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If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ. Thank you for your consideration, guys!

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Back from my business trip, and trying to readjust my schedule again.
As long as I can get up on time, I can return to my morning Kenkyo translations.

“Aahh, it’s finally gone…”

After finally scrubbing his thumb clean, Kaburagi returned to the small conference room.

“I scrubbed so hard that my skin’s all dry. Kisshouin, do you have any hand cream?”

What a high maintenance young master~

Honestly.

I took my hand cream out of my bag and handed it over.

He rubbed a bunch of it into his hands and looked pretty satisfied.

Curious, he turned it over to look at the brand.

I suppose he liked it.

They don’t sell that in Japan yet, so you can’t have it.

Give it back.

“Anyway, I’d like to talk about what we’re gunna do next.”

Next?

Oh right, I was supposed to help him with Wakaba-chan.

I was happy to just go along with it, all things considered.

For one thing he didn’t believe that I was the bully.

For another he had vowed not to attack my family.

“I see~”

Ah, what the hell.

I put on some hand cream too.

When you moisturised, you had to get right down to the fingernails.

Hm, it was feeling a bit dry, actually.

I made a note to use some nail oil when I got home.

“Oi, sound a bit less uncaring. Come on, I need your help. Your hair is the god of love, isn’t it? You’re supposed to have made a lot of loves bear fruit.”

“I have no recollection of my hair becoming such a thing, but…”

And also, neither Class Rep nor Iwamuro-kun’s crushes had borne any fruit yet.

At least in my opinion.

Speaking of which, I wonder how Sakura-chan and Akizawa-kun’s Valentine’s went.

I would ask her later.

“Oi, Kisshouin. Are you listening?”

“I most certainly am.”

Kaburagi looked at me incredibly suspiciously.

Did I seem that unconcerned?

Oh, was he angry?

Uh oh…

I quickly changed gears.

“You wanted to discuss our future plans, yes? Please continue.”

After a few more looks of distrust, Kaburagi sighed in defeat and continued.

“Kisshouin. Do you, uh, know which girl I like…?” he asked hesitantly.

“Takamichi-san, no?” I replied as a matter of course.

I was treated to a look of shock.

“So Kisshouin had noticed…” he muttered.

Hm…?

Kisshouin?

“You know… It is probably not just me. In fact, the odds are that the entire student body knows.”

“Eh…!?”

I don’t know what he was so surprised about.

I mean, with the way he was behaving anybody would notice.

Don’t tell me he thought he was hiding it!?

“Kaburagi-sama who only ever says the bare minimum to any girl is suddenly talking with fervour to Takamichi-san. How could anybody miss it?”

“You’re right…” he exclaimed with his hand raised to his mouth.

“Please do not tell me that that was your idea of hiding it?”

“No, I mean, I wasn’t really trying to hide it but being told that flat-out was…”

I guess he was embarrassed.

And considering Wakaba-chan’s position, you should have been trying to hide it.

“You know, the major reason Takamichi-san is being harrassed is because other girls are jealous of the attention you give her.”

His expression turned severe.

“So it was my fault…”

“Well, it was not the only reason.”

For one thing, she was a commoner.

For another thing, despite having her own charm, she looked a little dopey, and was a far cry from the image of a capable woman.

And this was the girl who beat out Zui’ran’s pride and symbol in the exam rankings.

Considering the stock they put Zui’ran’s image, there were plenty of people who would find Wakaba-chan unacceptable.

“Do you have any idea who the culprit was yesterday?”

“I truly cannot say…”

I had no idea, but I would look into it.

“Do you know how the staff investigation is going?” I asked.

“They won’t bother looking. They’re pushing it under the rug to avoid a fuss,” he spat.

Well, I could understand that.

If the culprit happened to be a big wig they’d really be stuck between a rock and a hard place.

A member of the Pivoine for example.

In the past there was a Pivoine member who bullied somebody into dropping out so it wasn’t impossible.

But denouncing a member of the Pivoine would result in plenty of alumni lashing back.

Since the victim was just a powerless External Student they probably figured it would be better this way…

“I’m still looking for them myself, but I’ve got nothing so far.”

“I see.”

Plus, there was no guarantee that the person from yesterday was also responsible for the graffiti on her desk.

Actually, there were still people who suspected me of being the one behind yesterday.

I needed to do something about that.

First of all I needed to spread rumours about Tsuruhana-san and her friends trying to frame me for their own harassment.

Thanks to what Mochida-san said I’m pretty sure people would believe it.

They had history of bullying, after all.

Reika-sama was just a poor girl being blamed for no reason.

Yeah, that sounds good.

Besides that, all that was left was finding the culprit.

“How do you think I can help Takamichi?”

“Considering her situation she would probably be best served with you leaving her alone.”

“Oi!”

Leaving your love for the sake of your love…

Yeah, from his expression he’s not buying that, huh.

“Are you telling me to give in to these cowards!?”

“That is not what…”

“Those tactics will never work against me. I’ll protect her. Just watch! I’ll never give up!”

“I see…”

I might have flipped some weird switch in him.

What a bother.

“Hm?”

Kaburagi’s show of passion was interrupted when he suddenly checked his phone.

“Oh, Shuusuke’s asking where I am. Apparently people are talking about how we’re not in the salon today.”

Good timing.

I can finally get the hell out of here.

“Well then, we can continue this next time. I will be heading home now, but I suppose you will be returning the salon, no? I will continue my own investigations with the girls, so rest assured.”

“Yeah? Well that’s one thing, but we still haven’t discussed my love life at all yet. Ah well, it’s getting late I guess. Alright, we’ll continue another day.”

“Quite. Well then, please excuse me.”

I quickly made for the exit before he came up with anything else.

Unfortunately, before I made it, he stopped me again.

“Oh yeah, pass me your email address, Kisshouin.”

Geh!

“I, I do not have a…”

“I know you’ve got a phone, Kisshouin. That play won’t work. Hand it over.”

Geuhhh!

I bitterly handed it over.

I had wanted to avoid this…

I wonder if I could ignore his messages by claiming my phone was out of batteries.

Anyhow, just as I left the room he sent me a message to check that it worked.

I ignored it, only to receive another message every five minutes.

I need to change my email!

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ. Thank you for your consideration, guys!

Join the Evil God Army on discord!
https://discord.gg/0uufyDAsTZXQaMz1

Hi guys! Looking for experienced cleaners, redrawers or type-setters to help with the Tashinami scanlations.

Please contribute: http://kenkyokenjitsu.wikia.com

In order to avoid being spotted by anyone from Zui’ran, we agreed to meet up one station down from her house, in a lonely little café that none of them would ever visit.

Just being extra careful, right?

A cow bell rang as I opened the door, and I stepped into a café with a retro aesthetic.

Wakaba-chan was reading a textbook at a seat near the back.

I see.

So the smart kids made use of this time to study too!

“Sorry, did I keep you waiting?”

“Nope, not at all. I actually thought you’d be a little longer, really,” she smiled, closing her book.

On a day like this I’d normally have gone to the salon, and then to the clubroom, but I told them all that I was feeling bad.

On the way out Kaburagi seemed like he really wanted to say something, but that was scary so I power walked to the car park.

Thank goodness he hadn’t asked me to stop…

Since this place didn’t serve hot chocolate, I went with milk tea instead.

Wakaba-chan was drinking a hot coffee.

She’s so mature.

“I was surprised you would be here so early, Takamichi-san. Was there no Student Council work today?”

“There was, but I said I had some family matters to take care of so they excused me.”

“I see…”

Fellow Stalking Horse had also asked me what happened in his capacity as the StuCo President.

All I could tell him was that I heard somebody while on the way back from the nurse’s office. I picked up the marker and discovered the graffiti.

I wonder if he believed me.

The other members of his Student Council seemed to be suspicious of me.

“At any rate, regarding today’s incident…”

“Yeah. It must have been rough, Kisshouin-san. Was everything okay after that? You really had it tough.”

The first words that came out of her mouth were sympathies.

“Ah… So you really believe me when I say it was not I, then…”

“Of course I do!” she nodded.

Her expression told me that it wasn’t even in question.

Not even a doubt in her mind.

“Why are you so certain of that? I am quite sure that I was the most suspicious one there. I would have thought a little doubt to be natural…”

“Ehh? It’s because I’ve always considered you my closest ally, I guess.”

“!?”

What the hell!?

Uuu, I’m so happy, Wakaba-chan!

That’s what you’ve thought of me!?

But…

“On what basis? What if Tsuruhana-san was correct, and I actually despise you in secret?” I said a little contrarily.

There were people like that in the world.

I knew what kind of person Wakaba-chan was, but she didn’t know me nearly as well. Certainly not well enough to be certain that I meant well, right?

“No way,” she laughed. “In secret you’ve been helping me out too, right?”

I wasn’t sure why she could smile so confidently about that.

I was a little confused about it.

“I recall doing nothing of the sort.”

“Eh, really?”

“Yes.”

She folded her arms and hummed.

“Well if she’s that keen on keeping it a secret, maybe I shouldn’t say anything…? Ahh, but is she really keeping it a secret…? I mean, that wasn’t keeping it a secret at all, right…?” she muttered.

“Takamichi-san?”

“Ahh~ Umm… Kisshouin-san, a while back you uh, wrote me a letter filled with what to look out for in Zui’ran, didn’t you?”

