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Chapter 91: That’s Just How Brothers Are
“Hey, nice to meet you, right?”
A man approached Kanata and spoke to him.
Kanata turned his gaze towards him, thinking it was someone else, but in an instant, he felt a strong urge to escape from there.
“
 Hello.”
His response to the sudden encounter was indifferent.
Nevertheless, the man who appeared showed no sign of discomfort and continued to approach Kanata with a smile.
(Why is this guy here!? And why is he approaching me!?)
It was not surprising for Kanata to think that way, as the man before him was none other than Maria’s brother and the prince of this country, Julius.
Today was the Harvest Festival, which the people from the church, led by Alphana, had been preparing for. Kanata was also participating as a regular guest since morning
 and now, a prince appeared right before his eyes.
“Is it safe to assume that you know who I am?”
“Well, um
 I mean, no one in this country doesn’t know about you.”
Upon hearing that, Julius smiled refreshingly.
Even Kanata couldn’t help but be captivated
 Though it might be an exaggeration, Julius was undoubtedly incredibly handsome.
As expected of Maria’s brother, Kanata thought, but as Kanata himself, he still wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.
“It’s Kanata-kun, right?”
“
 Yeah.”
Kanata understood that, fundamentally, when someone called out his name and approached him like this, they already knew about him. That’s why Kanata didn’t try to deceive him.
“Everyone, today marks the annual Harvest Festival. We have been preparing for this day, and your cooperation, gathered here, has played a significant role in making it possible. Thanks to all of you, we can celebrate this day successfully.”
Alphana’s voice echoed through the magical voice amplification device.
“It has started. This season.”
“
 Alphana worked hard for this.”
Knowing about Alphana’s efforts through Maria, Kanata genuinely felt glad that this day could be celebrated successfully.
“Saint-sama~!”
“Thank you so much!!”
“Wooooh!”
Kanata chuckled at the commotion since morning and shifted his gaze back to Julius.
He was also looking at Kanata, and though it was unclear what he was thinking, one thing was certain: it had nothing to do with Haishin.
It was probably about the story regarding the boy Maria mentioned that he was curious about.
“Let me introduce myself again. I am Julius, Maria’s brother.”
“I’m Kanata.”
Kanata shook the offered hand.
There was no need to be overly nervous since he knew from Maria that Julius wasn’t a bad person, though Kanata couldn’t deny wanting to leave this place as soon as possible.
“It’s not unusual for me to sneak out of the castle on the day of the Harvest Festival. I happened to see you while walking as usual today. And as for how I knew your face, well, naturally, I have been keeping tabs on Maria’s surroundings.”
“I see
”
Perhaps it was only recently that Julius had looked into Kanata, but even so, his friendly expression indicated that there was nothing negative about Kanata.
“
 But I see. So, you’re the guy Maria gets along with.”
“Um
 Is it inappropriate for a commoner to approach someone from the royal family?”
“Huh? Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. Maria is the third princess, and unless the person is someone highly untrustworthy, I don’t intend to restrict her interactions.”
“I see.”
Julius continued, saying that even if there were restrictions, Maria wouldn’t listen anyway.
Kanata could imagine that since he had spent a considerable amount of time with her and shared intimate moments, Maria wouldn’t comply when it came to such matters.
“I won’t ask about the nature of the connection between you two, but it’s natural to care about your cute little sister, isn’t it?”
Saying that, Julius looked into the distance.
In front of the church, a large platform was set up, and there were church members, including Alphana, who were interacting with the people.
Maria, as Alphana’s friend, stood by her side, holding hands with the little children and enjoying themselves.
“It’s good to see you today. It’s strange even to myself that I’ve started to take an interest in this recently, but I’m glad that the boy whom Maria is close with is someone like you, Kanata.”
“Well
 Thank you?”
Julius’ behaviour was preferable as he neither asked about Haishin nor persistently probed into his relationship with Maria.
While they didn’t have satisfying conversations when Kanata met him wearing the Haishin mask, it seemed that the same kindness inherited by Maria was also present in her brother, Julius.
“Julius-sama.”
“!?”
It happened while he was having a pleasant conversation with Julius.
Kanata was taken aback and shivered as he saw the face of a man dressed in knight’s attire.
“Hey, Egil, stop appearing out of nowhere without making any sound.”
“
 I apologize. However, since I found you like this, please keep your disguise to a minimum.”
“Well, well. If I get found, it can’t be helped.”
From their conversation, Kanata inferred that this man, named Egil, was probably Julius’ aide or something of the sort.
Despite having a striking beauty comparable to a woman’s, he was undoubtedly male, as Kanata had been informed by Julius. Kanata felt a bit frustrated, thinking that if the prince was handsome, his aide would be as well.
“Let’s head back in a little while. But before that
”
As if they were close friends, Julius hooked his arm around Kanata’s.
Kanata was surprised by the sudden action, but Julius continued speaking.
“Kanata-kun, Maria is a good girl, right?”
“Yes.”
“She’s pretty cute, isn’t she?”
“Yes.”
“She’s beautiful and wonderful, isn’t she?”
“Yes!”
“Her chest is big, and her butt is also big, and her body is absolutely perfect, don’t you think?”
“Yes! 
 Wait, what!?”
Kanata nodded involuntarily in response to the outrageous question.
Julius chuckled as if his prank had been successful, but Kanata didn’t miss the shimmering radiance behind him.
“I question the appropriateness of such remarks towards Maria-sama.”
“Gah!?”
It was a bundle of swords. Egil swiftly struck the hilt of a sword against the back of Julius’ head, causing him to hold his head and crouch down.
“Are you
 are you okay!?”
“It’s fine. Maria-sama has given me permission to do things like this.”
“
”
Somehow, Kanata felt like he caught a glimpse of the hidden side of Julius as an older brother.
Although his previous remark was undoubtedly sexual harassment, it felt like it might be more forgivable when spoken by someone as handsome as Julius.
“Ouch
 that was harsh, Egil, but it seems Kanata-kun is quite conscious of my sister. And also of Lady Alphana.”
“That is
”
“You’re Maria-sama’s friend, right? Please try not to trouble her too much
”
“Alright, alright. Just lower your sword already. If you keep doing it, you’ll look like a fool.”
“Idiot or not, it’s just for you.”
“You’re being cruel, Egil!!”
In this almost comical exchange, Kanata became even more convinced that he was indeed Maria’s brother.
Afterward, Julius left with Egil, but in a sense, the encounter with him was a positive one for Kanata. It was better to leave a somewhat good impression than a bad one.
“Well then, I’ll just casually
 huh?”
As Kanata was considering leisurely enjoying the festival while exploring the food stalls, he spotted Anise with a serious expression.
There was also a woman walking closely with Anise, wearing a hood covering her face.
“
 Who’s that?”
Since the hood covered a lot, Kanata couldn’t see her face.
He could barely glimpse her long, flowing red hair. Despite not being able to see her face, Kanata knew she was a woman because her body lines were clearly visible, especially the ample curves that accentuated her chest.
Anise and the woman walked away, but Kanata couldn’t help but be curious about Anise’s tense expression.
“I never knew Anise could make such a face
 Who on earth is she?”
Well, such things happened, but Kanata decided to enjoy the Harvest Festival regardless.
Mira, the girl who would come when called, and Kanna, whom he coincidentally met, ended up walking together with Kanata.