Chapter 503: 175. I am Suzuhiko. _3
"Ah~"
Snow Treasure’s mouth curved into a stiff smile.
Though it was still awkward and a bit dimwitted, she did indeed smile.
Two little hands wrapped in frost reached forward, and Mrs. Kasahara took her with a full-face smile, hugging her icy body.
"Fujiwara!"
"What?"
"Did you see her smile?"
Mrs. Kasahara now wore a look of delight, as if she had just seen her daughter learn to walk.
"I saw it." Fujiwara Reya was a bit excited too.
Ever since he was with Yukino Ritsuko, it seemed like Snow Treasure suddenly gained the ability to learn from her and was becoming more like a second silly girl.
"Let’s go eat something in the front." Mrs. Kasahara walked forward, holding her.
That’s my Shikigami... Fujiwara Reya muttered, following behind.
Being held by Mrs. Kasahara, Snow Treasure appeared very obedient while those curious blue eyes constantly darted between her and her master behind, seemingly wanting to know why her master listened to her so much.
Also...
Why hasn’t Sister Riho come back yet?
Snow Treasure missed Sister Riho.
Fine rain was falling silently, white mist drifting between the eaves.
Walking within it felt like an enchanting stroll in a fairyland, much like the shrine’s courtyard in front of the worship hall.
Mrs. Kasahara paused suddenly as she walked.
At the corner of the corridor, on the small bridge over the man-made lake in the garden, there stood a faintly visible white figure. She wore a richly adorned short coat and a long white skirt, all dressed in pure white. In the breeze, she seemed to sway unsteadily.
Strange!
Why was there a strange woman at her son-in-law’s house!
Mrs. Kasahara squinted her eyes, full of suspicion.
It was a woman who appeared to be around thirty, with black hair and snow-white skin.
Through the misty fine rain, the woman stared unblinkingly at Fujiwara Reya, her thin lips slightly parted: "Master, the Bridge Princess is hungry..."
This was the Bridge Princess.
Since ancient times, Japanese people believed that each bridge had a goddess to guard it, so the Bridge Princess was a deified monster, a combination of Japanese water demons and water gods. But people’s thoughts and what monsters did were two different things.
Even being honored as a guardian deity, occurrences of various Bridge Princesses eating and killing people were not uncommon at all.
"Fujiwara Reya!" Mrs. Kasahara shouted the name of a certain lousy guy.
The Snow Woman also raised her head, looking mournfully at her philandering master.
"That’s a Shikigami..." Fujiwara Reya immediately developed a headache.
"I know!"
"Then why are you angry..."
Mrs. Kasahara turned back, her eyebrows raised in a glare at him: "Why is it always pretty female Shikigami!"
Because the unpretty ones I fed... Fujiwara Reya cautiously offered a smile, explaining: "Uh... maybe you could understand it as me being naturally attractive to some beautiful monsters?"
"Haha."
Mrs. Kasahara’s smile was quite terrifying.
At that moment, the surface of the man-made lake was suddenly rippled, and a figure appeared on what was originally a mirror-smooth lake surface.
An approximately twenty-year-old woman in a vibrant kimono suddenly floated on the water’s surface. Her cheeks were rosy as if lightly powdered, with her plump lips and fair neck partially veiled in the rainy mist, exuding an alluring charm.
"Fujiwara Reya!"
Mrs. Kasahara put Snow Treasure down and clenched her fist. Snow Treasure imitated her and clenched her fist as well.
"Calm down, calm down!" Fujiwara Reya quickly leaped back a step, explaining, "She’s also a Shikigami, she’s the Mirror Princess, just a mirror... why are you upset about a mirror."
Mirror Princess.
An enchantress born from a mirror, essentially a type of Fusang God. A mirror that gives birth to a Mirror Princess becomes a precious Spiritual Artifact, able to reflect images from afar and the forms of monsters.
"Are there more?" Mrs. Kasahara had blue light flickering at her fingertips.
She made up her mind that if there was one more pretty female Shikigami, she would beat up Fujiwara Reya today.
Of course, there are more... Fujiwara Reya broke into a cold sweat, gave a fake cough, grabbed her hands, and pulled her forward while explaining chatteringly, "Rest assured. Even if there are more female Shikigami, none of them are more important to me than a single finger of the president. You know me, my greatest virtue is honesty... so could you dispel the divine power?"
