The next morning, Shido opened his eyes.
Facing the sowhat unfamiliar room, the newly awakened Shido stayed dazed for a short while before finally rembering that this was Mikoto's house.
After leaving the room and washing up, Shido heard the sound of water coming from the courtyard.
[Who is it?]
Why would soone be in the courtyard so early in the morning?
With that question in mind, Shido walked along the veranda and ca to the garden.
There, what entered his eyes was Mikoto, dressed in a white kimono.
The girl was kneeling beside the pond in the courtyard, using a wooden bucket to pour water down over her head.
Under the morning sunlight, clear drops of water slid down Mikoto's ink black hair and snow white skin. Again and again, the girl washed her body with water in a sacred and pure manner.
She was only wearing a single white robe. The wet clothing clung tightly to her body, drawing out the tempting curves of her figure. Her skin could be seen faintly through the water-soaked cloth that had turned almost transparent, and water dripped from the tips of her dark hair. It should have been a beautiful scene that stirred endless imagination, like a young girl fresh from the bath. (TL:that one iris's shot in fire force ed 1)
And yet, it did not stir any desire in Shido at all.
If he had to say why, it was because the air around Mikoto right now was far too clean.
It was a pure kind of beauty.
The beauty of a miko.
[!!!]
Just as Shido was unable to look away because of the girl's beauty, Mikoto raised her head.
And so, their eyes t.
"Yah!"
Mikoto, who had never expected Shido to be standing there, let out a small cry.
She covered her chest with both arms.
"S-Senpai, why are you bathing here?"
Shido said in a panic.
Mikoto's house had a bathroom. In other words, there was absolutely no need for her to co all the way to the pond to do sothing like this.
"I-I'm not bathing. This is a purification rite called mizugori1. It is a ritual where miko cleanse their body and mind."
The pond in the courtyard was similar in purpose to the shrine's chouzuya1. Both were ways to cleanse oneself before worshiping or serving the gods.
"H-how long are you going to keep looking? Turn around quickly, Shido."
Perhaps because she had not been ntally prepared, being seen by Shido in her wet state after finishing purification made Mikoto feel far more embarrassed than bathing together in the hot spring before.
Her cheeks were flushed, and she puffed up in anger as she spoke to Shido.
"S-sorry!"
In the end, Shido fled from the courtyard as fast as he could.
Before long, Mikoto finished her purification and ca into the room.
"Now then, before we start with makeup, let's try on so different clothes first, Shiori-chan."
The girl took out a light and fluttery one piece dress and said that with a wicked smile.
"Uu…"
Perhaps because he had received a lucky scene earlier, Shido felt guilty and could not refute her at all.
And so…
From a pure white one piece dress, to hot pants and a tiny camisole, and then to a maid outfit that could basically be called cosplay, Mikoto happily changed Shido from one outfit to another as if playing a dress up ga.
As a side note, all of these had been brought from Fraxinus in order to help Shido get used to won's clothing.
"Um… Senpai, for today, isn't the school uniform enough?"
"Yes, it is."
"Then there's no need to try on this many outfits, right?"
"Ahaha, you noticed?"
Mikoto smiled brightly while pressing the shutter button on her phone.
"So hurry up and prepare yourself! I'm going to take pictures of Senpai doing mizugori in that white robe too."
After confirming that this was actually Mikoto's prank, Shiori-chan stood up angrily and tried to snatch the phone from Mikoto's hand.
"No way. That would be too embarrassing."
"I'm embarrassed too!"
And so, the two of them began chasing each other around the room.
After playing around for a short while, Mikoto began teaching Shido how to do makeup.
"First, you have to clean your skin properly. You also need to moisturize… Since the weather is hot, to make the makeup last longer, it's best to use a hydrating face mask first."
Starting from the most basic steps…
"…Mm, next is foundation. Yes, just like that…"
Then, gradually, Shido felt that the person in the mirror was looking more and more like a cute girl.
"Ah… Shido, this part isn't quite right. Let do it."
Mikoto, who was teaching Shido while also putting light makeup on herself, finished applying her own lip balm. Then, after looking at Shido, who was clumsily trying to handle things, she smiled kindly.
Because the lip balm they were using was exactly the sa, Mikoto simply used the one in her hand to lightly apply it to Shido's lips.
[!!!]
Thinking that the lip balm now moving over his lips had been touching Mikoto's lips only a few seconds earlier, Shido could not help widening his eyes.
Like an indirect kiss, the tip of the lip balm seed to still carry the girl's warmth.
That overly sweet and suggestive feeling made Shido's cheeks turn bright red.
Today was September 9th, Saturday.
After helping the cute Shiori-chan finish her makeup, the two left the shrine.
Even though they did not need to go to school, Mikoto and Shido were still wearing school uniforms.
As for why, it was because today was the day of the joint eting between schools for the Tengu Festival. The eting location was last year's first place winner, the private Rindouji Girls's Academy.
"Um… is this really okay?"
Shido walked awkwardly while occasionally trying to pull his short skirt down a little more.
It seed he was very unused to the cool feeling around his lower body.
"It's fine, it's fine. I'll be by Shido's side the whole ti. Also, I already inford the school that Shido's cousin, Itsuka Shiori, is serving as an executive committee mber in place of her sick cousin. So even if you regret it now… it's too late."
Mikoto answered with a smiling face.
"Auu…"
Shiori, feeling as if she had boarded a pirate ship, could only tug at her skirt again.
After passing through a tall stone wall, a grand school gate made of red bricks entered their view. A lattice fence stretched to both sides, and lush green branches poked through the gaps.
Entering the gate, a red brick road extended straight ahead, leading toward a school building as grand as a castle.
Because of club activities and the Tengu Festival, there were still many students around even though it was the weekend.
Private Rindouji Girls's Academy.
It was one of Tengu City's top schools, attended by many daughters of famous and wealthy families.
The two arrived at eting Room Two, where quite a few students were already seated.
Not long after, a group of girls wearing Rindouji uniforms entered the room.
Like maids serving a princess, they stood in two neat rows and lowered their heads obediently.
Then, a girl with the air of a queen walked in.
[!!!]
Mikoto and Shido widened their eyes at the sa ti.
Fine violet hair.
Silver, shining eyes.
Without a doubt, the person who walked into the room was the Spirit they had t just last night.
Izayoi Miku.
is a traditional Japanese ritual of pouring cold water over one's body to purify the mind and spirit.
a traditional water ablution pavilion found at the entrance of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan. Worshippers visit these pavilions to perform a ritual cleansing of their hands and mouth to purify their body and mind before approaching the sacred grounds
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