The woman was half an inch shorter than Tamamo-no-Mae and wore dark red shrine maiden robes, with scarlet hakama neatly gathered at her ankles. Her black hair was tied into a long ponytail behind her head, its end secured with a plain white cord.
Her face had distinct contours, her cheekbones high yet soft, her lips thin and rosy, pressed together in the faintest curve.
Her pale gray eyes held an unfathomable, absolute stillness, like an ancient well whose every ripple had been smoothed away by a thousand years.
A jet-black short staff hung at her waist, its head set with a dark gold tomoe that gleamed with a warm, ancient luster beneath the lights.
Tamamo-no-Mae stepped into the living room, her nine tails slowly gathering behind her. Her pale purple eyes curved into crescents, and her voice was soft and syrupy.
"Lord Yongye, Himiko, the Queen of Fusang you requested, is here."
Himiko.
The Queen of Yamatai, the Takamagahara Divine Kingdom's first representative in the mortal world. She had served the great goddess Amaterasu as a shrine maiden and was revered in Fusang's history as a figure akin to Empress Jingū.
Her heroic spirit had spent over a thousand years cultivating in seclusion in the Takamagahara Divine Kingdom, and she had long since ascended to the rank of demigod.
Amaterasu's willingness to send even her showed considerable sincerity.
Tamamo-no-Mae paused and glanced back at the dark red figure behind her, the smile at her lips fading slightly.
"As for Kaguya-hime... there really was nothing we could do. Even the great goddess Amaterasu can't persuade that lady in the Lunar Palace. She won't even attend the Divine Council Hall. When the Yata Mirror is turned toward her, all it shows is moonlight-not so much as a shadow."
Himiko stepped into