Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 332 Epilogue: "The Essence of Happiness"

"Hey! Masumi-kun, Mio-san and I are back from buying sweets."

Suddenly, Mami's cheerful voice rang out from behind, and the unexpected words struck Rinne's back with a shock.

As if someone had pushed her from behind, the heiress barely managed to stay upright and avoid falling forward. She immediately stood up and turned around.

"Asami-san, Mio..."

Masumi also stood up, glancing at her discreetly. Her fair skin, bathed in sunlight, had a faint blush, and she looked somewhat flustered.

Please don't act as if you're covering up an affair.

"Masumi, I bought some delicious-looking dagashi (Chinese sweets)."

Fortunately, Mio didn't notice anything unusual, or rather, her mind wasn't on Rinne at all.

She approached with a big smile and immediately opened the plastic bag.

"Oh, it's grapefruit candy. It brings back some memories."

Masumi tore open the packaging, popped one into her mouth, and said, "Mmm, it's very sweet."

"Huh, so Masumi has tried this kind of snack before?"

Mio widened her eyes slightly, looking somewhat surprised.

"Yes, when I was a child, there was a confectionery shop on the shopping street near the coffee shop. I used to go there often with my pocket money, and I also took Chiai there."

"Uh-huh."

Qian Ai nodded vigorously.

"A chocolate for 25 yen, with many different flavors, felt like a great deal for me at the time when I didn't have much pocket money."

"It's a pity that the snack shop closed down after I started junior high school because the owner got old."

After Masumi finished speaking in a regretful tone, she saw Mio lower her head in astonishment.

"How could this be...? The precious first experience I thought Masumi had was actually given to Chia-chan long ago...? And I was so happy about it..."

She looked so devastated, like a hero in an RPG game who lost to the Demon King and watched helplessly as the world was destroyed.

Yes, for Mio, Masumi is now her whole world.

At the very center of her world exists a star called "Masumi," whose light illuminates Mio's world, drawing her to float in the air and making everything in the world shine brilliantly.

"Mio's reaction is way too exaggerated."

Masumi gave a helpless smile, tore open the yuzu candy wrapper, and held it to her rosy lips.

"Haven't we already shared many first-time memories? Like the first time we visited this tranquil island in the Seto Inland Sea."

"...That's not wrong either."

Mio opened her lips with a "woof" and accepted Masumi's feeding.

Her delicately shaped lips trembled restlessly as she chewed on the gummy candy, speaking in a resentful tone:

"But I still think it's a pity that I didn't have the chance to meet Masumi, who was 21 years older than me when she was born."

Mio's words were likely her thoughts on the trip to Shikoku.

However, this statement sounds like she didn't care much about the scenery around her and only focused on Masumi, which is indeed the case.

Masumi chuckled softly.

Even if you have several decades to spend together, does Mio still feel it's a pity?

As he asked, he unwrapped a grapefruit candy and brought it to Mio's lips.

No, these are two different things.

She ate the second candy.

"Mio would definitely think that way."

"Isn't that what Masumi thinks?"

"Yes, that's what I think too."

On the other side, Haiyue stared intently as Mami kept taking out various snacks and treats from the plastic bag.

Asami describes the simple snack in her hand with great expression:
"These candies are so delicious! They pop open with a crackling sound when you eat them. And these whistle candies, I loved them so much when I was little!"

"Ugh~"

Haiyue reacted appropriately to the snacks, her lips slightly parted, her blue pupils trembling as if breathing, sparkling.

"Little Moon, try this cookie first."

The crispy biscuit is sandwiched with a layer of black sesame seeds, and has a rough texture when you bite into it, with occasional bursts of salty flavor spreading in your mouth.

It's like a grain of undissolved coarse salt suddenly appearing on your teeth, saying hello and then leaving.

"It feels... crunchy."

The jellyfish-like girl lowered her head and began to nibble on the biscuit like a rodent, eating slowly and making crisp sounds.

"……tasty."

"Right!"

Mami immediately nodded in agreement, then picked up another cookie and handed it to Haiyue, before resting her cheek on her hand with a blissful expression.

After having some simple snacks and petting the cats for a while, the group continued along the slope.

High stone walls, steep stone steps, and the sea peeking out from between the houses—every step reveals a new view.

They stopped at the Toyotama Shrine on the high ground of the island.

