Kurasu no Daikirai na Joshi to Kekkon Suru Koto ni Natta Volume 5 Chapter 1

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Rumors

The classroom of class 3-A was riddled with chaos like an anthill had just exploded.

“Akane-chan and Saito-kun are living together?!”

“Are you serious?!”

“The two brains of the class who always fight with each other?!”

“And since they’re good at studying, they gotta be good at making babies too, right?!”

With this bombshell of a declaration, the students were all excited beyond belief. In the center of that was Akane, blushing with a bright red color as she shook in fury, with Saito frozen stiff in terror. There was no telling when she’d explode. When it came to soothing the situation and blowing smoke over things, Akane couldn’t have been the worst person imaginable.

“S-S-Saito and I aren’t living together! If I lived with such a slimy guy, I’d be turning into a slime myself!”

Saito would’ve looked to throw in a rebuttal towards that insult, but he wanted to avoid adding oil to the fire. Waiting for the storm to blow past was the best possible course of action.

“But, I saw them before! They walked through the shopping district together.”

“Woah, they were on a date?”

“It’s set in stone!”

Pressed with further evidence, Akane screamed.

“Objection, hearsay! Also, it wasn’t a date! He was stalking me! I was considering reporting him to the police soon!”

“Houjou-kun’s a stalker?”

“That’s right! He followed me to my home, looking through my fridge when I wasn’t aware of it!”

“Houjou-kun’s crazy…”

“He was even peeking at me through the cracks of the floorboards!”

“What a fiend…”

That’s some crazy accusations you’re throwing around. What’s next, gonna cut off my finger?—Saito cursed in his head. Even if Akane was trying to smooth things over for both their sakes, the damage he received was too great. He could already feel the rift widening between himself and the other girls in his class. Some of them have already begun sharing information with their smartphones. This was reaching levels that warranted a defamation trial. Saito decided to look into his options to ensure he’d get a proper legal team that actually knew what it was doing. Thankfully, a single boy actually offered a proper testimony that shattered Akane’s invalid accusations.

“I doubt he’s a stalker. I saw them meeting up at the backside gate the other day.”

“Meeting up…?!” Akane grew pale.

Saito also began sweating profusely. He was sure they’d be cautious of their surroundings, and yet one of their classmates of all people happened to spot them.

“Meeting up? That’s gotta be a date!”

“They’re dating!”

“No way they’re not living together!”

The other students got even more excited.

“We’re not dating!”

“But you two are so close, right?”

“Not at all! We’re always at each other’s throats! Right, Saito?!”

“I’m not trying to kill you, let me just get that out of the way!” Saito threw in.

“Well, I’m not holding back at all!” Akane growled.

“I know that all too well!”

Saito saw it as a miracle that he was still alive. At the same time, their classmates looked at each other.

“They’re close enough to fight on a daily basis, right?”

“Yep, yep. And they’re always talking.”

“I think they’re a good match!”

“W-We’re not…a good match…!”

Akane seemed to have reached her limit as she didn’t even try to argue back any longer. She simply kept her fists tightly shut, shaking in anger. Saito decided he had to be the one to defuse the situation and spoke up.

“Relax, everyone. There’s no way I’d be dating a girl like her.”

“Huuuh?! What’s that supposed to mean?!” Akane glared up at Saito.

“Exactly what I said. I could never fall in love with a mess of a girl like you.”

“You’re the one who’s a mess! You always act like our house belongs to yo—”

Saito frantically covered Akane’s mouth before she could finish her sentence.

“Can you not make the situation worse?”

“It’s because you’re trying to make fun of me!”

“I wasn’t. I’m trying to get us through this mess.”

“I don’t want to! Come up with something that’d praise me, instead! Call me a woman that’d be wasted on you!”

“They’d only doubt us even more, then!”

But even as these two were furiously arguing about that, their classmates were grinning at them.

“““See, you’re so close!””” Their classmates all spoke in unison.

“~~~?!”

Akane reached her limit and dashed out of the classroom. Saito lost his chance to escape and was immediately surrounded by his classmates.

“Houjou-kun…? I’m expecting to hear all the juicy details from you…”

“To make up for Akane’s share, of course.”

“How far did you two go…?”

With his escape sealed off, Saito could only tighten his body to soften the impact.

Saito may have survived the hellish interrogation, but the situation was far from being clean. Since they both had continued to earn the top grades of the student year since the day they enrolled, they always had a certain level of attention following them. With such a scandal coming out to the public, it was no wonder that all the students interested in love talk and everything around it would immediately latch onto this theory. Since Saito couldn’t even focus on his reading back in the classroom, he had to evacuate to the courtyard, where he encountered an equally exhausted Akane.

“Why are you here? You’re in the way, go back to the classroom.”

“No way I can sit there and get some peace of mind.”

“Same goes for me. It’s your fault this weird rumor is going around.”

“You messed up, remember? Telling me to come home.”

Akane’s shoulders shook in rage.

“Huh?! You’re blaming me for this?! Then don’t ever come back!”

“Why are you being like this?!”

“Just hunt boars in the jungle and live away from civilization! You can do that, right?!”

“What the hell are you expecting from me?!”

“I know you can! You have this caveman vibe emitting from you at all times!”

“What in the world are caveman vibes?!”

Saito and Akane moved closer to glare at each other. After getting kicked out of his house, Saito hoped the two could finally make up, and yet this was the result. It once again reminded him what bad chemistry the two truly had. And if that wasn’t enough, they now heard the students’ voices from the hallway.

“Ah! Saito-kun and Akane-chan are flirting around again!”

“?!”

The two froze up like icicles.

“Wait, where?!”

“You’re right!”

“A secret rendezvous is it not?!”

“It most certainly is, my lady!”

“So they couldn’t get enough of each other at home, and are now meeting up at school, too?!”

“So lovey-dovey~”

More and more heads poked out of the windows, looking like fish waiting to be fed. Their eyes were driven by curiosity like this was the single greatest scoop in their lives up to this point. Not to mention that some of them were throwing cheers in their direction.

“““More, more, more!”””

“More of what?!” Saito did not enjoy this kind of cheering by any means.

And Akane’s killing intent, reaching unprecedented levels, certainly didn’t help his case.

“You all just wait there…I’ll slaughter you one by one…”

“No murdering people!” Saito grabbed Akane’s hand right as she was about to storm off.

“Let go of me! If you team with those guys, then you’re my enemy! I’ll curse you so that you won’t ever be able to put your hands out of your pockets!”

