I Am an Emperor in a World of Mixed Anime

Akira Higashino didn't put on any airs; he nodded gently in response to the young girl.

After speaking, she felt a soft bump against her body and a slight weight in her arms. It was Tiannv Muying who belatedly realized that her elder brother had once again sneaked home without saying goodbye. She hugged her elder brother tightly, as if to release all the longing she had felt after being separated from him for half a year.

Not far away, Amano Hina was still answering his questions and telling him about her experience since arriving here. Everyone had been very kind to her and treated her well. She expressed her gratitude, but her voice grew softer and softer. Faced with this situation, she was unsure if staying here would be a bit of a spoilsport, but leaving without a word would leave a bad impression on her benefactor.

Fortunately, Higashino Akira came to her rescue and prevented her from being put in a difficult position. After giving her a helpless smile, he gently waved his hand, indicating that she could go back and rest.

The other priestesses in the room also wisely left, giving the long-separated brother and sister the opportunity to be alone.

Once only Higashino Akira and Amamiya Akira were left in the room, the somewhat shy girl lifted her face from his chest, then put on a stern face and looked at him without saying a word.

The usually lively and cheerful girl is now making this expression.

Higashino Akira smiled and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Humph~"

The young girl, Aying, feigned anger and gave a soft snort, turning her face away.

"You're so unhappy that I'm back?" Higashino Akira raised an eyebrow. "Then should I leave?"

As soon as the words left her lips, Tiannv Muying became anxious. Forgetting about her little tantrum, she glared at her silly brother with a hint of resentment, pouted, and muttered angrily, "Brother, you still remember to come home. I'm so happy, but you didn't even tell me before you came back. You even arranged for so many girls to come over. I don't like that."

"Whose vinegar packet is this? It's so sour."

Akira Higashino chuckled and teased her, "Now that so many branch shrines have been built, we need to arrange for our own people to move in, right?"

"Most people come here for training, and after the training they will leave Omo dyeing and go to work in various places. For them, this is just a training institution, but for us, it is the home where we have lived since we were little. We will stay here forever."

As Higashino Akira spoke, the girl whimpered a few times and was easily soothed.

Actually, Tennyo-me Ei wasn't really angry; she just wanted to use this as an excuse to act cute with her older brother.

This is not in line with her usual personality and style of doing things.

Akira Higashino knew this too, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Who taught you all this?"

Upon hearing this, Amamiya Ei, true to her loyalty, did not betray her teammates and kept her mouth shut, refusing to say a word.

"Brother, please don't interrupt. Ying is talking about your problem right now."

What's wrong with me?

"Of course there is. With such a lovely younger sister and fiancée back in our hometown, you should cherish me more, brother."

"Don't give yourself any undeserved titles." Higashino Akira reached out and gently pinched the chubby cheeks of a man. "Besides, I often video call you, how am I not treasuring you?"

"Then cherish it even more, Onii-chan~~"

Her cheeks were pinched so hard that the girl's voice was somewhat muffled.

Upon hearing this, Higashino Akira released her hand, letting her off the hook, "Don't be so coquettish, it's cheesy."

"Yes, I want to. If I don't act cute, how will my elder brother know how much Ying feels for me?"

"But if you keep acting cute, our relationship will change, you idiot."

The two chatted and joked, in a relaxed and happy mood, with smiles on their faces.

In fact, Emi Tamamo has always been easily satisfied; rather, this is simply her true self.

On the contrary, there's not much need for her to act cute or anything like that. She's already very cute, and if she's any cuter, it would be too much.

At night, Higashino Akira lay in bed, scrolling through his phone, busy communicating with his girlfriends about their relationships, catching up on the company's latest developments, and handling official business online.

There were two knocks on the door, and then it was pulled open.

To Higashino Akira's astonished expression, Amamiya Akira, dressed in pajamas and clutching a pillow, stood energetically at the door, waving to him, "Good evening, brother~"

Before he could react, the girl had already taken two steps forward, entered the room, closed the door, and then ran to the bedside, lifted the quilt, and with a "whoosh," crawled in, happily nestled into her brother's arms.

Then, to avoid being kicked out, he simply closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.

Seeing this, Higashino Akira felt a little complicated.

In his eyes, Ying was still a child who hadn't fully grown up. He had watched her grow up since she was a child, and he even helped her buy sanitary products when she had her first period. Yet, she was already experiencing the first stirrings of love and trying to get close to him, openly and secretly, without any attempt to hide her feelings.

In a sense, he could empathize with the parents of the girls in his harem.

But that's the most dramatic part; the person who made him feel this way was himself.

So when will Ying finally understand that he can't be her brother, her father, and her lover all at the same time?

Once you truly accept her and can openly love her, but find that things aren't as you wish, you can't possess her completely, and you can't even go back to the previous relationship, will she regret it?

Moreover, even though he grew up with Akira, Higashino Akira still didn't want to get married.

She's been practicing her bridal training all along, and it's unlikely she'll ever get to wear a white kimono.

So, Akira kept waiting, thinking that maybe she would give up when she grew a little older, but in fact, Akira seemed to be getting more and more clingy and dependent on him.

On the bed, Tiannv Muying opened her eyes and met her brother's calm gaze. Suddenly, she spoke, "Ming."

You should call me elder brother.

The girl ignored him, continuing to stare intently at him, her small face earnest as she asked, "Will you come back next summer?"

Akira Higashino nodded, "The summer festival will be back."

Upon hearing this, Tiannv Muying shook her head, "Not at that time, it will be later, at the beginning of August."

