Mirai was the first to awaken. Her body felt sore as she lay completely naked on top of the futon, only partially covered. In the dim light, making it inside through the very small gaps in the closed shutters, she saw Ren. He was right next to her, still asleep. Despite his scars, his muscular body looked incredibly tempting, and she felt herself getting aroused once more, despite the fun that lasted almost the whole night.

There was something in him, or perhaps the way he looked. She couldn’t resist the urge and finally made a decision to crawl on top of him.

“Ugh…” he grunted, awakened by her touch. His eyes fluttered open, noticing her ripe breasts and her expression. He immediately knew what was going on.

“Shush… Go back to sleep,” she whispered, grabbing his member and sliding it in, making him gasp.

The morning wood had no issues with penetration. Then she started moving, and he melted from pleasure right under her. She was so horny that her moves quickly increased in speed, and moments later, he felt her climax.

After a brief pause, she continued, leaning over him to plant kisses on his lips. This was too much. He grabbed her, then rolled to the side together, making her gasp and giggle, and then he had his way with her, releasing just moments later.

They separated, rolling to the sides and panting heavily.

Mirai giggled. “We should get up,” she said, looking at the dark ceiling. “Our guests will come in the evening,” she pointed out.

“Yes… I’m so hungry,” He admitted, making her get up.

She opened the window, letting more light inside, and then, still naked, went to clean herself up. Ren followed just a moment later.

After washing, they dressed up and went to the kitchen to prepare a meal. It was already way past midday, but both of them didn’t really care. Instead, they enjoyed each other's company while preparing the dishes, which they later ate.

They skipped lunch since in the early afternoon the guests arrived. Satoru, Ayako, Hiroshi, and Kazuki appeared, knocking on their door, as it was customary for the groom and the bride to invite their guests for dinner and drinks the day after their marriage.

All dressed up, Ren came out of the house, where his friends already waited for him. Mirai needed a little more time.

“Tired, I see,” said Satoru. “That’s good,” he chuckled, earning himself a discreet elbow to the gut from his wife, which made him let out a groan.

Slightly embarrassed, Ren scratched the back of his head. “Y-yes,” he admitted, then cleared his throat loudly. “H-have you picked the place we will be going to?”

“Of course,” Hiroshi said. “We picked the most expensive restaurant in the district,” he shamelessly admitted.

„We don’t mind,” said Mirai, coming through the corridor to join them. „You are our esteemed guests, and we will be happy to host you wherever you want.”

“Don’t encourage those old farts, because they might try drinking for an entire week,” Ayako pointed out, giving her husband a certain look.

Satoru didn’t seem to mind at all, and Hiroshi simply smiled, not trying to argue with her words.

Kazuki, on the other hand, appeared to be feeling quite awkward, and out of place, so Ren approached him and put his arm on the friend’s shoulder. “Let’s go. I want to see Kazuki wasted,” he said loud enough for everybody to hear.

This prompted them to laugh before they embarked on a rather short journey to the center of the district. Satoru guided them, and they soon arrived at a nice-looking establishment.

It was a large wooden complex made up of a main building and several smaller ones, connected to it. It was all built around a garden with running water and bridges that allowed crossing the streams.

Ren left some Gin at the reception and then they all were guided to a separate room with a long table in the middle. A big window was open, allowing the light to come in, and also giving them a view of the garden and a few people eating there. Besides that, there were also some pillows on the ground for the comfort of the patrons, and a couple of paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

“Can I take your order?” asked the waiter in a black kimono.

“Booze!” Satoru immediately shouted.

“How about we eat first?” Ayako asked. “A nice dinner set with soup, grilled fish, and rice. Then you can drink,” she said, mostly to her husband.

“Let’s start with dinner,” Hiroshi agreed. “It’s unwise to drink on an empty stomach. You can’t drink as much,” he pointed out, chuckling at his own joke.

Satoru cackled as well, while Ayako rolled her eyes. Mirai simply kept her smile up, while Kazuki was silent, but his expression indicated that he was enjoying the company so far.

“So… How was it? Your first night, lovebirds, I mean?” Satoru asked as he stopped laughing, only to earn a slap to the back of his head from his wife, which made him laugh again.

“It was exhausting,” Mirai boldly replied. “My husband is quite the man.”

Her words rendered the old man silent and prompted Hiroshi to chuckle. Kazuki, on the other hand, appeared to be slightly embarrassed.

Fortunately, Ayako knew how to react, and she steered the conversation away from intimate matters until the food started to arrive. They ate rather quickly, as they all appeared to be hungry. Then the first bottles of sake were brought to them, and gradually the mood began to loosen.

“So… What is next for you, Ren?” the old man asked at some point, slightly tipsy to the point he no longer cared how his adopted son would react to the question. His deep desire for Ren to venture to the Realm of Gods came to the forefront.

