Masao struggled and turned his head back. "senpai, let me go. I want to talk to the female benefactor."
"We're leaving." Chiriku's hand did not move at all.
Masao's feet dragged two trails across the ground, his neck twisting back with all his might. "Female benefactor, I still don't know your name."
"Her Highness the Princess's name is not something you should ask," Chiriku said.
Masao stopped kicking. His whole body froze.
"P-Princess?" He turned his head to look at Chiriku, his voice trembling. "senpai, did I just stutter in front of Her Highness the Princess?"
"Yes."
"Did I also ask her name?"
"Yes."
"Did I say I wanted to return to secular life in front of Her Highness the Princess?"
"Yes."
Masao's face turned deathly pale in an instant. He gave up struggling, his whole body hanging from Chiriku's hand.
"I'm dead." He muttered to himself. "I'm already dead. The one talking to you now is my soul."
"You are not dead."
"My heart is dead."
Chiriku said nothing and quickened his pace.
"Let's go." The leading monk had already turned around. "This poor monk happens to be going to the Daimyo's residence. I will escort the two of you back along the way."
Shin-chan's shoulders drooped. "We only just came out."
"Arising and passing, all is destiny." The monk did not stop walking. "Today's outing ends here."
Shin-chan tilted his head and looked at Ai. "I only understand half of what he's saying."
Ai did not answer. Her hand tightly gripped Shin-chan's sleeve.
On the way back, Masao was dragged by the back of his collar by Chiriku and walked at the end of the group, but his eyes stayed glued to Ai's back the entire time.
"senpai," Masao whispered, "I think I can avoid returning to secular life."
"Weren't you just saying you wanted to return to secular life?"
"I thought about it just now." Masao's expression was extremely serious. "I can stay a monk and still follow her."
Thud.
Another hand chop. Chiriku emphasized again, "She is a princess."
Masao was silent for a while. "Then she definitely needs someone to protect her."
Chiriku closed his eyes.
After the monk entered the Daimyo's residence, he did not immediately go to see the Daimyo. Instead, he stopped in the corridor, turned around, and looked at Ai.
"Your Highness, this poor monk will not mention today's matter to His Lordship the Daimyo."
Ai froze for a moment, then bowed deeply. "Thank you, Master."
The monk nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to Shin-chan. "Little benefactor, earlier on the street, you asked this poor monk where attachments are placed."
Shin-chan looked up at him.
"This poor monk's attachments," the monk pressed his palms together, "are placed in this temple."
"What if you can't put them down?"
The monk was silent for a while.
"When you cannot put them down," he slowly said, "then first do well the things you cannot put down."
After saying that, he turned and walked toward the main hall, his monk robes dragging softly across the floor.
Masao watched his master's back disappear at the end of the corridor, then turned to look at Shin-chan.
"I challenge you."
Shin-chan looked blank. "Challenge what?"
"A duel." Masao's voice was a little excited. "I have to prove that I'm more—"
Before he could finish...
Thud.
Chiriku's hand chop landed precisely on Masao's head. "It's time to go."
"senpai." Masao held his head. "I wasn't done talking..."
"Don't forget what we came here to do." Chiriku grabbed him by the back of his collar and walked forward.
Masao waved both hands wildly in the air. "You wait! I'll definitely come back..."
Chiriku quickened his pace, and Masao's voice grew smaller and smaller as the distance widened.
From beginning to end, Shin-chan had no idea what had happened. "Why does he want to challenge me?"
Ai shook her head, but the curve at the corner of her mouth did not escape Shin-chan's eyes.
"You're laughing."
"I'm not." Ai covered half her face with her sleeve.
"You clearly are." Shin-chan moved a little closer. "What are you laughing at?"
Ai changed the subject. "Are you disappointed that we couldn't go out and play?"
"A little." Shin-chan scratched his head. "I wanted to go to the market and see if there was anything tasty, but we got caught as soon as we went out."
He turned to look at Ai. "What about you?"
Ai lowered her eyes. "Me too. I wanted to take you to see the willow trees by the river."
The two of them fell silent at the same time for a moment.
"That short while before we were caught," Ai said softly, "was already the happiest time I've had this month."
"Then next time, we'll definitely run all the way to the river."
...
Tea ceremony class.
The door of the Japanese-style room was half open. In the courtyard, the bamboo tube filled with water and struck the stone with a thud before bouncing back.
Shin-chan sat cross-legged on the cushion and had already been staring at the bowl of tea for two minutes.
Teacher Miyano corrected his posture from the side. "Young Master Nohara, straighten your back. Place your hands..."
"Teacher." Shin-chan raised his hand.
"Please speak."
"When can I drink this bowl of tea?"
"After Her Highness the Princess has also prepared her tea, you will taste them together."
Shin-chan turned his head and looked at Ai beside him.
Every one of her movements was meticulous.
It looked nice, sure, but Shin-chan only cared about one question: when could he drink?
His stomach growled.
Ai's hand paused. She lowered her head, her shoulders moving slightly. No one knew whether she was laughing.
Finally, both bowls of tea were prepared.
Shin-chan picked up the tea bowl, turned it twice according to what the teacher had taught, then drank it all in one gulp.
Bitter.
His face wrinkled into a ball.
"The tea ceremony values one's state of mind," Teacher Miyano said calmly. "When tasting tea, one must feel the atmosphere of the tea room."
Shin-chan looked at the bits of tea leaves at the bottom of the bowl and thought seriously for a moment.
"Teacher."
"Please speak."
"Why can't we add sugar?"
Teacher Miyano fell silent.
After finally enduring until the end of class, Shin-chan had just stepped into the courtyard.
"I finally found you." Masao took a deep breath. "I challenge you!"
"Challenge what?"
"You and me, one-on-one. Only the winner has the right to protect Lady Ai."
Shin-chan looked at him and was silent for two seconds. "But I'm hungry."
"What does being hungry have to do with a duel?"
"It has everything to do with it." Shin-chan looked serious. "You can't do important things when your stomach is empty."
Masao froze, seeming to consider whether those words made sense.
"And." Shin-chan rubbed his belly. "I drank a bowl of bitter tea in tea ceremony class just now, so now my stomach is full of bitterness."
Masao took a vegetarian bun from his robes. "Here."
Shin-chan reached out and took it, then bit into it. "You carry buns with you?"
"Monks do not eat after noon, but I'm still young, so Master said I could prepare some..." Masao suddenly realized he had been led off track. "If you eat my bun, you have to compete with me."
After saying that, Masao took two steps back. His right hand pressed downward, his left hand formed a seal, and he assumed a strange stance.
A faint golden light shone out from his body, vaguely outlining the shape of a thousand-armed Guanyin behind him.
"So cool." Shin-chan still hadn't swallowed the bun in his mouth.
"This is the Fire Temple's secret technique, Welcoming Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder." Chiriku stood to the side with both arms crossed in front of his chest. "My kouhai is only five years old, yet he has already begun to master the secret technique. He is a genius rarely seen in a hundred years."
~~~
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