Chapter 53: What's Needed for a Festival (3)

Saigo Rise.

A shrine maiden she had known since childhood, and who had been an excellent source of amusement whenever she attended regular meetings.

With a man?

Rise was coming to the shrine with a man in a suit.

The man had a face that looked gentle like a rabbit's with a tall and firm body that one might see in an athletic club, and the style of his suit suited him well, suggesting he wasn't of lowly birth.

Could it be?

Could he be Rise's lover?

Such a thought flashed through her mind.

But she soon erased that idea.

The Rise she knew was a child who pretended to be pure and innocent, ignorant of the ways of the world. How could such a girl have found a lover?

Moreover, if they had taken in an adopted son-in-law, she would surely have heard about it.

It must be a coincidence.

She got up and quickly approached them.

Then she greeted Rise, pretending to be glad to see her.

"Oh my, Rise! What brings you here?"

The smile appeared so unnaturally bright like a whole bucket of pretense had been poured into it.

Rise frowned briefly at her expression as if disgusted, then said:

"...I came on business."

Came on business.

Business.

Business?

She recalled the conversation she had just had with the mayor and looked at her with a feeling of disbelief.

"What might that business be?"

"You should have received a call."

"Oh my, do you think it’s just one or two calls that I get? With so many people visiting the shrine lately and the festival right around the corner... Haa. I'm so busy I can't seem to remember properly what calls I’m getting. At times like these, I wish I could enjoy peace like you."

"Isn't it because you've gotten quite old?"

"Hoho. I'm still young. Look. I must still be growing because my clothes don't fit my body. Even this outfit I'm wearing now was tailored a few months ago, but my chest is so tight... And my pants have become loose in just a few months, they don't fit without a belt. The cost of clothes is not insignificant, either... I really wish I had a well-proportioned body like yours."

"Is that so?"

Jinseong, who had been quietly observing their conversation, stepped forward with a harmless-looking smile and opened his mouth, offering a handshake to her.

"Hello, Ms. Kishimoto Narumi. I've heard a lot about you from Rise."

"Oh, oh? Yes. Hello..."

Narumi briefly looked bewildered at the sight of the man smiling brightly and offering her a handshake. Then she looked at Rise with an incredulous face, and Rise wore an expression that seemed triumphant, or as if she pitied Narumi.

This one got a boyfriend?

Narumi took his hand, feeling dazed at the fact that Rise had gotten a boyfriend.

"I'm the one who will become the son-in-law of the Saigo family. I'm currently being called the future Shinto priest, so we'll have many opportunities to exchange greetings in the future. Oh, when addressing me, please feel free to just call me Saigo. Since I'm becoming an adopted son-in-law, it's been decided that I'll abandon my previous surname and take Rise's."

"Adopted... son-in-law?"

"Hahaha. That's right. Ah, since it was a sudden decision, you probably haven't heard the news yet. So originally, we were planning to make a grand announcement at the regular meeting... But Rise said we must deliver the news to her close friend, so we came to visit you like this. Also, since the festival is not far off, we came to help as well."

"What?"

Narumi, who had been swept along saying "oh" to Jinseong's friendly attitude, suddenly snapped to attention when she heard something among his words that caught her ear.

"Help with the festival?"

"Ah, yes. Haha. Since you're like a sister to Rise, how could I just stand by? So I brought some supplies like this."

"Supplies..."

Narumi saw numerous workers carrying loads behind Jinseong, who was smiling brightly as he spoke.

The workers all had muscular builds as if they had spent their entire lives doing physical labor, and moreover, they had many scars on their bodies as if they had been engaged in rough work. But muscles and scars were things that martial artists typically had, so it wasn't particularly strange.

"Originally, festivals require a lot of supplies, don't they? So I prepared supplies like this."

"...There are quite a lot of supplies. Wasn't it burdensome for you?"

"Burdensome? Please don't say such things. I... I'm not bragging, but I have sufficient wealth, so this much isn't a burden for me. It was a bit difficult to prepare the supplies in a short time, but fortunately, some people close to me helped, so I was able to prepare them safely. Ah, perhaps..."

Jinseong asked with a bright smile.

"Has it caused you trouble?"

Of course it has!

Narumi barely swallowed those words that seemed about to burst out of her throat.

Then she put on a bright smile that contradicted her inner feelings and curved her eyes.

"Not at all! I was just worried that we might not have enough supplies... I'm so grateful."

"Hahaha. I'm so thankful to hear you say that. Ah, would you like to take a look at the supplies we brought? I chose them with care, so I think you'll like them."

Narumi's insides were burning at the sight of Jinseong acting like an oblivious person.

But the mayor's earnest request about the 'esteemed person', Jinseong's boasting about his wealth, and the connections that allowed him to prepare enormous supplies in a short time with the help of close acquaintances.

