This chapter is longer than usual.
Kousuke, who was relaxing in the Lounge Space, blinked his eyes in surprise as Towa and Kokoro entered the room together, a rare combination.
“What’s wrong?”
In response to Kousuke’s first question, Towa answered with a small laugh.
“Is that your first remark? Well, I admit it’s unusual.”
Towa and Kokoro are half-siblings, and also serve as the King of Razek Amamiya and the Shrine Maiden supporting the divine rituals.
While it’s common for them to appear together in public, it’s rare for them to be in the management layer at the same time. This isn’t because they dislike each other, but simply because they are both busy. The current situation with Towa and Kokoro is the same as it was before with Silvia and Floria, who rarely managed to be in the management layer together.
Kousuke, looking at Towa’s smile and then at Kokoro standing beside her, tilted his head inwardly. He felt that something was subtly different about them today.
“Hmm? Don’t tell me this has something to do with Kokoro being down?”
At his words, Kokoro turned a surprised expression towards Kousuke.
“Huh? What’s with that face? Did you really think I wouldn’t notice? Don’t you trust me as a parent that much?”
Kousuke slumped in dejection, and Towa chuckled while Kokoro frantically shook her head.
“N-no! It’s not that. I was trying to hide it…”
“I told you, Kokoro. Even if others don’t notice, Father and the others will definitely find out,” Towa said, lightly tapping Kokoro on the shoulder.
Watching their exchange, Kousuke sensed that something was going on and looked at Towa.
“So, you came here together?”
“Yes, that’s right. More than anything, this time we want to hear the opinions of Mother and the others, rather than Father’s.”
“I see. Well, I had a feeling something like this was coming.”
Kousuke understood that Towa and Kokoro coming to the management layer together meant that a politically charged issue had arisen. In such cases, he knew he wouldn’t be of much help.
***
Kousuke, having summoned Silvia and Floria, who were managing their respective towers, adopted a posture to listen to Towa and Kokoro’s story. He knew he wasn’t strictly necessary, but he decided to stay since they were here.
“So? What did you want to consult about?”
Floria was the first to speak. Towa and Kokoro had already been informed that they were summoned because Silvia and Floria had something to discuss with them.
“I can guess from Kokoro’s expression, but let’s hear it officially,” Silvia, Kokoro’s mother, said. She seemed to have already grasped the gist of the matter just by looking at Kokoro.
Kousuke, who had no idea what was going on, broke out in a cold sweat inwardly at Silvia’s words.
Towa, shrugging her shoulders slightly, cast a fleeting glance at Kokoro before looking at Floria and Silvia alternately.
“The matter concerns Kokoro’s engagement.”
With that single statement, Floria’s face showed that she understood what Towa meant, and Silvia nodded as if to say, “As expected.”
Even with Ririka’s assistance, it was easy to see that Kokoro, who had taken on the divine rituals of Razek Amamiya at a young age and was Kousuke’s own daughter, was receiving numerous engagement proposals from both within and outside the country. However, the current problem wasn’t the proposals themselves, but their quantity and quality. Mia was facing a similar issue, though not to the same extent as Kokoro. The reason for this was that Mia had temporarily disappeared from the public eye, so fewer people were aware of her high abilities. Of course, there were those who didn’t value a woman’s abilities, but it was easy to infer how such people would treat women, so they were immediately dismissed. The real problem lay with suitors who were impeccable in terms of family background, personal abilities, personality, and even appearance. Some might call it being overly picky, but neither Towa nor anyone else present intended to force someone on a Kokoro who had no interest. If it were just one or two proposals, they could have politely declined and handled the situation, but the more there were, the more difficult it became to manage. The reason Towa and Kokoro came to consult them together was due to these compounding circumstances. It had become a headache, in a different way than Mia’s situation.
Floria, having heard the entire story from Towa, sighed.
“I understand you came to us for help… but unfortunately, I don’t think I can be of much assistance to you?”
“Eh!?”
At Floria’s seemingly dismissive words, Towa’s eyes widened, and Kokoro let out a surprised gasp. Floria raised her right hand in a gesture to calm them down and continued her explanation.
“It seems you two haven’t realized it, but the premise is completely different from Silvia’s situation.”
