After that, I sorted things out again because of Aye's incident.

If Yamata Yuan didn't lie to me, Yamata no Orochi wanted to get out of the hazama. No matter which one, but the white shadow he saw in the hazama at that time... I still remember that he said it was the combination of evil gods and resentment.

, is his shadow.

If so, I didn't catch the familiar resentment in the current miasma and the monster's power.

So... the snake in Kyoto now is not that shadow?

After Minamoto no Yorimitsu had withdrawn from treatment for a period of time, I sat at the low table set up next to Yuan and explained my thoughts to Axi.

A Xi, who was sitting aside, stood up after listening: "It seems that he did not misunderstand you."

"Eh?"

"I thought the same thing as you at first. I thought it was strange that the white shadow you mentioned to me before, but I didn't think it was the Yamata-no-Orochi that is now rampant in Kyoto. So when you said that this white shadow is now rampant in Kyoto,

When the snake was the white shadow, I didn't object." Axi paused, "He probably thought the same thing as me, but he probably didn't expect your reaction to be so big."

"You mean, he knew I would do this, but he still did it?" I frowned.

Ah Xi sat back again: "You can say that. However, I think he was probably trying to avoid a worse outcome. To avoid saying what he was thinking and completely denying you."

I was choked by the conclusion A Xi came to, and I finally managed to squeeze out the words: "Idiot."

"...In a sense, both of you are." A Xi was silent for a while before saying.

"Why don't you just leave it all to that guy Qingming? Why do you have to take it all by yourself?" I looked at A Xi menacingly.

A Xi spread her hands: "If you have to ask, I don't know. You can just go and ask him in person.

"I don't want it." I refused.

"Why? You two haven't spoken to each other for so long. No matter how angry you are, you should forgive each other now, right?" Axi looked at me, a faint smile spread over his eyebrows that were similar to mine, "Ah, you

You must be shy, right?"

!!!

I suddenly felt red in the face: "No! Don't talk nonsense!"

"So you finally went out that day and didn't pay attention to inquire about him?" Axi asked as she poured herself a cup of tea.

That day... I felt half-hearted.

"No! He doesn't care about me as a sister at all. At that time, he said that protecting me was more important than saving Kyoto. He was obviously lying to me again."

"...It really sounds like what he would say." A Xi turned her head and said, "You think so? A Ye."

There was a sudden silence between us. I didn't dare to turn my head to look at him, and I didn't dare to ask A Xi what happened.

After a while, I heard A Xi say: "He's gone."

I breathed a sigh of relief, and then I saw a plate being handed over.

"Here, he brought it."

There were two bright red apple candies on the plate. I thought of what he had brought to the girl that day, so I didn't want to take them.

"That's almost it. I have to go to Seimei's side." Axi put the plate on the low table, "When I went to Seimei's side these days, I found that the Kusanagi sword can be used by Kagura. But the Kusanagi sword

It is a thing of the gods, and only gods can use the Kusanagi sword. What is questionable is why Kagura can use it?"

For some reason, I thought of Yamatahara. He is the soul fragment of Yamata no Orochi, but he also has extremely powerful power.

"It's a fragment of the Yamata no Orochi." Although I'm not completely sure, I vaguely feel so.

When Seimei destroyed the altar, Kagura only lost half of her soul in that accident, but I was swallowed by the so-called shadow along with my body. It is unknown whether the god lost half of his power, but from that accident

Kagura, who survived the war, can now appear in front of us in good condition, and can also use the Kusanagi sword.

In that place, the only one with divine power is the Yamata-no Orochi. Since Yamatahara can exist without the Yamata-no Orochi, it is not surprising that Kagura's body is mixed with one.

I lifted up my sleeves and showed the mark on my arm to Xi: "This was not left to me by Yamata-no-Orochi. It was given to me by Yamatahara, a fragment of Yamata-no-Orochi."

"If you put it this way, it's not surprising." A Xi reached for an apple candy and walked away, stood up and said, "You are about to cheer up. It's always like this, but nothing can be done."

"Wait a minute—this is my candy apple—"

"But you're not interested in it." A Xi took a bite and said, "By the way, aren't you curious about why A Ye wants to participate in this matter?"

I lowered my head and stared at the remaining candy apple. Its bright red appearance reflected my expressionless face.

"I don't know if you have ever regretted anything, but I always feel that if you just stay like this and neither of you speaks, one of you will definitely regret it."

regret?

What does regret mean? I don’t understand...

