NEET Receives a Dating Sim Game Leveling System - Chapter 353

Chapter 353

Butterflies 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 assistance, 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 gratitude 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 pass 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 doujinshi 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 doujinshi 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 doujinshi 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 Fujihara-san?” 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 . ‘Damn, that was a big misunderstanding,’ she reflected, feeling slightly embarrassed .

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 Uehara-san and the others . I… I’ll go with Fujihara-san . ”

Actually, she didn’t want to go anymore .

The only reason she wanted to go to the doujinshi 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 . “Shiroya-san 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 doujinshi convention, Shiroya-san, 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, Fujihara-san . 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 shining with a fervent light .

“S-Shiroya-san,” 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, Fujihara-san . ”

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, Shiroya-san . ”

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, Izawa-san . ”