“Eh!?”

How come!?

Why did she know it was me!?

“Ah… Going by the look on your face, you really were trying to hide it then?”

Wakaba-chan smiled a little helplessly at me.

“Eh? Eh!? How!?”

And I was so careful to keep it anonymous too.

So how did she realise it was me!?

“How long have you known!?”

“Well, from the start.”

“From the start!?”

“Yeah.”

Eeehhh!?

“If you looked at the inside of the envelope under a light there was a little Kisshouin crest. So yeah, when I first opened it I realised it was from you.”

“Ehhh!?”

What the hell!? I didn’t know about that at all!

It’s true that I used our family’s letter set since the one I had was a little plain, but I thought I was in the clear since I avoided the one with our crest on the back!

But despite all that there was a watermark on the inside!?

I had no idea!

“You didn’t sign the letter, but since the envelope had your family’s crest on it I figured that you were using that instead.

“But after a while, from your attitude, I started thinking that perhaps you had been trying to keep it a secret…

“I thought about thanking you so many times, but if you were trying to hide it then I thought maybe it would be better to avoid mentioning it.

“Which is why I hadn’t mentioned it until now. I mean, you even referred to yourself in third person.”

UGYYAAAAAAAHHH!

THIS IS SO EMBARRASSINGG!!

‘Kisshouin-san’ I called myself!

I even thought I was so clever about it!

Even though she knew from the start!

This is hell! Somebody kill me!

‘Kisshouin-san’s group wields the most influence amongst the 1st Year girls of Zui’ran, so take care around them’?

Hahaha, who actually says that about themselves?

Seriously, ‘Kisshouin-san’!?

Aren’t you the one who wrote it!?

I thumped my head onto the table and began grating my head against it.

“Ah geez, Kisshouin-san, are you okay?”

I’m not okay…

I’m about to die of shame.

“Sometimes I sent you little signs though. Like when I made the seven-herb congee for you. Your letter warned me to be careful while picking wild herbs after all.”

So that really was pre-meditated!

“Plus, around the time I got your letter, the gardener told me to be careful as well. You told him to warn me too, right?”

“…”

I guess she knew it all, then.

At this point the only thing I could do was sulk.

“…I see. Well thank you very much for all your consideration… I was the one who wrote it, oh yes.”

“Mmn…”

Wakaba-chan gave another helpless smile as I sulked.

“Well anyway, that’s why I think you’re on my side.”

“Yes…”

“And I finally get to say it now; thank you for being sincere, and always coming to help me, Kisshouin-san.”

Uu…

“You are welcome…”

I was so ashamed that I couldn’t even look at her in the face──

*

*

After that I listened to her talk about the Student Council.

Apparently Fellow Stalking Horse didn’t think I did it either.

“It doesn’t fit her M.O.” he apparently said.

“Just the time you shut up those sports clubs was enough to remember you did things completely differently. Man, that fan was something else!” laughed Wakaba-chan.

Is that so?

When I got home later that day, I checked what I thought were unmarked envelopes.

Just like Wakaba-chan said, it seemed plain on the inside until you shone a light on it, and our family’s crest appeared.

Geh, it was true.

But I’m impressed that you even found this, Wakaba-chan…

I vowed never just to slack off and use my family’s stationery to send anonymous letters ever again.

*

Wakaba-chan might have believed me, but the problem was Kaburagi.

If he ever decided that I was Wakaba-chan’s enemy, my future was over.

I needed to find a way to make him understand, and secure the safety of my family.

But how.

If I revealed the nature of my relationship with Wakaba-chan then it would certainly solve the current issue.

But if the whole school realised it as well, it would make life a lot harder for me.

Well, whatever the case, I’d have to see how Kaburagi behaved tomorrow…

If he didn’t say a word to me, then I’d just leave it be.

Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

*

*

But despite that, no sooner had school ended did Kaburagi call out to me.

Hiiieee~!

We weren’t in the salon right now.

Instead, he had brought me to a small conference room.

I guess he asked for permission so that he’d have a place where we wouldn’t be heard.

Scaryy.

What was I going to do if he sentenced me to death?

“Umm, so what was it you wished to speak to me about…?” I asked nervously.

“Yeah. About yesterday’s locker incident.”

I knew it!

“It was not me!”

“I know.”

“Heh?”

So he hadn’t called me here because I was a suspect?

“I’ll admit that I was a little suspicious. But afterwards Iwamuro told me that you were absolutely not the kind of person to do that.”

“Iwamuro-kun did?”

He and Kaburagi knew each other!?

Apparently Iwamuro had once been his horse.

“Your class rep came and told me the same thing. You’re pretty popular, Kisshouin.”

Maiden’s Society――! You came through for me!

“Sorry for even doubting you.”

“No… But I see now. In that case, what was it you wished to speak about?”

“It’s a bit hard to say, but…”

Kaburagi hesitated for a moment.

“The truth is, I actually have a girl I like…”

“I see.”

I already know that. And?

“I’d like your help with that.”

“Ehh!?”

Why me!?

“Why me!?”

“Both Iwamuro and Class Rep said that your hair was a god of love.”

“Ehh!?”

What the hell do you mean my hair!?

“Apparently by touching it you’ll be granted luck in romance. They say it’s super effective.”

“Ehh!?”

Class Rep――!

“Do you truly believe such a story?”

“Ah, I mean, not really but… honestly I just wanted a girl to talk to about these things. And you were the best suited for that.”

“Ehh~”

Choose somebody else, please.

“Please, Kisshouin. I won’t ask anything unreasonable.”

“Ehh~”

No way.

In the past you used me as a gopher, didn’t you.

And I don’t want to get involved in your romance either.

But I doubted Kaburagi would back down.

I probably couldn’t even leave until I accepted.

Ugh.

I didn’t even have a choice, did I!?

Hm, but if I had to do it either way, then…

I suddenly had a wonderful idea.

“…I understand. But I have a few conditions.”

“Shoot.”

“You will not at any point in the future attempt to uncover evidence of crimes committed by my family, nor will you attempt to destroy us. Please swear on this.”

“Is your family involved in crime?”

“Absolutely not! It was simply an example! Yes, an example!”

Uh oh, I might have made him suspicious for no reason.

His eyes were certainly looking suspicious.

“Any how! As long as you refuse to swear this I will not aid you in the slightest!”

“Haaah. Alright, alright. I just have to promise, right?”

“A verbal agreement is not binding.”

I took out a sheet of writing paper from my bag.

“Please print the following: ‘I, Kaburagi Masaya, swear not to engage in behaviours that will bring about the ruin of the Kisshouin family’.”

“Are you guys really doing something that shady?”

“The heavens as my witness, we are doing no such thing! Now, come! Please hurry up and write it. And sign it as well, please.”

“What a pain…”

Although he complained to himself, he did as he was told and thrust the completed declaration at me.

“See? Done.”

“Not yet.”

I retrieved a box cutter from my pencilcase.

“Please use your blood to sign with your thumb print.”

“Haah!? Blood!? What the fuck are you saying!? Scaryy! What the fuck!? Is this a pact to murder the King or some shit!?”

“A signature is simply not enough. Please show me your resolve. Now come. The blood seal please. Come. Come.”

“No fucking way! That’s fucking heavy! Your folks are definitely up to some fucked up shit, aren’t they!? Just what kind of crazy stuff are you involved in!? No fucking way am I giving you a blood seal!”

He even tucked his thumbs into his fists.

Are you a child?

“Phew, I suppose I have no choice. In that case, as a compromise just using ink will do.”

Since I didn’t have the traditional red ink on hand, I provided him a red marker instead.

“A thumb print…? Well, if that’s all…”

Kaburagi coloured in his thumb and gave me what I wanted.

Of course none of this would hold up in a court of law, but at least Kaburagi would think twice before breaking this promise.

“Thank you very much. Well then, I promise you my cooperation, Kaburagi-sama.”

“Alright! Well then, let’s… Hang on, I’m going to go wash this ink off first.”

Kaburagi left for the bathroom.

I carefully placed his oath into my bag.

A while later he burst into the room screaming,

“Oi! This ink is freaking oil-based, damnit! It won’t come off at all!”

Geez. What an excitable guy…

“Both Iwamuro and Class Rep said that your hair was a god of love.”

The original line is,

“Both Iwamuro and Class Rep called you the Hair of Luck in Romance.”

“Ehh!?”

What on earth did you talk to those two about!? Who, exactly, is this God of Luck in Romance!?

The joke is that he’s used the intonation for hair(kami), but she hears it as god(kami) since it just makes more sense to her that way.

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ. Thank you for your consideration, guys!

Join the Evil God Army on discord!
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Class Rep and Iwamuro-kun asked me for advice on what White Day Presents to get Miharu-chan and Nonose-san.

Since that was the case, I immediately recommended the honey candies that I got from Imari-sama.

They were sweet and delicious, and good for your throat on top of that.

“Wow! Maybe I should go with those,” said Class Rep.

“But I guess the two of us can’t get the same thing, huh,” Iwamuro-kun commented.

“I would also like to suggest caramel candies, in that case,” I said.

I received them from Imari-sama during the summer.

“Caramel?”

“Yes. There are many different types, all bursting with flavour.”

“Then maybe I’ll go with those…”

The French marshmallows I got from Tomoe-senpai and Kasumi-sama were good too.