As Xi left me, I picked up the apple candy, hesitated for a long time on the ground in front of me, and finally put it down.

What a disgusting feeling...

After picking up the apple candy, I finally arrived at A Ye's residence. Walking along the edge, I saw A Ye writing something by the low table through the open door. The seriousness and seriousness on his face was something I had never seen before.

.

Maybe without me, Aye might live more freely. I know that his lies are all for me. His smile always shows up to me alone. To him, I may not be a relative, but just someone who needs compensation.

object.

"...Azi?"

I raised my head in a hurry, and raised my lips stiffly: "I'm sorry... I didn't know you were busy. Just now... the apple candy... I just left it here for you."

I lowered my head and carefully handed over the plate.

"...I'm sorry." Aye did not take the plate, "I...I won't lie to you again."

I have mixed feelings in my heart.

"...I have only watched you from a distance for so many years, not knowing what you like, so the New Year's gift was prepared according to my ideas. I brought the apple candy back with me. After all, you were in a dream at that time, and you were still there.

I always think of the summer festival I went to with A Xi..."

Aye said a lot in one breath, but the more he said this, the more I felt that I had made him become like this. It was obvious that he no longer had the resentful side, but why...

Why do you think he is still lying?

I hate...him like this.

For a moment, I was frightened by my own thoughts. The candy apple in my hand rolled a few times on the plate and fell to the ground.

"Brother, you must still hate me." I didn't dare to look at him, I was afraid of seeing hypocrisy in his gentle blue eyes, "The gentleness you have always maintained in front of me is really unnecessary. I am not originally

My brother’s responsibility, even if my brother is responsible for what happened to Kuiko, so many years have passed.”

He has always been gentle to everyone, walking in this world as if wearing a mask of hypocrisy. Abandon all resentment and evil, and then wrap himself with kindness. If this cannot be called hypocrisy, then he will

There is no sense of self-awareness.

"Brother became what he is now entirely because of me. He didn't hesitate to give up part of his evil side as a human being, and he also had to give up his own ideals..." I finally said what I had been thinking every night these days, "This is

Things that everyone can resent are really very painful. I know that it must be very hard for my brother to not only endure these pains, but also pretend not to care about anything on the surface. Just like the old man who has nothing.

I don’t have a penny myself, but I still try my best to find food for other beggars.”

That story about the old man without a penny in his pocket was told to me by Aye when I couldn't sleep. At that time, I had not noticed the crack in trust between us and was still immersed in the joy of reunion.

That night, when I fell asleep leaning on Aye's shoulder, I vaguely saw the flash of complex emotions in his gentle eyes. I chose to ignore it and was greedy for his gentleness. This illusion finally

It was broken by the resurrection of Yamata no Orochi.

The more I spoke, the softer I spoke, and I just felt that I would never be able to be the same as before with him.

"...It's really enough." I have never hated myself as much as I do now. "Brother doesn't need to be gentle to me anymore. It's better as if we have never really met. I see my brother happy, and I am happy too, and so is my brother.

Just look at me like before."

I once pursued him from the sea to Kyoto just to meet him. Now that feeling has been completely lost. The joy of meeting again has been completely replaced by the pain of getting along with him during this time. Maybe it was as early as when my brother decided to search for the underworld.

, the bond between me and him was almost broken.

The silent time stretched out the sky and cloud shadows for a particularly long time.

"...Can you give me some time to answer you?"

Aye finally spoke, as if he was thinking about it, but also seemed to want to let go of his hesitation.

"It's only a matter of time before the Yamata no Orochi is defeated... By then, there will definitely be a celebration in Kyoto. At that time, I will tell you my answer, okay?"

"Brother, as long as you think it's appropriate, don't worry about me." I put the plate on the ground, turned around and left.

Maybe at that time, leaving Kyoto with Aye would be the best choice. I will always live in that gentle lie and no longer explore whether there is any untrustworthiness between the two of us. At that time, I may be better than

Aye died first, but he never felt as uncomfortable as now.

Aye didn't come to me again, and I didn't go to him again. I went out with Axi to slay the monsters in Kyoto. As the resurrection of Yamata no Orochi got closer, things like tree roots began to appear in Kyoto.

snake.

I put all my attention on exterminating the monsters. When Seimei asked Axi and I to go, I would go. Kagura seemed to remember the past, and she spent more time with me.

But Yuan Boya still doesn't want to believe me. After all, I'm still in Genji. It's understandable that he doesn't believe me.
To be continued...