Leaving the main shrine and going down the stairs next to the main hall is Otowa Falls.

The three springs are said to symbolize health, wisdom and good fortune, and many people line up to receive the water.

"I'm not going to go." Seeing the dense crowd in front of him, Naruse directly dispelled the idea of joining in the fun, "I have already drunk the spring water here when I came here before. ”

"How's it taste?" Hikaru Takikawa asked.

He smiled, "It's the smell of spring water." ”

Several senior sisters insisted on standing in line, so Naruse temporarily separated from them and went to visit other places in Kiyomizu-dera Temple.

After buying a few guards near the main hall and drawing lots, he stood for a long time in front of a map of the temple on the side of the road, planning in his mind the route he would take next time.

At eleven o'clock, the third-grade team assembled again and prepared to leave for another destination this morning, Heian Jingu.

After visiting Kiyomizu-dera Temple, the others went out, and bought some souvenirs in Kiyomizuzaka as souvenirs, and rushed there first after returning to the hotel.

Heian Jingu Shrine was built to commemorate the 1,100th anniversary of Heian moving the capital to the Imperial Palace of the Heian period, and is not one of the many temples and shrines in Kyoto, but it has a history of more than 120 years.

"It's so empty......"

Passing through the huge torii gate and walking through the long approach to the shrine, you will be greeted by an empty white sand area.

The red walls and green tiles are surrounded by them, which makes people feel sad. Together, this sprawling complex makes up one of the largest shrines in Kyoto.

"It's so empty." Hikaru Takikawa looked at it and said again, "It feels completely different from the places I've been to before." ”

"It's probably what is called royal weather." Naruse said.

"What?"

"Nothing, don't care."

He shook his head and pointed to the Great Pole Hall opposite the white sand, "Except for going over there to pay homage, there is nothing special worth seeing outside the Shrine, and the view of the inner garden 'Divine Garden' in the back is not bad." ”

To enter the inner garden, you need to buy a ticket.

When Hikaru Takikawa and Starfish went to the main hall to worship, Naruse bought tickets for all four people, including Takikawa Tsuki, who was still on the way.

After waiting for a while, the third-grade bus finally arrived outside the shrine.

When Takigawa Moon came to meet, several people entered the inner garden together and wandered between the three ponds and the four shrines in the east, west, south, and middle.

Jingu Jingu Shrine Garden is also a famous cherry blossom viewing spot in Kyoto, with tall weeping cherry blossoms that bloom like a waterfall, but at this time it is already autumn.

Although there are no cherry blossoms, the maple trees along the pond of Nishijinen are already red, and they stand out against the surrounding green leaves.

The pond is wide and shallow, reflecting the surrounding temples and the rocks in the pond, and despite the growing autumn mood, it still exudes a bit of grace.

"You can't see how beautiful you are on the outside."

"Hmm."

Stroll to Toshin Garden, where a covered bridge called Taiheikaku divides the pond in two.

Walking to the bridge, Hikaru Takikawa suddenly quickened his pace and came to a wooden box placed on the side of the bridge.

There is a sign on it: [carp bait]

"You can buy fish food here...... Ah, 50 yen a pack, completely self-service. ”

As she took out the money, she looked into the pond below, "I didn't see any fish...... Ah, see, what a big one. ”

Clang, the coin fell, and Hikaru Takikawa opened the box containing the fish food, picked up a pack and closed it.

Naruse looked for it, but there was no fifty yen coin, so he stuffed a hundred yen into it, took out two packets, and handed one of them to the starfish.

She was stunned, but took it.

Takikawa Yue watched from the side, and had no intention of buying fish food, "The fish here, can you eat so much fish food?" ”

"Eat it." Hikaru Takikawa smiled, "Every fish is fat, and the appetite should not be small." ”

She gave half of the fish food to her sister, and the two of them threw it into the water, and a few fat carp swam up as soon as they approached the water's edge.

Naruse also opened the fish food and threw it into the water, but the Takigawa sisters fed it happily, and in a blink of an eye, most of the packets were thrown down, and the few grains he dropped were not attractive at all.

He took a few steps to the side, successfully intercepting the two carp that were attracted by the movement in this direction.

The starfish lost two grains, and the result was the same treatment as Naruse, so he gave the rest of the fish food to Hikaru Takikawa.

"It feels like they're having a good time."

"I don't have to do anything to eat, and if it were me, I'd be happy."

"The life of a fish is so simple."

"Yes." Hikaru Takikawa smiled, but his gaze was a little straight.

"Ahh

Starfish suddenly screamed, drawing both her and Naruse's gaze to it. And following her line of sight, both of them also saw the uninvited guests in the pool.

