A childhood friend who starts to change

Tamazuki didn't lie in his decision to unseal Amagiri's seal. He knew that it might be weird of him to do this, considering he was a villain, yet he had to say he was a bit of a softie, and the confidence that came from his power made him think that it was okay to help Amagiri.

Yes, power.

This is where his confidence came from.

Arrogant, prideful, confident, whatever you want to call it, he dared to unseal Amagiri's seal because he was confident in his power. His stay in this world might not be long, but he had learned many things, and he also had gotten various rewards.

Yet, strangely enough, the one that was most helpful to him was the reward from Shenhua Li. She gave him a talent for "Seisenjutsu," and he also learned a lot of knowledge of Seisenjutsu from the two of them, especially in matters of illusion.

He knew that it might be arrogant of him to say this, but he might be the best illusionist in this world.

Amagiri was powerful, but that's it. Moreover, without Ser-Veresta, he was just like a fangless lion.

"Now that you mention it, why did you ask me now? Why didn't you ask me before?" Tamazuki asked.

"Well, we plan to enter Phoenix Festa," Saya answered without much thought. "So, I thought his soul should be broken, or else we wouldn't have a chance in this Festa." Was Amagiri powerful? Yeah, but he wasn't invincible, especially when he could only last for five minutes. His power was okay, but it was only so-so. She hoped to unseal the seal on his body first before the tournament started, so she asked for Tamazuki's help.

"Oh, so you want me to unseal his seal, so you can defeat me?" Tamazuki asked.

"..." Saya.

"I...."

"It's okay. You should do your best to defeat me, or else it won't be fun."

"...."

Saya had to say this confidence of his sometimes made her speechless. "...you are really okay with this?"

"Why not? Even if he has regained the power that has been sealed on his body, I don't think that I will lose. Also, what's the use of being afraid of the opponent that I have been defeated? I am not such a small and timid person."

His opponents had always been the Gods above.

If he feared the protagonist, then by now, he might as well crawl into the hole and hide.

"..."

Saya wasn't sure how to describe his personality, but was this pride? Yet this courage was something that she was envious of.

"But as I have told you before, I can't make you a promise."

"Yes, you can just check on him. Even if you can't help him, that's okay."

Once again, Saya knew her request was brazen, and she couldn't ask much, especially when she didn't know how to repay him.

"Um... is there something that you want? Even if I have money, I don't have much, though."

Her family's financial situation was okay, but it didn't mean that they were rich. Her father got into an accident, and their family got compensation money, making them able to live a comfortable life, but it definitely wasn't so much, especially when she compared to Tamazuki, who was the king of real estate.

Yes, a king of real estate.

This was probably what people called him since even if he was on Asterisk, trained hard to win the Festa; his business was still moving fast like they were riding on the train, taking down one after another lands and buildings like Napoleon in the real estate business.

Money is definitely something that she couldn't offer to someone like him.

As for Amagiri, Saya hadn't talked about her decision to him, so it was impossible for her to ask Amagiri to pay for this matter.

While she was nervously waiting, he didn't answer her immediately, letting her fall into deeper anxiety. Then, when she was on her limit, he said, "You are also going to enter the Festa?"

"Ah, um, yeah," Saya answered hurriedly with some confusion.

"You can fight?"

"...I do." She knew that he underestimated her, but it didn't matter. "I have trained in Amagiri Style, and I also have the weapons of my father."

"Your father's weapon?"

Instead of Amagiri Style, Tamazuki was more interested in Saya's weapons.

"Oh! Do you want to see them?" Saya quickly became excited.

"Let me see them when I finish with my treatment."

"If you want to see it, then I don't mind even if you haven't solved Ayato's problem." Saya shook her head, telling her that it was alright for him to see her weapons since she also wanted him to appreciate her father's weapons too. If he could appreciate it, then it was good, right? Moreover, she knew that he was rich. If he liked her father's weapon, then wouldn't their family have a sponsor?

She knew that her intention was impure, but this was the reason why she came to Asterisk. She wanted to show everyone the value of her father's weapon, and this was why she joined Phoenix Festa.

Yet, out of all the reasons, she could tell that he was someone that she could trust. She could feel that he was a man of words. His reputation was something that he held the most. It was also why Dirk loved to work with him since if he had promised something; he wouldn't break it; like a man, he wouldn't evade his words no matter how that promise or words might cause him a disadvantage.

Saya's experience with the opposite gender was rather limited, and she was only close to Amagiri. As for the other man she knew, it was probably Yabuki, but in her mind, Yabuki was nothing but a suspicious character.

As for Amagiri? Saya felt like he was a little brother or someone that she couldn't leave or someone she owed, which was why she was kind toward him. Probably, if Tamazuki didn't appear, that feeling would change into something known as love, but that feeling was too early, especially when Amagiri was fascinated by Julis, who was already out of his reach.

"No."

"...okay, then, let's see Ayato first."

That answer made her helpless, but it made her able to trust him even more.

Then, soon, they saw Ayato, as expected; he was just lying on the grass as he, stared at the clouds absentmindedly.

"Ayato!"

Hearing his name being called, Ayato looked up and saw Saya. "Saya!" However, he was surprised to see the people around her. "Inugami-san? Why are you here?" He also noticed Kirin, but watching Kirin, who quickly hid behind Tamazuki like a fearful rabbit, making him awkward, and thought that he might need to apologize since everything was a misunderstanding.

Watching Ayato, who was staring at Kirin, Saya was speechless. "Ayato!"

"Ah, yes!" Ayato was startled and looked at his childhood friend.

Saya felt so awkward at this moment and looked at Tamazuki apologetically. "I-I am sorry for him."

"It's okay. I know he is a pervert."

"...." 2x

Could they deny his words now?

"So, how about we start now?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ayato was confused since he really didn't understand what was happening.