As for the etiquette of Japanese tea ceremony, Aiden had never really studied it, so he wasn't very clear. But he had read quite a few harem light novels written by domestic authors, and in one of them, it seemed, there had been an introduction.
So, Aiden followed his faint memory, first turning the tea bowl in his hand three times, then really unable to think of what else came next.
But that was already enough. After cautiously glancing at Chizuru, Aiden slowly began to drink the tea.
However, he really wasn't used to matcha. If it had been clear tea, he might have been able to comment on one, two, or three points.
After finishing the tea inside the bowl, Aiden thought for a bit, recalling Chizuru had said this set was the best in their family, so he began to praise the tea bowl in his hand…
In truth, he had no knowledge of tea utensils, but he could bluff. Just saying things in a pleasant way would do.
So after rattling off a whole pile of compliments, even he himself barely understood what he was saying, Aiden finally returned the tea set.
At this moment, Chizuru's angry look had completely vanished, replaced instead with a face full of pride.
But after taking back the tea bowl, her mouth still very dissatisfied, she said, "Really now, you didn't even praise the right things. Forget it, this lady will just take what you said as making me very satisfied."
'She actually has a tsundere attribute…' Before her Big sister was killed, Chizuru should have been the happiest little sister in the world, she was protected far too well.
Aiden, without betraying anything in his expression, glanced at Chizuru, who was offering the second bowl of tea to her Big sister, thinking quietly in his heart.
At this time, Maki, who had gracefully finished her tea, returned the tea bowl to her younger sister, and then her gaze fell upon Aiden.
With a smile on her face, she asked, "Mr. Aiden, judging by your skill, you should be a martial artist, right?"
"More or less…" Aiden thought for a moment. Since he had already unlocked the martial artist profession, he nodded firmly, "You could say I'm a proper martial artist."
"Oh!" A look of satisfaction appeared on Maki's face. Martial artists had excellent physical qualities, the most likely to produce healthy offspring. The first hidden assessment had been passed.
"Then, how long do you plan to stay in Japan?" Maki continued to ask.
This was something normal to ask in conversation. Aiden had no suspicion, but as for how long he would stay, that depended on who else he encountered in the future.
However, judging from how many installments the KOF series had, if he wanted to go through all of them, it would probably take over ten years, unless he paused midway and exited, like in some other worlds.
"I should be staying for quite a long time." Aiden thought for a moment, then added a piece of nonsense, "At least I won't be leaving in the short term."
But that was enough. So Maki continued showing a satisfied smile, murmuring softly, "Then I can rest assured."
"Rest assured about what?" Maki's little murmur was heard by Aiden, who asked in puzzlement.
"From now on, I can be at ease inviting you over for tea! If Mr. Aiden were only staying for a few days before going back, then how could we continue expressing our thanks to you?" Maki said with a smile.
'Really?'
A woman's words cannot be trusted completely. Especially a beautiful woman's words.
Aiden fixed his gaze on Maki for a moment, but the other side only looked back at him with a smile. Neither in her eyes nor in her expression could he see through to anything.
"Then I'll thank you for that." After a while, Aiden waved his hand. "But Miss Maki, you don't have to be so formal. You don't need to keep addressing me with honorifics."
"Then Mr. Aiden also shouldn't add 'Miss' after Maki. Just call us Maki and Chizuru." Maki said, and then continued to think quietly… 'Of course, if later on he could call me "Big Sister" like Chizuru does, that would be even better.'
Thinking this, Maki's face bloomed into a radiant smile. Then she lifted up the tea that Chizuru had freshly brewed, took a sip, and continued speaking, "May I ask what kind of work Mr. Aiden's family does?"
Hearing this question, Aiden froze for a moment, then laughed and said, "Normally, when a woman inquires about a man's family situation, it usually means she's preparing to talk about marriage. Miss Maki, are you…"
"Ahem, no, no, it's nothing like that. I was just curious, that's all. This is my first time dealing with a foreigner." Maki coughed lightly, quickly explaining.
Then she thought to herself, 'I'm being far too hasty.'
