Chapter 234. Wouldn't It Be Better If the Door Can't Be Locked?
Shaking the little bell on top of the offertory box while watching Kaguya's expression, he gave it a gentle jingle twice and then stopped. When he stepped aside to make room for the person behind him, he couldn't hold back a yawn.
This casual manner was a bit perfunctory, but he hadn't believed in it to begin with, so sincerity didn't matter.
For Xander Masato, rather than getting up early to go to a shrine, he'd much rather sleep in. But Kaguya and Mei were locals after all, and with a big family group, it wouldn't do to let the two of them come alone.
Speaking of shrines, it felt like he hadn't visited Moriya Shrine in a long time. According to what Seele and the others had said, after graduating high school Sanae didn't go to college but stayed on at Moriya Shrine as a shrine maiden. He wondered how things were now.
Letting his thoughts wander, Xander Masato stood quietly in the shrine courtyard, waiting for the girls to hang their ema with written wishes on the rack.
Suddenly, he noticed Kiana being a bit sneaky. When he focused, he saw her eyes sparkling as she hung a "prayer for fertility" ema. The corner of Xander's mouth twitched; he looked up at the sky and pretended not to see it.
On New Year's morning the shrine was especially crowded. Without much delay the girls finished hanging their ema, each happily carrying a "great blessing" fortune, and came over to meet up with Xander Masato.
"Brother, Bronya-sis, do your best~" Seele's voice was sweet, though the look she gave her brother carried a vague hint of grievance.
After saying goodbye to the girls who'd already agreed to go shopping together, Xander Masato and Bronya turned and headed back.
The first Gensokyo Expo would be starting in just a few hours.
The Gensokyo Expo, after discussion, was finally named the Gensokyo Carnival—a fan convention similar to Hakurei Shrine Reitaisai but dedicated to IPs under Gensokyo. The venue would also host Pokémon tournaments, Yu-Gi-Oh! duels, and a series of other events. You could say that as soon as it was announced, it drew considerable attention from players.
As the soul of Gensokyo, Xander Masato naturally couldn't avoid appearing at the Carnival. Because this was basically work, he brought Bronya along and didn't take up the others' holidays.
The weather had reached the coldest part of the season, the icy air even making his nose sting a little. When a gust of wind blew past, Bronya couldn't help folding her arms and hunching her neck.
Today she wore a wide-neck fitted sweater and high-waisted jeans with the hem tucked in, showing off her full, curvy figure at a glance. Over that she had a gray long coat. Paired with her high ponytail, her slightly plain expression made her look both dashing and beautiful.
Unfortunately, maybe because she hadn't brought a scarf, one gust of wind broke the composure, and her plain expression immediately turned pitiful.
A soft chuckle sounded by her ear. Just when Bronya thought her lover was laughing at her, a silver-gray scarf draped over her neck, along with a hand reaching over to gently adjust it for her.
"Even if you want to mind your image, remember to wear a scarf. The wind's strong around here."
"Mm…"
The lecturing left her with no retort. Shoulder to shoulder, Bronya buried half her face in the scarf, and the warmth made her let out a comfortable breath.
"Mm, thanks."
"No need to thank me."
Thanks to the scarf being long enough, he and Bronya could each wear half with extra to spare.
Seizing the chance, Bronya hugged Xander's arm and leaned against him. Her lover's warmth made her calm eyes unconsciously soften. Then, catching sight of the string of little hearts at the end of the scarf, she thought for a moment and couldn't help laughing.
If she remembered right, this should be the Christmas gift Seele had given Xander a few days ago. As for why the scarf was so long, that little girl's intention went without saying.
She seemed to recall that Seele hadn't worn a scarf when they went out today, and had even put on a low-neck cotton coat. Pity that along the way Xander was tangled up by Elysia and didn't notice Seele craning her neck the whole time—basically batting her eyes at a blind man. No wonder her gaze was so aggrieved when they split up just now.
The first time sharing this scarf with Xander isn't you, little Seele—it's me, Bronya!
"What's making you so happy?"
Xander Masato held Bronya's slightly cold hand, warming it for her as he asked curiously.
"It's nothing. I just think Seele is really cute."
"That she is."
Nodding in agreement, he soon heard Bronya change the subject: "Speaking of which, it feels like it's been a long time since we had time alone together, hasn't it?"