"how?"

"After all, I'm seventeen now, and I'll soon be a full-fledged adult, right?"

Akira Higashino looked at her. "You want to go to university?"

Upon hearing this, the girl's eyes widened, and she looked somewhat unhappy and sullen. "If you keep doing this, I'm going to get upset."

"I can't even show you concern?"

“I know.” Tiannv Mei pressed her head against his chest again, “but I’m still unhappy.”

Everyone else can do it, so why do you have to keep waiting here and pretend you don't understand?

"Then I'll come back then."

A soft voice drifted slowly from beside me.

Upon hearing this, Tiannv Muying raised her head in disbelief, her eyes filled with surprise.

Meeting her burning gaze, Higashino Akira made a decision, "August 3rd, right? Although our family doesn't have a tradition of celebrating birthdays, coming-of-age ceremonies are different after all. I'll prepare a big cake for you then. Remember to tell me in advance what gift you want, otherwise I won't care if you feel disappointed after receiving something you're not satisfied with."

"Mmm!" Tiannv Muying smiled sweetly, her eyes curving into two little crescents. "Then it's a date!"

The contented girl fell asleep peacefully, knowing when she would get the result she wanted, so she was willing to look forward to that day and did not act recklessly at this time to try to go further.

Silent all night.

The next morning, after washing up and having a simple breakfast, Higashino Akira accompanied Amamiya Akira out the door, heading towards the graves of his mother and grandfather, whom he would never meet in this life, to clean and pay their respects.

Higashino Akira didn't say much. At a glance, he couldn't even see the souls of the old man and his mother. The two had long since let go of everything and disappeared into the world shortly after their deaths. There was no need for them to say anything to the two tombstones.

On the contrary, Ying, unaware of these things, enthusiastically told the two elders about the interesting things that had happened over the past year, shamelessly telling them to the tombstone that she had taken good care of her brother and that things would get even better in the future.

After hearing this, Akira Higashino couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Then, she was chased away by a woman, her face flushed with embarrassment and anger.

Then, he waited quietly as she turned back to whisper to the tombstone, seemingly about something private or something she was embarrassed to let him hear, occasionally glancing back to see if he was eavesdropping.

Of course, Higashino Akira didn't. After all, with his hearing, as long as he didn't deliberately ignore or control it, he was listening openly and honestly.

The content was nothing more than things like she would be with him, be a good wife, have children, and bring the baby to visit his parents.

Akira Higashino didn't dampen the girl's expectations, nor did he make any inappropriate remarks like saying that the old man's soul hadn't stayed in the world for very long and had left long after death.

I waited silently for Ying to finish her long chatter before we returned to the shrine together.

Back at the shrine, it was still before noon.

There was no need to talk about lunch.

Because the shrine was expanded this year and a large number of shrine maiden trainees were recruited, the girls were able to easily complete the preparations that would normally be made well in advance to deal with visitors' New Year's worship.

The progress is still hampered by the fact that many of the shrine maidens who were hired to receive training at the main branch of Yunmeng Shrine have gone home for the New Year.

After all, most of them are young girls, and they all have their own relatives. Their hometowns are scattered all over the country. They may not have time to go back during the year, but at the end of the year, they still have to go home to celebrate the New Year with their families.

Akira Higashino isn't that heartless; he would rather everyone stay with him during a time like this.

The shrine maidens who remain in the shrine now are mostly local girls from the surrounding villages, plus a few girls who are in similar situations to Amano Hina, who no longer have parents or elders, or who have a bad relationship with their families and do not want to go back.

On Amano Hina's side, her only relative is her younger brother, who has also been arranged to attend classes at Okumizome. Although he doesn't live inside the shrine, he has been provided with a staff dormitory in Okumizome, where he can eat and drink at the staff canteen every day at his sister's employee discount price.

In the courtyard, the girls, now with some free time, each found their own amusement.

It just so happens that there was a good snowfall last night. Although the snow in the front yard and on the mountain path has been cleared, there is still a lot of snow in the backyard.

Several girls worked together to build a snowman.

When Akane Amane returned, Kasugano Sora waved to her and asked if she wanted to have a snowball fight. Akane gave a loud affirmative answer, and Kasugano Sora happily ran over, took off her gloves, and started kneading snowballs to gather ammunition.

Higashino Akira sat under the eaves, holding a cup of hot tea, watching them laugh and play like an old man.

Suddenly, Tiannv Muying, who was chasing and playing around, stopped in her tracks, her figure halted, her eyes darted around, and she looked at her elder brother with a mischievous smile.

She turned around, waved to him, and invited him to come and play together.

Upon hearing this, Higashino Akira shook his head and refused. He was already an adult and wouldn't play such a childish game.

Seeing that her older brother wasn't going to fall into the trap, Tiannv Muying puffed out her cheeks and threw a snowball at him with a whoosh.

It was easily caught by Akira Higashino's outstretched hand.

"Don't be silly, it'll be bad if you knock over the tea set."

"Is my elder brother afraid?"

Akira Higashino smiled without saying a word.

Just as he was about to show off his technical skills, a snowball came flying from the side. He was holding a snowball in one hand and a teacup in the other. Since he was with a few young girls, he didn't need to use telekinesis or any superhuman reaction power. He was hit squarely.

The corners of his mouth, which had been smiling, suddenly drooped.

Turning his head, he saw Kasugano Sora, the little white-haired girl who had somehow slipped to his side and behind him.

Amidst the cheers of his friend Ying, the other person flashed him a V-sign with a sly, devilish smile.