After we’re done eating breakfast today, Yui asks me to accompany her to go to Mountain Fuji. I agree without a second thought.

   ‘What are we doing there?’ I ask her.

   ‘My father told me that he received a report that someone’s causing trouble at the top of the mountain, so he wants us to investigate. Before that, though, he wants to brief us on the job.’

   I gulp nervously after hearing that.

   ‘It’ll be okay! I’m sure that he hasn’t caught on to our relationship!’ she quickly assures me.

   I shake my head. ‘Even so, I still think it’s time to come clean. We can’t hide it forever.’

   ‘I guess you’re right.’

   And so, we head to the temple which doubles as Yui’s home. Before we depart, most of my girlfriends see us off.

   ‘Good luck with your confession, Akira-kun.’ Sakuya wishes me solemnly.

   ‘Thank you, Sakuya-senpai. I really need it.’

   ‘I’m sure it’ll be fine. Yui’s parents are very friendly, you know.’ Saya says to me.

   ‘I know. But I doubt they’ll remain friendly with someone who dates their daughter while being in a relationship with multiple girls.’

   ‘Just be confident. I’m sure they’ll understand.’ Assaf-sensei says.

   ‘Got it.’

   When we got to the shrinewhich doubles as Yui’s home, her parents welcome us with open arms.

   ‘Hello, Kagenashi-kun. It’s been a while.’ High Priest Kiryuu greets me with a smile.

   ‘Yes, sir. Long time no see.’ I say to him while bowing.

   ‘I hope our sudden request didn’t inconvenience you.’ Mrs Kiryuu adds.

   I bow to her as well. ‘Not at all. A request is a request, no matter how sudden.’

   ‘Well. Let’s go inside first. We’ll talk at the living room.’

   ‘Yes.’

   I’m brought to a Japanese style living room where there’s tatami mats instead of tiles and cushions instead of sofas. High Priest Kiryuu and his wife sit down side by side, while Yui and I do the same opposite them. Not long after we sit down, we were served tea by a servant.

   Right. Let’s do this.

   ‘Sir, ma’am, there is something that I need to tell you.’ I start while trying my best not to stutter.

   ‘Oh, what is it?’ High Priest Kiryuu asks me curiously.

   ‘I-I, um, that is…’

   No good. I stuttered anyway. I need to keep myself together. I take a deep breath and continue.

   ‘I am currently in a polygamy relationship with your daughter and a few other girls at the same time.’

   The deadly silence that came right after lasted for a few seconds. The atmosphere was so suffocating that I could pass out any moment. Eventually, High Priest Kiryuu speaks.

   ‘I see. Forgive me for being blunt, but are you going to break up with any of them until only one is left?’

   His friendly demeanor is completely gone. The same goes to his wife. Honestly, I don’t blame them. What kind of parents will ever allow their daughter to have a relationship with a scum who dates multiple girls?

   ‘No, sir. All of them love me, and I think dearly of them as well. There’s no way I’m leaving any of them.’

   Mrs Kiryuu speaks next. She looks at Yui.

   ‘Yui, are you really fine with it?’

   ‘Yes, mother. I started a relationship with Akira-kun knowing that I will not be the only one he loves. But I don’t mind it one bit, as long as I get to be with him.’

   ‘Say, Kagenashi-kun. What will you do if we are against this relationship of yours?’ High Priest Kiryuu asks me.

   ‘I will do everything I can to receive your blessings, even if I have to do it for the rest of my life.’ I reply.

   ‘Father, mother, I know the two of you love me dearly, and I love the two of you more than anything. However, I feel the same way towards Akira-kun too. Like him, I will do everything I can to make you approve of your relationship, no matter how wrong it may seem to you.’ Yui joins in.

   The two of them look at each other silently. They’re probably doing the telepathy conversation that most married couple are able to do in anime and manga, even without the use of magic. When they’re looking at us again, their expressions are much gentler.

