Uh.....

'Oh!　I'm awake!

........Shizuka. I, I...?

　Mari woke up while holding her head in the Japanese-style guest room that Akara had prepared for her.

'Mari, are you alright!

Nina-san....

'Mari-san, don't push yourself. How are you feeling?

　Marion supports Mari's upper body as she gets up.

''Oh, I'm fine. But I don't know why I...''

　Marion and the others looked at each other as they stared at Mari, who felt like she didn't understand what was happening to herself.

'Mari fell ill earlier, you know?

'What?　Me?　Why?　I've never been in such bad shape...

".........

　Everyone there who was staring at Mari moved their eyes to Marion and Marion nodded quietly.
　Noticing the situation, Mari looked at her friends with a questioning look.

''Mari-san you shouldn't be surprised.

What?　What's going on?　Mr. Marion.

'It's the cause of Mari's discomfort...'

....

'Mari-san, you know...'

　Then the shoji door opened and Ichigo, who had gone out of the room to make a phone call, came back.

'Oh, Shirasawa-san!　You're awake!

Hey!　This is the most important part!　Read the air, Hakamada-kun!

''What...what...Mito-san, and the important part...oh, you're talking about Shirasawa-san being gifted?''

...What?

　Mari's eyes widen at Ichigo's words.

'Ability?　What?　That story ... hey, if you're kidding, we'll talk about it later...

'Oh my God, you stupid BL!

'Guha!　Don't say BL!　Hey, what the hell, what the hell, ouch!

Hakamada-kun is a really bad person!　Oh, is that what you mean by BL?　What does it stand for?

　Beside Shizuka and the other noisy Shizuka, Marion turned a serious face to Mari, who was upset.

''........Marion-san?''

Mari. Mari, you know, she has a gift. Definitely.

"....!　Ma, even Miss Marion ... what?

''When Mari-san was out of sorts I could feel her spiritual power coming out. And.........Hakamada-san seemed to know. That Mari-san is a psychic.

"...what?　Hakamada?　What do you mean ... I'm just a normal ...

'Well, well, relax, Mari. I'll explain it to you from the beginning. Here, Hakamada-kun!　Explain it and hear it from the winning girls.

Uh, yeah I get it. As a matter of fact, when I was at the girls' school...

　Mari's face gradually changed to one of surprise as Ichigo began to explain the events at the women's academy and the stories that the winning girls had told her, and Mari's face gradually changed to one of surprise.



　When the sun had set and the sun was setting, the main residence of the Shitenji family was checking out the sixteen participants who had come out after winning their respective groups.
　Zhu Yin, Zu Yin, Zuiho and the others had already left their seats, and those present were the overlords of the Omine and Shenzen families and the first attendants of the Shitendera family.

''What are the participants doing now? ''Meira,''

'Yes, Grandfather. We are serving dinner now, including the defeated, and we have asked the defeated to leave politely. Later, we have politely asked the losers to leave. Also, we have prepared rooms for the winners to stay for the duration of their stay.

Hmm, no disrespect.

''Yes. I have also informed you that since time is limited, we will be continuing the Grand Festival as soon as tomorrow in a tournament format.

''I see. So, those of you who have won, did you find anyone with the ability to be worthy of Shitenji, Soun?

'I don't know. I think that a moderate number of people have gathered, but it's hard to say for sure just from this. Well, if it's measured at this level, it's conceivable that the bottom will be lost, so I think this is good. However, I'm just curious...

"You're the son of a b*tc* from Sanzenin.

Yes.

I was amazed at his ability to connect with the spirits, which he showed just for a moment. I can only imagine that he hadn't even shown a glimpse of his abilities yet.

''I never imagined that you had grown into such a genie wielder. It was said that he was a rare spirit master who hadn't appeared in Sanzenin for a long time, but when I saw him before, I didn't feel his presence was this great. I had no idea what the hell he was thinking, and to be honest, I remember feeling a bit creeped out.

"I already knew at that time that Mizushige had hidden abilities that were not commensurate with her youth. That's why I set up the meeting with the young lady...