“I don’t know… But I need to find a way to get stronger,” he said, as his thoughts ventured to the incident from the nearby past when he fought the Twelfth.

“Don’t worry,” Kazuki must have had a similar idea in his head, and he decided to voice it. “I won't let that guy hurt you, even if he shows up again. I’ll make better puppets, and I will stop him if he ever tries to take your sword.”

Ren smiled in response, although he couldn’t possibly imagine what kind of puppets could stop the monster in the Hyottoko mask.

“That chase… What even happened there?” Hiroshi asked.

This prompted both candidates to begin explaining everything. Their voices intertwined as each one added to the whole story, but they paused at the moment when Kaito died.

“I didn’t expect that… I think nobody did. He just rushed to help, and that strange man, he just chopped Kaito in half.” Ren paused, only to add a moment later. “I know it’s stupid, but I saw myself getting cut down instead of him. I know that we weren’t really related, but… He looked so similar to me.” To forget, he poured himself some more sake and drank from the bowl.

This prompted Hiroshi to look at Mirai as if he wished to judge how much she understood. Ren noticed. „I told her about my body,” he informed, which caused Kauzki to raise his eyebrows.

“Don’t worry. You would never get killed so easily. I saw you fight there. You were incredible,” Kazuki pointed out despite his surprise.

It caused Ren to sigh, and explain everything.

„But please keep this as a secret,” Hiroshi said.

„I will,” Kazuki said with confidence, after which the room went silent for a moment.

“It was not me,” Ren snorted moments later, resuming the conversation, as he stared at his bowls with the sake, before realizing what he said. But it was too late, everybody was already looking at him.

“Was it the ghost again?” Hiroshi asked.

Ren nodded slowly. “Yes… But this time I thought he took over for good. I’m never using his help again… But then how the hell am I supposed to even face that guy in the Hyottoko mask?”

“Isamu said to meditate on the sword. I don’t know a lot about Makens. Haruki never had problems with his, so I can’t help much, but the blacksmith would never lie. You should try that,” Satoru pointed out. His cheeks were already rosy, but despite that, he drank one more bowl.

“What about this saiin, Reiko? She could know something. The shinshoku have vast knowledge about the ghosts,” Hiroshi pointed out.

“We already spoke with her,” Satoru waved his hand a little bit too much, almost hitting his wife, who threw daggers at him with her eyes, making the old man freeze, before he assumed a more obedient position with his hands down. “She didn’t know what could be the reason,” he said after all that.

“There is a library in the temple. If the saiin doesn’t know something, there is a chance you will be able to find it there,” Ayako pointed out.

“Uhm… But I don’t know how to read,” Ren confessed.

“I’ll go with you. I’ll help you,” Mirai said, wrapping her arms around his, and resting her head on his shoulder, only to close her eyes.

It appeared as if she was getting sleepy, but the rest showed no signs of getting tired. Since they all noticed, the room got awkwardly quiet, which created an opening for Kazuki, who seized this moment to speak.

“If you are getting stronger, Ren, I should as well. I’m going to do more research and prepare as well. Let’s both get ready, so when the guy in the Hyottoko mask comes, we will be more than ready,” he said, then smiled widely.

This prompted Hiroshi to chuckle. “Youth,” he sighed. “You make this old man want to try his best as well,” he said, then grabbed his bowl to drink some sake.

“Aye,” Satoru agreed, but when he reached to grab the bottle and pour himself some more alcohol, Ayako snatched it first.

“You've had enough, you old fart,” she told him. “Who is going to carry you to the house if you get yourself completely wasted?”

“Ren! Ren will carry me!” he shouted.

“Ren has his wife to carry, not some old farts like you,” she argued.

Their bickering made Hiroshi laugh. Kazuki joined in, and Ren did as well.

As the room got quiet, Ren seized the moment to ask a question. „What about shinrioku?” his eyes focused on Hisorhi, the doctor raised his eyebrows as if he couldn’t understand.

„You know how to use it. You could teach me.”

Hiro9shi took a deep breath, appearing to suddenly sober up. „I know you don’t know much about the Hikarimura, but… You should never ask a clan member to share their knowledge about shinrioku if you aren't of the same klan. It's a tabu, and people kill to protect the secrets of the clans,” he pointed out, and his eyes shifted to Kazuki.

„He is right,” the candidate agreed.

The awkward atmosphere was a perfect opportunity to drink a bit more alcohol so they did, but since the time was getting late, they decided to put an end to the celebration, and all headed to their separate houses. That was Ayako’s initiative.

Since Mirai felt tired, Ren carried her back. Surprisingly, the alcohol didn't have as strong an effect on him as he would expect. He got tipsy, but nothing more.

In the house, he put Mirai in the bedroom, and after washing his face, he joined her, calling it a day.