"Hey, Nakano-kun, aren't we going to find Kassan and the others now?"
Following Nakano Yu, Eriri gradually relaxed. She realized that the young man beside her was very easygoing and not arrogant at all. Despite his high status and abilities… he had even killed a god, so Eriri didn't even need to explain how powerful he was.
Honestly, this was the first time Eriri had met such an outstanding peer. When she was in Britain, Eriri actually wasn't as much of a shut-in as she was in Japan; she would attend social events such as banquets held by the British royal family.
However, as the daughter of a diplomat, she didn't stand out much at royal banquets. Fortunately, she was cute, so some nobles would occasionally approach her to talk. But Eriri knew those people were only superficially gentlemanly, and she didn't like it there.
But when she was with Nakano Yu, she could feel that his gaze was very pure… well, not completely pure, but whenever he looked at her, for some reason he would have a somewhat disdainful expression.
Eriri didn't quite understand why he looked at her that way. Obviously, she was very beautiful, one of the most recognized beauties at the girls' school, even if she had some shortcomings in her figure.
"Nonsense."
Nakano Yu stopped, didn't even look at Eriri, and said mercilessly.
Hearing that, Eriri's lips twitched. She didn't understand why Nakano Yu treated her this way. She didn't feel any ill intent from him, but… his words were so hurtful.
"They're right ahead, hurry up and catch up with them."
Ignoring Eriri's reaction, Nakano Yu finished speaking and walked forward in large strides.
Seeing that, Eriri followed him. Although the tone Nakano Yu used with her wasn't very pleasant, she could only follow him since she wasn't familiar with this place.
Just as Eriri took a step forward, a shout suddenly came from behind her:
"Watch out! Move aside!!"
Hearing the voice, Eriri turned around in confusion and saw a plastic box with goldfish flying straight toward her.
The plastic box was still sealed, but Eriri knew it would hurt a lot if it hit her, and she would definitely end up soaking wet.
Thinking of that, Eriri wanted to dodge, but while her mind reacted, her body remained motionless, only watching the plastic aquarium fly toward her.
At that moment, a gentle breeze blew, ruffling Eriri's hair. The refreshing sensation brought Eriri back to her senses.
"My goldfish! It's flying, it's flying?!"
Before Eriri could think further, a little boy ran over from the distance, looking at the plastic aquarium floating in midair. Urgency could be heard in his voice, but even more than that, curiosity and surprise.
Eriri also looked at the plastic aquarium, as if realizing something. She turned to look for Nakano Yu, but instead of seeing him, she heard the young man's voice in front of her.
"Little friend, next time make sure to hold it more carefully."
Turning back around, Eriri saw Nakano Yu standing beside the boy with his hand extended, while the plastic aquarium slowly floated downward in front of the boy.
"Thank you, thank you, Nakano-sama!"
The boy's eyes lit up when he saw Nakano Yu. For a moment, he even forgot to take the aquarium. Only after several seconds did he come back to his senses, hugged the plastic aquarium tightly to his chest, and bowed to Nakano Yu in gratitude.
Seeing that even such small children recognized him, Nakano Yu smiled awkwardly. Being called "Nakano-sama" by children made him feel somewhat old-fashioned. [He really prefers to stay low-key.]
Nakano Yu gently rubbed the boy's head, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
Seeing that, Eriri quickly followed him.
Walking beside Nakano Yu, Eriri's cheeks inexplicably turned red as she secretly glanced at the young man from time to time, while the way Nakano Yu treated the little boy kept replaying in her mind.
Actually… Nakano Yu is a really good person, so why does he treat her like this?
Eriri muttered to herself, then puffed out her cheeks.
As she followed Nakano Yu along the road, Eriri discovered that Nakano Yu was truly amazing. Despite being a highly respected figure in Japan whom the masses admired, Nakano Yu would always respond to people's greetings along the way without acting superior at all.
If this were Britain… Eriri felt she would probably never see such a scene. After all, in the eyes of the British royal family, as royalty, their status was far higher than that of ordinary people, even though those people actually held no real power in Britain and were merely kept like canaries.
But those people were only arrogant. Some might pretend to be friendly and approachable, but their innate superiority couldn't be hidden.
Compared to them, Nakano Yu was much better. If she were with someone like him, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing.
But she had just told Kassan that she would never marry Nakano Yu, so what now? Was she going to go back on her words?
But… she felt that Nakano Yu was truly a very good person.
Thinking about that, Eriri's thoughts became complicated, and she couldn't help but play with the ends of her golden hair.
For some reason, Eriri was a little afraid to admit to Sawamura Sayuri that she wanted to try being with Nakano Yu, because her mother would probably laugh at her.
She had been full of confidence when visiting the Nakano family, but after going out with Nakano Yu, she completely changed her mind.
