Kawaii Onnanoko ni Kouryaku Sareru no Wa Suki desu ka? Volume 3 Chapter 2

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Editor: karap

Maneuvering girl

Rinka knocked softly on the door of the empty classroom.

“…Shizukawa here. Can I come in?”

“Yes yes! Do come in!”

A rather loud and unsecretive voice responded, inviting Rinka to join the secret conversation about to begin. Wondering why there was even a need to sneak around, Rinka checked that nobody was watching her and carefully entered the room. Waiting inside was her classmate Kokage. As she walked towards Rinka from the windows, she was wearing her usual worry-free smile.

Rinka closed the door, and locked it too just to make sure.

“And, what is it that you wanted to talk about?”

“The thing is… I wanted to help you!” Kokage got right to the main topic.

“Help me…?”

“Yes! To keep it simple, I will become packing tape! A ‘150% clingy’ effect! Even a storm won’t stand a chance against me!”

“I really don’t understand …” Rinka was left speechless.

Be careful of the Kawaraya Family— were words often spoken in the world Rinka resided in, but now those words finally made sense.

Kokage put her index finger on her cheek, and spoke up.

“Basically~~ Well, I’ll help you and Mikado-kun to become all lovey-dovey!”

“Eh… W-With Mikado-sama…?”

As the name of her beloved person appeared, Rinka’s heart skipped a beat.

“From the head of the Kitamikado Family, I got a request, see! To get you two fiances closer together”

“Mikado-sama’s father said that…?” Rinka’s eyes opened wide.

“Come on! Don’t doubt me! I even recorded it, so listen!”

Kokage tapped on the screen of her smartphone. Following that, a male voice started to fill the room.

‘Additionally, I want you to support Mikado’s relationship.’

‘So you’re telling me to become their cupid? I understand!’

‘Not quite. I want you to make sure that Mikado and the young lady of the Shizukawa Family, Rinka-dono, are getting along fine.’

This was indeed a conversation between Mikado’s father and Kokage.

“Was it really fine to just record that…?” Rinka asked, clearly worried, which left Kokage speechless.

“Fueh? Why? I mostly record everything. It might become good material later.”

“The other person is Kitamikado-sama, you know? Five years ago, the person who tried to sell some secret recording of him suddenly vanished from the face of Earth. You don’t know?”

“Ah…? So I’ll be killed…?” Kokage’s expression clouded in worry.

“I mean…it should be fine… I think?”

The Kitamikado Family, who are praised for not reverting to shady dealings, wouldn’t kill her, but there are things out there worse than being killed as well.

“W-What should I do? D-Don’t kill me!” Kokage clung to Rinka with tears in her eyes.

“Even if you say that to me…”

“Won’t you become Mikado-kun’s wife in the future?! Please, I’ll do anything, so put in a good word or two for me!”

“I cannot just walk in there and ask them…”

As Kokage prostrated herself in front of Rinka, she was lost on what to do. This was her first time experiencing someone doing this, and her being a classmate made it even more awkward. Kokage used the sleeve of Rinka’s uniform to wipe her tears, and tapped herself on the chest.

“A-Anyway, if you leave it to me, I’ll make you two become lovey-dovey in no time! Tomorrow, you two will be love birds, kissing each other with no restraint!”

“T-That fast…?” Rinka felt her cheeks become hot.

“Three days later, there will be childbirth!”

“That’s a bit fast, isn’t it?! What kind of living being are we talking about?!”

“Six days later, and boom! …Grandchildren!”

“Again, that’s a bit too fast, isn’t it?!”

Rinka grew worried that Kokage had a completely false impression of how human reproduction worked. Either way, Kokage pushed her body towards her as she continued.

“How about it, Rinka-chan? I’m pretty good at this, you know? Just use me all you want~”

Her classmate was trying to sell herself. Rinka grew even more anxious about her, as she wished she would treasure her body a bit more considering she was still growing. But, leaving that aside.

“That sounds like a wonderful offer…but, I have to decline for now.” Rinka slightly bowed as she declined.

“Ehhh, why?”

“The love I have for Mikado-sama is for me to deal with. If I can’t fulfill my own love with my own strength, I cannot call myself a Shizukawa. Using maneuvering such as this would make me a failure of a Shirase Girls’ Academy graduate.”

“Is that so…? I think that maneuvering with everyone else is even more funny though…”

“Also, if I really was ready to use something like that, I could just report the relationship between Mikado-sama and Nanjou-san to Kitamikado-sama…”

“Eh…?”

“N-Nothing at all!”

She got careless, and almost blurted out something really important. She still kept the fact that Mikado was in love with Kisa a secret.

Rinka stretched her back, put one hand on her chest and proudly declared.

“This is…a maiden’s problem, to face alone. I will definitely make this love bloom with my own strength.”

The confident and proud declaration rang through the otherwise empty classroom. With wide eyes, Kokage looked at Rinka.

“Woah… Rinka-chan, you’re so cool…”

“I wasn’t trying… to be cool…”

She felt her face burn hotly. Who could blame her? After openly admitting her feelings and intentions like this.

“Then…it probably would be better if I didn’t bother you… I thought of giving you some private pictures of Mikado-kun from the data I gathered…”

“Eh? Of Mikado-sama?!” Rinka’s shoulders shook.

“Yes. I’ve been looking into Mikado-kun for quite some time now. Ah, there’s no deeper meaning to that though!”

“So you really are… a stalker?” Rinka trembled in fear.

She might just have to call the police on her classmate.

“You’re wrong! I just wanted information on the Kitamikado Family! And, as I was following him around all the time, I just happened to gather a lot of pictures!”

Kokage took out a large envelope from her student bag, handing it to Rinka. While feeling the heaviness of the envelope, she slowly checked the contents.

“…These are…!”

She was greeted by an overwhelming amount of pictures. Not just showing Mikado at school, but also him walking through the park, dozing away during the drive home from school, shopping for clothes and various faces of Mikado she hadn’t seen before. She was absolutely lost on how Kokage managed to get all these pictures. There were even pictures of Mikado changing clothes. His well-built body alongside his dignified profile shined as bright as the sun.

“Ah… Ahhh… Mikado-sama…”

“Rinka-chan?! Why are you chomping on the pictures?!”

“Ah?! A-Apologies… I just lost myself…”

“How much do you have to lose yourself to turn into a goat?! Don’t forget that you’re human!”

Rinka quickly took out the semi-nude picture of Mikado out of her mouth, wiping away the drool. She realized she had to be more careful about only showing her most dignified side to the outside world.

“Please don’t mind me. This happens quite a lot.”

“Does it now?! Do you have an alien parasite inside of you?!” Kokage closely inspected Rinka’s body.

—She seems to be a stalker, but the good kind at least.

Rinka’s views on Kokage changed. She carefully looked through the pictures in front of her.

“Every single picture is wonderful… it perfectly emphasizes Mikado’s charm… A treasure of this world… What bliss… You seem very skilled.”

“Ehehe~ You think so~? Don’t flatter me like that~” Kokage leaned backwards as she rubbed the back of her head in a flustered manner.

Normally, she would always be talking about things mysterious to Rinka, but now she was easy to deal with and quite lovable.

“I’m not trying to flatter you. This snap of Mikado-sama… Perfectly taken from a diagonal 45° angle! Mikado-sama is already plenty beautiful, but this angle makes him look the coolest! Not to mention the roses behind him! What a… tasteful picture.”

“Are you a sommelier?! A Mikado Sommelier, Rinka-chan?!” Kokage blinked heavily.

“I still have a long way to go before I can refer to myself in such a dignified way. Naturally, as his future wife, I understand Mikado-sama the most, but it seems like you also understand his charm, Kawaraya-san.”

“U-Um… thank you very much?” Kokage showed an expression filled with confusion.

Mikado being the greatest existence ever to have blessed this earth, and Rinka being the one who understood him the most, the highest accomplishment. No wonder Kokage would not understand what she was talking about, Rinka thought.

“But, I guess it’ll be better if I don’t help out. I’ll just take the pictures and go home…”

“Please wait a moment!”

Rinka stopped Kokage with insane speed.