And after saying this, Maki didn't know what else she ought to say. After all, they had only just met, and many things could not be spoken casually.
But saying nothing at all would make things feel awkward. So she turned her gaze toward her younger sister, hoping she would say something.
Only, though Chizuru looked as if she were sitting upright, her eyes were half-closed, and her head was nodding slightly forward.
"Oh no, she's getting sleepy at a time like this!" Maki felt a little desperate.
Her younger sister didn't have many hobbies, aside from riding her motorcycle, the rest was just sleeping. Out of twenty-four hours in a day, subtracting the nightly racing and three meals, the rest of the time could all be spent sleeping.
"Chizuru…"
Maki called softly, but Chizuru acted as if she hadn't heard, and her eyes looked as though they were about to close completely.
Maki drew in a deep breath, but still held back the urge to call her loudly. 'With a guest here, that would be far too rude.'
Thinking for a moment, Maki pushed the untouched refreshments a little toward Aiden and said, "Um, Mr. Aiden, please have some tea and enjoy some of the snacks…"
Aiden cast a sidelong glance at Chizuru, who was dozing off, then smiled and nodded. He picked up a piece of cake, eating while turning his gaze toward the window.
'Mr. Aiden, you really are giving me great face…'
Maki cast Aiden a grateful look, then slid her body a little closer to Chizuru, stretching out a finger to poke her sister's waist.
"Chizuru, wake up, you're being too rude like this." Maki whispered beside her sister.
Hearing her sister's voice, Chizuru finally woke a little, forcing her eyes open slightly, rubbing the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, and then saying, "Big sister, are you done talking?"
But seeing the look of dissatisfaction in Maki's eyes, she quickly added,
"Big sister, I wasn't secretly sleeping!"
Maki, "..."
Aiden, "Ahem!"
Drawing in another deep breath, Maki held back the urge to rap her sister's head, trying to make her tone as gentle as possible, but still grit her teeth and forced the words out through them, "Chizuru, tomorrow I will personally give you a lesson in etiquette. If you don't study properly, I'll use a folding fan to knock your head and smack you into a fool!"
But Maki's threats had no real force. She only liked street racing because her younger sister liked it. In truth, she was a gentle, calm woman in daily life.
So Chizuru showed not a trace of fear, she even muttered softly, "Being knocked into a fool is fine, then I could sleep all day every day… it's just that I wouldn't be able to ride my bike…"
"What did you say?" Maki was sitting right beside her younger sister, how could she not hear that muttering?
Normally good-tempered, she finally couldn't help herself. She raised both hands and… grabbed Chizuru's cheeks, pulling them hard to the sides.
Then a stream of scolding words burst from her mouth, "So you've grown up and your wings have hardened, huh? Do you still have me, your Big sister, in your eyes? Hm?"
"And today with a guest here, you actually dared to secretly fall asleep. Such a rude thing, and you could even do it! How will others speak of our family from now on…"
Although Maki wasn't actually using much force, Chizuru exaggeratedly cried out, "Ow ow ow… Big sister, there's an outsider watching, you seem to be being rude too…"
"Ah!" Hearing that, Maki froze instantly, mechanically turning her head toward Aiden, only to find that at some point, his gaze had already shifted over, his chin resting in his hand as he watched them with a smile.
"Ahem…" Maki quickly let go, coughed lightly twice, crossed her hands and placed them at her lower abdomen, restoring the image of a composed and elegant shrine maiden. Then, with an apologetic look, she bent slightly toward Aiden.
"Mr. Aiden, please forgive us for making you laugh. Actually...."
Aiden raised his hand, cutting her off, "Miss Maki, in truth, your sisterly bond is really enviable."
Hearing this, Maki's eyes lit up… 'Mr. Aiden, you really are so understanding.'
She then smiled brightly and said, "As long as Mr. Aiden doesn't think we were rude, that's fine."
"How could I?" Aiden also laughed, then added, "It's already very late. Seeing how Miss Chizuru looks, she must be very tired. So I'd better take my leave for now."
