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!

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Starting today I would be a 2nd year in Zui’ran’s high school section. I wished for this every year, but I hoped I would end up with some girls I was close with~ I don’t want to be alone…
And also, I hoped that all the troublesome people would end up in another class.

I stepped outside only to be buffeted by heavy winds. Maybe because it was spring. Since I was dainty and so delicate I looked like I was going to snap, maybe I would even be blown away by the wind~
It was going to mess up my hair though so I hurried into the car.

I pulled out a mirror to check myself. I couldn’t give a bad impression to my new class, after all! I smiled into the mirror. My dimple was perfectly visible. Okay!

*

When I arrived there were already plenty of students crowded around the noticeboard. Some students were overjoyed, some were being consoled, the responses were all over the place.
I didn’t have any guys I liked so most important to me was ending up with friends. I was the Chief of the Forever Alone village, but that was forever romantically alone. I fully intended to be surrounded by friends.
First I checked the list of girls in the same class as me. Shirasagi Ru’ne from my group was there! Hell yess!
Ru’ne-chan was one of the girls who I went to Karuizawa with, and was one of my closer friends in the group. Thank goodness. At the very least I managed to avoid a bitter year of isolation. Besides Ru’ne-chan were a few other girls from my clique as well. Phew.

As for the boys… Oh, Class Rep’s name was there. Oohh, Class Rep! My first class with Class Rep in quite a while! One of my few male friends. This was a happy occurrence indeed.
Aside from him, the other boys were relatively harmless. All of the troublesome ones were in a different class. Hell yesss!

I really was lucky this year. I had a bit of bad luck after receiving a cursed item but it looks like my fortunes were picking up again. The anthology in question had already been plastered with an anti-evil seal, wrapped in a cloth, and then sealed away in the same storage room as the dolls. Fight fire with fire and all that. Of course, if anybody ever wanted the anthology they were free to take it.
I looked at the other class lists and realised that of all things, Enjou and Wakaba-chan would be together. Worse yet, the 2nd-in-command of Tsuruhana’s group was in that same class. This was bad… I decided to stay away.

“Reika-sama! We’re in the same class!” said Ru’ne-chan as she ran to me with a smile.

We were overjoyed to be with each other. Some of the other girls came over and we chatted about the class allocations. I had great friends with me and no troublemakers. This was going to be a peaceful year.

*

Class Rep ended up as class rep again like natural. Since Nonose-san was in our class I had hoped that I would get out of it, but both my home room teacher and Class Rep had insisted on me. As for Nonose-san herself…

“I think you’re the best suited, Reika-sama.”

And that’s how I ended up as the Vice Class Representative again. Honestly I had already half given in by now. It could be worse, I suppose. I had Class Rep as my partner, and there weren’t any real troublemakers.

“Let’s have another good year together, Kisshouin-san,” smiled Class Rep. Oh yes, I hope so too.

Then, secretly, “And I’d like some advice with romance,” he said. Advice on romance… Thinking about it, he had quite a long history with unrequited love as well, didn’t he. Alright, leave it to me. I was going to make him a fine villager! First I’d have him read that anthology, maybe.

“Kisshouin-kun.”

Huh? Kisshouin-kun?
Who was it? Who was it that added -kun to my name? ──It was ‘Dite.

“Kisshouin-kun, may I ask you a question?”

‘Dite-kun, or Afrodite, was sporting his namesake as always. Maybe it was the hair but wow, did his face look big up close. And apparently people who were individualistic in their appearances also did the same with their speech. We were in the same class this year. I had ignored him though since I judged him harmless.

“Will the class be performing at this year’s class trip?”

“Performing? I cannot say. I have not heard anything of the like.”

“…I see. But when you require the services of my violin, you need only but speak. No need for hesitation. Even if the other students cannot reach my level of violin skills, I have no qualms with performing by myself. This is my opinion. What say you, Kisshouin-kun!”

Eh, huh…? In other words, Afrodite wanted to perform in front of us so badly that he came and asked about the excursion?

“…Well, I suppose I can not see the harm in it?”

Not that I even knew if there was going to be class performances in our itinerary last year.

“I thought as much! Truly, you were as reasonable a woman as I had judged! Kisshouin-kun, I anticipate a good year with you!”

“…Let us get along.”

Satisfied, ‘Dite-kun nodded and headed back to his seat, the Afro swaying in the air as he left.

“He was kind of incredible…” muttered Class Rep. ‘Dite-kun just completely ignored you. Is that okay?

“There are a lot of eccentric artists…” he continued, “Last year he wouldn’t stop playing the violin on the bus, so nobody got any sleep.”

Speaking of which, I remember hearing that from a girl in his class.

I retract my statement. We had the one troublemaker.

*

After school I headed to the Pivoine salon. Today’s sweets were apple pies. I loved these.
The pie crust was crunchy, but the apple inside was soft and delicious.
It was so delicious, in fact, that I finished the whole thing in no time. I was still craving it…

While I fought an internal war against my appetite, somebody told me that somebody had come to visit me.
It turns out it was Mao-chan from the primary school.
It was unusual for her to come all the way here from the Petit Pivoine. Everyone here was older than her, which seemed to make her a little nervous.

“Is something the matter, Mao-chan? Come and sit down.”

“Yes.”

I led Mao-chan over to the sofa I had been sitting on.

“What will you be having? Ah! Today’s food is apple pie. You must try some.”

“Eh, but…”

I guess it was nerve wracking to be the only one eating. Geez.

“I shall have some as well. This way there should be no problems, correct?”

“Yes! Thank you very much, Reika-oneesama.”

“You are very welcome.”

The staff brought down apple pies in front of us so the two of us ate happily.

“It overjoys me that you come to visit, Mao-chan. Was there something you needed me for?”

“Ah, yes! Umm, I was having a birthday party on this day. I was hoping that you might want to come… If you can’t, then I understand.”

“A birthday party?”

“Yes. Haruto-niisama said he would be going as well, and I was hoping you would as well.”

“I see…”

A birthday party, huh…

I hadn’t actually checked my schedule yet, but Mao-chan of all people was inviting me. I could at least show up for a little.

“I understand. I shall check my plans and let you know.”

Mao-chan smiled happily. So cuute.

A present for a young girl… What should I get? I want to choose something that would build on my image as a wonderful oneesama.

*

The two of us continued to chat harmoniously as we ate our delicious apple pies.

---

---

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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!

---

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---

Sarara-sama was chatting with Kaburagi-papa. I’ll bet it was some crazy hardcore book discussion. Would I be bothering them?
As I hesitated, Chairman Kaburagi noticed me first.

“Good evening, Reika-san. My wife and her friends were looking forward to seeing you, you know?”

“Good evening. Thank you for giving me the chance to see such beautiful cherry blossoms. The beauty of the weeping sakura was incredible.”

“It honours us that you enjoyed it.”

His smile was as dignified and dreamy as always. How nice. If I had a man like this as my dad I’d show him off everywhere.

“Sarara-sama, gokigen’yoh.”

“Gokigen’yoh, Reika-sama.”

Sarara-sama also welcomed me with a smile. I was still worried about disturbing them though. She seemed to be having so much fun.

“Am I perhaps interrupting? Please pay me no heed and continue talking.”

“Not at all, Reika-san. I was just telling her about how I found a rare book in Germany the other day.”

Germany!? Don’t tell me it was Kaburagi-papa who suggested Heine to him!?

“…Might it have been a Heine?”

“No? It wasn’t. Are you partial to Heine, Reika-san?”

“No,” I immediately replied.

I wonder if he wouldn’t take responsibility as a father and take his son’s love poem anthology back.

“It looks like Takateru-kun isn’t attending today.”

“Yes. My brother was simply too busy at work, unfortunately. We are terribly sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. Words of how impressive he is at work reached me too. Anyhow, just having you here is enough, Reika-san.”

Hauu, what a dazzling smile.

“Chairman Kisshouin and your older brother have been hiding you away like a treasure, so I don’t often get a chance you meet you.”

“Goodness.”

“I hear you really get along with your Otousama. The other day you knitted a lap blanket for your beloved Otousama, right?”

“Well, hohoho.”

I never said beloved anything, Tanuki! It looks like you haven’t learnt your lesson if you’re still going around exaggerating things. You’ll learn when I get home, just you wait.

“I heard that when you were little you said you’d marry him when you got older. Ahh, how envious.”

Haah!? Not only was he unsatisfied with exaggerating things, this time he was even telling full-blown lies!?
Oniisama might be a different story, but not once had I ever said I wanted to marry Otousama! It’s lies and slander!
Was it that? Was Otousama going senile!?

“Reika-san,” said Sarara-sama, “You were a fathercon?”

Nooooooooooooo!!

“This is some incredible misunderstanding, Sarara-sama. I have no recollection of saying such a thing.”

Even after I tried my best to deny it, Kaburagi-papa simply nodded magnanimously.

“Ahh, puberty, of course. I suppose I must apologise. But you should know that your Otousama understands how you feel. Ahh, how nice. I wish I had a daughter that loved me that much.”

But you’re wrong! I’m offended that you think my ideal husband would be that chubby tanuki!
I mean, if my dad had been somebody like Kaburagi-papa then maybe I would have said that. But unfortunately my father was just a big-bellied tanuki.

“You know, Chairman Kisshouin sometimes complains about how closely you stick to him, but everyone can tell he’s happy about it.”

That lyingg tanukiii!!

I searched the venue for the tanuki. Lying tanuki get to be made into tanuki stew!!

It felt like I would just take more damage by staying there so I excused myself.
I had to do something about this reputation as a fathercon… My pride depended on this.

*

I spent the next while wandering the venue as I gazed at the cherry blossoms.
There was food all around that seemed delicious enough, but I still didn’t have the appetite.
I had technically eaten the Swiss roll Oniisama gave me as a get-well gift, but… I guess my stomach wasn’t up to full speed.

Drinking so much was going to mean a lot of trips to the bathroom. And I was cold too. Maybe a warm drink would help. They had probably run out of hot chocolate, so I tentatively decided on milk tea. Oh! They had jasmine milk tea.

