My new wife discovered my past

"Huh!? Only fifteen minutes left!?"

Upon hearing this, Saotome Hazuki jumped up from the bed like a cat whose tail was stepped on, not caring about the pain in her body.

She looked down at the clothes she hadn't changed yet, then touched her hair which was slightly deformed from sleeping, and her face was instantly filled with despair as if the world was about to end.

She...she hasn't prepared anything yet!

I didn't take a bath, didn't wash my hair, and didn't change into my yukata!
As for other preparations, there is no need to even think about them!
How can Hazuki Saotome go out and meet people?
She looked up and saw that all three women were dressed beautifully.

"Hurry, hurry! Kiko! Xiaoyao! And Yuji!" Saotome Hazuki no longer cared about her modesty and image, and didn't care who was who.

She was like an ant on a hot pot, running around in a panic, and sent out a distress signal to everyone: "Come and help me!

"Oh, and the priestesses and maids accompanying you, don't leave them standing there.

"Hurry up! There's no time left!"

As a result, the luxurious suite, which had been relatively quiet, suddenly became chaotic.

Seeing this, Noriko, Hoshimi Haruka and Sakuraba Mihime no longer cared about teasing her or their past disagreements, and immediately began to dress up Saotome Hazuki with the help of the priestesses and maids they brought with them and those arranged by the hotel.

Choosing yukatas, putting them on, styling their hair, quickly applying makeup... everyone was busy like a clockwork machine, efficient and precise.

Watanabe Tetsuya stood aside calmly, folding his arms, watching with interest the chaotic yet orderly scene in front of him that looked like a battlefield...

After a flurry of urgent dressing up that almost raced against the clock, Saotome Hazuki finally looked brand new in a short period of time.

Although time was tight and her makeup and hairstyle were not as exquisite and perfect as usual, thanks to Saotome Hazuki's own solid foundation, the guidance of Noriko and others, and the hard work of the maid priests, she finally lived up to everyone's expectations.

Saotome Hazuki looked so bright and beautiful that she did not lose her manners in the following occasions.

By the time Saotome had finally packed up, the time had quietly come to 18:15 in the evening.

The fireworks display festival had already begun for fifteen minutes.

Fortunately, it's not too late.

The actual fireworks show usually doesn’t start until it’s completely dark, so if you go there now, you can stroll around the festival, feel the atmosphere, and have dinner at a food stall.

The women who put on their carefully selected yukatas each showed off their different styles.

Noriko Shimizu's light blue and white yukata made her look even more gentle and charming; Haruka Hoshimi's dark purple yukata with firework patterns made her look cold yet with a hint of enchanting beauty; Princess Sakuraba's simple yukata, coupled with her beautiful face that was somewhat similar to Naoko's, gave her a lovable and quiet temperament; and Hazuki Saotome, who changed her clothes in a hurry, chose a relatively bright red yukata, trying to maintain her usual publicity and luxury.

Only Tetsuya Watanabe still wears comfortable and convenient daily casual clothes.

He has never had any interest in wearing a yukata, and what's more, he needs to stay alert at all times tonight to ensure Jiko's safety, so naturally he can do whatever is convenient for him.

The five people walked out of the hotel, and the shrine's special car that had been waiting outside started up smoothly immediately.

The convoy drove straight to the town's most lively festival venue without any hesitation.

The geographical layout of [Amenaka Town] is quite unique.

The river flowing down from Takama-ga-hara runs through the entire island, roughly dividing the entire town and the surrounding vast area into two halves, east and west.

The east part of the river belongs to the traditional sphere of influence of Hidaka Shrine, while the west part of the river is under the jurisdiction of Kiyomizu Shrine.

Tonight's grand fireworks display will be held at the wide estuary where the river finally flows into the sea, as well as in the most prosperous and lively areas on both sides of the river.

The two major shrines seemed to be competing secretly, and each spent huge sums of money to hold a fireworks show, thus forming two main venues in the east and west, separated by the river, echoing each other.

Watanabe Tetsuya and his group naturally went to the main venue on the east coast which is under the jurisdiction of Hidaka Shrine.

As the vehicles drove along the road leading to the venue, the festive atmosphere became more intense as they got closer to the destination.

In the houses and shops on both sides of the road, every household hung special holiday lanterns and paper-cut prayers were pasted on the window frames.

There were obviously more pedestrians on the street, almost all of them were young men and women dressed up in all kinds of beautiful yukatas, as well as excited children.

