Before long, the music of the festival began to play.
On the stage prepared by the Yashiro Commission for the festival, the lights that had been shining suddenly dimmed.
Two small figures walked onto the darkened stage.
The moment they came to a stop, the entire stage lit up once more.
A wave of astonished cries immediately erupted from the crowd.
Because the ones standing on stage were not the head of the Kamisato Clan and his wife—
But their two children instead.
The Kamisato Clan's young master: Kamisato Ayato.
The Kamisato Clan's young lady: Kamisato Ayaka.
Not only the citizens of Inazuma, but even Jiang Yan and the others standing near the front were visibly surprised.
"The head of the Kamisato Clan really has confidence in them, huh? Letting two children under ten handle something this important in a setting like this."
Fox Saiguu frowned slightly as she muttered.
"Let's watch first. No need to worry yet."
Makoto spoke softly.
"Mhm~ Don't worry. With us down here, if the two little ones run into trouble, we can always step in and save the situation."
Yae Miko's sultry voice sounded out.
Jiang Yan said nothing, simply watching the two little children on stage quietly.
Even though he already knew beforehand that Ayaka and Ayato would appear during the opening ceremony—
He truly hadn't expected them to appear right at the beginning.
Honestly speaking, was the Kamisato Clan head really this bold?
This was the Irodori Festival, one of the most important celebrations in all of Inazuma, yet he actually dared to let two children open the event?
Wasn't he afraid they might mess everything up?
On stage, the moment Ayato and Ayaka saw the sea of people below them, panic immediately flashed through their eyes.
However, compared to Ayaka, Ayato adapted to the atmosphere much faster.
He stepped forward and spoke in his childish voice:
"Everyone, welcome, and thank you all for coming to participate in the opening ceremony of the Irodori Festival."
Ayato's quick reaction finally let Jiang Yan and the others relax.
Earlier, after the awkward silence following the siblings' entrance, they had already been preparing to step in and ease the tension for the children.
Backstage, the Kamisato Clan head and his wife—who had been anxiously watching the stage—also let out sighs of relief.
Thank goodness.
Ayato's ability to adapt on the fly was pretty solid.
Soon after, Ayaka also realized she had lost composure for a moment.
Recovering herself, she stepped beside Ayato and stood with him as they delivered the opening speech together.
Looking out at the audience, Ayaka quickly noticed Jiang Yan and the others standing in the front row.
The four little girls—Ningguang and the others—excitedly waved at her the moment they saw her looking over.
And Jiang Yan smiled warmly and gave her an encouraging gesture.
The moment she saw Jiang Yan in the crowd, it was as though Ayaka had been given a reassurance pill.
All her nervousness instantly disappeared.
Big Brother Jiang Yan was watching her.
She absolutely couldn't disappoint him!
Ayaka gathered her courage, and her speech immediately became much smoother.
Once Ayaka and Ayato finished their opening remarks, thunderous applause erupted throughout the venue.
Jiang Yan and the others clapped the loudest of all.
As the applause continued, Ayaka and Ayato stepped off the stage.
Afterward, the Kamisato Clan head and his wife appeared, adding a few more words to complete and smooth out the opening ceremony begun by the two children.
The moment they came offstage, Ayato and Ayaka immediately slipped away from backstage and ran toward Jiang Yan.
"Big Brother Jiang Yan!"
Ayaka leapt forward and threw herself into Jiang Yan's arms.
"Ayaka, we're in public right now. You need to mind proper etiquette."
Ayato coughed lightly as he reminded her.
Ayaka's small body trembled, and she reluctantly withdrew from the embrace she absolutely did not want to leave.
The longer she spent with Jiang Yan, the more dependent she became on him.
Perhaps no one had realized this yet.
And Jiang Yan, who was hopelessly dense when it came to feelings, was even less likely to notice.
This time, Jiang Yan didn't refute Ayato's words.
At least around him, Ayaka could act freely without worrying about rules or etiquette.
But they were currently in public, under countless gazes—and this was still Inazuma.
Ayaka still needed to maintain the bearing expected of the Kamisato Clan's young lady.
"Hey hey, Big Brother Jiang Yan."
Ayaka gently shook Jiang Yan's arm, her voice soft and sweet.
"How did I do just now?"
Hearing her question, Jiang Yan gently patted her little head.
"You did amazingly well."
Jiang Yan didn't hold back his praise in the slightest as he spoke warmly.
Ayaka happily enjoyed the warmth from his palm.
To her, nothing was more motivating than praise from Big Brother Jiang Yan.
After praising Ayaka, Jiang Yan turned to Ayato and asked:
"Ayato, how did it feel?"
Ayato shook his head, bitterness faintly visible in his expression.
"It didn't feel good at all."
"Father entrusted Ayaka and me with the opening speech. At first, I thought it would be easy."
"But after stepping onto the stage, I realized reality was completely different from what I imagined."
"The moment I saw so many people below us, my mind went blank and I forgot everything I had prepared."
Jiang Yan looked at the boy standing before him, who acted far more mature than his age, and smiled as he rubbed his head.
"You don't need to worry about that, Ayato."
"You already did extremely well. Honestly, when you first froze up there, we were all preparing to go onstage and help."
"But your ability to react on the spot genuinely surprised all of us."
"Everyone makes mistakes the first time they stand on stage. Adults are no exception, let alone children your age."
Jiang Yan's gentle voice was like a soothing balm for Ayato's wounded little heart.
"B-But…"
Ayato still couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice.
"There's no need to dwell on that mistake, Ayato."
Seeing that Ayato still hadn't recovered emotionally, Jiang Yan patted him on the shoulder.
"Mistakes themselves aren't scary."
"What's truly scary is being afraid of making mistakes."
"The more you fear something, the more likely you are to run into it."
"Think back carefully."
Jiang Yan looked at the boy before him with a smile.
"When you left the stage, remember the applause everyone gave you?"
"That applause was everyone's acknowledgment of your efforts."
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