Light Novel Chapter 34

初詣・初対面・『初対面』 (Hatsumoude, Shotaimen, "Shotaimen", lit: First Shrine Visit, First Encounter, "First Encounter") is the thirty-fourth chapter of the light novel series of The "Hentai" Prince and the Stony Cat.
==Plot==
Youto starts his day with a call from Tsukushi, who invites him for the traditional first shrine visit of the year.
At the shrine, Youto unexpectedly finds Emi performing as a priestess. A crowd has formed around her, including a familiar foreigner who aggressively spammed the sbutter of his camera. She panics once again upon spotting Youto, claiming that she was forced by her father — the exact same reaction as last time. Youto pats Emi on the head. She verbally protests, but makes no attempt to run away. However, the interaction soon escalates when Emi begins firing a water gun at him, which she names the "Pumpkin Bazooka." Youto retaliates, forcefully disarming Emi and using her own weapon against her, but the commotion attracts a police officer, nearly landing Youto in trouble.
Finally arriving at the meeting point, Youto spots Tsukushi, wearing an elegant kimono with a striking lily-patterned obi. Tsukushi waves to Youto and immediately complains about how she can't breathe because of the obi, which Youto helps loosen. Even though the Tsutsukakushi family lives near the shrine, Tsukushi says she doesn't come here often, as she was once told that it is a bad thing to walk under shrine archways. When she makes the suggestion to grab food, a different voice responds, which Youto initially mistakes as Tsukushi talking to herself, but quickly realizes belonged to Tsukiko, who has been standing quietly nearby.
Tsukiko wears a kimono more vibrant than her sister's. Her hair is styled differently from usual, adorned with a flower-patterned hairpin. She clutches the book of Shakespearean sonnets borrowed from the library, apparently having been reading on the way here. She explains that while she initially didn't plan to come, she felt it was her responsibility to look after her older sister. Given that Azuki Azusa isn't present, she felt that it should be safe enough for her to join. Tsukushi immediately becomes clingy, rubbing her cheek against Tsukiko and teasing her.
Exploring the food stalls, they find a suspicious takoyaki stall offering an unusual challenge: consume the "Super Danger Deluxe Jumbo Takoyaki" within 20 minutes to win 10,000 yen. The takoyaki balls are absurdly large, resembling bowling balls. They look more like okonomiyaki than traditional takoyaki and appear to lack flavor and proper ingredients, including minuscule amounts of octopus. Tsukiko is immediately captivated. The stall owner shows visible concern due to her small size, but Tsukushi seems just as excited as she encourages Tsukiko to take on the challenge.
As the challenge begins, Tsukiko gulps down her food with astonishing speed. Half of the takoyaki balls vanish in no time, unnerving the stall owner. However, she slows down as the blandness of the food and the sheer size of the portions begin to overwhelm her. Just as the owner prepares to celebrate his victory, Tsukiko spots a free sweet sake corner nearby and drinks a cup to refresh herself. After her brief recovery, Tsukiko resumes eating at her original pace, finishing the challenge within the allotted time. The stall owner is dumbfounded by her success, admitting that even he cannot eat the takoyaki due to its poor taste.
Tsukiko however, begins mumbling nonsensical statements, evidently drunk from the sweet sake she consumed. She leans against Youto, claiming she wants to use the prize money for a "night together with You-kun," before soon falling asleep.
Youto carries Tsukiko on his back as they continue to navigate the shrine. Tsukushi points at something odd. Looking in the direction, Youto spots Miko Emi, whose performance has attracted a large audience. However, Tsukushi is concerned instead about a nearby man. It turns out to be the man with an unidentifiable age and caved in eyes, who Youto first met on their field trip. His intense, unmoving stare causes Youto unease, wondering why he is here. Determined to get to the bottom of things, Youto runs towards the man, but loses him in the crowd.
On his way back, he runs into Azuki Azusa who has come to visit accompanied by her friends. Sliding off his back, Tsukiko clings to Youto, hiding behind him. She runs in circles around Youto as Azusa notices her hiding behind and attempts to interact. Eventually catching her, Azusa greets her warmly. Tsukiko, flustered, awkwardly waves her hands and stammers excuses, trying to explain why she was with Youto.
Overwhelmed by the situation, Tsukiko abruptly runs away. Azusa's friends, concerned, chase after her, while Azusa opts to stay and wait. Azusa attributes their strained relationship to her unintentionally insulting Tsukiko's favorite character back at the hot spring, still unaware of what truly transpired.
Youto mentions that Tsukiko left behind a book of Shakespearean sonnets, which he plans to return to her. He explains it is a series of poems written from Shakespeare's perspective, touching on themes of love. He provides an overview of the central drama in Shakespeare's sonnets: The person that Shakespeare loved was taken by someone else, who ironically was a former lover. The story in his poems went from love to trouble, and eventually acceptance.
Youto's knowledge about the Shakespearean sonnets was gained from his admiration of Oscar Wilde, who was fascinated by complex relationships like this one, and made it a goal to find out the identity of Shakespeare's loved one. After giving it some thought, Azusa realizes the implications of Shakespeare being male, his former lover being female, and the third person being of unknown gender, exclaiming over the "indecency." However, they both grow quiet as they realize that their own story, too, would likely be one that Wilde would enjoy.
Some time later, Youto receives an email from Tsukiko, who claims to have gone home to "take care of some urgent business." Azusa and her friend also head home soon after. Returning to Tsukushi, Youto finds her struggling with English while interacting with the photo-taking foreigner, who was also present during the field trip taking pictures of Magical Girl Emi. Besides them stands Emi herself, and Youto is shocked to learn that the man is in fact her father. Youto bids them farewell, concluding their new year's shrine visit.
==Characters==
==Navigation==