“Fueh?” Kokage was bewildered.

“Please, please support me in my endeavor!”

“Eh, didn’t you just talk about this being your own problem and so on…?” Kokage tried to pull the pictures away, but Rinka wouldn’t let go no matter what.

“I was too quick to decide! I didn’t know you had such wonderful pictures at your disposal, Kawaraya-san! You have more pictures of Mikado-sama, don’t you?!”

“I-I have lots… at least a thousand…”

“Ahhh…!”

Rinka yet again looked like she lost herself, wrapping her arms around her slender body, only to quickly grab Kokage’s hand.

“That means… just for instance, okay? You might have enough material to create a hugging pillow, or even a life-size figure of Mikado-sama, right?!”

“Even just hypothetically, that was scary! And your eyes are even scarier!”

“Really, just hypothetically! Okay?!”

“Yesssss… I think I do… so forgive meeee…” Kokage shook in fear as Rinka desperately shook her body.

Though Rinka hadn’t planned on scaring her classmate like this, it was still quite the sight to behold. As expected of a maiden in love, Rinka had already gathered quite the number of hugging pillows with Mikado’s pictures on them, but they couldn’t win against Kokage’s selection in terms of variety. Naturally, she desired it all.

“Thank you very much. Gathering someone like you as a supporter truly is reassuring.”

“W-Well, it would have been troublesome for me if you declined anyway…” Kokage still looked a bit nervous.

“Looking forward to working with you, Kawaraya-san!”

“L-Let’s do our best. I’ll support you with all I have!”

The two girls shook hands, and nodded.

Lunch break.

Having stepped out onto the highschool division courtyard, Rinka spotted Mikado in the shadow of the storage shed. According to Kokage’s information, Mikado has made his way there frequently as of recently. People barey lost their way there, and the scenery was beautiful, surrounded by trees.

—He must be trying to relax a bit in tough times such as these.

Thinking about the hard work her future husband was doing, Rinka slowly approached Mikado. She didn’t want to bother him by any means, but she had to use this precious information she had received from Kokage. She had to use this chance to close the distance between her and her beloved fiance. Hence, Rinka carefully took a peek at him from the corner of the storage shed and called out to him.

“Mikado-sama, what are you doing?”

“Oh, Rinka?”

Mikado showed an expression like a small child having his hiding spot found, which made Rinka’s heart skip a beat.

“Are you playing hide-and-seek?”

“Hide-and-seek… Well, something like that. It’s been really busy lately, so I need a place to take a break.”

“I’m sorry… Taking away your precious break time.”

Mikado showed a wry smile.

“Don’t sweat it. You’re calming to have around, so you’re not bothering me.”

“What kind words you bless me with… You, who understands a wife’s feelings, are the best husband I could ever wish for!”

“I’m not your husband yet, though.”

“So that means you will eventually become my husband then!”

“That’s not what I meant!”

Rinka linked her hands in front of her chest, as if she was praying.

“Ahh, I cannot wait for that day to arrive…”

“Listen to me! Please, I beg you!” Mikado shook Rinka’s shoulders.

Rather than his pleas, the sensation of his hands on her shoulders were much more prominent in her head, as such her cheeks started to grow flushed.

“It’s almost… like Mikado-sama is trying to win me over.”

“What are we talking about?! I’m not doing any of that though!”

“It’s okay, Mikado-sama. I have already properly prepared myself.”

“You really don’t have to! Put yourself together, it’s barely noon!”

“You are correct… This sort of thing belongs to the night better…”

“Please, come back to reality…” Mikado lost the strength in his body as he crouched down.

Seeing this, Rinka panicked. Stressing her husband even more made her a failure of a wife. She had to heal him. He came all the way out here to look for relaxation after all. Having received a lot of back up from Kokage, Rinka also understood what topics Mikado loved talking about. She had properly prepared herself to let him enjoy himself.

“Ah, that reminds me. Have you seen the movie Les Misérables?”

“You mean the remake during that roadshow? I haven’t…” Mikado’s expression grew pale.

[Mikado-kun is bad with remakes! I saw him talking with a classmate about it, and he looked like he really hated it!]

Kokage’s words went through Rinka’s head. She was a bit sceptical about her listening in on the boys’ talk in the changing room, but she was long past the point of questioning the Kawaraya Family’s methods. What was important was information on Mikado.

“Not the remake, but the black and white version which was first shown in 1952.”

“Ahh, of course I saw it. What about it?” Light returned to Mikado’s eyes.

“I watched it the other day, and really enjoyed it, so I wanted to ask for your impression.”

Les Misérables. The original was written in french by Victor Hugo, and was translated into various languages, such as Japanese under the title ‘Ahh, cruelty’.

“Yeah, the original is already pretty interesting, but the adaptation in 1952 added a few new things to the script. Not just the protagonist Jean Valjean, but the poverty of the times back then was also really well portrayed, making me want to study the feelings of the citizens.”

Rinka nodded along to that.

“Now that you say it, they did add a lot of good characters in the adaptation. I personally enjoy the protagonist’s little sisters the most…”

“I feel that. After stealing bread for his poor family, he gets put into prison, while his little sisters wait for him… So heroic. I really wanted a happy ending, but the one we got is more realistic… It really teaches you that nothing in the world lasts forever… such a superb work of art. I’m pretty sure that Cosette counts as the reborn little sister. This alone gives you some sort of salvation, I guess.”

Rinka had never seen Mikado talk so passionately about something. During dinner, he tries his best to add to the conversation to not make it awkward, but it definitely couldn’t compare to this.

A snicker escaped Rinka’s mouth.

“It seems like you really like that movie.”

“Y-Yeah, I guess.” Mikado scratched his cheek.

He seemed to have realized too late he was getting too into the topic. That was one side Rinka hadn’t seen before.

“It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to talk about a movie I liked. Thank you, Rinka.”

“Mikado-sama…! Such kind words…!”

Right now, only the two of them were present in this atmosphere. Mikado only looked at Rinka.

—Is this what a married couple atmosphere feels like?!

Rinka was filled with happiness. She had eternal gratitude towards Kokage for having given her such valuable information. She would have to eventually pay her back once she and Mikado got married.

That being said, this moment of bliss only lasted a short moment.

“…So you were here, Mikado.”

Hearing the voice of her greatest rival, Rinka grew pale. Kisa walked towards them from the passageway. With one hand on her waist, she looked displeased even from a distance. Rinka suspected they were still having a fight, and readied herself to protect Mikado if necessary.

“How… did you find this place?”

Even if you took a walk, you wouldn’t find this isolated location that easily. And, Kokage should have no reason to work together with the Nanjou Family.

“Um… well… w-with the scent! I found out Mikado’s location thanks to his scent!”

“Are you a dog?!” Mikado retorted.

“I can tell without being a dog! I can pick up Mikado’s scent even when it’s five kilometers away!”

“Now you’re just hunting me?!”

Rinka’s eyes opened wide.

“F-Five kilometers… the best I can do is one…”

“Rinka, don’t join in like that!”

“Hmph, a four kilometer gap is quite the difference, you know? Well, I expected just as much from the Shizukawa Family.”

“My sense of smell… is being belittled…?”

“No seriously, who cares about that…?” Mikado fell into despair.

Until just now, she was able to enjoy some relaxing idle talk, but it’s all gone to hell now after not even a minute. Believing this to be her rival in love’s fault, Rinka glared at Kisa. Naturally, the future Empress of Darkness would not bend under that.

“And, what were the two of you talking about? I feel like I heard something about a movie?”

“We were talking about Les Misérables.”

“Let me just tell you, the remake is absolute trash! I don’t care if you like it, Mikado, but the original from 1952 is much better! If you don’t get it, then stop watching movies, and watch those free videos with the normal populace!”

Kisa gave an intensely threatening look. She showed an extreme difference in affection for the two movies.

“I-I… I also like the 1952 version…?” Mikado added, slightly terrified.

Kisa blinked.

“Eh, really? That movie was really interesting, right!? Jean Valjean ending up like that, totally uncool! I laughed so hard when he was imprisoned!”

“Why?!”

“I mean, if he was really that good of a man, he could have escaped the police and not be put into prison in the first place.”

