CHAPTER 490: CHAPTER 338 SUMMER BREEZE_2

Just wait, you’ll have something nice to see.

Uesugi Sakura didn’t care about all this and dragged the somewhat shy Hanabi into the machine. As the door closed, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the other guy’s girlfriend was already starting to get angry.

Sigh, girls do get jealous, and not being able to control your eyes leads to this kind of outcome.

The space inside the photo booth was quite small, or rather just enough for two people to sit. In front was only the screen, which displayed all sorts of photo effects to choose from.

The screen emitted a soft glow, illuminating the girl’s bashful face.

Uesugi Sakura didn’t waste any time and directly held the girl’s slender waist, pulling her closer to him.

Hanamaru Hanabi felt the hand gripping her waist and instinctively squirmed a bit.

Turning her head cautiously, she found he was already close, and hurriedly turned back, saying:

"You can only kiss a little..."

"Well, this ’little’ might take quite a while."

Uesugi Sakura gently lifted her bashful chin, gradually approaching the girl who had tightly shut her eyes.

Originally planning to tease her a bit, but seeing her cherry-pink lips so close.

Unable to hold back, he leaned in.

Sweet, soft, fragrant....

Closing his eyes, his mind naturally began to imagine, naturally enveloped in a layer of dreamy beauty.

His upper body involuntarily moved forward, his hands involuntarily pulling her slender waist closer, letting her fragrance fill his senses.

His breathing became rapid...

It felt like everything melted into the intimate touch.

...

"Hanabi, your body is getting so warm."

"Mm..."

"So, shall we kiss a bit longer?" Uesugi Sakura whispered into her ear, gently biting her earlobe.

"Only a little, okay..."

"What if it’s twice?"

Hanamaru Hanabi didn’t speak again, her eyes glistening with a tender glow.

As their eyes met, she lowered her head, shyly avoiding his gaze.

His hands wrapped around her slender waist again...

Indeed... she really is so soft....

——————

The shrine maiden was sweeping the shrine’s path.

In the morning, with a gentle breeze, fallen leaves, stone lanterns on the stone path, a girl in white robes and a red hakama held a broom, noticing the ginger cat that came here almost every day to play for a while.

Not sure whose family it belonged to, but it wore a red Hook Jade around its neck.

It would lie on the shrine’s donation box to sleep, lazily tucking its two paws in, occasionally yawning lazily.

The shrine maiden looked up at the position above the donation box, a bit worried that the valuable-looking Hook Jade might be stolen by someone.

...

Uesugi Sakura glanced at the empty shrine before closing his eyes again, thinking there wouldn’t be many people coming to worship so early in the morning.

He was trying hard to complete a task.

After all, with a ticking time bomb in his head, the sooner he healed it, the better.

Uesugi Sakura glanced again at the task description, which simply stated that he should turn into a cat and wait for clues at the shrine.

But clues, clues, where are the clues?

He was completely at a loss.

During these days, he’s even become quite familiar around the shrine.

The Shrine Master’s family has two daughters and a son. The eldest daughter is a "Divine Child," the real shrine maiden, unlike the other shrine maidens working there.

Of course, working at the shrine isn’t called work; it’s called being an Assistant.

So the shrine maidens hired are called Assistant Witches.

This shrine worships Dog God, and every morning, the Shrine Master would take a look at Uesugi the cat, his face full of questions.

It seemed he was wondering why, since his shrine worshipped Dog God, an orange cat would show up every day?

But since Uesugi the cat came here, the Shrine Master’s eldest daughter, the real shrine maiden, would feed this orange cat that lounges on the donation box every day.

Whatever she had for breakfast, she would share with him.

It was fairly exquisite.

Uesugi the cat would reluctantly eat a few bites.

Early in the morning, the shrine maidens began their work.

Sweeping the path covered with fallen leaves, organizing amulets and red seals for sale, Uesugi the cat noticed they were quite busy.

As time passed, more people came to worship, with shrine maidens greeting them. They would politely say "Thank you for visiting" to each visitor.

This kind of work was always the most tiring because it required standing outside all morning.

Because Uesugi the cat was lounging on the donation box, people often petted his head during worship.

While having his head petted as a cat felt quite nice, as a person, it was somewhat awkward.

