148 It’s Not Him...

The morning sun slowly rose between the mountains, casting a golden glow over Lake Itomori.

A flock of birds, startled by the light, took flight, their wings skimming the lake's surface and sending ripples shimmering across the water.

A strand of short black hair slipped from behind a delicate ear, brushing against a fair cheek tinged with a faint blush.

The woman, still lost in slumber, had a soft smile on her lips, as if she were dreaming of something wonderful.

One small foot had somehow escaped the covers during the night, but the morning sunlight was warm enough to keep her from getting cold.

Her round, delicate toes looked irresistibly adorable under the white light—enough to make anyone want to play with them for a whole year.

'Beep, beep—'

The abrupt ringing of a phone shattered the tranquility of the room. The woman's serene expression faltered for an instant.

Then, with a flutter of her long, thick eyelashes, her closed eyes flew open.

Her dark irises, filled with endless mystery, were now brimming with excitement.

"Hojou-kun!"

Yukino Yukari gasped softly, sitting up so quickly that she didn't even notice the blanket slipping down, revealing a glimpse of smooth skin.

Ignoring everything else, she reached for the phone lying on the tatami beside her.

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"Want to have breakfast together?" —Miyamizu Mitsuha

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There was no honorific language. It had to be Hojou-kun! While it might seem a little impolite to Mitsuha, Yukino couldn't help but inwardly celebrate.

"Yes!"

No hesitation, no small talk—just a straightforward reply, like a child responding to the offer of candy.

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"Then please wait at home for a bit. I'll cook breakfast for Grandma and Yotsuba first, then come find you." —Miyamizu Mitsuha

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"Okay!"

Yukino wanted to offer to prepare something and bring it up the mountain instead, but being used to going along with others, she simply agreed in a gentle voice.

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"See you soon." —Miyamizu Mitsuha

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"See you soon."

After sending her reply, Yukari added silently in her heart, 'See you soon, Hojou-kun.'

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Meanwhile, at the Miyamizu Shrine

Hojou Kyousuke put away Mitsuha phone and stretched his shoulders.

He had no idea what Mitsuha had been up to yesterday, but his body felt unusually fatigued.

Without overthinking it, he quickly used the muscle relaxation techniques of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū sword style on Mitsuha's body, finally easing the discomfort.

Something else felt odd, the alarm clock.

All the times he had used Mitsuha's body, this was the first time he had been woken up by an alarm instead of the sun. And it had gone off unusually early.

Checking the notes app, he found no memo explaining why Mitsuha had set it.

At first, Mitsuha had tried setting rules for him, probably out of embarrassment as a girl.

But over time, she had stopped caring just like him.

Standing up, he pulled off the sleepwear.

Looking at the pale yellow bra, which matched the shorts, Kyousuke shook his head in amusement.

For someone revered as a sacred shrine maiden in town, Mitsuha sure had a taste for cute things. It was kind of a surprising contrast.

Ignoring the underwear, he quickly put on safety shorts and his school uniform.

Thanks to Mitsuha's alarm, he actually had time to meet Yukino Yukari for breakfast.

Otherwise, with Mitsuha's habit of needing the sun and Yotsuba to drag her out of bed, he'd be lucky not to be late, let alone have time for a leisurely breakfast.

He stepped out into the hallway.

The door to the living room was already open.

As he approached, he saw exactly what he expected—Miyamizu Hitoha, Mitsuha grandmother, was already seated, gazing out at Lake Itomori with a cup of strong tea in hand.

"Good morning, Grandma," he greeted respectfully.

"Good morning, Mitsuha."

She turned slightly, her cloudy eyes resting on Mitsuha's neatly tied ponytail for a moment.

Then, with a knowing smile, she looked away.

Kyousuke shivered under her gaze.

"What is it, Grandma?" he asked, feeling uneasy.

"Nothing. Mitsuha is looking very energetic today," she said with a chuckle.

"Oh, I slept really well last night. I have plans later, so I'm making breakfast early."

Seeing that his grandmother didn't have much to say, Kyousuke left for the kitchen.

The Miyamizu family's kitchen was never short on ingredients, if anything, they had too much.

It was a common occurrence: one villager would visit the shrine and bring two heads of cabbage, then Mitsuha would give one away to another villager, only to receive two sacks of potatoes in return…

Since he planned to bring breakfast to Yukino Yukari, Kyousuke decided to make rice balls instead of stir-fried dishes.

