Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 119: 15. "Going to Uji! (End)"

Psychological test?

Masumi was confused: "How do I do that?"

"Just stretch out your hand and touch my fist." Kurokawa Mio smiled sweetly.

"It's that simple?"

"Ah."

"First, let me ask, what kind of psychological test is this?"

"You finish first, and then I'll tell you."

"..."

After hesitating for a moment, Masumi clenched his fist slightly and gently touched it with the white fist.

Kurokawa Mio's long eyelashes trembled slightly, remembering that fist bumping was... normal.

I see. Being able to look at each other with Masumi, and even whispering sweet nothings to each other intimately, is a great position.

"Oh, so that's what Masumi thinks."

Her words sounded even gentler than usual, and she smiled endearingly, with sparkling joy in her eyes.

Masumi had a bad feeling for no reason.

This can't be a psychological test about love and marriage. If you choose fist bump, it means you want to be with the other person.

Masumi carefully peeked at her expression, and judging from Kurokawa's expression, it seemed almost certain.

He thought about it, loosened his clenched fist, replaced it with his palm, and gently placed it under the smooth back of Kurokawa Mio's hand.

How about this? Touching the back of the hand... that's supposed to be a way of showing distance, right?

Masumi raised her head slowly, and then saw Kurokawa Mio's eyes wide open, her fair cheeks suddenly covered with a strange blush, and her expression was dazed.

(Back of hand...)
(If I remember correctly, it means that you like to dominate the other person!)

(If Masumi wants to, I'm definitely willing, but... I'm not very confident about the flexibility of my waist.)
(What if the experience is not good?)

Kurokawa Mio frowned slightly in distress, and the blush on her face continued to deepen. Seeing this, Masumi showed a strange expression.

Something is wrong. Did I make the wrong choice again?
Or is this one of those boring quizzes where no matter which answer you choose, the answer is the same—

"Which do you prefer, war or marriage?"

I choose war

"Congratulations! Choosing war means 'fight this war and then go home and get married,' so let's get married!"

——Something like this.

The remaining answer is... clapping.

Sweat dripped from the tip of her nose, and steam naturally rose from her red face.

"Kurokawa, are you okay?"

"No, it's okay."

This doesn't look like nothing's wrong at all.

Just with this sentence, Kurokawa Mio's cheeks flushed red, and her hair stuck to her cheeks due to sweat.

The hot air that came out of her lips was more of excitement than shyness.

(The palm represents a love of being dominated, which means...)
(Ride?)

(Although as long as it can make Masumi happy, I am willing to do it in any position.)
(But what's going on? Normally, there's only one way, right? Could it be... that Masumi is actually subconsciously attached to me?)

Kurokawa Mio pressed her hands to her chest, trying to control her rapid breathing, her long honey-gold hair lightly covering her flushed face.

"Mio-sister, is she... okay?"

Qian Ai tilted her head and asked Mami, who smiled and said, "I don't know about Ms. Mio, but there must be something wrong with that psychological test."

"I can guess, it must be a love test." Qian Ai pouted her lips: "I wonder what the result of Masumi-san's test is."

"If Xiaoqian is curious, why not try it yourself."

"Yourself? Try?"

The childhood girl was still digesting the meaning of these words when Asami grabbed her hand and placed it on Kurokawa Mio's fist, which was still suspended in mid-air.

The body temperature was transmitted through the skin, and Kurokawa Mio came back to her senses. She pushed her hair aside, revealing her beautiful eyes wide open.

(What the hell! What’s going on?!)

(Could it be that Masumi likes being with three people!?)
"Ah, let's join in, Kaitsuki-chan," Mami narrowed her eyes in amusement.

"Oh."

Haiyue stretched out her fingers from the sleeve of her wide sweater and gently placed them on it.

(Four people!? And...)
(If you only have one finger...)
(Special pose!?)
"Rinne-chan, come take the psychological test too."

"I am not interested."

"Hey, it's just entertainment."

Seeing Rin'in look away indifferently, Mami naturally took her hand and placed it under Masumi's still tentative palm.

The five intertwined hands were stacked together, and the heat was transferred between the skin that touched each other.

