A Small Fry / The Story Behind the Photograph

Yuria, standing to the side, gave a dry reply, her eyes fixed on the food steaming in the pot in front of Hua, and uttered a remark of high emotional intelligence.

"That's already great, but it seems like there's still a lot of room for improvement."

"Is that so?"

Hua glanced at Yuria, then at the food he had made, and didn't think it was anything particularly bizarre. It was just bizarre, really.

In terms of smell, this pot of food has a complex aroma, with a fishy smell, a foul smell, a sour smell, and a rotten smell. I don't know how it was cooked to the point where almost all the flavors were just right to the limit of what a person can tolerate, just a little bit more and they would feel nauseous and vomit.

Judging from its appearance, it's probably even more terrifying than what Ghosts would do, like boiled giants or stir-fried eyeballs. The soup is green mixed with purple, and the purple has a hint of crimson. The ingredients inside perfectly form a picture of hell, making you feel like you don't live in the mortal world at first glance.

As for the actual taste...

Yuria calmly scooped up a tiny bit of soup, about the size of a water droplet, and prepared a glass of plain water for rinsing her mouth before she had the courage to taste the soup herself.

The moment she took a bite, she was prepared to sacrifice herself. Although it looked terrible and smelled terrible, the taste was surprisingly ordinary.

"Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, spicy... While not to the point of being unbearable, it's strange that I'm stuck on the less-than-perfectly-cooked food that's still acceptable?"

She muttered to herself, thinking that being able to make soup like this was indeed a sign of talent.

"How about it?"

Hua didn't hear her mutterings and asked Yuria for her opinion on the soup.

"How's the taste?"

"Well,"

Yuria was unsure how to answer this question. To be honest, she could only call the soup garbage. But saying that would be very damaging to one's confidence.

"Perhaps we could try making other foods, like omelet rice or something?"

She suggested that these simple dishes, which didn't require many ingredients, couldn't possibly be a disaster.

To be honest, she really didn't expect Hua's cooking skills to be so bad, so incredibly bad. She had originally thought that someone as passionate about food as Hua, a big eater, would at least have some talent for cooking, but now she realized how naive she had been.

Ultimately, she shouldn't have started teaching such difficult dishes from the beginning.

"Okay, let's clean up this pot of soup and make something simple and easy."

So... it tastes really bad?

Soup?

Yuria didn't answer; she simply poured the pot of soup down the drain.

"Hua, you have great talent, so I will be extra strict with you. This dish hasn't reached the limit of your culinary skills yet; you still need more refinement."

She paused, then said something against her will.

"This soup is very well done, a rare and miraculous creation, but it's not enough. Although it's already great, it can be done even better. Before that, we need to pour more emotion into the ingredients, to understand and recognize their essence and inner qualities. Starting with a bowl of omelet rice is the same principle as a great painter painting an egg, do you understand?"

The soup residue left in the pot was so difficult to rinse off with water that Yuria said this to Hua while scraping it with a steel wool pad.

If she can't even make a successful soup, why doesn't she just choose foods that are less likely to fail? Surely she wouldn't fail at something as simple as omelet rice? Impossible, absolutely impossible.

"Is that so?"

Looking at Yuria frantically disposing of the pot of soup she had made, Hua honestly didn't believe it, but since Yuria had said so, she had no choice but to nod.

"Okay then, let's make omelet rice! I'm going to make a super big omelet rice."

She clasped her hands together, tilted her head, and smiled.

"Looking forward to my omelet rice!"

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it."

Yuria breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly realizing that Professor Hua would take an unusually long time to cook, but today the two of them had plenty of time. Moreover, if they started teaching from the simplest dishes, Hua would gradually figure out how to combine and match ingredients, and would never again make a disastrous situation like this pot of soup.

No problem, definitely--

"I was wrong."

A dozen minutes later, I looked at the graffiti that was placed in front of me, which looked like it had just graduated from kindergarten. The yellow and black egg whites were covered with ketchup that looked like it had been involved in some kind of tragedy.