It had Kaburagi’s mark of approval. I decided to tell them about those too.

“Those sound good too.”

“Then what should we give them alongside the sweets? Honda-san loved the mittens she got for Valentine’s. Actually… I bought matching gloves in a different colour but I couldn’t say it… I’ve just been using them in secret.”

Class Rep was a maiden through-and-through.

Listening to a blushing Class Rep talk about how the hand-made chocolates from “Honda-san were the sweetest I’ve ever tasted” was somehow even more embarrassing to listen to than Shimazaki Touson’s First Love.

Anyway, a cute present, huh…

“From my experience, perhaps a spherical music box, or a necklace, or perhaps a sachet and herb tea set… I might also suggest boxed flowers since they would be easy to carry home.”

All of these were presents I had received from Imari-sama of the mighty Casanova Village.

“What are boxed flowers?” asked Class Rep.

“When you take off the lid of the box, inside are flowers all around.”

“Oh okay.”

“That does seem cute…” admired Iwamuro-kun.

He did love cute things after all.

To be honest he seemed better suited to receiving flowers than giving them.

Anyway, there was no reason to restrict the present to items.

“Perhaps another option would be to invite them to an amusement park during the summer break, and hand them a free pass…”

“That’s such a bold idea, Master!”

“At Zui’ran, most people hand out store-made chocolates. If the four of you are close enough to be receiving hand-made chocolates, then I think they would happily accept the invitation.”

“Kisshouin-san! Please grant me strength!”

“Master!”

The two of them chanted “Bless us. Bless us.” as they bowed to me.

I couldn’t refuse these cute disciples of mine, so I gave them the little luck in romance I had and sent them off.

I hope things went well.

*

*

*

Haah… So dizzy.

Dizzy and nauseous and cold too…

Even breathing was hard.

It was a struggle to keep my eyes open…

“What’s the matter, Reika-sama? Good heavens, you’re so pale!”

“Are you okay, Reika-sama?”

It was getting so bad that I couldn’t respond.

I was feeling really sick…

“Let’s go to the infirmary, Reika-sama.”

“That’s a good idea. Can you stand?”

“Her hands are ice cold. Are you okay, Reika-sama?”

I stood from my seat but lost consciousness for a second.

Aah~

This wouldn’t do.

My ears were ringing and it was hard to listen to them.

In the end they supported me on each side and I was brought half-unconscious to the nurse’s office.

“Sensei, Reika-sama is feeling ill.”

“My! Could it be anaemia? Have a lie down on the bed.”

With the help of the girls, I did just that.

I closed my eyes, but somehow the world kept spinning.

“Leave the rest to me, girls. You should get back before the next class starts.”

“Yes.”

“Get well soon, Reika-sama.”

I managed to squeeze out a thank you before they left.

According to the nurse I was feeling giddy because of lack of sleep.

I actually spent the last three days reading this series of full-length novels, so I wasn’t getting more than 5 hours each night.

Huh. Come to think of it I didn’t sleep at all last night since the story had reached its climax…

To get some oxygen into my head I went without the pillow, and put it under my ankles instead.

“Have a little rest like this. If you’re not feeling any better later, then go home.”

I did as she said and closed my eyes, falling asleep in no time.

*

*

I got up feeling totally fine.

Sleep is pretty important, huh!

The nurse was sitting at her desk and writing something, so I called out to her as I got out of bed.

“Sensei, I seem to be feeling better now.”

“You’re feeling all right?”

“Yes. I feel good as new.”

I was still a bit sleepy, but it was like I had never felt ill to begin with.

“You’re looking better as well. Don’t stay up too late now.”

“I will not. Thank you for looking after me.”

And sorry for being so much trouble.

I’m reflecting.

“The period is about to end, so you woke up just in time for the next class. Do you want to stay here until the bell?”

“No, but thank you. I would like to visit my locker.”

I said goodbye and left.

Since classes were still in session, the hallway was devoid of people.

The only sign of anyone else was the voices that I occasionally heard from inside the shut classrooms.

Besides that, all I could hear were my footsteps.

At any rate, I headed for my own locker.

I was going to need my books for the next class.

When I arrived on the second floor, I heard something being dropped, and then somebody speeding away.

Hm?

Strange. Weren’t classes still going on?

I wondered if some class had gotten an early mark when I came across a felt-tipped marker on the ground.

I suppose this was what I heard then.

I picked it up and looked for whoever dropped it but there was nobody in sight.

Maybe I could just drop it off with the Student Council then.

I continued onwards to my locker only to receive quite a shock.

‘Stop coming to school!’

What the heck…

The nametag said ‘Takamichi Wakaba’.

This was Wakaba-chan’s locker.

So the person I heard earlier was the culprit and they were running away from me!

Of course that was when the bell rang.

Some of the classrooms emptied out right on the dot.

And they noticed both me and the locker.

“Eh…”

Eh…?

Wai-, aahh!

Don’t tell me they thought I was the culprit!?

“No, this is not what it looks like! I only just got here too,” I babbled, but people gathered around and began gossiping anyway.

“What’s going on?”

“Takamichi-san’s locker?”

“What’s happening?” came another voice. “Ehh~? What the heck!?”

Of all people, it had to be Tsuruhana-san’s class that finished first…

The girl gave a malicious smirk when she saw the locker and the pen in my hand.

“What do we have here? After all the self-righteous talk, the great Reika-sama is secretly doing the same dirty things as everybody else,” she exulted.

“It was not me!”

“I didn’t see anybody else around. What were you even doing here out of class?”

“I was just coming back from the infirmary.”

“You’re even holding a felt-tip marker and you’re still not owning up?”

“I had simply found it on the ground here.”

“How very convenient.”

“It is the truth!”

“We all know that you secretly hate her too. That’s why you’re harassing her in secret, right?”

“No!”

But of course, it was undeniable that I was the most suspicious person here.

Everyone else had an alibi, being in class and all.

And while I was stuck here as a suspect, more and more people came to gather around.

What was I going to do…!?

The teachers were trying to sort out the mess but nobody was listening.

It was too interesting.

“Reika-sama!”

Serika-chan and the others had heard and come as well.

“What’s your problem, you lot! As if Reika-sama would ever do something like this!”

“But the proof is right here.”

“What proof!? Didn’t you lot do this to frame her!?”

“Hey! Don’t blame the uninvolved!”

“You’re the ones accusing Reika-sama!”

Then, with the worst timing possible, Kaburagi came along.

“What’s going on…?”

He had one look at Wakaba-chan’s locker before his eyes turned angry.

“This again…!?”

“The culprit is Reika-sama over there,” Tsuruhana-san declared.

“Kisshouin…?”

Kaburagi frowned and looked over at me.

Oh no!

Oh no, oh no!

“It was not!”

“But you were the only one here, Reika-sama. And you were even holding the pen.”

“No, but Kisshouin…”

Kaburagi seemed undecided.

“She might pretend to be a good person but in secret she hates Takamichi-san more than anyone, right? I bet all the past bullying has been her work too.”

“But… Kisshouin is…”

“We just didn’t know about it. She’s been looking into Takamichi-san’s day-to-day life and harassing her in a way that nobody would find out. I bet that afterwards she had girls from Takamichi-san’s class report to her, where she’d gleefully listen to Takamichi-san’s reactions.”

That’s you, damnit! Only you would come up with that!

Or so I was about to say when I was attacked again from an unexpected angle.

“Come to think of it, at cram school Kisshouin-san asked me how Takamichi-san was doing in class…” muttered some boy.

Who was that!?

I turned around and it was Tagaki-kun from cram school!

Ehhh!?

Tagaki-kun, you’re picking now to say that!?

I mean I asked but I didn’t mean anything bad about it!

Maybe he was just muttering to himself, but that was the worst timing ever!

My position grew ever more precipitous.

“Kisshouin, don’t tell me you really…”

Kaburagi seemed dumbfounded.

No way!

Don’t tell me he really thought I was the culprit!?

That I was bullying Wakaba-chan, and the enemy!?

Gyaaaah!

It was here!

The ruin of my family had finally come!

Our company was going to be taken over, and then we’d be out on the streets!

Aaah! I had to fix this somehow…

But how…!?

“It wasn’t Reika-sama!” somebody suddenly screamed.

Eh?

“Reika-sama would never do something like that!” they said.

The crowd split apart to reveal Mochida-san, walking forwards with trembling legs.

She was the girl who was bullied by Tsuruhana-san back in middle school.

After it was over, we still said hello to each other sometimes, but that was about it.

She was a shy girl as always, so it was to my surprise that she even spoke up.

“What’s your problem?” glared Tsuruhana-san.

Mochida-san flinched but shakily repeated herself.

“Reika-sama would never do something like that!” she yelled. “Reika-sama would never bully someone else! She helped me… Reika-sama was the one who helped me when I was alone!”

Her eyes were teary and her face was red.

“Tsuruhana-san and her friends used to bully me. Every day was so hard that even coming to school was a struggle!”

The girls in question looked a bit awkward under everyone’s gazes.

“Nobody came to help me! I was on the verge of quitting school! But Reika-sama offered a hand to me! She said hello to me! Every day, she encouraged me! She saved me!”

Openly crying now, Mochida-san continued to scream ‘It wasn’t Reika-sama! It wasn’t Reika-sama!’

