This is also another secret
It happened just as I was about to head home around evening time after parting ways with Shuu and the others.
Out of the blue, I received a message from Mom, saying she’s going out for dinner with an acquaintance and asked me to have dinner alone.
Alone… It feels lonely, but I thought about contacting Ayana instinctively, but it was already too late.
“…Guess I’ll head somewhere for dinner again tonight.”
During the day, Shuu and Kotone had a great time together, but maybe it was time for me to enjoy dining out alone for a change.
“~~♪~~♪”
I turned away from home and headed back towards the bustling streets.
Since I had Chinese food for lunch… Hmmm, what should I eat now… Let’s go try something delicious that’s stamina-boosting in every sense!
Walking through the slightly darkening streets in that manner, I suddenly collided with a group coming out of a store.
“Oops.”
“Huh?”
I was looking ahead, but a man leading the group that exited the store bumped into me from the side.
Well, I should have been more careful, but let me apologize first.
“Sorry.”
From what I could see, the person looked like an adult… maybe just about college age.
After lowering my head and making eye contact, I quickly turned to walk ahead. However, my unpleasant premonition proved right as I felt a firm grip on my shoulder.
“Hey, what’s your hurry after bumping into me?”
“…………”
I sighed inwardly.
As expected, he seemed like trouble… It was clear that if I said something like, “You bumped into me instead of the other way around,” it would only provoke more anger.
What a hassle… I thought it was a real hassle, but I made sure not to show it on my face.
“Hey, you were the one who bumped into me just now, weren’t you? Sorry about that? My bad back there.”
“Ah, yes.”
Oh, his companion seemed sensible.
From Noble mtl dot com
If I made it seem like we were more at fault, I thought I might be able to push through. At that moment, the woman leaned in closer.
“You’re quite handsome, aren’t you? How about joining us as an apology?”
“Um…”
As an apology… So you wanted to make me seem like the one at fault.
Even if it was because of my good looks, if I weren’t, she would probably have ignored me.
The man clicked his tongue at the woman’s words and reached out to me again… Hey, this was just a vicious cycle.
(…Let’s shake him off and run)
With the school’s reputation on the line, getting into a fight would definitely lead to trouble, and it would worry Ayana and the others, so I decided to escape from the situation.
“Now—”
Just as I was about to say that and start running, another voice cut in.
“Well, well, things seem to be getting interesting—right, Towabou?”
Another voice… I couldn’t not recognize it.
That cool yet clearly angry voice was one I had been hearing a lot lately—when I turned around, there was Kanzaki…!!
It wasn’t the man who bumped into me or the woman causing trouble, but Kanzaki, who pulled me close by the shoulder, and instead, a woman who seemed like Kanzaki’s underling stood in front of me.
“Disappear—The young lady is getting angry.”
…What is this, are we in a drama or something?
It was a scene that made you want to make such a comment, but it seemed that Kanzaki and the others got the message loud and clear that they were angry, and they hurriedly left.
“Quite the ordeal, Towabou? Well then, everything’s fine now, so wait nearby.”
“Understood.”
Shinzaki-san said so, and the woman bowed politely and walked away.
It might sound dirty to say she’s following Shinzaki-san like a lapdog, but it’s clear she’s either following him or trusting him completely.
“So, what happened with Towabou?”
“Well, actually…”
After informing Shinzaki-san that he had finished dinner appropriately upon receiving a message from his mother… Shinzaki-san came over and put his arm around him.
I didn’t feel a flutter of femininity or scent, but Shinzaki-san then took me to a seemingly expensive yakiniku restaurant.
“Welcome… Wait, miss!?”
“Hey there, are there any available seats? There are, right?”
“Of course! Please come this way!”
“Thank you. I’ll go to Towabou.”
“…………”
That waiter is totally freaked out… Well, whatever.
I felt a bit uneasy as I never visit such high-end restaurants.
However, that feeling seemed to disappear once the meal started, perhaps due to Shinzaki-san’s presence.
“Delicious… Seriously delicious.”
“hahahaha, I’m glad you’re enjoying it so much. I come here often; it’s a restaurant run by an acquaintance.”
“Oh… You were called ‘miss.'”
“Yeah. There are quite a few connections here and there.”
Thinking again, my mother really had some amazing allies or minions… What a woman my mother is, seriously.
I enjoyed a level of delicious meat with rice that I don’t usually eat, and Shinzaki-san, sipping sake with a smile while watching me, seemed to be in a good mood. With a certain amount of alcohol in his system, Shinzaki-san said something like this:
“To see Towabou smiling like that… and you smiling, too, makes me happy.”
“Shinzaki-san…”
I felt a weight in Shinzaki-san’s words, as if they were filled with deep emotions.
Having another gulp of sake, Shinzaki-san looked straight at the cup and continued, lowering his tone of voice.
“There was only one time in the past when sis cried… when Towabou seemed to be in pain, and she couldn’t do anything.”
“…………”
“I only asked sis directly what had happened… at that time, I had no direct connection with Towabou, but since I’m sis’s child, he didn’t seem like a stranger to me… so, I thought that because of that—because of the pain Towabou was in and the damage to sis’s treasure caused by those who hurt her, I wanted to drive them to ruin.”
“…”
I wonder what expression I had at that moment.
Shinzaki-san’s voice had no inflection; he was just stating his thoughts… I’m a bit scared to hear what he’ll say next, but I don’t avert my gaze from Shinzaki-san.
“Well, even so, it’s not right for me to act on my own. Sis didn’t want that… but if there had been some trigger, I might have taken action… if, for example, Ayana-chan had wanted revenge… I might have helped.”
“Ah…”
Originally, the developers had mentioned that there were collaborators for Ayana’s revenge… I had thought it unlikely that Shinzaki-san was one of them, but considering the intense hatred Ayana had and the power Shinzaki-san possessed, it didn’t seem impossible… “Well, there’s no point in thinking about it now.”
Ayana no longer harbored hatred and had no need for revenge.
At this point, there was nothing to worry about even if I heard any information, and there was no need to be concerned… Shinzaki-san’s words seemed to connect the dots, but this was just a story for today.
“Shinzaki-san is scary, isn’t he?”
“Most people say that.”
“…But at the same time, he’s also kind. Thank you for always thinking about my mother.”
“……Yeah. Of course.”
Kanzaki-san blushed and smiled, reaching out to pat my head.