4 Chapter 4 Miss Fox's secret to longevity

　　Kiyonoya Raimei lifted his sleeve and sniffed it,detecting a faint tobacco smell.

　　Should be no problem,right?

　　He frowned.

　　His eye color changed again,like a clear pool of water with wisteria slowly fading away,and the purple iris quickly dissipated.

　　Spring turned to autumn,and again to deep winter sunset.The purple pool of his eyes gradually frosted over with silver,transforming into a nearly silver-gray color.

　　"Cough."

　　He coughed lightly.

　　Cough.Cough,cough.

　　Cough!

　　The feeling of weakness in his lungs,the stiffness in his limbs,and the liveliness of his breath quickly faded away from him-

　　He once again became that man who was about to pass away.

　　Or perhaps,he had always been that man.

　　On a cold winter's day,stepping into the dusk.

　　"I'm here."

　　He picked up the kimono on the ground,draped it over himself,and opened the door.

　　As soon as the door opened,snow rushed in.

　　The snow in Inazuma was not as overwhelming as it was in other places.It fell in small,scattered flakes,floating in the air like groups of white cherry blossoms.

　　When it landed on his body,it was also very cold.

　　After the snowstorm,the first thing that caught his eye was a pair of wooden clogs on the ground.

　　White socks stepped on the wooden clogs,but the legs were exposed,and the red and white miko outfit hung naturally beside the slender ankle.

　　The Yae Miko,who presided over the Grand Narukami Shrine,was a fox.

　　Outside,it was snowing heavily,and her furry ears drooped naturally,with a little white snow piled on top of them,looking like a white fluffy ball.

　　"Hoo,it's so cold!"

　　Seeing the wooden door finally opened,Miss Yae shook her ears and shook off the snow on them.

　　Bending down,she deftly took off her wooden clogs,and walked into the room as if it were her own home.Her white socks made a light thumping sound on the tatami mats.

　　It wasn't until she sat down by the stove and put her white,slender legs into the kotatsu that the fox lady breathed a sigh of relief,making a comfortable sound,her face gradually becoming rosy,and her eyes squinted into crescents:"Hoo, I almost froze to death!"

　　"Old geezer,why did you open the door so late?"she complained as she warmed herself up by the fire.

　　"Ah...looks like you need to tidy up a bit,"replied Kiyonoya,taking a seat opposite the fox maiden and placing his feet in the heated blanket.Their thighs lightly touched.

　　"Can you beat the Guuji?"teased Yae Miko,raising her sleeve to show off her strength,like a cat flaunting its power.

　　"Hey,I'm really strong,you know!"exclaimed Kiyonoya.

　　But Kiyonoya felt another cough coming on,his lungs twitching slightly and his throat turning sweet.He paused for a moment,picked up the warm cup of tea from the brazier,and drank it down.

　　Along with the warm tea,he swallowed a slightly rusty taste of blood.

　　He couldn't let her know.

　　"I could knock you out with just one punch.I'm still strong,and I'll stay strong for hundreds of years!"he boasted,determined to keep his weakness hidden from Yae Miko.

　　Then,he smiled heartily at Yae Miko,a smile that was bold and confident,a smile unique to the Hashi Kuni of Inazuma,a smile that uplifted spirits.On the battlefield,when the warriors of Inazuma saw that smile,they would be filled with unparalleled courage

　　The Hashi Kuni will never fall.

　　Kiyonoya had a talent for lying,a talent that allowed him to convince both his enemies and friends that he would never fall.And he did it well.

　　The fox maiden remained happy and leisurely,sitting up and taking the tea cup from Kiyonoya's hand.As she did so,she flashed a mischievous smile,pleased with her little prank.

　　"Mine~"

　　She also brewed a cup of tea for herself.

　　When Miss Yae drank tea,she held the teacup in both hands and drank it lightly and happily.

　　Huh...

　　Kiyonoya sighed helplessly.