   ‘If the two of you put it that way, I guess there’s nothing more for us to say. Very well, you have our blessing.’ High Priest Kiryuu tells us.

   ‘You can stop holding your breath now, Kagenashi-kun.’ Mrs Kiryuu says to me.

   I immediately gasp for air. I didn’t even realize that I was holding it until Mrs Kiryuu told me. After I got my breath back, I bow until my forehead’s touching the tatami mat. From the corner of my eye, I can see that Yui’s doing the same.

   ‘Thank you for your blessing, sir and ma’am.’

   ‘Hey now, you’re supposed to call us father and mother just like Yui.’

   ‘Huh?’

   ‘Wha-’

   ‘Aren’t you rushing things a bit too much, dear?’ Mrs Kiryuu asks.

   ‘Nonsense. Now that we’ve given them our blessings, he’s pretty much our son-in-law, no?’

   ‘Hmm, I guess you’re right.’

   ‘Mother, why aren’t you stopping father like you always do?’ Yui asks in anguish.

   ‘I would if you have zero intention of marrying the boy. But you do, don’t you?’

   Yui’s face has become bright red. It’s so red it would put a ripe tomato to shame.

   ‘But still-’

   ‘Well, I might as well get used to it. I hope we get along, father and mother.’

   High Priest Kiryuu laughs heartily.

   ‘That’s what I’m talking about! Say, you don’t mind me calling you, Akira-kun, do you?’

   ‘Not at all.’

   ‘Good. That’s what we’ll call you then.’

   ‘I can’t wait for the wedding ceremony.’

   ‘You took the words right out of my mouth.’

   Yui covers her face with both her hands. As a result, her voice is slightly muffled.

   ‘I’m so sorry for my embarrassing parents, Akira-kun.’

   ‘No worries.’

   Now that this loose end is tied up, we change our mood to discuss more serious matter.

   ‘As Yui might have told you, I need the two of you to get to Mountain Fuji to investigate a sabotage that had happened yesterday night.’ High Priest Kiryuu states.

   ‘Could you be more specific, sir?’ I request.

   This incident didn’t happen in the original anime, which is why I know nothing about it. I don’t know what triggered it either, but that’s not important right now. What’s important is that I get as much information about it as possible.

   ‘We had been suppressing the power of the Dragon Pulse at the mountain by placing sixty four stalagmite-shaped stones around it in the form of a circle. The priests who had been making rounds told me that they found traces of some of the stones being dug up. The traces are very faint, but they assured me that someone was indeed trying to dig them up.’

   From what I know, Dragon Pulses is another name for ley lines. Legend has it that underneath each of these ley lines are some sort of tremendous energy sources that keeps the whole planet functioning or something.

   ‘That sounds serious. Are you sure the two of us are sufficient to deal with the problem? And forgive me for asking this, but why aren’t you going there yourself?’

   ‘The thing is, I want to use this opportunity to test Yui.’

   ‘Test, you say?’

   ‘Yes. You see, my position as a High Priest isn’t inherited, but given. I’ll be retiring in a few years time, so I’ve started to look for my successors. Of course, I would absolutely love it if Yui, my own flesh and blood can take over. However, she wasn’t really up to the task, since she had a fear of ghost. And you know how frequent us priests deals with spirits.’

   I sneak a glance at Yui. Despite the fact that she just got dissed by her own father, she doesn’t look bothered at all. Well, if she’s calm about it, I guess I got no right to start a ruckus. I made sure to use a normal tone when asking the next question.

   ‘If you think she wasn’t up to the task, why did you change your mind now?’

   ‘Notice I used past tense. She had improved a lot these few months. Even when she was facing spirits, she’s a lot more calm and collected. It’s like she’s a different person. And it’s all thanks to you.’

   I point a finger at myself. ‘Me? I don’t think I did anything significant to help her.’

   ‘Come now. There’s no need to be modest. Yui talked to us about the mission the two of you went when you had to take care of the vengeful spirit at the girl’s school. She told us that it’s thanks to you that she could make her pass on without harming her.’

