Besides how happy he had just been after being intimate with Sayako, what made Hikari even happier was this.
Aunt Sayako was indeed mature and sensible. Not only had she seen through the fact that he wanted her and Miyuri to turn hostility into peace, she had even brought it up herself and said she agreed.
That made Hikari, who had been planning to use a war of words to persuade Sayako, breathe a huge sigh of relief.
Of course, since Sayako had agreed right away, Hikari's war of lips was still given to that mature widow auntie as a reward.
Thinking that through his own efforts, Aunt Sayako and Aunt Miyuri could make peace, and the three of them could join hands and hold a big party together, Hikari felt a little excited.
"But this thing is not urgent yet. Let's deal with that bastard Yoshizawa Eigen first."
Even though he was looking forward to it and Sayako had already agreed, Hikari did not plan to tell Miyuri for the time being.
After all, because of Yoshizawa Eigen and the deaths of Natsuki Akito and Natsuki Kazuto, Miyuri's mood had been very bad lately.
So even for the sake of Aunt Miyuri's feelings, Hikari would not bring up something like pulling her and Sayako together to have a party at a time like this.
Something like the three of them having a party together should wait until Yoshizawa Eigen was dealt with, and Miyuri could finally relax and return to her former cheerful self, before being seriously considered.
———
After leaving Sayako's izakaya, Hikari headed straight home.
As soon as he opened the front door, he saw a pretty figure in a maid outfit standing by the kitchen stove.
Hearing the door open, Arisa turned around. When she saw it was Hikari, she immediately smiled and said while cooking, "Hikari-kun is back. The food will be ready soon!"
"Okay, thanks for your hard work, Arisa," Hikari said with a smile and nodded at her.
Looking around the living room, Hikari found that the slightly yellowed floor from being unoccupied for a long time was now as white as snow, and the tables, chairs, and sofa were all spotless.
Obviously, this was all done by Arisa, who was currently staying at his place.
He was very satisfied with this. Arisa's virtue really made taking her in worthwhile.
"Let the meat stew a little longer and it will be ready. We can eat soon," Arisa walked over and said to Hikari with a smile.
"Okay, Arisa is really virtuous and capable," Hikari said with a grin as he patted her head.
"If I'm so capable, then… does Hikari-kun have any reward for Arisa?", Arisa put her hands in front of her full chest, blinking her big eyes as she looked sweetly at Hikari. Those beautiful eyes, as if filled with autumn water, shimmered with affection. Clearly, the reward she wanted would not be cheap.
It also would not be cheap. It would probably take several hundred million to satisfy her.
Hikari understood and pulled her soft body into his arms, kissing her first.
Arisa wrapped her arms around his neck and pecked him several times in return.
Just when Arisa slipped her hand into his shirt and was about to go further, Hikari raised his hand to stop her.
"Wait a bit, Arisa."
"Eh! Has Master gotten tired of his slave Arisa?", Arisa pressed her body against his chest and rubbed lightly, speaking in a pitiful tone.
Most of the expression on her face was coquettish, but a small part of it was real worry about whether Hikari had truly gotten tired of her.
Seeing through her thoughts, Hikari pinched her soft cheek and laughed, "I'm not tired. I just have some good news I want to tell you first."
"Eh? What is it?", Arisa immediately asked curiously.
Hikari smiled and took out several folders, handing them to her.
"I had someone arrange permanent residency documents for you. You can live in Japan forever now. You don't have to worry about being sent back to Russia."
"And I also have a property here, a standalone villa with a yard, pretty large, with all the paperwork in order. You just need to sign it and have it transferred to your name," Hikari said with a smile.
After hearing that, Arisa's eyes immediately widened in shock, "Wow! Hikari-kun, you are amazing!"
Before, Arisa had been able to stay in Japan because she was engaged to Suzumura Kenta, but that was only temporary. Long term residence was still not allowed.
In order to stay in Japan long term and always be by Hikari's side, Arisa had been thinking about how to solve this problem.
