"You don't have a foot fetish, but you're still going to hold it."
"..."
"Alright then, since you said so." Aiden could only reluctantly take hold of Chizuru's foot again.
But Chizuru was still dissatisfied, "Is that all? Didn't you promise to massage my feet? They're all clean now, not dirty anymore, so you don't have to be weird anymore."
"The problem is, I wasn't weird even when your feet were a bit dirty earlier!" Aiden muttered, then began gently massaging them for her.
And so...
"Mmm! Hn!"
Whimpers she completely couldn't suppress reached Aiden's ears.
"Chizuru, am I using too much force?" Aiden asked, already knowing the answer.
"N... no."
Chizuru said, her face red. Making such shameful sounds was something she never expected; it was entirely her body's natural reaction.
"Aiden... you, you can continue." Chizuru simply closed her eyes.
In this situation, Aiden could even do something else, not restricting his hands to just Chizuru's feet.
But Aiden didn't want to, for now, and just continued gently kneading.
So, Chizuru opened her eyes again and said in a low voice, "Aiden... if you really like them... you can... you can kiss my feet."
Hearing this, Aiden was a bit stunned. He blinked and shook his head firmly, "I don't want you to think I'm a pervert."
"I wouldn't think that at all."
"But you just said it."
"I forgot."
"Fine..." Aiden closed his mouth. Arguing with a woman about this wasn't his strong suit, nor was it necessary.
Seeing Aiden fall silent, Chizuru puffed out her cheeks and said, "If you don't want to kiss my feet, then can't you suggest something else? Like... kissing my..."
"Lips?" Aiden glanced at her, a smile in his eyes.
"That... wouldn't be impossible either." Chizuru lowered her head. "Actually, last time we kissed... I didn't really feel anything."
"Alright then."
As soon as he finished speaking, Aiden immediately let go of her foot, then grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle pull, bringing Chizuru right in front of him. He then continued, "Last time you took the initiative, this time it's my turn. How about that?"
"Okay..." Chizuru nodded lightly, then closed her eyes.
Looking at Chizuru, who wore an expression of complete surrender, Aiden didn't immediately kiss her. Instead, he reached out and gently stroked her flawless, smooth cheek, causing the eagerly waiting Chizuru's eyelashes to tremble.
Then, Aiden cupped her face and slowly leaned in...
———
Who knows how long it lasted, maybe five minutes, maybe ten, or maybe only a minute had passed.
Anyway, by the time their lips parted and Chizuru came back to her senses, her mind was still in a complete daze.
Dazed as she was, Chizuru still realized something. She pressed her lips together, then said softly, "Aiden... your hands..."
She could feel a pair of large hands pressing against her behind. At first, those hands had been cupping her face, but later they had slid all the way down and come to rest on one of the softest parts of her body.
Aiden unobtrusively withdrew his hands, coughed lightly, and said, "Sorry, I got a bit carried away."
That was certainly the truth. Just kissing alone would be rather boring, and his hands had to go somewhere...
But, the feeling was really quite good, even through a layer of fabric...
Straightening her disheveled skirt, Chizuru placed her hands on her knees, bowed her head, and said quietly, "Aiden, we should go back. Sister... is probably still waiting for you at the shrine office."
'No, she should be in my room right now.' Aiden thought to himself.
Then he froze for a moment, feeling a bit worried. He wondered if Maki had run into some trouble.
Seeing the look of concern on Aiden's face, Chizuru thought he was worried about her sister, so she proactively hugged him and said, "Sister is easy to coax. Just say some nice things to her."
'I hope so...' Aiden hugged Chizuru back and nodded. "I know."
Then, he lifted his head and kissed Chizuru's forehead, before pressing his forehead against hers and saying in a low voice, "I'll take you back."
"Carry me on your back!"
"Okay!"
———
He said he would carry Chizuru back on his back, but it ended up turning into a princess carry again. Anyway, compared to a piggyback, a princess carry seemed more suitable and more intimate.