Among them are local residents as well as tourists, all of them walking in groups of three or five, their faces filled with festive joy.

The pedestrians on both sides of the street were laughing and talking loudly, forming a cheerful stream of people, rushing towards the festival venue of the fireworks display one by one.

The weather was also exceptionally good.

The evening breeze blew, and the fiery clouds in the evening had long faded away, replaced by a quiet and deep indigo sky, dotted with a few bright stars that had peeked out early.

In the distance, the last ray of sunset glow, like a blushing girl's cheek, left a gentle and lingering blush on the edge of the sky...

Soon, the convoy arrived near the entrance of the main venue of Hidaka Shrine.

As soon as I opened the car door, the bustling voices, melodious festival music, and the tempting aroma of various foods hit me in the face.

Toru Watanabe got out of the car first and carefully helped Noriko down.

Afterwards, Hoshimi Haruka, Sakuraba Miki and Saotome Hazuki also got out of the car one after another.

What you see before you is a scene of bright lights and bustling crowds of people.

Along the river bank, there are endless stalls of various kinds.

There are stalls selling various traditional festival games such as scooping goldfish, ring tossing, shooting, etc.; there are even more snack stalls emitting tempting aromas - takoyaki, fried noodles, apple candy, taiyaki, grilled squid, cotton candy... the dazzling array of goods is available, making people drool.

Visitors wearing various yukatas were shoulder to shoulder, shuttling between the stalls, stopping to have fun, or tasting delicious food, and everyone had a relaxed and happy smile on their face.

The air is filled with the aroma of food, the noise of the festival and the laughter of people, creating a vivid and lively picture of a summer night festival.

The bustling scene with bright lights and bustling crowds made Noriko Watanabe temporarily forget all the unpleasantness and worries that had happened in the hotel before, and her face once again showed pure excitement and anticipation that belonged to the festival.

As Toru Watanabe looked at his wife Noriko's eyes, which had brightened up again and seemed to be studded with stars, his determination to protect her became even stronger.

Watanabe would never allow anyone or anything to ruin Noriko's rare good mood at the moment.

Toru Watanabe also did not forget the main purpose of this trip. While ensuring safety, he tried his best to allow himself and Noriko to have their own time together, so that they could enjoy a pleasant and unforgettable fireworks display.

Therefore, some necessary "arrangements" were indispensable. Watanabe lowered his head slightly, leaned close to Noriko's ear, and whispered a few words gently in a voice that only the two of them could hear, explaining his next plan.

After listening to this, although there was a subtle flash of regret in Kiko's eyes about not being able to enjoy the summer festival with her "sisters", she was more understanding and trusting of her husband's arrangement.

She nodded obediently in agreement.

After getting his wife's approval, Watanabe Toru turned around and looked at the three women behind him, each with a different look on their face but all keeping quiet tacitly.

"Sister Haruka, Sakuraba-san, and Teacher Saotome..."

After calling out their names one by one, Watanabe Tetsuya said in a tone that left no room for argument and was a formal notice:
"In order to make Noriko feel more comfortable, and so that we can all enjoy the upcoming festival more easily, I have a suggestion."

Watanabe paused, glanced at the three people, and waited for their questions. However, seeing that no one came forward, Watanabe gave up the trap and continued:
"For the next period of time, I want to go out with Keiko alone and experience our own world.

“Why don’t you three go together and experience the unique festival atmosphere of [Amenaka Town] together.

"How about we split into two groups for now?"

Upon hearing this, Sakuraba Miki almost immediately nodded and said, "Okay, Mr. Watanabe, I have no objection."

Since Mr. Watanabe wants to enjoy undisturbed couple time with Sister Noriko, Ms. Sakuraba is happy to see it happen.

However, Hoshimi Haruka and Saotome Hazuki obviously don't think so.

"No!" Xing Jianyao objected almost immediately, her tone firm, and the expression on her face, which had finally eased a little, suddenly became righteous:
"Brother Toru, it's too dangerous for you to take care of Sister Noriko alone!

"There are so many people at the venue, and if something unexpected happens, how can my brother handle it alone?"

"Yes, Mr. Watanabe..." Saotome Hazuki also stood on the same side as Hoshimi Haruka, frowning with obvious worry in her tone:

“There are a lot of people at the festival, so accidents like pushing and trampling are most likely to happen.