Even though she had already felt that Hikari was very reliable after he saved her several times, after all he was just a high school student by identity, so she had not thought of leaving such hard problems to him and had planned to solve them herself.
She never expected that Hikari would quietly solve her foreigner residency problem and even buy her a house.
This was way too reliable.
She already liked Hikari a lot, and now being shocked again, Arisa's beautiful eyes looking at him were practically melting.
"Hikari-kun, thank you so much. Master, Arisa loves you!", The extremely grateful Arisa was about to borrow several hundred million more from Hikari.
Seeing Arisa kneeling in front of him to express her thanks, her cherry lips slightly open in surprise as if coming to collect a debt, Hikari smiled and stroked her hair.
"Arisa, you are happy too early."
"Mm?", Arisa, who could not speak properly, looked up at Hikari with wide eyes, not understanding what he meant.
What did he mean by being happy too early. Did Hikari have to pay a lot to get her residency and house?
Just as Arisa was feeling very worried, Hikari smiled and said, "There is something even happier I have not told you yet. Besides your residency and house, I also had people at Ino Shrine arrange a shrine maiden certificate for you. From now on you can receive a monthly stipend, and with the certificate you can freely enter most areas of Ino Shrine without needing a goshuin."
"Really?", Hearing that, Arisa opened her mouth in shock again, and her throat almost got blocked, her eyes rolling back as she nearly gagged.
A goshuin was a credential needed when visiting temples in Japan. Hikari had applied for one for her when he took her to Ino Shrine before.
With a shrine maiden certificate, she would not need that anymore. As a shrine staff member, returning to the shrine would be like going home.
In Japan, being a full shrine maiden normally required passing exams, but Hikari used Jinno Sumire's connections to get Arisa a full shrine maiden qualification without exams.
And she did not even need to help at the shrine normally. She could just go when she wanted.
Being able to enter and leave the shrine freely was something Arisa, who was very interested in Japan culture, found extremely happy.
So she decided to thank Hikari even more.
Seeing Arisa, who had been busy, suddenly get up and leave, Hikari could not help asking, "Arisa, where are you going?"
Arisa wiped the corner of her mouth and turned back with a smile, "Hikari-kun helped me so much today, I have to thank you properly. Ordinary thanks are not enough. I'm going to do something new."
Watching Arisa walk into the room with a sweet smile, Hikari knew she was probably going to change outfits again to thank him.
Arisa herself loved all kinds of roleplay. Sometimes good roleplay really could raise the fun for both sides, so Hikari naturally did not object.
With belts and other stuff already tossed on the floor, Hikari sat quietly on the sofa and waited for several minutes.
Then the door suddenly opened. Arisa came out in a brand new outfit. Seeing her stunning and beautiful appearance, Hikari's eyes lit up.
"Didn't we already do shrine maiden play?"
He looked at Arisa, who was wearing shrine maiden clothes, a bit puzzled. He remembered she did not really like repeating roles.
Hearing him, Arisa smiled, "Hikari-kun, this is not shrine maiden clothes. This new set I bought is a shrine priest uniform."
"A shrine priest uniform?", Hikari froze slightly.
Looking more carefully, he saw that although the colors of Arisa's outfit were similar to shrine maiden clothes, the patterns and details were indeed a bit different, and it really did look somewhat like Jinno Sumire's priest uniform.
He had not noticed at first mainly because Arisa's temperament was more sweet and charming, very different from Sumire's dignified, holy, and composed aura, and she also lacked some accessories, so he had not recognized it right away.
"How is it, Hikari-kun? Does this shrine priest outfit look good?", Arisa came up to him, turned around, and asked with a smile.
Hearing her say she wanted to play a shrine priest, Hikari could not help laughing, "Arisa, all those documents and shrine maiden papers I got for you were only possible through that shrine priest at Ino Shrine. Are you sure you want to roleplay her?"
"Ah?", Arisa froze and hesitated, "So that's how it is. Playing cosplay of our benefactor does seem a bit bad."
