Ren awoke early, and the first thing on his mind was what Mirai had said to him the previous day during their return home. Those words kept circling in his thoughts as he gazed at the dimly lit ceiling of his bedroom.

He desperately wanted to understand what Mirai meant by her words. 'Is she against having a second wife? It seems to be a thing, considering that the Divine Sovereign appears to have four wives. If it is a possibility, was she jealous, trying to dissuade me from marrying another woman, or did she want me to discuss it with her first? Women can be so enigmatic… I’m not overthinking this, am I?' he sighed aloud as he pondered.

His audible sigh was enough to awaken his wife. She began to stir on the futon, emitting a soft groan, before rising. Ren observed her as she stood there in her loose undergarments, opening the shutters and allowing sunlight to flood the bedroom through the window.

"Good morning," she greeted him as she leaned in to plant a kiss on his lips.

"Good morning," he replied after the sweet peck, forcing a smile for her. Mirai noticed that something was amiss, giving him a long, curious glare before deciding to strip off her clothes and climb on top of him. His body responded immediately, and Ren stood ready for action.

When she took hold of him, Ren's whole body quivered. She leaned forward, placing kisses on his lips, guiding his member into her womanhood, letting it slide in. He immediately felt the waves of pleasure, which intensified as she started to move, deepening their kisses.

Unable to hold back any longer, he wrapped his arms around her, rolling over and positioning himself on top of her. This made her giggle. She bit her lower lip, her gaze locked deeply with his, practically challenging him to pleasure her.

The taunt worked, and he began thrusting, slowly at first, but gradually increasing the pace. Within moments, they were tightly entwined, breathing heavily into each other's ears, occasional moans escaping their lips.

The intensity of the moment led him to release his seed, and he finally let go of her, lifting himself slightly to gaze into her eyes. Mirai was smiling.

"Do you want to have a son this badly?" she asked, then giggled.

Her words initially made him panic, as he had completely forgotten about the potential consequences of unprotected intimacy. In his previous world, children often meant complications, and he had never really considered becoming a father. However, he soon realized that he was no longer on Earth. In this world, he was already a successful man who didn't need to worry about the financial aspects of his family's future.

"Maybe," he said, smiling back at her.

Then another thought struck him. ‘This body was made up, can it even make a child?’ he asked himself. ‘I should ask Hiroshi.’

She raised using her elbows to push herself up to kiss him.

"Tell me… What was on your mind? I saw you were worried about something," she asked as she lay back down.

"I was..." he began but cut his sentence short, unsure if he should revisit this topic. "I was trying to figure out what you had on your mind when you said yesterday that I should first tell you before marrying another woman. Tell me, Mirai, are you jealous of Reiko?"

She smiled at him. "I want you for myself, but I know how men are. My brother was a candidate, so I spent plenty of time among them. He tried to keep me away, as I was young, but I have good ears, you know,” She giggled. „Warriors like you... you want more. If not now, eventually you will. You are a conqueror, Ren. You are a candidate, who trapped the mighty Hearteater in your sword. Sooner or later the whole Hikarimura will respect you, and the ones from other cities will fear you. I know there will be many women you will want to have in the future, but I want you to tell me first. Don't bring another woman into our house before talking to me. Can you do that?"

He didn't respond with words but instead embraced her and began moving again, expressing his overwhelming love for her.

She laughed as she embraced him back. The second round was slightly longer, but as they finished, they went to the bathroom to clean up and then started preparing for his journey to the mountains.

Mirai cooked breakfast and packed additional food for the journey while he collected some more clothing. They met again in the dining room to eat, accompanied by birdsong filtering through the open window, which also provided ample natural light.

"Do you have everything you need?" She asked as she set the dishes on the table.

"Everything except the sword, but I'll grab that last," he sighed as he picked up his chopsticks.

"How long will you be gone?"

"I don't know, probably at least a few days," he shrugged.

"I'll be lonely here," she sighed, as she finished setting everything on the table and put the tray away.

"You could start moving everything to the other house and put this one up for sale. That will keep you busy... if you want, of course," he suggested. „I’m sure Satoru would be willing to help, or you can just pay somebody.”

"But you won't know where to go when you come back."

"Tell Satoru. I'll go to his place when I return, and he will direct me."

"Then I'll take care of that and will be awaiting your return... Just don't keep me waiting for too long," she smiled shyly at him.

"I won't," he promised.

Then they ate in relative silence. After the meal, Mirai went to wash the dishes. But before she took care of that, she returned with food packed for Ren. He already had his sword, grabbing it with a hint of worry, but the ghost, at least for now, left him alone.

"Travel safe," she kissed him on the cheek as she handed him the food in the wooden box, wrapped in a piece of cloth.

He kissed her back on the lips. "If you have any trouble, I'm sure Satoru will help you. I'll be back as soon as possible," he said adding the box to the bundle with other belongings, then turned around to leave.

She waved at him before he even reached the gate of their property, so he waved back. After that, he refrained from looking at her because he didn't want to go. Living with Mirai was simply too good.

Without wasting any time, he headed straight for the Temple, where Reiko already awaited him in front of the temple.

"Are you ready?" she asked as soon as he got close enough to talk.

"Yes. You?"

"I was born ready," she replied, with a smirk on her lips, and then began walking.

Her confidence threw him off a bit, which, in consequence, made him take a few rushed steps to catch up. From that point, they walked beside one another.

In the beginning, they weren't really speaking, but as time passed, they found some topics. With casual conversation, they soon reached the outskirts of the city, from where they entered the path to the massive mountain looming over the city, a single mountain.