"Now that you mention it—yeah, it has."
Back then everyone chose to go out on solo dates with Xander, and only Bronya dragged him to stay home gaming. Although everyone tacitly didn't join in, Seele's pace of delivering drinks and fruit nearly five or six times an hour almost made Bronya pin her to the bed and give her butt a good spanking.
"Tsk, now I kind of regret it."
"Regret what?"
"I regret not kicking Seele out back then and keeping you all to myself. If it were just me, there's no way I'd let you be a flirt."
The faintly icy tone made his whole body go stiff. Chuckling awkwardly, he said, "W-well, isn't it fine now too…"
"…"
"Pfft~ Look how scared you are."
"…"
Bronya suddenly laughed, but Xander Masato wisely didn't chime in. He only heard her continue: "It's true though—some people sure enjoy being surrounded on the left and right. How does Kiana taste?"
"I haven't done anything yet…"
"No way. The look in her eyes is practically stringy when she looks at you, and you stayed at her place so many days and still held back without making a move?"
Now it was Bronya's turn to be surprised.
"Step by step—no rush."
"Then why were you so impatient with me and Seele back then?"
"Ahem, I was younger then. Curiosity was strong…"
Chatting about topics that made Xander break out in a cold sweat, he finally let out a sigh of relief when he saw the outline of St. Freya Academy's front gate in the distance.
Seeing this, Bronya smiled with her eyes and let him off, holding his arm as the two of them walked in together.
On the way, Xander quickly saw the queue stretching from the gymnasium as far as the eye could see.
"There sure are a lot of people."
Bronya sighed, and Xander nodded along.
"Good thing most students are already on break, otherwise Academy Head Theresa might not have approved this campus for us."
The two put on hats and masks, took out their work passes, and entered through a special access.
The Carnival's main venue was the same arena that had hosted the Pokémon World Championships before. Official merch would be sold in the hall, and the Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! matches were also being held in the main arena.
As for the applied derivative-work booths, depending on their scale, the Carnival's manager would assign them to the various sub-venues. This whole athletics zone had been lent to him by Theresa, so space was no problem.
The route was already piled with decorations from Gensokyo's games: Pokémon's Pikachu, Plants vs. Zombies' Sunflower, Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Kuriboh, Hollow Knight's The Knight…
Looking around with shining eyes, Bronya suddenly felt a tinge of accomplishment.
"These are all our games."
"There will be more in the future."
Lifting his head, Xander's confident voice made Bronya's lips curl up despite herself, and she smiled in response: "Mm, more and more."
After strolling and taking time to quietly tour the setup while no one was around, they finally ran into the Carnival's general manager.
Ken Sugisaki had dark circles under his eyes, and the Kitahara behind him and Grandpa Kiri were no better. When they saw the spirited, cheerful Xander Masato and Bronya, a nameless fire rose in all three of their minds.
As soon as they met, Kitahara couldn't help a snide tone: "Yo, isn't this our Gensokyo's Boss Masato? You sure are in the mood~"
"Yah, haven't seen you bros for over a month—how's it going~"
Paying no mind to Kitahara's snark, Xander Masato smiled as he greeted them, and he even waved the hand intertwined with Bronya's.
Seeing the smiling Bronya, the three men fell silent at once, glaring hatefully at Xander and not daring to say more.
Seeing this, Bronya stifled a laugh, quickly untied the scarf, offered a greeting, and then slipped away alone under Xander's alarmed gaze.
"Hey, wait—"
Unfortunately, Bronya had been ready for this and dashed off in a flash. Xander had just wanted to chase when he felt three hard arms land on his shoulders.
Stiffly turning his head, he met three feral grins.
"Cough, can we call a truce?" he asked calmly.
"At a time like this, you must be joking."
All three piled on and surrounded Xander. Even the mildest-tempered Grandpa Kiri was full of resentment this time.
No helping it—this was an event that would absolutely see traffic in the hundreds of thousands, and yet the overall responsibility had been dumped on the three of them. They'd been so exhausted lately they barely slept a few hours; the phone never stopped ringing; everything had to pass through their hands—they were on the verge of collapse.
By today, with opening imminent, the three were even more on edge, afraid something would go wrong, and they hadn't dared sleep at all last night.
And Xander Masato? That bastard showed up laughing and joking with "Duck Boss," all relaxed like he was sightseeing. How could the three bros not be mad!