“Just what kind of image do you imagine when you think of ‘a good man’…?”

“A missile…? When he can… shoot down an aircraft… with his naked body…?”

“What kind of scale is this…?” Mikado gazed at the palm of his hand.

Just what kind of expression did he have whilst listening to this?

“But, it’s true that the 1952 version is really fun. I’m surprised you also wa—” Kisa stopped herself mid-sentence.

“What happened?”

Rinka thought something was off, so she looked in the same direction as Kisa, and saw Kokage behind the window of the school building. She must have been eager to see if the information she gave out went to good use.

Kisa averted her gaze from Kokage.

“It was the worst movie ever! If you don’t understand what makes the remake so good, you should just die in a fire!”

“That’s the exact opposite of what you just said though!” Rinka was baffled.

“Really? I’m fairly certain I have always spoken the indisputable truth. I never once said that the 1952 version was at all interesting. Are your brain cells working alright?”

“Ehhh…” Mikado joined in on the confusing ride.

—What brought forth this sudden change? Rinka wondered.

Since this change occurred right as Kisa spotted Kokage, it must be in some way related to her, but she couldn’t grasp the details with her lack of knowledge about the situation. It might even lead to the reason Mikado and Kisa had been fighting so intensely recently.

“Also, the rival of the protagonist, police detective Javert is way too softhearted. No matter how much of a change Jean Valjean went through, not trying to catch him and unable to bend the law either, he’s completely useless! If it was me, I would have shot the protagonist to death, and then blown up the prison!”

“So you’ll crush both parties?! Also, why are you so obsessed with blowing up a prison all the time!?”

Kisa shrugged, and gave an arrogant snort.

“I mean, the theme of that story is the absurdity of society, right? That concludes that the entire system is corrupt, so you should blow everything up and rebuild it all. Well, the corruption and absurdity won’t disappear from just that, I guess.”

“Nanjou-san…”

“Kisa…”

Rinka and Mikado both blinked at Kisa. She in return just gazed at them in puzzlement.

“W-What?”

“Well… I was just thinking that you sure watched that movie with a lot of interest… you know so much.” Mikado said in admiration.

For someone saying it was the worst movie ever, she sure was reading a lot into it. It was completely different to Rinka, who just knew the basics in order to raise Mikado’s affection for her.

“O-Of course! I am the personification of wisdom! Everything is inside my brain cells!”

“That’s a bit gross, isn’t it?!”

“It’s not! The shine is like the seven prismatic colors.”

“What does that even mean?!”

Watching the two of them break out into another verbal war, Rinka thought.

—I really can’t hope to win against Nanjou-san yet… it seems…

For now, she decided to pull back and retreat.

“Kawaraya-san… you received an order from the head of the Kitamikado Family to survey the relationship between Mikado-sama and Nanjou-san, right?”

In the empty room at dusk, Rinka asked.

“Eh?” Kokage’s body twitched in shock, right after she arrived.

There were no students present in the classroom. After ending up as partners in crime , they used this room as a temporary base for their meetings.

“O-Oh come on, sniffing out my classmates like that, why would I ever~?”

“Weren’t you always following Mikado-sama around anyway?”

“Ugh… t-that’s… a personal interest, so to speak! I was only asked to help you in your quest for love by Mikado-kun’s father, nothing more!” Kokage waved her hands to deny Rinka’s assumption, but she was clearly panicking.

Mikado and Kisa were acting weirdly recently. Without any real reason, they would start chewing each other out merely for looking at the other, nothing like how they had acted before. And, there was also the sudden change in Kisa’s attitude as soon as Kokage was around. It couldn’t be a coincidence.

“It seems like Mikado-sama and Nanjou-san have already caught wind of your surveillance.”

“R-Really?! Why?! I tried my best to hide it!” Kokage screamed, only to quickly close her mouth again. “…Ah.”

“I thought so.” Rinka said, having found definite proof.

“Y-You’re wrong! I wasn’t surveilling the relationship between Mikado-kun and Kisa-chan or anything! And it’s not like I’ll get better standing in the Kitamikado Family if I pull this mission off that I got from Mikado-kun’s father!”

“See, you’re confessing everything.”

“Ahhhhhh…” Kokage slapped her hand on the floor in disbelief of her own actions.

In the political world, it’s often said that the [Mistakes conducted by the Kawaraya Family could lead to a country’s destruction], but this was even worse than Kisa had anticipated. An information broker revealing information like this was unthinkable.

“U-Um…please…could you keep this a secret…?” Kokage asked Rinka with teary eyes.

Rinka nodded.

“Of course I can. However, I am not too sure you will be able to properly watch them now that they have caught on to you.”

“Uuu…that makes sense… What should I do…? At this rate, Mikado-kun’s father will get angry at me and exile me…”

“I don’t think exiling is still a thing in today’s times…”

“So will I be exiled from this planet then?! Will I get a one-way ticket to Mars, forced to build my own civilization?! I don’t wannaaaa! I have things I need to accomplish on Earth right now!” Kokage held onto a nearby desk, attempting to push herself up on shaky legs.

Rinka put a finger on her mouth, and started thinking.

“But, thinking about it in another way… Your eyes are basically Kitamikado-sama’s eyes…”

“What do you mean?” Kokage tilted her head, slightly confused.

“Basically, Mikado-sama is constantly being surveyed by his father now, and won’t decline any advances from me.”

“I see~ You are his fiance after all.”

“Yes… I wonder if we could use this to our advantage…”

“Mmm… is there nothing…”

As the two of them were starting to think,

“Okey dokey, leave it to me!”

“Kyaa?!” “Hya?!”

From beneath the teacher’s desk, Mizuki suddenly popped out, scaring Rinka and Kokage enough to make them scream. She stood in front of them, striking a pose like a superhero.

“Mizuki-chan has answered your prayers! Everything’s alright, because I am here!”

“Nobody called for you though!”

“Oho? Weird~ I swear I heard someone calling out to me.”

“M-Mizuki-san… since when have you been there?” Rinka’s heartbeat accelerated dramatically.

“Well, from the very beginning? You were always talking all secretively in here, so I joined you every time~”

“Eh, really?! I have no memory of that though… I feel like it was just Rinka-chan and I…”

“Then you got some severe brain damage up in that head of yours~!” Mizuki pointed at Kokage head-on.

“Oh no… I thought so… before you get abducted, you suffer from memory loss…” Kokage’s shoulders were shaking in fear.

“Calm down, Kawaraya-san. I don’t remember that either.”

“Yeah, makes sense~ I was playing games beneath the teacher’s desk after all!”

“Then you haven’t participated at all?!”

“You could say that!”

“No, you can only say that…” Rinka felt a bit dizzy, being forced to deal with this.

Unlike her older sister, Mizuki was innocent, yet even harder to deal with than Kisa herself. Mizuki came down with a step, bringing her body closer to Rinka as she grinned.

“And, I actually have a great idea~ A method to get Mikado-kun and Rinka-chan all lovey dovey in just one evening!”

“…What are you referring to?” Rinka took the bait.

“See, near the sea, there’s the Shizukawa Group shopping mall, right?”

“Yes?”

“Go invite Mikado-kun for a shopping trip there! At the same time, Kokage-chan will also be on her tour there, so Mikado-kun will have to take the date seriously, right?”

“A shopping date… with Mikado-sama…” Rinka spaced out while imagining it.

They had the support of both families, so they had made a few plans here and there, but they never went on a proper date.

“On top of that, we’ll have the employees there take pictures of Mikado-kun and ask them to support you because you’re fiances. If it’s the Shizukawa Group’s employees, Mikado-kun will have to act like a fiance, right? Basically, the shopping mall will turn into a giant cage!”

“A-Amazing…” Kokage muttered in admiration.

Mizuki’s plan was perfect without any possible openings in it, exactly what you would expect from the Nanjou Family. She was just a middle school girl, yet she thought of an idea Rinka might never have arrived at herself.

“And, finally! Once the shopping mall is closing up, Kokage-chan goes to the control room… like thingy, and locks you two inside! Passing a night together… you understand what happens after that, right?”