   ‘Also, she got more cheerful after she met you. I guess that’s what love does to someone.’ Mrs Kiryuu adds with a smile.

   ‘M-Mother!’

   ‘Did you know? Ever since you got her that penguin doll, she had been sleeping with it every night while hugging it tightly.’

   ‘Wait, how did you know that?’

   ‘Oh my, I was right? I was just guessing though.’

   Yui covers up her face once again and made some incoherent noises. Meanwhile, her parents are enjoying her cute reaction to the max. As for me, I have a strange feeling that I could get along extremely well with Mrs Kiryuu from the way she teases Yui.

   ‘Back to the subject at hand. Out of all my potential candidates, Yui’s the youngest. To make things worse, she’s my daughter. If I do ended up choosing her, others might riot. Therefore, this serves both as a test and a way to prove to those people that she’s capable of handling things.’

   ‘That’s all fine and dandy, but how do you feel about all this, Yui? Do you even want to be a Head Priest?’ I ask the person in question.

   She looks at me with a determined expression.

   ‘I do. I’ve always respected my father who does his best in everyone who came looking for his help. Nothing would give me greater honor than inheriting his title. Besides, I can’t be a little girl who’s scared of ghosts forever. I want to help people too.’

   ‘Oh man. Yui. You’re such an angel. No. You’re a goddess. Please let me hug you.’ I say while spreading my arms wide.

   ‘Wait, Akira-kun. I would love a hug from you, but my parents are watching!’

   I proceed to hug her. ‘Just let them.’

   ‘Please, Akira-kun! Not in front of them! They’re even taking pictures!’

   ‘Again, let them.’

   ‘My my, the youngsters nowadays are really bold, aren’t they?’ Mrs Kiryuu comments to her husband while taking pictures of us with her phone.

   ‘Indeed they are. We’re just like us when we were younger, probably more.’ High Priest Kiryuu agrees while also taking pictures with his phone.

   I tease Yui for a little bit longer, and then I finally let her go. Her face is all red, and it’s probably not because I suffocated her with my embrace.

   ‘Geez, you’re a huge meanie, Akira-kun.’ Yui pouts.

   ‘Sorry, Yui. You were so cute I couldn’t resist. Anyway,’ I cough lightly and face Yui’s parents. ‘If Yui herself wants to do this, I’m more than happy to assist her.’

   ‘Thank you, Akira-kun.The trip to the top of the mountain will take almost a day, which is why I’ve arranged for the two of you to stay a night at a nearby hotel. That way, you don’t have to rush that much.’

   ‘Please wait a minute. We’ll be hiking? Not, well, relying on helicopter?’

   Honestly, it’s not that I mind the hiking. The problem is, there’s a possibility that we have to fight once we got there, so I rather save my stamina for that.

   Yui is the one who answered my question.

   ‘Didn’t you know, Akira-kun? Mountain Fuji is surrounded by a mist that renders all electronic devices useless. If we try to go to the top with a helicopter, it’ll just crash.’

   ‘Oh, right. I’ve totally forgotten about that. Thanks for reminding me.’

   That’s a lie, of course. I didn’t know about it since the original anime didn’t mention anything about Mountain Fuji.

   ‘You’re welcome.’

   ‘Well, it’s still early, but we should depart right away. And once again, thank you for approving my relationship with Yui.’ I say the last part while bowing again.

   The two of them also bow at me.

   ‘You are most welcome. And please take good care of our daughter.’

   ‘I most certainly will.’

   They even got us a ride to go to the hotel Before we get inside the car, we exchange some words of farewell.

   ‘Good luck you two.’ Mrs Kiryuu says to us.

   ‘If possible, I would like a souvenir.’ High Priest Kiryuu says.

   ‘Of course. What would you like?’

   ‘A grandchild. Either gender’s fi-’

   His sentence is cut off short as Ms Kiryuu smacks his head hard with her fist.