Mami, proud of the result, stayed out of the matter and scooped a spoonful of matcha parfait from the bottom of the glass.

"Is this the hand-in-hand cheering part before the game?" Qian Ai complained.

"That's enough."

Kurokawa Mio wearily shook off the hands stacked on top of hers and sighed deeply. The psychological test had completely lost its meaning at this point.

Because she was sweating with excitement, a few strands of blonde hair stuck to her thin, white neck.

After having matcha at Nakamura Tokichi in Byodoin Temple, the six of us walked to Nakanoshima across the scenic bridge at the entrance of Byodoin Temple.

After crossing the conspicuous red Chaowu Bridge, you will see a small hill over 100 meters above sea level, Daji Mountain, on the opposite side of the bridge.

At the foot of the mountain stands a vermilion torii gate, with a shimeji rope hanging from the top and royal coins dancing gently in the wind. This is Uji Shrine, which, along with Uji Kami Shrine and Byodoin Temple, is recognized as a World Cultural Heritage.

"Come to think of it, this trip we've been visiting either Buddhist temples or Shinto shrines."

"The Byodoin Temple just now is not that."

"Hey, these ancient buildings are all pretty much the same. Speaking of which, Kyoto is really packed with shrines and temples. It's so pious."

“Is there any place more densely populated than here?”

Asami looked back at Rin, who was following behind her silently. She hadn't said much since they had matcha at Nakamura Tokichi.

Was he trying to test the other person's feelings by seemingly casually bringing up the topic? Masumi wondered. Seno might look thick-skinned, and well...he was actually thick-skinned, but on the other hand, he was also incredibly delicate.

"Kumano Kodo." Rin said concisely.

"Kumano Kodo..." Asami squinted her eyes in thought, "Sounds familiar. Where is it?"

"Sister Mami, are you really from Japan?" Qian Ai looked dumbfounded.

"Even I've heard of it. There are only two pilgrimage routes in the world. One is the Camino de Santiago in Spain, and the other is the Kumano Kodo in this island country."

"Santiago? What's that babble about? ...After saying so much, Chi'ai-chan doesn't even know where it is, right?"

"Of course I know!" Qian Ai raised her voice excitedly: "It's in Nara, Mie Prefecture and Wakayama."

The Kumano Kodo, located in the southern part of the Kii Peninsula on Honshu Island, is over 1000 kilometers long and spans the three prefectures of Wakayama, Mie, and Nara. It is the general name for the pilgrimage routes leading to the Kumano Three Mountains.

"Okay, okay, I knew Xiao Qian loves geography and knows a lot."

Asami spoke with a smile, trying to calm the rage surging in the childhood girl's heart like combing messy hair, then nodded and said:

“As for Nara, I have relatives living there, so we often go there on family trips.”

"But I've never been to Mie Prefecture or Wakayama."

"After all, it's not a very famous tourist destination." Masumi joined their conversation easily.

"Ah, I heard that there are often tourists from Kansai Airport who take the wrong train and accidentally end up in Wakayama."

The three of them chatted freely, Rin and Kurokawa Mio followed behind in silence, while Kaizuki was licking the ice cream he had just bought.

"Wakayama..."

The jellyfish girl suddenly stopped at the approach to Uji Shrine, and her free hand rested on the head of the Komainu stone sculpture next to her.

"What's wrong?" Masumi asked.

Haiyue shook her head silently, her mouth full of food, and she was concentrating on melting the ice cream with the temperature of her oral mucosa.

After a moment, she slowly murmured, "A small stone...got into my shoe..."

"Well, just take off your shoes and pour out the stones."

"With ice cream in hand...I can't do it..."

Haiyue raised her head and looked at Masumi as if asking for help.

"Masumi... help me take it out..."

"How can I help you get it out?" He frowned: "Give me the ice cream, you can do it yourself."

"Oh."

Masumi took the almost melted vanilla ice cream from her hand. The cream dripped down the edge of the cone and fell on the swaying shadow on the cobblestone road.