I’m doomed!
Fujiwara Reya kept praying internally.
He had saved up ten draws last time, which he used last night.
There were three pretty female Shikigami he had left, one was the Bridge Princess, the other was the Mirror Princess... and the third was the only SSR he had drawn up to now.
Mrs. Kasahara gave a creepy smile.
Just then, the rain turned into mist, and on the eaves before the worship hall, there was a gracefully standing woman.
In a fiery red kimono, her untied hair and the way she danced barefoot gave a sense of freedom and raw beauty. She held a rattle bell, dancing in the mist, her ink-black hair swaying along. The clear bell tones came from the Shinra Bell in her hands, and as she danced, she gently smiled at Fujiwara Reya, her laughter more melodious than the bell’s chime.
"Ah, Lord Fujiwara." She softly called Fujiwara Reya’s name.
Fujiwara Reya felt overwhelmed.
"Well now." Mrs. Kasahara observed this woman with interest.
With a delicate long face and unnaturally pale skin, that nearly transparent complexion seemed to be condensed from the enveloping mist.
"She’s not human, right?" Mrs. Kasahara asked with a smile.
That smile was definitely the most terrifying one Fujiwara Reya had ever seen.
The dancing Shikigami suddenly pursed her thin lips and gave a faint smile.
However, in the next second, she directed a sharp gaze at Mrs. Kasahara: "Who are you? Why are you walking with Master? Are you my sister as well? Hehe, I don’t like your look, please leave Master."
No wonder she’s an SSR!
Fujiwara Reya couldn’t help but applaud.
Unlike those silly SR Shikigami, this SSR had only been summoned for less than a day and already knew how to steal a man... ahem, steal her master.
"You seem familiar." Mrs. Kasahara asked, staring, "The dance of Shinra Bell and Kagura is seamlessly coordinated, not demonic at all... rather, it has a divine quality. Who exactly are you?"
"Hehe~"
She resumed her dance.
This time, the Shinra Bell rang very rapidly, with the bell’s clang filling the air. The wind grew stronger, rustling through the courtyard, making it hard to open one’s eyes.
"I am Suzuhiko."
Mrs. Kasahara suddenly understood.
If the Bridge Princess was a monster deified by humans, then to humans, Suzuhiko was truly a god.
In the tales of Takamagahara, there was such a humorous incident: One of the three noble offspring, Susano’o, Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi’s brother, once caused a ruckus in Takamagahara. Amaterasu, due to her status, couldn’t personally deal with him, so she hid in the Ama no Iwato. Amaterasu was the Sun Goddess; her hiding led the human world and Takamagahara into darkness. To lure Amaterasu out, the gods of Takamagahara tried everything, eventually having a goddess named "Ame no Uji" dance on an upside-down bucket holding leaves. The curious Amaterasu, unable to resist, peeked out and was successfully invited out of Ama no Iwato by the waiting gods.
Amaterasu returned, and light was restored to heaven and earth.
This goddess named "Ame no Uji" became world-renowned for her beautiful and enchanting dance, and the modern "Kagura dance" performed by shrine maidens during festivals was derived from the dance she performed before Ama no Iwato.
And Suzuhiko, was a monster born from the combination of Ame no Uji and the Shinra Bell, a type of monster born with divine power. Only one Suzuhiko could exist in the world at any given time, a second one only appeared after the first’s death.
Mrs. Kasahara gazed wistfully at Suzuhiko: "Mr. Fujiwara, have you thought about how you’re going to die?"
"..."
Fujiwara Reya blinked innocently.
As someone with notoriously bad luck at drawing cards, it wasn’t easy for him to pull an SSR, so why should he face a death threat?
"Rin, Pyo, To..." Mrs. Kasahara chanted softly, her white fingertips forming hand seals.
In the swirling blue light, she appeared solemn and holy, like a goddess about to enact a righteous punishment.
"Stop being stubborn!"
Fujiwara Reya, quick in action, immediately bent down to scoop up her legs and carried her toward the worship hall.
He often used this trick to deal with Mrs. Miki, but it was the first time he used it on Mrs. Kasahara. However, seeing the dissipating anger in Mrs. Kasahara’s eyes, Fujiwara Reya thought, maybe this trick... could be used more often?