340 To the Yin-Yang Master Party (1/2)

The days trickled by, and it was now the Winter Snow Festival.

Today, it happened to be snowing. The snowflakes covered the roofs and streets in a warm, romantic blanket of white.

It was finally time for the season of White Album… cough, let's not mention this anymore.

After eating breakfast, Seiji played a video game together with Reo, while Shika silently observed them.

After it was about time to go, he put down the game controller and got ready. Just as he was about to leave his apartment, his cell phone started ringing.

Seiji accepted the call. It was from Natsuya, who asked him where he was. After telling her he was on the way, Seiji looked towards Shika and Reo.

”I'm going out,” he said.

”Be careful on your way,” the two girls said together.

”I'll be back later this afternoon.” Seiji smiled as he left.

After he left, there was a brief silence. Shika looked towards Reo, soundlessly picked up the game controller Seiji had left behind, and indicated that she would take Seiji's place.

Reo's eyes lit up as she restarted the game.

…

Seiji rode in Natsuya's car to the battlefield… whoops, the party.

Currently, he was wearing a windbreaker with a high collar and long black plants. He was also wearing a wool knit cap and sunglasses. As long as he kept his collar up high and buttoned up, almost his entire face was covered. He felt as if he was cosplaying Shino Aburame.

Not only that, Natsuya also cast a disguise spell on him. This was all in order to protect his true identity.

If he was recognized as Seiji Haruta, lots of unnecessary trouble could crop up. This was the only method to avoid that.

Although his appearance was certain to attract attention, there was no helping it. This was a way to let everyone know that he wanted his identity to remain private.

If someone saw through his disguise and discovered his true identity, they would have to worry about the fact that he obviously didn't intend for people to know who he was before they publicized it.

The president, who was currently sitting across from him in her car, was wearing a plain, light pink Sakura Island outfit. She appeared rather reserved and less eye-catching than usual.

If it wasn't for the fact that as the daughter of the Yoruhana family, she had to make a respectable impression, she would have worn something even plainer. Perhaps she would have gone so far as to wear a full winter jacket, wrapping many thick layers around herself.

”Can you tell me about that person that you strongly dislike?” Seiji asked.

”Although that feeling stopped later on, due to the deep first impression I had of him, I didn't want to get close to him.

”However, it seemed as if he really liked me for some reason. He kept talking to me, inviting me to go out with him, and giving me presents… no matter how much I refused, he kept trying to approach me.

”One day, he confessed his love for me and even forcibly tried to hug me. I got angry. I broke free from his embrace and knocked him to the ground before leaving.

”The day after, he didn't come to school. There was one other girl in my class that didn't come to school either, and this girl had a very good relationship with him. Later, on the same day that I rejected him, someone saw him being intimate with this girl.

”For an entire week, neither he nor that girl appeared at school. After that week passed, he returned to school and apologized to me for his actions at the time. I also apologized to him for hitting him, and we appeared to make up our differences on the surface. Then, I asked him about that girl.

”When he heard my question, he revealed a slight hint of the dark expression I saw when we first met. He smiled faintly and said, 'I don't know.'

”That girl never came back to school again. Some said that she had transferred schools. I was highly concerned about this matter and later investigated it by myself. I discovered that the girl had gone missing on the same day that I rejected him. Akatsuki Mitarai is most likely the final person to have seen her.”

Seiji felt an icy chill as he listened to Natsuya's tale.

Natsuya didn't say anything else and turned around to look out of the car window.

The luxury car passed through an enormous gate. After entering, the car followed along a forested path for quite a while before it finally arrived at a huge, Sakura Island-style mansion.

Seiji recalled his experience from visiting the Juumonji mafia group.

The Juumonji mafia group's residence was huge as well, but it was nothing compared to this one—it wasn't even the same level.