Chapter 597: Guarding My Future, and Where Are My Shrimp?
Lucifer and the rest of the peanut gallery had tactfully retreated, leaving the kitchen in a comfortable, quiet haze. It took a long while before Yuko finally loosened her desperate grip on Ren. Her slender arms remained draped loosely around his neck, her dark eyes shimmering with a mix of lingering vulnerability and newfound warmth.
"You really are a woman's bane..." she murmured, her breath ghosting across his collarbone.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Ren replied, his voice a low, soothing rumble.
Yuko let out a soft, airy laugh, though her cheeks were still dusted with pink. "So vain... Did someone come back just now?"
"Everyone except Riven and Sister Justice," Ren said, a faint, teasing smile playing on his lips.
Yuko stiffened slightly. "They all saw it?"
Ren's silence was answer enough. Yuko sighed, burying her face briefly in his shoulder in a rare display of helplessness. "Looks like my reputation is ruined... Hey... Ren..."
She pulled back just enough to meet his gaze. A soft, genuine smile graced her lips, stripping away her usual enigmatic aura. "Ichihara Yuko, please take good care of me."
Ren blinked, giving her a slightly exasperated, amused look.
Seeing his lack of immediate response, Yuko's pride flared up. She pouted, her tone dropping into an unhappy grumble. "This is the part where you're supposed to reply, 'Please take good care of me too!'"
"Did you learn that from a shoujo manga?" Ren teased, brushing a stray lock of dark hair behind her ear.
"Hmph!" Yuko turned her head away, breaking eye contact. "I don't want to talk to a man who doesn't appreciate what he has once he finally gets it!"
"Is that so? Then I suppose I'll just have to deduct one shrimp from your portion of the Pearl Jade White Soup Buddha Jumps Over the Wall later."
Yuko's head snapped back around, her eyes widening in absolute betrayal. "Hey! That's going too far! What happened to the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall we agreed on?! You promised me at least two shrimp! You're deducting one when there are only two to begin with?! Is this how you treat your woman?!"
Ren chuckled, gently extricating himself from her embrace. "Alright, alright. It's time for me to prepare dinner."
Yuko grabbed his sleeve, refusing to let go. "No, I don't care. If you don't say it, I won't let you leave this kitchen."
Ren paused. He leaned in close, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear. The teasing lilt vanished from his voice, replaced by a deep, unwavering sincerity. "I will carefully guard your future until the very end of time. Before then... please take good care of me, Yuko."
Yuko's heart skipped a heavy beat. The flush on her cheeks deepened, spreading down her neck. She smiled, her grip on his sleeve softening. "Then please... guard it well for me."
Suddenly realizing how intensely intimate the atmosphere had become, she pushed him away lightly. "Go make dinner! I'm starving!"
After Ren disappeared into the culinary workspace, Yuko raised a hand, her fingertips lightly tracing her own lips. A soft, radiant smile bloomed across her face.
The Ichihara Yuko of the past—the Dimensional Witch bound by the heavy chains of fate in Another World—was truly gone. The woman standing here now was simply the Yuko of this world, the one who had reclaimed her true name and her own existence.
Her tragic past was finally over. She now possessed the life she had always deserved: an easy, unburdened life. The crushing weight of foresight and inevitability had been lifted from her shoulders. All she wanted now was to live comfortably, basking in the warmth of a home where every day brought new expectations and delightful surprises.
She was a witch, yes, but she was also a maiden at heart. She had her own emotions, her own desires, and finally, the absolute right to enjoy them. She understood what was best for her, and she knew the true value of this happiness, precisely because she intimately understood the cruel, unforgiving nature of 'fate'.
Her face still slightly flushed, she whispered to the empty air, "My future... you had better guard it well."
"Yo! Isn't that Yuko?"
"Yo! All done being lovey-dovey?"
"Wow! Are you actually blushing?"
Yuko froze. She slowly turned to stare at the peanut gallery that had suddenly crowded around the kitchen entrance. She paused for two agonizing seconds, her blush darkening into a furious crimson.
"Is that not allowed?!" she hummed haughtily, crossing her arms. "Keep talking, and sooner or later, I'll deduct all your shrimp!"
Lucifer tilted her head, utterly bewildered. "What shrimp? Are you so excited your brain finally broke?"
"Go away, go away, your brain broke!" Yuko waved them off dismissively. "You wouldn't understand! Hmph, I'm going upstairs to tidy up the bookshelf!"
The group watched in awe as Yuko turned and walked toward the stairs with slow, measured, perfectly elegant steps.
"Masterful!" someone whispered.
"Wow, her composure is on another level..."
But the illusion shattered the moment Yuko's foot hit the first step. Dropping all pretense of elegance, she practically sprinted up the staircase, vanishing from sight in a blur of dark hair and frantic footsteps.
The entire living room burst into roaring laughter.
