Epilogue: The Storm Arrives
It was lunchtime during the sports festival.
“Here, Izumi-kun~ ♡ Aaah~n ♡”
“Uh, y-yeah. Thanks……”
In a corner of the schoolyard,
Izumi sat on a picnic blanket as Hakua fed him one of her homemade meatballs.
The air around them was thick with sweetness—like the tangy glaze drizzled over those very meatballs. Their lovey-dovey aura had long since spiraled out of control. At this rate, their sheer affection might’ve been enough to eradicate world poverty. Or at least, that’s how it felt.
As for Hakua’s confession…
Thanks to an overeager student council member who’d brought a microphone too close, her words had reached every single student on campus. This incident would later inspire the school to rename the “Scavenger Race” as the “Confession Race,” turning it into a legendary event—but that’s another story.
“Um, shouldn’t we tone it down? People are staring…”
“No can do. You hurt your arm, Izumi-kun. What if it gets worse?”
“R-right……”
Silenced by the very person who’d caused this mess, Izumi had no room to argue. Such was the authority of Hakua, heir to the Shiragiku dynasty. She was a master of creating problems just to solve them.
As he nibbled on Hakua’s homemade karaage, Izumi mustered an apology.
“Hakua-nee… About last time. I misunderstood, and I’m sorry for what I said—”
“It’s fine. You had your reasons, and I was wrong too.”
She smiled gently, then picked up a piece of tamagoyaki with her chopsticks.
“People make mistakes. But forgiving each other and moving forward—that’s what makes us human. Don’t you believe in the power of love, Izumi-kun?”
“Huh? Hakua-nee, since when were you… like this?”
Her vibe was dangerously close to that of a cult leader, sending chills down Izumi’s spine for entirely new reasons. He swore to himself that if she tried selling him a “magic jar,” he’d shut it down immediately.
“You don’t have to answer now. I know I can’t compete with Nanao-san as I am…”
Hakua held out a piece of broccoli, grinning.
“But I’ll never give up ♡”
“Guh……”
Izumi reluctantly accepted the broccoli, flustered.
Then—Amane arrived.
“IZUMI-CHI! WHAT THE HEEEELL?!”
“GYAH! Amane, stop shaking me!!”
Bombarded by her usual nonsensical complaints, Izumi was at his limit. His already-dislodged shoulder screamed in protest.
Hakua, meanwhile, looked delighted.
“Oh my, Amane-san? What business does an outsider have here?”
“Wha—Hakua-san, that’s mean!”
“Fufu. I’ve already ascended to a higher plane of existence. Conversing with you is beneath me.”
“SINCE WHEN DID YOU TURN INTO A SMUG VILLAINESS?!”
This whole mess had started with Amane’s taunting.
A woman scorned never forgets.
“Here, Izumi-kun~ Your favorite tamagoyaki~?”
“I never said it was my fav—”
“Say aaah ♡”
“…Thanks.”
Lately, his egg intake had reached alarming levels.
While malnutrition was no longer a concern… too much of a good thing was its own problem. Not that he wasn’t grateful.
Amane, meanwhile, stood frozen, her grand entrance utterly ruined by the lovey-dovey bubble around them.
(N-no way I’m losing!)
But Amane had changed.
Fueled by newfound resolve, she refused to let Hakua win.
“H-Hey, Izumi-chi! I made you lunch too!”
“No, please not today—”
“WHY NOOOOT?!”
This was the sports festival.
Normally, sitting at a desk all afternoon would’ve been fine, but eating two lunches (one of which came in a stacked bento box) after running around all day? His stomach would revolt.
And Amane’s cooking… bordered on lethal. Izumi had learned that sometimes, saying “no” was an act of bravery.
Hakua smirked, puffing out her chest.
“How unfortunate, Amane-san. Your lunches are obsolete now. As his big sister, I’ll be the one to—Wait. Why does your bento smell toxic? You haven’t been feeding this to Izumi-kun, have you?”
“GRRR! DAD SAID IT’S DELICIOUS!”
Why did these women equate romance with force-feeding? Perhaps they clung to the ancient wisdom of winning hearts through stomachs—but as the victim, Izumi wished they’d pick literally any other method.
Munching on a rice ball, he scanned the area.