"Duck!"

A grey duck swam up from the other side of the bridge and unceremoniously joined the scramble for food, and the carp in the water could do nothing about it.

"There are two turtles over here!" Takigawa Moon also made a new discovery.

The turtle swimming in the water showed a completely different agility and speed from the land, and soon joined the fray.

After staring at it for a while, Hikaru Takikawa couldn't stand it, "The duck is too bullying." ”

Regardless of their size, carp and turtles can only move underwater, and they can compete perfectly but can float on the surface and free up their paws to drive away rival ducks.

She looked left and right, looking like she was going to do something.

"Isn't there any dead branches or anything like that?"

"The inner garden is taken care of every day, where are the dead branches—you don't want to drive away the ducks, do you?"

"yes."

"Hmm."

"Haruhai pulls me on it, and I scare it away with my feet."

“…… Stop it. ”

After staying here for a while, I finished feeding all three packs of fish food, and the number of third-graders who walked here gradually increased, and they all followed suit.

There was too much fish food to be thrown down, and the "bullies" on the water couldn't take care of it, and the carp and turtles under the water could finally get a piece of the pie, and Hikaru Takikawa was barely satisfied.

"Let's look somewhere else."

And leaving Taiping Pavilion, the East Shrine Garden and even the entire Inner Garden of the Shrine have already been almost shopped.

Takigawa Moon was dragged by other classmates to swim with him halfway, and the three of Naruse came out after a round and stood at the exit of the inner garden for a while.

Yuguang caught a glimpse of Hikaru Takikawa raising her hands, and Naruse turned her head to see that she sniffed her fingers and the tip of her nose twitched slightly.

"I think those fish food smelled a little good...... No wonder that duck kept grabbing food. ”

“……”

She was probably hungry.

After all, walking from Kiyomizuji Temple to Heian Jingu, the time had come to noon, and Naruse also felt that his stomach was empty.

"Sister Yue, they have to go back to the hotel later, let's find a place to settle lunch by ourselves."

"Okay."

After leaving Heian Jingu Shrine and not going far, Naruse saw a ramen shop on the other side of the road, and after asking the two of them for their opinions, he walked over there.

Before they could get to the ramen shop, Hikaru Takikawa was attracted by a sign on the side of the road and called them to stop.

"It says keep going forward, and there's a sushi restaurant near the next intersection."

Naruse looked at the sign, "Does Hikari want to eat sushi more?" ”

"What about the spring sea and the starfish?"

"I can do it all." Starfish said.

Naruse also said that it didn't matter, so the three of them walked to the sushi restaurant.

There weren't many people in the restaurant at this time, so finding a place to sit down, Naruse asked for a sushi platter and eel rice bowl.

Hikaru Takikawa looked at the menu, "In the afternoon, we have to go to Shinkyogoku and Ginkakuji, which is convenient for Tsuki, but it's a little tossing for us...... What a strange arrangement, why not arrange Shinkyogoku in the morning and Heian Jingu in the afternoon? ”

Shinkyogoku is near Kawaramachi, while Ginkakuji is far away at the foot of Higashiyama, so it used to be a half-day bus ride and it was not easy to get back.

"Because they can take the bus, it's easy to go anywhere they want."

Naruse glanced at her, "Are you going to go to Ginkakuji Temple in the afternoon?" ”

"I've got to follow the moon." She nodded immediately and smiled slightly, "'Since we go out together, we have to take care of the moon', before going out, my parents confessed." ”

"Sister Yue has been entrusted to the hands of light?"

"After all, I'm a younger sister, and I'm supposed to take care of my sister."

"It's the other way around."

She smiled, put down the menu, told the owner what she ordered, and said:

"Yue started relying on me a long time ago, and I got used to her dependence.

While others may think it's a bit strange for my sister to take care of my sister, I don't think so, on the contrary, I like the feeling of being dependent. ”

She lifted her arm and naturally put it on the shoulder of the starfish next to her, hugging her.

"Everyone can rely on me, and so can the starfish, just rely on me."

"Ah...... Good. ”

Naruse was silent, vaguely understanding why she always liked to hang out with girls, and deliberately trying to please them - it was this feeling of dependence that she was after.

Waiting for lunch, Hikaru Takikawa looked at the starfish in his arms, then at him, and suddenly sighed.

"If only Naoko could rely on me."

Naruse glanced at her, "Isn't it enough that so many girls rely on you." ”

She shook her head.

"When I was with Naoko, I felt a sense of peace of mind and relaxation, as if I didn't have to think about anything. I love the feeling. But ......"

She looked at him, "Naoko only relies on Harumi." ”

(End of chapter)