Just as Arisa was struggling over whether to change into another outfit to please Hikari, she suddenly felt her waist being wrapped by his arms.
"Forget it. If you change again it will take a long time. Let's not waste time. Today this set is fine," Hikari suddenly said.
Feeling him already lifting her up with his holy sword, Arisa's pretty face flushed red. She raised her arms to hug his neck, "It is a bit troublesome. And Hikari-kun, you seem a bit… a bit excited?"
"Yeah, a bit. After all, Arisa, you really are very beautiful," Hikari smiled, lifting her small yet full body entirely up and holding her in midair.
Hikari did not have too many rules anyway. Since Arisa wanted to play a shrine priest, then so be it. He could also repay the favor this way. After all, he was someone who knew how to repay kindness.
———
The Jinno household—
Jinno Sumire had just finished her work at the shrine and returned from Ino Shrine. She was about to go change out of her heavy shrine priest uniform.
But not long after she entered, she suddenly stopped.
Because Jinno Takashi was walking over from the courtyard.
"Father," Jinno Sumire greeted him politely.
"Finished for the day, Sumire?", Jinno Takashi nodded in response.
"Yes," Jinno Sumire nodded slightly.
"While your career and the family business are important, you cannot neglect communication with your partner either. I know you value your work, but you also have to take care of the family," Jinno Takashi said in a lecturing tone.
"Yes, I understand," Jinno Sumire nodded.
"Hikari-kun may be a bit young, but as long as you are satisfied, that's what matters. And I think he is pretty good. He looks handsome and seems quite smart. His genes should not be bad," Jinno Takashi could not help adding a few more words, then continued.
"By the way, you are already engaged. These days you should invite him over for a meal. He is about to be your husband after all. It would not do for him to never come here or have a meal at home."
"This… okay. I will talk to Hikari-kun later and see what day he is free, then invite him over for a meal," Jinno Sumire did not dare refuse, afraid of revealing something.
"Better today than some other day. How about you invite him tonight," Jinno Takashi said with a smile.
"Alright, I will ask him," Jinno Sumire agreed again, worried Jinno Takashi might still be suspicious.
"Good," Satisfied, Jinno Takashi nodded and left.
Watching his back, Jinno Sumire sighed.
Being the head of the Jinno family, her old father was naturally not stupid.
She knew Jinno Takashi was very sharp and a bit suspicious. He probably still did not fully believe her relationship with Hikari was real.
And since she and Hikari were indeed in a fake couple relationship that could not stand scrutiny, she would not refuse these very reasonable requests from Jinno Takashi, so as not to arouse his suspicion.
Since they were engaged, inviting Hikari to the house for a meal to build closeness was perfectly normal.
So after returning to her room, Jinno Sumire took out her phone and called Hikari.
After dialing, it rang five or six times without being answered.
She waited patiently until it rang more than ten times before it was finally picked up.
["Hello, is it Aunt Sumire?",] Jinno Sumire heard Hikari's familiar voice, faintly mixed with some strange noises.
She did not think much of it and got straight to the point, "Yes, it's me. I have something I need to trouble you with. My father wants to invite you over for dinner tonight. Do you have time?"
["Well… mm… okay. Even though I ate a bit… a bit too much today, since Aunt Sumire needs it, I can come over again… slap! slap!… mm…"]
Jinno Sumire heard Hikari answering in a slightly broken way.
"Hikari-kun, are you busy over there? Why is it so noisy?", Jinno Sumire frowned slightly and asked.
["Yes, I am doing exchange training with shrine priests from other shrines, doing squat and hip bridge exercises together,"] Hikari answered honestly.
"I see… you have quite a wide network," Jinno Sumire said, even though she was a bit puzzled since she did not recall any other nearby shrines or priests. Still, she did not suspect anything and just responded.
["It's all fate,"] Hikari did not explain further.
"Then… Hikari-kun, try not to be late tonight," Jinno Sumire reminded him.
["Okay,"] Hikari replied in a slightly rougher voice.
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