Haiyue held the Komainu stone sculpture with her hand and took off her sneakers on one foot. Her trembling posture was like a pudding with half of it cut, and it was shaky. Masumi couldn't help but walk forward and support her.

"Be careful not to fall, hold on to me."

"Oh." The jellyfish girl was not polite at all. Her slender little feet wrapped in black stockings stepped directly on his shoes. The hand that was originally holding the Komainu stone sculpture turned to press on Masumi's shoulder.

Then turn the sneakers over and dump out the pebbles inside.

After doing all this, she didn't put on her shoes directly. Instead, she put her fingers into the gap between the fabric and her skin and lifted the tips of the black stockings wrapped around her toes.

The silk fabric turned brown under the sunlight. When it was pulled up and stretched, through the thin silk material, you could see the round and cute toes slightly raised, spread out, and bent in the gap.

As if dancing with the warmth generated by the toes being restrained by pantyhose, the seductive posture was like ice cream gradually melting in the hand, sticking to Masumi's sight.

"What are you doing?"

"It's so hot inside my socks..."

"If you feel hot, don't wear pantyhose."

"That's right, it's so comfortable to be barefoot like me." Asami said with a smile.

"Sister Mami..." Qian Ai was helpless, as if she suddenly thought of something. She tilted her head and saw Kurokawa Mio's expression as sharp as the sweat drops sliding quickly from the roots of her hair.

If it weren't for the fact that Masumi couldn't tolerate his strong possessiveness, this loyal golden retriever would have pounced on him and bit him long ago.

"Can you take off your pantyhose?"

"No." Masumi answered without hesitation.

"Masumi... don't you want it?"

"No." He sighed in frustration.

"Oh."

Without further ado, Haiyue held his shoulders, put on her shoes, and landed firmly on the approach to the shrine.

Masumi finally breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat dripping from the tip of his nose with his fingers.

"ice cream……"

The girl stared at his hand, which was holding the ice cream cone and had cream all over its fingers and knuckles.

"...it has melted..."

The soft sound fell lostly into the cracks of the cobblestone road, like a cicada becoming weak and powerless.

"Who told you not to eat it quickly?" Masumi shook his head. "There's still a little left in there. Eat it quickly before it melts completely."

"Give."

Haiyue didn't reach out to take it: "My hand... just touched the shoes and socks..."

The jellyfish girl, who usually seemed natural and useless, suddenly showed such common sense that Masumi was stunned for a moment.

"That's the hand-washing room over there, go wash your hands..."

Something soft and wet suddenly brushed against his fingers.

My brain reacted belatedly and seemed to have been licked by something.

"What are you doing?!" When the weather gets hot, even my brain almost freezes.

“…eat ice cream.”

"Sweet... a little salty..."

Rolling the cream on his fingertips into her mouth, Haiyue blinked her innocent blue eyes and spoke in a nonchalant tone.

"That's enough! How can you eat ice cream like that?"

Kurokawa Mio walked over, unable to bear it any longer.

"You guy..." Kurokawa Mio seemed quite dissatisfied with her behavior. She frowned and glared at Haiyue fiercely.

"Kurokawa wants to eat... I can share some with you..." The jellyfish girl looked very generous.

“…It’s not hopeless yet.”

Kurokawa Mio smiled with a wavering expression, her eyes flickered a few times, and she turned to Masumi with the aggressive look of a spider hunting.

"Wait a minute, there's no need to be so frugal." Being stared at by the two girls, Masumi swallowed and took two steps back in fear.

"If you want some ice cream, just buy two when you get out of the shrine."

Qian Ai lowered her eyes in embarrassment, and Mami's lips curved into a happy arc, with an expression that looked like she was enjoying a good show.

"...Since we're in a shrine, don't act like you normally would."

A cold voice drifted over from the summer heat.

Everyone looked towards the source of the sound, but Rin stood straight in her place, showing no sign of caring.

"Keep going," she whispered.

"Oh."

Perhaps because of the serious vibe she suddenly exuded, Kurokawa Mio and Kaizuki both calmed down temporarily.

The six people continued walking along the approach to the shrine and washed their hands in front of the hand-washing pavilion.

