Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 15 - Chapter 4.4

  AMANOHASHIDATE SHRINE

“All I see is a long, muddy trail ……”

Actually, walking along the Amanohashidate land bridge is surprisingly boring. I was over it after five minutes.

“How can it look so mystical from above but feel like a long slog through pine trees when you’re actually in it ……? Talk about a letdown ……”

“Oh? This is quite enjoyable for me!”

Since we’re already at a tourist spot, my pleading with her for at least an hour of sightseeing finally got through to Machi. She, reluctantly, has brought me outside to take a look around.

But her mood does a 180 once we get here.

She’s been almost giddy since our first stop, a temple called Chion-in. We drew fortunes on paper folded like a fan, which is extremely unusual—after which we hung them on a pine tree. They also have incense smoke that is said to make you smarter—she told me to breathe extra deep. Is it because I’m an idiot? Then her camera shutter went off nonstop at Kaisen Bridge. Apparently the bridge that connects to Amanohashidate has an unusual architecture—it rotates to let boats pass through. We stopped at a small tea shop along the way for lunch and indulged in their famous Asari-don—an amazingly good rice bowl with clams.

And now she’s shoving her camera into my hands as she goes up to …… a stone monument (?) we found along the side of the path.

“Ryuo-san! Here! Take a photograph of me next to it!”

“What exactly is it? It looks like two stone monuments to me ……”

“A dedication to Tekkan Yosano and Akiko Yosano, engraved with waka poetry!”

Whatever it is, she’s really excited about it ……

With her picture in front of the monument successfully taken, Machi’s eyes light up when she finds a rock on the ground. “My, myyy!! C-Could this be Jutaro Iwami’s sword testing stone?!”

I-I have no idea …… I guess she’s a history buff?

She has a lot in common with her younger sister apprentice, Ayano …… I think to myself when Machi, quite a bit in front of me, says why she is so excited to be here.

“In truth, I am considering writing my graduation thesis on Tekkan Yosano. There is no doubt that he once visited the green wilderness of Amanohashidate!”

“Graduation thesis? Wouldn’t it be easier to write a Shogi article?”

“That is work. As I have taken the time to attend university, I feel that I should become familiar with a wide array of topics before taking my place as an adult in society.”

That’s some serious drive right there.

“Didn’t Akiko Yosono write …… oh, what was it? Thou shall not pass?”

“Are you referring to Thou Shalt Not Die?”

Sorry, I never went to high school.

“That is one of her famous works, but I’m particularly fond of her maiden release. A collection of poetry known as Tangled Hair.”

“Ah! I’ve heard of that one. I’m not really sure what it’s about, but ……”

“Sex.”

“PWFFF!”

I trip over my own feet on the muddy path.

S-, s-s-s-sssss …… s- ……!

“The verses invoke images of the aftermath of a raucous sexual encounter, thus tangled hair. The rest of the collection is abundant with thinly veiled innuendo …… Te-he-he. Reading it for myself for the first time set my heart aflutter.♡”

Since she was about 20 years old when she wrote that over 100 years ago, she was apparently relentlessly bashed by the public.

On top of that–––.

“Akiko became involved in an extramarital relationship with the poet Tekkan Yosano, who lived in the Amanohashidate area, and the two eloped to marry. This drew immense criticism as well.”

“One of those stealing a married man weddings, huh ……?”

“In actuality, Akiko and Tekkan’s wife did not seem to be on bad terms.”

The more I listen to the story, the more it sounds like Tekkan was the problem.

Even after marrying her, he still drifted from one affair to another …… Why are scumbags like him so popular? I just don’t get it ……

“Despite the criticism, she supported her husband, raised many children and had a fruitful career as a poet. In my eyes, she is the ideal human being.”

“She walked her own path no matter what anyone else said. Yes, she sounds like an amazing person.”

Actually, doing that is extremely difficult.

All I have to do is play Shogi. Look at the board, that’s it. But other things in life always drawn my attention in the end.

Like constraints, I guess you could say.

I thought I’d finally broken free of them so that all I’d ever have to do in life would be to focus on Shogi …… But there are some things that my own strength alone just can’t do.

Machi says there’s a place further down the path she wants to go, so we are trudging down the neverending path of boredom once again.

“Ah! That is it!”

“What is it?”

It turns out to be a small shrine.

It looks like a shrine you could find anywhere, with the only difference being its predictable name: Amanohashidate Shrine–––.

“Wait? That’s strange …… Are there a bunch of rocks piled up on the torii gate ……?”

Machi explains it to me. “Legend states that placing a stone upon this torii gate grants a wish.”

“Well …… that explains why there are so many rocks!”

There are also rocks piled up on the fence that surrounds the shrine. I guess people who weren’t tall enough to get a stone on to the gate had to compromise.

Machi already has a stone in her hand to try her luck, but–––.

“Ngh …… Haa ……! J-Just a little bit higher ……”

It’s not quite in her reach.

But this is one heck of a treat for the eyes.

Every time she jumps, her boobs bounce just a second behind, going up and down like afterimages …… Now this is one of the three great views of Japan (the other two being Keika and Ms. Rokuroba).

“Is something the matter? Sitting on the ground like that.”

“Sorry. I took an arrow to the knee ……”

The arrow actually hit a bit higher, but the fact remains that I can’t stand up right now.

“Hmmm?”

I keep my eyes on the ground as Machi walks up to me. Then, staring straight down, she says.

“I believe a piggyback ride would allow me to place the stone atop the gate.”

“P-!”

Piggyback …… ride?

“These shoulders right before my eyes seem to suffice.”