“What an awful curse to be suffering from!”

“Would you prefer a curse that’ll make you put on your socks on the wrong foot?!”

“They both sound awful!”

The students at the window side grew even louder.

“They’re holding hands at school!”

“Houjou-kun is so bold!”

“I can feel the love between them~”

“They’re totally a couple.”

“More like married!”

“We. Are. Not. Married!!” Akane roared with all her vocal capacity, but they, indeed, are married.

Chased around by curious onlookers throughout the whole day, Saito was exhausted and felt like he ran a marathon. Every time he just happened to pass by Akane in the hallways, the people around them would cause another ruckus, screaming “A secret rendezvous?!” or “A fateful encounter?!” as they kept following them around. With so many people tagging along for the crazy ride, there was practically no safe space left at school.

“Let’s go home.” Shisei had her bag on her shoulder, standing in front of Saito’s desk.

“Yeah…”

“Not feeling too great, Brother?”

“Of course…I’ve got paparazzi following me wherever I go…”

Despite classes having ended already, a great number of students remained in the classroom, all glancing at Saito and Akane with anticipation and excitement. They apparently didn’t even want to miss a chance for a golden picture, as they all had their smartphones ready and loaded.

You’re not getting anything, so buzz off already like the moths you are!

Saito had absolutely no interest in celebrity news and rumors, yet he was put into the center of the newest gossip attraction, it truly was a mystery to him. Shisei seems relatively nonchalant about this, however, as she showed him a thumbs up.

“It’s okay. They say that rumors only last for 75.000 days.”

“I would hope that these rumors die out after 200 years. Otherwise, they’d be legends or myths.”

“You and Akane have turned into star constellations.”

“My ass.”

The correct saying is that rumors only last for 75 days, which still is far too long in Saito’s regard. Eventually, the two left through the front gate. As they were blessed with the bright weather of this afternoon, the scent of flowers was carried to them through a pleasant breeze. Shisei took Saito’s hand as she trotted next to him. No matter the situation he found himself in, her attitude towards him didn’t change. The only place he could ever belong was by Shisei’s side.

He had assumed that he’d be safe from the paparazzi at least on his way home, but that thinking turned out to be naive. He could hear the sounds of rushing footsteps, the rustling of leaves, the sound of pictures being taken, and a faint, distant mutter. When Saito stopped in his tracks, the footsteps came to a halt, only to restart once he began walking once more.

“Shise…You sense them?” Saito whispered while looking ahead of him.

“Yep. Three people tailing us.”

“I could only pick up the presence of two of them…”

“Shise can tell. She’s a professional when it comes to being stalked.” Shisei spoke proudly.

“I don’t think you should be acting all smug about that.”

“Since Shise has people following her at all times, it’s actually a lot safer for her…said the security.”

“And you trust those folks?”

“Of course. Many of the skilled stalkers who are skilled and passionate at following Shise get scouted by them.”

Saito felt even more worried after hearing that. He wanted his precious little sister to grow up in a more secure environment than whatever had been presented to him. Then again, he understood how her beauty could drive people crazy. At the same time, Shisei posed a question.

“What about those people? Should we call the sniper unit?”

“Please don’t treat our classmates like terrorists. You shouldn’t call them here for something of this scale.”

“Shise would also call them when there’s a prize she wants at a sharpshooting stall during a festival.”

“That’s even smaller of a scale!”

Saito could only feel remorse for the stall owner getting robbed by a professional.

“The people from the sniper unit are happy, too. Saying they’d shoot everybody as long as it makes Shise happy.”

“I feel like they turned into your private squad rather than serving the family as a whole.”

Saito once realized that, even after becoming the head of the family, he could never allow himself to make Shisei his enemy. If he ruined her mood in any way, he’d be met with a coup the very next day, his office stormed by her private squad.

“The people tailing us probably want to check if Akane and I actually live together. It’d be bad if they followed us much longer…”

“Wanna stay at Shise’s palace for a bit? That sounds great. Three meals a day, taking naps with Shise, and a group of beautiful maids servicing you.” Shisei exclaimed with full passion—and with not a twitch in her expression.

“I’d rather not stay somewhere else for too long.”

“You don’t want any maids? We got former racers, former military, former assassins, and many others.”

“I’m really questioning the prerequisites to work under you.”

And Saito remembered that he probably already met that former racer before. The added bonus of the former assassins is probably that she’ll send you off to a real good slumber.

“You…don’t want to live with Shise?”

“That’s not the problem. If I don’t get back home soon, Gramps and the others will start doubting us.”

It’d be bad if they judged Saito and Akane weren’t fulfilling their condition of the marriage. That’ll rob Saito of his right to inherit the Houjou Group, and Akane won’t receive the tuition fees to enroll at a medical school.

“We can only shake them off, then. Leave it to Shise.” She spoke with confidence as she bumped one fist on her chest.

“You got an idea by any chance?”

Since Shisei prided herself in the family’s greatest brains, she’d surely come up with a perfect escape plan. Or so Saito had gotten his hopes up, but…

“You just have to give Shise a princess carry while running at full speed.”

“That doesn’t sound like it’d work too well.”

“Simple is effective. Fight, fight.”

“…Fine, then.”

Saito started running, with Shisei clinging to him to reach fusion point. Though he wasn’t sure if he was really qualified to call this a princess carry. However, the abrupt act of this seemingly worked quite well, as the footsteps following them seemed full of disarray. Saito tried to speed up to build a bit of distance between them, which however proved futile.

“Wouldn’t it be faster if I just ran without carrying you?!”

“With no weight attached, this won’t be any proper exercise for you, Brother.”

“When did I say I wanted this to be an exercise?!”

“Exercise is important. As the future head of the Houjou Family, you need to be strong enough to defeat a dragon bare-handed.”

“You expect a tad bit too much, I fear!”

Saito was neither a hero nor a dragon slayer. Shisei pointed at a garbage truck currently doing work next to the sidewalk.

“Hide in there. It’ll get you away from our stalkers.”

“We’ll get messed up and squashed in the process, though.”

“Just let Shise handle your body, Brother. She’ll fix it.”

“I appreciate your willingness to go that far for me, but I don’t think you’d be able to pull that off.”

“Shise will. She learned how to make a zombie from the books she read.”

“I don’t want to become a zombie, so hard pass!”