There is a stone sculpture of a rabbit on it, with its front legs resting on the rock and its hind legs standing in the air, with water flowing out of its mouth.

But this rabbit is not an ordinary rabbit, but a messenger of God.

The tourist guide introduces this attraction as "Kamito-sanno-no". The water in the tank below is Kirihara water, one of the seven famous springs of Uji in ancient times, and it is also the only one of these ancient springs in existence.

There are also ceramic fortune sticks in the shape of white rabbits for sale at the worship hall.

"The divine rabbit that guides humanity onto the right path? This guy is truly amazing." Asami muttered to herself.

"Speaking of which, rabbits can give birth to dozens of babies a year, so they symbolize fertility and good fortune."

"It's not just rabbits. There are many animals that are used by Japanese people to symbolize fertility and good fortune." She suddenly gave some scientific advice, or rather sighed.

"That's it." Masumi nodded in agreement, not understanding why.

"The yukata Masumi-kun bought today has a red goldfish pattern, right?"

Mami suddenly gave a meaningful smile.

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"Goldfish, because they lay a large number of eggs at once, also symbolize 'praying for the prosperity of offspring' and 'fertility.'"

She pronounced the latter meaning clearly and had a funny expression on her face.

"Giving birth!?"

The listener was attentive. Kurokawa Mio lightly covered her lips, and even her slender fingers like white fish seemed to be stained red by the hot air exhaled from between her lips and teeth.

(So… the psychological test from before was real? All those postures were just for convenience…)
"I see, but that yukata was chosen for me by Chiai," Masumi replied calmly.

Kurokawa Mio immediately gave him a cold look.

"Ah, no, well, I'm a foreigner and don't understand the culture of the island country." Qian Ai waved her hands in panic.

"Really?"

"Really, really."

Her tongue trembled, unable to speak fluently, and the childhood girl's cheeks unconsciously flushed. Asami grinned and enjoyed her embarrassed reaction to hide her guilty conscience, and couldn't help but chuckle:
"Okay, I'm just kidding."

"Let's go to the next stop, Ujikami Shrine."

Uji Shrine is very small. After visiting the entire shrine, going out from the back door and walking to the small path on the north side of the shrine, you will see the entrance of Uji Kami Shrine, which also has a vermilion torii gate.

By the time we got here, there were very few tourists around.

Compared with the rows of exaggerated billboards in Dotonbori, Osaka, and the grand or exquisite shrines and ancient temples in Kyoto, the scenery of Ujikami Shrine seems quite simple.

Especially the older Ujikami Shrine, with its sparsely populated main shrine made of natural wood, which can be described as "rustic beauty" in a more EQ-savvy way.

Uji Shrine and Ujikami Shrine were originally one, but were managed separately after the Meiji period. The main hall is the oldest existing shrine building, built in 1060 during the Kamakura period.

Six people came here to worship and pray.

"What wish did Masumi-kun make to the gods?"

"I wish that the fireworks display tonight will go smoothly."

"Eh? This is too boring." Asami complained with a bored look on her face.

"But he's the god of Uji after all. He should be able to grant any wish in his own territory."

"Ms. Mami, Udichi Nakaro moved to Uji from another place."

"Really? So even gods immigrate."

She nodded, then laughed mischievously: "Hey, Qian Ai just said she didn't understand the culture of the island nation."

"This, ah, that's it. I saw it on the explanation board just now."

"Where? Why didn't I see it?"

"I said it wrong. I searched it online."

"Hey, Xiao Qianai really can't lie..."

Amidst the clamor, Haiyue was glaring at the white rabbit messenger named "Mito Usagi." Kurokawa Mio clasped her hands together, pursed her lips, and kept muttering, "God, please let Masumi and I marry and have many children."

Masumi's mouth suddenly relaxed. Although it was a spur-of-the-moment trip, perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to immerse himself in this summer for a while longer.

Thinking of this, he suddenly glanced at Rin, who was silent beside him.

The beautiful profile, as straight as an ice sculpture, is hidden in the faint shadow extending from the worship hall.

Those charming purple eyes that seemed to glow silently in the dim light did not reflect any of the surrounding scenes.

(End of this chapter)