From here, overlooking Ogijima Island, one can see a breathtakingly beautiful landscape.

"Wow, this place is amazing! It feels like an energy site that's very effective at granting wishes."

Mami let out a sigh.

"What kind of energy? Gravitational potential energy?"

Masumi, oblivious to romance, said...

"Of course, it's to make a wish! We've come all this way by boat to sincerely pray to Toyotama-hime, surely we'll get a response!"

Mami clenched her fist in the air and said with such certainty.

"Perhaps that's how it is...."

Masumi isn't the type to believe in things like energy sites—but since she's already here, she might feel like she'd be missing out if she didn't offer a prayer.

Such thoughts must be blasphemous to the gods.

However, since they are high and mighty gods, they probably wouldn't bother with a mere mortal like me.

Masumi was performing a monologue in her mind when she suddenly thought of something—

Toyotama-hime, daughter of the sea god Watatsumi, is a goddess who protects safe childbirth, marriage, and safe voyages.

"So, which one does Mami want?"

"Well……"

Mami immediately looked troubled.

"If we're talking about finding a partner, I already have Masumi-kun. I'm a homebody, not a shield-wielding woman, so I don't need safety while sailing. That leaves only... safe childbirth?"

"Hey, isn't that unnecessary?"

Masumi silently moved her gaze from Mami's face down to her buttocks.

It already is.

Asami has a voluptuous figure, and the way she supports herself on the bed with her elbows is particularly alluring.

Her round, full, white, and tender buttocks, like a full moon, were raised high, perfectly showcasing the sexy curves of her waist and hips.

This action did not escape Mami's notice.

"Masumi-kun, your eyes are so lewd."

"Same to me, Mami's figure is also... painful!"

"Think things through before you talk to your girlfriend."

Mami pinched Masumi's cheeks unhappily and pulled them apart forcefully.

Only after Masumi bowed and apologized repeatedly did Asami nod slightly, satisfied, and stop arguing with him, turning instead to walk towards the shrine's worship hall.

"Since we're already here, let's make a wish first!"

"Mami-nee, you need to wash your hands at the handwashing station first. Uizuki too, don't run around, come over here!"

"I heard that the water used in the Tesuisha in Ureshino, Saga is hot spring water, which is very effective for beautiful skin."

"Beautiful skin? That sounds good. If that's the case, Masumi will be even more reluctant to touch my skin."

"Oh my, do people who faint along the way still have consciousness and sensation?"

Is Rinne introducing herself?

"Pretty much, it's like a self-introduction for some girl who has no self-awareness."

The empty shrine was filled with the chattering of girls.

At first glance, it's impossible to identify the owner of the voice, but after paying a little attention to the content of the words, the answer becomes easy.

The six of them stood side by side in front of the incense box to pay their respects.

He bowed twice.

"Clap!"

Clap twice.

She closed her eyes and made a wish to the gods. Where would they go next? What kind of memories would they create together? Masumi pondered these questions.

Even if it's just visiting a shrine like this, their memories are gradually accumulating little by little.

Just being by the side of your loved one fills your mind with memories.

Masumi sincerely hopes that these memories will eventually transform into bubbles of happiness and rise to the surface.

So he decided to go with them—
"Let's get through countless springs together, which seem endless at first glance, but will eventually come to an end."

"We should also be able to go wherever they want to go, whenever they wish."

After the worship ceremony, the six people drew fortune sticks here and showed them to each other.

"...Wow! It's great luck!"

Asami smiled brightly like a child.

"Good luck."

Haiyue followed suit expressionlessly. She had always been lucky, and the daughter of the sea god would surely take good care of the beautiful Haiyue jellyfish.

"Zhongji."

Rinne spoke in a calm and even tone.

"Really? Everyone's fortune is so good! Mine is... medium good luck!"

As soon as Chiai finished speaking, Masumi smiled and frowned.

"Me too, very lucky... By the way, are the fortune sticks here a bit unreliable?"

"What? There's nothing to be happy about then."

Mami shrugged dejectedly.

"That's right! The water's reached its peak! Why am I the only one who's fierce?!"

With an expression as if it were the end of the world, Mio showed her unlucky fortune to the others and said through gritted teeth.

Seeing Mio in despair, Masumi couldn't help but laugh.

"Hang the ominous fortune stick on the tree in the shrine courtyard."