“M-Mochida-san?” I asked hesitantly.

Suddenly it seemed like something inside her snapped, because she started moaning ‘Uuuuu~!’ as her whole body convulsed and her eyes rolled back into her head!

Uwaaahhh!

It was like Mochida-san had been possessed!

I’m so sorry for saying this after you did your best to protect me but I’m sorry, it’s scaryyy!

“Well said, Mochida-san!”

“I’ve rethought my opinion of you, Mochida-san!”

Serika-chan and Kikuno-chan praised her bravery as they supported her on either side.

She was breathing heavily now, and her eyes were back to normal.

Thank goodness…

She came back to herself…

Thank you so much, Mochida-san.

She was so terrified that she even went mental for a moment.

It must have been so tough for a shy girl like her.

“I don’t think it was her either,” declared Wakaba-chan.

I didn’t even know when she arrived, but she had Enjou with her, and went to stand next to Kaburagi.

“Takamichi…”

“Kisshouin-san isn’t the type to do these things. Absolutely not! I’m certain of it. Her only involvement was picking up that marker.”

W-Wakaba-chan!

You believe me!?

Even with all this proof against me?

“Haah? And you can just decide that? Don’t tell me you’re trying to suck up to her? Or was it like Youko-sama said, and all a farce that you set up yourself?”

“Oi, Tsuruhana!”

“It’s my objective opinion. First of all, Kisshouin-san isn’t the type to use these kinds of underhanded means. Next, if Kisshouin-san did have a problem with me, she’s powerful enough that just muttering ‘She’s an eyesore’ would be enough to make my life hell. ”

Y-, Yeah. Am I supposed to feel happy or sad about this…

“It is true that Kisshouin is the type that crushes you head-on.”

“Yeah. And that woman goes for the jugular from the start.”

“She only needs to strike once. A killer’s instinct…”

What the-, who was saying strange things this time!?

You again, Soccer Club President!?

Stop looking away! At least have the guts to look me in the eye!

And hey! Wasn’t my image just getting worse and worse, here?

And you, please tell me you actually just meant ‘killer instinct’.

“The point is that I’m certain that it wasn’t Kisshouin-san,” declared Wakaba-chan.

Since the victim herself said so, that brought the incident to a close.

Plus, after the teachers heard about what happened, they confirmed that I had been in the infirmary until just before the bell.

Not only that, but since I was part of the Pivoine the teachers would have gone easy on me anyway.

It didn’t take long for them to judge me as innocent.

Not that people didn’t still suspect me…

“You were so unlucky, Reika-sama!”

“Seriously. As if Reika-sama would ever do something like that!”

Thank you for cheering me up, guys.

“Still. My opinion of Takamichi-san might have changed, just a little.”

“Same…”

Because she covered me, my group’s attitude towards Wakaba-chan was a little different now.

Speaking of which, I wanted to have a talk with her, and ask her why she believed me while I was at it.

I sent her a message asking her to meet me after school today.

I couldn’t find an equivalent joke for the below so I didn’t even try.

Okay, that’s a lie, I tried for 2 days and came up blank.

“She only needs to strike once. A killer’s instinct…”

And you, please tell me you actually just meant ‘killer instinct’.

The original, much funnier line, was,

“She has the presence of a yokozuna” which is an innocent enough phrase that means ‘the bearing of a king’ or ‘the aura of a champion’.

Of course, a yokozuna is actually the champion sumo, which is why Reika exclaims,

‘And the person who called me a yokozuna, what exactly did you mean by choosing that phrase? Depending on your answer I might track you down afterwards!’

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A suikinkutsu (水琴窟, literally “water koto cave”) is a type of Japanese garden ornament and music device.

Ever since that day, Kaburagi seemed to think that he couldn’t protect Wakaba-chan without gaining proper control over the Pivoine.

He seemed a little more aware of his position than before.

Only a little more though.

Still, Enjou helped him out where necessary, so the era of President Kaburagi was finally here.

Probably.

*

The day of graduation for Youko-sama and the third years had come.

I wasn’t so optimistic to think that things would calm down because of that.

The elitists in the Pivoine were still strongly influenced by her.

Even if Kaburagi had a lot of support because of his charisma, I doubted it was so easy to deal with the antipathy towards Wakaba-chan.

Actually, the more people liked Kaburagi, the more they would disapprove of a commoner External Student as his girlfriend.

If you can’t be with the person you adore, then you wanted the person they chose to at least be somebody so wonderful that you could never compare.

It was a self-involved line of thought, but plenty of people thought that way.

I mean, in my opinion it wasn’t anyone else’s business who somebody had feelings for, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t understand at least a little.

If Oniisama introduced some strange lady as his girlfriend I really doubted I could be so magnanimous as to accept her.

In fact I’d definitely get in her way.

Also I’d probably be disappointed about how little taste Oniisama had.

Ah, no, no, I still believe that Oniisama will bring home somebody wonderful, okay?

While I was thinking about that, the ceremony had continued.

Kaburagi walked to the podium.

He was giving the farewell address this year.

Since he was the President of the Pivoine as well, he was perfect for it.

He looked really dignified up there, voice projected through the auditorium.

Graduates, younger students, and even some of the parents were sighing in admiration.

From the outside he was outstanding after all.

A shame about the inside.

Given that the majority of Zui’ran students stayed here most of their schooling life, there wasn’t much in the way of crying at either the primary or middle school graduation ceremonies.

On the other hand, that meant that the high school graduation signified a separation with some of the same people you’d grown up with, so here and there you could hear sniffling.

*

*

Now that the ceremony had finished, people were leaving the auditorium.

“Youko-sama, congratulations on graduating.”

Other members of the Pivoine were also handing flowers to the upperclassmen in it.

“Thank you. Everyone, please take care of the Pivoine after we’re gone.”

We nodded obediently.

Alumni sometimes still showed up at parties, but this was still the end in a lot of ways.

“Reika-sama, I hope that you’ll support Kaburagi-sama as well. Please lead the girls of Zui’ran.”

“I will.”

Although in my opinion supporting Kaburagi was Enjou’s job.

Ah well, just nod along, Reika.

Kaburagi was wearing a rare smile as he and Enjou congratulated our senpai on graduating, much to their delight.

No matter how deplorable he might have been, Kaburagi was still the son of a distinguished family.

He knew how to do at least this much.

As for Youko-sama, the members of the Pivoine who particularly adored her had gathered around as she instructed them on something or other, before leaving the school.

*

*

Right on the heels of the graduation ceremony were more tests.

I know it might not have looked like it, but I really did my best.

Every day I secretly exhausted myself studying.

I had asked Wakaba-chan when she studied, and she told me usually in the morning and evening on the train.

Desperately, I even went out of my way during the weekend to study with flashcards on the train.

Ririna who had great grades without trying had also mentioned studying on the car to school.

Did the movement from transport help you remember things or something?

All it did was make my drowsy.

Anyway, the point was that I studied really hard, okay?

All for the sake of regaining my glory on the ranking boards.

To be honest I was actually pretty depressed about my marks dropping back in Term 2.

I had been really hoping to get good marks near Christmas.

Huh? Why?

Because I could use them to get Christmas presents.

Not that my family didn’t buy me presents every year.

But that wasn’t what I wanted.

I wanted Oniisama to say, “Reika, here’s a present for trying so hard on your tests.”

I love being praised.

I really got a wake-up call when I saw the rankings without my name.

‘Why are you messing around during the most important tests of the year?’ I thought.

That’s why I studied like mad this time.

White Day was coming up soon, after all!

And the results of all that effort?

Rank 29.

I just barely made it…

The wall of rank 25 was too crazy for me.

I mean, I suppose 29 counted as pretty decent at Zui’ran, but I’d have a hard time measuring up at a national school.

Over the next year, students everywhere else were really going to kick into gear to study for their university entrance exams.

I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to a national university or Zui’ran’s.

Although considering how little I liked pain and effort, Zui’ran was looking pretty attractive.

Plus, Kaburagi wasn’t my enemy at the moment, and neither Otousama nor Oniisama seemed to be doing too badly at work.

Maybe I could change up my goals.

*

*

I had my end-of-year report card sandwiched in my textbook as I waited for Oniisama to come home.

When he did, he had company in the form of Imari-sama.

Yaay, Imari-samaa!

Ah, but then I couldn’t boast about my marks in front of him.

I was planning on ‘accidentally’ letting it slip from my textbook.

Ah well, Plan Textbook could wait until tomorrow then.

“Good evening, Reika-chan. Thanks for the Valentine’s chocolate. It was great!”

“Gokigen’yoh, Imari-sama. Thank you instead for the wonderful return gift.”

“No, no, it was my pleasure. You’re great at making desserts, aren’t you. When I think about how Takateru gets to eat your delicious, love-filled chocolates every year I start to get pretty jealous.”

“My~”

Guhuhu, thank you, Wakaba-chan, Kanta-kun.

I know that was half flattery, but compliments are so nice to hear.

Although Oniisama looked like he had eaten something bitter.

“Anyway, the reason I’m here today is actually because there was something I wanted to give you,” he said, before presenting me with a bag. “Here, it’s a little early, but Happy White Day.”

“Goodness. You have already given me something wonderful for the Valentine’s chocolate! Is this all right?”

