Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 244, Section 19: "This matter is a secret between the two of us."

……

"...It's about time to go back."

"Ah."

Rinne nodded, her body still feeling weak.

During the incident just now, she was still able to face Masumi calmly.

She could hum softly, she could plead gently, but once she was out of that state, she couldn't look directly into Masumi's smiling eyes again.

A deeper sense of embarrassment arrived late, and the shrine maiden's ears burned.

Rinne was stunned for a moment, but instead of taking Masumi's outstretched hand, she insisted on standing up on her own.

Masumi was taken aback at first, then smiled and squinted her eyes, nodding seriously.

The two walked side by side toward the residence behind the main hall. Rinne silently sensed the strangeness in her mood and the weakness in her legs. Perhaps it was because of what had just happened, but she suddenly felt like she wanted to find someone to act cute with.

She went to the boy who had just treated her gently, dominated her, and controlled her, and then acted coquettishly towards him.

Realizing her unusual state of mind, Rinne quietly clenched her fingertips, also grasping at those softened, slightly burning emotions.

After what just happened, how has my image changed in Masumi's mind?

Masumi remained silent. Rinne glanced at him discreetly and found Masumi to be quiet, his face expressionless, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Her steps slowed slightly, and her attempt to act coquettishly was thwarted by Masumi's reaction before she could even make a move.

A strange sense of loss enveloped Rinne.

What's going on? I haven't even taken that crucial step, yet I'm already having unrealistic expectations and unrealistic disappointments.

She decisively put aside these messy feelings, lowered her eyelashes slightly, and followed Masumi within half a step.

She kept walking and gradually calmed her mind.

Just as Rinne was about to completely eliminate these feelings with reason, Masumi suddenly stopped and turned to face Rinne.

"What are you thinking about? You look preoccupied."

"Have it?"

Rinne was taken aback.

"I was just guessing at first, but seeing you like this makes me certain."

"……cunning."

Rinne muttered softly, her voice carrying a hint of complaint, yet also sounding somewhat like she was being coquettish.

"Could it be that……"

Masumi stroked her chin thoughtfully, "Are you still bothered by what happened earlier?"

"If that's the case, there's absolutely no need to worry. I put myself in that situation and realized that this kind of environment is indeed not very suitable..."

The rest of his words were cut short by the shrine maiden's icy gaze.

"Am I the kind of shallow, lustful girl you see?"

Rinne's tone sounded like she was being sulky.

"Let's leave the latter one aside for now, but Rinne is definitely not superficial in my heart."

Masumi patted her chest and guaranteed it.

However, this answer did not satisfy Rinne at all; she stared coldly at Masumi.

What does "Let's leave the latter one aside for now" mean?

"Uh."

Masumi avoided the black-haired beauty's gaze as if fleeing.

The autumn night was cool as water, and the howling wind lashed his face.

"……never mind."

Rinne sighed without arguing with him, her whole being softening completely, her heart, body, and even her feignedly cold lips all softening.

"I was just worried that you might think I was being silly just now..."

"No way."

As if finding it amusing, Masumi laughed, which earned him a punch to the chest from Rinne.

"Don't laugh so disgustingly."

"I didn't."

Her hand accidentally touched Masumi's shoulder. The force reminded Masumi of how the shrine maiden had clung to her anxiously, as if worried about falling.

"Obviously there is!"

As Rinne spoke, she lightly punched Masumi with her cat-like fist again. What was this? Was it just a harmless, playful argument between kindergarten children?
"Just now too, I told you I didn't want it anymore and you still... Disgusting! Terrible! Unbelievable!"

Masumi willingly and silently endured it, and after Rinne had finished acting cute, she gently took her slender hand.

"You're so kind of the priestess to be so tolerant of a disgusting, awful, and hopeless villain like me."

"nausea."

"I'm sorry, I know I was wrong, Rinne."

"poor."

"Yes, please forgive me, Rinne."

"..."

Her slender, snow-white wrist was gripped tightly, and Rinne bumped her forehead against him again, expressing her dissatisfaction with his unruly behavior.

"...I forgive you."

"Grateful."

Masumi found herself completely unable to control the upward curve of her lips.

Realizing that the beautiful girl in her arms seemed to have vented her negative emotions, Masumi released her wrist.

"Let's go back."

A single sentence completely turned Rinne's thoughts upside down.

"Ah."

Rinne's breath hitched slightly. Under Masumi's gaze, she exhaled, her eyes unconsciously glancing to the side—

She immediately realized that this was a sign of shyness.

The shrine maiden could no longer meet Masumi's gaze; out of the corner of her eye was the outline of the courtyard shrouded in darkness. She tightened her throat.

