Chapter 141: The Sword Witch's Ecological Investigation
Jingūji's confused speech unintentionally revealed an important piece of information.
The sword witches, filled with shock, quickly reached out and gently awakened the sleeping Jingūji who was almost lost in a daze.
"What are you doing?" asked Saki Jingūji, confused. "It's been such a long time, aren't you tired?"
"Not at all, rather very excited!"
A sword witch, dressed in a sassy manner, approached. She was from Osaka and her name was Tomieko. She had a graceful name and came from a prestigious family of local shrine maidens in Osaka. However, her love for this unique appearance showed a wild and rebellious taste influenced by the cyberpunk style.
In her heart, she thought, "If only I could find a handsome and chivalrous knight who is also affectionate and skilled in combat, I would definitely give up all my bad habits and become a proper and refined lady again, leaving behind smoking and rebellious hairstyles."
Mizuko also moved closer, pinching her own doll-like face to make sure she wasn't hearing things. "You're saying he's not your boyfriend!" she exclaimed.
Saki Jingūji got caught and started to stutter, saying, "Indeed, he is not."
"Huh??"
The sword witches all spoke with a peculiar tone, their voices stretching out in an odd manner.
"What kind of expression is that?" Jingūji said, feeling both embarrassed and frustrated.
"Not being lovers and yet coming to save you like this? By the way, Jingūji, you are from Edo, right? ...he should be living in Edo too. Could it be that he immediately drove over in a car as soon as he received the news?" teased one of the sword witches.
Jingūji thought for a moment and said to himself, "It seems like that is indeed the case."
"He chased after you from Edo?" Mizuko asked curiously, "Did you tell him when you left? Or did he come along with you?"
"I didn't tell anyone," Saki Jingūji said, surprised. She hadn't even told Yagyū Simozi about it. How did Bai Wei know?
"Didn't you make a phone call?"
"I called not him, but my good friend."
"Wait, something doesn't seem quite right with the timing," Tomieko said, trying to figure it out. Deep inside, she felt a sense of alarm. "Even if you take a train from Edo, it would still take nearly seven hours. If you were to ride a motorcycle, it would take at least eighteen hours or more."
Mizuko tilted her head and said, "Did he really ride his motorcycle all the way from Edo?"
"His biking skills are really impressive, I've never seen anyone handle a motorcycle so effortlessly," Tomieko said. "I've seen daredevils before, but their motorcycle skills are not even close to the same level."
At this moment, the sword witches looked back at Jingūji with doubtful eyes. Their gaze seemed to question How is it possible that he traveled for over ten hours through wind and rain without rest, just to save you, and yet he claims not to be your lover? It couldn't be true....
"If not, I can only say, this is a person who has moved away from simple pleasures."
"But I still prefer...because of love."
The sword witches shook their heads one after another, showing that they didn't believe.
Jingūji couldn't bear this kind of criticism anymore, so she responded directly, "I'm really not in a romantic relationship with him, but I am a good friend with his sister. We've been friends for many years."
The others exchanged glances and Mizuko complained, "I do have friends, but I don't have a best friend who would willingly offer up their own brother to protect me."
Tomieko blinked her eyes and asked, "Does your childhood friend need more good friends? How about me?"
"Go away, go away! Aren't you from Osaka?" Another sword witch also offered herself, "I think I'm pretty good. I'm currently in Gunma, but I can apply to transfer to Edo soon."
"Go away, you naughty ladies! Don't you know how to feel embarrassed? I don't need to meet your friend from childhood. Just introduce him to me directly, so I can get to know him."
The hospital room buzzed with excitement when everyone realized that Saki Jingūji didn't manage to take a bite of "this meat". The enthusiasm of the girls became unstoppable.
Poor Jingūji used to consider this group of shrine maidens as loyal comrades who would stick with her through thick and thin. But now, because of one man, they have completely lost their dignity.
Is it necessary?
"Of course, good men are very rare, and I guess it's because my standards have been getting higher and higher."
"The marriage rate of shrine maidens is less than thirty percent, and the fear of growing old alone is dreadful!"
"Get married early, have children early, and you'll have a year and a half of maternity leave when pregnant! This is what really matters in life!"
"The only man I could see gradually turned into a priest, who happened to be celibate and had a boring and old-fashioned personality. The sword witch was not suitable for finding an ordinary boyfriend. I know many people who had been on blind dates, but they all ended without any happy outcome."
The sword witches chattered away. Most of these sword witches were individualists who preferred to work alone and didn't have a fixed team. Their social circles were relatively closed, making it hard to make friends. But this time, facing life and death together, they surprisingly found it easier to open up and have conversations with each other, like young girls do.
In the same situation, of course, there were endless complaints to be voiced. The shrine workers were quite unhappy about the current working conditions.
