I became the emperor in the comic book series.

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 we don't have a tradition of celebrating birthdays in our family, 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 take it a step further.

Nothing was said that 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 the deceased and the old man, to clean and pay their respects.

Akira Higashino didn't say much. Looking around, he couldn't even see the souls of his grandfather and mother. The two of them 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, and shamelessly told them to the tombstone that she had taken good care of her brother and that she would do 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 for her to turn back and whisper to the tombstone, seemingly saying something private or something she was embarrassed to let him hear, and 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 say anything inappropriate like that the old man's soul hadn't stayed in the world for very long and had left long after death.

He waited silently for Ying to finish her long chatter before they returned to the shrine together.

Back at the shrine, it was not yet noon.

There was no lunch to speak of.

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 have been made well in advance for New Year's visits by visitors.

The progress is still hampered by the fact that many of the shrine maidens who applied for training at the main branch of Unmu Shrine have gone home for the New Year.

After all, most of them are young girls. They all have their own relatives and hometowns all over the country. They don't 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 wasn't so heartless as to expect everyone to 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.

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

In the courtyard, the girls, having 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 quite a bit 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 play in the snow. Akane gave a loud affirmative answer, and Kasugano Sora happily ran over, took off her gloves, and kneaded snowballs to collect 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 eyes darting around before she looked at her elder brother with a mischievous grin.

She turned around and waved to him, inviting him to join her.

Higashino Akira shook his head and refused. He was a grown man and wouldn't play such a childish game.

Seeing that her older brother wouldn't 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.

"Stop fooling around, 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 put on a show of skill, 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.

Seeing this, Higashino Akira silently put down his teacup.

"I'm telling you, you can't outrun me, do you believe me?"

.........

.........

P.S.: Two in one.

Chapter 276 Love is War!

"Then come here! Anyone can sit there like an old man and spout nonsense!"

Upon seeing the man she admired, she recalled how all her efforts had been in vain for someone else's sake. Kasugano Sora, feeling somewhat resentful of her own lack of ambition, reached out and made a show of grabbing at Higashino Akira twice in a defiant manner.

"Miscellaneous fish"

Playful Emi, her spirits high, grinned and approached her older brother, sticking out her tongue and making a face, "You little rascal~ You little rascal~"

However, this idiot probably didn't control the distance well.

One of them, amused and exasperated, reached out and grabbed the imposter little brat, arresting her on the spot.

I originally wanted to take Kasugano Sora down with me as well.

However, this guy was much more agile than his own silly and cute friend, and immediately ran away to create distance.

"Eh~!?"

No! Aren't we teammates?

Why did he abandon his teammates and run away alone?

Tiannv Muying opened her mouth in a daze, her smile instantly freezing and turning into an awkward, almost tearful laugh as she looked longingly at her older brother.

"Unnie-chan~", the girl Aying said in a tearful voice, apologizing that she was wrong and trying to awaken her brother's love for his sister.

However, Akira Higashino was not buying it at all.

Girl, you don't just know you're wrong, you know you're going to be a rat!

He grinned wickedly, picked up the snowball that the foolish little devil had just thrown at him, and held it in front of him.

"A special treat for royalty, please feel free to sample!"

The mighty Emperor of Yunmeng chuckled wickedly, ignoring his younger sister's pleas for mercy, and pressed the snowball directly onto her little face. Hearing her screams, his laughter became even more innocent.

Just then, another snowball came flying from afar, but Higashino Akira didn't even look up and easily caught it with his free hand.

Then came the second, the third... and more and more.

Although the snowballs weren't thrown very accurately, there were a lot of them.

To avoid being attacked, Higashino Akira had to let go of the idiot Akira and use his free hand to catch the second and third ones. When he couldn't catch them anymore, he had to start dodging and weaving.

"Ying, run!"

Come over here!

From afar, Kasugano Sora's voice drifted over.

It turns out she didn't abandon her teammates and run away alone, but instead went to find her own ammunition reserves to save the country indirectly.

Upon hearing Qiong's voice, Tiannv Muying was deeply moved and felt ashamed that she had questioned Qiong earlier. Qiong truly deserved to be her best friend for life!

After realizing what had happened, Tiannv Muying slapped her face a few times to wipe away the snowflakes, spat out a few mouthfuls of snow, and then quickly fled.

They ran towards the distance to meet up with Qiong, and then the two sisters laughed and unleashed their firepower on their older brother.

Akira Higashino was not one to be easily bullied, and he decisively fought back!

While dodging, she threw the snowball she had just caught back at Kasugano Sora, which hit her hard in the face with a thud, causing the girl's head to tilt back slightly and her body to sway twice, almost falling over.