Pushing open the door to the Kagura sisters' bedroom, Aiden took off his shoes and walked in. This was his first time entering the Kagura sisters' private room, he realized.
It looked like a very ordinary room, lacking the princess beds or dressing tables that might suit their status. Most of the furniture was wooden and showed its age, but this highlighted the Kagura family's aesthetic and heritage.
After saying goodbye to Chizuru, Aiden quickened his pace as he headed towards his own bedroom, silently praying to the Goddess of Luck in his heart. He hadn't believed before, but it was different now; a goddess was truly watching over him.
Before long, Aiden arrived at his room's doorway. He took a deep breath, then slowly opened the door a crack, peeking inside.
Then, Maki's cool voice sounded.
"Stop looking. She just left."
"Oh... Huh?"
Aiden immediately caught on.
But there was no use hiding it anymore, so Aiden simply opened the door and walked in, saying somewhat awkwardly, "You met her?"
"We even chatted for a while." The shrine maiden sat quietly on the sofa, her gaze exceptionally sharp. Clearly, she was very unhappy right now. She continued, "I never thought Aiden would also learn to keep a beauty in a golden house, and... even raise her at home."
Just from her tone, it was obvious that Maki was truly angry this time. fooling around outside was one thing, out of sight, out of mind, but hiding one at home was a completely different matter, especially since they had never noticed.
But...
Raise her at home?
That was a bit of an exaggeration. Nyotengu had lived here for many years.
Then again, Aiden remembered bringing Nyotengu snacks every night recently. Saying he was 'raising her at home' did seem somewhat fitting.
Scratching his head, Aiden walked towards Maki with a helpless expression. Just finished comforting the younger sister, now he had to comfort the older sister. His heart was a bit tired.
Sitting down right next to Maki, at such close distance, Aiden naturally caught the faint, elegant fragrance emanating from the shrine maiden.
It was very different from the scent her younger sister had. Then he looked more carefully; the shrine maiden had changed out of her shrine maiden attire into a pink kimono, clearly having changed just before coming.
'So... did she take a bath before coming here?'
His thoughts running wild, Aiden said, "Actually, she just comes over every night to chat with me for a while. Nothing has happened between us."
"Really?"
"Really." Aiden nodded emphatically. Generally, he rarely lied in such situations; he usually admitted things outright.
Then he turned his head to look at Maki, preparing to meet her eyes directly to show he wasn't lying.
But Maki just nodded lightly. "I believe you."
This made Aiden hold back the various explanations he had prepared.
Aiden scratched his head again, somewhat at a loss for what to say next, and Maki also fell silent.
The two of them sat quietly like this for a while. Then Aiden remembered Chizuru's words... ('Sister is a woman who is easy to coax.')
But how to coax her stumped Aiden. Besides, compared to the tsundere younger sister, the older sister was clearly more reserved and introverted. Unlike the younger sister, who, despite being tsundere and her pride, would still take some initiative.
So, after thinking for a moment, Aiden raised his hand and gently placed it on Maki's waist.
But just as he was about to apply some force to pull the shrine maiden closer, she suddenly leaned against him, quite naturally resting her head on his shoulder.
'Oh ho!'
Aiden was a bit shocked. The words he was about to say, following his action, were stuck in his throat again.
The shrine maiden simply wasn't following the script.
"Maki..."
A long time later, Aiden finally spoke, but he had only uttered the shrine maiden's name when he heard her say, "Don't speak. Let me lean against you quietly for a while."
"Oh!" Aiden was a bit disappointed. He had thought that after 'don't speak' would come the two words 'kiss me'.
However, considering the shrine maiden's reserved nature, Aiden thought that maybe Maki was too embarrassed to say it and was waiting for him to take the initiative.
So... after thinking again for a moment, Aiden shifted his position. He turned slightly sideways and looked down at Maki, using his hand to brush aside the long hair falling over the shrine maiden's eyes.
Then he saw the shrine maiden's eyes, full of anticipation.