“A night together… with Mikado-sama… Ahh, you’re so bold, Mikado-sama… Haa huff…”

“Rinka-chan?! You’re drooling!”

“Ah… Apologies.”

Rinka wiped away her drool with a lace handkerchief. The situation she had envisioned was so stimulating that she had almost lost herself.

“Good idea, right?”

“It’s the best… With this, we’ll definitely win.”

“I’ll be tagging along on that day and supporting you from the shadows, so try your best!” Mizuki gave a peace sign.

“But, why would you support me like this?”

Being the younger sister of Nanjou Kisa, as well as holding affection for Mikado herself, Mizuki should have no reason to help Rinka like this.

“Because I want to… make Onee-chan angry?” Mizuki showed a confused smile, as she narrowed her eyes.

Residing in her eyes was the desire to play around as much as possible, a strong glimmering light… no, darkness. Even her lovably red lips had an erotic look to it as she licked them. Rinka watched this, and felt a shiver run down her spine.

“Just kidding! It’s because I love Rinka-chan!” Mizuki laughed gleefully, walking away from the empty classroom.

On the promised Sunday, the mall was filled with people. Being reclaimed land, a wide open space was luxuriously used for this mall. With four floors in total, elevators were going up and down constantly. The stores gathered had men’s and lady’s clothes, miscellaneous goods, books, a clinic and much more to offer. Pamphlets were distributed, asking you to visit certain stores, and families made the surroundings noisy.

Mikado and Rinka were walking down the first floor of the mall, next to each other.

“Thank you very much for joining me on my shopping trip, taking time away from your free day.” Rinka gave a slight bow, causing her neat one-piece flutter slightly.

“I’m still in your debt, so I’ll do anything to repay that.”

Those were his honest feelings. He still felt horrible for not being able to reciprocate Rinka’s feelings, as she had shown him.

“Anything!? T-Then, could we… maybe hold hands?”

“A-Ahh… if that’s what you want to do…” Mikado awkwardly nodded along.

He could feel sharp gazes on his back, originating from Kokage. Naturally, Mikado quickly gave up on wondering why she was even here in the first place. She was everywhere, no matter where he went. And since she was surveying him, he had to act like a proper fiance to Rinka. If not, he would be called to his father’s room and asked ‘Why weren’t you holding your fiance’s hand? Do you have someone else you like?’, complicating everything.

“Then… please…” With stiff movements, Rinka reached out her hand.

Her snow white palm, almost like a beautifully drawn painting was shivering slightly. Yet again, Mikado realized how much he was loved by his fiance. The tension was transferred over to him, as he carefully took Rinka’s hand.

“Ah…” With just that, Rinka’s face turned as red as a cherry.

Mikado was taken aback by the soft sensation, and the returning grip that was heavily feminine.

“L-Let’s go, shall we…?”

“Yes… I am… very happy…”

Seeing Rinka’s blissful expression, Mikado could feel his own body burn hotter. His heartbeat accelerated. His fiance was probably the only person who could rival Kisa in terms of beauty. And not just her looks, her personality was equally beautiful; loving Mikado from the bottom of her heart. It would be a lie to say Mikado didn’t feel anything in regards to all of this.

The two of them walked as they gazed at the stores on their sides.

“It’s quite unexpected for Rinka to go shopping in such a place. I don’t feel like they have a lot of things you would use here.”

He wasn’t exactly making fun of the citizens’ lifestyle, but when it came to shopping trips for the Kitamikado and Shizukawa Family, they wouldn’t frequent a shopping mall like this.

“Mizuki-san told me about this. It sounded fun, so I wanted to try it out. This so-called… shopping date, was it?”

“E-Em… is this… a date?”

“Yes, of course it is!” Rinka looked a bit angered, but it made her look even cuter.

Truth be told, an adolescent couple consisting of a boy and girl walking down the shopping mall while holding hands, this could only be described as a date. Becoming aware of that, Mikado felt even more conscious of the girl next to him. From getting flustered, sweat started to build up on his hand, but Rinka didn’t allow him to pull it away.

“Can you let go of my hand for a second?”

“Are you planning on leaving me behind?! Did you grow tired of me already?!”

“Calm down, okay?! I just wanted to wipe away the sweat on my hand!”

“You don’t have to wipe it! Receiving Mikado-sama’s sweat is like a reward for me!”

“What kind of reward is that supposed to be for?!”

Rinka put the palm of her hand on her cheek and started thinking.

“A reward… for me being alive…?”

“Yeah… being alive sure is troublesome after all…”

She was a stylish beauty, but from time to time Mikado’s fiance really was a bit hard to understand. Naturally, Rinka showed no signs of letting go of his hand. Rinka had the eyes of a dog about to be thrown out by its owner as she clung to his arm. In response to that, Mikado could feel sharp gazes from the people around them. Just by passing the stores, the murmurs of the employees arrived at his ears.

“The young lady and her fiance sure are lovely together.”

“The young lady looks so happy…”

“A beautiful man and woman next to each other, now this is wonderful!”

“He is the sun of the noble Kitamikado Group after all.”

“Young lady, I’m so envious…!”

Hearing these voices, Mikado felt like something was off.

“Somehow… I feel like they all know about us…”

“This mall is managed by the Shizukawa Group after all. In order to make you feel the most welcome, I notificated the entire place.”

“The entire… place…?”

It was basically the same as visiting the Shizukawa Residence. One misstep towards Rinka in one way or another, and the entire Shizukawa Family would know. On top of that, he had the information source of the Kitamikado Family, Kokage, trailing after him. Meaning, this date was observed by both families.

Mikado was assaulted by intense pressure.

“I-I see. We have to make this date a success…”

“Yes. Could we take a look at this store?” Rinka stopped in front of a boutique.

“Of course! Today, I exist only for your sake, Rinka!”

“I do not deserve those words, dear Mikado-sama…!”

The two of them entered the store. The inside had white walls and a white floor, already creating a plentifully good mood and lining up simple yet high quality western clothing. The assortment was carefully chosen apparently, as there were not many things displayed.

Two female employees, both wearing clothes of the brand, approached the two at the same time.

“Young lady and her fiance Kitamikado-sama! Welcome! What might you be looking for today?”

“We weren’t exactly looking for anything specific… I just wanted to… pick some clothes that are to Mikado-sama’s liking…”

“I’m not really familiar with this sort of thing, so I couldn’t tell you even if I knew.” Mikado scratched his head, feeling slightly apologetic.

Rather than fashion, he would be able to answer easier if he was asked about his favorite politician or wildflower.

“Acting on a hunch is perfectly fine. Just tell me which clothes leave you in shock the most.”

“I’d like to show you some restraint first and foremost!”

“Excuse me, please tell me which clothes highly raise your desire for breeding.”

“That’s even worse!

Normally, Rinka was the perfect personification of a Yamato Nadeshiko, but today of all days, she grew extremely bold. That being said, Mikado was still a boy, so his eyes naturally drifted towards the clothes with… a bit more skin showing. The employee naturally picked up on that, immediately going to pick them up.

“Young lady, how about this piece?”

It was barely acceptable in terms of public morals; a super short mini skirt. On top of that was a blouse leaving the shoulders open enough to almost entirely reveal one’s chest. Seeing this, Rinka’s face turned red with embarrassment.

“This feels… a bit indecent…”

Weren’t you the one who wanted this? Mikado wanted to retort, but decided to keep quiet.

The employee shook her head.

“By all means no, this is not indecent at all! Your fiance has gazed at these clothes with the eyes of a predator… so I think we should be good!”

“Oh my… with the eyes of a predator…?”

“You’re wrong, okay?!” Mikado rejected their nonsense at full force.

Being perverted was an absolute no-go for the young man of the Kitamikado Family. He could not accept the fact that his eyes were filled with desire, if only for a second.

The employee whispered in Rinka’s ears.

“Men are always riddled with desire. Wearing these two pieces of clothing… it’ll be an easy win.”

“Y-Yes, but… we still…” Rinka’s voice grew timid.

“Still not, huh? What a troublesome fiance you have~ Is he impotent?”

“What I saw before one early morning spoke against that… What should I do?”