Finding myself a seat, I was enjoying my milk tea when some guy stopped next to me.

“Good evening, Reika-san.”

“…Good evening.”

Who was this again? Oh crap, I couldn’t remember. He was… about Oniisama’s age? And cool-looking in a Japanese kind of way. Slender, light-skinned, almond-shaped eyes, hobby is probably traditional Japanese flute? You know the type. He looked really good in his kimono.
He seemed kind though… Seriously though, who was this!?

“I’m Ichinokura Haruto. I think this is our first time speaking. I hope we’ll get along.”

“My! It is a pleasure to meet you. Kisshouin Reika, at your service.”

What the heck. So this is the first time we’ve met? Thank goodness. I was so worried about how to fake remembering him.

“May I sit down?”

“Why yes, go ahead.”

So Ichinokura-san sat down next to me. He had champagne with him. Definitely over 20 then.

“I’ve actually come here to thank you, Reika-san.”

“Thank me?”

Huh. Didn’t he just say this was our first meeting?

“My niece was in your care, actually. Sawarabi Mao, from Zui’ran’s primary school section.”

“Aah! Mao-chan!”

Sawarabi Mao-chan was the little girl I met at the Pivoine Summer Party. The one who rang the bell with the boy. When I went to give her the photos she was so happy, and she called me Reika-oneesama and everything. That girl was just so cute!

“You know, Mao was telling everybody about how the wonderful Reika-oneesama was really good to her, and even told me the story a few times. You encouraged them while they were hesitating to ring the bell, right? Thank you for that. That girl was so happy that she hung up the photo you took in her room and won’t stop showing it off to people.”

“I see. I did very little but if Mao-chan was so happy about it then I am happy too. And truth be told, I was overjoyed to be called Reika-oneesama. Especially by somebody as cute as your niece.”

“Thank you. It was my first time having a niece so I might have spoilt her a bit. Before I knew it I was buying her everything she wanted.”

Ichinokura-san’s smile was extremely gentle whenever he spoke of his niece.
Maybe because of all the “distinctive” people around me, somebody tranquil like Ichinokura-san was really soothing to be around.

The two of us continued to chat about Mao-chan and life at Zui’ran. Ichinokura-san went to a famous boys school instead of Zui’ran so he was interested in hearing my opinions on Mao-chan’s school.

“By the way, Reika-san, have you eaten at all? You haven’t been doing anything except drinking. Should I get you some food?”

Mmmm… I don’t think it would fit.

“No, but thank you kindly.”

“Really? Have you already eaten then?”

“No. I suppose I have not eaten since coming here.”

Ichinokura-san looked at me in shock. Apparently it was past 8 already.

“Did you have dinner before coming here?”

“Well no.”

“Reika-san,” he started seriously, “Reika-san, are you really eating properly? You shouldn’t skip your meals. You look so delicate you’re about to snap.”

“Eh!?”

About to snap? Eh!? Me!? About to snap!?

‘You’re about to snap’ is one of the top ten things a girl wants to be told once in her life! (Source: The Reika Rankings)

You look like you’re about to snap… You look like you’re about to snap… You look like you’re about to snap…

Aahh… Ichinokura-san’s words were echoing endlessly in my head.

“About to snap…? I assure you that I am fine. I most assuredly enjoy all three meals a day, you know?”

“Really? You’re not lying?” he shot a half-suspicious look at me before offering again.

“What if I got you some fruit? Should I bring some?”

“No, I really am fine. I do not eat much…”

“Yeah, I can tell. But you really do need to eat properly, okay?”

“Yes. Thank you for your concern.”

Ichinokura-san gave a troubled smile.

“You’re really dainty, Reika-san, so I can’t help but worry.”

“Eh-!?”

Dainty!!

‘You’re so dainty’ is one of the top five things a girl wants to be told once in her life! (Source: The Reika Rankings)

You’re really dainty, Reika-san… You’re really dainty, Reika-san… You’re really dainty, Reika-san…

Aaah, I must be dreaming… I’m so glad I came today!

I was so happy that it felt like I’d grow wings and fly! Just “snap” and “dainty” were enough fuel to send me into the stratosphere!

And also Ichinokura-san had treated me from beginning to end like some fragile and delicate princess. “Are you cold?” he’d ask. “Are you tired?” he’d ask.
Thinking about it, he might have been the first person to ever treat me this way. …Guhuhu, I’m so happy.
Oh no, I think I might really fall for him…

*

Kisshouin Reika, 16 years of age. May have found a new love.

---

Celebrate with me!

---

<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!

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I bought a handmade bentou from a bentou store. It then sat around for two days in the warmth of my room.
I took the lid off and looked at the contents. The carrot was a bit sticky. …This might really work.
Saying my prayers, I plopped it into my mouth and chewed. …Urgh. The texture was horrible so I skipped the chewing and just swallowed.

Why had things come to this… It was disgusting. So disgusting that I wanted to hurl. Was it really necessary to go this far…?
Despite my misgivings I continued to eat the spoilt vegetables. The mixed fried rice was weirdly sticky too. This was actually so dreadful. Even the smell was off already.
But a real woman was fearless! I stuffed my cheeks with the rice!

“!!!!!”

It was like the cells in my body were rejecting it! Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Everyone, positions!
A chemical stench and bitterness filled my mouth. I quickly spit it out but my gag reflex had already been flipped.
Even compared to the boiled vegetables, the destructive power of this ” fried rice” was something else. It was on the level of biological hazards. The inside of my mouth was still a mess. It was so bitter that I cried. And then another wave of nausea hit me.
I ran to the bathroom and threw up. There was red mixed in it.

Blood! I threw up blood! Threw up blood! I was going to die!
Lord, Lord in Heaven, I’m sorry. I won’t do anything stupid like eating rotten food again. I swear I’ll obediently go to the flower viewing, so please save me. Save me from this nausea. Saaave meee…
How did it turn into something like this. It was the first time in my life that I had ever thrown up blood. What if I really died…!
I had another look through my teary gaze and I shivered.
It was some capsicum──

“…”

I threw up again.
Thank goodness it hadn’t been blood… My stomach still felt like crap though.
I tottered out of the bathroom, and the maid looked at me in worry.

“Some stomach medicine and a hot bath please…”

Since the rotten food was still sitting in my room I asked to make sure nobody went inside. No matter how bad I felt, I had to dispose of that myself.
After taking the medicine I retreated to my room and hid the bentou in a garbage bag. Tomorrow I would secretly throw it away.

I spared one more glance at the fried rice and nodded grimly. Spoilt meat was not something to take lightly…

*

I was ill for a while. My family called over our doctor but I obviously couldn’t tell him the truth.

“I have been feeling unwell recently. In the end I was ill.”

He diagnosed me with a possible stomach flu. Nope, I just deliberately gave myself stomach poisoning.

Thanks to the medicine and some good sleep, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling a little better. I was still a little dizzy, so maybe some food would help.
I left my room for the kitchen when Oniisama came out of his room.

“What’s wrong, Reika? How are you feeling?”

“Oniisama? I am fine now. I thought it would be better to have something to eat, so I was on my way to the kitchen.”

“Food? Do we have anything for the ill?”

“If there is not then I will just make some myself.”

“…I’ll make the food.”

I wanted to refuse since I didn’t want to bother him this late at night, but Oniisama insisted. ‘You’re sick,’ he said.

Oniisama was so kind. Sorry for being an idiot sister who ate rotten food on purpose. I did as he said and got back in bed to wait for him.
I wonder what he was making.

What be brought me was simple congee. There was dried plum in it.
I took a bite. Yummy! This perfect level of saltiness! Aahh, the gentle sustenance spread inside me…

“I thought about putting spring onion in, but until you’re a little better I think just salt and dried plum is better.”

“It is delicious, Oniisama.”

I’d never even seen him cook but of course he was good at this too. Better than me, I think. I decided to try and make my own tomorrow. Was it good enough to just boil rice in some water? After that you just added salt, right?

“Everyone’s worried about you, Reika. I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

“…Yes.”

I was reflecting on it… I was still hungry though so I went for seconds. It was just salted congee so why was it so good.
In the end I finished all of it. It really was delicious.
Oniisama took care of the dishes. I felt bad about it but went back to sleep.
Aahh, so satisfied.

*

*

I’d hoped I could skip the flower viewing party but they found out that I was healthy again. And I suppose I had sworn to God. Whatever. At least I didn’t have to wear the furisode, having just been ill and all. Instead, I was going with a ribboned flared dress in champagne gold.
Okaasama had preferred a dress in sakura pink, but I could already imagine hordes of people in that colour. I did at least paint my nails that colour, and I had a hair ornament with a sakura-motif too.

The flower viewing party was being hosted at the same hotel where I had the fasting course. It really did have a wonderful garden.
Since Oniisama was busy he wasn’t coming today. How nice. If only I had a job.

The hall where the lighting complemented the sakura the best had been chosen to host the event. Specifically, there was a venerable weeping sakura tree of over fifty years old. It was so venerable that it frightened me.

Besides that there were a few standard yoshino cherry blossoms in full-bloom too. Gorgeous as you’d expect from a Kaburagi flower viewing party.

People were sipping wine and the like, while taking in the view. Some were drinking amazake too. I liked that stuff.
I was still a minor though, so I helped myself to a non-alcoholic cocktail. It was bubbly and pink, and there was a sakura petal in it. Pretty.
I gave it a sip, but the taste was hard to describe.
There were a lot of odd products that came from using flowers in food. Rose jam. Lavender ice cream. Actually, my first time having rose jam gave me quite a shock. I had tried it out because I thought it fit me as a Rococo, but it had quite the punch to it. The candied violets I had tried were the same.
I think maybe using flowers in food was less for the taste and more for the pretension.

Anyhow, I was wearing my well-practised smile as I greeted the other guests with my parents while I looked for anybody I knew. I hoped Sarara-sama would be here today~
A lot of younger guests had gathered around Kaburagi and Enjou. Some were even Pivoine members.
I told my parents I was going to look at the flowers and excused myself. I guess I wasn’t all better if a crowd was making me this dizzy.