   ‘Remember, doing it is fine but make sure you have proper protection. You’re still too young for this kind of responsibility, after all.’ Mrs Kiryuu advises us.

   ‘We’ll…keep that in mind.’ I assure her.

   As for Yui, she has a look of someone whose brain had went to overdrive after her father mentioned a grandchild. If this is a manga or anime, we could probably see smoke coming out of the top of her head.

   ‘Look what you did to our daughter, dear. You know how pure she is.’ Mrs Kiryuu chides her husband.

   ‘Oops, I got so excited over the fact that my daughter has a boyfriend that I started to skip a few steps. My bad.’

   ‘Right. We’ll be going now.’

   ‘Yes. Good luck and please come back safely.’

   ‘Thank you and will do. Come on, Yui. Snap out of it.’

   ‘Huh, oh. Yes. I’m sorry for blacking out like that.’

   ‘No worries. Now let’s go.’

   ‘Yes, let’s.’

   We get into the car that’s supposed to be our ride. We driver starts the engine and drives the car towards our destination.

   Yui and I didn’t talk at all during the journey, as it would be awkward with the driver at the front.

   It’s already afternoon when we reach the hotel. Once we’ve thanked the driver, we head inside the accommodation that we’ll be staying a night in.

   ‘Ah yes. We have indeed booked a room under the name of Kiryuu-san.’ the receptionist confirms once we told him High Priest Kriyuu’s name.

   ‘Hold on. A room? As in, just one?’

   ‘Yes. He specifically asked for a single room with a queen-sized bed.’

   I shrug. It’s not like the two of us haven’t slept on the same bed. Yui doesn’t mind one bit either. That said, I’m surprised that the receptionist didn’t ask us a single question. A boy and a girl staying a night at the same room would always raise an eyebrow, students from the Academy or no. Either way, I’m grateful for it.

   We take a quick look at our room. Like the receptionist had promised, there’s indeed a bed big enough for two people. The rest of the room’s pretty standard: a television, a dressing table, a mini-fridge, and a bathroom with a bathtub.

   We went out for a quick lunch. After we got back, we just laze around at the room, as we’re supposed to head for the mountain at midnight. At Yui’s suggestions, we start up a group video call with the rest of my girlfriends.

   ‘So you got the green light from Kiryuu-san’s parents too, huh? Nice job, Akira-kun.’ Sakuya congratulates me after I told them what had happened.

   ‘Well, you can hold off your congratulating, since I have to do it a few more times.’

   ‘Oh, don’t look so depressed. You even managed to convince my father. I’m sure it’ll go well with the other parents.’

   A pause.

   ‘Although Ichika-chan’s father might make things difficult.’

   I remember back the time Ichika and I went to his dojo.

   ‘I’ll cross the bridge when I reach it. I have enough things to worry about as it is.’

   ‘Going a bit off topic here. Are the two of you sharing a room?’ Assaf-sensei asks.

   ‘Yes, sensei. We are. Yui’s father arranged this.’

   ‘Oh, my. You’re so lucky, Kiryuu-san.’

   ‘Just so you know, Assaf-sensei, we won’t be doing anything lewd!’ Yui proclaims.

   Ichika believes in us too, which is probably why she’s not saying anything. Our teacher looks disappointed after hearing that. I ignore her and tell the girls of our mission this time.

   ‘You know anything about this, Madoka?’

   ‘Unfortunately, no. I can do some investigation, nut I need time. However, I’ll have difficulty in giving you the reports straight away, since you can’t use electronic devices there.’

   ‘If it’s something serious, Mashiro can just fly up there and inform you.’ Mashiro assures me.

   ‘I’ll be counting on you, then.’

   ‘Right.’

   We talked a bit more on the phone, then decide to end the call as we can talk some more after we got back. After that, Yui and I just watched the television, surfed the internet through our phone and just laze around to pass the time.

   When it’s nighttime, we went out for dinner, once again choosing something simple. We took turns to go bath after we got back. And then, we went to sleep as we have to wake up very early tomorrow morning.