(…Where’d Nanao and Meina go?)
They’d usually be the first to barge into this chaos.
Not that he missed their teasing—it was just weird when the usual suspects were absent. Making excuses to himself, he watched Hakua and Amane bicker like puppies.
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Meanwhile,
Nanao and Meina sat on a shaded bench behind the school building, enjoying a peaceful lunch.
Nanao ate her bento; Meina nibbled on a nut-filled sweet bun.
“Phew. Finally, some quiet~♪”
Meina slumped in relief.
Her mistress was hopeless. If she didn’t push her forward, Hakua would never confess her feelings.
Nanao smiled.
“All according to plan?”
“Maaaybe~? Even I didn’t expect her to blurt it out like that.”
“Really?”
“She’s too cautious. Never thought you’d drag her all into it~”
“You sure about that~?”
“Kufufu. I’m not omniscient, you know~”
Grinning like Cheshire cats,
they basked in their victory.
Meina, especially, was relieved.
(If she’d become the Shiragiku heir as-is, the company would’ve crumbled.)
A flawless strategy was essential.
But so was the courage to gamble when it mattered.
Otherwise… she’d never be fit to lead a empire like Shiragiku. Things had gone slightly off-script, but Hakua had grown from it—so mission accomplished.
(I’m a secretary, not a life coach…)
As she grumbled internally, Nanao spoke up.
“But… are you really okay with this?”
“With what~?”
Nanao stared straight through Meina’s plastered smile.
“You liked Izumi-kun, didn’t you?”
“…………”
Meina giggled.
“Oho? Caught me~”
“I knew from the start.”
“Yet you never saw me as a threat~?”
“I knew you liked him, but you never acted on it.”
“Haaah. Nanao-san, you’re still a beast of instinct~”
Meina sighed, nibbling her bun.
It wasn’t complicated.
To her, Izumi and Hakua were scales on a balance.
Choosing one would topple the other. So she picked her priority.
Her own feelings mattered less than the mistress she cherished.
“To me, Hakua-sama is like a shining star.”
She remembered it vividly—back in elementary school.
Young Meina was plain, talentless, and hated studying.
A disappointment to her accomplished parents. She’d accepted her mediocrity, believing she’d never measure up.
Then, one summer vacation…
The Shiragiku heiress visited her family’s Kyoto sweets shop. Ordered to entertain her, Meina obeyed.
This girl—her future mistress—was brilliant, wise, and radiant as a celestial maiden.
Meina couldn’t fathom why she’d spare a glance at someone so dull.
But on their final night…
Hakua took her to a hilltop.
Under a sky of stars, she spoke of her dreams: inheriting Shiragiku and bringing happiness to countless lives. Even then, she carried the weight of that responsibility.
Meina, meanwhile, felt her own inadequacy crush her.
As an Akeboshi, she was destined to serve this girl. But how could someone like her stand beside someone so extraordinary?
Yet when Meina voiced those doubts…
Hakua reached out without hesitation.
[“I’ll make this company the world’s greatest confectionery. And you’ll be by my side when I do, Meina.”]
At that moment—
A meteor shower blazed behind her.
The memory never faded.
Bathed in starlight, Hakua looked like an angel sent by the gods.
Meina believed it was fate.
That she, too, had been cast down to help this girl fulfill her destiny. By then, she’d already fallen for her.
Blushing, Meina shared the story with Nanao—a rare glimpse of sincerity.
“W-well…after that, I got so embarrassed I ran away~”
“Ahaha. Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“After that, since Lady and Izumi sama got engaged, I felt safe studying abroad~. I never imagined the engagement would be called off and the young mistress would become so emotionally twisted~.”
“So you stepped in to help, huh?”
“Kufufu. Well, Nanao-san is far scarier—calculating how to use me as a way to sneak into his house~”
Nanao’s cheeks flushed bright red. Fidgeting with her index fingers, she mumbled excuses:
“W-well…there’s no way I could’ve gone to a boy’s house alone…”
“Kufufu. This flustered face of yours is rare~ You should show it to Izumi sama~”
“No way~. I’m the mysterious woman, after all~”
“True, Izumi sama is passive, so that approach might work better~”
The two laughed as they ate lunch.
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