I looked around for somewhere to rest and found a seat where the sakura were still visible. With a new drink in hand, I took a seat. Somehow I wasn’t feeling very hungry. Maybe I was nervous. My stomach felt weird.

“Why, if it isn’t Reika-san.”

Standing in front of me was Maihama-san in a sakura-pink dress. Heh. Simpleton. This place was filled with people wearing the same thing.

“Gokigen’yoh, Maihama-san.”

“You look awfully lonely sitting over here by yourself, Reika-san,” she smiled.

She didn’t seem at all concerned for me. Geez, this girl was awfully intent on seeing me as a rival~

“I was simply resting.”

“Hmmmm~”

Her expression was nasty. She was probably plotting something. Now what was I going to do about it?
With good timing, Kaburagi had broken out of his ring of followers and was headed our way.

“Look, Maihama-san. Kaburagi-sama is coming.”

“Eh!? Goodness, Masaya-sama!”

She rushed over towards him. He glanced at her once before he grunted in an incredible show of dismissal.
Oho…?

“Masaya-sama, thank you very much for inviting me today. I’m so happy that you called me here!”

“Thank my parents. I’m not the one who invited you.”

Despite his curtness, Maihama-san didn’t seem discouraged at all. Instead she grasped his arm.

“Masaya-sama, I hope you’ll invite me to your home again. Your Okaasama said I was always welcome.”

“If you wanna meet my mother then go ahead. It’s none of my business,” he said, slipping out of her hold.

Maihama-san tried reaching for him again. Wow…

“You came too, Kisshouin?” he asked after discovering me behind Maihama-san. It would have been fine if he hadn’t…

I suppose I had to at least greet him though. I stood up with some effort.

“Thank you very much for inviting me this evening.”

“Yeah.”

Maihama-san seemed sullen that he spoke to me.

“Masaya-sama, even though you went out of your way to invite her, Reika-san doesn’t seem to be having much fun, does she.”

An eyebrow rose on Kaburagi’s face. Maihama-san seemed to take this as a sign of victory because she shot me a smug smirk. Your evil small fry is showing.
Not that I had any interest in competing for Kaburagi’s affections, but if rumours spread about me backing down, my reputation was going to drop. Ah well.

“Speaking of which, Maihama-san, I heard that you received a wonderful present for White Day.”

“Eh-” she flinched.

So Sakura-chan was right.

“The mystery man is all anybody is talking about at Yurinomiya. How nice. Just who was it? Please do tell.”

“That’s…”

Her eyes swam. What are you going to do? I still have one other tidbit. Shall I share it with Kaburagi here?
While the two of us negotiated with our eyes, Kaburagi suddenly spoke up.

“Speaking of White Day, that marshmallow was good stuff. I suppose those were time-limited, huh.”

“Huh? Marshmallow?” asked Maihama-san.

Geh. Why did he have to speak up now?

Her gaze turned suspicious.

“Masaya-sama, what do you mean by marshmallow?”

His mouth opened and said something else unnecessary.

“I got a peach-flavoured marshmallow from Kisshouin on White Day.”

“From Reika-san!?” she exclaimed as her head snapped my way.

She was really glaring now. Almost like she was accusing me of stealing a march on her. That had just been for exorcism though.

“Masaya-sama didn’t give you a White Day present so you give him a marshmallow yourself? That sounds like a pushy hint to me.”

Guess she really didn’t get anything from him.

“Hint? To begin with I never gave him any chocolat. The marshmallow was just sharing a treat.”

“You’re lying! What do you mean you never gave him chocolate!”

“It is the truth. Is that not so, Kaburagi-sama?” I urged him.

“I don’t remember who I get chocolat from,” he said, off-handedly hurting her deeper. “But since I gave you that poem anthology I guess the marshmallow counts as your thanks.”

And so he casually dropped a bombshell.

“Poem anthology!?”

The jealousy and shock were mixing into something incredible on her face. C’mon, stop glaring.
Spotting Enjou again in the crowd, Kaburagi said ‘Cya’ and left us behind.

The atmosphere was tense and dangerous. Mostly from her side.

“Explain.”

“Explain what?”

“Explain what Masaya-sama meant by giving you a poem anthology!”

“Who knows. Perhaps he did it on a whim.”

Her glare was getting more and more intense.

“If you want to know so badly, how about transferring to Zui’ran? Well, supposing you pass our exams of course.”

“What was that?”

I noticed Sarara in the distance.

“My! I seem to have found my friend, so please do excuse me. Oh, and the rumours in Yurinomiya are terribly interesting. Assuming that they are true of course.”

“…!”

And so I left her behind and began walking towards Sarara-sama.
I had my folding fan in my bag but I was hardly going to use it on small fry.
Oh, but damn. If she wanted the anthology that badly then I should have brought it with me to give to her. Thanks to my food poisoning I had forgotten all about it.

I stopped and walked back to Maihama-san.

“If you want it that badly, shall I gift it to you? The poem anthology from Kaburagi-sama.”

Her face flushed deep red. Goodness, high blood pressure at this age? You should take more care of yourself.

“I don’t need it!”

Maihama-san gave me one last glare before storming off.

Really, these people who can’t accept others’ good will. Hohoho.

---

Incidentally this is what I translated this whole chapter to.

It’s actually a really interesting fit. Try it?

---

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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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---

Woke up early this morning to do this before work.

---

Read this short story: http://intranslation.brooklynrail.org/japanese/under-the-cherry-blossoms

Skim these short articles:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koban_(coin)

http://www.treasurestories.com/Asia/Japan/TokugawaShogunate.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanasaka_Jiisan

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“Mmhuhuhuhuhu…!”

I looked at all the zeroes in my bank book. There was now enough to put me through four years of private university. If somehow I failed to make it into a public one, I could still get an education.

Hmmm… But expenses besides the tuition were still a worry. Would I be able to earn enough if I worked a part-time job while attending? If it was just myself it might not be too bad but paying for my family’s food would be tough. That tanuki’s in particular.
Maybe I’d really have to study harder to earn a scholarship.

“I wonder if there isn’t some get rich scheme out there somewhere…”

Maybe finding buried treasure or something.
I had a look around my house and our villa before but nothing ever came up. I had hoped to find at least one koban.
Hahhh… ‘Get rich quick’… ‘Easy money’… What wonderful words. To be honest I was more the type who preferred to wait around for good fortune.
Huh. Wasn’t there a story about a dog finding treasure? Maybe I could take Beatrice with me into the mountains to look for some. Cocker spaniels were originally hunting dogs, weren’t they? Maybe I’d try Mount Akagi first?

*

“This is just for you, Kisshouin-san.”

Umewaka-kun the dog lover gave me some sweets for White Day along with a self-made postcard of Bea-tan.

‘Thanks for the chocolates. They were really yummy!’ said the message from Bea-tan.

Moriyama-san’s reaction to the words ‘just for you’ was a little scary. You can have it if you want. The postcard.

It seems that Dog Lover-kun was working to support Beatrice. And apparently that was where he had made the money for his White Day presents to Beatrice. Clothing and a hair accessory.
To begin with, giving a White Day present meant that he got Valentines chocolate from Bea-tan, right? I joked as much to him, only to be told,

“Of course! Our love is mutual!”

with a smile. …I see~
Sorry to Moriyama-san but it might have been better to give up on this guy… Apparently he already had a girlfriend.

I wonder if a dog spoilt so rotten would still have their instincts. Some of the photos I’d seen had featured Bea-tan frolicking in the waves at the beach but I’d never seen her muddy on a mountain. Maybe my dream of having buried coins dug up left and right would be a bit much for this sheltered girl.
Aahh… I suppose if I had time to daydream I might as well spend it thinking about ideas I could actually implement. A life of living on royalties… My life of living on unearned income…
I headed to my grab my notepad from my desk. Maybe I’d consider household goods first.

*

*

I met up with Sakura-chan during the spring break. It was getting warmer these days. I ordered a hot chocolate, thinking it might be my last for a while. Hot chocolate was delicious.

“My. That’s cute necklace, Reika.”

“Uhuhu, isn’t it? I got this from Tomoe-senpai and Kasumi-sama for White Day.”

I held it up proudly so that she could see it better.

“By Tomoe-senpai, you mean that boy you used to like? Did you still like him?”

“No, no, I just think he’s really cool. Plus, Tomoe-senpai already has Kasumi-sama.”

I told her about what happened at graduation. Sakura-chan seemed to find it really dreamy too.

“I wonder if Takumi wouldn’t come for my graduation. Maybe he could make a dramatic statement at Yurinomiya.”

“Nah, something like that might be a bit much for him.”

“Hey, are you making fun of Takumi?”

“That’s not what I meant. Some people are just suited to different things.”

Speaking of which, her unrequited love had actually been going for a long time. It sounded fine put like that, but if you thought about it maybe this kind of stubborn love made her similar to Kaburagi. Since they were the same sort, maybe Kaburagi should have asked Sakura-chan for advice?
Oh, I know. Maybe I’d give her that anthology. I didn’t have it with me today so maybe I’d mail it to her house later.

“That’s some expression you’re wearing. What are you scheming, Reika?”

“Eh-, you’re imagining thingsss~”

“…I don’t know what you’re thinking but if you do something stupid I won’t forgive you.”

“Okay…”

Tsk.

“Speaking of which, on White Day Maihama Ema was kicking up a fuss about how she was going to get something from your Emperor.”

“Ehh! Kaburagi…-sama gave her a White Day present? Maihama-san?”

Kaburagi got a mountain of chocolate each year but I’d never heard of him giving anything back. Except to Yurie-sama of course.
Was he really treating Maihama-san as special? It was hard to imagine from his behaviour on Valentine’s though.

“Then the next day she started avoiding the topic. She wouldn’t tell us what she received, so it was probably a lie. She probably needed to show off to girls who actually got something from someone. There are actually a lot of girls there who believe that she’s close with the Emperor, but what’s the truth like?”

“Who knows…? I’m not all that close with Kaburagi-sama myself so I couldn’t say. I was surprised that she came all the way to Zui’ran to give him Valentine’s chocolate though.”