Saito grabbed Shisei’s small waist and took a sharp turn at the corner. A bus happened to be parking at the bus stop ahead of him, right about to take off. Saito didn’t want to hop into a garbage truck, but a bus was a better option. He jumped inside and closed the door behind him. Confirming his safety, he gasped for air and watched his classmates cursing. Shisei climbed down on the floor and looked around in confusion.

“Ohhh. Been so long since Shise rode on a bus. Can we go to New York?”

“We’d have to cross the Pacific Ocean, so I fear that won’t work.”

“Then Shise will burn the ocean to the ground.”

“It’ll rot out millions of species and probably kill us in the process. Anyway, we’re getting off at the next stop.”

“Don’t wanna.”

“You don’t wanna? This ain’t the time to be selfish.”

“It’s got nothing to do with being selfish. If New York’s too much, then at least take Shise to the last stop.” Shisei sat down on the ground, showing how obstinate she was.

She resembled a protesting young child after not getting the sweets she wanted, which of course gathered the attention of the other passengers.

“All right, then…” Saito pulled her up and made her sit down on a seat.

“Hehe…another win for Shise.”

“This ain’t a win at all.”

Saito flicked Shisei on the forehead as she put her shoulders against his. Then again, with no other urgent business to attend to, taking a detour would surely help in shaking off their pursuers.

…However, that sort of thinking was more than naive. After getting off at the final stop, they ended up somewhere deep in the mountains. No other person besides them was around, and residential houses had long vanished. Only the thick forest and a dam remained. Not to mention that the bus had already driven away, with the next one arriving at noon the next day.

“Where…are we?!”

“New York?” Shisei tilted her head in confusion.

“I’m fairly certain this isn’t New York.”

“Really…? Can you say that with full confidence…?”

“I’d bet a good sum of money on that, yes.”

Saito didn’t remember sailing across the ocean. The bus also didn’t have any propellers or other flight equipment attached to it. It was your average local bus driving down the lane.

“You got reception out there, Shise?”

“Nope.”

“Guess we can only walk back from here…?” Saito audibly gulped.

It was a three-hour way with the bus alone, not to mention with many ups and downs as they drove on the mountain road. How long would it take for them to walk back that entire distance? Shisei however didn’t mind any of that, simply pushing out her fist.

“Fight!”

“You’ll be walking right next to me, got that?!”

“Shise can’t walk. She took a bullet to the heart while protecting you.”

“Well if you’re dead already, then I can just leave you here in the woods, huh?”

“You’re so cruel. At least pick up Shise’s bones.”

As Saito started walking ahead, Shisei latched onto his shirt and pulled along by him. She didn’t even mind the fact that her clothes were getting dirty.

“This is tiring me out even more. Can’t you at least walk normally?”

“Shise just wants to be spoiled by Brother…is that too much?” Her eyes shone in innocence as she looked up at Saito like a fairy.

No human being would have been able to resist the urge to protect her.

“For crying out loud…” Saito crouched down and let Shise climb on his back.

“You say what you want, but you still won’t go against Shise, huh?”

“I’ll leave you here for good.”

“You’d never do that. You love Shise lots, right?” She said as she wrapped her arms around Saito’s back to dangle them down his chest.

Just as she said, Saito had no words for a witty rebuttal. Her long, silver hair touched his neck and shoulders, as a sweet, a scent resembling milk drifted up towards his nose. With Shisei on his back, Saito began descending the mountain. Thankfully he only had to follow the paved asphalt street, but he was surrounded by a thick forest to the left and right. The sun was slowly starting to set, stretching long shadows across the unfamiliar area.

Silence began to fill the area and only periodically did a bird seemingly remember its duty to chirp. And yet, no cars could be heard, it was all a vacuum of only Saito’s shoes and Shisei’s breathing. After walking for a while, they then reached a small bridge of about two meters. The water from the river washed along the rocks beneath the bridge. The bare face of the mountain was equally visible, with the roots of the trees digging deep into the ground. The withered streetlamp illuminated the tree trunks, which gathered moths, as well as beetles like a rhinoceros beetle. If any young children were out hunting insects, this would be a golden spot. Shisei pointed at one of these spots.

“Brother, can you snatch a rhinoceros beetle for Shise?”

“Gotcha.”

Saito hopped up a small slope and snatched a beetle that was resting on a tree trunk. Its body shone brightly in a deep black, with its magnificent horns pointed straight. Even though Saito wasn’t at that age anymore, he still felt excited at catching such a beautiful specimen.

“Did you have a thing for rhinoceros beetles or something?”

“No idea, but Shise can probably come to like them.” Shisei grabbed the beetle with one hand and widely opened her mouth.

Saito felt a chill and immediately stole the beetle from her, releasing it to nature.

“Why’d you let it go? Shise’s angry.”

“I didn’t think you’d actually try and eat it!”

“What other use would there be except to eat them?”

“You could catch them, keep them, raise them, anything! Rhinoceros beetles are hella cool!”

“Shise can’t understand that train of thought. It’s gross.”

“So you’d just eat a random insect?! I don’t understand your thought process!”

Carrying this natural predator around made Saito think. Perfectly honest, he even grew worried about his own safety, and that Shisei might just start munching on his head.

“Just to be clear…you better not eat me, all right?” Saito asked.

“Shise will do her best.”

“Don’t try! Promise me!”

“Why?”

“W-What do you mean why…?”

Saito couldn’t filter out the meaning behind those words. All he knew is that he had to reach human civilization before Shisei would lose her ability to reason as caused by an empty stomach. Otherwise, his life might actually be in danger. With a grave sense of danger filling Saito, he picked up his walking speed. He felt Shisei’s drool run down his neck, but he simply brushed it off as her being asleep. He frantically told himself that she wasn’t starving and actually considered eating him. He wasn’t necessarily bad with dark places or areas, but being alone with just Shisei suddenly turned into a horror scenario for him.

By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, revealing the distant light of a gasoline station, Saito sighed in relief. All around him were empty and old-fashioned houses, but the light of civilization gave him a bit of hope. Once he realized his phone finally had reception, he immediately went to check the map.

“We got out from the backside of the mountain…” Saito sat down as he lost the strength in his legs.

“So we’re in Brazil now?”

“We didn’t walk through the center of the earth. We just ended up on the opposite side of the mountain. To get back, we gotta go all the way back and then the other way.”

“Can’t we call a taxi?”

“It’ll cost half a fortune, but that’s our only option, I guess…”

Saito tried to call a taxi service, but the connection was cut off on a constant basis, which gave him trouble getting through. With this, he won’t even be able to call for a taxi.