“Of course it is.”

Oh! Honey candies from that famous honey store.

“These are acacia candies and eucalyptus honey candies! They look wonderful.”

“You like honey, don’t you, Reika-chan? That’s why I thought about going with these. Do you like them?”

“I love them. Thank you!”

“There’s actually one more thing.”

Imari-sama placed a square box onto my hand.

I opened it up to find a silver ball inside.

Some kind of modern art?

“What is it?”

“My, my, what indeed? Pick it up and give it a shake.”

I did as told, and the globe chimed melodiously.

“Waah!”

“They call it a spherical music box. It chimes when you shake it. Sounds great, doesn’t it?”

“It does. It sounds like a suikinkutsu.”

I shook it against my ear.

Aah, it was so lovely.

“You have exams this year, don’t you? When you’re tired, give it a listen. Okay?” he smiled as he tilted his head.

S-So dazzling!

Haaahh…

This was truly what it meant to be the village chief of the Casanova Village.

I was going to hold this when I studied!

“If that’s all, go home,” Oniisama said coldly, before shooing him out.

You should at least get your friend some tea, Oniisama.

*

The next day, I executed Plan Textbook, and not only did I extract a White Day present from him, he also promised to take me out to eat sometime.

Mmhuu~

But he didn’t say on White Day.

Hey, Oniisama.

Don’t tell me you’ve actually got a secret girlfriend you’re hiding from me?

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

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If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ. Thank you for your consideration, guys!

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Kaburagi discovered graffiti on Wakaba-chan’s desk.

He normally came to school a bit later.

That day he just happened to come early, so he headed to Enjou’s classroom, spotted Wakaba-chan cleaning her desk, and then noticed what she was cleaning off.

‘Ugly!’

‘Disappear!’

When he saw the insults he flew into a rage.

“Who was it!? Who did this!?”

People could hear his voice from down the hallway.

“Speak up! Who wrote this!?”

My friends and I were amongst them, so we left our classroom to investigate.

“What might be going on?”

“Well…”

And that was how I found out what had happened.

Kaburagi glared this way and that, pinning people under his gaze.

“Answer me. Who did this?”

The Emperor of Zui’ran was truly angry now.

Scary.

Besides my own group, plenty of other people who had come out of curiosity were standing frozen.

Wakaba-chan timidly came up to him, still holding her cleaning rag.

“Kaburagi-sama, um, please calm down…” she tried to stop him, but…

“How am I supposed to calm down!?” he yelled at her instead. “It’s bullshit! Aren’t you angry at all about this!?”

“Ah, I mean…”

“…Don’t tell me this wasn’t the first time?”

Putting the graffiti aside, most of the bullying was done in a way that the boys wouldn’t notice.

Thanks to that, I suppose, Kaburagi hadn’t had much of an idea of what she had to go through.

Well, he still didn’t have one, actually.

The majority of it was insulting her when Kaburagi and Enjou weren’t around, or talking behind her back right in front of her.

And it wasn’t all girls either.

There were the guys jealous of her grades.

“Ummm…”

Her eyes swam and she looked for an excuse, and Kaburagi’s expression grew even harsher.

“Who was it!?”

It wasn’t often that you saw this much emotion from him.

Kaburagi then proceeded to question each and every person there.

Most of them said they didn’t know, but sometimes one would let it slip they didn’t know about today’s incident, which caused them to be questioned further.

In the end, a few people admitted that they had seen Tsuruhana-san’s group or some other girls writing on Wakaba-chan’s desk a few times, causing the girls in question to pale.

“So it was you…”

You could almost see the black rage he was seething with.

“I-It wasn’t us! And look, we only just got to school!”

“It wasn’t us either!”

Despite being afraid of him, they still managed to find excuses.

“You’ve done it before.”

“We…”

“We don’t…”

“So in other words you might have asked someone else to do it today.”

“We didn’t! To begin with, everyone in the school hates Takamichi-san so it’s ridiculous that you’re pinning it all on us!”

“What did you say!?”

That was when Enjou arrived.

He looked a little surprised to see his best friend causing a fuss in his classroom.

“Morning, Masaya. What’s wrong?” he asked.

“What’s wrong!?” Kaburagi bellowed, and pointed at the desk. “Takamichi has been putting up with all this senseless harassment!”

The desk still had some marker ink on it.

It was the first time somebody had used something other than pencil, so it stood out a lot more.

“Ah… I see,” Enjou nodded.

Being that he shared a class with her, he was probably more aware of her plight than Kaburagi.

“Anyway, I’m going to find out who did this.”

“Isn’t that the Student Council President’s job, Masaya?”

Kaburagi frowned at the mention.

“They aren’t even around when they need to be. What can they do?”

“Ummm… The President, Mizusaki-kun, is having a meeting with the teachers about the graduation ceremony next month, so…” Wakaba-chan explained.

She was in the Student Council too, after all.

Kaburagi snorted.

“Takamichi, do you have any idea who did this?”

“Eh? Ah, who knows…”

Probably so many that she didn’t know where to start.

Kaburagi began looking for the culprit again.

Enjou just observed from the side.

Wakaba-chan herself was just ignored, and looked to be at a loss.

It wouldn’t be good to let this drag on.

Still, I loathed getting involved.

“Class is about to start, so shall we just clean up her desk for now?” I said quietly while giving her a glance.

“You’re right,” she agreed, after coming back to herself in a start.

She began cleaning the desk with her rag again.

Some girls from the Student Council brought their own rags to help.

The ink was apparently water-based, so before long it was cleaned away.

Thank goodness it hadn’t been oil-based.

Since people had been arriving at school, the crowd outside the classroom was even bigger now.

“What’s going on?” called a sharp voice.

The crowd parted and revealed Youko-sama and her followers.

Uergh!

The last person I wanted here had appeared.

Youko-sama looked over the classroom.

“I arrive at school in the morning to this huge uproar. Somebody explain this to me.”

The appearance of the former president of the Pivoine had the noisy classroom silent.

One student whispered something in her ear, causing her to let out a huge sigh.

She gave Wakaba-chan a cold glance.

“You again, Takamichi-san?”

“I’m sorry…” she said in a small voice.

“How many times are you going to cause chaos before you’re satisfied?”

“Is that not a little inappropriate?” Kaburagi said protectively. “She is the victim.”

“She may indeed be the victim. But is this not the consequence of her regular behaviour? I have heard much about her history of being problematic.”

To Youko-sama, it was a chance to air her own dissatisfaction.

“Could I ask what problematic behaviour you refer to?”

“You could call it behaving in a manner unbecoming of a student at Zui’ran.”

“Unbecoming…?”

“Indeed. Takamichi-san? Could it be that in order to have these people protect you, you drew on that desk yourself?”

Ehh!?

She was going that far!?

Kaburagi’s expression changed.

“Okishima-senpai. Isn’t that being a little too cruel? Please apologise to Takamichi-san.”

He was glaring now.

Uwawawawah! She’s your senpai, you know!

Youko-sama on the other hand seemed offended that he would ask for that.

“That’s quite impossible. The heart of the matter is that Takamichi-san has done unbelievable things, time and time again.”

“Okishima-senpai! If you go any further…” his fists shook as he warned her.

This was looking really bad…

Just when things were about to explode, Enjou stepped between them.

“Okishima-senpai, Masaya has always despised cowardly acts like this, so the blood must have gone to his head. Could you give me some face and back down just this once?” Enjou smiled disarmingly.

Youko-sama’s expression softened after seeing this.

“…Well if you’re asking, Enjou-sama, then I suppose I must.”

“Thank you very much. Since class is starting soon, please allow me to escort you there.”

And with a smile, Enjou escorted her out of the room.

…S-Scaryyyy!

You did well, Enjou!

I think I speak for everyone when I say that!

The period bell rang, so the peanut gallery all began leaving for their classes.

Kaburagi on the other hand held Wakaba-chan’s shoulders tightly.

“If anything happens, you tell me. I’ll protect you.”

“Eh…!?”

Her face turned red.

Ehh!?

Did her heart really just throb to Kaburagi!?

And Wakaba-chan, your mouth is hanging open!

“Youko-sama was right,” muttered a girl, “Wasn’t all this just a farce to get the Emperor’s attention?”

“Sounds like something she’d do…” muttered another.

From that day onwards, Kaburagi was often spotted at Wakaba-chan’s side.

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

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The day after Valentine’s, the thing with Yukino’s chocolate had, as expected, been completely misunderstood.

“Reika-sama’s real interest was in Enjou-sama!”

“I was so sure it was Kaburagi-sama!”

“But Enjou-sama is broadminded like she is, so don’t they go well together?”

“And I’ve seen them talking to each other a lot recently.”

Even my own group was using me as a topic for gossip.

You’re wrong!

Ayame-chan, the Enjou fan in our group, suddenly took my hand.

“I’ve admired Enjou-sama for a long time, but since it’s you I’ll cheer you on, Reika-sama!”

I mean this: you really don’t need to.

“I have mentioned this before but those chocolates were for his younger brother. Not for Enjou-sama himself.”

“Geez, you’re so shy, Reika-sama.”

The girls all smirked at me teasingly.

Hey, my stomach is really starting to hurt so please stop that.

“I am not being shy. The chocolate was for his esteemed brother, Yukino-kun. I am making at least that much clear!”