“Ahh, she did announce something about giving him chocolate and then spending time with him. Takumi said it almost caused a riot. Maihama Ema has always been acting like Emperor’s girlfriend but it’s gotten even worse this year. As ‘Emperor’s girlfriend’ she’s even been complaining to girls who gossip about how great he is.”

“Uwahh…”

Maihama-san was even more embarrassing than expected. Even Kisshouin Reika in the manga hadn’t spread terrifying lies about being his girlfriend.
Oh, I know. What if I gave the anthology to her? She’d treasure it if she knew it was Kaburagi’s beloved book. Since she wasn’t given anything on White Day, it could be a consolation prize from me. Now then, how would I send it over?

*

*

Since there was homework for the break I had Marin-sensei help. I had things to learn during the spring break too so it felt like I would be spending the whole time studying. Some of my friends were going out to have fun though… Maybe I’d get in touch with Aoi-chan?
While I was in my room, seeing how long I could keep a pencil on my lip for, my mother came smiling with an invitation in hand.

It was an invitation to a sakura-viewing party hosted by the Kaburagi family.
Most of the invitees to this party were adults so each year I had gotten out of going with my parents. This time it had specifically mentioned ‘Reika-san’ though, so it would be hard to get out of.
Ugehh~ I really didn’t wanna go. Obviously I didn’t want anything to do with them, and I didn’t even like viewing cherry blossoms at night. I mean, sure, sakura were pretty in the daytime, but at night they became a little scary.
Didn’t people used to say that there were corpses buried underneath them…?

Okaasama was already talking about picking out a furisode for me. A girl in a furisode, at night, with a cherry blossom tree. It was already starting to sound like some horror story…
While I was thinking about how to get out of it, I decided to fall ill.
First I tried a cold bath. It was so cold that I couldn’t stay in for more than a minute. I thought my heart was going to stop. My lips were all purple and I couldn’t stop the chattering. Cold! Dying! But maybe I’d catch a cold and get out of it all! I could already see a fever tomorrow.
Cold, cold, so damned cold. I got into bed shivering but when I woke up there wasn’t even a sneeze.
I checked myself for any signs of illness, but I still had my appetite and health.
My body was surprisingly tough. Damn it…

Okay then. Maybe I’d try eating something rotten next…

---

<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

---

On White Day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Day#Observation

On the legend of Izanagi and Yomi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Izanami-no-Mikoto#Death_of_Izanami-no-Mikoto

Also, probably the only chapter tonight due to its length.

---

Around the time that I took the unlucky doll out for repairs, the finals came around.

A few days later when the results came out, this is what the ranking board looked like:

1. Enjou Shuusuke

2. Takamichi Wakaba

3. Mizusaki Arima

・・・

5. Kaburagi Masaya

He had been a walking corpse up until the exams happened. Why did he shoot to 5th place the moment he recovered?! I was at my best but I failed to get in again! What the heck was this!? The curse of the doll?!

The girls around Enjou and Kaburagi had been celebrating Enjou getting 1st place and Kaburagi’s revival.
That was all when and good until I overheard,

“How cunning of her! She sneaked in between Enjou-sama and Mizusaki-kun!”

How was that her fault?

Meanwhile, Kaburagi was staring expressionlessly at the ranking board.

…I wondered if he wouldn’t take that anthology back.
I had glanced through it at least, but the thing was tagged whenever there was a poem that he liked. So pushy… Maybe I could sneak it into his desk. If not, then what if I burnt it instead? The anthology felt like it was filled with his bad luck…

*

*

The 14th of March was White Day. While I was chatting with my group over lunch as usual, my phone received a message. The moment I saw the contents I sprinted towards the school gates. My sides immediately started hurting though so I slowed down.

“Kasumi-sama! Tomoe-senpai!”

I waved at the pair standing by the gates.

“It’s been about two weeks, hasn’t it, Kisshouin-san.”

“Gokigen’yoh, Reika-sama.”

“Yes! Gokigen’yoh, Kasumi-sama, Tomoe-senpai!”

Tomoe-senpai in casual clothes! He looked even more mature out of his school uniform! So coool!

“Sorry for bothering you during your lunch.”

“Not at all! I am overjoyed to see the two of you again!”

“We’re actually here today to give you this. Here, it’s your White Day present,” said Tomoe-senpai.

What he handed me was a bag from a shop famous for their French marshmallows!

Yay! I loved these things!

In my past life I had enjoyed marshmallows for sure, but the expensive French guimauve marshmallows would melt away in your mouth in an instant, leaving behind a juicy fruit flavour.

What’s more, the bag I was holding was pretty heavy too. There were definitely a lot in there. …It was really nice.

“One more thing. This is from the both of us.”

With that, Tomoe-senpai held out a shopping bag from a jeweller’s.

“Eh!”

“We picked out something that we thought would look good on you, Kisshouin-san.”

“Reika-sama, I would be happy if you liked it.”

“May I open it and see?” I asked.

Tomoe-senpai and Kasumi-sama smiled in acquiescence so I didn’t hold back.
Inside was a beautiful flower necklace! And in the middle of it was a little aquamarine. Cute!

“May I truly accept something so wonderful for just a little bit of chocolate?”

“Of course! We picked the flower because it’s you, Kisshouin-san. You’ll look great wearing it.”

So Tomoe-senpai’s image of me was a flower!? Ah-, another phantom nosebleed…

“Thank you very much. I will treasure it forever!”

“Forever? Gee, I’m happy to hear that.”

“The two of us are happy that you like it, Reika-sama.”

As Kasumi-sama laughed gently with a hand over her mouth, I noticed a ring on it!

“Kasumi-sama, that ring is…?”

“Eh, ah. This is Senju’s White Day present to me…” she said, turning bright red.

Kaaah! I’m so happy for you! What a happy couple!

But wow, I was so satisfied just getting this necklace.
Even though they were on holiday after graduating from school, they came all the way here just to give me these. I was really so happy.

Apparently the two of them were headed for a date after this. Tsk, and here I still had more classes. So lucky.

Since lunch break was about to end, I reluctantly bade them goodbye. They said they would come visit even after they entered university, so I was holding them to it.

*

Overjoyed, I practically skipped into the school building when I sensed an oddly strong gaze.

With my present in hand, I looked around only to find Kaburagi standing a little distance away.
He was staring riiight at me. Eh… What’s with him?

He was staring at me so silently that I could almost hear the silence. I stepped backwards due to the discomfort.

“Ummm… Is something the matter?”

Staaaaaaaaaare…

What the heck? Do you want something or what? I’m not a mind reader so just staring at me won’t get you anywhere, okay? And it’s scary too. Just say what you want already.

Kaburagi continued to stare in silence. I continued to slowly back away. To my misfortune, nobody was in front of the school building with us. Whaaaat the heeeck…

…Hm? Paying a bit more attention, I realised that he was actually staring at the present in my hand.
Could it be that he wanted to say something about me receiving this even though I was supposed to be a comrade in heartbreak? Did he think I was a traitor now? The shopping bag even had the jeweller’s brand on it…

Oh, or could it be that he wanted some reference before choosing White Day presents himself?

“Kaburagi-sama… Today is White Day… isn’t it.”

Kaburagi’s eyes shot wide open.
Oh no! A landmine! I bet this guy didn’t receive Valentine’s chocolate from Yurie-sama this year! If he didn’t get anything, then of course there was no reason to give anything back!
His gaze was condemning me for being the only one feeling good out of the two of us!
Nooooo! This guy hadn’t gotten better at all! His sickness was way too deep! Stop it! Don’t get me sick too!
Nooo! Run away! I wanted to run away!

No choice!
I tore open the marshmallow bag. There it was.
A clear case with French marshmallows of different colours. Pink ones were raspberry, the light blue ones were lime, the orange ones were mango, the white ones peach…

I pulled a peach-flavoured one out of the case and then wrapped Kaburagi’s hand over it as he stood there frozen.
Then I made a run for it!

Since time immemorial, the peach plant was said to have powerful anti-evil properties. According to the Kojiki, on his escape from Yomi, Izanagi was said to have thrown peaches to scatter the oni that followed him.
Which made this hallway the Yomotsuhirasaka! If I wanted to return safely to the real world, I couldn’t look back!
Pass on peacefully, Kaburagi!

*

*

Today was the middle school graduation ceremony, so here I was, waiting to congratulate that uncute cousin of mine.

Not only did I have a bouquet of lollipop lilies for her, I had even gone out of the way to prepare an Oniisama.

Oniisama was really busy at work but after some begging I got him to slip away for a while. Ririna, be grateful to the compassionate Reika.
I handed the bouquet to Oniisama to give.

“Why don’t you just hand them over yourself?”

“Ririna will be happier receiving them from you, Oniisama.”

Ririna and her classmates began filing out of the building. The moment she spotted Oniisama she abandoned her friends and sprinted here full-speed.

“Taka-niisama! You came!”

“Congratulations, Ririna.”

“Lilies! Ririna’s flowers! Thank you, Taka-niisama!”

Ririna beamed blissfully as she received the bouquet from him. I supposed she could borrow him for today.
Instead, I began handing out smaller bouquets to her friends as I congratulated them. Thank goodness I prepared extras.

“Thank you, Reika-senpai!”

“To think Reika-senpai gave me flowers!”

“Thank you very much, Reika-senpai.”

Similar things could be heard from the rest of my little kouhai. Not Reika-sama, Reika-senpai. Of course I was the one who asked them to call me that, but still, uhuhuhu, it had such a ring to it. Was this how it felt to be respected and idolised?

“Thank you all so much for staying friends with that wilful girl. It must have been trouble. Ririna can be such a child.”

“Hey!” she butt in, “What the heck are you saying!?”

Ahh, stop being so louuud.

“Goodness, Ririna. So rowdy even at your graduation.”

“Whose fault is that!?”

“Hahh. So noisy. This is why I called you a child.”

“What did you say!?”

“Get along, you two. It’s graduation day.”

“But Taka-niisama!” she whined as she pulled on Oniisama’s cuff.

“What are you even here for, Reika-san? You haven’t congratulated me once.”

“My, I must have forgotten. Congratulations, Ririna.”

“Say that earlier.”

