Civilization Guardian Front

"You said before that you want to see the world outside the shrine?"

Stared at by those purple eyes that seemed to be able to penetrate people's hearts, Bai Xue shrank her neck a little bit shyly.

Revisiting Chios' question, she hesitated for a while, and finally nodded.

"Today is the eve of the Aomori Nebuta Festival, and the Asamushi Town Fireworks Festival is about to start..." After thinking for a while, Chios continued:

"Why don't I let you watch the water fireworks at this year's eve festival?"

Facing the young man's proposal, Bai Xue didn't hesitate for a moment.

Eyes full of anticipation and trust were slightly curved, and the black-haired girl showed an innocent smile.

"Um!"

Chapter 180 Six? Broken Fate

The slope of Xingjia Mountain is not too steep. If there is no firewall to block it, it will not even take 10 minutes to go from the top of the mountain to the foot of the mountain.

Chios consciousness controls the airflow to offset part of the gravity, and then accelerates when the toes are on the ground, and each step can span several steps.

The trajectory of flying in the air draws beautiful arcs, just like gliding and flying...

The dreadful flames along the road were broken before they even touched the hem of the clothes.

Ignoring the heat waves around him, Chios carried Bai Xue all the way down the mountain.

The wind whistled past her ears. The girl who was afraid of the blazing flames at the beginning found that the young man who was holding her turned a blind eye to it, and gradually relaxed her mood.

Although immature, the delicate little face that has laid the foundation for future beauty is no longer restrained as usual, showing an innocent smile suitable for a child of her age.

At this moment, she broke away from the constraints of the Xingjia Shrine, and only needed to devote herself wholeheartedly to being an ordinary girl.

How happy it would be if this period of time could last forever...

(Thinking like this, does it mean...I am no longer a good boy...)

Thinking of this, Bai Xue couldn't help showing a hint of distress on her face.

Looking over the young man's shoulder, she looked at Xingjiashan who was tattooed with fire behind her.

Bai Xue, who has lived in the shrine since she was a child and has seen the ghosts of the older witches, is not particularly worried about the safety of the shrine.

The only person who is more likely to be in danger is the boy who sneaked her down the mountain and was separated after the explosion...

Should I go back and find him?

The moment this thought arose in the girl's mind, Chios, who had been secretly paying attention to Bai Xue's emotions, quickly caught the uneasiness on the other's expression.

"Since you escaped secretly, you may face stricter discipline after returning to the shrine..."

Intentionally or unintentionally mentioning the punishment that Bai Xue "may" face in the future, the young man lowered his head to the girl's ear, and continued to hint in a gentle and concerned voice:

"This may be the only opportunity in a few years, let's take advantage of it?"

Bai Xue, who was still at war between heaven and man in her heart, suddenly stopped thinking.

That's right...

Today...no...tonight is the moment when Xingjia Baixue, as the next generation of seven witches, is the closest to the freedom of the outside world.

Once I give up tonight, I don’t know when and what month I will have the opportunity to walk out of the shrine and watch the gorgeous fireworks...

Thinking of this, a flash of determination flashed in Baixue's dark eyes, and the pair of little hands around the back of Chios' neck couldn't help tightening.

"En." Nodding, the girl buried her head in Chios's chest, not thinking about all the trivial matters in the mountains behind her.

click...

She seemed to be able to hear the sound of something breaking apart from the bottom of her heart.

(Humph...) Under the shadow of the middle-length bangs, a sneer appeared on the corner of the handsome young man's mouth.

This is...

His mockery of the futile struggle of the world's will.

...

Asamushi Town, Seaside Park, 19:15...

The glowing sunset glow gradually dissipated in the sky, and the dark night replaced the day, covering the sky above the shallow insects.In Mutsu Bay, Yunoshima, which is shaped like a rice ball, is also silently cast a layer of shadows from the scenery of Wuduanjin's mountains and forests during the day.

After noon, you can see one after another stall cars neatly lined up in two rows by the sea.