"Must be nice. Vacation life sure is nice—you get to unwind and hang out with your girlfriend."
Ken Sugisaki grabbed his collar and growled.
"Yeah, you bastard—not only did you betray us by getting a girlfriend, you're with the world's most beautiful and most elegant 'Duck Boss' on top of that. Be a human being!!"
Kitahara deliberately raised his voice so loud that Xander clicked his tongue and shot back, "Tch, she's already gone. No need to butter me up."
Hearing that, Kitahara's lips curled in a wicked smile. He yanked Xander's shoulder and shouted, "What, did you just say our 'Duck Boss' isn't pretty!! You're not even interested?! Are you even human?? Huh?? Are you blind or what!!!"
He yelled so loudly it felt like it could be heard several floors away, and Xander's face instantly darkened as he grabbed Kitahara. "You son of a—"
Unfortunately, before he could deliver a friendly punch, an icy voice sounded behind him: "What you just said—was it true?"
In an instant, Xander froze, stiffly turned his head, and saw Bronya looking at him with a cold gaze.
"Ahem, misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding. The kid was just shouting nonsense."
He jabbed an elbow into Kitahara's gut to shut him up physically, but Bronya's face stayed frosty, and she walked up and grabbed Xander directly.
"Come with me."
"Eh? N-no, I'm talking with my friends—hey, don't pull me…"
Dragged along by force and under the vicious, vengeful smiles of the three who had finally gotten their payback, Xander was soon pulled by Bronya into an inconspicuous little prop room, and with a bang the door shut tight.
At that, Xander suddenly stopped struggling, and Bronya let go of him too.
"They can't see us here, right."
"Mm. And you were struggling so hard my wrist hurts."
Rubbing her wrist, Bronya complained.
"I was afraid of getting found out~"
Walking over to hug Bronya, he lowered his head and kissed her cheek, immediately earning a charming side-eye.
Sure enough, that had just been a pre-planned act, set up ahead of time to soothe the three bros' resentment, and Xander had told Bronya before they came.
Bronya felt it was childish, but if it was Xander, she didn't mind being childish with him.
"Your three friends are really pitiful."
Shaking his head with a sigh, Xander raised a finger and wagged it, clicking his tongue. "No, no, no, I keep a constant eye on my bros' mental and physical health. Tell me—weren't they happy just now!"
"You guys really are strange."
"Good thing you came back early, or I was honestly afraid those three would get impulsive and give me an aruba."
"Absolutely not!!"
Bronya immediately glared at him angrily: "What if it gets broken?!"
"Eh? It shouldn't come to that, right? Everyone is quite measured."
"That's not okay either!"
Frowning at him, Bronya said seriously: "You are different from them, you have us by your side, and we don't want anything to happen to you!"
Although I'm very happy to be cared for so seriously, I can't help but feel that this topic isn't quite right?
Just as Xander Masato was feeling a little confused, he suddenly felt himself being pushed, and his body couldn't help but take a step back and bump into the only door for entry and exit.
"Bronya, what are you doing mmmph..."
His collar was pulled down by a slender hand, and his lips were quickly blocked, he lowered his head and immediately met Bronya's fiery gaze, a hand quietly caressing below made him tremble instantly.
"Wait, we're still out mmmph... outside... don't mmmph... how are you getting even more excited mmmph..."
He couldn't even get a coherent sentence out, and the more he spoke, the more excitedly Bronya kissed him.
Soon Bronya released his mouth, kissed her way down his neck to his collarbone, and then slowly squatted down.
"This door can't be locked from the inside..."
With his back against the door that would open with a light twist, Xander Masato reminded nervously.
"Isn't that even better~"
Letting out a charming laugh, Bronya opened her red lips and bit the zipper.
"Remember to brace the door well."
After saying the last sentence somewhat muffled, Xander Masato was seen tensing his body, pressing tightly against the door, not daring to say anything else.
Enjoyed the story? Support me and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at: Patr*eon*.com/Resium
Free members can read 10+ chapters ahead of webnovel
Paid member can read 150+ chapters ahead of webnovel
Stories Available
Honkai? No, This Is Daily Life
Hogwarts Pet Master
Pokémon: Who Let Him Leave Pallet Town!
Scrolling Yu-Gi-Oh! Shorts