Yuria felt that she had somewhat underestimated Hua's aesthetic sense in the presentation of his cooking.

"Um... I think we should start with hands-on practice first?"

She sighed, realizing the problems with her verbal guidance and beginning to doubt her own teaching abilities. Did she simply lack any talent for teaching?

"It really was terrible, wasn't it? The soup too."

Hua sighed upon hearing this suggestion.

"Perhaps I really don't have the talent for doing things."

Looking at the reference photos in the recipe and her own finished product, even though she was completely unaware, she finally realized where the problem lay.

"Yuria, maybe we should just forget about it."

"... No, it's nothing."

Yuria took a deep breath and rolled up her sleeves.

"I'm betting all my experience cooking that I'll teach you how to cook a proper dish. Think about Miko, don't you want Miko to eat the food you made and tell you it's delicious?"

"Although, but..."

"There's nothing to say, I know that kind of thing very well! Because I think the same way. You must be very resentful because of this."

He picked up the kitchen knife, his sharp eyes fixed on Yuria before him.

"Let's strive for success! With hard work, we will surely achieve ultimate success. So never give up, Hua."

"Lunchbox, hamburger patties, Valentine's Day chocolate, miso soup—not one less, not one less. Come on, this is our battle!"

Seeing Yuria's fighting spirit being ignited instead, Yurikawa Hana couldn't bring herself to say anything, even if she wanted to.

"Well... I'll try my best anyway."

"Alright, let's continue the fight!"

Chapter 261 Little People

"How do you contact the original head priest of the shrine?"

Upon hearing this request Okita Qishen was taken aback.

"Divine Gate is unaware of anything concerning these shrines, but please wait a moment while I inquire with the relevant authorities about this shrine."

He got up from the table, went outside the conference room, and made a phone call to the local government department responsible for registering shrines. Within minutes, the information about the shrine was transmitted via a photo printer.

The paper documents were handed to Yotsuya Miko, who had only been sitting for a short while.

Art. Age also lacquer thought dance long silk wine; put "thank you very much".

She stood up, put the documents into her shoulder bag, and knew all the information on them just by scanning them with her Spiritual Sense.

"Then, I'll take my leave now."

"Your presence is always welcome, Divine Gate."

Okita Qishen bowed slightly as he Yotsuya Miko off, without feeling particularly aggrieved.

After Yotsuya Miko left, he glanced at the teacups on the conference room table. He instructed the staff to wash the teacups and put them into the lockers originally used to welcome distinguished guests.

"Shrine..."

Although Okita Qishen didn't know the reason why Yotsuya Miko suddenly came to inquire about information about the shrine, he didn't need to interfere.

The affairs of Divine Gate have already become quite busy. Under the watchful eye of that ancient family, he and Oune Tatsu have begun to work on reforming Divine Gate. This reform will also encounter a lot of resistance, but it will be much easier than negotiating with Yotsuya Miko.

"I really don't know if becoming the chief of staff is a good thing or a bad thing."

Okita Qishen shook his head, walked from the conference room to his office, and continued doing what had been interrupted by Yotsuya Miko's arrival.

Perhaps he had finally reached Yotsuya Miko's bottom line, or perhaps he was no longer so afraid of death. The initial fear he had felt, like a mouse before a cat, gradually dissipated, and he finally regarded Yotsuya Miko as an important person.

Many people died in the heavy rain, including important figures like One Kyojun and One Iu, so what did his death matter? Besides, he didn't expect to get anything from Yotsuya Miko, so he calmed down.

"But I still can't bring myself to say what that important person from the Meishouin is asking."

As he sorted through the documents at hand, the only positive thing was that he had managed to keep Yuria. He used her position as an honorary minister to reconnect her with Divine Gate, hoping it would be helpful in the future.

"Well, it's a little despicable to try and retain people."

The thought of this made him feel quite embarrassed.