As the sun slanted westward, these festival vendors opened one after another.The aroma of classic Japanese snacks such as grilled squid, yakiniku, takoyaki, and fried noodles fills this park that is rarely visited by people.

The flames in the forest deep in Yingying Valley are blocked by buildings and mountains. The town residents and foreign tourists don't know that there is only one mountain behind, and they are falling into a sea of ​​flames at this moment.No matter men, women, young or old, the enthusiasm for participating in the festival and the expectation for the fireworks on the water are still on their faces.

Even if they knew about it, unless it affected the safety of the residents in the town, it would be impossible for the organizer to cancel this most important event every year.

Running at full speed with the power of runes, Chios took Bai Xue from the foot of Xingjia Mountain to the outskirts of the seaside park in just two or three minutes.

"Wow... a lot of people!"

Staring blankly at the crowded festival scene in front of her, the petite girl in a red and white priestess costume had never seen such a grand event before, and couldn't hide her surprise.

Hearing the girl's exclamation, the black-haired young man who was holding Bai Xue's tender little hand smiled and turned his face to the side, calmly responding to her exclamation:

"This is just Asamushi Town. If it's a festival in a big city, it's not uncommon for the number of viewers to exceed one million."

"Millions?"

Bai Xue, who still had no idea of ​​the size of the crowd represented by this number, put her index finger on her chin and thought for a while, but she still couldn't imagine what the metropolitan festival that Chios said would be like.

"Hehe..." The young man couldn't help chuckling when he saw the girl's delicate and innocent look seriously thinking.

"Just a lot, enough people to fill this small town."

The innocent girl who lived in the deep mountains since she was a child opened her mouth into an O shape when she heard the words.

He leaned over and stroked Bai Xue's soft hair, and gently closed her lips for the girl, then pointed to the vendor in the park and said:

"After we buy some food you want to eat, we will sit on the seats watching the fireworks, and wait for the fireworks to bloom while we eat, shall we?"

Sensitive cherry lips were touched by the young man, and Bai Xue's face flushed shyly.

But after all, she was only a child, and the excitement of participating in the festival for the first time quickly overshadowed this shyness. The tempting aroma of the snacks sold by the vendors was completely different from the light food in the shrine, which made her look forward to it even more.

"Um."

In 15 minutes, the fireworks show will be officially staged.

In the good seats occupied in advance, people who are full of food and drink are sitting or standing, holding various food and drinks in their hands, chatting and waiting in a cheerful atmosphere.

Compared with other big cities, the Asamushi Fireworks Festival is smaller in scale, but correspondingly, it is not too crowded, and there are no buildings to block the view.Basically anyone can find a good viewing spot if they come to attend.

Of course, you can also spend [-] yen to buy viewing seats to ensure that you can sit and watch comfortably.

It's all the easier for Chios...

As early as yesterday, he chose the viewing platform...the only two-story building in the seaside park, "Sea Pavilion".

As a station that hires boats to go to Yunoshima during a certain period, it is basically idle at ordinary times, and occasionally rents or lends it to people in the town for events.

It's easy for locals, but it may be more troublesome for foreign tourists like Chios.

However, these tedious procedures can be omitted before the rune of [Brightness of Calamity].Chios didn't even fill in a piece of information, and only paid 30 yen, and he easily rented the right to use it for the whole day today.

Bai Xue held a bag with both hands, which was filled with paper bags and cartons of various snacks, humming the ancient songs in the shrine, followed the young man briskly, and walked to the second-floor terrace of the Shanghai Pavilion.

In the past, there was only a simple place with a concrete floor, but for today, a deep red carpet was laid, and two pure white folding deck chairs faced the night sea. Swaying gently in the sea breeze.

Chios stepped forward, took out a candle wrapped in a glass cover from the void, lit the flame, and placed it next to the vase.

Afterwards, the young man turned around gracefully, and held out his hand to Xingjia Baixue who was stunned behind.

