Back at the Shiba residence, the tea-time conversation naturally drifted toward the upcoming entrance ceremony, just three days away.
"So, the freshman representative is a boy this year... That's the first time in four years, isn't it?" Tatsuya remarked.
"Five years, Onii-sama," Miyuki corrected gently. "Even the President before Saegusa-senpai was a woman."
They were discussing the New Student Representative—the student who had placed first in the entrance exams. As they noted, it had been quite some time since a male student had held that honor at First High.
"With the Saegusa twins enrolling this year, I just assumed the top spot would go to another girl," Tatsuya said.
"True... and honestly, if she had been able to give it her all during the exams, I'm sure the representative would have been Minami-chan," Miyuki added with a teasing smile.
"Oh, no! Please, such a thing is unthinkable," Minami stammered, her face flushing.
It was meant as a lighthearted joke, but Minami wasn't the type to let such compliments slide by easily. To prevent the atmosphere from becoming awkward, Tatsuya steered the conversation back to the facts.
"The name was Takuma Shippou, right? I assume 'Shippou' refers to that Shippou family?"
"Yes," Miyuki replied, her tone becoming more academic. "The eldest son of the Shippou family, one of the Eighteen Assistant Houses."
"A Shippou and the Saegusas in the same year. I don't know if I should call that a grand coincidence or a deep-seated curse... I just hope they don't cause too much trouble."
"Actually," Miyuki said, a mischievous glint in her eyes, "a little bit of trouble might be a good thing. It would serve as an excellent camouflage, wouldn't it?"
"I suppose you have a point."
Miyuki's logic was sound: if the Shippou heir and the Saegusa twins got into a public spat, the school's attention would be glued to them. No one would have the time or interest to scrutinize the relationship between the Shiba siblings and their new "cousin."
It was a perfect plan on paper, but Tatsuya felt a headache brewing when he considered exactly who would be expected to clean up the mess if a fight actually broke out.
"By the way," Tatsuya said, shifting gears, "regarding the home party tonight. I've decided that Minami should attend as a guest as well."
Minami's posture straightened instantly. "If that is your command, I shall comply."
Tatsuya and Miyuki had been invited to a party at the Kitayama residence that evening. Originally, the plan was for Minami to wait in the servants' lounge, but Tatsuya had realized that was a mistake. If they were going to sell the lie that she was their maternal cousin, treating her like a servant in public—especially in front of a family as influential as the Kitayamas—would only invite suspicion later.
"Good. It'll be a long night, but I appreciate you coming along."
Issuing it as a "command" sat poorly with Tatsuya, but he knew Minami's ingrained discipline. Unless he framed it that way, she would never allow herself to sit at the same table as them. He had no desire to be a "master," nor did he get any satisfaction from forcing others to do his bidding; it was simply a tactical necessity.
"Then let's pick out a dress immediately!" Miyuki chirped, clapping her hands together to brighten the mood. "I'll help you, Minami-chan. We don't have much time!"
Miyuki's sudden enthusiasm was likely her way of smoothing over Tatsuya's internal discomfort. Surely, it wasn't because she took a secret delight in seeing Minami look so flustered... or so Tatsuya hoped.
Despite being billed as a "home party," any event hosted by Ushio Kitayama—a titan of the financial world—was bound to be an extravagant affair. The venue was bustling with people, yet the Kitayama mansion was so vast that it never felt truly crowded.
"It really is incredibly spacious..." Tatsuya murmured.
His observation failed to garner any sympathy from his companions. Miyuki merely offered a polite, knowing smile, while Minami looked as if she were about to tilt her head in confusion.
In moments like these, the gap in their upbringings was obvious. Tatsuya had spent much of his life in the military or laboratories, rubbing shoulders with "commoners." Miyuki had been raised as the heir to the Yotsuba, and Minami had grown up in the Yotsuba main house. To the girls, this level of luxury was the baseline; to Tatsuya, it was still a spectacle.
The official reason for the party was to celebrate Shizuku's return from her short-term exchange in the USNA and her promotion to the next grade. The two-week delay since her return had been filled with a grueling schedule of formal greetings to various dignitaries and business partners.
As the daughter of a major corporation's president, Shizuku had responsibilities to family, employees, shareholders, and clients that outweighed her own desires. Consequently, her actual celebration had been pushed to the very eve of the new semester.
The Kitayama household was a family of five, but Ushio Kitayama had five siblings of his own. Because Ushio had married late, most of Shizuku's cousins were older than her, and more than half were married with families in tow. Even the single ones had brought along fiancés or prospective partners. What started as an "inner circle" party had ballooned into a massive crowd.
Tatsuya found himself learning all of this firsthand from Shizuku's mother.
"Ushio-kun's family comes from a line of entrepreneurs dating back to the last century," she explained. "There are so many social obligations we simply can't ignore."
Tatsuya offered a reserved nod, suppressing his twentieth sigh of the evening. For reasons he couldn't fathom, he had been "captured" by Mrs. Kitayama—formerly known as Akane Naruse, an A-rank magician famous for her vibration-type magic.
While Miyuki and Minami had long since escaped to find Honoka, Tatsuya was stuck playing the role of the captive listener.
"That being said," Mrs. Kitayama continued, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial, sharp tone, "I can't say I'm fond of people who are brazen enough to drag complete strangers into a private family party. If business isn't involved, Ushio-kun is far too soft on his relatives."
(She's quite the sharp-tongued one, isn't she?) Tatsuya thought.
As the wife of a CEO, she clearly knew how to choose her time, place, and audience for such venomous remarks. What Tatsuya couldn't understand—no matter how much he racked his brain—was why he had been chosen as the recipient of her unfiltered thoughts.
This wasn't their first meeting. He and Miyuki had been invited over previously when Shizuku returned with information from America, but that had been limited to formal greetings. He certainly didn't remember doing anything that would qualify him as a confidant for her "real talk."
(Still... 'Ushio-kun,' huh?) Tatsuya mused, feeling a bit of vicarious embarrassment. (Is it really okay for someone of her social standing to call him that in public?)
Feeling a bit weary of the complaining, Tatsuya allowed his mind to wander into a brief moment of escapade.
(I suppose... it means he is loved.)
Even in the privacy of his own thoughts, Tatsuya felt it was better to be charitable toward his friend's parents rather than dwelling on whether they were "spoiled" or "soft."
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