The two walked forward in silence, returning to the vicinity of the residence, where they could hear the girls talking in the courtyard.

"...Masumi has been gone for 53 minutes."

Mio was extremely anxious, while Chiai kept comforting her from the side.

"Mio-neechan, don't be nervous. Masumi-nii and Rinne definitely wouldn't sneak around behind our backs—"

She paused suddenly halfway through her speech, then abruptly raised her voice.

"Look, the two of them are back."

"Masumi!"

Mio threw herself into Masumi's arms. At first, the touch was soft, but then it turned into a shock that numbed Masumi's entire body.

"It's so late, I'm so worried about you, Masumi."

Mio called his name again, her tone overly urgent.

“…I wasn’t gone for too long.” Masumi sighed and gently patted her slender back. “Besides, what danger could there be here?”

“I heard that there might be bears and wild boars around here. Even if Masumi can take down the thugs, she probably can’t fight against those beasts.”

"Mio's imagination is just too rich."

A deep sigh came from the side.

Hearing her sarcasm, Mio released Masumi with a displeased expression, her pupils narrowing slightly as she glared at Rinne.

"This is……"

Mami spoke first.

"Wow! Isn't this the shrine maiden outfit I bought at Nobunaga's Bookstore? I knew it! Rinne would be perfect for this cosplay outfit!"

Rinne's expression froze. Oh no, she forgot to change her clothes.

Fortunately, the knot was tied very tightly, so there shouldn't be any sign of it being messy.

"As expected of Rinne, she's so cute! Even though it's a pure and holy shrine maiden outfit, there's such a touching contrast! Waaaaaah! So blissful!"

Asami clenched her fist dramatically, her intense gaze making Rinne feel uneasy.

I was afraid that the other party wouldn't notice that something was wrong.

Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, a strange light shone in Mami's eyes.

"By the way, could it be that talismans are also pasted on..."

"no!"

Rinne interrupted her as if to cut her off, denying it without a second thought.

"That's it."

Mami's expression betrayed her disappointment.

"……Well."

Although Rinne felt very guilty for deceiving her friend, it was even more difficult to talk about the fact that Masumi had to peel it off after she had put it on.

"Speaking of which, isn't Rinne's voice a little hoarse?"

Qian Ai suddenly asked.

...!
Masumi and Rinne were both on edge.

"That's because..."

Rinne stammered, her cheeks flushing.

"Uh..."

A sudden wave of soreness hit her thigh muscles, and Rinne froze, standing still.

Oops.

The reason is simple... it's probably because... my body unconsciously tried to expel the foreign object, so I clenched my fist tightly... uh... my muscles are a little sore...

But, no way? We shouldn't have been discovered, right?

No, how could you possibly know that just by looking at it?

"What's wrong? Rinne, your face is so red."

Chiai expressed concern. "Your body... ugh, it's so stiff. Is Rinne alright? By the way, her eyes are a little red too."

"Little Qian'ai".

Mami tugged at her sleeve and shook her head slightly, as if asking her to stop talking.

"Ok?"

Qian Ai tilted her head, completely bewildered.

Mami then leaned close to her ear and said, "Chiai, don't ask anymore. Rinne's reaction clearly means she's hiding in a corner and secretly crying by herself."

Although the volume was deliberately lowered, there were only a few people present, and even Masumi and Mio, who were a little far away, could hear it.

Qian Ai immediately understood.

So that's how it is. Returning to one's long-lost hometown, the sight of familiar places inevitably evokes feelings of sadness.

However, Rinne is a strong and beautiful girl who doesn't want to expose her weakness in front of people she's close to.

My eyes were red from tears, my face was flushed from shyness, and my legs were sore and stiff, probably from squatting for too long.

Mami was proud of her keen observation skills and exceptional intelligence.

"...Um, you might have misunderstood."

Rinne looked troubled.

Mami patted her shoulder gently, and Chiai also comforted her softly in front of her.

"Rinne, you don't need to say anything. As your friends, we will always be there for you!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Rinne, let's create more wonderful memories together in the future!"

Rinne let out a very faint sigh.

"No, you really misunderstood... Never mind, let's just say that's how it is."

This misunderstanding is better than the fact that the real incident was discovered.

Mio, Rinne's nemesis who usually hates her, also came over, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

"Oh, Rinne is hiding in the corner crying, I really want to see that."

Rinne didn't take her teasing to heart.

"I'm not crying!"

...At least I didn't cry because of that kind of thing.

"Alright, alright, Rinne is really stubborn." Mio showed a victorious expression.

If I told her everything, I might see her hunched over, looking like a defeated dog, Rinne thought.

but……

How could I possibly say that!
Moreover, this is actually another kind of comfort, isn't it? Rinne can sense the awkward concern hidden beneath the teasing.

