After bestowing my blessing upon Ririka, I continued to observe the festival as planned.
The main street in the center of town had the most stalls, and naturally, the competition rate was high.
Since there were many elaborately prepared stalls, many festival calls were being made.
Amidst all this, the Doria family was walking side by side.
A little ahead of them was Kousuke, being walked by Silvia and Peach, who had taken his arms.
Mitsuki was behind them, maintaining her position as a guard.
Watching them, Sonia asked her daughter, “Don’t you need to join them?”
“It’s not my style. Besides, those two are participating in an event tomorrow, so I want them to enjoy today as much as possible.”
“Oh my, you’re not being honest.”
Floria, Sonia’s daughter, looked a little flustered at her mother’s teasing voice.
Unfortunately, both were wearing masks, so their expressions were hidden, but it was easy to imagine them.
“Th-that’s not true? I’m also part of the management layer… Ah.”
It was too late when she realized she had slipped up.
Laughter could be heard from beside her.
“That’s good. Knowing you, I thought you’d just be frustrated, unable to be honest.”
“W-well. You know. Sometimes, only sometimes.”
“Yes, yes. I’m glad for you.”
“…Mmm.”
Floria muttered discontentedly, but Sonia remained unfazed.
“Everyone around him is incredibly beautiful, so I thought you, being reserved, would just be frustrated.”
“Th-that’s not true?”
Floria added a small “probably.”
She seemed to lack confidence.
“Oh my? You’re not bad yourself, so you need to be more proactive, right?”
Not bad was an understatement; she possessed a beauty that would turn most men’s heads.
The problem was that her opponents were too formidable.
“Pr-proactive… Me?”
Floria tried to imagine herself being proactive, but the image dissipated halfway through, and she couldn’t conceive of it.
“Leaving me aside, aren’t those two still the same?”
“Of course.”
Sonia’s immediate reply made Floria smile from behind her mask.
These two were always close.
Of course, they quarreled sometimes, but that was that.
Floria thought it would be stranger if they didn’t.
“But Father, since coming here, he’s so busy with work that he doesn’t pay attention to me as much as before.”
“Hmm…? Is that so?”
Floria, hearing this for the first time, looked at Alec.
“N-no. It’s true that I’m busy. After all, it’s a rapidly growing organization, and we’re short-handed, so I can’t handle everything.”
That was indeed the case; anything that happened would be reported to Alec.
If things settled down in the future, Alec’s troubles would likely decrease.
However, since the population was still increasing at a considerable rate, that would probably be a while off.
“Well, Mother seems to be doing well, so I’m relieved.”
Although Alec sometimes met them in the management meeting room, this was the first time he had properly met Sonia in a while.
Of course, he had heard about her from Alec, so he knew she was doing well.
“Yes. I’m glad to see you looking well too.”
“Well, with that person still coming here, they probably won’t be able to come here as often.”
It was unnecessary to explain what “that person” referred to.
“That’s probably a matter of time. They can’t stay here forever. However, we can’t let our guard down.”
It hadn’t even been a year since Floria had come under the management layer’s protection.
There wasn’t enough time until the previous problem was completely resolved.
In some cases, it might take years.
“I’m relieved she doesn’t seem to be living a lonely life. …Oh? Perhaps, in the end, it was for the best.”
“M-Mother!”
Sonia laughed heartily at Floria’s flustered voice.
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“S-Silvia, how long are you going to keep this up?” Kousuke asked, glancing back at Silvia and Peach, who had their arms linked with his.
“Oh? Do you not like it?”
“Hmm? Should I hold on tighter~?”
“Any tighter than this, and I’ll pass.”
Something soft had been pressing against his arm since a while ago, drawing his attention. It was a man’s sad nature.
“Then, this is fine, right?”
“…Yes.”
Kousuke resignedly replied to Silvia, who was clearly smiling behind her mask. He understood that he was saying something luxurious in many ways.
“The ones behind us seem to be enjoying themselves too~”
“Well, it’s been a while.”
“Ohh? It’s not just that, but the festival is fun too, right?”
“I agree with that too.”
In fact, Kousuke was also enjoying the festival. He realized it was his first festival since coming to this world.
“What are you thinking about?” Silvia asked, sensing the atmosphere.
“No. I was just thinking that this is my first festival since coming to this world.”
“Ohh? Is that so?”
“This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
“Huh? Didn’t I tell you?”
He thought he had mentioned it when they decided to go to the festival.
“Then, we must enjoy today and tomorrow to the fullest.”
“Of course.”
Kousuke nodded with all his might.
“Well then, let’s start with today~”
“That’s right.”
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For a while after that, we enjoyed the festival.
There were various stalls, from the usual ones Kousuke knew to those he was seeing for the first time in this world.
It was clear that each one had been crafted with great ingenuity.
By the way, his arms were not released until the end. Because of this, he sometimes felt gazes filled with killing intent, but he decided to ignore them. He wondered what would have happened if he had taken off his mask, but he thought it would not have turned out well for Kousuke.
When he stepped off the central path to enjoy the quiet bustle for a while, it happened. He had noticed people following them for a while, so he invited them. Of course, it was Dion and his entourage.
Currently, Kousuke and his group were surrounded by men on both sides. In front of them stood Dion, with a leering smile.
“Dion, you bastard!”
“Oh my, what is it?”
Dion didn’t change his leering expression even when Alec yelled at him. He didn’t doubt his superiority. Kousuke sighed under his mask at Dion.
“Don’t you even realize you were invited? I guess you’re a bit dim, aren’t you?”
“Probably, they can’t even imagine it~” Peach chimed in to Kousuke.
“What did you say? You, in this situation…”
“Ah, yes, yes. I understand. Mitsuki, it’s a hassle to deal with him, so just leave him and finish it quickly.”
“Understood.”
Before Dion could finish speaking, Kousuke gave Mitsuki instructions. Mitsuki replied with a single word and disappeared. The next moment, the men surrounding Kousuke and his group had fallen.
“Wh-what!?”
Dion, the only one left, exclaimed in surprise. By then, Mitsuki had already returned to Kousuke’s side.
“So, can you leave already?”
“Y-you bastard!”
Dion tried to say something, but Kousuke removed his mask and continued, “Oh, and I’ll tell you this: if you try to bother the Doria family any further, I’ll lodge a formal protest as Amamiya Tower.”
“You can do something like that…”
“Yes, I can. I’m one of the managers of this tower, you know.”
Kousuke easily revealed it, taking advantage of the lack of people.
“……”
“If this were your home country, you might have other options, but unfortunately, this is inside the tower. I won’t let you do as you please.”
Dion’s face had already turned pale.
“Now that you understand, get out of here quickly.” Kousuke said, pointing towards the Teleport Gate. Even though it was the middle of the festival, the Teleport Gate leading outside was still functioning properly.
“Dammit…!”
Dion cursed and left the scene.
Kousuke, who remained, tilted his head. “You know, me being a tower manager might have been a bluff.”
“Ultimately, they can’t do anything without their family’s power.”
“Well, that’s fine. Alec, from now on, if he asks for a meeting, you can turn him away without question.”
“Understood. Thank you.” Alec said, bowing his head to Kousuke. With Kousuke’s word, Alec could do as he pleased.
“Ah, it’s nothing. I was getting fed up with him too.” Kousuke said, waving his hand with genuine words.
And so, Dion reappeared. If he gave up that easily, he wouldn’t have come all the way to this place (the tower). That’s why he reappeared. As for what will happen in the future… will he appear again?
