"Lady Yae, I've gone on about my own affairs for so long. I must have made a fool of myself!"
Hanako's eyes glistened with tears. Though so many years had already passed, her heart still ached whenever she spoke of it. And ever since then, her son had spent most of the year away from home and rarely returned. He had never considered having another child, either.
Hanako understood him very well and had never forced the matter. She was also afraid that anyone she cared about would leave before her.
"Perhaps your little granddaughter... is protecting you in another way."
Laugh? Yae Sakura had nothing to laugh about. She only felt some pity for Hanako, yet also felt that Hanako needed no pity. The first half of her life had not been a good one, but Hanako had still lived on in her own way.
At the same time, Yae Sakura thought of the zashiki-warashi from before. She looked about five years old. Could she have been Hanako's granddaughter?
"I think so too. Whenever I sit outside the door with nothing to do, I always feel like she's still playing and fussing around in front of me." As Hanako spoke, she gazed out the window with a warm smile.
"..."
Even without being able to see, she could still feel that protection? This was family affection...
Night gradually fell. Yae Sakura and Kagome ate their first dinner of this era. Kagome had been curious at first, but... once she started eating, she realized just how different it was from what she usually ate. Still, out of politeness, she slowly finished it all.
There was no nightlife in this era. After dinner, they chatted for a while beneath the dim oil lamp before Luna led Kagome and Yae Sakura