Sooo not cute.

Oniisama glanced at his watch. He came here while busy so I guess time was up.

“Sorry, Ririna. I’ve got to get back to work.”

“Ehh~”

“I greeted Ojisama and Obasama earlier, so I’m going to head off now. Give them my regards.”

“…Fiiine. It’s a shame but work is work. Thank you for coming today, Taka-niisama.”

“Yeah. Congratulations.”

“I think I shall leave as well,” I chimed in. “Congratulations once again, everybody. Please excuse me. Gokigen’yoh.”

I waved to everyone and was about to leave when Ririna called out to me.

“Reika-san.”

She was standing with her face buried in the flowers.

“…Thank you for the flowers…”

Hmph.

“You are 10 years too early for madonna lilies, you brazen girl. Lollipop lilies are more like it.”

“Shut up!”

Tired of dealing with my uncute younger cousin, I hurried to Oniisama’s side.

“Really, what on earth are you two doing?”

“Goodness, Oniisama. Do try to avoid lumping us together.”

Aaah, dealing with children had made me hungry. Since Oniisama was heading back to the company I thought about getting something to eat instead. Eating at home was fine, but eating out was an option too. I was feeling like Nagasaki champon.

That was when a lone boy appeared.

“Oi!”

It was the bird-brained Katsuragi boy.

“Long time no see, Katsuragi-kun. How are you feeling?”

“You! I figured out your trick! It was a lie!”

Trick? What was he on about? A lie?

“That password! Don’t think I didn’t solve it right away! And no bloodied soldiers ever came, either!”

Aah! That! Wow, considering his tone just now he must have really agonised over it. And obviously no ghost soldiers ever came. Huh? Could it be that he didn’t solve it that night and was actually frightened that they would come for him?

“Sounds like you got lucky. Anyhow, we’re leaving now, so bye.”

“Is that all you have to say!?”

“Goodness, did you want to hear another story?”

Katsuragi turned around and prepared to run, so I used the chance to urge Oniisama towards the car park.
Birdbrain was still cawing behind us.

Gosh, life was peaceful~ Spring was around the corner too~

“Is it alright to leave him, Reika?”

“Oh yes. For some reason I seem to be surrounded by buffoons…”

“I’m pretty sure that’s because…”

Oniisama gave me a complicated smile, and rubbed me on the head.

*
*

I hoped spring break would come soon~

---

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<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

---

It was finally here. The day of Tomoe-senpai’s graduation.
As the Student Council President, naturally Tomoe-senpai was the one giving the address. Aahh. This would be the last time seeing Tomoe-senpai in his uniform. Goodbye, first love of mine. …Just kidding. I just felt like being a little extravagant.
First I congratulated the graduating Pivoine members as a fellow member. After that I made my way towards Tomoe-senpai. Around him was a huge crowd of other graduates. It was a little nerve-wracking.

“Congratulations on graduating, Tomoe-senpai!”

“Thanks, Kisshouin-san.”

Uu, being so close was making me teary… It’s going to be so lonelyy.

“Thanks for the chocolate the other day. Kasumi was overjoyed too.”

“Yes!”

Ah, he just said Kasumi. Was that okay now?
I looked at him questioningly, and he smiled and nodded.

“Kasumi!”

Kasumi looked up with a start amidst her group of friends a distance away.
Seeing us, she walked over and then wrapped her arms around his shoulders and dropped her bombshell announcement.

“Everybody, we’re dating!”

As the former Student Council President and a member of the Pivoine, the news caused quite a stir.
Both the Student Council and the Pivoine had taken quite a shock.
I was moved though, and began clapping passionately. Uwaah, uwahh, this was the world of shoujo romance that I admiredd!
After graduating they didn’t really have much to do with the Pivoine or StuCo, right! Now they could walk happily through university with their hands held, right!

Influenced by my own clapping, other people began to follow. The applause grew louder and louder.
Tomoe-senpai smiled and waved, but Kasumi-sama had turned beet red. She seemed happy though. Aaahh! Kasumi-sama was crying! Oh no, now I was crying! I’m so happy for you, Kasumi-sama! You’ve had to hide it for so long. It must have hurt not being able to tell anyone.

The two of them slipped out of the crowd of shocked onlookers and came to where I was.
I gave them another clap of the hands.

“Thank you, Kisshouin-san.”

“Thank you, Reika-sama.”

“Cob-, cobgrajul-, leshonss!!”

Oh no, my nose was all stuffy from the crying.
I pulled out a handkerchief and stealthily wiped away the mucus along with my tears. …Phew, I could finally breathe again.

“I am so glad for you, Kasumi-sama. You can finally love each other in public.”

“Thank you for everything, Reika-sama. I was really happy to have somebody like you to talk to.”

“Kasumi-samaaa~!”

And now I was crying again. And she was too, as we held hands. Oh, no, Kasumi-sama, this handkerchief has my snot on it…

“Kisshouin-san, I’ve always thought of you as a cute little sister as well. Thanks for everything. I hope you and Kasumi will stay close even after we’re gone.”

“Yes. I will always wish you two well.”

Tomoe-senpai rubbed me on the head. Uwaaan! Are you really okay with this good-for-nothing as a sisterrr!?

Oniisama, Imari-sama, and now Tomoe-senpai. I was blessed by wonderful Oniisamas all around!

*

*

After seeing them off, I realised that my tears had finally stopped.
It was a little embarrassing to have bawled like that, so I found an abandoned corner of the school building. I was finally alone. Pulling out some tissues, I blew my nose hard. Aahh, finally clear!
Hahhh. It was amazing how much better I felt now.

But Tomoe-senpai really was amazing. Even once would do, I wanted to experience having somebody profess their love to me at graduation like that!
While bells were ringing in my head, somebody tapped me on the shoulder. Mn?
I turned around to find Kaburagi, standing there looking sorrowful.
What on earth was he doing here?

“Umm… is something the matter?”

It was a completely reasonable question.

Hand still on my shoulder, the sorrow on Kaburagi’s face deepened before he spoke.

“You’re amazing…”

“Eh?”

Amazing? At what?

“You’ve liked him all this time, right? The Student Council President.”

“Eh?”

“It must have been tough being told that you were like a little sister to him…”

“Eh? Ah, well…”

Kaburagi had a knowing look on his face as he slapped my shoulder a few times. That hurts, damnit. And stop misunderstanding things on your own. Seriously, what the heck was this guy saying.

“I’m in the same position as you, so I know. Being told that you’re a sister by the person you love…!”

Kaburagi gripped my shoulder as he was overcome with emotion. Oww oww owwww!

“But you were amazing. You even smiled as you congratulated them. You did great.”

This time it was my back that he was smacking. That hurts, goddamnit!! I’m not a sumo wrestler so stop hitting me already!

“Kaburagi-sama, might you be misunderstanding something?”

I casually put some distance between us and escaped the reach of his hand. But this time he grabbed me by both shoulders.

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. Seeing you really encouraged me. The way you watched those two…! You’re so amazing, Kisshouin! After watching you, I realised that I wanted to follow your lead and start facing forwards as well… So don’t let yourself lose to a broken heart either!”

Grind, grind, grind. Oww, oww, owwww! He was pushing me into the ground!
My shoulders and my back hurt so much that I was starting to tear up, but then Kaburagi saw and started tearing up as well.

“If it gets to be too much, come talk to me. We both have to try our best… We can both get over this, I know it…”

Kaburagi turned away from me to hide his tears as he wiped his face.

“Don’t do anything rash,” he said, before leaving.

…………

What the hell was that?

And what do you mean rash? Did you think I was going to go on a journey as well? Um, I’m really not, okay? Toujinbou is freaking cold.

But wow, did Kaburagi have some strong ideas about things. Arbitrarily getting the wrong idea about Tomoe-senpai and I, too. That was ages ago. And it was a bit troublesome how because of the little sister comment he started thinking of us as comrades or something.
Sometimes I called people idiots in my head, but just now was the real deal.

My shoulders still hurt…

*

*

The next day I went to school with some analgesic strips on my shoulders. When I got to school, Kaburagi silently handed me a poem anthology.
‘Eh-, I don’t want this,’ I thought and tried to hand it back, but he slapped me on the shoulder again so I nodded.

“Our feelings are in this book…”

What do you mean ‘our’… I told you to stop lumping us together.

…Heine was the one who said ‘love is always a kind of madness.’

You spent all that time reading poems, but you didn’t learn a thing, did you Kaburagi.

“Also, Kisshouin, take care about your crying face. You look pretty horrible.”

“…Hah?”

Apparently having said everything he wanted to, Kaburagi left for his own classroom with a satisfied expression.
Enjou, looking extremely pleased with himself, came over and spoke to me.

“Because of you, Masaya’s looking a lot better now. Thanks.”

…Haaah!?
Don’t feel better by making out other people as heartbroken rejects! And sorry for being ugly when I cry! Instead of bringing me a poem anthology, bring me some heat strips instead! Odourless ones!

Since people were watching I couldn’t exactly throw it away, and so I was left bringing it back with me.

“Kaburagi-sama gave Reika-sama a love poem anthologyy!” they squealed as I entered the classroom. God, could this get any worse…!?

“Giving a girl a poem anthology!? He’s so sensitive and dreamy!” some other girl pitched in. You think so? I’m not happy at all.

The thing was an anthology of poems read over two months by some sobbing reject. Just having it in my bag felt like it was harming my love fortunes. It was like a mass of bad luck!

*

*

*

When I got home and slammed my bag down, the head from a Japanese doll fell off.

---

“love is always a kind of madness”

Apparently the original and full quote was,

Die Liebe ist immer eine Art Wahnsinn, mehr oder minder schön

which my German friends verify is indeed a quote from Heinrich Hein, specifically his essay on Shakespeare, and translates to,

“Love is always a kind of madness, more or less beautiful.”

for any of you Huns out there. I don’t read German unfortunately, so I can’t verify that it actually was Heinrich Heine who said that. I’d like to learn German one day, but the genders just make it soooo haaaard…

---

<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

---

Wakaba-chan wearing rain boots that day turned into a bit of a fiasco. Some people were claiming that it was affecting Zui’ran’s image and dignity.

