By this point, Lin Mo was almost certain that Koyama knew he had already passed on.
He could probably sense it quite clearly too—that his time was running out.
Once the guests went to fetch the tea set,
he could slip away quietly, leaving no sorrow behind.
Before he left, he could still bid a proper farewell to the Shogun.
" It's fine. "
Ei's gaze dropped slightly, her tone calm. " Rest for a while.
We'll go and come back. "
" The Shogun herself is going? "
Koyama's voice was full of surprise. " I couldn't possibly allow it.
I'm deeply honored, but with the battle outside... "
" This place has changed. "
Ying cut off his words, speaking flatly. " It's not the same tea house you remember.
Leave it to us. "
" Well... if you insist. "
The old man sighed. " I never thought the day would come when I'd have to ask the Shogun to prepare tea utensils for me.
"
His despondent tone clearly stemmed from regret at not being able to truly say goodbye to Raiden Shogun.
But then he turned and said with a hint of relief, " Should I call this my final regret or my final blessing? Hahaha...
"
To Koyama, these words made it unmistakably clear that this was their last farewell.
Ei's gaze grew heavy, and her chest ached.
She could only take Lin Mo's hand and leave this place.
Ying and Paimon quickly followed.
Finally, Ei reached the cliff by the sea of Huanghai and stopped, burying her head in Lin Mo's chest.
Everyone remained silent, staring toward the direction of Huanghai, as if they were all silently seeing off Koyama's departure.
Gradually,
under their distant gaze,
Koyama's figure grew fainter and fainter.
At last, it dissolved beneath the scattered crimson cherry blossom petals, merging into the earth.
" The old man... he's gone... "
Paimon's voice was filled with melancholy.
Clearly, Paimon wasn't used to experiencing such partings.
Lin Mo gently stroked Ei's hair and asked softly, " You knew he wanted to say a final goodbye to you, but why did you still leave with us? "
Ying and Paimon also cast puzzled looks at Ei.
Because even they could hear the farewell hidden in Koyama's words.
" Because I'm not the Shogun he was talking about. The one he wanted to say goodbye to was my sister, not me.
"
This explanation from Ei didn't seem to satisfy Lin Mo.
So he pressed on, " That doesn't matter. What matters is letting him leave without regrets.
"
" But I selfishly wanted him to have regrets... "
This answer from Ei clearly caught everyone off guard.
" Why? "
Paimon asked, utterly confused. " Ei, that's not like you~"
At that moment, Lin Mo's expression shifted slightly, and he said uncertainly, " You don't mean... you want him to have regrets, so he'll linger on the border between life and death in Inazuma, unable to move on... "
" Mm... "
Ei nodded. " If Koyama wants to say goodbye, then let my sister go to the border of life and death herself and give him a proper farewell.
"
" Sigh... well... alright. "
Lin Mo knew Ei's approach wasn't wrong.
It just meant letting Koyama linger a little longer, waiting for Makoto to personally go to the border of life and death for a true farewell.
" Never mind. I'll mention this to Makoto later.
"
Lin Mo didn't dwell on the matter.
Because there was something more important at hand—guarding the Sacred Sakura Tree.
So Lin Mo turned to the clues and said, " Let's follow the clues quickly and head to the next location. "
" Mm. "
Ei nodded.
The group then set off again, following the clues.
On the way, Paimon couldn't help but ask Ei curiously, " Since the Shogun that Grandpa Koyama mentioned is actually 'Makoto,' then the dreams he talked about—are they also Makoto's dreams? "
" Mm. "
Ei nodded and explained, " Even though he sensed something about the 'two Shoguns,' he always pretended not to know. "
" The 'dreams' and 'ideals' he spoke of just now were the views on reality that Makoto had always upheld. "
" I see. "
Paimon suddenly understood. " That's so different from the way you used to pursue eternity~"
" Yes. "
Ei nodded. " That was the biggest difference between us.
"
As she said this, Ei stopped in her tracks and turned her gaze toward Lin Mo.
Lin Mo looked back at her curiously, wondering what had suddenly come over her.
Then Ei continued.
" In her eyes, the most precious thing in an instant is 'dreams.' Dreams are the yearning for life and the future. "
" Because she often told me. "
" Tsurugi wouldn't want to see us moping over his death, living in the past. "
" But... I couldn't understand.
"
" I couldn't move on. I couldn't do what my sister did and look forward.
"
As Ei spoke, her slender, fair hand tightly gripped Lin Mo's arm. " I want to live in the past.
I want to hold onto everything. "
It was only then that Lin Mo understood.
So the reason these two sisters, as close as hand and foot, had such differing ideals was because of his own death back then.
Makoto was in charge of managing Narukami Island.
She had to be an optimist, looking toward the future, leading Narukami Island to prosperity.
Ei stayed behind the scenes.
Since she had nothing to do most days except practice swordsmanship,
it led Ei to spend her days lost in thought, reminiscing about the past, wanting to lose no more, wanting to hold onto everything.
And so, the idea of pursuing "eternity" was born.
...
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T/N:
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