Just as Eriri was thinking about that, Nakano Yu suddenly stopped. Eriri, who had been walking behind him, didn't notice at all that [her ten heads crashed directly into the young man's back].
"Huh?! W-what happened?!"
The collision finally brought her back to her senses. She rubbed her forehead and looked at the young man in front of her, only to see that Nakano Yu's expression remained completely calm while his gaze was directed at something ahead.
Peeking out from behind Nakano Yu with a confused expression, Eriri wanted to see what had happened, but the sight she saw the moment she peeked out completely shocked her.
Ahead of Nakano Yu was a thick fog, from which figures of strange shapes emerged.
Those figures were none other than terrifying monsters!
But at the very front of all those monsters stood a handsome young man with a peculiar hairstyle.
However, Eriri knew that young man was a yokai! Moreover, he was the master of the Hyakki Yakou from ancient Japanese legends, the great yokai general — Nurarihyon!
Because of the appearance of those monsters, the pedestrians throughout the street fell silent like cicadas in winter, fearfully watching them and not daring to make a sound.
"Na-Nakano-kun…"
Seeing the enormous number of monsters, Eriri, pale-faced, moved closer to the young man and grabbed Yu by the sleeve.
She knew that yokai were fairly common in Tokyo these days, but this was the first time she had seen so many yokai at once, and under the leadership of the yokai general Nurarihyon.
Eriri feared that those monsters had taken advantage of the fireworks festival to cause trouble for Nakano Yu.
"Hey, Rikuo, you really brought the yokai of the Nura Clan out this openly?"
With a casual wave of his hand, Nakano Yu greeted the young Nurarihyon leading the group of demons.
It was obvious without even thinking that the young man was the young master of the Nura Clan — Nura Rikuo.
After all, there were only a few Nurarihyon in the world, and in the entire Tokyo area there were only Rikuo Nura and Nurarihyon.
"Oh, it's been quite a while, Nakano-sama."
Nura Rikuo smiled and responded to Nakano Yu.
Today he had planned to bring the yokai of the Nura Clan out for a walk and enjoy the fireworks festival together. Previously, those demons would never have been allowed to appear so openly on the streets; after all… humans' fear of demons was deeply engraved in their bones.
Even with recognition from the human media and the Metropolitan Police Department that these were monsters that would not harm others, most people still remained wary of them.
Nura Rikuo didn't care much about that. He believed humans had prejudices and that those who were not the same species were bound to be different. He also didn't think yokai had to integrate into every aspect of human life. He only wanted yokai to be able to stand beneath the sunlight.
As for how much humans would accept them, let time handle it. Time would resolve everything.
"The next time you come out, make sure to hide your demonic aura. It's not like before anymore; there's no need to conceal yourselves with demonic energy."
Looking at Nura Rikuo, Nakano Yu snapped his fingers. The very next moment, a gust of wind rose, directly dispersing the demonic aura enveloping Nura Rikuo and the group of yokai, allowing the figures of those yokai to clearly appear before everyone.
These monsters were a little too noisy; even Yu felt they were deliberately trying to scare people.
In Tokyo, fear of yokai was not the dominant emotion among ordinary people; curiosity toward them was far more common. As for fear, it came from concern that those yokai were hostile or malicious.
Usually, the yokai of the Nura Clan wore "fear" clothing when going out, so people could immediately tell whether they were good or bad when they saw them.
It wasn't that Nura Rikuo and his group of yokai weren't wearing clothing; there were simply so many of them that their demonic aura was too dense for them to be clearly seen.
"Then see you next time."
After doing all that, Nakano Yu waved his hand and led Eriri toward the group of yokai.
Seeing that, at Nura Rikuo's signal, the group of yokai quickly made a path for them.
When they saw that Nakano Yu didn't attack the group of yokai, and when they noticed the fear clothing on them, the pedestrians on the street realized these were yokai from the Nura Clan. Their fear and tension gradually disappeared, and some even called the yokai group over to look at the stalls.
Nakano Yu considered this a minor incident and led Eriri through the Hyakki Yakou of the Nura Clan.
Following closely behind Nakano Yu, Eriri observed the monsters with a mixture of curiosity and fear.
She saw Kubinashi holding his own head, three crow tengu carrying their child, and a wheel wrapped in flames.
She looked at the monsters, and the monsters looked at her. Some of the monsters even smiled at her. Although terrifying, Eriri still politely smiled back at them.
Even after passing through the Parade of One Hundred Demons, Eriri was still somewhat dazed. She took a deep breath and looked at Nakano Yu with shining eyes.
Noticing Eriri's gaze, Nakano Yu smiled gently and said:
"They are beings who are only slightly stronger than humans and have different forms. They also have emotions, just like humans."
After saying that, Nakano Yu continued onward. Seeing that, Eriri hurried after him, but looking at the young man beside her, her curiosity toward him only grew even stronger.