b.u.t.terflies danced among the flowers, birds sang in the forest, and snow fell on the weather barrier, transforming into a faint white mist.

Time marched onwards in the beautiful and quiet garden. After a long while, Natsuya slowly released Seiji.

Their gazes locked for a moment, then their eyes darted away like startled fish. They looked at each other, red-faced and tongue-tied. 

It was a scene right out of a teenage idols' drama.

For Seiji, this wasn't a sweet-and-sour moment. He attempted to master his thumping heart and itchy chest in vain.

"My apologies," Natsuya said softly, breaking the silence. "It was just an impulse."

Seiji scratched his face awkwardly. "It... it's alright. I was just really surprised." 

"Now you mention it, I don't know what came over me... Your words struck a chord in my heart, and I couldn't control myself..." Natsuya paused for a moment. "At any rate, thank you."

"There's nothing to thank me for. I just said what I wanted to say." 

A moment of silence fell between them.

"At that time, what did Akatsuki Mitarai say to you?" Seiji asked. "Are things truly alright?" 

"He admitted I won—but that it was only the beginning. 'Remember this,' he said as he left, 'because I'll win next time.'" 

Seiji furrowed his brows. "He didn't promise to never approach you again?" 

Natsuya made no reply.

'So,' Seiji mused, 'he probably intends to break his promise—even if he's punished for it.' 

"Like I said earlier, as long as I can be of a.s.sistance, then—"

Seiji's voice caught in his throat as Natsuya placed her finger on his lips.

"There's no need to repeat yourself." She retracted her finger and smiled gently. "I know how you feel, Seiji, and I can't express my grat.i.tude towards you in words..."

Seiji blinked at this. After a few moments, he grinned broadly and said, "There's no need to be polite, Natsuya."

Akatsuki Mitarai left the party together with his Spirit-branded Retainer, Naruo Yashuu.

According to the other Masters, Akatsuki claimed he had something urgent to take care of. Regardless of whether or not he was speaking the truth, to flee after his loss to Natsuya left everyone feeling rather bemused.

In other words, he seemed just like a cur scampering off after a harsh beating.

Seiji was unsurprised by his behavior, but the other people at the party felt that this was different from Akatsuki's usual style.

They asked Natsuya Yoruhana about what exactly had transpired.

Natsuya didn't want to be the subject of too many discussions, so she underplayed the situation and said that there was a small conflict between them.

This type of answer caused many people's imaginations to run wild.

The adolescent Yin-Yang Masters began chatting about this topic and even joked about it… it would probably become some type of rumor in the end.

Natsuya maintained her image as the daughter of the Yoruhana family and politely responded to everyone.

Seiji accompanied her, acting the part as her Spirit-branded Retainer.

Everyone chatted, played some smaller games, and watched some performances to pa.s.s the time.

Finally, the party came to a conclusion.

Before they left, Kanna and Izawa came to find them again.

"Let's go to the doujins.h.i.+ convention together!" Kanna said excitedly.

Natsuya and Seiji, both under the impression that the duo had come to say goodbye, were surprised by this.

"I'd like to visit the doujins.h.i.+ convention in a few days." Kanna smiled and added, "It'll definitely be fun if everyone goes together! You guys will agree to come, won't you?" Her eyes were sparkling with expectation.

Natsuya and Seiji exchanged awkward glances.

"Do you know what a doujins.h.i.+ convention is?" Seiji whispered, shuffling closer to Natsuya.

"I know the basics," Natsuya murmured. "Are you going?" 

"Of course I'm going; I've already promised to go together with some others…"

"With who?"

"Mika and the others."

"Oh…"

"Do you want to go?"

"I..." Natsuya hesitated for a moment before admitting, "I do want to go a little."

"Then why don't you agree to go together with Fujiharsan?" Seiji paused before continuing, "As for me, I'm going with Mika and the others. I'm not sure if it's appropriate if we go together with you guys."

Natsuya's gaze grew sharp when she heard this. "Why?"

"Eh?"

"Why… is it inappropriate?"

"Because I've already promised to go with three others. Apart from Mika, the other two are ordinary humans."

Although Seiji had revealed the basic workings of the mystical world to Chiaki, she was still a normal human. Even worse, Kaho was a completely ordinary human—she was completely ignorant of the mystical world. Due to this, Seiji believed that it would be unwise to mix the two groups.

Natsuya came to a sudden realization. 'So I was mistaken...' For a moment, she thought that Seiji had chosen Mika Uehara over her. 'd.a.m.n, that was a big misunderstanding,' she reflected, feeling slightly embarra.s.sed.

Seiji had already promised to go with Mika Uehara and the others, so of course he would go together with them. In such a situation, asking him to go with her, Kanna, and Izawa would mean that everyone would be in a large group, which obviously wasn't suitable.

"I understand now; you're absolutely correct," Natsuya said. "Go ahead and have fun with Ueharsan and the others. I… I'll go with Fujiharsan."

Actually, she didn't want to go anymore.

The only reason she wanted to go to the doujins.h.i.+ convention in the first place was to be together with him. If she couldn't go together with him, then she would prefer not to go at all.

'Well,' Natsuya thought, comforting herself, 'since it's come to this, I might as well go. Even if we're not together, we might still meet up at the convention. Besides, it's nice to see and learn more about the things that he likes.' 

She agreed to Kanna Fujihara's invitation.

Seiji said that he already had arrangements with someone else, so he wouldn't be able to go together with them.

Kanna snorted in response to this. "s.h.i.+roysan probably just doesn't want to reveal his true appearance. How stingy."

"Master…" Izawa protested weakly.

"Hmph! My eyes are incredible, you know! As long as I see you at the doujins.h.i.+ convention, s.h.i.+roysan, I'll definitely recognize you!" Kanna placed her hands on her hips and warned, "Be careful to avoid me!"

Seiji was rendered speechless. He smiled at how...  serious she was being.

After meeting her at this party, he felt that this daughter from the Fujihara family was a cute girl. Unfortunately, she had an unhealthy obsession with boys' love and a loose tongue, which meant that the conversation always seemed to stray towards the uncomfortable topic. Despite this, Seiji could tell she was a well-intentioned girl.

"I'll remember what you said just now, Fujiharsan. If I meet you at the convention and you fail to recognize me, I'm going to make fun of you."

Kanna's eyes widened upon hearing this. Izawa also froze for a moment, before his eyes started s.h.i.+ning with a fervent light.

"S-s.h.i.+roysan," Kanna managed with difficulty, "you mean... if we meet at the convention, you'll…"

"Yes, if we have the luck to do so." Seiji extended his hand towards Kanna. "It's my honor to have gotten to know you, Fujiharsan."

Kanna regained her senses and reached out to shake Seiji's much larger hand.

Kanna smiled. "Although I still haven't gotten to known you, I'm happy to have met you here, s.h.i.+roysan." 

Her smile was one which belonged to a lady of her status. After shaking hands with Kanna, Seiji extended his hand out to Izawa.

Izawa shook his hand with a faint smile. "I'm looking forward to meeting you again."

"I'm looking forward to it as well… by the way, I may as well mention that I'm truly not someone who's famous for being strong. In fact, it's the complete opposite. So, at that time, I hope that you won't be too disappointed."

"Even if you aren't famous now, you'll definitely become famous in the future, so I definitely won't be disappointed." Izawa's eyes sparkled like gems. "You have strength as well as humility. You're definitely no ordinary person."

"Your praise makes me feel awkward. I'm only… ah, forget it—you'll find out when the time comes." Seiji smiled. "I'm happy to have met you, Izawsan."