fictional spring

The miko-sama's smile was as beautiful as a winter plum under the snow, which was too eye-catching.

The beautiful lips are slightly raised, like red plums dotted on the snow-white skin, and the ripples in the eyes can even blow away the darkness in the room, adding a little bit to the bleak room. Bright color.

However, this compelling beauty made me subconsciously look away, and my eyes fell on the open barrier door.

Although the miko entered my room, the maid who led her over was still waiting on the veranda outside the door.

She lowered her head without saying a word, as quiet as if there was no feeling of existence.

So I asked her, "Where is the Miko-sama's room arranged?"

Yomo didn't realize that I was talking to her, and the maid didn't respond. After a while, the maid who didn't hear any answer raised her head, and met my eyes who had been looking at her.

After looking at each other for a brief moment, she lowered her head and replied in a low voice, "It's right across from you."

I slightly shifted my gaze to the opposite side. After all, it is a yard for entertaining guests. Naturally, people often come to clean the rooms in the yard.

It's just that recently because I moved here, in order not to disturb me, the frequency of maids coming to clean has also decreased a lot.

——so it will definitely take some time to clean the room.

"That's it, then..." Thinking that since it was night, it would be inconvenient to stay for a long time, I was about to say goodbye to the Miko, but when I turned my gaze back to her, I found that she still had no intention of getting up.

That being the case, it was not easy for me to drive her away, so I ordered the maid to clean up the room for her first, and then let Lizi go to help.

There were only the two of us left in the room, and the atmosphere seemed to change at a certain moment. The young priestess said suddenly: "The moonlight is beautiful tonight."

I was stunned for a moment, and when I came back to my senses, I saw her looking outside, showing her soft side face and fair neck in front of me. The Miko turned her face and said to me softly: "You What do you think?"

Her voice strikes me as subtle, as if it has a softness that is completely different from her appearance, as if it is not her tone, but learned from someone.

I nodded and suggested, "Would you like to sit outside?"

Because of my health, I seldom go out of the room on weekdays—whether it is the scorching sun during the day or the cold wind at night, it is enough to pose a threat to my body.

But tonight's temperature is very comfortable, and there is no wind, so I can barely go out to get some air.

The witch agreed to my proposal with actions, and when I sat on the porch with me and looked at the crescent moon, I suddenly felt a very familiar feeling.

——It's like this again.

It has been like this since before, sometimes it is obviously the first time to do something, but there will always be some sense of familiarity for no reason.Sometimes, people or situations that have never been seen before will appear in the dream.

Logically speaking, I shouldn't have cared about these things, but the feeling of being blocked by something in my heart made me involuntarily pay attention to these things.

—I probably forgot something.

But I can't remember what I forgot.

This feeling of emptiness runs through my heart, and it can't fade away for a long time.

The overly quiet atmosphere spread around us, but I didn't feel anything unusual, as if I had already gotten used to this atmosphere—as if I had known the witch beside me for a long time.

"Have I... seen you before?"

Subconsciously said this sentence, I was also a little dazed.

The witch narrowed her eyes, and her red plum-colored pupils seemed to have turned into sharp vertical pupils at a certain moment. With a sense of oppression, she replied softly, "No, I haven't seen it."

Although I said this on my mouth, my expression seemed a bit contradictory. I lowered my eyelids and didn't say much, but suddenly thought of a question.

"Are you from Kyoto?"

It is not an appropriate move to inquire about other people's private facts without authorization, but Miko-sama didn't care, but replied after acquiescing: "I have been away from Kyoto for a long time."

The way she stared at me intently when she said this made me feel a little nervous, and without even thinking about it, I asked her, "Then why did you leave?"

These words seemed to hit a certain point of Miko, her complexion changed slightly, and when I didn't know what the change was, she replied: "Because that person also left."

Almost instantly, I understood who the "that person" she was referring to was.

It must be the person she admires.

If I continue to ask, it will inevitably touch upon the past that the Miko is unwilling to tell others, so I stopped asking questions, and only said to her: "I think you must care about him very much."

For some reason, when I said this sentence, I felt a little sense of disobedience—this time it was so obvious that I couldn’t ignore it.

As early as when she was talking about the person who could also play these two secret tunes, a very slight dissonance had already planted the seeds in her heart.

It was like contradicting me - even though it was my first meeting with her and I had never seen her before.