“…………”

Glancing up just a little …… I discover that Machi has thick thighs for being such a slender person overall.

And those …… are going on to my shoulders?!

Machi crouches down to my eye level and says with a grin, “Give me one. A piggyback ride.”

“………… Okay.”

Still sitting on the ground, I lean forward like a condemned prisoner waiting for the executioner’s axe.

Then, around my neck–––.

“One …… and two. Go ahead and stand.”

The hot, soft pressure of her thighs closes in …… My neck and cheeks are enveloped. Holy …… Hoooooooly ……!

She must’ve broken a sweat after all that running around earlier, right?

It seems a bit, well …… damp ……

“Nhhh ……!”

Stop moaning like that or you’ll make me fall over! I’m barely standing as it is!!

“Yaichi, keep a firm hold of my legs.”

“Y-Yes!”

“Eeek! H-Hold firmer! Your constant swaying is giving me a heart attack ……!”

“H-Have you, put the stone, up there?”

“Aye.”

I take one very slow step backward and bend my knees to let Machi down. I won’t be getting back up for a while. My knees, they took way too much damage.

Everything from my ears down to my shoulders …… is hot.

“Is something the matter? Was I too heavy for you? You seem to be gasping for breath, your face is redder than an apple ……”

“N-No, it’s …… no that ………… Just tired after so much exercise! Ha-ha-ha ……”

“Ah! In that case–––.”

With that Machi scurries over to the edge of the shrine property.

There’s a small well over there.

“We have gone in the reverse order of the customary practice, but before praying at the shrine, we are to purify ourselves with isoshimizu spring water.”

“Iso …… shimizu?” 

“It is the miraculous spring that Shikibu Izumi sang of in one of her poems. As it emerges from the ground without the slightest bit of salt despite being surrounded by the sea, it has been revered since ancient times.”

“That is pretty special, isn’t it? How could there be freshwater beneath a sandy path that goes over the ocean?”

I’d love to look it up online, but my phone and wallet are still confiscated by my skilled editor, so I can’t.

“That has led to many legends pertaining to isoshimizu. One of them claims that bathing in it can return one to their true form.”

“True form ……?”

“Would you like to?”

“Huh?”

Machi puts her hands beneath the flowing waterspout and starts washing them. Slowly, thoroughly ……

Watching those water droplets twinkle in the sunlight, filtering them through the trees has me in a trance–––.

“There. Now it’s your turn, Yaichi.”

“……!! ………… O-Okay …………”

Since I’m still stuck sitting on the ground, Machi procures the isoshimizu water with both hands, carries it over and–––splashes me!

“Haaa!”

“Gah?! Wh-Why the face?! It’s freezing! Cut it out!!”

“But so much is clinging to you, is it not, Yaichi? You are in need of purification.”

“What’s clinging to me?!”

“So many bad old flames. And evil spirits, I suppose.”

Now that I’m soaked with miraculous spring water, Machi looks at me with expectation.

“…… Say it. What is my name?”

“Machi Kugu- …………… Machi.”

“Chan.”

“M-Ma- ………… chan ……”

“Yes!”

There she is: Ma- …… Ma-chan smiling at me like an innocent little girl.

Then, in a tiny voice, “………… I have finally reclaimed ……”

“Reclaimed? …… What? From who?”

“That’s private.”

Why? All we’re doing is own each other’s names like we used to …… So why does it feel like we’re doing something wrong? But I can’t press any further.

Finally getting to my feet, I try to distract myself from this guilty feeling and change the subject.

“S-So, Ma-chan, what did you wish for? Let me guess: to become the Challenger for the Women’s Legends Title?”

“Bzzzzt. Incorrect.”

“Then, claiming the Woman’s Legend Title to become a dual title holder?”

“A hint. It has to do with you, Yaichi.”

“Me?”

I stop to think for a moment.

It comes to me in an instant. It’s simple.

“Ahh …… I see now. That’s why we’re here at Amanohashidate in the first place.”

Machi’s …… No, Ma-chan’s wish.

What else could it be?!

“You wished for my debut to be a hit, didn’t you?! Right, right?!”

“…… That’s private. He-he-he. ♡”

“Hey! C’mon, you can’t do that!! I gave you a piggyback ride and everything, so tell me!”

“A-ha-ha-ha-ha! Follow me!♡”

Machi runs through the pine trees, laughing like a little girl and emerges onto the white sandy shore.

I can’t help but laugh and chase after her. It feels like we’re kids again.

“Yaichi. I cannot tell you my wish as of now, but ……” Machi turns around and says, just before reaching the waterline, “I will tell you the verse in Tangled Hair that strikes a particular chord with me.”

Placing her hands on her chest, Machi–––starts singing.

“Mune no kiyomizu, afurete tsuhini, nigori-keri, kimi mo tsumi-noko, ware mo tsumi-noko.”

Machi’s voice resonates with the waves behind her, flowing past my ears with the breeze.

At first I thought it was a beautiful song.

But wait …… nigori means murky or dirty. ……And what about the tsumi part at the end? That means to sin, so ……?

Combining those words with a pure, overflowing heart seems odd to me.

I wish I could look into it more but …… without my phone, I just can’t.

Click!

“……?”

Machi’s camera is aimed right at my face. Teasingly, she says, “A commemorative photograph. The day Yaichi returned to his true form.”

We make our way to the end of Amanohashidate and find a small pier. Boarding the ferry, we ride back to where we started.

Both of us didn’t say anything while waiting for the boat, but …… Ma-chan’s purified hands wouldn’t let go of my clothes the whole time.

Just like on that Shogi retreat.