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"What do you think a proposal to Mokou should look like?" was the question Kaguya suddenly posed to her.
Eirin only blinked momentarily. For several years now, Kaguya and Mokou's relationship had settled into the "lovers" phase of "enemies to lovers" (although they had not stopped their games of killing each other, which Eirin felt had turned into a weird foreplay for Hourai immortals), so that wasn't the part that stunned her. She just hadn't expected an interest in marriage.
For one, escaping marriage had been Kaguya's goal once upon a time, to the point she had set up impossible challenges and humiliated several suitors, until eventually she had to reveal her Lunarian status to keep the then-emperor of Japan firmly in the friend-zone. Then again, that all had to do with clingy guys that found a pretty girl's "no" a difficult concept to grasp, which Mokou was the complete opposite of.
In regards to it being Mokou, Eirin had assumed the couple hadn't cared. They were immortal. Their existence was something unique, recoloring their psyches and life-styles. Their relationship already was different from how others courted and dated - as stated before, they still regularly fought to the death. With that in mind, Eirin didn't think they'd want to copy regular couples’ traditions like marriage. For people who'd live eternally together, who would never experience the "death" part of "til death do us part", that was a level of commitment she wasn't sure her princess would ever exhibit - and maybe a little bit for Mokou, too.
Though I suppose bloodless divorce is more accepted these days, Eirin thought. If they ever truly grow sick of each other.
"I would expect you'd know better than me," Eirin finally answered. "You spend the most time with her, so you know her preferences and interests best. As far as the advice I can give, I can only advise you use that as a guide for your plan."
After a pause, she added, "But maybe not a public one. I'm unsure if Miss Fujiwara would enjoy it or not, but I can say it'd be best not to bring so much attention to yourselves. If your proposal becomes a memorable one for the Human Village, then that'd mean they'd have a point of historical reference, in the future, when they start noticing how unusually long your lives are."
"Right," Kaguya responded. "I knew that much already - the risks and that Mokou probably wouldn't like it anyway. But I thought asking for another's opinion would help narrow down the ideas for me, and keep me from going too far into my own vision of what I'd like. You're my friend, Eirin. I trust your judgement on this - and that you won't spill it too soon like some of the rabbits might."
Nodding, Eirin gave herself a moment to let that admiration sink in, before a back-and-forth between them discussing Kaguya's ideas and Eirin's input on them began.
"Yo. So... You've been around Kaguya for a lot longer than me. I know she dodged proposals back in the day, but what do you think she'd actually like in one? And... you think I have a shot at it?"
This time, Eirin blinked several times as she processed what was happening.
Not long after Kaguya approached her, Mokou stopped by Eientei - and for once, she was explicitly trying to avoid Kaguya while there, instead seeking out Eirin. It wasn't as if the two were hostile or anything, but neither did they feel the need to go out of their way to cross paths. They were both important people to Kaguya - they mutually respected that, regardless of how things were in the past.
But to be asking for the same type of advice as Kaguya...
No, even more ironic: that they both had, independently of each other, decided to propose at the same time.
Did I miss something? Eirin asked herself. Were there signs this is where they were headed? Was this triggered by anything? Maybe for Kaguya there was a recent event that gave her the idea to try it out, but I imagine for Miss Fujiwara this would be a deeper decision with more thought...
"Well, in regards to your chances, I believe they are better than the men from before," Eirin answered, taking care not to reveal the truth. "The princess is certainly more fond of you than anyone else she's encountered. As for what a proposal should look like..."
After repeating the same advice about keeping it lowkey around the Human Village, Eirin took advantage of the previous conversation to give valuable insight on Kaguya's vision for a proposal - discreetly slipping in some ideas that'd go well with Kaguya's own plans for Mokou. If two proposals were in store for the future, might as well keep them from clashing - just like the girls themselves.