuchimikado Yasuzumi and several clan elders away, she, as the heir, had enough authority to open this door for him.
Standing before the wooden doors, Natsume lifted her hand and knocked lightly.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Mr. Gin, it's Natsume," she called softly. "It's lunchtime."
After a brief pause, the door opened from within.
Gin Tsumugi stood there.
At first glance, he looked distinctly more worn down than before. There was fatigue around his eyes, faint blood vessels visible in the whites, and the kind of mental exhaustion that came not from physical labor, but from days of relentless concentration. It was obvious he had spent the last stretch of time pouring enormous effort into deciphering and studying what lay inside.
"Sorry, Natsume."
Seeing her holding the lunch box, Gin Tsumugi scratched his head with rare embarrassment.
"I've troubled you to bring food again. Next time, I'll go eat on my own."
He truly felt somewhat awkward about it.
Even as a guest, repeatedly relying on the host to personally bring him meals felt excessive. More importantly, his purpose for coming to the Tsuchimikado clan had never been entirely clean. If matters developed in a certain direction later, then all this kindness would only make things more uncomfortable.
Natsume smiled and shook her head.
"You are being too polite, Mr. Gin."
Then, after a brief pause, she added with quiet sincerity, "Besides, the delay this time was caused by problems on our side with the deciphering of the Senji Ryakketsu. If anyone is imposing on someone else, it is the Tsuchimikado clan imposing on you."
At that, Gin Tsumugi had no real reply.
All he could do was silently accept the favor and think that, if the opportunity came in the future, he would find some way to repay her.
And speaking of the Senji Ryakketsu...
A trace of regret flickered through his mind.
This visit had likely wasted, for nothing, the precious recommendation Amami Daizen had secured for him. His original plan had been simple enough. Before Dairenji Suzuka put her operation into motion, he wanted to come to the Tsuchimikado clan, take a look at the Senji Ryakketsu, and see whether it could push his role playing progress further.
What he had not expected was that Suzuka would move so urgently.
Nor had he expected the Senji Ryakketsu to require additional time to decipher before it could be properly studied.
In the end, he had missed the timing anyway.
And after everything that had happened, both he and Dairenji Suzuka would probably be blacklisted by the Tsuchimikado clan from now on. There would be no second chance at the Senji Ryakketsu.
"Mr. Gin, are you still studying ancient style Onmyodo?"
Natsume stepped inside and set the lunch box down on the desk. Her gaze naturally fell over the scattered records and scrolls laid open across its surface.
[Acalas Demon Subduing Mantra] [Ancient Method of Exorcising Evil] [Heart Calming Mantra]
And others besides.
Although many of these arts still existed in weakened or simplified form within modern Imperial Style Onmyojutsu, what Gin Tsumugi had been studying were their original ancient versions, not the later streamlined adaptations.
"That's right." Gin Tsumugi nodded. "Compared to Imperial Style techniques, I seem to have a better affinity for ancient ones."
Natsume's eyes brightened slightly.
"That's incredible. There are very few onmyoji in the current age who can properly study ancient style arts, much less master them well enough to cast them. Mr. Gin truly deserves the title of White Fox, alongside the Child Prodigy, Dairenji Suzuka."
There was no exaggeration in her praise.
As the heir of the Tsuchimikado clan, she understood very well how difficult ancient style Onmyodo truly was. Its threshold was several times harsher than the modernized systems that had grown out of it. Even she herself had only managed to grasp a handful.
"You're overpraising me."
Gin Tsumugi replied humbly.
He took the chopsticks Natsume handed him and opened the lunch box. The aroma rose at once, warm and delicate.
He had to admit, for the heir of the Tsuchimikado clan, a recognized genius of Onmyodo, to also cook this well was genuinely rare. After several days of eating her food, his standards had already been thoroughly spoiled.
He picked up a piece of salmon sushi and took a bite.
Delicious.
As he chewed, his gaze drifted toward Natsume, who remained beside the desk.
Noticing it, she blinked.
"Is something wrong, Mr. Gin? Does today's lunch not suit your taste?"
"It's not that." Gin Tsumugi smiled faintly. "I was just thinking... I didn't expect the heir of the Tsuchimikado clan to be such a cute girl."
Natsume froze.
Then, instead of panicking, she gave a helpless little smile and clasped her hands behind her back.
"It's a rule of the Tsuchimikado clan. The heir must appear publicly as male. So... I hope you can keep this secret for me, Mr. Gin."
"Naturally."
Gin Tsumugi answered at once.
His expression remained calm, but a deeper look passed through his eyes.
Rumors outside claimed that Tsuchimikado Natsume was the reincarnation of Tsuchimikado Yakou. From the start, he had suspected that story was no more than a smokescreen released by the Tsuchimikado clan.
Now he was even more certain.
The Onmyodo she carried, enough to deceive even National Level onmyoji and maintain this fabricated male identity without flaw, was itself the clearest proof that appearances here could not be trusted.
And if one followed the thread a little further, then the person who felt more suspicious was not Natsume at all.
It was Harutora.
That branch family boy who had looked at him with inexplicable hostility carried, hidden in the depths of his soul, a faint trace of age and decay utterly inconsistent with his outward youth.
If anyone here seemed more likely to be tied to Yakou's lingering shadow, it was him.
Still, Gin Tsumugi had no interest in getting dragged into Tsuchimikado clan politics, much less the dangerous mess surrounding Tsuchimikado Yakou's legacy.
So he made his decision without hesitation.
He would pretend not to see it.
.....
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