I, the spiritual mentor of beautiful girls from all over the world

She gently touched Ren's shoulder and glanced meaningfully at Lynn not far away.

"Our little Shinobu has grown up. We agreed to fight side by side, but I feel like your sword was used to parry for Rin-kun quite a few times, instead of attacking the demons."

"elder sister!"

Shinobu's cheeks flushed red instantly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"What nonsense are you talking about! I was just... just ensuring the safety of the flank, it's a tactical necessity!"

Seeing her adorable, helpless expression, Lynn also came over. He looked at Shinobu Kocho, his dark eyes filled with genuine smiles and warmth.

"However, Ms. Kanae is right."

"On several occasions, it was indeed Miss Shinobu who blocked fatal attacks for me."

His voice paused, becoming exceptionally serious.

"Being protected like this makes me feel... really safe and secure."

……

The firelight from the forging village turned the sky blood red.

A demon born of hatred and joy drives a gigantic wooden dragon, roaring and wreaking havoc.

Shinobu's breathing was already disordered, and her lungs felt like they were on fire.

She saw the cruel smile on the demon's face.

And that monstrous claw that slammed down on her head, powerful enough to crush her into a pulp.

There's no escaping it...

She closed her eyes subconsciously.

However, the expected excruciating pain did not come.

Instead, a sword light appeared that was faster, more refined, and more dazzling than the one seen in the red-light district!

boom--!

The sword light was like a spear of the gods, directly piercing through and exploding the huge wooden dragon from head to tail!

Amidst the swirling sawdust, Lynn's figure descended like a divine warrior, landing steadily in front of her.

Looking at that broad and reliable back, Shinobu's mind went blank.

For some reason, a faint, almost imperceptible bitterness and sense of loss welled up in her heart.

Once upon a time, she stood in front of him, explaining the secrets of swordsmanship to him.

And now... he has become powerful enough to protect her from behind.

He... seemed to no longer need her "guidance" as much.

But that bittersweet feeling was quickly overwhelmed by another, stronger, burning emotion.

That is... pride.

It is the heartfelt, uncontrollable pride one feels when seeing one's most outstanding "student" finally shine with a brilliance that even one cannot match.

He has completed his apprenticeship.

……

Finally, the image freezes on the collapsed ruins of the Infinite City.

The dawn's light pierced through the dark clouds that had lingered for a thousand years.

The progenitor of demons, Muzan Kibutsuji, was finally and completely destroyed.

The two, severely injured and exhausted, sat back to back amidst the mess.

They won.

"It's over..."

Shinobu leaned against his broad back, feeling the reassuring warmth, and whispered.

She felt that this was enough.

Being able to fight alongside him to the very end, and being able to quietly feel each other's presence like this, is already the greatest blessing the gods have bestowed upon her.

But Lynn took her hand.

His palms were hot and firm.

"Tolerate."

He called her name softly, his voice trembling slightly.

"The battle is over."

"But our story... I hope it's only just beginning."

In Shinobu's incredulous gaze, he turned around and stared intently at her with eyes brighter than the morning light.

"I like you, Ren."

"I liked you from the first moment I saw you."

Please stay with me...

...

Two weeks later, their wedding was held at the Ubuyashiki family mansion.

The sun was shining brightly, and the wisteria blossoms filled the courtyard.

All the surviving pillars were present. Mr. Rengoku laughed heartily, while Mitsuri was already moved to tears, and her sister smiled gently beside her.

With everyone present as witnesses and offering their blessings, Lynn placed a veil on her head and made an eternal vow.

Shinobu Kocho felt that she was the happiest woman in the world.

...

Inside the bedroom of the new house.

She was still wearing her white kimono, sitting alone on the edge of the bed.

Lynn was sitting gently on the edge of the bed, looking at her with a smile.

Shinobu's heart was filled with the sweetness and shyness of her new marriage.

But this time, she didn't suppress herself.

In this absolutely safe world that belonged only to the two of them, all her "humanity," which had been suppressed by reality for three years, was completely released.

For the first time, she learned how to "act coquettishly".

She would give a shy kiss in response to a compliment from Lynn.

She would boldly sit on his lap, like a lazy kitten, seeking his doting caresses.

She would even, like a mischievous little devil who had just pulled off a prank, secretly leave her own "marks" on his neck while he pretended to take a nap.

Lynn responded to all of this with the gentlest indulgence and cooperation.

This indulgence made her increasingly bold, unrestrained, and arrogant.

Finally, in this sweet revelry that she herself led, she took that final step voluntarily.

She wanted to dedicate herself completely to her most perfect and beloved husband.

however--

At this most crucial moment.

Lynn stopped.

He simply smiled, gazing at her quietly with those gentle, almost drowning eyes.

He looked at her, his eyes conveying a range of emotions from shyness to confusion, and finally to a pleading, endearing expression.

But he simply refused to cooperate.

Shinobu Kocho is like a swallowtail butterfly caught between the strings of a harp.

Its toes dangled in the abyss beyond the moonlight's reach, its neck arched back like a crane's beak, ready to drink the rain.

The first snow that had accumulated in her lower abdomen for many years suddenly collapsed, and the meltwater washed away the paper sliding door called "restraint".

She trembled as she began to try to save herself—?

It's like a blind person finding a faulty fuse but unable to find pliers, so they have to use their teeth;

Like a drowning person grabbing onto a piece of driftwood covered in barbs, yet clinging even tighter;

It's more like a herb gatherer stung by a wild bee, knowing he shouldn't squeeze the wound, yet his fingernails dig deep into the flesh, drawing pus and blood.

At the same time, Lynn disappeared from the dream.

……

in reality.

The moonlight filtered through the gaps in the tent, illuminating the silhouette of Shinobu—?

The curled-up area resembles the crumpled pattern of a royal carriage, the tear stains congeal into two faded warp threads on the Hakata weave, and the tooth marks are like cherry juice falling after a snowfall, etching shallow ravines into the lip gloss.

Goodness, the mat needs washing!

He knew it was time.

It's time for this far too entertaining drama to come to its most real... curtain call.

He reached out and gently patted her cheek.

In a dream.

Just as Shinobu Kocho was about to be completely consumed by that endless shame—

She heard it.

A voice that didn't belong to this dream, a voice that was both playful and incredibly familiar.

"．々Wake up."

The sound was like a thunderclap.

The entire dream world, the courtyard filled with wisteria blossoms, the smiling faces adorned with blessings, the gentle sunlight and the wedding bed…

Like a shattered mirror, it exploded!

In reality, Shinobu Kocho, lying in bed, suddenly opened her eyes!

What she saw was someone sitting by the bed, smiling at her—

Lynn.

She was her real "teacher," dressed in modern loungewear.

That moment.

The dream and reality overlapped perfectly.

"Ah...ah...ahh ...

A mournful, off-key cry burst forth from the deepest part of her throat!

She curled up, futilely covering herself with her scattered clothes and blankets, her body trembling violently with fear and shame.

Lynn looked at her disheveled state and spoke in a very calm voice.

"You still know how to be shy?"

"It seems that the 'education' in the dream was not profound enough."

After he finished speaking, he gave her no further chance to repent or hide.

He reached out and personally pulled her out of that self-righteous abyss of "impurity".

He whispered in her ear in a voice filled with a wicked laugh that only the two of them could hear.

"The me in my dreams will not be embedded in the tenon joint between your foundation stones."

"It's ok."