So during busy times, he would jump down and wander around the shrine.

However, in today’s line of worshippers, there were two people he was not unfamiliar with.

Hanamaru Hanabi and Sakihara Shion.

The two seemed to have come together.

Uesugi the cat slowly walked up to Hanamaru Hanabi and looked up, meowing.

"Sakura—?"

Upon realizing the large ginger cat in front of her, Hanamaru Hanabi was about to speak but suddenly remembered not to shout like that in public, so she just squatted and picked him up.

"Is this the cat you’re raising, Hanabi-chan?" Miss Sakihara asked.

Hanamaru Hanabi glanced at the lazy eyes of the ginger cat and said angrily:

"Yes, but when I woke up this morning, I didn’t know where he had run off to."

"Meow."

Uesugi the cat knew she was talking about him.

A girl finds her husband missing early in the morning, so of course she’d be angry.

Yes, it must be like this, Uesugi Sakura thought to himself.

So, he rubbed against the girl’s chest, seeking her forgiveness.

"So well-behaved."

"Meow."

"Not well-behaved at all."

Miss Sakihara naturally smiled, but when her gaze fell upon the red Hook Jade hanging from Uesugi the cat’s neck, she looked puzzled: "This is...?"

It was at this moment that Uesugi the cat received feedback from the system.

[Beep... Beep...]

[Task completed]

[Skill points ×5, please check to collect]

The system’s appearance was somewhat abrupt.

But Uesugi Sakura realized, this Hook Jade was related to Miss Sakihara.

The task immediately underwent a transformation.

[Beep... Beep...]

[The story hidden for decades]

[Task Description: Follow the known clues onward. This may not benefit you, but could grant others the wishes they desire.]

[Reward: Skill points ×10]

"What’s with this Hook Jade?" Hanamaru Hanabi asked.

Miss Sakihara held the Hook Jade in her hand, fiddling with it for a while before finally shaking her head:

"I don’t know, I really don’t know."

"But just now, it seemed like Shion-san recognized it."

Uesugi the cat observed closely.

Miss Sakihara smiled and petted Uesugi the cat’s head: "I should just think it’s pretty, that’s all."

"I see..."

Uesugi Sakura didn’t think so, feeling that Sakihara Shion might know something about the Hook Jade.

However, being a cat now, it wasn’t convenient to look for clues.

He decided to deal with it when he went to the dojo.

Uesugi the cat continued to lay in Hanamaru Hanabi’s arms, wagging his tail.

Beyond, the line of worshippers gradually dwindled down, and most people, after worshiping, headed towards the amulet and fortune-selling area.

When the line completely disappeared, Sakihara Shion led Hanamaru Hanabi towards the shrine’s worship hall.

"Miss Sakihara."

The speaker was someone Uesugi the cat also knew, the real shrine maiden of this shrine, the Shrine Master’s eldest daughter, Sahaya Ling.

She was dressed in white robes, a juban and red hakama, feet in white tabi socks, and she slightly bowed to the two guests in front.

Miss Sakihara returned the greeting with a nod and warmly greeted Sahaya Ling.

Clearly, it wasn’t her first time visiting the shrine.

Following the worship process, midway, Uesugi the cat was placed back into Hanamaru Hanabi’s arms.

Sahaya Ling, seeing Uesugi the cat lying comfortably in the girl’s arms, curiously asked: "Is this the cat you’re raising, Hanamaru-kun?"

Hanamaru Hanabi didn’t expect the topic to switch to the cat, a bit sluggishly replying:

"Ah... yes, has he caused any trouble?"

"No, but it comes here every day, so I feed it some breakfast. I’m curious about why it comes here."

Sahaya Ling suddenly smiled again and continued, "Hanamaru-kun, didn’t you want to experience being an Assistant Witch? Maybe it came to familiarize you with the place beforehand."

Hanamaru Hanabi glanced at Uesugi the cat nestled in her arms, wondering if that was the case.

Uesugi Sakura knew that Hanabi had plans to try being a shrine maiden during the summer vacation, but he hadn’t expected her to choose this shrine.

"Meow."

"Is it true?" Hanamaru Hanabi asked.

"Meow."

Miss Sakihara laughed and said, "That’s probably what it means."