These baseless rumours needed to be crushed.

There was only about a year left until graduation.

If because of these Enjou rumours I somehow became even more unpopular it would be a nightmare.

Like, what if – and I really just mean what if – but what if there was a boy who secretly had a crush on me?

If that boy heard that I liked Enjou then wouldn’t he give up on me?

That would be a huge problem!

“…Well, if you’re that serious about it, then we’ll just take your word for it, Reika-sama.”

They seemed to sense my discomfort because they let it drop.

“Will you help me clear up the rumours?”

“We will. If anybody asks, we’ll say that you said it was just for his younger brother.”

“Please, please do, okay?”

Everyone acquiesced to my desperate plea.

Thank goodness.

I’m relying on you guys!

It wouldn’t be funny if the boy who secretly had a crush on me heard weird rumours and gave up just as he was thinking of confessing.

Don’t give up!

Speaking of confessions though…

It was the dream, wasn’t it?

Being asked to meet after school, and then pretending not to know they wanted to confess…

‘I have something I’d like to talk about, so could you stay back?’

‘Hmm? What about?’

And then in the empty classroom, illuminated by the evening sun…

‘The truth is, I’ve always liked you.’

‘Eh…?!’

Waah! That sounds so nice!

I wanted to experience it too.

“Speaking of which, Kaburagi-sama doesn’t seem too lively today.”

“Apparently he was sighing by himself in class. I wonder what happened.”

“I’m worried…”

So you were looking forward to a chocolate from Wakaba-chan, and then got depressed when you didn’t get some?

Spring is ever distant, isn’t it, Kaburagi.

In the manga the two of them were already attracted like crazy by now, but reality was harsh.

It must have been irritating though, having the most salient kid in your class moping and sighing.

“But the feeling of melancholy he gives off is dreamy too.”

“His expression really plucks at the heartstrings.”

Eh? Really?

So as long as you were hot, gloominess would transform into melancholy in people’s heads?

The world was so unfair.

*

*

*

The rumours about my Valentine’s chocolates gradually died down thanks to my complete denials and Enjou’s own answers to people who asked.

A few days later, Yukino-kun himself came to the Pivoine’s salon.

“Reika-oneesan! Thank you for the Valentine’s chocolates!”

This was just more evidence.

Yukino-kun is really such an angel!

I was worried about him though.

Maybe the air was too dry, because he coughed from time to time.

“Are you all right, Yukino-kun?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Is your cold better, Reika-oneesan?”

“Yes. I am very well.”

I didn’t have the most robust body, but I never got really sick either.

“I hear you were admitted to the hospital a little while ago. Try not to overdo it, all right?”

“Yes.”

He smiled happily as he blew on the hot tea in his hands.

The other members of the Pivoine were all enraptured by him too.

They gathered around our sofa and asked him this or that.

The former President Youko-sama was there as well.

Even after retiring, Youko-sama was still the radiant centre of the Pivoine.

Kaburagi didn’t do much as President, so Youko-sama still held a lot of influence.

What was troublesome was that our salon was host to both members from high school and middle school.

Because of that, the high school first years were already very familiar with her.

Not that I don’t think Kaburagi could bring them under his own influence if he could just be bothered to use his charisma.

The guy himself was useless due to lovesickness though.

You know, Kaburagi, Wakaba-chan still irritates Youko-sama.

If you became the president to protect her, shouldn’t you get your act together!

“Reika-oneesan, is something wrong?”

“Eh?”

“You expression looked a little scary for a moment.”

“Oh goodness, I apologise. I was distracted for a moment…”

I guess without realising I had been glaring at Kaburagi.

I mean, he was just sitting there carefree, reading some book.

I quickly put on a smile for Yukino-kun.

Wow.

It must be nice, relaxing over there, oblivious to everyone else’s worries.

What was he reading, anyhow?

Don’t tell me it was another poem anthology!?

God, what if it was Heine again?

I sealed the last one away because it had the stench of being dumped.

I wonder if having it nearby was the cause of my love troubles.

Maybe there was a better way of disposing of it.

Oh, maybe I could give it to Tsuruhana-san.

She’d always been fond of Kaburagi, after all.

I bet she’d be overjoyed.

But despite being his fan, apparently she gave chocolates to a whole slew of boys.

Some upperclassmen confessed to her too.

Why!

She had such a bad personality, so why was she so popular!?

Did nobody care about youur personality as long as you were a beauty!?

So boys were all like that after all!

And why not me…!?

“Reika-oneesan?”

Oh gosh. Did I make a scary face again?

Ah well, whatever.

While everyone was caught up in romance, I was going to study my butt off and make a come-back on the ranking board.

Just watch me!

Tonight I was studying past midnight.

For supper, I’d have red udon for good luck.

*

*

Anyhow, after Yukino left with Enjou, I stayed back at the salon for a bit before heading to the carpark.

Katsuragi was glaring at me there.

“Did you really give chocolates to Enjou-san!?”

You don’t have to shout. I can hear you just fine.

And wow, is your information network slow.

“They were for his brother, Yukino.”

Since it was cold I just walked right past him.

“Enjou-san already has Yuiko-san! You got that? Don’t get in the way!”

Aah, shut up already.

That was something to think about, though.

There was a chance that Yuiko-san might have heard about the chocolates too…

What a pain.

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The day after seeing off Enjou and who I thought was Yuiko-san, Enjou himself came and thanked me again.

“Yukino was overjoyed. He even started talking about how he was going to write you a reply. I’ll bring it to you tomorrow.”

“My! I would be overjoyed too if I managed to help his mood even a little! I apologise for not being able to write anything meaningful.”

“Don’t say that. He had a lot of fun reading about your recent endeavours with dessert making.”

“I truly wrote nothing but trifling nonsense…”

“Speaking of the dessert making, could it be that you’re preparing for Valentine’s?”

“Well, yes…”

It was kind of embarrassing to be asked that…

It made you seem like you were really excited about it…

“I see. Have you already got a list of who you’ll be giving them to?”

“Eh?”

Why was he asking me this?

“Mmmn, well, I think that brat Yukino is hoping for some from you.”

“Eh!? Truly!?”

“He won’t out and say it though, but yeah~ Ever since reading your letter he’s been asking us what we think you’re making. Normally if you hear that a girl is making desserts you’d think of Valentine’s, right?”

“I do believe that there are people who make desserts even beyond Valentine’s Day. I have thought about giving Yukino-kun some chocolate before, so I am glad to hear that he wants some. The issue is that my handmade desserts are not good enough to share beyond my family. I would rather buy some cute white chocolate that suits his name better.”

“Thanks. I guess his hopes aren’t unfounded now. It’s pretty rough being a guy, you know? You wait, and you wait, and the more sure you are about getting chocolates, the bigger the shock is when you don’t.”

“Huhuhu. Considering the stacks of chocolates that you receive each year, I am sure that such a feeling is foreign to you two.”

“Well, who knows.”

Oh my.

Look at the smug smile of a popular guy on his mug.

Tsk.

But still, he had a point.

Whenever Valentine’s day came around I was particularly glad I wasn’t born a guy.

Considering my current record with love I probably wouldn’t get a single chocolate…

My, my, I need to expand the Forever Alone village.

Reviving this village is going to be a tough job.

A few days later Yukino-kun’s reply letter came, along with desserts from their okaasama as thanks.

I had to quickly write a reply!

*

*

The closer to Valentine’s it got, the more Wakaba-chan was harrassed by Kaburagi and Fellow Stalking Horse’s fans.

She was their biggest rival after all.

I was worried about her so I gathered my courage and called her.

She told me that she had put a lock on her locker, and she had been keeping her shoebox locked since the last incident.

She never left anything at her desk before going home either.

Since she wasn’t getting anything vandalised anymore, she assured me that there wasn’t any real harm.

“Still,” she added, “when I dropped my rubber and went to pick it up, I was really surprised to find an ofuda stuck underneath my chair.”

Ehhhh!? Was that a curse or something!? Scary!

Wakaba-chan needed to go get exorcised!

“What did you do?”

“Huh? I peeled it off and threw it in the garbage of course.”

You’re too strong, Wakaba-chan…

*

*

It was pandemonium at Zui’ran on Valentine’s day.

Queues of girls had lined up outside of Kaburagi, Enjou, and Fellow Stalking Horse’s classes.

Hordes of chocolate-holding girls from the middle school section had come too.

Since it had nothing to do with me, though, I was actually having a lot of fun watching them.

At the moment I was wondering how much chocolate it would be by the end of the day.

The particularly bold girls were handing them to Enjou and Kaburagi directly.

Serika-chan and the others had obviously given chocolates to them.

It was nice that they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

What I brought to school was mostly chocolates to exchange with girls, and the chocolates for Yukino-kun.

I was heading to the Petit Salon after school.

Or so I had planned, but after the classes ended, Enjou stopped me.

“Sorry, Kisshouin-san. Yukino went to hospital today, so he left earlier.”

“Ehh!?”

What the heck!?

I should have given them earlier then!

“Then, what should I do with these…?”

I held out the chocolates for Yukino-kun.

“You could give them tomorrow, or I could hand them over for you today…”

“It would be better for him to receive these today, I think. In that case, could I trouble you to deliver these?”

“Yeah. Sure. Sorry about making you do this.”

“Not at all.”