Among them, there were significant matters of marriage to be considered.
As mentioned before, the shrine was responsible for handling various types of marriage matters. They took care of all the matchmaking business and even introduced couples to the traditional wedding dress shops. Providing venue and conducting the ceremonies were important sources of income for them.
After many apprentice shrine maidens graduate, once they get married, they would return to the shrine where they were trained and receive blessings and witness as the bride from the shrine maidens' supervisor and senior shrine priests.
It can be said that the shrine maidens quite want to get married. In fact, nowadays, with an imbalanced ratio of men and women, most women are unable to find suitable partners and dislike the idea of being unmarried.
The mortality rate for Sword Witches is extremely high. Only one in ten manages to live peacefully until the end of their life. Most people assume that they will eventually sacrifice themselves for the country at some point in their lives. In reality, they are considered to be strong women. Influenced by the remnants of the Taisho era, the ideal Yingzhou woman is a short-legged, virtuous Yamato-fuji (a traditional Japanese depiction of a modest and obedient wife). Sword-wielding women like them cannot be classified as homemakers.
The more outstanding people are often left behind, as if after repeated selections, what remains could be either scum or elites.
Sword witches have very high standards, and unless they have an excellent emotional connection, it is unlikely for them to marry an ordinary person.
Even ordinary people don't want to accept a sword witch, as they don't want to suddenly receive a phone call one day informing them that their wife's body has been claimed.
They didn't go in either direction.
So the sword witches dedicated a lot of their time to their hobbies and entertainment. Saki Jingūji was allowed to attend classes at Far East University. Tomieko enjoyed getting her hair styled, smoking, and driving fast. Mizuko also pursued music studies.
The plentiful entertainment activities and personal time allowed them to further explore the meaning of life. In their short lives, they could enjoy more amazing experiences instead of being confined to the responsibilities of family life. In this aspect, the guidance from the shrine was quite appropriate. However, it can be said that their mindset hasn't completely changed. This trend of wanting to get married has persisted for hundreds of years, regardless of fluctuations in birth rates and gender ratios. The fact that sword witches find it difficult to get married seems to be an unchangeable truth, like an irrefutable theorem.
Jingūji didn't think much about getting married before, but now she sees them discussing marriage and doesn't feel bothered by it.
A few months ago, she would have scoffed at the idea. She was used to living alone, and it was hard for her to imagine waking up in the morning with someone else in her bed. Brushing her teeth and washing her face would require an extra set of toiletries. Making breakfast meant preparing an additional portion. She would have to listen to someone else's chatter, wash their clothes and socks, and even give up watching her favorite TV shows when they were on...
As soon as she imagined suddenly having another person in her living space, she couldn't help but feel a shiver down her spine and a strong sense of resistance filled her heart.
Getting married means allowing the other person into your life, and this has a deeper impact than letting them into your physical body.
But now, she suddenly feels a sense of longing for what married life might be like.
If she were making breakfast, the person she had in mind would be standing behind her, gently wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He wouldn't help nor disrupt, but simply embrace her with a touch of longing, lightly inhaling the fragrance of her hair...
Just by thinking about it, she felt warmth and joy overflow from deep within her chest.
Even just imagining made her feel happy.
What makes this scene different from the previous one? Perhaps it's not the future itself that she resists, but rather the unfamiliar stranger who emerged from somewhere deep within her heart.
Saki Jingūji's thoughts wandered off a bit.
The young girl was too innocent and naive to talk about love, let alone marriage.
She looked at the sword witches again and realized that most of them were just casually talking, trying to find some topics to discuss.
Want to get married is one thing, but they still knew nothing about Bai Wei, having no understanding of him at all. The small amount of fondness they felt was mostly based on gratitude.
It was just all talk.
She understood this simple truth and no longer felt nervous, instead she became confident. She was so cautious in handling love and marriage, just like other sword witches should be. Then she heard Tomieko say this sentence.
"I like it, isn't that enough? Feelings can be developed slowly, you can get on the bus first and pay later."
"But that would be a bit too forceful and violent, and forcefully ripping off the fruit doesn't make it sweet."
"Maybe not sweet, but definitely refreshing, and whether it's sweet or not, you must take a sip to know."
"I agree," said a sword witch. "I know a sword witch who managed to win over her childhood sweetheart by using force and defeated her strong enemy. Don't just see yourself as a woman, but see yourself as a man!"
"As a man, isn't this just committing a crime?"
Oh no...
Saki Jingūji narrowed her eyes slowly and asked in a soft voice, "Is it really necessary?"
"Of course it is!" said an older sword witch, lowering her head with tears streaming down her face. "It's because I was too reserved that I ended up as a defeated underdog!"