I thought that Miko-sama would just nod her head and agree with her casually, but it was rare for her to take the initiative to talk about her own affairs.

Her voice was very soft, and the coefficient fell into my ears. It was as subtle as a whisper but contained imperceptible emotions.

She said, "Whether you care or not, so what..."

It seems to be sad, but also like anger.

"But are the two feelings different?" I asked her back.

The corner of Miko's mouth curled up in a tight arc, and she asked with a half-smile, "What's the difference?"

It's a mocking smile, and it makes me wonder if something bad happened between them.

And what caught my attention even more was that when the priestess said this, her tone could not hear the gentleness and softness just now.

But to my surprise, I didn't feel that there was anything wrong with her talking like this. On the contrary, I felt that this is the real her.

Before I could answer, she changed the subject on her own, "Speaking of which, has Mutsuki Hime ever been to Kyoto?"

Her voice at this time has returned to its original peace, and the speed of the change is staggering.

As if she was really curious about it, she looked at me and waited for an answer. I blinked, shook my head and said, "I haven't been there."

"Is it because of physical inconvenience?"

She asked.

"Or is it because the city lord doesn't want you to go out?"

Although most of the factors are still the first one, but after thinking about it carefully, I found that I didn’t seem to be completely unable to go out because of physical inconvenience, but I just felt——

"There's no reason to go..."

I said this.

Whether it's going out or going to Kyoto, it doesn't have much attraction for me.

My father and mother also don't want to see me make some willful and excessive demands from time to time.

In fact, instead of having any longing for going to Kyoto, I subconsciously rejected that place.

However, Miko-sama seemed to lower her face when she heard these words, as if she was a little displeased.

After a few breaths, she asked, "Why?"

I was taken aback, somewhat unable to understand what she meant.

Seeing my expression like this, Miko realized that something was wrong with her words, she pursed her lips and looked away.

She explained: "The prosperity of Kyoto is by no means comparable to that of a small town. I was just a little surprised that Mutsuki Ji didn't yearn for it at all?"

This is a boast, I thought so.

But after I explained the reason, she frowned slightly.

"Why do you reject Kyoto?" She asked me persistently: "Is it because there is something in Kyoto that you hate?"

Obviously that was the question on my lips, but I had a premonition, as if as long as I nodded, something bad would happen.

So I shook my head and said, "Probably because of the curse."

When I said these words, Miko-sama's attention was caught by some words for an instant. She narrowed her pupils, opened her eyes wide and opened her mouth.

No sound came out.

However, I was a little surprised to say such a thing, even myself.

——What is the "curse"?

I don't know myself.

Just at that moment, it seemed that he remembered something he had dreamed about in the past.

In the dream, a man in a white safari sat with me on the wooden porch, and there seemed to be other people beside us—everyone was smiling.

It is a warm and joyful scene.

but……

The same sentence is used as the medium, but there is another completely opposite scene.

In a room with a dull atmosphere, there was a thin young man coughing and covering his mouth with a handkerchief. It was clearly not what I saw with my own eyes, but the sudden heaviness in my heart remained on my heart.

When Miko-sama fell silent for some reason, I saw the barrier door open in the opposite room.

Just as he was about to remind Miko-sama, when his eyes fell on her, he suddenly saw a very familiar expression on her face—an indescribable expression that would appear only after losing something important.

Just like I seem to have forgotten something but can't find it.

At this moment, the maids had packed up the room and came back. The sound of footsteps stopped a few steps away, and the maid told me softly that everything was ready, while I stood against the wall and waited for orders.

Seeing that she still hadn't recovered, I reminded aloud: "Get some rest early, Miko-sama."

The time we stayed outside was not too long, but within a short period of time, I hit it off right away, and even had the idea of ​​seeing her again tomorrow.

After the reminder, I suddenly remembered one thing.

——I don’t know Miko-sama’s name yet.

Just about to ask her, as if she had predicted my question in advance, she gave me a heavy look, and suddenly said: "Wu Mi."

The moment I heard this name, I had a very strange feeling, as if I was drawn to something. This familiar and unfamiliar name occupied my mind in an instant.

"This is……"

The end of Miko's eyes slightly raised, and she said, "It's my name."

This is really... an extremely strange name.

But it was even weirder for me, because after she went to her room, I whispered the name.

"No misery..."

It seems that at an unknown time in my memory, I was lying in the bedding like this, calling this name in a low voice.