212-Participants ②




''Wow, I got tangled up with the people from the house I least want to get involved with.......already. But those people can't think of anything bad to do to the Shitenji family first, so let's not go near them again, yes.

 Yuto swore that he would escape from the Huang siblings as he walked out into the courtyard, passing through the participants.
 However, even though he said this to himself, Yuto did not neglect to observe his surroundings. Once he was separated from the Huang family's group, he settled down and looked around at the participants again.

(I won't know until I confront them.................but some of them are in an unusual mood. That one........and that one, too, has no gaps in behavior. He must have gone through a lot of training. But.........as expected, you can't tell if it's suspicious from this one.

 As Yuto shifted his gaze, he monitored each of the able-bodied people that caught his eye.
 A man with chiseled eyes with a huge, muscle-ripping physique... a man who enjoys a friendly conversation with the people around him... and from Yuto's eyes, he can feel the tingling sensation he gets when facing a tough opponent.
 Also, a boy who seems to be his own age, scurrying around happily, looking at his surroundings. The boy carries a long sword housed in an old scabbard at his waist.

(Come to think of it, there are some people with abilities.......whose abilities are dramatically increased by weapons, armor and items. It's hard to measure them by looks alone, but... what's that sword? (I can't believe you're going to cancer the hilt with the chains coming out of the scabbard... ugh!

 Feeling as if his eyes met with the boy carrying that curious long sword, Masato looked away in a hurry.

(He noticed my gaze! (No way...)

 Yuto inwardly cringed and looked in the other direction as well.
 Then, from our perspective, I saw a small figure on the other side of the garden, eating the snacks that Shitenji had prepared for him and scattering them around.

(Wow, what is that?) That's a vile way to eat. (And you don't have to eat anything like that here... and what's with that mask?

 The figure, wearing a mask that covered his entire head like a Mexican pro wrestler, didn't even look around him, but was carrying an unbelievable amount of sandwiches and snacks to his mouth.

(That's terrible ... the people around me are donning it too. What kind of person is he? I can't see your face, so I don't know....................woohoo, no way. (Not that it matters, but what kind of upbringing did I have?

You....

 
 Immediately, Yuto instantly jumped back from the spot and subconsciously prepared himself to deal with any case.
 The roominess disappeared from Yuto's face, his expression stiffening.
 Since it was at the edge of the garden, this action of Yuto's was not noticed by anyone, but the girl in kimono who was standing behind the Lord who called out to her lightly widened her eyes and looked at Yuto.

''Ho........''

 The young man with a beautiful woman-like face who was now in front of Yuto let out a small exclamation.
 Yuto was also surprised by his own actions and hurriedly released his stance in a hurry, and then he hurriedly panicked in embarrassment.

''Oh, I'm sorry! It took me by surprise!

 When Yuto bowed his head, the young man gave a soft smile.

''No, I'm sorry for surprising you too.

 The girl in kimono who came forward with a surprised look on her face at the young man who spoke plainly with a clear face raised her voice.

''No! Your brother will not apologize. This person only called out to me for a bit and then turned his wariness towards us. Even minus the cowardice, this is what a rude person would do!

 The girl didn't even look at Yuto, but turned her head to the young man she called her brother.

''Kotone, stop it. This one suddenly spoke to me first. Isn't your manner of speaking rude? Apologize to this person.

....!

 Kotone was admonished by her brother and politely bowed her head while looking down dejectedly.

''I'm.......sorry.''

 When Kotone bowed to him, Yuto also felt an awkward air of awkwardness. His own attitude earlier is not a good one either.

''Ah! No! I'm sorry, too. I was taken aback...by surprise. It's true that I have a cowardly streak in me!

'Well I'm sorry about that.

Oh, um... what is it?

'My name is Sanzenin Mizushige. I am the entrant in this Grand Festival of Irie, are you also going to be a participant in this Grand Festival?

''Yes ... yes. My name is Du Du Yuto.

''Well no, it was nothing, but I saw you priced out the participants, and I felt compelled to call out to you as an old woman.''

...What?

'I can't help but be impressed that you're being so blatant about your surroundings. Most of them probably don't notice, but to some of them, you're the opposite of what they'd be wary of. I just wanted to say that much.

 When Yuto looked at Mizushige in surprise, Mizushige laughed quietly...raising his hand lightly and turning his body around.
 Kotone stared at Yuto in silence, then lightly bailed and followed Mizushige.

''........''

 As Yuto stared at Mizushige's back as he left, he noticed that his hands were covered in sweat.

(Sanzenin Mizushige........?

 With a serious face, Yuto moved his eyes to his right hand and spread it out.
 And.........perhaps by coincidence, several participants were watching these Yuto and the others in their respective places.



 Kotone looked at her brother, Mizushige, and frowned.
 He didn't know why his brother had approached someone like that.
 The Mizushige that Kotone knew.........had never shown any interest in another person to the extent that he might not even be interested in his family.
 Of course, even to herself, her sister........
 She is always noble and solitary.
 The best spirit user of all time to appear in Sanzenin.
 Perhaps that's why no one could guess what Mizushige was thinking.
 However, Kotone thought that it was probably Mizushige. It's probably closer to saying that he was convinced.
 The world her brother sees is different from theirs, she thought.
 That's why he couldn't understand Mizushige's actions this time.

''Brother.......why did you call out to someone like that?''

 Kotone knew she was asking something unnecessary.
 But I really wanted to ask him.

''Kotone you saw his movements earlier, right? What did you think?

"...what? Yes I found it rude and very cowardly.

Is that all you got?

Yes.

....

 There was more distance and heaviness between the brother and sister, who had been silent for a while, than was visible, and Kotone, sensing this, regretted that she shouldn't have listened.
 This kind of thing had always been a common occurrence between siblings, and each time it happened, Mizushige would disappear from his sight without a word.
 It was as if there was no point in talking about it.
 But this time, Mizushige was different.

''He........did you say Dou Du-kun?''

 Kotone looked up and was surprised. It wasn't just the fact that her brother had uttered the words to continue the conversation with her. It was because she noticed that her brother's voice was caged with a kind of emotion she hadn't heard in a long time.

'Remember the distance he took from me on the spur of the moment?

Yes...?

Don't you see? That was only a fraction of an inch outside the realm of my constant control of the spirit.

'What?  No! Brother, it's a coincidence! The only people in constant communication with spirits, apart from your brother, are spirit priestesses! He just happened to land within that distance.

Well it could be a coincidence.

Yes!

'But you see the spirits seem to have taken an interest in him.

 Kotone felt that Mizushige's voice seemed to be mixed with a hint of joyfulness, and a feeling close to envy and jealousy welled up in her heart.
 To the boy who had made his own brother react this way to the boy he had just met.
 She couldn't believe that she was supposed to be with him for a long time, but that boy, even if it was a coincidence, made her brother interested in him in this small amount of time, even if it was a coincidence.
 And he couldn't allow that to happen.
 Kotone, who was behind Mizushige, began to wonder what kind of expression Mizushige had on his face right now.
 Kotone was about to move to a position where she could see her brother's expression when the people of Shitenji appeared in this waiting hall.
 Then they began to explain the detailed rules about the Grand Festival of the Entry Family.
 However, the current Kotone couldn't hear any of that at all.
 Because.........
 He couldn't see his brother's face from the angle of his right rear, because he noticed that the corner of his brother's mouth was slightly raised.
 Kotone turned over as his body trembled with anger.

 (How could that man be my brother?

 It was also the moment when the unforgivable existence of Du Du Yuto was engraved in Kotone's heart.