"Dong dong"
A muffled sound of bells echoed from the shrine, spreading around and reaching the ears of the nearby people.
"It's almost time. The fireworks will soon light up the sky."
"Mom, let's go watch the fireworks?"
"Maruo, I feel like it's been a long time since I watched fireworks."
On a bench in the corner of the square, Nakano Reina and Nakano Maruo sat together with their fingers intertwined, while two pairs of differently colored eyes looked toward the starless night sky.
Maybe the thought had simply come to her suddenly, but Nakano Reina suddenly murmured softly.
"Is that so? I feel like time passed so quickly. Reina has returned."
Tightly holding the hand of the loved one beside him, Nakano Maruo felt immense relief at this moment.
Before Nakano Reina was revived, every day, every hour, every moment, he thought about how to bring Nakano Reina back. What if the resurrection failed? Or if it succeeded, what would their first meeting after ten years of separation look like?
However, all of those worries turned into a bowl of hot meat porridge after Nakano Yu revived Nakano Reina.
Nakano Maruo personally made it. Nakano Maruo knew he was not good with words and wanted to tell Reina what he had gone through during the last ten years, but what he finally said was only one sentence:
"I missed you very much."
As for Nakano Maruo's behavior, Nakano Reina understood him very well. After all, they were an old married couple, so naturally she knew that Nakano Maruo was clumsy with words and often showed emotions through actions.
In such an atmosphere, their intertwined hands unconsciously tightened even more, as if afraid that the other person might suddenly disappear.
"Yes, little Reina has finally returned."
Just as the romantic atmosphere between Nakano Maruo and Nakano Reina became perfect, a somewhat inappropriate sigh sounded from behind them.
Hearing it, the smile on Nakano Maruo's face instantly disappeared.
The benches were not placed separately, but rather two benches back to back.
The current situation was that he and Reina occupied one side, while on the other side...
He did not even need to think to know that Sawamura Sayuri and Spencer were there.
"I'm telling you, Spencer, can't the two of you go a little farther away and enjoy your own world?"
The corner of Nakano Maruo's mouth twitched as he turned his head and immediately saw the two of them lying over the backrest of the bench, curiously eavesdropping on his conversation with Reina. He spoke irritably.
At first, when Nakano Maruo saw Spencer come to pick up Sayuri, he thought he had finally found an excuse to get rid of Sayuri, that third wheel. He was so happy that he casually made up an excuse and told Ichika to go find Nakano Yu.
But Spencer came to pick up Sawamura Sayuri and had no intention of taking her away. Instead, he followed them!
Now one third wheel had turned into two, and they were even more troublesome and intrusive, achieving the effect of "one plus one is greater than two."
But did something like this really have to happen right now!
"NO NO NO, Mr. Maruo, you don't understand. I have never been to a fireworks festival before, but I know this is a good time for couples in Japan to develop feelings. But I have never experienced it, so I want to learn from Maruo."
Seeing Nakano Maruo say that, Spencer quickly waved his hand and said.
Did he understand Japanese fireworks festivals? Actually, he understood them very well. Was he lying to Nakano Maruo?
Not necessarily. After all, he truly did not know how Japanese people developed feelings during fireworks festivals. Can watching fireworks together increase affection?
If that were the case, if he invited everyone in the city to watch fireworks, wouldn't everyone in the city become his friend?
Rubbing his chin, Spencer felt that this was feasible and decided to implement it later.
"You... Forget it, just be happy, the two of you."
Looking at Spencer's pure blue eyes, Nakano Maruo felt that the other side was not lying, so he could only sigh helplessly.
"Hmm? Up in the sky, it looks like fish are flying?"
At that moment, Sawamura Sayuri seemed to notice something. Confused, she looked up at the sky and spoke.
Hearing that, Nakano Maruo and Spencer both raised their heads toward the sky, but apart from complete darkness there was nothing. They could not even see a trace of moonlight.
But that only proved that the weather tonight was not very good. Besides, if there was no moonlight, how did Sawamura Sayuri see fish flying through the sky?
"It's probably some monster."
Nakano Reina also looked at the sky. Like Nakano Maruo, she saw nothing, so she withdrew her gaze and said.
"Hmm... I guess so."
After thinking briefly, Sawamura Sayuri stared at the completely black night sky and finally withdrew her gaze.
She felt that she had not been mistaken, but how could fish fly through the sky? It must have been some fish-shaped monster flying through the sky that she happened to see.
Sawamura Sayuri was no longer surprised by monsters. She had become somewhat used to their existence. After all, every day she could see the Crow Tengus from the Nura Group patrolling the sky.
"Dong dong dong~"
At that moment, the muffled bell from the shrine rang out once more, but this time the sound was longer, creating a feeling of relaxation throughout the body.
"Get ready! The fireworks are about to start!"