His negotiations with Yuria were difficult because Yuria knew very well what it meant to be an honorary minister, so she was unwilling to accept such a title. No matter how much he tried to persuade her, he could not change Yuria's mind, until Oune Tatsu One gave him a good idea.

"Miss Yuria, you and Lord Yotsuya have a very good relationship. But perhaps it could be even better—a ring, a wedding dress, or perhaps a love nest that belongs entirely to each other. What do you think?"

When these words came out of Oune Tatsu's mouth, he even thought the guy had gone mad. However, things unfolded in a way that exceeded his expectations.

These words made the usually assertive girl blush, and her sharp words became clumsy. Seeing this, he understood.

After much persuasion, the matter was finally settled.

Afterwards, he put his arm around Oune Tatsu's shoulder and was quite impressed by the guy's words.

How did you know she would agree to something like this?

"Just guessing."

Oune Tatsu answered calmly, tidying up the documents in his hands.

"But Miss Yuria's statement is probably quite accurate, isn't it? From the moment she joined Divine Gate until her resignation, she worked very hard, and her position at Kamimikado wasn't solely due to Divine Gate. Even after becoming the vice-head of the Special Affairs Department, she handled matters with great skill; she's an exceptionally outstanding woman."

"So... you think she would think about... that kind of thing with Lord Yotsuya?"

Okita Qishen was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say. If it were a normal relationship, he would think it was normal for the man to pay for the house, car and ring, but what was happening in front of him was something he really couldn't comment on.

"... Never mind, I can't comment."

Shaking his head, Okita Qishen gave up on discussing this topic and changed the subject to something else.

"Speaking of which, the exchanges with the Meishouin family have already begun, haven't they? The head of the Meishouin... it's really great that someone like him supports Divine Gate's reforms."

"Um."

Oune Tatsu nodded.

"The Meishouin family's stance has greatly improved the Wagen Family's current situation, and their members within the military have also gained a foothold in subsequent events. If nothing unexpected happens, the Wagen Family should still be able to survive. Taking advantage of the Divine Gate reforms, they can once again shift their focus back to their original family affairs. Mr. Kyo, what you wanted to achieve has finally come to pass."

"..."

When this name was mentioned, Okita Qishen didn't speak, he just remained silent.

The entire Wagen Family in Jianping was wiped out; not a single member survived. A great fire burned the entire family to the ground. What exactly happened to One Kyojun and One Iu was something that no one but Yotsuya Miko could explain clearly.

Within the surviving members of the family, many say that One Kyojun was murdered by Yotsuya Miko, while others believe he was killed by One Iu, but there is no evidence for any of these claims. In front of the Wagen Family's gate, there is only a mangled corpse, whose DNA test in the blood confirms that it is One Kyojun himself.

Such a great figure, once he's gone, is gone.

He suddenly became much more indifferent to life and death, but he didn't know how to comfort Oune Tatsu in front of him. After all, he was not a member of the Wagen Family and could not understand the significance of One Kyojun to Oune Tatsu, a member of the Oe family who worked in the Divine Gate. All he could do was accompany Oune Tatsu beside him and continue to follow One Kyojun's last wish.

"Pay close attention to external affairs to avoid any mistakes. Having allied ourselves with a force like the Meishouin, we should be much more cautious."

This was the last thing he remembered saying at that time.

Coming to his senses, looking at the endless documents in front of him, Okita Qishen suddenly paused, then let out a long sigh.

"A nobody."

Chapter 262 The Story Behind the Photograph

With the information given to her by Okita Qishen, Yotsuya Miko quickly found the original head priest of the shrine, an old man.

After losing his job at the shrine, he was no different from any other old man, living in the countryside and spending the rest of his life there.

The old man has his own children, but they live in the city and haven't come back for a long time.

"Hello, sir/madam."

Yotsuya Miko stood in front of the old man, a smile on her face.

"May I bother you for a moment?"

"Hmm?"

The old man looked at her blankly, not knowing what had happened.