Adding that skin so smooth it seemed it could break with a light touch, like a young girl, that delicate beautiful face, that full and graceful figure, she was still breathtakingly beautiful.
And honestly speaking, after seeing so much of Jinno Sumire in her dignified miko uniform, suddenly seeing her in miko robes now really gave a fresh and novel feeling.
Hikari couldn't be bothered pretending to be some gentleman. After walking up to her, he directly wrapped an arm around Jinno Sumire's slender waist that could be held in one hand, and without any politeness pulled her perfect soft body into his arms.
"Hikari-kun is really impatient…", Jinno Sumire covered her mouth and laughed softly. Feeling his wandering hands, there was shyness in her expression, but also a trace of pride she could hardly hide.
"Isn't this exactly the effect Aunt Sumire wanted?", Hikari said with a smile.
"Of course not. I just wanted to wear my old miko outfit for you to see. And you go straight to messing around with your aunt. Be careful, Auntie might accuse you of harassment," Jinno Sumire pretended to push his hand away, but in fact, intentionally or not, guided it even deeper.
"Aunt Sumire's mouth is always this stubborn. Let me see how long you can keep it that way."
Hikari didn't waste more words with her. After closing the hall doors, he directly picked her up by the waist and firmly sealed her lips that were still trying to protest.
———
Looking at the pretty and pure beautiful girl in the mirror, Jinno Ai nodded in satisfaction.
After letting Hikari rest for a while in the side hall, she had quickly returned to her own room to dress up.
After all, he had helped her with such a big matter. If she didn't show some gratitude, it really wouldn't make sense.
And he was about to leave the village soon. Even if she went to Tokyo for school later, it didn't mean they would meet often.
So before parting for the last time, Jinno Ai planned to meet him in her most beautiful state, so that in his memories she would be at her prettiest, better than those female classmates of his.
And after meeting, of course they could hug and kiss again. If the mood was good enough, going along with things halfway, letting it happen naturally, wasn't impossible either.
After all, she already liked Hikari. And it could count as repaying his help too.
Thinking of this, Jinno Ai's pretty face flushed slightly.
To dress up, she not only changed into a brand new off-shoulder miko outfit, she even took off her glasses and put on light makeup.
Compared to her usual intellectual vibe with glasses, today's Jinno Ai was truly a very pure and beautiful girl. Just looking at her, she was stunning.
Walking along the way, many mikos who greeted her stared blankly for a moment before reacting in surprise and greeting her.
"Hehe… Hikari-nii will definitely praise me~", Jinno Ai thought to herself, smiling.
Soon, she arrived at the side hall where Hikari was resting.
"Huh? Why is the door locked? Hikari-nii, open the door~"
She was about to push the door open, only to find it tightly locked, so she raised her hand and knocked lightly.
But after waiting several seconds, there was no response.
"Huh? Did Hikari-kun already leave?", Jinno Ai's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she pressed her ear against the door.
She had thought he had already left, but faint sounds seemed to come from inside.
"Hikari-kun? Hikari-nii, are you still inside?", Jinno Ai couldn't help calling again.
"I-is that Little Ai?", Hikari's responding voice finally came.
"It's me. Hikari-nii, are you feeling unwell?", Hearing his reply, Jinno Ai's delicate body trembled slightly, and she asked with concern in her voice.
"Uh… ah… y-yes, a little," Hikari responded again.
"I… I see. I originally wanted to play with Hikari-nii for a while. Since… since that's the case, then rest well. I… I'll go back first," There was a slight sob in Jinno Ai's voice.
Before leaving, she turned back for one last look, her eager gaze seeming to pass through the door and see the scene inside.
Inside the side hall, Hikari could also vaguely hear the disappointment in Jinno Ai's tone.
He could roughly guess what she had come for. But unfortunately, Jinno Sumire had already gotten there first and was already in the side hall. He could only let Jinno Ai leave disappointed.
"I should still comfort Little Ai later," Hearing the girl's slightly choked voice, Hikari thought about going to comfort her. After all, she was still just a sixteen-year-old girl.
But before he could move, Jinno Sumire, who had just rested for a bit, directly pounced on him again.
"What's there to comfort? You should comfort Auntie first!"
This mother used a thirty-seven-degree mouth to say such cold words.
Looking at Jinno Sumire pressing tightly on top of him, seeming as if two bull horns had grown on her head, Hikari curled his ten fingers, shaking with anger and cold.
And seeing Hikari pinned under her, Jinno Sumire smiled proudly.
Did she not understand her young daughter's thoughts?
'Trying to sneak around me under the light? Dream on!'
'Today I will thoroughly drain this bad guy who likes flirting everywhere and disregarding proper morals!'
'Ideals are beautiful, reality is cruel.'
———
Several hours later, the confident and proud miko finally admitted defeat.
She made a declaration of surrender toward Hikari, who was still charging toward victory.
Seeing Jinno Sumire surrender, Hikari didn't make things difficult for her anymore.
After all, she was still an elder. At times like this, he had to give some face.
After lingering affectionately for a while, they tidied up and prepared to leave.
But when Hikari was about to go, Jinno Sumire suddenly spoke.
"Hikari-kun, wait a moment…"
"Hm? Aunt Sumire, is there something else?", Fully dressed again, Hikari turned around and looked at Jinno Sumire, who was lying weakly on the couch.
Jinno Sumire forced her soft, powerless body upright and reminded him, "You're leaving soon, right? Be careful on the way back."
"I heard there have been ghosts causing trouble near the village recently. The demon-suppressing stones near several shrines have cracked. Even near Ino Shrine there are strange signs. So Hikari-kun, you must be careful."