“Let’s see… I can prepare something with a 100% chance of success.”

“Thank you very much!”

Naturally, Mikado could hear everything.

“Could you keep the girls-talk to somewhere with no boys around…?” Mikado just felt like walking away at this point.

“My, you are quite shy for being so manly! Come on, try this on, young lady, together with your fiance!”

The employee pushed both Mikado and Rinka into the changing room.

“Why do I have to get inside as well?! Are you crazy?!”

“Of course not. A date, especially a shopping date such as this, is made to deepen the bonds between boy and girl! You’ll be buying underwear as well, so you have to take a proper look! Or do you want to watch Young Lady’s underwear-clad figure outside, where other people can see it as well?!”

“I-Is that so? Even if it is to Mikado-sama’s distinct taste, I wouldn’t show my skin to anyone else but him… Though, if it was his order, then I would have no other option except to obey…” Rinka gazed over at Mikado. Her slender shoulders trembled, though Mikado didn’t know with what emotion.

“I don’t have any taste like that!”

“Seems like our dear fiance is quite the fiendish type!”

“I told you it’s not like that! Also, I don’t even want to see her underwear!”

He ran quite the risk of reputation with those words. But, he wasn’t too sure if he actually wanted to see her in underwear or not. Though since he couldn’t allow any doubts to be born in this environment, he gave up and was pushed inside the changing room. The curtains were pulled closed and the employee passed the clothes and underwear inside.

With a beet red face, Rinka cast her face downwards and tightly hugged the clothes.

“…I am deeply sorry. I will finish changing right away.”

“Y-Yeah…”

Mikado turned his back to Rinka, on stand-by. He was currently inside a space no boy was ever supposed to trespass. Being left alone with Rinka in this room, Mikado felt nervous. Although he couldn’t see her, this space was originally made for one person. He felt Rinka’s presence at his back who sometimes touched his hand or shoulders by accident. Additionally, he heard the rustling of clothes and the sound of the zipper.

Mikado directed his eyes to the ground and saw the one-piece, having been dropped to the ground. Following that was a white lace bra. Her body freed from any clothing gave off an even more intense scent which assaulted Mikado’s nose.

Suddenly, Rinka wrapped her arms around Mikado’s neck. The soft, naked sensation of her two mounds hit him directly on the back.

“H-Hey…”

Mikado could feel his face burn hotly.

“…Being alone here with Mikado-sama… I started to feel… weird…”

With an almost sulking tone, Rinka whispered directly into Mikado’s ears. Her warm breath touched his neck. Since the naked girl would be seen if he ran away now, he had no other choice but to stay in this position. All he could do was try to survive this sweet punishment.

“Stop with this stupid… nonsense…”

“I don’t care if I seem stupid. If this will make Mikado-sama look at me, then I don’t mind.”

Rinka’s hands wrapped around Mikado’s chest, slowly opening the buttons of his shirt.

“Wai— What are you doing…?”

“We’re in the changing room, so Mikado-sama will have to change as well…”

“What am I supposed to wear in a ladies’ store!?”

“Shh… Mikado-sama, they’ll hear us outside…”

Her slender fingers slowly slipped inside Mikado’s shirt. A soft, tingling sensation ran down his chest and stomach. Mikado managed to grab her hand, but she pushed her waist against his even further. Her warm breath was right next to him.

“Just… please, I know you don’t like this sort of thing, so I won’t ask for much… Only… to let me stay like this for a bit longer….”

“Rinka…”

The girl’s voice was so meek and feeble, Mikado found himself unable to shake her away. All they could do was stay in this romantic and sweet atmosphere, containing only the two of them.

The announcement that the mall would be closed soon rang through the halls. Having finished their shopping and enjoying their day off, the guests left towards the parking lot while the employees were busy cleaning up. Finally, the wave of people vanished and as the mall was left in silence, Mizuki stood up from the sofa with great momentum, still with some ice cream stuck to her mouth.

“Now then! Rinka-chan must have enjoyed her date, so I guess it’s time to act!”

Mizuki sent Rinka a chat message, calling her to the front of a sweets restaurant. After a few minutes passed, Rinka arrived, heavily out of breath. The reason for her beet red face must have been her rush to get here, or because she was enjoying the date with Mikado so much.

“Rinka-chan! Did you get Mikado-kun’s phone?”

“Yes, I managed to borrow it so that I could add a picture to my contact on his phone!”

“Alright, then he won’t be able to call for help!”

“What do you need from me? I don’t want to make Mikado-sama wait too long…” Rinka glanced behind her.

“Well, I actually prepared a present for you, Rinka-chan! They are goods important to enjoying the ‘Night Life’ together with Mikado-kun, a tool necessary to make him fall for you!” Mizuki winked at Rinka.

“Make Mikado-sama fall for me?! Unable to live without me for even one second, unable to leave our married couple’s sleeping room for the rest of his life?!”

“Y-Yeah. You sure are intent on turning Mikado-kun into a disabled, huh.”

“No, turning my husband into a disabled… I would never! But, having Mikado-kun unable to live without me would be ideal.” Rinka put her hands together, gleefully smiling.

“You’re just like Onee-chan almost, fighting really hard, Rinka-chan.” Mizuki laughed.

That being said, you had to be this crazy for Mikado if you dared to fight history’s greatest monster Nanjou Kisa for him.

—Mikado-kun sure is loved by some dangerous girls, huh.

Naturally, Mizuki didn’t regard herself as dangerous or troublesome at all.

“And, where is this present?”

Rinka was visibly excited.

“It’s pretty big, so I put it in a box! It’s around the corner of the accessory shop, so could you pick it up?” Mizuki pointed at one corner on the second floor, near the toilets.

“Thank you very much!” Rinka made her way there on quick feet.

After seeing her off, Mizuki went on to call Kokage. If she went along with the plan they made up, she should have made it to the control room of the mall by now. The security of the mall should have pulled back because of Rinka’s orders.

「Yesh! Hewow? It’s Kawaraya here!」

A panicked voice came from the speaker of her smartphone. Following that, a shriek as if something had gotten stuck in her throat.

“Kokage-chan, are you eating dinner?”

「Y-Yes! I thought this might end up being a long mission, so I got some anpan and milk!」

“Ohh, sounds nice!”

「Yes, anpan is good for balanced nutrition after all. Something absolutely necessary if you want to be an astronaut!」

“Right, right! Anyway, could you put the doors down? So that we can lock Mikado-kun and Rinka-chan in the mall!”

「Understood!」

After cutting the call, the shutters went down, closing off all the exits. The entrance on the first floor, as well as ways to the parking lot on floors two and three… even the area with Rinka in it were shut off. If she was locked in here, she wouldn’t be able to group up with Mikado again. While carrying the big box, Rinka was surprised by the shutters going down.

“D-Don’t close them just yet, Mizuki-san! Call Kawaraya-san!”

“Sorry~ I just finished the call with Kokage-chan! And I can’t contact her again, she might have just died!”

“She’s not dead! The shutters are still going down!”

“Basically… I’m the one who died! Is this the world between the afterlife and the reality?!”

“What are you talking about?! Please open!”

Rinka tried her best to keep the shutters up, but she was unable to and now completely isolated. Since it was in a dead angle of the surveillance camera, Kokage couldn’t see her either.

“It’s okay! I’ll take care of Mikado-kun in your stead!”

Mizuki put her thumbs up and walked away from the sofa.

“Mizuki-san?! So you betrayed me?!”

“I haven’t betrayed you or anything~ I just switched with you!”

This was a game after all. You could never let your guard down with the two Nanjou sisters, otherwise it could end fatally. As Mizuki arrived at the security room, she called out to Kokage who was still inside.

“Kokage-chan! Listen to this!”

“Fuah?! Waf if it?!”

In front of the monitor, Kokage was biting down on her anpan. She must really like it, because there was a great amount of them scattered over the desk.

“A UFO appeared!”

Hearing this, Kokage jolted up. The pack of milk flew out of her hand and scattered on the ground.

“Ehhh?! Really?! Is it the discus type, the cigar type, the flying pyramid type, or maybe even the sky fish type?!”

Mizuki was a bit flustered after being confronted with professional terms, but she just used the first term she could think of.