“Shit, it’s no good!” Saito stuffed his smartphone back into his pocket.

He’d rather not waste unnecessary time and have his phone run out of battery. At the same time, Shisei pulled on his pants.

“Brother, it’s okay. Shise’s with you.”

“Thanks…”

“Even if we have to live in the wilderness, Shise doesn’t mind.”

“Please be a bit bothered, at least?!”

“Shise wants to become a bear if we do that.” She put her hands up, trying to strike a growling pose, but that looked as cute as always. However, as her older brother, it was Saito’s duty to bring her back to civilization and her family.

“Guess we can only walk…”

“Shise advises hitchhiking. There’s a car coming from over there.”

“Will it stop for us, I wonder…”

So far out in the mountains, not to mention this late at night, it was more than dangerous to pick up random strangers. Especially during recent times when life was dangerous around every corner, Saito wouldn’t be surprised if the car simply blew past them.

Shisei stood at the side of the road, jumping up like a rabbit as she flapped her arms about. Saito really wanted her to stop, but equally admired her cuteness. Surprisingly enough, the car kept on speeding up, honking loudly. Saito picked up Shisei and jumped to the side when the car stopped right in front of where Shisei previously stood.

“The hell are you doing?! Are you blind?!” Saito roared in rage when a female driver appeared from the car.

It was a familiar face, wearing familiar clothing—the maid driver Saito had met before.

“I’ve arrived to pick you up, my lady. My sincerest apologies for being late.”

“So it’s you!”

“Oh, good work, good work.”

The maid driver stole Shisei from Saito’s arms, making her sit down inside the car.

“How did you know where we were?”

“The young lady has a tracking device attached to her. Since her return seemed to be awfully late, I used the search function, and saw you were all the way out here.”

“Tracking device…?” Shisei checked inside her blouse and lifted up her skirt to check underneath that.

She herself seemingly didn’t know of that fact, either.

“At the very least, that helped us get out of this mess. We might have gotten stranded in the mountains at this rate.”

“I’m happy I could be of service. Then, let us be off.” The maid driver said and closed the door.

Naturally, without a care in the world for Saito. She was preparing to blast off without him.

“Hey, hey, hey! Give me a ride too while you’re here already, will you?!” Saito chased after the car with everything he got.

It’s been three quick days since the rumors about Saito and Akane possibly living together blew up. Currently, the emergency rations at their house are running low. Since they didn’t know when and where their classmates might spot them, they couldn’t afford to even go out to shop properly, let alone leave the house together. Taking simple walks wasn’t an option either, not allowing the two to have a proper life. Even though Saito and Akane managed to make up after their previous fight, their days felt as tense as before.

“Soon…we’ll run out of rice…We’ll die of starvation!”

Akane glanced inside the rice bin as her eyes were colored in despair.

“We’re not gonna starve to death.”

“Saito, are you experienced with rice cultivation…?”

“There’s no need for that. Not like we’ll make it in time either.”

“So it’s already too late…The world is going to end…” Akane embraced the rice bin and shed a tear.

“Pull yourself together. I’ll just buy the rice from the nearest convenience store.”

“That’ll cost 1.5 times the price of regular supermarket rice! We’ll go broke!”

“We’re not that poor!”

They received more than enough money from Tenryuu to cover their living expenses.

“If you don’t have rice, just make cake mnom mnom.” Shisei stuffed her cheek with a bowl of white rice.

She had rice corn stuck to both her cheeks, munching it down with no remorse. Not to mention that it was the amount for several people.

“It’s your fault that we’re running low on rice, remember?”

“Shise deeply regrets sneaking in here to eat five kilos of rice.”

“Where are you even putting all that food?”

“Shise could even eat an entire tank.”

“Are you Godzilla?”

“Shise will take responsibility and become Brother’s flesh and blood.” She sat down on the floor and put her hands together like she was praying.

Akane looked at her in shock.

“Don’t tell me…the Houjou Family practices cannibalism?!”

“Can you stop making up shit outta thin air?!”

“Brother…won’t you eat Shise…?” She whispered with a seductive tone, pulling on Saito’s shirt.

“Not gonna.”

“You can eat me up with lots of cream, too. Shise doesn’t mind whatever preferences you have.”

“Saito…? Do you always eat your little sister with added cream? You’ve gone mad!”

“Brother’s hella mad.”

Akane jumped away from Saito, with Shisei crouching down. Yet again, his reputation had taken a severe blow. And if that wasn’t bad enough…they suddenly heard a creaking sound coming from upstairs.

“?!” Akane instinctively froze up.

Her face grew pale, as she stared up at the ceiling.

“D-Did you…hear that just now…?”

“Yeah. It was probably a rat or something like that.”

“It’s gotta be an intruder! Everyone from our class snuck into our house!”

“Do you really think those people would go that far to trespass?!” Saito retorted, but Akane had already lost all sense of reason.

“I have to get rid of them…Every single one from our class…!”

“Don’t kill them!”

Akane stormed out of the kitchen, with Saito charging after her. There’d be no telling what she would do in this state.

“Where…? Where are they…? I’m not letting you escape…” Akane dashed up the stairs, checking her own study room, followed by Saito’s, as well as the empty room on the same floor.

Her blood-shot eyes wandered all over the place, as she resembled a blood-thirsty demon. If she happened to run into any invader, she’d probably slaughter them on sight. When they stormed into the bedroom, they saw the blanket on the bed looking bulky.

“There’s someone…hiding under there, right?”

For presumably self-defense measures, Akane carried a metal bat with her.

“I…don’t think so?”

“I can tell! Hiding is futile, so show yourself!”

Akane swung down the metal bat with such force it cut through the wind and created a dent in the mattress. She then peeled off the blanket, confirmed if there was anything beneath it, and sighed in relief.

“What if someone was actually hiding beneath that?!”

“Kill before getting killed! If need be, We’re living in a Warring States period!” Akane declared with no remorse to be found.

“That war has already ended. 400 years ago, more specifically.”

“My Warring States period has yet to end!”

“All right, all right! Just put away that damn bat, already!”

If she kept on swinging that murder weapon around, she might just end up decapitating Saito in the process. She hit the bed one more time, just to make sure when she approached the window and faintly opened the curtains.

“S-Saito, look!”

“What is it now?” Saito approached her when Akane pointed at a stranger on the outside.

“They’re looking at us! Must be sent by our classmates.”