As Ren soon learned, its name was Ubasuteyama, and it was actually a part of a mountain chain connected to it. It extended straight behind the city, curving to the left and heading all the way to the sea.

He also learned that every girl who wished to become a shinshoku had to go there and undergo basic training, after which they could become a miko. This initiated a period of trials and practice, eventually ending with the shinshoku earning the title of saiin.

Apparently, the temple was not too high up the mountain, as it was too dangerous up there due to the blue-haired mountain apes and other monsters. It was possible to reach the destination within a single day.

The path led through a forest growing at the base of the mountain, which was a lovely part of their journey, but it soon gave way to a more rocky, broken terrain. A winding road led to a wooden construction nestled on a tall, almost perfectly flat wall, with the only passage further up requiring going around it.

The sun began to set when they were approaching the structure, but Reiko stopped at some point, extending her hand to show Ren something. "Look," she said.

His eyes immediately darted to the side. Far away, almost unnoticed, was the shape of a mountain goat, jumping on steep rocks, trying its best to escape a hulking, pale-blue shape - the monster hunting its prey.

"Sometimes they even throw stones at the goats to knock them down," she said before resuming her walk.

Ren stayed a bit longer, observing the chase, before he rushed after her.

„But they don’t come to the temple, do they?” he asked a bit spooked.

She laughed. „The temple is sacred. Even the most vicious monsters respect the holy ground, but the travelers are a different topic. That’s why the temple is not built higher, so the path would be safe.”

He accepted the explanation, cutting their conversation short. A bit more time after that, they finally reached the gates of a rather big wooden structure. It seemed more like a fort than a temple, but as the gates were opened for them, he saw the familiar structure. It quite well resembled a temple from Hikarimura, nestled against the wall. Undoubtedly, some parts of it were carved into the side of the mountain.

Several saints were working in the front yard, tending to animals such as chickens and domesticated goats. They even had some pigs. There were designated areas for them, surrounded by fences and even small wooden buildings where the animals could spend the night.

The few guests who were outside, including Reiko and Ren, were seemingly ignored. Reiko paid little attention to anybody, as she knew precisely where to go. Soon, they entered the building.

Navigating through a labyrinth of corridors, they arrived in a chamber within the structure. It was filled with paper lanterns, providing some illumination. It appeared to be a ceremonial space, with scrolls adorning the walls. Ren noticed a familiar altar featuring the figure of the god of death, accompanied by a brass gong.

Inside the chamber, there was a teenage girl. However, her robes were not the typical white attire of a miko. She had black hair reaching almost to her shoulders and wore a dirty grey kimono. She was in the midst of scrubbing the floor but stopped her work upon noticing the newcomers and stood, offering a bow.

"We are looking for the saishu," Reiko said, observing the girl carefully.

"I'll bring her," the girl responded after another deep bow, then hurriedly left the room.

Curious, Ren inquired, "Who was that?"

Reiko answered, "Some girl who is clearly trying to become a shinshoku. This place is the main ceremonial chamber," she added, "We pray here to the god of death. Thanks to his blessing, the paper lanterns in here never go out."

Though Ren didn't inquire about it, he couldn't help but notice this peculiar detail as the girl returned with an older woman. The lady appeared slightly older than Ayako, lacking deep wrinkles, but her skin was quite thin, giving her face an almost mask-like appearance. She had grey hair tied neatly into a bun and was dressed in the black attire of a saiin.

Reiko immediately bowed to her, and Ren followed suit, not entirely sure of the proper protocol.

"Reiko... What brings you here, and who is your companion?" the lady asked, arching an eyebrow. Her voice was surprisingly robust.

Ren introduced himself, saying, "My name is Ren Noroi. I recently became a candidate, and I'm looking for a way to tame the ghost in my blade."

The lady contemplated his words and then turned to leave, saying, "So you are one of those... Let's sit down and talk."

Ren glanced at Reiko, who seemed preoccupied with the girl still scrubbing the floor. It appeared that she didn't wish to join the conversation. Ren didn't press the matter and followed the elderly woman alone.

She led him to one of the nearby chambers, dimly lit with a small window under the ceiling as the only source of light. Inside, there was a stove, a cabinet with a tea set placed atop it, and a table with four pillows for sitting.

The saishu sat on one of the pillows, emitting a groan of discomfort as her legs seemed to have trouble bending. Ren joined her, placing the bag containing his belongings on the floor.

"Tell me more about the ghost within your blade," the saishu requested.

Ren answered, "You've probably heard of him. It's the Hearteater." As he spoke those words, the room's light briefly dimmed, casting shadows, but then it returned to normal.

"Hearteater... If the god himself didn't confirm your words, I would not believe... I've assisted a few before you who needed to compel the entities residing within their weapons to cooperate, but I've never encountered anyone with a vengeful ghost like that. It might be impossible to achieve what you desire, but we can try…"

"Tell me what I need to do, and I'll do it," Ren assured.

The saishu explained, "When you force a ghost or a spirit into a Jujin, they tend to act out. Depending on their power, they might cause serious trouble, but with time, these disturbances typically subside. The process can be expedited with meditation. As your understanding of the entity within your weapon increases, it becomes easier to control them. However, your case is certainly unique," she chuckled to herself. "As I said, it might be impossible, but it's definitely worth trying. If your Jujin was well done and your will is strong, then there is always a chance. Let's begin tomorrow. For now, go and ask Reiko to show you where we have rooms for guests."

„Thank you,” Ren expressed his gratitude, rose, bowed, grabbed his bag, and exited the room.