“Umm… it was the Instant Noodles type!”

“Instant Noodles?! That’s super rare!”

“Right?! It’s SSR! You can’t miss this! It even scattered green seaweed everywhere!”

“What?! What is their goal… Where did it go?!”

“It flew towards the school!”

“Thank you for the information! I’ll be departing right now!”

Kokage grabbed the keys and dashed out of the room. This left Mizuki alone, gazing at the monitors in front of her. She watched as Kokage dashed out of the shopping mall. At the same time, her eyes fell onto Rinka desperately trying to escape the corner she was locked in. Then, she found Mikado reading a book on the central area’s sofa. The staff of the mall had returned home and nobody was present anymore. Pressing a switch, the last area was blocked off, only letting Mizuki get back to Mikado.

“Fufufu… now it’s Mizuki bonus time!” Mizuki held the palm of her hand in front of her mouth, snickering.

No matter how long he waited, Rinka didn’t return. Closing time had already passed and the shutters had gone down, so Mikado was wondering what to do when he heard light footsteps approaching him.

“Oh, Rinka…” Mikado raised his head from his book.

“Mikado-kun! Sorry for making you wait~!” With a beaming smile, Mizuki waved her hand at him.

“I wasn’t waiting for you! Why on earth are you here?!”

It certainly wasn’t Rinka who returned.

“I came here to buy a game~ I got too engrossed in it, so when I beat the last game the mall had already closed. I was about to cry, when I saw Mikado-kun!”

“Ahh… I see, that explains it.”

That’s what you’d expect from a hardcore gamer, but it made sense that she would be scared in such a situation.

“It’s fine, I’ll do something about it. Come with me.”

“Yaaay! A special escort by Mikado-kun!” Mizuki jumped up in joy and clung to Mikado’s arm.

She was as bold as always, but since she had no ill intentions, Mikado didn’t bother pushing her away. On the contrary, she was basically a lost child, so he wanted her to stay close.

“Hey, where are we going now? A western clothes store? An accessory shop? I’d love to watch a movie!”

“We’re leaving this place! Why are you so keen on having fun in a situation like this!? Weren’t you about to cry before?!”

“I was! I was so… so scared… ah, I know! There’s a haunted house at the event corner, so let’s go there!” Mizuki pulled on Mikado’s arm.

“You’re not scared at all! Let’s just go home!”

“Not fun at all, Mikado-kun! The night is still young, you know?”

“Kids are supposed to sleep at night!”

“I’m not a kid though~ I can do perverted stuff, wanna see?” Mizuki shot Mikado a seductive gaze.

She ran her slender fingers along her crimson lips.

“I don’t care!”

Feeling the nape of his neck grow a bit flushed, Mikado still acted natural and kept walking. If one played a long with a small devil like her, they’d probably be more drained than after doing a 100m sprint. Mikado’s first step was to search for Rinka in order to group up again, but he couldn’t find her anymore on the second floor. His smartphone was still in Rinka’s hands, so he couldn’t contact anyone outside either. Mizuki’s phone seemed to have run out of battery, so there was nothing to do there either.

“It’s an expedition~ Together with Mikado-kun~”

“You sure are relaxed about this…”

Mizuki was skipping along as she walked, to which Mikado let out a tired sigh. The escalators had stopped and billboards were out on top of the food corner to say they were done with business for the day. Walking around in this silent shopping mall made you feel like you were in a post-apocalyptic world. The shining lights with nobody around to walk under them gave off a weird atmosphere.

“Why… aren’t the lights going out? And why did no security guard realize that we’re still in here…?” Mikado put his hand on his chin, thinking.

“Look look, Mikado-kun! I’m riding on the shoulders!” Mizuki ignored that, as she rode on the shoulders of a mannequin.

“That’s dangerous, come down!”

“It’s not dangerous~ This is my mom after all!”

“…You hit your head while I wasn’t watching?!”

“I always wanted to do this, but the employees would always get angry at me! I wonder whyaaaaaah?!”

As Mikado expected, the waist of the mannequin broke in two and Mizuki fell towards the ground. Right before her body hit the hard floor, Mikado landed a beautiful catch.

“Wahh! Mikado-kun, so cool! You’re like a prince!” Mikado rubbed her cheek against Mikado’s.

“Be a bit more careful, okay…?”

Mikado’s heart almost leapt out of his chest. If Kisa’s little sister got any sort of injury under his watch, he’d most likely get bad karma for it, and Mizuki’s body was too soft for his heart as well.

“Ohh? Mikado-kun, are you actually flustered?” Mizuki grinned, narrowing her eyes.

“I’m not flustered.”

“But your face is red. Am I making your heart beat faster?” Mizuki poked at his cheeks with her fingers.

“No.”

“Oh I sure am! I can hear your heart beating perfectly!” Mizuki put her ear to his chest and closed her eyes.

Being able to inspect her girly expression closely and see her long eyelashes, Mikado’s heart started beating even faster. A face similar to Kisa’s was just unfair. He knew that it wasn’t Kisa herself doing it, but his heart felt differently.

Mizuki brought her lips to Mikado’s ear and softly whispered.

“And now… you’ll be carrying me to bed, right?”

“Who would do that!? Walk yourself!” Mikado reached his limit and shook her off.

“Kyahaha! I made Mikado-kun angry!”

Laughing her hardest, Mizuki walked down the still escalator. No matter how much one scolded her, she showed no signs of repenting. Honestly, it was surprising that she hadn’t been killed off by her older sister yet. As he stepped down onto the first floor, Mikado thought about said older sister and panicked a bit, wanting to get Mizuki home as quickly as possible. Here, a large supermarket, a small shopping district, make-up stores and other highlights lined up next to each other.

“Mikado-kun, over here!”

Mizuki called out to Mikado, as she stuffed her cheeks full with a madeleine from a sweets store.

“Hey, don’t just eat them!” Mikado reprimanded her yet again.

“Mmm… nom nom… it’s fine~ This mall belongs to Rinka-chan’s family~”

“Are you the type to eat someone else’s pudding in the fridge…?” Mikado asked, only to be greeted by a shocked Mizuki.

“Of course! We’re friends, so they’ll forgive me!”

“Your definition of friend being…?”

“Everyone is my friend!”

“Wow, you sure get to eat a lot then!”

If it was this girl, she might just enter a random citizen’s household to eat their dessert. Not to mention that the people might actually forgive her, seeing how innocent-looking she was.

Meanwhile, her older sister Kisa.

“Grrrr…”

She had no idea of the situation going on in the shopping mall and was just glaring at her smartphone in her private room. Reflected on her screen was the chat between her and Mikado. Currently exchanged messages: zero. Before, when they had the phone call, shehad tried her best and succeeded in exchanging chatting app IDs, but there had never been a single chat message sent.

That being said, it had to change now. Her little sister was chatting with Mikado to her heart’s content, every evening, almost. She would always report to Kisa what Mikado had eaten for dinner even. A bit ago, she bragged that ‘I made a paired icon with Mikado-kun!’ to her. She could not underestimate Mizuki’s skill. Still, she couldn’t lose against the likes of a middle school student.

“It’s okay… I’m not… I’m not nervous at all.”

At the thought of sending her first message, her heart was beating like her life depended on it. Her fingers, ready to type, were shaking. Naturally, as a Nanjou, she wouldn’t just send any message. After pondering on it for an entire week, she came up with the perfect message to get the conversation rolling…!

‘Good evening’

These were the magic words! No wasted energy to be found! If she asked ‘What are you doing right now?’, it would make it sound like she was actively longing for him, and with a ‘Let’s talk for a bit’, she would make it obvious that she wanted him to pay attention to her.

Then, a normal greeting. With that, no problem should arise. Truly a solution only a genius like Kisa could arrive at. Or in other words, she was too scared, so she took the boring and safe approach.

And, after waiting for Mikado’s reply for a few moments—

“…………Nothing!”

Kisa threw the smartphone onto her bed.

“What is this about?! He hasn’t even read it yet! He’s ignoring me?! Does he even know what that means?!” Kisa pointed at the smartphone in rage.