As a true gentleman, Akira Higashino doesn't prioritize women. Instead, he treats everyone who chooses to be his enemy equally, regardless of age, gender, or race, and never discriminates against anyone when retaliating.

He was too lazy to even make snowballs. While dodging, he caught the snowballs that Qiong and Ying threw at him and threw them back at their faces.

He had no guns or cannons, so the enemy made them for him.

One snowball knocks down a cherry blossom girl!

Although his counterattack frequency was low, his accuracy and attack power were far superior to those of the two young girls.

Someone even maliciously controlled the frequency of attacks, deliberately hitting one and then giving her a short time to recover before turning their fire on the other, keeping these two idiots neither down nor winning, as if they could turn the tables with a little effort, taking turns being beaten without getting discouraged.

By the time their faces were almost completely red from being slapped by snowballs, their attacks had barely touched Higashino Akira. The two girls belatedly realized something was wrong, but it was too late; they had already taken their full share of damage.

Amidst the other priestesses' snickers and covered-the-mouth expressions, the two fools stubbornly refused to continue fighting, pouting and begging to surrender.

The more arrogant they were when they called themselves "miscellaneous fish," the sweeter they are now when they call them "Ni-chan~."

During dinner, Kasugano Sora, who was in worse health, showed no abnormalities. However, Ei, who was always full of energy, suddenly reached out and covered her face with her hand, and sneezed lightly.

This earned him a good laugh from his girlfriends.

"She actually sneezed! Ying is such a wimp!"

Upon hearing this, Tiannv Muying puffed out her cheeks and looked at Qiong, "I didn't! I was clearly stimulated by the aroma of the food."

Just a few snowballs.

In previous years, she would still wear her shrine maiden outfit to sweep the stone steps leading up the mountain and clear the snow from the shrine even in winter, and nothing would happen to her.

Even Qiong, who used to be in poor health and frequently hospitalized, and now needs to go to the hospital for regular check-ups, is fine. How could she possibly be sick?

Young girl Ah Ying has complete confidence in her body.

After all, she had been diligently training herself in order to become her brother's wife and a healthy and excellent mother in the future.

She's completely different from the frail and delicate Sora!

Before going to bed that night, Ying thoughtfully found out some cold medicine and gave one to each of the shrine maidens who had gone out to play in the snow and build snowmen that day. It was to treat illnesses if they were sick and to prevent illnesses if they weren't, just in case.

The next day, holding a person who felt like a warm baby, Higashino Akira slowly woke up and sighed helplessly as he looked at Akira, who had once again crawled into his bed.

I told her to have some too, and to drink some cold medicine, but she insisted on showing off, saying she wanted to prove to herself how healthy she was.

As it turned out, he still hadn't woken up by then. His eyes were closed, his face looked uncomfortable, and his cheeks were flushed. He definitely had a cold.

The rule that idiots don't get sick isn't always accurate.

Of course, it's also possible that the anime's art style isn't funny enough, so the girl's physique isn't much different from that of a normal human, and she doesn't benefit from these special characteristics.

He found some cold medicine and coaxed and tricked Ying into taking it. He comforted her for a while, told her to be good and rest well, and then Higashino Akira left the bedroom.

Ying, who rarely gets sick, suddenly caught a cold and became unexpectedly ill, feeling unwell for several days.

It took two or three days for the headache and hoarseness to gradually subside, but the feeling of weakness and fatigue still lingered, and everyone took turns taking care of her whenever they had a spare moment.

I completely missed the shrine's busiest time of year, when it receives visitors during the New Year celebrations.

The second day of the New Year.

The number of visitors to the shrine has decreased by more than half compared to yesterday.

After dealing with the Miyauchi-senpai and her friends and students who came to visit the temple just like last year in the front courtyard, exchanging pleasantries for a while, and watching them leave, Higashino Akira returned to the room with a somewhat subtle expression.

He just seemed to have been hit on by a strange country girl?

And then there's Guanghua, who keeps subtly inquiring about the salary and benefits of working as a shrine maiden at his family's shrine, implying that he wants to freeload after graduating.

Although it doesn't really matter, he's still a student who can go to university. If he's so unambitious, it's really embarrassing in front of his younger sister.

Akira Higashino never told Akira that he had once wanted to become a Japanese tax thief.

In the shrine's reception room, a handsome, slender white-haired boy sat facing his younger sister, seemingly reminiscing, though his expression appeared somewhat awkward.

Upon seeing the owner of the shrine approach, the boy politely stood up and greeted him.

"Long time no see, Brother Higashino."