　　He looked like he couldn't do anything about her.

　　As the Hashi Kuni,he was dignified his whole life,and everyone from the Shogunate to the people respected him.

　　But he couldn't intimidate this fox.

　　"Ah,your collar."Yae suddenly said."It's not fastened."

　　By the time Kiyonoya realized it,Miss Miko had already leaned over.

　　One of her soft white hands was propped on the desk,while the other gently pressed against Kiyonoya's chest,pulling his loose collar tight and covering the exposed skin.

　　They were very close to each other.

　　Kiyonoya could even smell the scent of sandalwood emanating from her pink hair.

　　"Do you really think you're still a young boy?It's so cold,old geezer."

　　She sounded somewhat reproachful and quite unhappy.

　　"Ah,I already said I'm very strong..."Kiyonoya struggled.

　　"Old geezer."

　　"You promised to be strong for hundreds of years,you have to keep your promise to Miss Miko-so,old geezer,the first step to being strong is to dress warmly in the winter!"

　　The fox lady raised her head and pressed her face close to Kiyonoya's,saying without doubt.

　　Her stubborn purple eyes stared at Kiyonoya's eyes.

　　Only at this moment did she resemble the"Miss Miko,"who presided over all the shrines in Inazuma.

　　...Kiyonoya surrendered and turned his face away.

　　"Too close."

　　Indeed too close.

　　Miss Yae also realized this.

　　They were already very close,and now,as she lifted her head,their breaths almost touched.

　　The thin,warm breaths condensed into small drops of mist in the cold air,and the two drops of mist slowly merged and dissipated in the air.

　　Outside the window,the snow accumulated on the pine and cypress trees,reflecting the rare sunlight.

　　"That,so what...mind your own business!"

　　She turned her face away,sat back on the cushion,and cursed softly,"I...you useless old geezer."

　　Kiyonoya noticed that her profile was slightly flushed.

　　Like the snow outside the window,it was also like the sunlight reflected in the snow.

　　Was it because the fireplace was too hot?

　　He wasn't sure.

　　But how come this girl's mouth was getting more and more poisonous?

　　"Hey."Kiyonoya was a little dissatisfied,"You need to learn to respect people..."

　　"You smoked just now.I smelled it on your lining cuff."

　　Lady Fox held her hand against her cheek and stared at Kiyonoya expressionlessly.

　　"I didn't!"

　　"Hand over your tobacco pouch."

　　"I said I didn't!"The dignified Kiyonoya Shogun argued for the sake of his tobacco pouch!

　　"Fox nose."

　　She tapped her nose,opened her hand,"it's very sensitive and can smell any secret~!"

　　...The dignified Kiyonoya Shogun really couldn't control this trash fox.

　　He helplessly took out his private tobacco from the lining pocket of his kimono and put it in Yae Miko's hand.

　　"Now,Guuji-sama will teach you the second step to longevity,"

　　Miss Fox smiled lightly again,and that was a smile that belonged only to Miss Fox.

　　Slightly cunning,slightly naughty,with a touch of laziness,a touch of stubbornness,and the most triumphant smile,like the snow melting on the eaves—

　　"The second step to longevity is to quit smoking!"

　　"You still have to be Guuji-sama's cook for hundreds of years."

　　Ha...

　　Really.

　　Longevity...

　　Longevity.

　　Looking at her and listening to her words,Kiyonoya paused and smiled helplessly.

　　What difference does it make to take one more puff or one less puff?

　　For him alone,it doesn't make much difference.

　　You said you can smell everything with your fox nose,but you can't even smell this secret.

　　"So,"

　　Kiyonoya looked at the snow slowly melting in the sunlight outside the window,"Are you hungry?You just mentioned that'fox udon',what is that?"

　　"Fried tofu and udon.Bring it up~"

　　"I'll study the recipe first."

　　"The third step to longevity is to eat well."

　　"...Be careful not to become a ball due to obesity."