I thought it was kicking up a huge fuss about nothing but a lot of people were quite proud to go to Zui’ran and it looked like they were finding her actions hard to accept. While I had been joining the Handicrafts Club, apparently the President of the Pivoine herself was busy giving Wakaba-chan a severe verbal lashing. Because the President had her eye on Wakaba-chan, yet more students were avoiding her.

Wakaba-chan simply gave an earnest apology and swore not to wear them to school again.

I wondered where Kaburagi had been during a time like this, but it turns out he was sitting around depressed and reading Heine. Did that make Yurie his Amalie? So troublesome…

On the other hand, if Kaburagi was this subdued until graduation, wouldn’t that mean a relaxing high school life for me? Was it actually better for me if he didn’t get back on his feet?!

Since Kaburagi was done with his journeys, even Enjou was leaving him be.

Somehow this was shaping up to be a fantastic year.

*

*

It was close to Valentine’s, so when I arrived at cram school Moriyama-san and Sakaki-san were discussing chocolates. The self-proclaimed boy-ish Moriyama-san would apparently be hand-making chocolates.

“Kisshouin-san, are you planning on giving him chocolates?”

Oh yeah. I forgot I had that kind of background story. It’s not like I saw Imari-sama all that often, and it would have been weird to go out of my way just for that, so I hadn’t actually ever done it.

“Not as such. I only ever give chocolates to family members.”

“Ehhhhhh? You have to be more pro-active about these things.”

“I simply appreciate him in secret so I would not want him to realise.”

“Hmmmmm.”

That was when the three guys of the group came barging in.

“What’s this about Valentine’s!?”

“Since you won’t get any chocolates anyhow, I’ll give you some,” Moriyama-san said with her best impression of casual. Shocker.

Apparently the gazes that the boys got from their family physically pained them so they begged us for quantity. That’s how it was decided that they would get one from each of us. For some reason me included. I hadn’t ever given anybody courtesy Valentine’s chocolates though.

“I bet Kisshouin-san’s courtesy chocolates are going to be super high class!”

Moriyama-san’s eyes turned sharp at his comment. Scary. Since the other two girls were just giving normal chocolates, I decided that Umewaka-kun would get special dog chocolate for Beatrice. At least I wouldn’t be giving him chocolates now.

Aahh~ A Valentines without a crush to give a proper Valentine’s chocolate to was boringg.

*

*

At school my friends discussed giving chocolates to Kaburagi and Enjou so it was lively every day. Since it didn’t cost me anything, I gave them some advice.

“Kaburagi-sama is fussy about calling it chocolat instead.”

Anyhow, since this Valentine’s talk didn’t have much to do with me, I was left feeling a little bored. That’s why I ended up wandering the school for a while when I suddenly bumped into Tomoe-senpai coming out of the staff room.

“Tomoe-senpai!”

“Oh! Kisshouin-san.”

I trotted over to him. Chances like these were precious now that we were so close to his graduation.

“Tomoe-senpai, I heard that you made it into the university you wanted. Congratulations!”

“Thanks,” he said, and flashed an honest smile. Uhuhu, wasn’t this a feast for the eyes.

“I had wanted to give you something to congratulate you, but…”

“Congratulate me? That’s fine. Just hearing that is enough. Thank you.”

Mmmn. I guess. I suppose it would be a bit heavy to receive a graduation gift from somebody who was just an underclassman… But there wasn’t much time left until graduation, so I wanted to do something.
I told him as much, and he suggested,

“How about Valentine’s chocolate for my present then?”

“Eh!?”

Valentine’s chocolate for Tomoe-senpai!?
Was I dreaming!? I knew I was lucky this year!
I swore that no matter what else happened, I would give him one! Thus, I rushed towards the 3rd year classrooms.

I was of course overjoyed at the chance to do this, but first I needed permission from Kasumi-sama, his girlfriend.
I told her what happened and asked her what she thought, but she gladly gave me permission.

“Senju loves sweets, so choose something delicious, okay?”

Leave it to me!

I began butting into my friends’ conversations, asked Sakura-chan for help, and researched various sources as to exactly what chocolate to pick. I even personally taste-tested them all.
Even romantic delusions like this were fun. I don’t think I had ever chosen a chocolate so seriously. Was this how fans felt when they picked out chocolates to give to idols?

*

On the day of Valentine’s, I handed over matching chocolates to Kasumi-sama and Tomoe-senpai. In the message card I wrote ‘S & K’. In my capacity as the Village Chief of Forever Alone Village, I bless you, O happy couple! Out of all the chocolates I gobbled down, this was the yummiest one, you know!

“Thank you!” he smiled. Kyuun!

I know it isn’t official yet, but congratulations on getting the offer you wanted, Tomoe-senpai. A consumable as a gift really was the best choice.

“I never expected that I would get some too. Thank you, Reika-sama.”

Kasumi-sama happily accepted her bundle as well. They’re delicious, so make sure to eat them, okay?

“By the way, Kasumi-sama, what kind of chocolate did you give him?”

“Oh, I made a cake and…”

Ohh! For a boyfriend it really did have to be hand-made!
How niice. I’m so envious. I wonder if I’ll ever get to give somebody a hand-made chocolate.

Kasumi-sama and I spoke about Valentine’s for a while.

“Aren’t you going to give chocolates to the person you like?” she asked, so I replied,

“Nobody like that exists at the moment. If there was somebody else like Tomoe-senpai it would be a different story, however,” so she happily replied,

“My! There’s nobody else like Senju, you know? Uhuhu.”

Urggh! Next year! Next year for sure I’ll find somebody!

*

All that was left today was to go home and make chocolates for Oniisama and Otousama. That’s why I quickly said goodbye to my friends and left the school building. As I was heading towards the gates, though, I saw a huge crowd gathered there.
Curious, I went to have a look only to find Maihama-san who had come all the way to Zui’ran just to give Kaburagi her chocolates. Her curls casual as usual, Maihama-san’s mouth was curved upwards proudly.

“Masaya-sama, the Valentine’s chocolates I promised.”

“…”

Ah! Weren’t those the same chocolates that I brought to the Kaburagi tea party! If you’re giving chocolates to somebody you love then put in the effort to make them yourself, damnit! And ‘chocolates’! She just said ‘chocolates’! Are you an idiot!

While the girls of Zui’ran were seething with hatred, Kaburagi just accepted them without much care.
The amount of chocolate that Kaburagi received was incredible, so he always had some of his family’s employees accept them. The chocolate from Maihama-san was dangling from his hand however, and the expressions of the girls were getting more and more dangerous.
While I was watching everything unfold next to my enraged friends, Maihama-san suddenly noticed me.

“My, Reika-san.”

Uwah, annoying.

“Gokigen’yoh, Maihama-san.”

“Masaya-sama and I are going home to eat my Valentine’s chocolates together.”

“I see.”

“His Okaasama invited me, after all. Are you going to his house too, Reika-san?”

“No.”

“Oh myy! Were you not invited, Reika-sama? Oh my, I’m so sorry. Were you expecting something?”

With those insults, my friends’ eyes now promised murder.

Although Maihama-san was acting like she was better than me, while she was busy looking down on me Kaburagi had gotten into his car by himself and was about to drive off. Oh. There he goes. Maihama-san had been left behind.

“Masaya-sama!?”

In a panic, she got into her own car to chase him down. Ridiculous.

“How dare that woman speak to you like that!?” growled Serika-chan holding one arm.

“Unforgiveable…! Reika-sama! Punish that upstart!” snarled Kikuno-chan with my other.

Now, now, don’t be so angry. Didn’t she just give us a hilarious show?

“She will never amount to much,” I said simply.

That seemed to calm my group down. Really though, you could tell as much by her curls. She was from another school too, so honestly I couldn’t care less.
More important than her sad little sideshow was getting home in time to get the chocolates prepared. I probably wouldn’t miss anything except my friends badmouthing her some more.

As I was finally leaving the school ground, I caught sight of Wakaba-chan. Wakaba-chan’s pastime was baking sweets. I wonder if she had made anything for Valentine’s.

*

*

This year I was making a simple chocolate cake.
First I mixed the ingredients I had prepared. This was a Reika-original recipe.
I wanted it to have a mature taste so I used less sugar for starters. Instead, I put in some liqueur. The subtle flavours of an adult.
To make the liqueur flavour a little more original, I secretly used multiple kinds. Hmm hmm hmm~
Maybe it would be a good idea to submit the recipe to a cooking website. Oh! Then it would have been even better to have pictures of the process! What a shame! Oh well. Next time…

The finished cake smelt of alcohol. Hm, this was okay, right?
I tried a bit. It was a little bitter…
Commoners wouldn’t know, but high quality chocolate was actually kind of bitter. Sweet chocolate tasted a bit cheaper.

Oniisama would be late coming home today, so in the end I gave Otousama his share first. The tanuki took a bit and then said stuff like,

“Ah, Otousama has a few health checks coming up and…”

Stop chewing already and swallow, you tanuki. This cake is filled with love from your daughter, you know.

As for Oniisama… I decided to cut him a smaller piece.

---

---

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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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It was just starting to become cold when the snow began.
I had been excitedly hoping that with all this snow school would be cancelled, but alas, no such announcement came and so I had no choice but prepare to head out.

It was probably quite hard on those who were commuting by train but I was fine and dandy in my car.
Honestly, there wasn’t anything more dangerous than wearing loafers on a snowy day. And it got into your shoes too. Times were hard back in my old life as a commoner.
Only primary schoolers would feel happy about snow.

As I was watching from the comfort of my car, I saw a number of people slip on the snow. It sure was dangerous.

Most students of Zui’ran were driven, but a few of the ones that lived close-by would walk with friends. I caught a few of them here and there. The loafers were sinking into the snow so they were having a hard time of walking.
Despite that, there was a student walking properly through it.

It was Wakaba-chan. Wakaba-chan was wearing rain boots.

Not the plain ones that fishmongers wore. On the side of her boots were flower patterns.

Still, I could respect that she chose practicality over fashion. Just what you’d expect from her.