"Rinne...don't cry..."

Haiyue wiped Rinne's cheek with a handkerchief.

"Thank you, Haiyue, but I really didn't cry."

After the heir made such a point, Haiyue murmured softly.

"But...Rinne...she would cry then..."

Rinne's shoulders tensed up to a ninety-degree angle, her face turning red to the roots of her neck.

On the night she stayed up all night to finish the video, she learned from Masumi that while she was applying medicine, Haigetsu had been peeking through the crack in the door.

"Has Haiyue discovered something?!"

"Hum~"

The jellyfish girl curled her lips into a smug smile.

"Rinne, what's wrong with you...?"

Chiai looked at Rinne, whose reaction had suddenly become intense, with a puzzled expression.

"It's nothing, I just want to talk to Haiyue about something alone."

"Oh, oh..."

Chiai nodded blankly, then turned her face towards Mio.

"Sister Mio, what's wrong?"

"Who knows what that mother and daughter, playing house like children, are going to do?"

Mio crossed her arms, her tone indifferent.

Mio was very dissatisfied with Rinne's consistent protection of the lowly maid, Haiyue.

"Seriously, Mio-neechan, you should be a little more frank."

Qian Ai sighed quietly.

"Have you taken the wrong medicine? What are you saying?"

"Mio-neechan is clearly a very gentle girl who cares about her friends. If you want to comfort Rinne, just say so."

"Wow, don't make it sound so disgusting."

Mio seemed to get goosebumps all over her body and kept rubbing her arm.

"I only care about Masumi. If you guys are depressed, Masumi will worry too, that's all."

"Oh, I know, Mio-neechan, don't be shy!"

"So noisy! You're really loud! You're just like a high school girl on the train."

In contrast to Mio's blatant expression of disgust, Chia let out a cheerful laugh.

"You have absolutely no manners when interacting with your seniors. Learn from this!"

Mio pinched Chiai's soft cheeks and then pulled them apart forcefully.

"Ouch! Ouch! This is seniors bullying juniors!"

The shadows of the two people were filtered by the light and fell into the Japanese-style room. Masumi couldn't help but chuckle as she watched the two shadows overlap.

It would be wonderful if Mio could integrate into everyone's group.

"...Speaking of which, did Masumi-kun see Rinne crying?"

Asami quietly moved closer to Masumi, gently nudged Masumi's side with her elbow, and said in a teasing tone.

"Yeah, I saw it."

Masumi nodded frankly, but the reason for her tears didn't seem to be triggered by the scene, but rather... herself.

"Wow, I'm so envious. I also want to see a beautiful girl cry."

Asami sighed sincerely.

"What kind of fetish is this?"

Masumi looked strange.

"Because Rinne's appearance as an ice beauty with tears in her eyes is very rare, and she must look very beautiful."

Yes, it really does look great.

Her eyes were as wet and gentle as a fawn's, both innocent and soft, alluring and seductive, captivating all emotions.

Endearing.

"Huh? What's in Masumi-kun's pocket?"

Mami suddenly noticed a crimson corner peeking out of Masumi's pocket.

"Huh? What did you say..."

Masumi belatedly clutched her pocket, simultaneously saying to cover her tracks, "No, there's nothing there!"

But it was too late.

This reaction is a textbook example of "trying to cover up the truth only to make it more obvious."

Mami reacted quickly, grabbing one corner and pulling it out, her eyes widening suddenly.

"This is... the inner garment under the shrine maiden's outfit!?"

Mami couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"How did it end up here with Masumi-kun?"

"I was just wondering why the inner layer of the shrine maiden's outfit is this style."

Masumi closed her eyes helplessly; there were only three talismans or something.

"Don't change the subject."

Mami frowned unhappily.

"This talisman..."

"Can you stop acting like a police dog sniffing out scents?"

"Stop talking!"

With sharp eyes, Mami glared at him fiercely.

"Does Masumi-kun have anything else to explain?"

"...I would like to entrust the entire matter to Attorney Komikado."

"Rejected! The evidence is already sufficient."

"..."

Masumi pressed her temples, her head aching, and took a deep breath.

"In that case, I have nothing to say."

"Really."

Mami nodded meaningfully.

"Masumi-kun."

"Ok?"

Masumi swallowed hard, suddenly having a bad feeling.

Asami stretched her lips high, revealing a set of snow-white teeth, and put on a mischievous smile.

"This is a secret between the two of us."

◇

"This is a secret between the two of us."

In the corridor of the Japanese-style room, Rinne earnestly gave Haiyue some instructions.

(End of this chapter)