"Welcome to my private spot, cute little witch."

Chapter 180: Fireworks

Terraces, carpets, deck chairs, flowers, candlelight...

Even though they had no chance to see the outside world before, anyone can feel the difference from the simple sitting and standing of the people participating in the festival, compared with the carefully arranged seating area in front of them.

If all this is a dream, Bai Xue would rather never wake up...

Putting her little hand on the palm of the young man, she was led to the reclining chair on the left like a well-behaved puppet by the young man, looking at the darkening night sky above with hazy eyes.

"That's right..." Chios, who lay down on the recliner on the right, rested one hand on the back of his head, seemed to have just thought of it now, turned his face to the girl and asked:

"I still don't know your name, little witch?"

Bai Xue, who was still in a haze, was stunned the moment she heard this question.

That's right...She actually doesn't even know the name of the savior beside her...

Thinking of how reckless she was, the girl quickly got up, sat upright on the recliner, and bowed solemnly to Chios.

"I'm sorry, I...my name is Baixue...Xingjia Baixue."

After apologizing inexplicably in a panic, she raised her head, only to find a box of takoyaki appeared in front of her.

"Why are you so nervous? I don't mean to blame you..." Saying this, the young man with a gentle smile stabbed a steaming takoyaki in the box with a bamboo stick, blew a few breaths and handed it to Bai Xue lips.

"Nice to meet you, Xingjia Baixue, I'm Chios, Chios Pesheim."

"Mr. Chios Pessheim, Mr. Chios Pessheim..."

After murmuring this foreign name that she was not familiar with, after only two times, Bai Xue was able to pronounce the pronunciation accurately by virtue of her extraordinary memory and learning ability.

"That's right, I will reward you with a takoyaki, and Baixue opens her mouth."

The brown takoyaki dipped in wasabi mayonnaise lightly touched the girl's lips, making her feel a slight itch.

"Ah~" He opened his small mouth obediently, and swallowed the takoyaki in front of him in one gulp.

"Hmmm..."

The food that seemed too big for a child filled Baixue's mouth, and her delicate face swelled up.

"Ahaha...you are so cute."

Chios smiled lightly and poked the girl's round and swollen smooth cheeks with his fingers.

Bai Xuechun's dark eyes were wide open, she didn't quite understand what she did right or wrong...

Before she could figure out the smile of the young man beside her, there was a sudden sound of shelling and firing on the calm sea.

huh~

Looking back at the night sky, I saw meteors dragging white-gold light directly into the sky...

boom!

The fireworks that reached the highest point erupted in the silent night sky, bursting out huge and dazzling golden fireworks, and the meteor-like flames rose briefly and then fell from the sky.

Although the scale is small, the Asamushi Fireworks are set off on the sea tens of meters outside the seaside park. Watching the fireworks at close range, the shock you feel is beyond what you can see from a distance. The fireworks seem to explode above the audience's heads. Occupy the whole sky.

Eyes like black pearls reflected the golden stream of light in the sky, Xingjia Baixue lost her words for a moment.

He even forgot to swallow the half-chewed takoyaki.

The dream-like scene is now close in front of us.

She stretched out her hand involuntarily, trying to touch the picturesque firelight in the sky like facing snowflakes in winter.

However, at this second when the girl stretched out her hand...

The gorgeous fireworks turned into specks of light and dust, as if their lifespan had expired.

"what!"

Bai Xue panicked and grabbed the last bit of light in the sky with her hand.

Unfortunately, in her palm, she couldn't grasp anything except emptiness.

Loss and sadness suddenly filled Bai Xue's heart when she walked out of the mountains for the first time...

A little bit of crystal tears slipped down the girl's vulnerable cheeks without any warning.

Watching this scene silently, Chios remained silent, not disturbing Bai Xue's inner thoughts at the moment.

Whether it is the beauty of falling cherry blossoms, or the fleeting youth of fireworks, Japanese culture has always had a deep longing and feeling for the magnificence and poignancy before the destruction.