Ignoring contact from the Nanjou Family was the greatest crime in this world. But, Kisa swallowed her breath.

“…Wait a second. This must be a plan Mikado’s. He must want to reply badly, but by delaying the message, he’s trying to make me worry, to get himself an advantage in our love game! But, I won’t waver with just this! Yes, for I am a Nanjou!”

The current game was a battle of restraint. If Kisa were to demand a reply, it would be her loss, so she had to wait for Mikado’s response no matter what. Then, she would use this against him. This was the way of the Nanjou Family.

“If you’re planning on that, then I’ll gladly play along! You better be ready to apologize on your knees!” Kisa declared war, as she grasped her smartphone tightly.

As she was doing her usual barbell training in the training room at night, Sigma’s smartphone gave off the sound of an incoming phone call. The overwhelmingly oppressing classic tone belonged to Kisa alone.

Sigma put the barbel down and wiped away the sweat on her neck as she accepted the call.

“What’s the business?”

「Blow up the phone company!」

The very first words were quite the impactful order.

“I don’t mind, but can I ask why? Did some secret Nanjou information get leaked?”

「No! There’s… no response coming in… Mikado’s chat… Sniff… Hicc… I waited two hours… The phone company must have cut off the transmission… Sniff…」

She was wailing. Sigma yet again was at a loss, only wishing that she wasn’t giving off some order like that while she was still bawling her eyes out.

“No… there’s no certainty that that’s the reason. That shitty Kitamikado brat might just be busy.”

「How can you be busy enough to not answer my chat message?! Is he on the battlefield?! Then he can just hide in the trenches and reply for all I care!」

“As if there could be a war as easygoing as that!”

「Then blow it up! Blow up the entire battlefield!」

“Calm down already! Maybe he’s on a date, and too busy to reply?!”

She had just randomly chosen those words, but she realized too late.

「With some other girl… besides me…? Who’s that thieving cat….? Debauched low class worthless living being…」

“Ah.”

Sigma became acutely aware that she had just fully stepped onto a landmine. This was extraordinarily bad. If she didn’t carefully take the foot off the landmine, she’d be wrapped up in a tragedy.

Sigma scratched her head and tried to soothe her master.

“That just now… Well, it’s just one possibility. He might just be having dinner with his family, or taking a bath. I don’t think you need to pay it too much mind, don’t you think?”

「Look for Mikado with the tracking device attached to him」

“…Understood.” Sigma sighed and headed to the operation room of the private squad.

She was pretty doubtful of whether the love game could be won with a tracking device, but it was her master’s order, so it couldn’t be helped. Entering the room, she turned on the terminal and power, putting in the code of the target and started searching. The Nanjou Family had access to every surveillance satellite, so they could see everything like a god.

Mikado was found immediately and Sigma called Kisa to report back.

“I found him. The shitty Kitamikado brat is in a shopping mall called Valhawalk. That one in the harbour sector.”

「I see… A shopping mall sure sounds like a date route for a commoner. And Mikado is enjoying himself there with another girl…」

“We don’t know that for sure…”

「I’ll be leading the attack on the shopping mall, and raising hell!」

Kisa hung up the phone call, not even giving Sigma a chance to talk her out of it.

“Here is no good either, huh…” Mikado hung his head at the southern entrance.

The shutters blocking off the exits all wouldn’t budge an inch.

“Hey, Mikado-kun, we checked all the other exits already, right? Let’s have some more fun~” Mizuki pleaded, as she clung to his arm.

“We can’t just give up like that! At this rate, we won’t get out until morning comes…”

“Who cares~ We can just leave in the morning, so let’s have a sleepover!”

“I’m telling you that’s bad! If Kisa finds out… No, it’ll be bad enough with my own family if they catch on to this…”

Mikado’s entire body shivered. His father would be more than delighted if it was Rinka he spent the night with, but if it was any other girl, it’d be an unprecedented scandal. He wouldn’t even be able to prove whether he kept his virginity or not.

“It’s no problem! If it comes down to that, I’ll just leave the Nanjou Family and marry into the Kitamikado Family!”

“You sure are quick to leave your family behind!”

Even though it might’ve been like hell, a family is still a family.

“That’s why… come on?” Mizuki seductively whispered into Mikado’s ear. “I’ll keep it a secret from Onee-chan… so let’s have some fun.”

“You say that, but the game center and karaoke, and even the movie theater are all closed.”

A shiver of pleasure ran down Mikado’s spine at Mizuki’s tender breath. He felt terrified, as he grew more conscious of her in this deserted place.

“Mikado-kun… you definitely know… It’s a sisters bowl.”

“I do not, but that name alone tells me it’s not something I want to know either!”

“Then, let me tell you. A sisters bowl is when you have two sisters, and then you do them at the same time—”

“I don’t want to hear the rest! Don’t sully my pure heart with your dirty vocabulary!”

“Woooow! A flustered Mikado-kun is so cute!”

Mikado walked away with quick steps, yet Mizuki clung to him again. Not knowing if she was just teasing him or actually inviting him was the worst part about her personality.

Then, a restless presence appeared behind Mikado’s back.

“Mizuki-san………?” A sharp voice sounded, filled with killing intent.

Mikado even wondered if Kisa had finally appeared as he turned around, but he was wrong. The person who stood there was his fiance Rinka. Her hair was ruffled in a mess, her shoulders were heaving up and down, and an aura filled with rage emitted from every inch of her being.

“Oops… so you got out already… are you angry?”

“Of course I am! It was a lot of trouble to find a detour to get here!”

Rinka approached her like a demon, seeing that, Mizuki hid behind Mikado’s back.

“Now now, don’t make such a scary face~ I just figured it would be my turn now after you enjoyed yourself the entire day~”

“I won’t change with you! The real deal is about to start, and I will be the one to stay with Mikado-sama!”

“Real deal…?”

Mikado tilted his head in confusion, having assumed that the date was already over. Rinka spotted this reaction and quickly cleared her throat.

“N-Nothing at all. Anyway, now that I have caught up, I won’t let you do as you please anymore, Mizuki-san!”

“I wonder about that… I’m the type to selfishly do whatever I want!”

The two girls were gazing at each other, sparks flying— Not quite. Rinka did glare at Mizuki, but Mizuki was just flashing her usual innocent smile.

“I don’t really get what’s going on, but it’s great that you came here Rinka. I couldn’t find you anywhere, so I was really worried.”

Rinka put her hands together and her eyes sparkled with joy.

“Mikado-sama…! So you spent sleepless nights, worrying about me…?!”

“You weren’t gone for that long, okay!?”

“Why weren’t you worried about me, Mikado-kun?! So cruel!”

“You weren’t even lost to begin with!”

In this irregular situation, Mizuki was enjoying herself to the fullest. Even if earth’s last day was arriving, she would most likely just go out for a picnic.

“But with this, we can contact the outside. Rinka, can I have my phone back?”

“Y-Yes.” Rinka took out his smartphone from her small bag.

Thus, Mikado tried to call someone, but his phone had run out of battery.

“Weird… I should have some battery left in it still…Rinka, can you call the security firm of the mall?”

“Well… my phone just ran out of battery…” Rinka embraced her bag with an apologetic gaze.

“Three people with no power at the same time…? Could that really happen…?” Mikado tilted his head in confusion yet again.

“Of course it could! Coincidences sometimes just stack up, ahahaha~!”

“Right! It’s already late at night, so it makes sense that the battery would run out after an entire day here!”

Both Rinka and Mizuki nervously nodded at each other.

“No, if my assumptions are correct, this is…”

“T-This is?” Mizuki instigated.

“I-I don’t know! I don’t know anything!” Rinka panicked even further.

“Because the electromagnetic pulse originating from a nuclear explosion, rendered our phones useless…?”

“Eh? Ah, yeah, that must be it!”

“But… If that was the case, then the lights must have gone out as well… Either way, some armed organization is doing some jamming, no doubt.” Mikado announced, fully convinced.

He wasn’t completely sure which family they were aiming for, but it was an act of terrorism.

“Ahh, I’m so scared! Mikado-kun, save me!”

“I-I don’t want to die!”