"Kiko-chan is not feeling well right now, so it's a bit difficult for Mr. Watanabe to protect her alone.

"Even though Mr. Watanabe's physical fitness and fighting skills are far superior to those of ordinary people, two fists are no match for four hands. It's better to be safe than sorry."

The reasons they both gave sounded reasonable, and they were both concerned about Kiko's safety.

But Watanabe Toru knew clearly in his heart that Hoshimi Haruka and Saotome Hazuki's real thoughts were probably that they were more worried about him leaving their sight, and they didn't want to lose this great opportunity to get close to him.

"You don't have to worry too much about safety issues." Watanabe Tetsuya seemed to have expected them to say this, and explained calmly:

“Have half of the accompanying priestesses and maids assign them to follow behind me and Noriko to ensure our safety.

"That's all."

As if those maids and priestesses were his own property, Toru Watanabe acted as the master and made temporary assignments, which left Hoshimi Haruka and Saotome Hazuki stunned, and made Noriko and Sakuraba Miki unable to help but smile at each other.

After Watanabe finished the assignment, he emphasized with a tone that did not allow rejection: "Is it okay for me to arrange it this way?

“Today is my day off, and it’s also the fireworks display that Noriko has been looking forward to for a long time.

“I want to enjoy this moment quietly and undisturbed with Noriko.

"Isn't this request too much?"

Watanabe Tetsuya added: "Besides, there will be more than one fireworks show tonight.

“At 7:30, there will be a performance at our Hidaka Shrine, and at 8 o’clock, there will also be a performance at the Kiyomizu Shrine on the other side of the river. The two performances will complement each other and it will be very spectacular.

“Then at 8:30 and 9:00, there will be two grand fireworks displays at two venues.

"All told, there are at least four fireworks to watch tonight."

"Kiko and I plan to watch the 7:30 show first and find a good seat nearby. I'll trouble Xiaoyao to find it for us.

“As for the fireworks show at 8:30, we can agree on a time and location and then watch it together.

"Until then, wouldn't it be better for everyone to move freely and not disturb each other?"

Seeing that Watanabe Toru had already said so much, with sufficient reasons and seemingly thorough arrangements, even if Hoshimi Haruka and Saotome Hazuki were unwilling in their hearts, they really couldn't find any excuses to refute at this moment.

They looked at each other and saw a trace of reluctance and helplessness in each other's eyes. In the end, they could only nod reluctantly, reluctantly agreeing to Watanabe's arrangement.

Therefore, the group was temporarily divided into two groups.

Watanabe gently took Noriko's hand, and took her and several priestesses who were responsible for personal protection, and merged into the bustling crowd first.

Hoshimi Haruka, Sakuraba Miki and Saotome Hazuki, surrounded by several other priestesses and their maids, walked in the opposite direction, looking a little lonely even though there were more people around.

Away from the slightly depressing aura of Hoshimi Haruka and the others, Shimizu Noriko obviously felt a lot more relaxed.

But Noriko couldn't help but look back at the backs of the three women, and said to Watanabe with some concern:

"Toru-kun... Haruka-chan and Hazuki-chan...

"They won't quarrel if they are alone together?"

"Don't worry, Jiko." Watanabe smiled and squeezed her hand, comforting her: "There are so many people watching here, they can't quarrel even if they want to, but we still have to pay attention to the impact.

“Don’t think that Xiaoyao is wearing a mask. If she really gets angry and quarrels, and her identity is revealed by Saotome-sensei, it will cause a big commotion!
"With this in mind, Xiaoyao sister won't take the initiative to cause trouble for Saotome teacher."

Every household in the territory under the jurisdiction of [Hidaka Shrine] hangs a portrait of Hoshimi Haruka and Hidaka Mari.

As two beings in Hidaka Shrine that shine brighter than the sun in the sky, everyone knows the aunt and nephew pair of Hoshimi Haruka and Hidaka Mari.

"Besides, isn't there Sakuraba-san mediating between us?
"Sakuraba-san is very sensible and knows his place. He will keep an eye on them."

Although Watanabe Tetsuya himself knew that it was simply a fantasy to expect Sakuraba Miki to reconcile the conflict between Hoshimi Haruka and Saotome Hazuki without him being present.

But at this moment, he just needed to give Jiko a reason to feel at ease.

Now, accompanying Noriko to the festival and watching the fireworks display is what Watanabe is most concerned about... (End of this chapter)