But Maki already found him very pleasing to the eye. Hearing him say he wanted to leave, she hurriedly said, "Mr. Aiden, stay a little longer. Chizuru isn't really tired…"
"Nonsense, I'm super sleepy right now, okay!" Chizuru tore the facade without giving her any face.
'If you don't speak, nobody will think you're mute…'
Maki glared at her younger sister, then changed her words, "Mr. Aiden, it's already very late. Driving back now would be inconvenient. Why don't you make do and stay here for the night?"
'As expected, no matter what world I go to, I shouldn't book a hotel room first. If I wait, there'll always be a place to stay…'
Aiden thought in his heart, but said aloud, "I've already booked a hotel room, and besides, wouldn't it be inconvenient for me to stay here?"
From the side, Chizuru folded her arms and nodded vigorously, "Good that you know it'd be inconvenient!"
"Chizuru…" Maki glared at her sister again.
Then, with a full smile, she looked at Aiden, "There's nothing inconvenient. We have plenty of places to stay here. Also, you can tell me which hotel you booked. I'll have someone go there to cancel it for you."
"No, no need!" Aiden waved his hands repeatedly. Although a beauty's invitation was very tempting, she was being overly polite, which made him feel uncomfortable, as if just speaking was exhausting.
'So witches really are better, not so much empty courtesy.'
But since Maki had already decided to make him her brother-in-law, she naturally wouldn't just let him leave. Who knew, if he left, maybe next time she wouldn't be able to find him.
So Maki said a whole pile of words to persuade him, even subtly shifting her body so as to block the doorway.
Seeing this, Aiden could only reluctantly agree. He then gave her the name of the hotel where he'd booked a room.
But hearing the hotel's name, Maki grew a little excited, "So it turns out we're fated! Mr. Aiden, the hotel you booked just happens to be one of the Kagura family's businesses. In that case, I don't even need to send someone over, I can just have a maid call the manager."
Saying this, Maki paused briefly, then continued, "Of course, if Mr. Aiden feels too embarrassed, you don't have to cancel the booking. Just treat it as payment for staying here. How about that?"
Since she had already said it this far, Aiden could only nod. But he remembered something.
"Um… I think I booked for a whole month…"
Maki immediately said, "Then Mr. Aiden can just stay here for a month."
Aiden, "..."
———
Once Aiden agreed to stay overnight, Maki immediately had her younger sister Chizuru take him to a bedroom in the courtyard beside the shrine office to rest, not even allowing the night-duty maids waiting outside to accompany him.
"Hey hey hey, this is the place you'll be sleeping from now on." Leading Aiden along a stone-paved path, Chizuru pointed at one of the rooms and said to him.
By the light, Aiden looked around at his living quarters while casually saying, "Miss Chizuru, I'm not called 'hey hey hey.' I do have a name."
"I'm not like my Big sister who calls a stranger she's just met with honorifics." Chizuru slightly tilted her head, her face full of reluctance.
"I'm not asking for honorifics. Just call me by my name." Aiden didn't care about her attitude. Right now, with Maki still alive, she was completely just a girl who hadn't grown up yet.
But speaking of it, if he kept Maki alive, then wouldn't Chizuru be able to keep her personality like this forever?
Thinking so, Aiden walked a few steps further, stopping in front of the bedroom Chizuru had prepared for him. His gaze drifted beyond the courtyard wall, looking toward the mountain forest behind it.
Somehow, he faintly thought he heard strange cries coming from deep in the forest.
Noticing his line of sight, Chizuru curled her lips and said, "I'll kindly give you a reminder, don't go into that forest just because of curiosity. That area is undeveloped, and after the shrine was built, our ancestors forbade anyone from entering."
"What, is it haunted in there?" Aiden withdrew his gaze and asked with curiosity.
"Not sure. Anyway, according to legends passed down from the family elders, there are ominous evil spirits in there." Chizuru thought for a moment and said.
"Evil spirits… If that's the case, aren't you afraid?" Aiden asked again.
"Please, this is a shrine! The place all evil spirits fear. How could we possibly be afraid?" Chizuru shot him a disdainful look.
Aiden let out an awkward "uh" sound, scratching his head. He really had forgotten he was inside a shrine.
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