Hearing her words, Hikari frowned slightly and nodded thoughtfully, "Mm, I'll be careful. Aunt Sumire, you all be careful too."
"Mm. Give me one more kiss before you go," Jinno Sumire's mature and beautiful face smiled as she coquettishly spoke to him.
"Better not. Even a tiger won't eat its own cub," Hikari said with a smile, shaking his head.
"Hm?", Jinno Sumire was puzzled for a moment, then her pretty face flushed red as she glared at him in embarrassment, "Say that again!"
"Just joking. Come, come, one kiss," Hikari smiled, wrapped his arms around her neck, and kissed her on the cheek.
Jinno Sumire beamed and kissed him on the forehead.
Then the two kissed for quite a while before reluctantly parting.
After saying goodbye to Jinno Sumire and leaving the village, Hikari didn't see any sign of Jinno Ai and didn't know where she had gone, so he left Ino Shrine.
———
After leaving Ino Shrine, he first went home and spent more than an hour properly saying goodbye to the foreign beauty Arisa.
Then he went to see Miyuri and Sayako and the other confidantes, making an appointment to definitely come see them again next week.
And while he wasn't around, Jinno Sumire would help look after things, so he didn't need to worry too much.
After finishing all the farewells, Hikari packed his luggage and prepared to leave Ino Village.
But at that moment, he suddenly received a phone call.
Taking out his phone, he saw it was from Miss Mira.
"Hello? Miss Mira, what's the matter?", Hikari said.
["School is about to start, isn't it? Why haven't you come home yet?",] Miss Mira asked.
"Weren't you the one who told me to come to the countryside back then? Why are you in such a hurry for me to go back now?", Hikari laughed.
["I told you to go, not to stay that long. And it's not that I miss you. It's Yuna and Nina. After your two sisters came home, they keep shouting every day that they want to see you. If I hadn't stopped them, they would've run to the countryside to look for you. So when are you coming back?"], Miss Mira said helplessly, rubbing her forehead.
"I'm about to head back now," Hikari replied.
["Good, come back quickly. Actually, Auntie misses you too, hehe~"], After playfully teasing him, Miss Mira hung up.
Feeling his ears go a little numb from her last sweet, coaxing tone, Hikari shook his head helplessly.
Putting away his phone, he picked up his luggage and walked toward the bus stop at the village entrance, preparing to take the bus back to the city.
When leaving Ino Shrine, Jinno Sumire had told him to be careful about strange things near the village. He hadn't paid much attention at first.
But on the way to the station, he indeed noticed something strange happening.
The bright sun and clear blue sky suddenly darkened in a very short time.
It felt as if he were walking on a barometer. The closer he got to the village entrance, the darker the sky became.
As he moved forward, the originally sunny weather suddenly turned gloomy.
A chilly wind suddenly blew past, making his cheeks feel cold.
And along with that slightly damp cool wind, rain naturally began to fall from the gloomy sky.
What started as light drizzle like goose feathers quickly intensified into a heavy downpour.
Holding up his umbrella, Hikari felt a little helpless. With his physique, he wasn't afraid of getting wet, and he had brought an umbrella.
But he was carrying luggage.
Getting soaked himself didn't matter. If his luggage got wet, that would be troublesome.
Thinking that the station ahead could provide shelter, he quickened his pace toward it.
———
Dark clouds pressed down over the city, as if it were about to collapse.
The gloomy sky seemed ready to fall. Apart from occasional flashes of lightning, there wasn't the slightest bit of light.
The sudden torrential rain densely struck the iron roof of the waiting station, producing bursts of crackling noise.
The bus stop, about the size of a regular one, didn't have many people inside. There was only one short-haired girl in a JK uniform waiting for the bus.
Her hair and the hem of her skirt were slightly damp, clearly because she had been caught a bit in the sudden rain before reaching the shelter.
Just as the girl gently squeezed water from her wet skirt hem, hurried footsteps and heavy breathing suddenly approached.
A figure rushed in from the pouring rain into the waiting area.
Hearing the movement, the girl quickly let go of her skirt and smoothed it with her hand.
Looking up, she saw it was a middle-aged man wearing glasses, slightly overweight, dressed in suit pants and a white shirt.
His bulging belly pushed the buttons of his white shirt high.
His pants, shirt, and hair were more than half soaked, obviously drenched by the rain, looking extremely disheveled.
This sudden middle-aged man was clearly also there to take shelter.
The girl, Aono Moriyama, who was also sheltering from the rain, moved slightly to give him some space.
Noticing someone inside, the disheveled man raised his head and smiled at her.
"Sorry to disturb you," the middle-aged man said awkwardly.
"It's okay. We're both soaked by the rain," Aono Moriyama replied politely with a smile, shaking her head.
"Mm," The middle-aged man shook water off himself and nodded.
"Um… if you don't mind, would you like to use this?", Aono Moriyama handed over a brand new handkerchief.
"Ah… yes, thank you so much!", The bespectacled middle-aged man took it with a surprised look, wiping his face and neck while bowing repeatedly in thanks.
"It's fine. Staying wet like that makes it easy to catch a cold," Aono Moriyama said with a smile.
"Ah… mm! Thank you very much!", the man thanked her again.
After a few polite exchanges, the two strangers didn't say anything more.
They each sat down and waited for the bus.
After waiting quite a while, the bespectacled man raised his wrist to check his watch and said irritably, "Has it already been half an hour? Still no bus?"
"Yes. This place is really remote. The bus doesn't come often," Aono Moriyama nodded.
Then she joked lightly, "After all, it's raining. And sometimes the driver even takes a nap at the roundabout."
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