Qiao Xi's eyes widened.

A gentle wind blew through the air, and the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard also shook because of the owner's mood swings, and the pink cherry blossom petals spread in the air in an instant, one after another, and then fell, blocking the smiling face of the young man under the porch.

- also blocked Qiao Xi's suddenly sour eyes that I didn't know why.

Suddenly, Qiao Xi met the other party's gentle and tolerant gaze, and a soft smile appeared on his face.

"I'm back—"

"Sass."

——————————————

I haven't seen you for a long time, and Sa Dou is still the way I remember.

The delicate and perfect appearance, the gorgeous and elegant kimono, and the impeccable manners made Qiao Xi, who was originally in a wonderful mood, quickly calm down.

He stayed at the shrine.

The feeling of coming home, speaking of which, is really – amazing!

The kind of gentleness, pleasure, and all kinds of emotions and memories that gradually arise from my memory make Qiao Xi's heart sour and soft, but inexplicably happy.

He also knew.

It turned out that not long after leaving, Sadou also woke up from his slumber, and then began to wait for a long time.

- Wait for someone who doesn't know if he will come back.

"Your Excellency."

As if sensing Qiao Xi's thoughts, Sa Dou looked at him sideways, and then screamed softly.

When Qiao Xi turned his head, Sa Dou smiled at the corner of his lips.

"My lord, did I tell you that waiting for you to come back is a very happy thing."

Qiao Xi's eyes couldn't help but widen slightly.

"Happiness...... Is it? ”

Sa Dou lowered his eyes, and the smile on his face was surprisingly gentle.

- Yes, happiness.

As long as I think about the happy smile on the face of the shrine that is getting better and better when I come back, I can't help but feel a sense of happiness in my heart.

- But I don't want to tell adults about such reasons.

Sa Dou smiled slightly, looked sideways at Qiao Xi's eyes, and the smile oozing from the clear pupils was like water, without a trace, but it permeated the air.

"Adults probably don't know that in an infinite amount of time, it is a very happy thing to have someone worth waiting for.

When I was still regarded as a sacred tree by humans, I didn't have the ability to leave my body, so I just stood in place, watching the joys and sorrows of human beings, all the time, all the time. ”

The memories of a long time ago, speaking of Sadou, gradually became a little trance.

At that time, because it was worshipped as a sacred tree, many humans would come to the cherry blossom tree to do things that seemed more formal or serious to humans.

- For example, the love between men and women, and the farewell of leaving home.

After a long time, there seems to be a tacit understanding between human beings.

- Send someone away here, and wait here for him to come back.

Sa Dou has witnessed many waits.

Some wait to get what they want, while many more wait to end in vain.

At that time, Sa Dou was actually very curious.

He had seen a woman who had waited under the cherry blossom tree for more than fifty years, from the cardamom years to the gray hair.

All those who knew her were advising her - don't wait any longer, the one you waited for will not come back.

But the human still stood firmly under the cherry blossom tree at the end of each month, from early morning until dusk, until he wanted to see through it, and then left as if nothing had happened.

The people in the village always looked at her with pity and said that this woman was a weirdo, and Sadou thought the same thing.

It's a strange human being.

The human had never had a partner in her life—or rather, the partner she identified was someone she could never wait for.

Sa Dou still remembers that when the human was dying, he once again staggered alone under the cherry blossom tree, and a junior asked worriedly and impatiently, "What are you doing here again?!" ”

The woman was too old to stand, and she leaned against the trunk of a tree, and her smile was weak.

"I'm waiting for someone."

The junior didn't know what the story was, but he had heard the occasional gossip from the villagers, so he patiently told her, "You don't have to wait any longer, he won't come back." ”

- Everyone knew that the person she was waiting for would not come back.

At that time, Sa Dou was watching from the sidelines, and he was particularly curious about how this woman would answer this question.

He always felt that this woman was a strange human being.

- The strange thing is that she's not like other humans who are good at forgetting.

Sure enough, the woman squinted at the setting sun and smiled—before that, she hadn't been here for more than half a year because of her weak body.

"He's just lost...... Will come back eventually. ”

Her voice was very soft, very soft, as if it was about to dissipate in the wind in the next second, but it made the originally impatient junior suddenly stunned in place.

"This is his hometown, he will come back one day, we said okay, the day he returns, I will wait for him here."

With that, the woman closed her eyes with a wonderful, serene smile.

The junior stood there for a long time before realizing that the woman was dead.

That was the first time that Sato knew that not all the waiting would be fulfilled.

Gradually, he began to wonder why some humans, knowing that no one would come, still had to wait.

After that, he also witnessed many waits, men, women, old people, and cubs, who repeated the wait after wait in a desperate and peaceful manner.

As time passed, and as he waited more and more for his testimony, this question became more and more confusing to him.

So, when Sato woke up from his slumber and found that Qiao Xi had left a handwritten letter and left the shrine, a wonderful feeling came up from the bottom of his heart.

He also began to wait.

The lifespan of a yokai is always almost endless, and while he waits, he fulfills his responsibilities as an envoy of the god of Toyotsuki, and every once in a while he sprinkles the miracles of the god Toyotsuki on the land.

One year and two years, ten years and a hundred years......

He had forgotten how much time had passed, and even some memories that were too distant had faded in his mind, but he always remembered that he was here, waiting for someone to come back.

In the process of waiting, he suddenly understood why some humans would wait for someone who didn't know if he would come back.

Sadou thought that those humans must have wanted to wait for the first time when the people came back and smiled and told him, "Welcome back." ”

— just like him.

- He just wanted to tell him, welcome back.

- And, as long as you come, I'm always there.

Sa Dou smiled slightly and raised his hand, took down a cherry blossom petal that suddenly fell on Qiao Xi's shoulder, looked at Qiao Xi's blank gaze, and repeated as if affirming: "Yes, it is a very happy thing to wait for you to come back!" ”