“Is this the image you have of our class? They’re not sending an assassin after us.”

“It must be…”

“Definitely not. Think about it, there’s no way that old lady could kill a guy.”

Akane had pointed at an elderly lady who had to have been in her 80s. She pushed an electronic walking chair at a safe 20 km/h. However, Akane still seemed doubtful, to say the least.

“…It must be an assassin!”

“I keep telling you to calm down!”

“I’ve calmed down, thought about it, and still reached the same conclusion!”

“That…is terrifying.” Saito felt a shiver running down his spine.

“That must be some sort of special makeup. She may look like an elderly lady, but she could be a five-year-old on the inside…”

“A five-year-old wouldn’t be any threat.”

“It might be a clone that’s five years old, but controlled by someone who’s in their twenties. It’s a secret biological weapon. The government is after us. We’re going to get killed.”

“Are you crazy?!” Saito aggressively shook the shoulders of his wife, who had gone completely mad.

And yet, Akane seemed already lost in her thoughts, showing no signs of rational thinking. The fear and negative emotions filling her had robbed her of that choice.

“Also, what would the folks from our class gain if they killed us?”

“Now that you mention it…they simply wanted proof of us two living together…”

“Right?” Saito sighed in relief after he saw that a bit of reason was returning to Akane.

“If they’re not inside our home, then…? Saito, are you emitting odd radio waves?”

“No, I most definitely am not!”

“You’re lying! So you were a spy for the enemy this entire time?! You’ve got wiretaps inside your clothes!!” Akane leaped at Saito with tears in her eyes.

She was trying to tear the shirt off Saito. He slipped and landed on his butt, with Akane on top of him. She pressed his thighs down to allow no escape while unbuttoning his shirt with all her might.

“Just you watch…I’ll peel off your fragile excuses…”

“Weren’t you strictly against sexual harassment?! What a double-standard this is!”

“What I’m doing isn’t sexual harassment! It’s torture!”

“That’s even worse! Could you not?!”

Right as he managed to push back Akane a bit, he heard the sound of a camera clicking. Maho stood at the entrance of the room, taking evidence photos.

“Onee-chan and Onii-chan are doing lewd stuff during the day! I gotta upload that on Insta!”

“Eeeeek?!” Akane shot up from Saito. “Y-You’re wrong! We’re not doing anything lewd, I’m just trying to peel the skin off him!”

“Don’t try to skin me alive!”

Maho however nodded along like she didn’t care at all.

“Okay, I get it. But Onii-chan’s virginity belongs to me, mkay!”

“You don’t get it at all!”

Witnessed during such a decisive moment, Akane’s face was beet red.

“When did you even come back? I didn’t hear the doorbell ringing…” Saito took the initiative.

“Why would I? This is my home!”

“I don’t think this is your home…?”

Shisei also had an extra key to this place, which made Saito worried that the security was far too low. He wasn’t too intent on spending time alone with Akane either, but he felt a severe lack of privacy.

“Himarin’s here, too!”

“Coming in!” Himari poked out her face behind Maho.

“Ah…” Akane’s expression stiffened up.

“With the rumor of you two living together, things were pretty messy, huh? We came here in hopes of trying to clear up those rumors.”

“Maho, you…” Saito was shocked to observe so much consideration and kindness from Maho.

“No way could I ignore something so interest—so troublesome.”

“You damn…” Saito rubbed his two fists against Maho’s head which made her shriek in pain.

And yet, she seemed to be laughing and enjoying herself all the same. Following that, Saito glanced at Himari.

“Well…I feel like I gotta apologize.”

“Huh? Why?” Himari blinked at him in confusion.

“I kept the fact of me and Akane living together a secret. I didn’t mean to deceive you, but there just wasn’t any other way.”

Himari frantically waved her hands in front of her.

“You’re not at fault at all! Also, I had a hunch that there was something going on between the two of you.”

“Really?” Saito asked.

“Yep! Your lunch boxes were always the same, you smelled like the same shampoo, and you Akane seemed oddly familiar with this house, too. It was pretty obvious.”

“Oh lord…” Saito held his head.

He had assumed that they were doing a somewhat decent job at hiding their cohabitation, but that turned out to be entirely untrue. Then again, Himari was always sharp and quick on the uptake.

“Also, the reason you two are living together is that some complicated circumstances forced you to, right? Not because you two like each other.”

“How did you know?”

To think she’d seen even through that detail.

“Akane came asking me for advice, saying ‘If your family forced you to get married to someone you have no feelings for, how would you handle that?’, you know.”

“Akane…” Saito glared at Akane in contempt.

“I-I did say it was just a what-if, okay!”

“Don’t ask her for advice in the first place!”

Akane was the one leaking information from the get-go, as it seemed.

“Knowing you’re the son of the renowned Houjou Group, I had a feeling that this was some arranged marriage, Saito-kun. I understand that you can’t tell others about your family’s circumstances.”

Seeing how kind and open-minded Himari was, Saito’s guilt only grew. He decided it’d be best to just reveal it all at once.

“It’s not a forced marriage. My grandfather and Akane’s grandmother had feelings for each other when they were young, but couldn’t be together. In order to grant their own wicked feelings, they’re now forcing their grandchildren.”

“I see. So basically, there’s absolutely no love between the two of you?”

“…Yeah.”

Himari pushed her body towards Saito. They reached a distance their lips almost touched. A sweet and yet oddly passionate scent stimulated his nose, enwrapping him.

“That means…I still have a chance, right?”

“Erm…” Saito tried to give her an answer, but Akane intervened.

“L-Let’s head downstairs, okay?! There’s no use in us standing around while talking here! I’ll make some tea for all of us!”

“We got cake, too! Himarin and I bought it on the way here~” Mao trotted downstairs on light feet, with Akane following after her.

That being said, if they left the cake on the first floor, it may have already fallen victim to Shisei. Then again, it was better than staying in the bedroom of all places.

“…Guess we should go ourselves?”

“…Yup.” Himari said as she stared at the couple’s bed.

Akane hurried to brew some tea and prepared it on the table. Sitting around the table were Saito, Himari, Maho, and then Shisei. Shisei had long finished eating her own cake, trying to grab a bite from Saito’s. At the same time, Himari spoke up in an apologetic tone.

“Sorry, Akane…This is all my fault. If I didn’t blurt that out in the classroom, nothing of this would’ve happened.”

“It’s not your fault, Himari! We’re the ones to be blamed because we kept this a secret from you!”

