“Oh nooo~! What’s gonna happen to us~!?”
“A thrilling event where we get to see the hidden side of our diligent young lord~!”
The two clasped hands, acting all “Oh my~♡” about it.
Izumi bashfully looked down and—
“I’ll… go get ready for a sec.”
—headed to his room.
“…Huh?”
“…Oh my~?”
His unexpected move left Nanao and Meina stunned.
They’d expected him to turn bright red and go “Wh-what are you two thinking!?”
“…Could he be serious?”
“…Are we about to witness Izumi-sama’s hidden preferences?”
As the two blushed intensely, Izumi returned from his room. They quickly straightened up, hearts racing.
“I-Izumi-kun? What are you gonna do…?”
“Oh my~ If it’s what Izumi-sama desires… Hm?”
Then, the two of them realized.
What Izumi had been carrying—was this?!
“By royal decree. Starting now, we’re all having a study session.”
“…………”
Faced with that towering mountain of textbooks,
Nanao and Meina let out a heavy sigh.
“Our young master is so diligent~”
“If he doesn’t learn to loosen up a bit, some shady girl’s gonna trick him real bad in the future, y’know?”
The shady girl is right in front of me, Izumi thought, swallowing those words back down his throat.
Izumi stretched.
He skimmed through the notes he’d just finished organizing.
Then, Nanao peeked over and spoke up.
“Huh? Didn’t you already master that part, Izumi-kun?”
“Ah—well… yeah, pretty much.”
“Hmmm~?”
Nanao grinned teasingly.
“Amane-chan will be so happy~”
“No, that’s not it.”
Making a half-hearted excuse, Izumi glanced at the clock in the living room.
“More importantly, when are you two going home?”
It was already 5 PM.
Young ladies their age should’ve headed back by now. But these two showed no signs of leaving—or even changing out of their maid outfits.
Then, Nanao and Meina tilted their heads in unison,
exchanging glances before declaring:
“Huh? Of course we’re staying the night~”
“Is that not okay?”
As if synchronized, they opened their bags—revealing a full “girls’ sleepover kit” packed inside.
Izumi choked.
“No—”
“NO WAY IN HELL~~!!” Hakua, who had been napping peacefully on the sofa until now, jolted upright. She must’ve sensed the ominous conversation—her radar was terrifyingly precise. “H-Having girls our age within arm’s reach of a boy living alone is unacceptable! Absolutely NOT allowed!” Her signature “do as I say, not as I do” hypocrisy was alive and well. But Meina, fully prepared for this, countered without missing a beat: “Then, we’ll just stay at the student council president’s place~!” “Huh…!?” Hakua realized her mistake too late. This was their real target all along—a foothold to eventually move in permanently under the guise of “just one night.” “Sooo~? If you say no, we’ll have no choice but to stay at Izumi-sama’s place~♪” “I already told my family I’m staying at a friend’s tonight. No dinner waiting for me at home~ What a pickle~” Nanao and Meina closed in relentlessly. Hakua’s eyes darted between them and Izumi in panic. (Wh-What do I do!? But if I refuse now, they’ll just end up at Izumi-kun’s room! These two… they’ll do it! If they say they’ll do it, they absolutely will!) Hakua’s understanding of Nanao’s resolve was growing clearer by the second. Yes—this woman followed through on her threats. (~~~~!!)
Hakua’s shoulders slumped. Finally, she surrendered.
“F-Fine…! You may stay!”
Nanao and Meina clapped their hands.
“Yay~!”
“Then, let’s take a bath right away~!”
Instantly abandoning the study session (not that these three needed it anyway), they ushered Hakua out of the living room.
After the three disappeared into Hakua’s room, giggling excitedly…
“…What even was today?”
Left behind, Izumi sighed deeply.
Just as he stood up to take a shower—
Nanao popped her head back in. Smirking meaningfully, she whispered:
“Izumi-kun. No peeking, okay~?”
“A-As if I would!?”
His face flushed bright red. Chuckling, Nanao finally retreated to Hakua’s room.
