Putting down their plates, Asuna and Kaguya glanced at each other simultaneously, seeing the shared amusement in each other's eyes, and spoke in unison:
"It was very delicious!"
Hayasaka, who had been silently enduring the cake with tears in her heart, sighed upon hearing these insincere compliments, suddenly feeling the cake in her mouth was no longer sweet but rather sour.
'Is this what they call 'couple-brand affection'? The stench of love's acidity?' She couldn't help but think.
Yusei, on the other hand, was oblivious. Hearing Asuna and Kaguya's praise, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good, I was worried you might not like it since it was my first time making cake. It seems our tastes are the same, we all like things sweet."
Asuna and Kaguya, who supposedly 'liked things sweet', exchanged another look, feeling utterly speechless.
'You call this 'liking things sweet'? You used way too much sugar!'
Having been tormented by Yusei's creation, Asuna got up and went to the kitchen to prepare a proper meal.
Yusei might be able to handle it, but the others were suffering. So, Asuna decided to make some other dishes to counteract the cloying sweetness.
After lunch, the sky outside remained pitch black, but the frequency of lightning and thunder had decreased significantly.
Clearly, the energy from Yusei's 'Lightning Arrow' was mostly depleted.
It was likely the sky would clear up once the energy dissipated completely.
However, from the morning shot until now, after they had finished lunch, the sky still held some lightning.
The prolonged duration of the thunderstorm showed just how powerful that single arrow had been.
Today, Tokyo, no, the entire Japan would not forget this bizarre scene. It resembled a divine thunder punishment. In any case, a world filled only with lightning was a terrifying sight.
Gensokyo, River below Youkai Mountain.
The Kappas were gathered curiously around a phone, watching a video and discussing in hushed, surprised tones.
At that moment, a frog happened to pass by. Seeing the gathered Kappas, it tilted its head, puzzled, let out a couple of 'ribbits', and hopped onto a rock behind them.
It curiously watched as the Kappas huddled around the phone screen.
The video content was the 'Lightning Arrow' video spreading like wildfire in the outside world.
Currently, two videos were particularly hot: one was the earlier video of Susanoo fighting when Yusei helped Hina, and the other was the Lightning Arrow shot into the sky from the university campus.
The Kappas were watching the latter.
Clearly, they were also curious and amazed. An arrow powerful enough to alter the sky… in their view, this level of strength was comparable to the Oni of Youkai Mountain.
The frog naturally saw this scene. When it saw the video of the lightning arrow, its eyes widened, and it began croaking urgently.
Then, it pushed off with its hind legs, leaping away and quickly heading up Youkai Mountain.
Moriya Shrine.
Suwako, who had returned to the shrine, was lying listlessly on the veranda, her cheek squished against the wooden floorboards, making her face look pudgy.
Just then, a frog came hopping from the distance and quickly arrived before Suwako.
Seeing the frog's anxious state, Suwako asked, "What's wrong?"
"Ribbit! Ribbit!" The frog croaked urgently, telling Suwako about what it had just heard and seen.
Previously, when Suwako shared her story, this frog had listened very carefully and intently, roughly understanding the description of the god Suwako mentioned.
Among the details, being skilled with a bow and lightning left a deep impression on the frog. So, when it saw that video, it immediately recalled Suwako's description.
That's why it hurried over to tell Suwako about its discovery.
Hearing this, Suwako didn't react much, clearly not believing the lightning arrow the frog described belonged to the god from her memories.
However, she still smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work. I understand."
Hearing her god's acknowledgment, the frog felt immensely honored and excited. It croaked a few more times, promising to continue its efforts, before hopping away.
Suwako's true form was that of a spirit frog. Although she had become a god, she never looked down on other frogs. On the contrary, she cared for them a great deal, which deeply moved the frogs, who were determined to protect their deity unto death.
The frog tribe wasn't just comprised of these few small ones, as there were larger ones too. Compared to some ordinary youkai tribes, the frog youkai were a considerable force.
Especially after Suwako, a god, came to Gensokyo, the frog tribe gained a voice throughout Youkai Mountain. No one dared to provoke them.
After all, standing behind them were two deities: Suwako Moriya and Yasaka Kanako.
After the frog left, Suwako continued lying on the floorboards like a salted fish… no, a salted frog.
After a good while, she sat up again and shouted towards the inside of the shrine, "Sanae! Help me with something!"
Soon, Sanae, in her Miko attire, ran to Suwako, "Suwako-sama, what do you need?"
"Go borrow that video-playing thing from the Kappas at the mountain foot for me. The one with the lightning arrow video they were just watching. Have them set it up for me, I don't know how to use these things."
"Okay, no problem!" Sanae agreed immediately and swiftly headed down the mountain to fulfill Suwako's request.
Additionally, she thought to herself, 'Suwako-sama, you might not know how to use it, but I do! I could have helped you.'
But things clearly didn't require her direct help.
By the time she reached the mountain foot, the group of Kappas were still watching the video, though they had likely replayed it countless times, they never seemed to tire of it.
The Kappas usually had little to do, so any bit of fun or surprising news from the outside world was prime gossip material for them.
The matter was settled smoothly. Hearing the request from the god, the Kappas immediately handed over a phone to Sanae.
They weren't short on such devices anyway, so giving one away casually helped maintain good relations.
One must understand, the combat ability of Kappas was extremely low, which was evident from their residence at the mountain's base.
Youkai Mountain itself was structured like a social hierarchy.
The Oni lived at the top, the Tengu in the middle, and various smaller youkai, including the Kappas, resided at the bottom.