Just as I handed these to him, I had a suddenly realisation.

Didn’t this look like I was handing chocolates to Enjou on Valentine’s day!?

Oh crap!

“Enjou-sama! You must absolutely deliver these chocolate to your esteemed brother! These chocolates are for your esteemed brother!” I said loudly, putting stress on who they were for.

Enjou seemed to understand my worries because he was smiling in enjoyment.

Buzz off!

I turned around to hurry home only to spot Kaburagi loitering like he was looking for someone.

*

*

Just like Wakaba-chan and Kanta-kun had taught me, I followed the recipe to the letter.

When I tried one of the resulting fondant au chocolats, it tasted exactly the same as the one at Wakaba-chan’s!

So, so delicious!

So I was wrong about home made food being unique experiences after all!

I hurried to Otousama to hand him his.

Taste it, Otousama! Taste the fruits of my labour!

“Thank you, Reika. I’m really happy,” he said.

For whatever reason he was being really slow about it.

Then he broke off a dainty piece with his fork.

Huh? Are you a girl? Go for a big chunk.

When he finally put it into his mouth, Otousama’s eyes shot wide open.

“What happened, Reika!? These are delicious!”

…Your mouth slipped, Tanuki.

“Otousama, what is that supposed to mean?”

“Ahh… I mean, you’ve gotten really skilled at making desserts. Did you learn this from the Narutomi family’s Akimi-san as well?”

In a completely different picture to before, Otousama was happily gobbling it down.

“…No. I learnt this from another friend.”

“Oh? A friend from Zui’ran?”

“Well, yes…”

“Was it one of the girls that came to our house a few times?” asked Okaasama as she sat down beside him. “The ones from primary. I think their names were Serika-san and…”

Okaasama didn’t eat sweet things often in consideration for her looks, so she never touched any of the chocolates I made.

In any case, I was a little surprised that Okaasama still remembered the names of my friends.

They had only come over a few times in total…

“It was not them, Okaasama. This is somebody I interacted with during club activities.”

I decided it would be better not to mention her.

Plus, I never said it was somebody in my club.

As a club, we definitely interacted with the Student Council.

“I see. A girl from a nice family, then? Don’t hang out with anybody strange.”

“Yes…”

“After all, in the high school section it’s a mixed bag. Be careful in who you associate with, Reika-san.”

“It is not a problem. By the way, Otousama, would you like one more? There are still many left.”

“Really? Since you made them for me, maybe I’ll have one more.”

“Dear. Eating before bed like this will make your cholesterol rise again.”

“…I suppose.”

Oh gosh, Otousama.

You have high cholesterol?

I’d better get that healthy food program started right away.

I decided to learn from Akimi-san as soon as the exams were over.

I gave Oniisama’s portion a proper cling wrap before putting them in the fridge.

Apparently microwaving them would make the insides nice and soft again, so he could have some when he came back from work!

Haaah.

In the end I never gave any proper chocolates to a boy I liked.

I did pop into the library after school, but Naru-kun wasn’t there.

Even if I didn’t have the guts to give them over properly, I thought it would be nice to sneak some into his bag while he wasn’t looking.

Thinking about it later, though, it would have been scary to find food you didn’t know about in there…

Thank goodness I didn’t do it…

I got sleepy while waiting for Oniisama in my room, so in decided to take a nap in my bed and ended up sleeping soundly until morning.

Geez, Oniisama. What time did you come home anyway?

*

Since I didn’t know when I’d see Imari-sama next, I had somebody send over the fondant au chocolat, as well as some coffee from a chocolate shop.

After all, there was no way the Chief of the Casanova village wouldn’t have plans on Valentine’s day, right?

I was sure he had a lot of chocolates already, but I hoped he’d try mine.

Well, it was Imari-sama though, so I was sure he’d have a bite at least.

It would be days later when Imari-sama sent me a sachet and herb tea set from the oldest pharmacy in the world in Florence.

Imari-sama, don’t tell me that you send something to everyone that gives you a chocolate!?

As expected of Imari-sama…

*

The day after Valentine’s, Kaburagi was looking lifeless…

Was this the phenomenon that Enjou was talking about?

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I have an older sister.

Neechan is four years older than me.

When she was in her last year of middle school she suddenly started going on about taking the examinations for this school for rich kids.

The famous Zui’ran Academy.

It caused a huge fuss.

My parents and her teacher had thought that she was going to a public school after all.

Why Zui’ran!?

In fact, her teacher told her, “With your grades I think you could get in on the scholarship, but that place isn’t like other schools, you know? Is that okay with you, Takamichi-san?”

Mum and Dad were worried that she wouldn’t fit in there as well.

Neechan insisted.

“If I get the scholarship then I can go there for free. Plus, if my marks are good enough, they’ll even give me money that I won’t have to return. The curriculum is leagues more fulfilling than other schools too, so I want to go there,” she explained.

My parents weren’t having any of it of course.

“Don’t worry about the school fees. Just go to a school where you’ll fit in.”

School fees, huh. I suppose we did have quite a few siblings.

But Neechan didn’t change her mind.

“It isn’t just the school fees. I want to see a new world and experience something different. Plus, the uniforms are cute.”

That last reason was a pretty girly one.

Since she was so determined, in the end our parents consented.

“Well, if you insist,” they relented.

And so she ended up taking the examinations.

Deciding on your school based on the uniforms though…

I really don’t get girls.

*

*

According to Mum, Neechan has always had a strong sense of curiosity.

One time she chased a butterfly all the way into the next town, and they only found out where she was when a police officer contacted them.

Another time she had an insect guide. She went around all day looking at bugs with a magnifying glass, and ended up collapsing to heatstroke.

When it was a star guide instead, she stayed on the veranda stargazing all night long and ended up bedridden with a fever.

Neechan loves those encyclopaedic picture guides.

Anyway, since Mum figured Zui’ran was another case of her curiosity flaring up, she decided to let her be.

*

*

After Neechan made it in she tried on the uniform.

“Does it suit me? Do I look like an ojousama?”

I don’t know how many times she asked that.

She only left the mirror when we finally replied, “It does, it’s cute.”

But after that she started going,

“Did you know they say gokigen’yoh at Zui’ran? Kanta, Gokigen’yoh.”

She wouldn’t stop, and it was annoying, but Mum told me to deal with it.

“She made it past a very difficult examination to be accepted there, so just bear with it.”

So bear with it I did.

*

*

Neechan had just begun ecstatically attending Zui’ran when she suddenly said to me:

“That school is even crazier than I imagined.”

“What’s so crazy about it?”

“Hmmm, all sorts of things. Really makes you realise that out there there are worlds like that too. Yeah…” she nodded to herself.

I’m still wondering what’s so crazy, damnit!

“And man, seeing the real thing sure was different to my own ‘gokigen’yoh’. It sounded completely natural coming from them. Whenever I say it there’s some part of me embarrassed about what the heck I’m doing, you know? But in that world it’s a matter of fact, isn’t it. And they throw about topics about high society so fast that I don’t know what’s what. It was like listening to another language,” she said in wonder.

Hearing that just made us worried.

“Are you going to be okay, Wakaba?” Mum asked. “Are you sure you shouldn’t have gone to another school?”

But Neechan wasn’t worried at all.

“Ah well, I’m sure I’ll get used to it sooner or later. Once I do, I’ll be a splendid ojousama as well!”

“Is this the face of an ojousama to you?”

That got me a punch.

That hurts, damnit!

“Is your school really all that amazing?”

“Yeah. I hadn’t heard of half the items on the cafeteria menu. I gave one of the soups a go, and it came out cold! At first I was like, ‘Ah! they forgot to heat it up!’ but it turns out that it’s meant to be like that. Vichyssoise is this cold, potato soup. Vichyssoise. And even though we were speaking Japanese they all pronounced the ‘v’. It was crazy. Vee, Kanta. Vee.”

“Enough already!”

“Man. I had no idea food in a school cafeteria could be so good. Of course it was as expensive as it was surprising, though. Since I can’t eat there every day I think it’d be nice if I treated myself there whenever I get some money.”

“Oneechan! I want some too!”

“Me too!”

The twins joined the conversation out of nowhere.

“Alright. I guess I’ll try making it at home sometime!”

What was good about cold soup?

In the days following, my sister would come home influenced by something that happened there.

The time when she learnt flower arrangement she came home and decorated the foyer.

The time when she learnt tea ceremony she began mixing tea in a tea bowl.

“Today I learnt this flower arrangement type called moribana. At the start you pick the grandest, longest branch and place it right in the middle of the kenzan stand~ Right here, see? They call it the shin branch. When you’re done with that, the next one is the soe branch and put stick it in here~”

*
“When you drink the tea you move the brush over like this, and take a sip while avoiding it.”

*
“When you pick up your chopsticks you have to grab them from above with your right hand, hold them in your left, and then swap them back to your right hand.”

Each time Neechan showed off something she learnt to the family, everyone oo’d and ah’d in admiration.

“As expected of Zui’ran,” they’d all praise.

“Yep,” she would laugh.

“Your dad and I were worried that you’d have a hard time there. It’s a relief to see you enjoying yourself.”

“It was one culture shock after another, and they have so many customs too. But I’m having fun, and I’m learning a lot there.”

“Neechan, did you make any friends at a place like that?”