Wakaba-chan’s nose was all red, and her face was buried in her muffler.

Mufflers…

*

I had the sudden urge to knit a muffler.
I was almost always dropped off by car so there really wasn’t much reason to own one. Except as fashion, that is.
I immediately headed to the Handicrafts Club with some yarn.

Knitting was popular here in winter, so plenty of them were sitting around with knitting needles.
It sure looked fun. I wasn’t very skilled so my knitting was loose or crooked in places.

“Knitting, Reika-sama? Could it be that you had a tangle again?” asked the senpai who became the new Club President.

“No, I was simply thinking of trying a muffler this time.”

“My, a muffler. For your own use? Or were you thinking of giving it as a present to somebody?”

“I had not truly considered it… I just wanted to make one.”

I’m pretty sure even Oniisama or Otousama would be bothered if I foisted one of my mufflers onto them. I had bought some of the softest wool, so I planned to just unravel it at home later.

“Ummm… Speaking of which, Reika-sama, I need to speak to you about something.”

“What might the matter be?”

The Club President seemed like she had a hard time finding the words. I had a bad feeling. Everybody else seemed to be glancing this way too. The feeling was getting worse and worse.

“You’ve really been coming to our club a lot, Reika-sama…”

“Yes…”

Uohhnn, was it finally time? After a year of nonchalantly coming here, it was about time that somebody asked what the heck I was doing here. Despite her gentle face, it seemed the Club President could deal with conflict.
What was I going to do? Huh. What if when she evicted me, I just pretended not to hear…

“Reika-sama, would you like to join our club?”

“Eh!?”

The President gently handed me an application form.

“Last year on the last day of club activities, all of us discussed it. You seem to love handicrafts, and you helped us with the bouquet for the school festival, didn’t you? So we wondered why not have you join us officially.”

They were talking about that during that tea party I wasn’t invited to!?

“May I truly join the club?”

“Yes, of course.”

“…But did you not find me a bother at first?”

“No, not at all!”

The President’s eyes were swimming. I knew it…

“Um, we would be happy too if you joined us, Reika-sama,” one of the members spoke up.

Really? I looked around, only to find the other members nodding with smiles.

After a whole year, I finally got in! I could get rid of the ‘Provisional’ now!

I gripped the application form tightly in my hands.

“I shall join the Handicrafts Club!” I declared.

Everybody clapped in welcome.

Happy! So happy!

My mood suddenly sky-rocketed. So happy I was that before I knew it I had stood up and placed my hands on my hips.

“Then as an official member, I shall spare no effort in working for the club. My first act will be to negotiate with the student council, claim the budget that we deserve, and guarantee a larger and better club room for us!”

“Eh-, nobody really asked for that…”

“Leave it to me, everybody! The most conspicuous location shall be allocated to us, next school festival!”

“Reika-sama, we’re happy the way we are!”

“And being somewhere too eye-catching is a little…”

“Please, Reika-sama! Please quit this…”

My new club members stopped me in a panic.

Oops. The happiness almost ran to my head. The new Club President was already half pulling at my application form. What are you doing? I won’t return it now. I’ll bring it back tomorrow with the stamps on it. Accept it without crushing it, okay?
And to that last girl, you weren’t telling me to quit this club, were you? I’m not leaving this place until graduation.

Today, Kisshouin Reika became a full member of the Handicrafts Club. Uhohooi!

*

*

I texted Aoi-chan and Sakura-chan about my acceptance into the Handicrafts Club.

‘I’m so happy for you! I knew they would see what a good person you were!’ came Aoi-chan’s heart-warming reply.

‘After silently pressuring them for so long, no wonder they folded. As always, stubborn persistence will win the day,’ said Sakura-chan. Sharp-tongued as always.

After that, Sakura-chan mailed me about Maihama-san’s situation. Apparently at Yurinomiya she was all but boasting that she was Emperor’s girlfriend. She told everybody about how Emperor’s mother, and the woman he idolised as an older sister had already approved of her.

“Uheeh~”

Maihama-san sure was running her mouth, just because she went to a different school. Had this happened at Zui’ran she would have been lynched in a day.

Even though she had only come to pick him up from Zui’ran the one time, according to Sakura-chan’s information, she had gone to the Kaburagi house a number of times.

Anyhow, maybe thanks to Enjou’s encouragement, Kaburagi was slowly getting better. The damage still seemed quite deep though because he hadn’t taken care of Maihama-san yet.

Being perfectly honest, I think the best way to get him his energy back would be to hold a snowball tournament.
It wouldn’t be surprising, considering the way he treated cavalry battles. I could already see him gathering an army of follows, and shouting “Left and right wings, flank them!”
I doubted that the school would organise a snowball tournament just for his sake though.

Going back to Maihama-san though, she was kind of like a mini Kimidol-Kisshouin Reika, wasn’t she.

*

After officially joining the club I wanted to be a model member, so I made sure to come each day and furiously knitted away. Thanks to that my scarf had become oddly long and was kind of a weird shape, so I converted it into a lap blanket instead.
Once it was done though it wasn’t very good, so I gave it to Otousama.
Of course, the tanuki got ahead of himself, and said “Reika is such a daddy’s girl,” pissing me off.
And then I heard from his secretary Sasajima-san about how he was running around showing the thing off, so right now I was in the middle of deep, profound regret…

---

By the way, a reminder that they used emails with their phones over there. Like, they never used SMS texting, it was always a changeable email-address registered to the phone number.

---

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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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---

Bara (薔薇, “rose“), also known by the wasei-eigo construction “Men’s Love” (ML メンズラブ, “menzu rabu”), is a Japanese technical term for a genre of art and fictional media that focuses on male same-sex love usually created by gay men for a gay audience.

---

Saigyou was the name of a monk said to have created an artificial human. Recalling tales of lonely ogres gathering human bones to create a person, Saigyou was said to have used the secret necromantic séance teachings of the Tokudaiji noble house to create a human from human bone remains.

---

I met Aira-sama in a café the next Sunday in the early afternoon.

“Sorry for making you come out here, Reika-chan.”

“There is nothing to apologise for. Being able to meet with you is a pleasure.”

I ordered a latte. This café did latte art, so I asked for a sheep.

“Cute sheep. Speaking of which, you wore sheep ears during the school festival didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

The reception that my sheep butler costume received was surprisingly good, so I had become a little fond of sheep since. Hmm, it was a bit of a shame to ruin this by drinking it.
While I was appreciating my latte art, Aira-sama began speaking hesitantly.

“So you see, I’m sure you’ve already guessed why I’ve called you out today. It’s about Yurie and Masaya.”

Here it was… I had pretty much guessed it. I took a gentle sip to avoid ruining the sheep. It was delicious.

“You’ve noticed too that Masaya’s been acting strangely, right?”

“…Yes.”

After seeing that it would be stranger if anybody failed to notice. He was like an empty cicada shell of himself. Even if I had somehow missed that, Enjou had already told me about how he went on a journey, and then handed over those unlucky souvenirs.

“You see, Yurie has finally given him her decision.”

“Aahh…”

I thought so…

“Yurie cares about Masaya a great deal as well, but it’s always been the love for a younger brother. That’s why she thought it was about time to make things clear. I mean, the two of us are already twenty. In a sense you could say she was taking responsibility.”

“Hahhh…”

It was more or less the same in Kimidol. ‘I can’t see you as anything other than a brother, so I can’t answer your feelings’ or something. Kaburagi had still replied “No! I won’t give up!” and was pretty persistent about it. In the very end though, Yurie-sama wouldn’t take back her words, for both their sakes.

“It happened a little while after the school festival. Truthfully though, Yurie’s been trying put some distance between them since Masaya entered high school. She’s been trying to create chances for him to notice other girls as well. Remember the girl she brought with her to the school festival?”

“Ah, Maihama Ema-san.”

“Right. The two of them studied under the same tea master and go back quite a while. Ema-san looks up to Yurie and adores Masaya too, and has been to his house a few times with Yurie. Since Yurie dotes on her, Masaya can’t flat-out reject her either…”

“I see…”

“Originally we had planned to come with just Yurie and I but Ema-san came along to the school festival as well. Masaya was really unhappy about that. He had planned to walk around with Yurie but then Ema-san was stuck to him the whole time instead. And then later when he went to Yurie’s house to visit, Ema-san was there again… Eventually the stress built up and he demanded that Yurie tell him what was going on.”

“…”

“And so Yurie told him that she could only see him as a little brother and asked him to give up on her. It went something along the lines of telling him that her feelings wouldn’t change no matter how much he pined after her. She thought it was a good opportunity to set things straight.”

“So the exam results…”

“…Yeah. Masaya of all people dropped ranks, didn’t he. I heard about it later. Yurie was worried too. What’s worse is that after that a young man we met in the UK came to Japan on business. Yurie and I had gone to welcome him, but then Masaya saw. He assumed that Yurie had said all that because she had found a boyfriend and flipped out. The guy took a lot of care of us while we were overseas so Yurie was furious at how rude Masaya had been. So she went and said, ‘Who I date is none of your business, Masaya! I don’t want to see you anymore!’ Of course, they weren’t actually dating, you see.”

“I see…”

So that’s why he went on his journey.
But wow, Kaburagi hadn’t matured since primary school at all. It was the same mistake all over again.

“Did Shuusuke tell you that Masaya went missing? We had a decent idea of where he had gone, but Yurie was white as a sheet what with the destination and all. She came crying to me that she hadn’t expected him to take it that badly and asked me what to do. Shuusuke spent each day talking Masaya down until he knew enough to go pick Masaya up… Ojisama and Obasama were obviously horrified and wanted to know what happened to their son, so it was chaos over there too. Yurie’s been depressed and guilty towards them and told me that she couldn’t face them. It’s been a horrible start to the year.”

To think that while I was nomming on red bean soup and New Year’s mochi broth, these guys were going through something like this…

“Anyhow, we managed to somehow bring Masaya home, and you remember his cold? Because of that he had to call off the rest of his journey, but he’s been completely listless, like a different person. We’ve all been really worried.”

“I see.”

This went into a lot more detail than I expected… I wasn’t liking where this was going.