A shout sounded from the distant crowd. Hearing it, Sawamura Sayuri quickly imitated Nakano Maruo and Nakano Reina, moved closer to Spencer, and slipped her arm through her husband's arm.
Noticing Sawamura Sayuri's action, Spencer turned his head toward her in confusion. Seeing the smile on his wife's face, he was obviously surprised and somehow smiled as well, following her gaze toward the night sky.
"Yu! It's starting!"
At this moment, Nakano Yu and his group were also quietly waiting for the fireworks to rise. Ichika tightly held the young man's arm, and her voice was full of anticipation.
"Mm."
Nakano Yu nodded lightly, looking at the night sky with a completely calm expression.
"What's wrong? Yu doesn't look very happy."
Seeing Nakano Yu like that, Nino moved closer to him worriedly and asked.
"Nothing, just an uninvited guest wants to ruin tonight's fireworks festival."
Nakano Yu shook his head, his deep eyes fixed on the sky through which not even a trace of moonlight passed.
High in the sky there were dense masses of fish!
Those fish were flying through the sky one after another, covering this area and preventing the moonlight from reaching the ground.
To accomplish such a feat, Nakano Yu could think of only one possibility — a Heretic God!
Thinking about the cat that appeared at the shrine, Nakano Yu's expression turned cold. It seemed that Heretic Ebisu had appeared much earlier, but since he was not in Tokyo, he had not noticed anything unusual.
Killing two Heretic Gods in one day, truly exciting.
Clenching his fists, Nakano Yu felt his fighting spirit and anger rising.
His fighting spirit came from the fact that the opponent was a Heretic God, and his anger came from the fact that that reckless guy dared to ruin tonight's fireworks festival. Nakano Yu knew how much the Quintuplets had been looking forward to this fireworks festival.
After all, this was the first fireworks festival after Reina's return.
Also, Nakano Yu could feel the malice of that Heretic God. As for the source of that malice, it was the school of fish in the sky, like a curtain.
Those fish flying through the sky were originally supposed to attack the city below, but he discovered and stopped them with Wind in time.
At that moment, a salty sea Wind blew, filling Nakano Yu's nostrils and causing the young man to frown.
He felt the Wind, the sea Wind raging over the ocean, mixed with the salty taste of the sea, making Nakano Yu feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Hey, everyone, do you want to go home?"
Looking at the sky, Nakano Yu knew they probably would not be able to watch the fireworks tonight. The malice of that Heretic God was extremely obvious, and the sea fish under his control had already broken through his Wind.
With such strong malice, the opponent was obviously targeting the pedestrians on the entire Ukiyo-e street. And as for Heretic Gods, Nakano Yu had always held the attitude that they should not be spared, so he had to kill him. Once the battle started, it could engulf the entire city.
If he continued allowing Ichika and the others to stay here, they might get caught in the crossfire.
Thinking of that, Nakano Yu could only ask the girls beside him.
"Hmm?"
When the young man's question echoed out, Ichika and the others all looked at him in confusion. The fireworks had not even started yet, so why did Yu suddenly want to go home?
Looking at Nakano Yu, the Quintuplets were full of doubt. Previously Yu would always stay with them to watch the fireworks before returning. Why today… Could it be that something happened?
However, seeing Nakano Yu's calm but serious expression, the Quintuplets froze. The last time they had seen him like that was on the Faroe Islands, during the engagement banquet between Nakano Yu and Katsura Kotonoha.
Whenever they thought about the shocking divine battle between Nakano Yu and the Nordic queen Frigg on the Faroe Islands, the Quintuplets would feel panic. After that battle, Nakano Yu remained in a coma for a long time, causing them great worry. They were even afraid that Nakano Yu would leave them like their mother had.
Their worried thoughts could not be hidden. The atmosphere that had been cheerful just moments ago suddenly fell silent. Only Eriri and Tsurara did not understand what was happening.
"It's nothing, just someone came to ruin the fireworks festival. I'll go talk to him. For now, I'll send Ichika and the others to Mother."
Nakano Yu waved his hand. After he finished speaking, a powerful Wind rushed forth and lifted the Quintuplets and the others into the air.
"We're flying, flying?!"
Lifted by the Wind, Eriri's surprised voice sounded out. Holding onto Yotsuba, Eriri barely managed to keep her balance.
Looking at them, Nakano Yu smiled faintly, waved his hand, and said goodbye to them:
"See you later then."
When his voice faded, before they could react, the powerful Wind suddenly rose and in an instant carried the Quintuplets and Eriri Spencer Sawamura in front of Nakano Maruo and Nakano Reina.
"You... what happened?"
The Nakano couple, who had quietly been waiting for the fireworks to explode into fleeting beauty, were stunned when they saw the group suddenly appear before them. Nakano Reina was the first to react and ask.
But before the Quintuplets could answer, thunder echoed out accompanied by a furious roar:
"Boom!!!"
"Ignorant humans, your sins shall be punished!!"