“…We?” Himari’s eyebrows twitched.

“Huh? D-Did I say something weird?”

“No, nothing. Anyway, I’m partially at fault for this, so I’ll help to get things under control! Just let me know if there’s anything I can do to help!”

Akane listened in shock and asked.

“You’re…not angry?”

“Is there any reason for me to be?”

“I mean, we’ve been lying this entire time…”

“Come on, I wouldn’t be angry just because of this!” Himari showed a gleeful smile, but Akane remained restless.

—Is she…really not angry…?

If Akane found herself in the same position, she’d definitely be furious. She’d be hurt and disappointed that her good friend never consulted her. Even if the fear of being hated was the greatest. Thinking back on it, Himari never showed any signs of anger. She never showed any of her honest feelings, simply running away. She had never had any fight with Himari up to his point.

“All right, let’s get this party started! This’ll be our 152nd ‘How do we get rid of the rumors surrounding Onee-chan and Onii-chan’ meeting!”

“So you already had 151 meetings? This is one hell of a mess if we can’t come up with a solution.”

“Mhm.” Shisei raised her hand.

“Okay, Shii-chan! Got any idea?”

“Catch all the students spreading the rumors and erase their brains!”

“Not just their memories!? They’d die!” Saito retorted.

“They won’t. They’ll get an electronic brain implanted into their heads.”

“They would still die!”

“Then they’ll get a sponge instead.”

“That’s even worse!”

Saito was terrified simply of the idea and the potential that Shisei might actually do that, widening the distance between them. However, Shisei still got closer and closer, sitting on Saito’s lap. These two were as close as always.

“I’d like to avoid stealing brains, but I don’t dislike the general idea.”

“Even the general idea is messed up…” Saito also moved away from Akane.

“We’ll write messages on their desks, putting brains in there…”

“What brains?!”

“There’s a lot! Some cultures use brains for their cooking.”

“I do know, but this is way too terrifying as a threat, so let’s not.”

Akane suddenly shot up.

“Why?! If you’re beating down an enemy, make sure they never get up again!”

“I don’t want to make all of those students my slaves. And if they find out it was us, we’ll get kicked out.”

“That’s true, but…”

Akane didn’t like being out-reasoned by Saito. It made her feel like she was losing.

“If you’ve got a problem with my ideas, then why don’t you come up with something yourself?!”

“If you want to overwrite some scandal in the eyes of the public, you need to create something that’ll overshadow that fact.”

“Then go with brains!”

“That’ll end badly, so no.”

Akane started thinking.

“Then maybe the kidney…or the liver?”

“Stop thinking about organs, you psycho!”

“You’re right, maybe they have a bit too much fat, after all…”

“Are we talking about cooking now? Can’t you just go away from the whole innard idea…?”

The group put their heads together once more. At this rate, these rumors would eventually reach the teachers themselves, which could lead to severe conflict, as well as possible suspension from school. If this negatively impacted Akane’s path to medical school, there was no taking it back. They had to take whatever method available to erase these rumors as quickly as possible. Himari broke the long silence with a clap of her hands.

“…I know! It might be a bit off the line, but I’ve got an idea.”

“What’s up?” Maho asked.

“If the rumors are about Akane and Saito-kun dating plus living together, then we just have to do the exact opposite of what the rumors say.”

“So erasing any fire that leads to the smoke. And a definite proof that we aren’t dating would be…Saito’s death?!” Akane showed a bright grin.

“Stop using every small chance to murder me in cold blood!” Saito retreated away from the group to behind the sofa.

They were still at the stage of coming up with a plan, and yet he already feared for his life. Himari however showed a wry smile.

“You don’t have to go that far. Saito-kun just has to get himself a girlfriend other than you.”

“A-A girlfriend?!”

For a split second, the thought of “He’s cheating?!” popped up in Akane’s mind, but she immediately banished that. They may be married, but only on paper, so there was nothing to be called cheating. Himari continued.

“Of course, it doesn’t have to be a real girlfriend. Just pretending should be fine.”

“I see! So if Onii-chan’s going around flirting with another girl at school, it’ll make the others think that these rumors were baseless! Himarin, you’re so clever!”

“Not bad.”

Both Maho and Saito showered Himari with admiration, she found herself scratching her cheek.

“Ehehe. I’m pretty good at this stuff. Maneuvering, y’know?”

“Oh yeah, back in middle school, you managed to get rid of some nasty rumors around our classmates, and stopped an ongoing bullying case, right?” Akane chimed in.

“Is she some fixer?!” Saito protested.

“What’s a fixer?” Himari seemed confused.

“That you’re super-duper cute and he loves you!” Maho grinned, trying to force a definition that wasn’t accurate in the slightest.

“Oh man, you’re making me blush, Saito-kun…” Himari fidgeted awkwardly.

“That doesn’t match the meaning in the slightest, but…sure, whatever.” Saito couldn’t be bothered to argue.

“But, who’s going to play the part of Saito’s girlfriend?” Akane asked.

“I’ll do it, no biggie!” Maho raised one hand.

“Shise will do it.”

“I-I don’t mind helping out, you know?” Himari fidgeted even more.

“You three…”

Why would three perfectly fine girls offer themselves as a sacrifice for such a toxic, good-for-nothing guy? It was completely beyond Akane, who now glared at Saito.

“Must feel pretty great being this popular, huh? But remember, this is just pretending! Nothing more than a fake girlfriend!”

“And why do you sound so butthurt?”

“Because I don’t see enough gratitude from you! And just to let you know, I won’t forgive you if you dare to lay your filthy hands on my friend or little sister!”

“I wouldn’t mind feeling those hands, Onii-chan!”

“Personally…I’d more than welcome it myself…”

Surprising nobody, said little sister and friend of Akane’s don’t seem to be bothered by this idea. At this rate, they’ll fall victim to Saito’s desires, reaching a place from which they won’t be able to return.

“Err…Shise, can I ask for your help here?”

“Indeed, leave it to Shise.”

The role of the fake girlfriend was quickly attributed to Shise, and Akane sighed in relief.

As Saito was munching on his breakfast in the living room, he suddenly felt a sharp killing intent directed at his back. He immediately attempted to move away from the chair, only to have his shoulders grabbed at lighting speed. Impressive grip strength from the other party allowed for Saito to be lifted off the ground, as he heard his bones cracking in terror.