(…Nanao’s gonna be next door tonight. Bad for my heart.)
As he stood up again to shower—
“Hm?”
His phone buzzed.
Seeing the caller’s name, Izumi frowned.
“…………”
He tapped answer and listened.
“[────. ────.]”
“…Got it. Thanks.”
Hanging up, he exhaled sharply.
“…………”
In a way, the call was exactly what he’d expected.
His motivation to shower now dampened, he flopped onto the sofa and stared at the ceiling.
…I’d actually started liking this life a little.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
Meanwhile, in the next room—
A pajama party was in full swing!
The two girls, now in sleepwear,
lounged among cardboard boxes in the living room, chatting lazily.
“Dinner was so good~”
“Mhm~ Thinking I’ll get to eat like this every day from now on makes me giddy~”
“I’m not cooking for you! And reconsider moving in!”
The feast meant for Izumi had instead filled the stomachs of her love rivals. But letting it go to waste was unacceptable—as the heir to a food company, that was one line she wouldn’t cross.
In the unexpectedly cheerful atmosphere, Meina hugged a cushion and mused:
“Kufufu. This takes me back~”
“Indeed. Back when you stole every single one of my toys and ‘lost’ them somewhere…”
“Childhood grudges don’t count~”
“That’s what the culprit always says!”
Watching them, Nanao giggled.
“Fufu. You two get along well, Meina-chan, prez~”
“…And what, pray tell, is that supposed to mean?”
Hakua’s suspicious glare.
Nanao blinked innocently.
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“My eyes don’t deceive me. You know how I feel, yet you deliberately teamed up with Meina!”
“…………”
Cornered, Nanao sighed.
“Prez. You’re surprisingly blunt when it’s not about Izumi-kun.”
“…!?”
Hakua’s face burned crimson.
“Are you mocking me!?”
“Not at all~”
Her carefree tone only irked Hakua further.
“Nanase-san. I won’t be as lenient as Amane-san.”
“…………”
Nanao glanced helplessly at Meina.
“Meina-chan, everyone misunderstands me as some schemer…”
“Kufufu. The young mistress has trust issues~ But don’t worry. You’re fundamentally just simpleminded.”
“Meina! That’s disrespect!?”
Why was she outnumbered in her own home? Yet Hakua refused to yield—in spirit, at least.
“If you think feeding the enemy salt will give you the upper hand, you’d best pray it doesn’t backfire!”
“Hmm. I wasn’t trying to feed you salt…”
Saying this, Nanao picked up a teacup from the table.
The fact that Hakua had even prepared tea for her love rivals proved she was, at heart, a good kid.
“But I do want to get along with Amane-chan and you, prez. We all love the same person, after all.”
“…!”
Those words—
—brought back Hakua’s memory of that day in the shopping district.
Hakua, Amane, Haru.
Though they’d failed to stop Izumi and Nanao’s date, they’d gained one thing:
The bond of loving the same person.
Even now, it still connected them.
Despite being rivals, Hakua knew—when the three of them were together, her heart felt oddly at peace.
Not as the strictly raised [Next Family Head].
Not as the school’s revered [Ice Princess].
For the first time, there were people who treated her simply as [Hakua].
And if one more joined them—perhaps that comfort would grow even—
“W-We’re enemies.”
Hakua turned away with a hmph! Meina shrugged.
“Welp, enough tense talk~ More tea, anyone~?”
“Meina. You’re also the enemy.”
“Ehh~? How cruel, young mistress~ Didn’t you promise to do a party trick at my wedding to Izumi-sama~?”
“I said NO SUCH THING! Why would I perform at my attendant’s wedding!?”
“Personally, I’d go with Nanjing jade blinds~”
“That’s way too niche!?”
Nanao clapped her hands excitedly.
“Oh! How about a lion dance for tradition? We could perform it together, prez~ So festive!”
“Why are you entertaining this!? We’re enemies!”
Despite Hakua’s outrage, Nanao simply smiled.
“But now that we’re friends, ending things just over romance would be sad.”
“…………”
Hakua clenched her fists, shaking off her earlier hesitation.
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