Towa and Kokoro had come to the management layer thinking that the same solution applied to Silvia’s situation could be used here. However, Floria’s words shattered that assumption.
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is, when Razek Amamiya was founded, Silvia and Kousuke were already together. Although it wasn’t publicly announced, Kokoro was born not many years later. After that, the marriage proposals suddenly stopped, you know? And naturally, mine did too.”
Silvia and Floria hadn’t had wedding ceremonies to make their status clear to others. Even so, the number of proposals they received was relatively low considering their positions. This was because, although they hadn’t openly spoken of their relationship with Kousuke, they were entrusted with the country based on the will of the gods. If they had stated they already had partners, even the most oblivious person would have been able to guess who it was. If not, the truth was that those around them would have stopped them. In every sense, the situation was different from when Floria and Silvia were involved.
“I see,” Kokoro replied in a subdued voice, having understood Silvia’s past situation. Floria then grinned.
“But, well, it’s not like there are no options? Rather, it’s strange that you two haven’t thought of it. Perhaps you’re not very good at seeing yourselves clearly.”
“Eh!?”
“What is it?”
At Floria’s words, Kokoro hastily raised her head, and Towa’s eyes widened.
“I understand that it’s difficult for Kokoro, who is active in public, to refuse proposals, but haven’t you forgotten the fundamental point?”
Towa and Kokoro tilted their heads at Floria’s question. Their expressions clearly showed that they hadn’t thought of anything at all. Floria sighed once and looked at Silvia, who, receiving her gaze, continued the explanation.
“Kokoro, you are a Shrine Maiden. Considering your position, you should know what to do, right?”
At Silvia’s words, Kokoro’s expression turned doubtful for a moment before she exclaimed, “Ah! That’s right! … How could I not have thought of that?”
“It’s become almost a mere formality. I probably wouldn’t have remembered it myself if it weren’t for this incident,” Silvia said with a smile, as Kokoro’s face lit up with the possibility.
Meanwhile, Towa was tilting her head, unable to understand.
“…What do you mean?”
It was somewhat understandable that Towa was being left out of their conversation. The reason was that Silvia’s proposal involved using a custom for Shrine Maidens that had largely become a formality.
“Towa, you might have completely forgotten, but what is the ideal state for a Shrine Maiden who serves the gods?”
“What state…? … Wait, you don’t mean!?”
At Floria’s question, Towa’s face finally showed a look of realization. Seeing Towa’s expression, Floria nodded once.
“That’s right. A maiden serving the gods is required to maintain her virginity. Why not use that to your advantage?”
“No, but… now, of all times?”
In ancient times, both Shrine Maidens and priests were expected to remain unmarried, but that is no longer the case. Many Shrine Maidens and priests are now married and have families. Considering this, it’s somewhat questionable whether invoking virginity would be effective in rejecting proposals.
To Towa, who was still tilting her head, Floria stated clearly.
“What are you talking about? What matters is still the pretext, isn’t it?”
“Well, that’s certainly not wrong,” Towa said, admitting Floria’s point with a wry smile. Towa knew well that a pretext was the most important thing when running a country. Silvia added further advice to Towa.
“I don’t think it will be that forceful this time. After all, Kousuke is a male god.”
“…I see. Come to think of it, that’s right.”
The reason why virginity was demanded of Shrine Maidens in this world, which consisted only of goddesses, was for the somewhat backward (?) reason of preventing lonely gods from going mad with jealousy. However, in the case of Kousuke, a male god, the situation would be different. Silvia was suggesting they leverage this.
As Towa nodded in understanding, Kousuke, who had been silently listening, interjected with a troubled expression.
“Well, I don’t think we should impose such a thing even on Shrine Maidens…”
Kousuke was about to continue saying “demand,” but Silvia and Floria smiled at him.
“It’s merely a pretext.”
“It will only complicate matters, so please go along with it.”
Silenced by the two of them, he was forced to stop.
I ended up writing a lot more than I intended. I considered dividing it into two chapters, including the story of them living alone for twenty or thirty years due to their long lifespans and then finding partners after passing on their duties, but decided against it. It didn’t seem like a story that needed to be split into two parts.
And then, Kousuke, who was almost like a spectator… Well, that’s typical, isn’t it?