"...So why did you stop the matchmaking process?　If I recall correctly, it was Mr. Sabanosuke who finally broke off this marriage,

''I........ In the beginning, I considered competence to be of the utmost importance and thought that Mizushige had the ability to be worthy of the Four Heavenly Temples. It was only natural for Shitenji to do so. Even now, I haven't changed my mind.

Then why?

To tell the truth, I tried to break off the matchmaking process much earlier. You may remember that Kosegare was not only uninterested in Shitenji, but he seemed to be a boy who had no interest in his own home, Sanzenin, or anything else for that matter. . That stuck with me slightly. It was because I felt that no matter how outstanding his abilities were, this person would never be a person from Shitennji.

....

But I also thought that this is also a characteristic of those who are considered geniuses of some sort. It would not be wrong to say that our Lady Supreme Treasure is a genius. And because of that, she can also be lonely. The reason is that there is no one who walks at the same pace as her. It must be hard for a young genius. So it is difficult for a race of geniuses to receive the advantage of friendly competition with each other.

　Sabanosuke squinted his eyes as if remembering those days.
　Back then, Mizuho wasn't as man-hating as she was now, she was a strong-minded but kind-hearted girl, and even though she sometimes showed a lonely expression on her face, she was a girl who worked quietly and without complaint on her training.
　However, she was different from the other spirit masters in that her growth speed was uncommonly fast, so she always trained separately from the spirit masters of her generation.

That's why I've decided to bring the young lady and Suiju together for now. "So I decided to bring the young lady and Mizushige together for now, thinking that they might have something in common that I don't.

I'm not sure that's what you were thinking, Master Zamanosuke.

But as it turns out, this was a big mistake.

What's that?

The young lady was gentler than I thought, and she tried to get through to people. She had a lot of temperament for a genius, and she was just an ordinary girl.

...What was wrong with that?

It's not bad. The only people to blame are me, who brought her here with Mizushige and the adults in Shitenji. The young lady was a clever girl since she was a child. I knew this kind of thing was possible when she was born in Shitenji. And even though I sensed that Mizushige was a special and unique person, I introduced her to the young lady. Think about the situation of the kind-hearted young lady, who was able to understand the feelings of those who serve Shitenji and us, and who came to meet with Mizushige.

....

But........

　Sahumanosuke raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms.

'I didn't have the heart to understand that. Not to Sanzenin's koseki........ The same genius, but he shouldn't have brought together a young lady with deep compassion and a person with no compassion. No, even if I did, I regret that it would have been better if I had brought them together after the young lady had grown up.

Mizuhosama.

　Soun, the head of the Omine family, showed a look of concern for Mizuho.

As a result, I have caused the young lady unnecessary emotional trauma. I told Sanzenin at once that this matchmaking couldn't be settled.

　Akera had listened quietly to his own grandfather, Sabanosuke, who was also his grandfather.
　Akera had heard the story about the time of the matchmaking with the Sanzenin family, though not all of it, either.

Maybe this is my fault.

'Yes. It must be entirely your grandfather's fault.

Hey, Meira.

But it's all right. Master Zamanosuke.

What?　What do you mean, Meira?

''Thanks to that, Mizuho-sama was able to meet Yuuto-kun.......no, she met a good person and met a good friend. Well, good job, Zamanosuke. Good job to Shitennji as well. Akane-sama is also pleased.

'What's that... or rather what's that!　How dare you treat me like this!　...Good job?



　In those days....
　Mizuho went to the room where Marion and the others were, and was greatly surprised to find out that Mari was an able-bodied person.

''Eeeeeee!　Mari's a psychic?　What does it mean?　Mari, have you been hiding this from me?

'No!　I just found out for the first time, too!

'It's kind of unfair, isn't it? I mean, we're childhood friends, and you're gifted!　We have attribute inflation. Now, Mizuho-san and Marion-san's ability connection is no longer a big deal.

!

'I don't know what you're talking about, Nina!　Or rather, the most confusing thing about it is, wa-tah!

"...pup-pup!　Mari, good for you........pfft.

Hey, Shizuka!

Hakamada-kun, explain it to Mizuho-san earlier, again!

'What?　It's a pain in the ass....

Hey!　Hakamada-kun!

　And it was a lot of fun.