"Yes, yes! I definitely want it!"

Mio nodded vigorously.

The two walked together to the tree with the divination slips hanging on it.

"Wait a moment."

Masumi suddenly remembered something.

"Let's hang up my lucky charm too."

"Huh? This is it?"

"In that case, my good luck and Mio's bad luck will cancel each other out, right?"

Mio paused for a moment, then a gentle yet helpless smile appeared on her lips.

"Ah."

Clutching the branch tightly, Mio watched as the two intertwined fortune slips floated in mid-air. Like a little bird, she tilted her head and looked at Masumi, asking:

"By the way, what wish did Masumi make in front of the worship hall just now? She looked quite serious."

"It's nothing serious, it's just..."

Masumi then blurted out everything that had been on her mind.

Looking at him after he finished speaking, Mio smiled charmingly.

"Hey, Masumi."

"Ok?"

"That's not a wish, it's a declaration, isn't it?"

Masumi seemed to realize something suddenly, and her eyes widened.

"Oh, really?"

He smiled wryly, and his already gentle gaze became even more tender.

"Masumi, would you like to guess my wish?"

"Well."

Masumi recalled Toyotama-hime's powers.

"Could it be with..."

"As expected of Masumi, she understands my feelings so well."

Mio cupped her cheeks in a blissful embrace, exhaling a warm, moist breath.

“Masumi’s wish is to go wherever we want to go, so I’ll have to add ‘to be able to love Masumi whenever we want’ to the wish.”

Masumi sighed quietly:

There's more than one way to love someone, isn't there?

"Has Masumi not heard of Sara Noriega's conclusion?"

Mio confidently raised the corners of her lips.

"At the height of their relationship, Florentino Ariza asked himself, what exactly is love: the passion in bed or the tranquility of a Sunday afternoon?"

Sarah calmed him down with a simple conclusion: everything done naked is love. She said, "Love of the soul resides above the waist, love of the flesh below the waist."

Masumi smiled bitterly:

"Mio is really working hard."

"I hope that my efforts will be noticed by Masumi."

Mio's expression showed great enthusiasm.

“I saw it.”

Mio shook her head.

"No, not enough."

"Uh, what do you want me to do..."

Mio suddenly reached out and forcefully cupped Masumi's cheeks with both hands.

"Masumi doesn't need to do anything, just like this—"

As she spoke, she leaned closer and pressed her lips against Masumi's.

The kiss was powerful and sharp, so passionate it felt like it would burn you; it was a raging storm meant to throw Masumi's inner world into chaos.

"Huh! Mio?!"

After creating a little distance, Mio stretched out her finger and slid it along her own moist, full lips, then smiled genuinely and happily.

"Hehe, it was a kiss of souls under the watchful eyes of the gods! I'm so happy, you all saw it too, right?"

Mio gave a victory sign to the other girls who walked over after her.

"Ughh ...

Chiai's eyes welled up with tears, and her cheeks puffed out, while Rinne wore an icy expression.

From behind, Mami could be heard tauntingly watching the spectacle.

"...It's still as difficult as ever here."

◇

As we left the island, the sun was setting.

The sunset is somewhat similar to the sunrise, except that the orange-red parts are softer.

That's the difference between a beginning and an end.

After taking the ferry from Ogijima Port back to Takamatsu Port, they traveled faster than they had on the way there.

Perhaps it was the cold, impersonal timetable on their plane tickets that made them lose their sense of time.

The six of them finished their trip, and the only thing left on their itinerary was to catch a flight back to Kobe from the airport in Takamatsu.

The three-day, two-night trip to four countries has come to an end.

The greatest reward of traveling is creating memories.

The trip has only just ended, so it's not yet time to recount these events as memories.

But I'm sure I'll look back on this time again in the future.

Like when you inadvertently look up and see cherry blossom petals stuck to the ground, when you see a souvenir, or when you close your eyes and let your mind wander before going to sleep.

—This trip was very enjoyable.

To sum up this trip, it would be this one sentence.

I'm so happy to have them by my side.

Masumi thought they felt the same way.

The factors that constitute this feeling are so numerous that it would take a very long time to explain them all.

This is perhaps the essence of happiness; he has now grasped its outline.
-
Volume 11: The Blue Spring Breeze: The End

(End of this chapter)