The man in front of her was someone Narumi shouldn't treat carelessly.

Finding such a good man for a bitch who’d been ignored at meetings...

Instead, Narumi directed her resentment towards Rise.

Towards Rise, who had been treated as a non-entity by the shrine maidens who participated in the meetings every time.

When she's just a brat who looks down on the profession of shrine maiden.

Narumi suspected that this situation was heavily influenced by Rise.

She thought that Rise, harboring resentment for being ignored and not properly included in socializing every time she attended meetings, had made this request to that man who had become an adopted son-in-law.

And there was something that confirmed her suspicion.

It was the expression Rise was wearing.

While Rise wore an expression of intimacy and reverence when looking at the man, when she glanced at Narumi, her expression changed to one of pity, sympathy, and bittersweetness. That expression was so irritating that Narumi unknowingly bit her lip.

Pity and sympathy.

And a bittersweetness?

These were emotions that couldn’t easily coexist.

For them to coexist, something very special had to be added.

Narumi believed that this 'special thing' was Rise's impression of the revenge she had carried out.

"Well, let's go this way. I'll show you personally."

Jinseong, seemingly oblivious to Narumi's boiling insides, led her to one of the piles of luggage. As they approached, something that might have been a fragrance from the large pile of luggage stung Narumi's nose, and as she smelled it, she felt her head which seemed like it would go mad with anger calm down a bit.

Narumi became curious about the luggage emitting the fragrant smell. So she called out to one of the workers carrying luggage nearby.

"Excuse me?"

But the worker just glanced at her when she called out, ignored her, and continued with his work, which made Narumi feel her anger rising again.

The mayor, Rise.

Now even an insignificant worker was ignoring her?

She almost shouted at the worker, unable to contain her anger.

But Jinseong stepped in at just the right moment.

"You there, carrying the luggage. We're about to unpack this luggage, could you help us for a moment?"

"Understood."

When Jinseong spoke with a smiling face, the man unpacked the luggage actively, in stark contrast to the attitude he had shown Narumi earlier, and after unpacking all the luggage and hearing Jinseong's thanks, he disappeared with an expressionless face, carrying the luggage he had been moving.

"It seems that person is a bit shy. You know, there are men who are awkward with women, right?"

"...Is that so?"

"I've heard that often, men who look manly like that become flustered in front of beautiful women. Please don't feel too bad about it."

Jinseong said this while pulling Narumi's hand.

Then he placed a piece of finely chopped wood from the unpacked luggage in her hand and said:

"This is called sandalwood. It has a refreshing and sweet fragrance. It's a popular scent among women, so I hear it's also used as an ingredient in perfumes. I thought it would be perfect for use at the festival, so I brought it. What do you think?"

Narumi briefly looked at Jinseong, who was treating her in a friendly manner, then brought the sandalwood in her hand to her nose.

"It smells nice."

"I'm glad you like it."

She felt that the fragrance of the sandalwood was pleasant.

"Would you like to see the other luggage? There are fresh dairy products, and spices for fried tofu dishes. And I also brought many other food ingredients, thinking they might be used in cooking. Ah, that's right. I also brought a gift for Ms. Kishimoto."

Jinseong smiled brightly and unpacked a small piece of luggage next to the sandalwood.

What appeared when he unpacked it was a mirror.

And not just any mirror, but a bronze mirror decorated with jewels.

The mirror was buried in roses, using them as packaging material.

Beautiful decorations were engraved on the back of the bronze mirror, looking as if flames had been carefully gathered to form the shape of a splendid flower. And red jewels were attached as decorations here and there, their splendor indescribable.

Jinseong picked up the bronze mirror and placed it in her hands, and she, as if entranced, immediately turned it over. The smooth surface of the bronze mirror, without a single scratch, perfectly reflected Narumi's face.

Jinseong glanced at her looking satisfied with the mirror, then took out a rose from the box and offered it to her.

"A mirror and a flower. Well, do you like my gift?"

"Oh my."

As if he was saying that Narumi reflected in the mirror was like a flower.

Narumi felt the anger she had felt until just now disappear.

"Ah, just a moment. I'd like to show you this luggage too. This is a gift for Mr. Kishimoto Yoshiaki, the Shinto priest of this shrine. It's a set of cigars I got from Thailand, and I heard their aroma is excellent. I got this item after hearing rumors that Mr. Yoshiaki is a smoking enthusiast.

What took the place of anger was a liking for Jinseong.

There was no woman who disliked a handsome and polite man.

Add to that wealth, excellent connections, a cute impression, and behavior that seemed considerate of her.

There was nothing to fault.

Therefore, instead of following Jinseong as he unpacked the luggage and watching him as if supervising, she chose to stand there and watch the beautiful mirror and the unpacking luggage–

「 Employer. The perimeter is finished. 」

Unaware that the worker was reporting something to Jinseong using a smartphone.