“Wh-Who…?” Saito tried to at least turn his head to capture the face of the attacker, who turned out to be the maid driver. She showed no emotion on her face, staring at Saito with a blank expression.

“Saito-sama, I’ve come to pick you up.”

“…To deliver me to the other side?”

This kind of greeting could only lead to one conclusion. Saito felt as if his life on this earth would soon come to an end.

“To escort you to school, of course. Starting today, you will be acting as the fake lover of the young lady, so I had assumed traveling to school together would be routine.”

“Solid reasoning, but why are you trying to crush my shoulders?”

“I am doing no such thing, I attempt to pulverize your bones.”

“That’s even worse! Do you have a grudge against me or something?!”

The killing intent emitted by the maid driver grew even stronger.

“Not in the slightest. I simply believe that a vile human being that dares to play with the young lady deserves the harshest punishment imaginable. Logical thinking, can’t you see?”

“Is Shise some god to you…?”

“Quite so. All living beings are to swear allegiance to our lady, I dare say.”

“And yet you’d eat Shise’s pudding on a regular basis?”

“It’s an expression of love. I love to tease the lady because she’s just so cute.”

Saito wasn’t sure if this was pure respect or something that went beyond that. At the same time, Akane finally decided to speak up, sitting across the table.

“If you’re going to murder Saito, could you do that outside? I’d rather not be responsible for the clean-up…”

“Understood.”

“Don’t just agree?! And you too, Akane! Don’t sell out your family this easily!”

“F-Family…?” Akane looked at him in shock and confusion.

She however didn’t bother helping Saito during his plea of help. He was dragged out of the living room by the maid, as he had no means of fighting against a maid who regularly removed suspicious people around Shisei. If he dared to rebel, he would be killed in an instant. Outside, he was greeted by a white limousine, which had Shisei waiting inside, holding her smartphone.

“Shise sent you several messages already. Why didn’t you come out?”

“Wait, what?” Saito sat down next to her, checking his smartphone.

Just as she said, he had received several messages from her, saying ‘Coming to pick you up,’ ‘We’re here,’ and ‘What are you doing?’.

“Sorry, I was too busy with breakfast I didn’t check my phone.”

“No need to come up with excuses. You probably went for a second round with Akane and didn’t have time to check.”

“What kind of second round?!”

“Biohazard VS?”

“I don’t have the time for this…”

There were times when Saito decided to have some fun by himself if he got up early, but both he and Akane slept until the alarm rang, exhausted after being chased around by paparazzi for days on no end. Shortly after, the maid driver grabbed the steering wheel, glaring at Saito through the mirror.

“Saito-sama, have you prepared yourself?”

“Not at all, so hold back, will you?!”

Saito wasn’t as tough as being able to handle a rollercoaster ride first thing in the morning. She stepped on the gas pedal like there was no tomorrow, as the car sped up violently. With 3x the reckless driving Saito was used to, it pushed his body into the seat. The car drove up to the front gate, coming to an abrupt halt. Shisei got out of the car first and then turned towards Saito.

“We’re heading off to battle now. Are you prepared for the performance of your life?”

“Yeah. I think holding hands would be our best start.”

“Agreed. A lovers’ handhold sounds nice.”

“Lovers’ handhold?”

Saito hadn’t heard that term before. He had read Japanese dictionaries for years now, so this word was unfamiliar to him.

“In human culture, this is what couples do, apparently,” Shisei spoke like an alien observing humanity as she took Saito’s hand.

Her slender and show white fingers intertwined with Saito’s. It was a lot more intimate of a handhold than what he was used to, giving him the tickles. Shisei raised her open hand, pointing at the school building.

“Onward to battle.”

“Gotcha.”

Saito and Shisei took a proud stance as they headed for the front entrance. They changed into their indoor slippers, heading for their classroom while holding hands. All the female students they passed called out to Shisei.

“Morning, Shisei-chan!”

“As cute as always!”

“Wanna eat some sardines?”

“Maybe some chicken?”

“I got cake, too!”

“Let me rub your head!”

As always, Shisei’s popularity was unparalleled. Her pockets, student bag, chest pocket, and every other pocket she had slowly filled up with food. Apparently, this was regarded as some sort of offering, as the girls who rubbed Shisei on the head now put their hands together to pray. That in itself was fine, but…

“…Nobody cared?!”

Not a single person reacted to the fact that Saito and Shisei were holding hands. Nobody started talking about the possibility of the two dating.

“Maybe they care about anything but Shise…And Brother’s presence is far too weak…”

“Are you insulting me?! Do I have that weak of a presence?!”

“Brother is practically transparent…That’s why you were never caught when you sneaked into the women’s bath…”

“Which I never did, by the way!”

Saito might seem like your average guy next to Shisei, but he didn’t remember training as a ninja.

“Maybe you’re already dead, Brother? You’re a ghost and that’s why nobody can see you?”

“I hate breakfast this morning, and it didn’t come out the other end.”

“So that means you’re a zombie. I knew you died.”

“Can you not create some convenient plot that fits your narrative?”

Saito felt no ailment inside or outside of his body and he had no memory of dying. His breathing and pulse were doing just fine, too. The two kept on holding hands as they entered the classroom of class 3-A. They greeted some of the classmates already present, but none of them commented on this fact.

“…What is going on?” Saito sat down on his seat, tilting his head in confusion.

“Seems like holding hands isn’t enough of an impact. We gotta show off some more.”

“Show off some more? So stuff like you feeding me?”

Shisei took out wrapped cookies she had previously received, handing it to Saito.

“Just that isn’t enough, we gotta do it mouth-to-mouth. You digest the cookie and feed it to Shise.”

“How is that mouth-to-mouth?”

“No need to be embarrassed. Every penguin does that.”

“Well, I ain’t a penguin!”

“Shise has no problem with being fed by Brother through this bird’s beak.”

“I friggin’ care! Also, humans don’t have beaks!”

On a side note, penguins also don’t have beaks. If it was just normal mouth-to-mouth, then there shouldn’t be any particular problem, Saito judged. In fact, there were many times when Shisei would steal food that Saito had started eating, which could be regarded as an indirect kiss. Judging thus, Saito put a cookie between his teeth. Shisei hopped on Saito’s lap, putting her hands on his shoulders.

“Thanks for the treat, Brother…” She whispered with a sweet tone.

“Y-Yeah.”

Saito was used to Shisei’s presence, but having her this close was a nerve-wracking experience for him. Her sapphire-colored eyes had entranced him, as her beautiful facial features slowly closed in on him. Her small hand supported his cheek, as a faint breath escaped her lips—Right after, Shisei showed her white teeth.

