落とし穴５３堀：あけましておめでとうございます (Part2)
I sat on a floor cushion, sipping tea and waiting at my leisure, while Seraria remained standing.
"Aren't you going to sit?"
"I'm worried my outfit will lose its shape."
"Ah, I see."
Kimono are quite the hassle, aren't they? Still, I wasn't boorish enough to ask why she’d wear something so troublesome. She had dressed up for my sake, after all. She looked adorable, so as far as I was concerned, it was perfectly fine.
"How do I look, Husband?"
"How about me, big brother? Aren't I a cute kimono rabbit?"
"What do you think, Yuki? My tail is poking out, but is that alright?"
One after another, my wives appeared. Rurua had pinned up her hair and adorned it with a hairpin, giving her an entirely different image. Ratz and Riel looked uniquely charming with their beastman ears and tails peeking out.
Among them, the ones who truly stood out were the black-haired Milly and Kaya, the fox beastman. Milly, with her straight-cut bangs and raven hair, looked incredibly natural in traditional Japanese attire—it was exactly the kind of scene I used to see back in Japan. As for Kaya, who hailed from the fox lineage famous for the Inari deity, she carried an air that could only be described as a "femme fatale" who could topple a nation. Nine-tailed foxes are a staple of Japanese folklore, after all. Though, lately, there have been quite a few fox-girls in shrine maiden outfits, too.
Eventually, everyone gathered, and we headed out for our first shrine visit of the year.
*Wai-wai, gaya-gaya...*
The scene was perfectly captured by that onomatopoeia. It was crowded last year, but this year, it was even more packed. Despite the late hour, I saw many families with children. Last year, the tradition hadn't fully taken root yet, and people were anxious about security, so there were few kids. This year, they were everywhere.
"Phew, it's crowded, isn't it?"
"It really is."
"My... this is incredible."
"Lilishe-sama must be incredibly busy."
The little ones, dressed in adorable furisode, gazed wide-eyed at the throng of people. Labyris seemed a bit overwhelmed by the crowd, but we couldn't skip this; if we didn't wait in line, we wouldn't be able to see Lilishe. Since she was the deity residing in Weed, it would be bad form not to offer our New Year's greetings.
"Oh, Big Sister Chii."
"My, Seraria-dono."
"Hm? Oh, Elju and Liliana. What are you two doing here?"
"What are you saying? The leaders of every nation have gathered in Weed for New Year's greetings, haven't they?"
"Ah, I suppose that happened. But you don't need to come all the way over here, do you?"
"What do you mean, 'that happened'..."
"Well, it might be trivial to you, Seraria, but as demons, we want to deepen our friendships during this opportunity. Knowing Lilishe-sama's true identity, we couldn't very well fail to show our faces."
"I see. Well, I'm sure things are tough on your end, but do your best. Elju, you’ve got a much better look on your face lately."
"Really?!"
"Well, don't get carried away just because I praised you."
"Big Sister Chii..."
"Leave it at that. Thanks to Elju, the demons are fostering friendships smoothly. There's nothing wrong with being happy when a family member praises you."
"Liliana-saaan!"
At those words, the Saintess leaped toward the Demon Lord. Yeah, that sentence sounds wrong no matter how you look at it.
"If Liliana is fine with it, then fine, but don't spoil her too much. I tend to spoil her myself, after all."
"Yes. I am well aware of that. So, Seraria, are you attending the greetings for the various nations?"
"Of course. But that's for after the sun comes up. I assume the others aren't staying up all night like you two, are they?"
"Who knows?"
"Oh, I saw Father earlier. He was snacking at the food stalls."
"...That damn old man. It really isn't a good look for the King of Roschur to be snacking at a food stall in a foreign country..."
Yeah, that was truly a bad look, but it was useless to say anything to that old guy. He was, after all, the source of Seraria’s "inner self." Since we were basically family, I’d just have to cover for him if any trouble started.
*OHHH!!*
Suddenly, a shout erupted from one of the stalls.
"Hahaha, how’s that!! It’s not just my swordsmanship! I can handle a bow, too!!"
"And I, of Roschur, am not just about the shield!! *Nnnngh!!*"
Looking at the source of the noise, it seemed the fathers of Roschur and Gartz were competing at a target-shooting game.
"Hey, shopkeeper. Put out more prizes. I need to get gifts for my grandchildren."
"Indeed. They’re all girls, so make sure they’re stuffed animals or something cute."
The shopkeeper was stiff with tension, desperately looking away. Behind them, Aria, the next Queen of Roschur, and Teague, the next King of Gartz, were looking at the shopkeeper with apologetic expressions. Ah, it looked like they were being kept in check, so I guess it was fine?
Or so I thought, but Seraria, having that over-the-top man as her biological father, apparently couldn't take it anymore.
"Hey!! You old geezers!! Don't go causing a scene in our country!! Aria, Teague-dono, properly look after these idiots!!"
"Big brother, I’m so embarrassed..."
Ah, Shera was also teary-eyed, blaming her brother for letting their parents run wild.
After that, naturally, the fathers noticed us, which led to an even bigger commotion, and I heard they were all sleepy during the official New Year's greetings in the morning...
Well, here’s to another year with everyone.
Yes, and with that—
Happy New Year.
I can see you all! I know you’re happy it’s the New Year, but you have no energy to go outside, so you’re just killing time reading novels! Or maybe you went to the shrine, but it was so crowded you’re just reading on your phone! Or maybe you’re binge-reading while traveling in a car!
I’m just guessing, but still.
Anyway, looking forward to another great year!