Dragging him by the tie, Hitomi led Takashi to the first-base bleachers—only then did she let go.
It was the best and priciest seat in the whole baseball stadium.
Tickets here cost dozens of times more than the highest tier seats.
"Landlady, with so many people watching, can you at least give me a bit of dignity?"
Takashi yanked off the tie that had nearly strangled him and grumbled.
"If word gets out about today, I wonder what the student council will think of me."
All the way here, Takashi could feel countless strange looks thrown his way.
He figured that by the time this baseball game ended, everyone in Aoba would know he was acting like a dog for a beautiful girl.
If he was going to be someone's dog, he might as well have chosen Kamisato Ayaka.
"Why do you care so much about those nobodies?"
Hitomi casually stepped onto the center seat and crossed her legs.
"You were never one of them to begin with."
"After high school graduation, they'll all return to their respective social classes."
"One way or another, they'll become strangers to you because of the gap in social status."
Hitomi rested her chin in her elegant hand and turned her head to look at him, smiling softly.
"Don't you think so too?"
Looking at the refreshing summer breeze-like smile on her face, Takashi felt his heart skip a beat.
"So you're saying you think I'm destined to be remarkable in the future?"
Hitomi chuckled, "Aren't you already remarkable now?"
"Huh?"
"Shijo, Kashiwagi, Ryuju, Fujiwara, Koyasu—servants of the Five Great Clans. Looking across all of Japan, who would still dare touch you, young master Kitahara?"
Hitomi smiled at him, but her eyes carried no amusement.
Takashi pretended not to hear her and changed the subject: "By the way, why are we the only two on first base?"
"I didn't want to smell disgusting men, so I reserved this whole area.
I originally intended to book the entire stadium, but a religious organization begged me, so I gave them some face."
Her tone was calm, but Takashi's eyelid twitches at her words.
He had only ever read about reserving entire venues in novels.
"Landlady, just how rich are you?"
Takashi asked cautiously.
He had long known that Hitomi was loaded.
But how rich exactly? That he truly didn't know.
"Not that much. Just a little richer than that nouveau riche Shinomiya family."
Hitomi held her thumb and forefinger a centimeter apart.
Takashi stared at that tiny, cute gap in dumbfounded silence.
Richer than the Shinomiya family?
What kind of concept was that?
'Takashi, you idiot, moron—how can anyone be as dumb as you? The richest woman is right next to you, and you didn't even notice. Are you a pig?'
Takashi was filled with so much regret that he wanted to slap himself hard.
Now he understood why Hitomi didn't care about Momo, Nagisa, or the others.
No—maybe even someone like Shinomiya Kaguya didn't matter to her.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have referred to the Shinomiya family as nouveau riche.
"Landlady, do you think I still have a chance?"
Takashi looked at Hitomi with puppy-dog eyes.
"Giving up on trying, huh?"
Hitomi teased with a smile.
Takashi nodded enthusiastically.
"Sure~ As long as you deal with all those girls you've been stringing along, and next Monday during the principal's speech you grab the mic and confess your love for me in front of the whole school—we can be together. How about it?"
"...Are you sure you're not trying to kill me?"
If he really cut things off with those girls, a dump truck might crash straight into his room and kill him.
Not to mention confessing in front of the entire school—forget everything else, Narii might actually rush the stage and stab him.
"That's the condition. If you can't do it, then tough luck."
Hitomi looked at Takashi's defeated expression and found herself feeling strangely pleased.
"Landlady, who are your parents? Can I find out?"
Takashi wanted to investigate just how powerful her family must be to call the Shinomiyas nouveau riche.
"No need. My ancestors are in textbooks—you definitely know them."
Takashi: (;?д?)
"T-Textbooks?"
"Yozakura is my mother's surname. My father's surname is Konoe. My real name is Konoe Hitomi."
As she watched Takashi frown in deep thought, Hitomi reminded him with a gleeful smile, "The Konoe family—of the Five Regent Houses."
Thud.
Takashi collapsed to the ground, staring at Hitomi in stunned silence.
"Ahahaha!"
Hitomi laughed with great delight.
She had kept it from him on purpose, just waiting for the day he'd ask so she could see this exact expression of shock.
His reaction was even better than she imagined.
"Takashi, you look absolutely adorable right now."
Hitomi gently stroked Takashi's face, trailing her fingers down his cheek and to his neck—then suddenly squeezed hard, her expression darkening:
"If you dare act that close with other girls in front of me again, Takashi, I'll have someone break your limbs and carry you with me everywhere."
"Yes ma'am!!"
Satisfied, Hitomi let go of his neck.
This time, Takashi was truly obedient.
He got up from the ground and was about to sit one seat away when he noticed Hitomi's sharp gaze.
He immediately sat right next to her.
No sooner had he sat down than Hitomi spoke again: "Report to the student council next Monday."
"Huh?"
"I transferred to Aoba recently. I'm the new student council president. The previous bunch of useless council members—I kicked them all out. I need a vice president. You're it."
"Uh… I'm currently part of the kendo club, and I also double as a member of the soccer and baseball teams, so I might not have the time..."
Takashi wasn't trying to get out of it—he was testing Hitomi's limits to better understand what he could get away with.
"Is that so? Sounds like the kendo club's budget needs cutting."
"Or maybe I should just shut down the whole club. They've never won any major honors anyway. I don't see why they should continue to exist. Don't you agree, Takashi?"
Hitomi's eyes gleamed with mischief.
"That's just abuse of power."
Seeing that Hitomi didn't mind the criticism, Takashi dared to speak up.
"Exactly!"
"You're such a wicked woman."
Hitomi beamed like she had just been praised, dimples forming at the corners of her smile.
"That's right. I'm a wicked woman who loves holding grudges and settling scores—because I have money and power."
Her birthright was her license to act as she pleased.
Her prestigious surname gave her the confidence to bully others.
What did society's judgments matter to her?
She simply didn't care.
Hitomi would bloom like a flower at dawn—more beautiful than anyone, and free.
Takashi stared at her without blinking.
This kind of woman, one who did whatever she pleased and stuck to her own principles regardless of the consequences—was undeniably alluring.
"So? Have you fallen for this wicked woman?"
Hitomi turned to him with a playful smirk.
"No way. I like gentle, obedient, and understanding girls—ow ow ow!"
Hitomi twisted his ear with a sweet smile. "Then change your taste."
"Shouldn't you change for someone you love?"
"But I'm a wicked woman, so I'll just force you to change."
"You're being unreasonable!"
"What? Got a problem with that?"
"No no no, I give in! Let go, you're gonna rip my ear off!"
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to have someone preserve your severed ear properly."
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As someone who isn't into maso, this is so fucking hard to read… sigh..
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