“Are you certain that you should be telling an outsider like me about all this?”

I made sure to stress ‘outsider’. Not that I thought it would save me at this point…

Aira-sama leant forward and continued.

“You see, I was hoping you could lend your help in getting Masaya back on his feet. Please, Reika-chan.”

“I question what aid I could possibly lend… The two of us are not particularly close, after all. What if you asked Maihama-san, or…?”

Aira-sama shook her head and took my hands into hers.

“That’s not true. I know you can do it, Reika-chan! Back at the school festival the only time Masaya stopped looking moody was when he saw you in your butler outfit. He said something about you not listening to what he said at all. Masaya rarely shows any interest in any girl that isn’t Yurie, you know!”

He wasn’t interested in me so much as in pointing out why my costume was bad, though.

“And I feel a little bad for saying this, but I don’t think Ema-san could move Masaya’s heart,” she declared.

“Ah, but~”

“Please, Reika-chan! Yurie’s been feeling responsible for it all and has been in really bad shape. Couldn’t you give Masaya some advice or something to cheer him up? Please?”

Uuuu… It was really hard to refuse Aira-sama like this…
But I didn’t wanna do itttt. I had no idea how to cheer somebody like that up, and to begin with I didn’t want to get involved.

“Reika-chan.”

“Uu… I understand.”

────I had taken the first step into a bottomless bog.

*

*

Advice… What kind of advice was I even supposed to give?
Ways to get over heartbreak? This was actually the best chance for him to start a new love with Wakaba-chan, but there were no signs of that at all.
What if I tried spurring Wakaba-chan on? No, no, it wouldn’t do to cross any more dangerous bridges than I already had.
Oh, how about…

“Umm, Kaburagi-sama?”

I called out to Kaburagi while he was sitting blankly in the salon. Sitting next to him, Enjou smiled.

“Why not leave behind the troubles of the material world and join one of the strictly male convents in Europe? How about it? The World of Roses awaits you.”

“…”

“Kisshouin-san, could I have a word with you?” smiled Enjou as he grabbed my arm and pulled me away.

“Why exactly does Masaya have to get a tonsure and join a convent? And in Europe too.”

“As a scion of the Kaburagi house, I believed it suitable for him to go to the true home of convents.”

“Vetoed.”

Wow, somebody’s being picky.

I returned to Kaburagi for another try.

“Kaburagi-sama, Japan has Mount Hiei and Mount Kouya. How about it? Throw away your worldly ties, shave your head, and enter the service of the Buddha. I think the shaved-look would suit you very well, Kaburagi-sama. You might even get a chance to meet Saigyou’s homunculus.”

“…”

“Kisshouin-san, could I have a word with you?” said Enjou, grabbing my arm a little stronger than last time and pulling me away. “Do you think you could maybe step away from advice that involves running away from home? Kisshouin-san, you’re really just trying to seal something troublesome far away, aren’t you?”

“Goodness, no! I thought that it might be best if he had a change of pace. My intentions are entirely pure.”

“Liar.”

How mean. Doubting people’s sincerity like that is just proof that his own heart is twisted.

“A tonsure… Monkhood…” we heard Kaburagi mutter.

“You see? Kaburagi-sama seems to be interested as well. Kaburagi-sama, I personally recommend the tonsure!”

“Kisshouin-san, that’s enough out of you.”

Despite the efforts I used to come up with this advice, Enjou shooed me away. I thought it was pretty good advice too.
I only wanted the best for him.

*

‘We’ll do something about Masaya on our own. Thanks.’

said a message from Aira-sama.

Goodness, is that so? I apologise for not being able to help.

---

Based Reika.

---

<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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---

Woke up at 4. Couldn’t go back to sleep. Translated a Kenkyo chapter, bitch niggas. Okay, going to work now, bye.

---

I was eating kurinkinton on New Years when I came to a shocking realisation.
Could it be that Kaburagi had been rejected by Yurie-sama!?
What if those test scores were the result of being in such shock that he couldn’t concentrate. And then because of that he went on a journey to deal with the heartbreak.
Whoa, I’m so sharp this year…
But that wasn’t what happened in Kimidol. I mean, he never went on any journey in the manga, and he should have been rejected after he was a little closer with Wakaba-chan.

Hmmm… Maybe the story had changed from the manga a little bit. To begin with, the main perpetrator of the bullying campaign was sitting here eating.
And it felt like the personalities of the main characters were a little different too. The Emperor who I fangirled over in the manga would absolutely never have had such a deviant-level of passion towards cavalry battles, nor was he some weirdo athletics carnival maniac who would criticise others over their lack of animal noses for the costume race. He was cooler. And Enjou had been the kind and gentle person who watched over Emperor and Wakaba-chan, not this scheming bastard. To begin with, just failing to have honey-brown hair was a departure from the manga.
Also… it kind of felt like Wakaba-chan had become… little bit of a dope…

Why was it, I wondered. Why had all the main characters turn into such unfortunate alternates of their manga selves.
And on the other hand, people who hadn’t appeared at all in the manga like Oniisama and Imari-sama and Tomoe-senpai were so damned cool! If they had been in Kimidol they would have been so popular too! Especially Tomoe-senpai. He’s cool like the manga Emperor had been.
With all these other irregularities, would things progress differently than the manga? Well, as long as my own life was nice and quiet I didn’t particularly care though.
Anyhow, I saved away all of the New Years money that I got. Although the one that I got from Oniisama was going to be enshrined next to my bed.

*

Kaburagi wasn’t there at the Term 3 opening ceremony. Was he still on his journey?
Even the middle schoolers were talking about his absence by now. It was astounding how one student truanting could have such an effect.
When I went to the salon, Enjou was there for the first time in a while. He was surrounded by people asking about Kaburagi.

“Masaya caught a cold during the New Year, so he’s been resting. He should be back at school in a few days.”

A cold? Had he finally returned from dealing with heartbreak? No, no, it’s not like I knew for sure that he had been rejected. He could have been purely soul searching. Not that I personally held much stock in going on a journey to do so…

When Enjou spotted me, he excused himself and came over.

“Happy New Year, Kisshouin-san.”

“Happy New Year, Enjou-sama.”

Enjou led me to somewhere there were less people and then handed me some kind of sack.

“Here, this is for you. Technically a souvenir from when I went here and there to fetch Masaya. Actually your hush money.”

Eh… This is kind of scary.

“…I, thank you for the consideration.”

And so with a smile, Enjou handed over the most unwanted gift.

So Enjou actually went out to get Kaburagi. And by ‘here and there’, that means he had to go to a lot of different places? Even during the busy New Year, he was still so serious about his friendships. Whatever else, he was actually pretty good at looking after others.

“You mentioned that Kaburagi-sama was down with a cold?”

“Yeah. He’s at home resting right now, actually. He went somewhere awfully cold, you see. But I guess it’s true what they say about sickness beginning with the heart. He was really weakened.”

“I see…”

Somewhere awfully cold?

Sickness beginning with the heart?

Then he really did go on a heartbreak journey!?

If he was somewhere cold, then I suppose it must have been northern Europe or Russia maybe. Oh, but wouldn’t it be pretty bad to have Emperor Napoleon travel to Russia?
But imagining Kaburagi travelling the Siberian Tundra was kind of funny in a way. I pictured him discovering a mammoth. Uppftpfftt.

“But he’s not feverish so he’ll be fine in no time. Once Masaya’s back, I’ll leave things to you.”

“…Huhu?”

I had no idea what he was on about, so I just laughed to avoid the subject.

*

*

When I got home, I opened up Enjou’s souvenir bag.

“Toujinbou Cookies”

“Kegon Falls Shortbread”

“Sea of Trees Manjuu”

I’m sorry for laughing at you, Kaburagi…
Who would have thought that you’d try and go even further in your journey… Kaburagiii… Come back!!
But to think the journey taken by the esteemed scion of the Kaburagi not even failed to leave Japan, but failed to even leave our Honshu island. It was a little surprising.

*

*

A few days later, for the first time in about a month, Kaburagi showed up. He looked exhausted.
His skin looked dull, and his eyes were dead. Uwahh… This settles it…
He was difficult to approach, but in a totally different way now. Nobody was sure what to do. I pretended I didn’t see him.
Most people thought he was like that because he had just fought off an illness, but that was absolutely wrong. Also some of the girls were talking about how his exhausted self was dreamy as well.
I was depressed too when my love for Tomoe-senpai didn’t work out, but even I wasn’t that bad. A lot of it probably came down to how unlike my crush of a few months, his was over ten years.
Sometimes it was a bit painful to see normally energetic people weak, wasn’t it. Kaburagi, it’s time for a new love, damnit! You’ve got a destined love named Wakaba-chan right here!

Speaking of Wakaba-chan, she still couldn’t hide her happiness at the results of that last exam. Her scholarship was relying on it after all.
While the whole school was worrying about Kaburagi, Wakaba-chan didn’t seem to care at all. I suppose sometimes she did look at bit confused about the mood though.
Since they weren’t in contact, he wouldn’t vent on her. To begin with, he didn’t seem to have the energy to do that.

*

Maihama-san came to pick Kaburagi up. Normally he would have totally ignored her, but this time he didn’t resist as she took his arm and brought him into the care.
Plenty of people had seen Maihama-san during the school festival, so there was a huge fuss when they saw the two going home together.

“Who is that girl!?”

“Maihama Ema from Yurinomiya! Apparently because she’s close to Yurie-sama she’s been clinging to Kaburagi-sama!”

“How could Kaburagi-sama go home with any girl other than Yurie-sama!”

Uwaa, uwaah, it’s pandemonium.
Everyone was making faces like ogres!
Even the girls in my group were narrowing their eyes dangerously in the direction of the departed car. Serika-chan and Kikuno-chan were spouting curses.
Kaburagi, are you really okay…? Speaking of which, where on earth was Enjou?
I looked around but he was simply staring severely in that direction as well.
All of this was making me kind of scared, so I pretended not to notice and quietly slipped away.

*

*

That night, Aira-sama sent me a text saying that she wanted to meet and talk.
My stomach was hurting again for the first time in a while.

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