Translator: imperfectluck Editor: vb24

  Chiaki and Mika were wiped away by this torrential flood, and it took a long while for them to finally recover their senses. Both had already returned to their respective homes by the time they regained control over their minds.

  They simultaneously tried calling each other at the same time. It took several tries before they succeeded in contacting each other.

  "Chiaki…"

  "Mika…"

  Both of them fell silent for a while and then sighed.

  "This should be… that ," Mika said.

  "Yep, no matter how you look at it, it has to be that ," Chiaki said. "Otherwise, with the way Natsuya Yoruhana is… although I don't know her very well, I can only understand it as her having those types of intentions."

  An invitation during the Winter Snow Festival… if she didn't have those types of intentions towards Seiji, then this isolated, untouchable scion definitely wouldn't ask such a thing because she wasn't a flirtatious, casual, or unthinking type of girl.

  Although Seiji said that she appeared quite calm when she invited him, Chiaki and Mika were both girls. Even if they didn't personally see Natsuya at that time, they were both one hundred percent certain that Natsuya must have been acting!

  Even normal girls would pretend to be proper, not to mention Natsuya, a scion.

  Seiji probably had the ability to see through things, but he chose to believe in her surface appearance. This was either dullness or gentleness. After all, Natsuya was a proper lady scion.

  At any rate, this was a rather bad situation.

  No… it wasn't even at the level of bad anymore.

  Compared to normal girls, Natsuya Yoruhana was on a completely different level. If she got serious…


  "Mika, although I really don't want to say something like this… I can't think of any way to fight back," Chiaki said, sighing. "President Natsuya Yoruhana… although she may not be as similar to Seiji as Yukari Asamiya is, they seem to be quite compatible, especially in regards to their family backgrounds, not to mention that she's also a Yin-Yang Master. Her conditions simply match too well with him. And if Seiji gets together with her, they'd be a better match in physical appearances than even him and Asamiya, not to mention even their names. At any rate, they're extremely compatible all-around."

  That's right—they were easily able to imagine Seiji and Natsuya together.

  Young Master Seiji and the scion Natsuya, both of them wearing extravagant clothing, dancing elegantly to classical music in a grand hall, looking at each other all lovey-dovey…


  This seemed too realistic, so they couldn't even stop themselves from imagining along these lines! Mika was frustrated to the point of rolling around on her bed.

  Chiaki silently sipped some tea.

  "I just recalled something… the first time that Seiji met the president, she said that she had almost become Seiji's fiancee… long in the past." Mika sighed after she finally stopped rolling on her bed.

  "Oh… a family arranged marriage, is it? It seems to be quite common for families in high society." Chiaki mulled it over. "If the Haruta family and Yoruhana family still maintained good relationships despite the canceled engagement, then there won't be any obstacles to Seiji and Natsuya being together. In fact, it may even be great news for both of their families."

  "Wahh…" Mika let out another wail of frustration.

  "The opponent's level has surpassed all limits, and we can't fight her, so we can only give up. Although I say this—" Chiaki paused and smiled mysteriously—"something like romance isn't determined simply by compatibility. Perhaps there's still room to struggle."

  Mika remained silent. After a period of silence, she weakly asked, "Hey, Chiaki, currently… what exactly do you think of Seiji?"

  Chiaki also fell silent for a moment. Her eyes flashed with a warm light as she recalled the night when she drank together with Seiji.

  "I… like him," she admitted. "As for how much I like him… I would say that it's at the level where I would unhesitatingly agree if he asked to have sex with me. But… I don't want to become his one and only."

  "Eh…?" Mika was confused to hear this.

  "Should I say that I don't have such a desire, or is it that I think it'll be too much of a burden… I myself don't know that clearly either." Chiaki took another sip of her tea.

  "Mika," Chiaki continued, "you know already that I'm the casual type. For me to hoard a boy like Seiji all to myself is far too difficult for me, both objectively and subjectively speaking. If I make an incredible effort, perhaps I could succeed, but I don't want things to be that way. I just want to have a relaxing relationship with Seiji—much like how things are now. I'll occasionally be intimate with him, and when the timing's appropriate… have his child, and then I'll raise the child up by myself."

  "Chiaki… this…" Mika's eyes widened in surprise.

  "Yep, to put it clearly, I don't want to be his wife—I'd prefer to be his mistress!" Chiaki said directly.

  Mika was rendered speechless. 'Chiaki actually wants to be a mistress!? This is…'

  She didn't even know what to think anymore.

  "The reason why I objected so much to Yukari Asamiya getting closer to Seiji was because I felt that a girl like her would be extremely possessive of her boyfriend. If she got together with Seiji, then I'd have zero chance," Chiaki continued. "And as for why I've always supported you… one reason is that you're my good friend, and another reason is that… if it's you, you should be able to accept me being Seiji's mistress, ehe~"

  "What's with your ehe!" Mika retorted reflexively. "I… I can't accept something like that at all! Something like a mistress…"

  "Then, you'd be willing to watch your good friend remain alone forever, without a lover to take care of her, and die of loneliness?"

  "Wah… this… this wouldn't happen! Chiaki, you wouldn't be alone…"

  "Why wouldn't I be? Although I have many people I get along well with, there aren't many I'm truly close to, especially boys," Chiaki said in a serious tone. "Before I met Seiji, although I didn't object to boys, I never expected that I would end up liking a boy… and now, I can't even imagine liking a boy other than him anymore. The only boy I'll ever like in my life is Seiji… I think that this is highly possible."

  "Why is it like this…" Mika mumbled.

  "I'm not intentionally making trouble for you; I'm just voicing my true thoughts. Try thinking about it from your angle, Mika—could you imagine yourself liking a boy other than Seiji?"

  Mika was rendered speechless. She indeed felt like it was impossible to imagine. A boy even better than Seiji… she felt like that wasn't possible at all.

  Even if there was a boy like that, and even if she met that boy, would she be able to fall in love with him just like how she fell in love with Seiji?

  Mika recalled the scene from long ago when Seiji had protected her from the blonde bully.

  'Impossible.'

  That scene couldn't possibly be re-enacted again, so there was no way that she would fall in love with someone else the same way. Chiaki… probably had similar feelings to her.

  Perhaps this feeling wasn't reasonable, and perhaps it would change in the future, but right now, it indeed existed and didn't seem like it would change.

  "I apologize if I made things unpleasant, Mika. But this is what I really think," Chiaki explained. "What about you, Mika, what do you think right now?"

  "I… want to be together with Seiji."

  "In what type of fashion?"

  "I… don't know…"

  She had thought it would be in a normal fashion, the normal type of couple that everyone knew about. But after hearing her good friend's words, Mika was uncertain about her feelings anymore.

  Having him to herself was quite difficult. 'If even an excellent girl like Chiaki is convinced of this, then what about me?'

  First there was Yukari Asamiya, and now… President Natsuya Yoruhana…


  Mika thought about the beautiful scion who she idolized even now. It was her who had helped her so much in the past in the matter of the blonde bully. Mika didn't even know how she was supposed to compete against her—or perhaps it should be said that she didn't even want to compete against her.

  'Then… what should I do?'