“I’m surrounded by young masters and ojousamas so I don’t have a lot, but I definitely do have friends so don’t worry.”

I hoped that was true.

*

*

Ever since Neechan had entered high school, she had begun working a part-time job.

Apparently her scholarship money was ‘for the future’, so she needed a source of pocket money.

“I’ll be out and working by the time it’s your turn for university, so I’ll take care of the fees, okay?” she once told me, but I was going to get a part-time job in high school anyhow.

Neechan’s everyday life was busy, from studying to her job.

But even in middle school, friends from around the area would come over to play.

There didn’t seem to be any sign of that here, so I knew that Mum and Dad were still secretly worried.

*

*

Neechan was hit by a car during summer break.

The culprit was somebody in her year at Zui’ran.

Although her bicycle had been completely dented at the front, Neechan had only suffered some bruises and scrapes.

When that schoolmate had brought her to the hospital, the examination diagnosed her with no serious injuries.

Anyway, he came to our house to apologise that day, with a huge bouquet and a lawyer in tow.

We had first realised when my little sister excitedly notified us about “some kind of hearse car” parked in front of our house.

“Your cherished daughter has been injured because of me. I sincerely apologise and have no excuse,” the classmate bowed low when he brought Neechan back from the hospital.

Neechan had told us that it was nothing serious, but ordinarily Mum and Dad would still be worried and furious.

Instead, seeing the boy refuse to stop bowing sent them into a fluster instead.

It sent Neechan into an even greater one, actually.

“K-Kaburagi-sama! Please raise your head! Look! Right as rain, see?!”

“My daughter is right. You brought her to the hospital as well, and we can all see that you genuinely feel sorry.”

“And you’re our daughter’s schoolmate so we weren’t thinking of pressing charges at all.”

After a lot of convincing from the three of them, he finally lifted his head.

As it turned out, he was super handsome.

“Then let’s talk about reparations,” said his lawyer, but my parents refused them on the grounds that they wouldn’t feel at ease with it.

In the end we only agreed to take this huge envelope of “get-well money” from them.

“We will also reimburse you for the bicycle, and the medical fees are a matter of course,” said her schoolmate.

“Ehh!? Just this get-well money is more than enough!”

“That will not do. This and that are two different matters.”

Neechan tried to reason with him.

“Kaburagi-sama, umm, you’ve already paid for the hospital and medical bills today. Since I don’t have any broken bones, I don’t think think I’ll be going to the hospital either so there won’t be any medical bills to pay…”

“Unacceptable. You have to keep going until the doctor says that you’ve fully recovered. Nobody can say that there won’t be medical complications,” he replied severely.

“I understand…” she replied meekly.

When it was time for him to leave, he told us he was buying all the cakes in the store.

“I’d feel bad for the other customers who came here to buy things, so just your feelings are enough~!” she stopped him in a panic.

*

*

After the boy and his lawyer left, Dad had to go back to the store.

Everyone else was still gathered in the living room.

“For a high schooler, that boy really has his act together…”

“Yeah…”

“Do you think we breached some etiquette by serving him barley tea, Mum?”

“You’re asking that now?”

“That oniisan was so cool!”

“His car was cool too!”

“That’s the car that hit Neechan, yanno?”

“Oh no, that wasn’t the car that hit me. It wasn’t any less expensive though.”

“Are you for real!?”

They had more than one car like that!?

“The car that hit me got a bit scratched after all. I was actually worried about what we’d do if they asked for compensation, you know?”

“It’s good that he was a decent person, wasn’t it,” my Mum commented.

“By the way, Neechan,” I asked, “How come you were being so polite to him? Isn’t he your age? And why the -sama?”

“Oneechan, was he your friend?”

“Whoaa, no way! That’s somebody special even for a Zui’ran student, you know! If it wasn’t for the accident I’d have graduated without ever saying a word to him!”

“Huh. He was some kind of big shot then?” I asked.

“He is. We’ve got two, ah, three…? people at our school that everyone acknowledges as special. Kaburagi-sama is one of them.”

That boy who ‘everybody acknowledged as special’ ended up visiting Neechan a bunch more times during the summer break to drive her to the hospital.

He even got her an expensive Italian bicycle which Neechan promptly remodelled into a city bike with a basket.

What a waste.

But yeah, people from Zui’ran really were different to your average high schooler.

*

*

*

When I got back from school, something crazy was waiting for me in the lounge room.

Her hair was curled like chocolate cornets or something, and she even had a ribbon attached.

It was like somebody had pulled an ojousama out of some manga or drama.

But for some reason she was wearing one of Neechan’s T-shirts and shorts.

It couldn’t have looked any worse on her.

Neechan had made some yakisoba for us when she came back.

She asked the Cornet girl if she wanted seconds.

Apparently Cornet had eaten before we got here.

“No, I am… Well, if you insist then perhaps just a bite, since you offered,” was her reply.

She ended up eating with us.

“You’ve got nori on your face, you know?”

“Oh goodness.”

She even went ‘ohoho’ as she wiped the nori I pointed out.

‘Ohoho’ I said.

Who knew there were really people who laughed that way in real life…

So she was both an ‘ohoho’ and a ‘Cornet’.

After that day, Cornet visited us on occasion.

Each time she came over she ended up eating something.

And her “just a bite” was always a huge serving.

She always said ‘then, just a bite’ but would end up demolishing the whole plate.

And whenever Neechan asked if she wanted seconds the reply was always something like, “No, I am quite full. Although if you insist then perhaps just a bite…” and she’d end up eating even more.

“Hey Neechan, even though Cornet always eats until the end, why does she always refuse once first?”

“Hmmm, maybe it’s etiquette for an ojousama?”

I don’t get it.

Actually the other day she ate quite a lot of the mochi too.

Since she was eating so well, I thought she might be hungry.

“Want me to throw some chikara udon together?” I asked, but this time she really refused.

“Perhaps next time,” she said before muttering, “Udon zousui would be nice too…”

Was she planning on adding zousui to her chikara udon?

There was honestly no helping her.

“Hey, Neechan. Cornet is your friend, right?”

“I’ve told you her name isn’t Cornet, it’s Kisshouin-san! But my friend, huh… I’d like to think so at least. She’s actually as amazing a person as Kaburagi-kun is. But, Kisshouin-san is always helping me out, you know? She might have actually proven to be the most trustworthy person there.”

“Huh. Then I suppose Cornet’s welcome in my home!”

“Cocky brat. And she’s Kisshouin-san to you!”

“Cornet-chan’s a good girl. Always so polite,” added Mum. “Your mum can rest at ease knowing you have a friend like that.”

“You’re calling her that too, Mum…? But mmn, sorry for worrying you. I’ve got friends there, and I’m having a lot of fun.”

“I’m glad to hear that. So? What’s Cornet-chan like at school?”

“She’s a pure-bred Zui’ran, I have to say~ Lots of girls really look up to her. They treat her like the ideal girl, I guess?”

“Buhaha!? Cornet!? The same Cornet who’s been eating yakisoba, or curry, or mochi every time she comes to our house!? The one that actually laughs ‘ohoho’? The Ohoho Cornet Girl?”

“Kanta! But well, even I had no idea she’d be so easy to get along with… I think I’d like to get to know her better.”

“Hmmmm~ Alright then.”

“What about Kaburagi-kun?” Mum asked. “Is he your boyfriend, Wakaba?”

“Haah!? No way! Don’t say stupid things!” shouted Neechan.

“Ehh? But he keeps coming to visit you, and he even came here to give you a present on Christmas.”

“Seriously! Stop it! If by some tiny chance a person from Zui’ran overheard that…”

“Oh my, should we keep it a secret from Cornet-chan too?”

“I’ve already told Kisshouin-san but… But just don’t say these things outside, okay! You never know who might overhear! Not just you Mum, everyone else too, okay!?”

She seemed awfully serious, so we reluctantly replied.

“Then who was the boy you went to your New Year’s shrine visit with? Remember? The one that you showed me the picture of.”

“He’s just a friend I’m in the Student Council with! And didn’t I show you pictures of my other friends!?”

“But that boy was so cool.”

“He’s! Just! A! Friend! I’m done with this conversation! Done!”

“Your dad’s been worried too, you know? He’s been asking me if you’ve gotten yourself a boyfriend.”

“Neechan, are you aiming to marry into money?”

“I’m nottt!”

Whatever the case, Kaburagi-san definitely liked Neechan.

I mean it was on Christmas Eve.

Would you go out of your way like that for a normal friend?

At first I laughed at giving a high schooler a present like that, but then Cornet told us about how famous and expensive it was and shocked the crap out of Neechan and I.

Tens of thousands of yen for a stuffed toy!?

It was bloody insane.

The teddy bear had actually come with a coat and a heart necklace.

My little sister wanted the necklace since she thought it was cute.

Since she was in elementary, Neechan figured it would be fine even though it was for a toy.

It was pretty sparkly for a toy, so she quickly came to adore it.

Even the doll’s accessories were crazy good!

Anyway, it had decorated the house until the end of the year, and was sitting in Neechan’s room now.

I wonder if Neechan was planning on giving Kaburagi-san some Valentine’s chocolates this year.

I was pretty sure he was waiting for them.

Speaking of Valentine’s, I was really damned worried about Cornet’s…

Was that girl going to be alright?

She’d better follow the recipe properly!

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