Slamming her bedroom door shut, Yuko leaned against it, panting softly. She immediately went to her stash, retrieving her signature kiseru pipe. Cradling it against her chest, she glanced around the room like a thief before pulling a small pinch of tobacco from a disguised gum container on her nightstand.
Sliding the balcony door open, she sank into her favorite lounge chair.
She struck a match, taking a long, slow draw from the pipe. As the sweet, aromatic smoke filled her lungs, her racing heartbeat finally began to calm. She exhaled a thin plume of white smoke, her dark eyes gazing out at the distant, bleeding colors of the sunset. A gentle evening breeze rustled through the balcony, catching a few strands of her long, waterfall-like hair.
She squinted slightly against the fading light. One long, pale leg stretched out lazily, while the other bent slightly against the chair's edge, exuding an indescribable aura of languid tranquility.
A soft chuckle escaped her lips. "I suppose I really should thank that cunning four-eyes... This self-inflicted romance of his deserves a perfect score."
Yuko naturally understood Clow Reed's true purpose in sending her to this realm. It wasn't merely a desperate bid to entrust her life to Ren; it was to entrust her entire future, her emotions, and her very happiness to him.
Clow Reed possessed unmatched foresight. He knew this would be the ultimate good ending. He knew Yuko needed a better choice than the tragic fate originally woven for her. He understood what she craved most deeply, and he understood her stubborn, lazy personality perfectly. Entrusting her to Ren was, without a doubt, the greatest choice he could have made.
For all his supreme mastery over magic, Clow knew he had far too many shortcomings as a man. By sending her here, he ensured that the Yuko who had always secretly longed for a normal life in Another World would be surrounded by the happiest, warmest environment imaginable.
Yuko sighed, looking down at the dying embers in her pipe. She took one last puff, then delicately flicked the ash over the balcony railing. Stretching her arms above her head like a contented cat, she muttered, "Really... not romantic at all! He definitely has to make it up to me later!"
"I'd better hide my pipe quickly!"
Snapping out of her reverie, Yuko scrambled up. She quickly arranged the pile of new books she had bought, creating a makeshift fortress. After stashing her pipe securely behind them and double-checking from multiple angles to ensure it was completely invisible, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
Perfect! Safety first. Ren would lecture her for hours if he caught her smoking right before dinner.
Before she could even turn around, a soft voice drifted from the doorway.
"Sister Yuko, dinner's ready!" Kasugano Sora stood leaning against the doorframe, clutching her black rabbit plushie. "I heard we're having hotpot tonight! Sister Riven and Sister Justice are back too."
"Hotpot?!" Yuko's eyes sparkled, all thoughts of romance and dimensional wizards vanishing instantly. "What are we waiting for? Let's go, let's go!"
Sora smiled faintly as Yuko brushed past her. "Hehe, Sister Yuko is quite bold today."
"Uh... Hahaha..." Yuko laughed awkwardly, her cheeks warming again as she hurried down the hall.
Reaching the ground floor, Yuko's gaze locked onto the massive dining table and the rolling carts overflowing with premium ingredients. Her mouth practically watered.
But just as she opened her mouth to cheer, her expression froze.
Wait. She had just smoked. Did her breath smell like tobacco?
A bead of cold sweat rolled down her forehead. Sora had already taken her seat, waiting patiently, while Yuko stood paralyzed at the foot of the stairs, her internal alarms blaring.
Ren emerged from the kitchen, carrying a platter of thinly sliced meat. He caught sight of her frozen posture and smiled warmly. "Yuko, what are you standing there for? Come sit. Don't worry, I didn't actually deduct your shrimp."
"What shrimp?" Lucifer chimed in from the table, still utterly lost.
Yuko glared at Ren, her heart pounding with a mix of embarrassment and panic. Too timid to admit her current predicament, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"I-I'm going to get something!"
Without another word, she spun on her heel and bolted back up the stairs.
A few minutes later, after a frantic session of teeth-brushing and mouthwash, she descended the stairs once more, finally letting out a long, discreet sigh of relief.
Lucifer watched her sit down, her expression a mask of pure confusion. "What exactly did you go up there to do?"
"I... I suddenly remembered I hadn't brought in my laundry from the balcony, so I went to tidy up my clothes," Yuko lied smoothly, reaching for her chopsticks.
"Such a lame excuse..." someone muttered down the table.
"Hmph!" Yuko ignored them, scanning the bubbling hotpot and the surrounding plates. She frowned, her chopsticks hovering in mid-air. "Hey? Where are my shrimp?"
The entire table stared at her.
"What shrimp, exactly?!" they asked in unison.
[Akarin's Note: Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (佛跳墙 - Fó Tiào Qiáng) is a famous, incredibly complex Chinese delicacy originating from Fujian province. It is a rich, savory soup made with premium ingredients like abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin, quail eggs, and various meats, simmered for hours. The dish is so fragrant and delicious that, according to legend, even a vegetarian Buddhist monk would jump over a wall just to get a taste of it.]
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