Mizuki and Rinka both clung to Mikado’s arms. Their shoulders were shaking, so Mikado figured they must be actually scared. Though he was a bit dubious of their voices that sounded like they were reading off a paper.

“Seems like this incident is more complicated than we previously assumed… You two, stay as close to me as possible.”

“Yes! I will cling to you for the rest of my life!”

“I’ll be like a ghost possessing Mikado-kun!”

With the two girls close to him, Mikado went up the escalator to the second floor. Since they were practically glued together, it was pretty hard to walk. They made their way to the parking lot exit, but the shutters were down and didn’t allow them to get out. Heading to the security room, they tried pressing the alarms, but there was no reaction either.

“We really are locked in here… What should we do…?”

The two girls were in grave danger. Though Mikado was trained in the Kitamikado Family and probably able to withstand any sort of armed organization, if either of them met any injuries, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

As Mikado sat down on the sofa in the isle, he heard Mizuki’s gleeful voice.

“Mikado-kun! Let’s sleep here for today!”

“I found a nice place to take a rest!”

The girls were calling out to him at the bed shopping corner. Mizuki had brought a pillow with her as she laid down, while Rinka had already put herself in position as well.

“How about you help me find a way out?!”

“Ehhh? Why can’t we just stay here? I’m so tired my HP is at zero!” Mizuki jumped up and down on the bed.

“You seem to have more than enough energy!”

“I advise that we regain our strength. The outside must be surrounded by enemy troops.”

“That’s even more of a reason not to sleep!”

“You’re always sweating the small stuff! Let’s just have a pyjama party!”

“Since when did this turn into a party?!”

Mikado was at a loss as to why the girls were so relaxed. Besides Mikado, neither of them showed any real intentions of escaping from the shopping mall. He even started doubting himself and pondered if they should just start living in this mall instead.

“…But, you’re right. This isn’t the time to be sound asleep just yet.”

“Yes. There is something we have to think about first.”

“What, did you two finally get it?” Mikado was relieved.

“Mikado-kun, between Rinka-chan and I, who do you want to sleep with?”

“That is the most important problem right now! I will not hand over Mikado-sama like that!”

“I was an idiot for getting my hopes up!”

The girls really had no intentions of returning home. On the contrary, they were dead-set on sleeping here and beckoned Mikado with sweet temptations.

“Mikado-kuuun, this mattress is really fluffy and comfortable~ You can even use me as a hugging pillow to fall asleep on~”

“A night is supposed to be spent together with fiances… I will take Mikado-sama to heaven with my love for you…”

The two of them opened up the blankets, and turned the bed into a dark, inviting void. No doubt about it, if he just gave in, he would be able to have a pleasant, warm and comfy night. Even after he separated from them a bit further away, their sweet scent arriving at his nose tried to lure him back in. Rather than the armed organization, giving in to those girls would be even more dangerous.

“I can’t stay here! I’ll search for a way out myself!”

“That sounds like the guy who dies first in a horror movie!”

“Please wait a second! Protect me, Mikado-sama!”

“Hide in a place where you don’t stick out then! I’ll secure a route and return!” Mikado swiftly escaped from that place.

The sense of discomfort was way too strong. With such bad timing, the battery of three different people’s phones ran out, Mizuki was still here mysteriously and the girls were protesting against trying to find a way home. This might just be a situation… not originating from an armed organization… But Mizuki or Rinka’s doing, or so Mikado thought.

—Most likely, Mizuki.

That being said, Rinka might have caught on to this situation and is playing along now. Hence, he couldn’t go along at their pace, otherwise he might end up unable to return. Mikado headed up to the fourth floor, spotted a ventilation tunnel near the restaurant area and entered inside. It was pretty difficult to move along because of the narrow vent, but he couldn’t hesitate now. Crawling along like he had learned during guerilla warfare training, he managed to escape to the outside of the mall.

That being said, he couldn’t quite enjoy this freedom yet.

“Sure is high up…”

He was standing on the outside wall of the shopping mall. The ground beneath him was around ten meters away and if he fell down here, he would no doubt die. He could barely see his footing, it being late at night. Unlike the inside, the outside lights were completely turned off, probably to avoid gathering too much attention from any possible intruders.

From his point of view, Mikado couldn’t spot any signs of an armed organization waiting outside either, so it really must have been Mizuki’s trap. Putting faith in the bare view Mikado saw, he walked along the side of the wall.

His body felt oddly cold; maybe because of the cold night breeze or because he was anxious. Trusting in his five senses to use his body’s potential to its fullest, he carefully climbed down to the second floor. Finally, he arrived at a large foothold, letting him take a breather. At the same time, he heard a mysterious, weeping voice.

“…Uu… Uuu…”

It sounded like someone was crying, a very thin and scared voice. Though, this was high up in the air, not a place where someone else should normally be. The only explanation for that would be… evil spirits, or haunted spirits. The voice came from the center of the foothold, hiding in one corner. Amidst the pitch-black darkness, he saw something move. Long, glossy hair ran along the ground.

“Who are you?!”

As Mikado screamed, [ it ] raised its head.

“…Ah… Mikadoooo…”

Large streams of tears ran down wide-open eyes and two arms embraced long, slender legs.

“Kisa?! What are you doing here?!”

Mikado doubted his eyes. He didn’t expect to run into his classmate in such a location.

While she was bawling her eyes out, Kisa explained.

“The entrance was closed off, so I climbed up, wanting to enter through the window… but in the middle of that, I couldn’t get any higher… And I couldn’t get back down either… I even dropped my phone… sniff… hic…”

“Are you a cat who climbed onto a tree but can’t get down now?!” Mikado was baffled. “Why would you even try to sneak into the mall at night? The stores are all closed, you know?”

“I came here because the tracking device on you led me here! You don’t even understand that?!”

“It’s my first time hearing of such a device though! Gotta take that off later!”

Kisa meekly pushed out her chest.

“Someone like Mikado can’t just easily take it off, it’s a special version!”

“Then you take it off right now!”

“I decline!”

Mikado sighed.

“Why did you even use a tracking device this late at night…?”

“B-because you didn’t respond to my text message…”

“Huh? A chat message? You sent a message to me?”

Kisa slowly nodded along.

“That’s all? You came all this way out here, risking your life while climbing up the wall, for that?”

Kisa nodded yet again. Seeing this, Mikado couldn’t help but get his hopes up slightly.

“You were… worried about me?”

“I-I wasn’t worried at all! I couldn’t forgive it! You’re just ignoring me! I figured you were out flirting with some cheap girl, so I was planning to come here and kill you all!”

“Scary!”

But, because of the tears in her eyes as she glared at Mikado, it wasn’t that convincing at all. Kisa buried her face in her knees and her shoulders shook like she was feeling cold. Seeing this, Mikado felt his chest tighten.

“Here… wear this…”

He took off his coat and softly put it on Kisa’s slender shoulders. To that, Kisa’s eyes opened wide.

“You’re… giving this to me…?”

“No, I’m only lending it to you.”

“Now that I’ve touched it, it belongs to me! Rather, half of the world belongs to me, so you’ve actually just returned it back to me.!”

“What kind of logic is that?!”

No, it was completely lacking in reason. Just selfish musings, which, then again, perfectly fit the way of the Nanjou Family. Mikado was actually raring to go and fight against that declaration, but after watching Kisa’s reaction, he gave up.

“I will definitely not give this back… Yes, not under any circumstances…”

Kisa rubbed her cheeks against the coat, smiling happily. That gesture pulled out all the desire for rebutting in Mikado.

“For now, I’ll go climb further down and try to get help, so you wait here.”

“No! Don’t leave me here!” Kisa grabbed Mikado’s jeans as he was about to climb away.

“I can’t exactly carry you while I climb down…”

“Then stay here! I can’t anymore! I’ll throw myself down if I have to stay here alone!”

Rarely enough, she looked truly terrified. And who could blame her? She might be the successor of the Nanjou Family, but she was also a 17 year old girl. She was different from Mikado, who was forced to climb Mt Everest when he was in grade school. That being said, if he listened to Kisa, nothing would change.

“…What should I do about this…?”

Mikad gazed at the world below him, completely baffled.