The Miyamizu family usually ate plain rice in the morning anyway, so rice balls wouldn't be much of a change.

He just had to consider his grandmother's preferences.

He set the rice cooker to quick-cook mode and began preparing the fillings.

Rice balls were like sushi or tempura—endlessly customizable.

As long as you had egg yolk and mayonnaise, pretty much anything could taste good.

He boiled some eggs and fish fillets, made two thick slices of tamagoyaki (a must-have for rice balls), and chopped fresh cucumbers and carrots.

Then, he mixed a sauce using soy sauce, mirin, and other seasonings.

By the time he finished, the rice cooker beeped to signal that the rice was ready.

Kyousuke spread the hot rice into a large bowl to cool, ready to start making the rice balls.

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"Grandma, I'm heading out now. Please tell Yotsuba I'm sorry she'll have to go to school alone today."

Although other children went to school alone, ever since the body-swapping started, Kyousuke had always gone to school with Yotsuba.

He couldn't help but feel a little guilty about making the little girl go by herself today.

"Mm."

Hitoha responded with a smile, though her eyes remained fixed on the table in front of her.

The rice balls Kyousuke had made were neatly arranged, their warm, fragrant aroma rising from the rice and fillings.

Yet, the elderly woman didn't seem to notice, her gaze still lost as she watched her granddaughter, Mitsuha, growing smaller in the distance.

Although she was a shrine maiden, Hitoha was still just an old woman.

Watching her two granddaughters argue over trivial things every morning, enjoying their cooking, seeing them off to school, and witnessing them grow up—these were the simple pleasures of her life as the head of the Miyamizu Shrine.

After a moment, the sound of a sleepy little voice interrupted her thoughts.

Miyamizu Yotsuba, dressed in a large nightgown, appeared at the door of the living room.

"Grandma, where's Sis? She's neither in her room nor the kitchen," the little girl asked, her eyes still heavy with sleep.

You could tell she had already been looking for her older sister as soon as she woke up.

"She had something to do and left early. She asked me to tell you sorry for making you go to school alone today," Hitoha replied, turning to smile at her granddaughter.

"But wasn't she supposed to clean the shrine and office building this morning?"

Yotsuba's face suddenly froze in alarm.

'She's not going to leave all that work to me, is she?' The terrifying thought popped into her head.

Just imagining the massive workload for the shrine and office building made the little girl's heart race with dread.

"Haha, don't worry. I couldn't bear to let my granddaughter do all that hard work. I've already asked someone else to handle the cleaning."

Hitoha smiled as she spoke, but the distant memories of her past seemed to surface involuntarily.

Before her daughter, Miyamizu Futaba, married that worthless son-in-law, she used to do the cleaning and offer the daily tributes to the gods every morning.

No matter how many times she saw it, Hitoha couldn't shake the image of her daughter, dressed in the miko attire, looking like a divine spirit untouched by the world.

She was more like a member of the Miyamizu family than anyone else.

And now, Mitsuha was starting to change too—slowly becoming the kind of woman the Miyamizu family expected.

Even tasks like cleaning, she'd do cheerfully, humming a tune that sounded like the sweet chirping of birds in the mountains.

Afterward, she would carefully arrange the offerings on the high lacquered trays before the altar—rice, sake, salt, water, seaweed, eggs, and small offerings of round watermelon, sweet potatoes, and pears from the townspeople.

Once the offerings were removed from the altar, the Miyamizu family would consume them.

In Shinto tradition, the offerings to the gods had to be eaten and digested by humans as part of the sacrificial process.

Then, Futaba would make tea and sit quietly, gazing out at Lake Itomori, watching the village, and waiting for the townspeople to come for their morning prayers.

But everything changed when that good-for-nothing son-in-law came along.

Her once obedient daughter had seemed to transform, suddenly deciding to marry a man she hardly knew.

That worthless son-in-law!

Looking at her youngest granddaughter, Yotsuba, happily eating a rice ball shaped like a bunny, Hitoha's face softened with a twinge of sympathy.

She reached out with her frail hand and gently wiped a grain of rice from Yotsuba's face.

"Slow down, dear. Let me make you some miso soup."