“?!”

Saito tilted his head 80° to the right, evading Shisei’s bite. The cookie had completely vanished deep inside Shisei’s stomach, and so would his lips if he didn’t dodge. This felt more like mouth-to-mouth with a piranha. No element of romance to be found.

“Why’d you dodge?”

“Because I don’t want to die!”

“You wouldn’t die from something like this. Your lips can regenerate many times over.”

“No, they can’t!”

“Brother’s like a starfish or lizard, you can do it.”

“I’m like you, a damn human!”

“Shise belongs to the family of lizards.”

“That…explains a lot.”

It would explain the fact that no common sense passed through Shisei’s brain. At the very least, this incident seemed to have gathered the attention of the other girls in their class.

“Shisei-chan’s so cute! Like a piranha!”

“I want Shisei-chan to eat my lips!”

“I’m so jealous of Houjou-kun.”

“The exclusive right of an older brother~”

Why are they jealous of me?! — Saito roared in his mind, doubting the sanity of all the Shisei fans out there. His heart was still racing painfully fast, and Shisei was crunching her teeth together like she was waiting for another bite. Not to mention that she showed no intention of getting off Saito’s lap, either.

“However, there’s a problem with that reaction. They’re not causing any ruckus no matter what we do. And that’s because we’re normally always this close!”

“Shise knew that from the get-go.”

“Then tell me?!” Saito protested.

“You wouldn’t have agreed if we didn’t test this theory. And we couldn’t have moved on to the next stage.”

“Which would be…?”

“We gotta show off to other people with more excessive methods. You have to kiss Shise. Right here.” Shisei ran her fingers along her lips, approaching Saito’s face.

“No no no! That’s taking things a bit too far!”

“Shise’s lips are delicious, you know?”

“I’m not talking about the taste! We may be siblings, but kissing goes too far!”

“That’s exactly what makes it effective. It’ll make the other rumors die down, and Shise is more than welcome to offer her lips for this sake.” She looked up at Saito with not a worry in the world.

Saito sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders.

“You should treasure those some more.”

“For what sake?”

“Once you find a man who can take care of you, and he learns that you gave your first kiss to your older brother, he’ll be devastated, no?”

“A man who can take care of Shise? What will you do, then? Will you stop looking after Shise?”

“Of course. I’d feel bad to always buzz around you…Gyaaaah?!”

Shisei sunk her teeth into Saito’s ear, who let out a scream of pain. Shisei hopped off his lap, turned his back towards him, and muttered.

“…It’s too late, already.”

“For what?”

“Shise won’t let anybody care for her besides Brother. There can’t be any person caring more for her than him. Be it after a hundred or two hundred years, Shise will keep sitting on Brother’s lap.”

“Two hundred years…You plan on becoming an immortal?”

“That’d be easy for Shise.”

Shisei seemed oddly agitated about something, as she walked away with her back turned towards Saito. Her female fans immediately saw this as an option to surround her, feeling her snacks and the like.

“Immortal, huh…”

With Shisei’s inhumane mathematical abilities, it definitely wasn’t impossible. And with Saito’s dream just as far away in the future, he couldn’t laugh about it in the slightest.

*

During the next lunch break, Saito and the gang gathered up on the rooftop. Since it’d only be more oil to the fire if someone saw Saito and Akane alone somewhere, they chose an isolated place to meet up, whilst being in a large group. Shisei, Himari, and Maho were all there.

“Shise and I tried everything we could, but…”

“What did you do?! Did you do something irreversible with Shii-chan, huh?!” Mao roared.

Saito could only push her face away as she approached him while gasping for air.

“Not what you’re expecting, Maho.”

“Brother did all sorts of stuff to me. It was rough.” Shisei put both her hands on her cheeks, faking embarrassment.

Her expression was as devoid of emotion as always.

“Saito?!”

“Saito-kun?!”

Akane and Himari simultaneously showered Saito with gazes of contempt.

“We didn’t do anything weird! And you were both present in the classroom to see us, right?!”

Feeding each other, giving Shisei a princess carry, receiving a lap pillow from her as she hummed a lullaby, they tried all sorts of techniques, but nothing got their classmates interested.

“Well, we sure did…but, you know?”

“Right…”

Himari and Akane looked at each other, showing complicated expressions. They apparently had their own thoughts about it.

“Be honest with me. What were we lacking?” Saito asked.

“It’s more that you have too much.”

“Too much?”

“Both you and Shisei-chan are always a bit clingy, so even if you two hold hands, you two just seem like an average pair of siblings, not a couple.”

“I knew it…So Shisei and I have to start from being strangers…”

Shisei grabbed Saito’s hands, shaking her head.

“No can do. Shise won’t be able to bear being strangers with Brother.”

“Same here…”

“Brother…”

Himari watched the two look at each other, grinning.

“You two really are on good terms.”

“Maybe a bit too much, if you ask me…” Akane pouted.

“Anyway, Shii-chan can’t play the role of Onii-chan’s girlfriend, right? I’ll gladly take over!” Maho gleefully raised her hand.

“I’d rather not.” Saito didn’t waste a breath.

“Why?!”

“No idea what you’ll do to me, after all.”

“Nothing more than lewd stuff!”

“And I don’t plan on letting things go that far.”

“That far? How far is that? Are you getting your hopes up by any chance~?” Maho clung to Saito’s arm as she grinned.

“You damn…”

“Ah, is it something you can’t say? Are you going to make me do something crazy to you?” She poked her finger into his cheek.

Her grin was fiendish as an imp’s.

“I’m having absolutely no expectations, so go back to hell!”

“Don’t wanna~”

Saito tried to push Maho, off the rooftop, but she wouldn’t let him catch her. Akane looked at Himari.

“But…if Shisei-san and Maho aren’t going to work out…”

“That…will only me, right?” Himari awkwardly pointed at herself.

“If you don’t want to, then we’ll come up with another method.”

Saito clearly hesitated, knowing that asking this of the girl he rejected was far too cruel.

“No, if I can help you, then I’m more than happy! Let me do it!” Himari jumped toward Saito and grabbed his hand.

“Are you…sure?”

“Yep! Starting tomorrow, I’ll be your girlfriend! I’ll offer you everything I’ve got, so make sure to play along.”

“G-Got it…” Saito awkwardly nodded, seeing how energetic Himari was.