For Chihaya Tetsuya, his life up to this point had been built on "perseverance" and "possibility."
If he had despaired at the pain before him, his story would have met its end back in the orphanage.
If he had been willing to accept a so-called imperfect ending, he could have closed this chapter the moment he reunited with Hoshino Ai.
However, he had never given up hope of chasing happiness, nor was he willing to compromise with any flawed future.
Not in the past, not now, and not ever.
"The richness of your experience and knowledge is certainly not something we can question, but even so... what you have seen in your life so far is not the sum of all possibilities for all people."
Tetsuya looked at Mori Minami calmly, speaking to her without being either servile or overbearing.
"Every person's experiences, personality, and choices will lead their futures in completely different directions. No matter how brilliant your own life's journey has been, it is ultimately your own. I do not believe that your word alone is enough to completely deny Sakiko's potential."
"..."
After hearing his words, Minami shifted her gaze to the young boy who had interrupted her lecture.
"I heard from Mutsumi that you seem to be a very talented designer, and that you've just established your own personal brand..."
At this, she nodded her head slightly twice.
"Indeed, in terms of your age and accomplishments, you are certainly outstanding enough, and you do have the right to question me. But what does your success have to do with Sakiko's life? How can you guarantee that she will achieve something after joining your brand? Can her future with your brand truly be more stable than the one she would have with the Togawa family? If your brand fails, what will become of the two of you?"
"As a mere outsider, can you really bear the weight of Sakiko's future life?"
Hearing this question, the eyes of both Sakiko and Mutsumi flickered.
It was a trap question.
Normally, when faced with this, people would try their best to evade such a heavy life problem, or simply change the subject. For a nineteen-year-old boy who had personally experienced the vicissitudes of life, this question was especially sharp.
After all, this boy, whose own brand was just getting started, might not even be able to protect his own dreams, let alone the future of another girl.
But for Tetsuya... this was a question he had just recently pondered.
"Bearing the weight of a life... there's a slight problem with that phrasing. After all, even if I were willing, Sakiko would certainly not want me to do so. Because she is a girl who values her dignity more than anyone else."
As he spoke, he glanced at Sakiko, whose expression was wavering slightly.
"And if we're being honest, even the Togawa family couldn't do that. Because Sakiko's happiness and life are meant to be defined by her alone. Beyond that, anyone's guarantee is just irresponsible empty talk. Therefore, I cannot answer your question. In exchange, I can tell you about another decision I made long ago."
"If my brand proceeds smoothly, then Sakiko will become my first employee. As long as [StarrySky] exists, the two of us will forever be companions who share weal and woe. If my brand does not succeed, there will still be a small studio in this world that can accommodate two designers, and we will continue to discuss how to move forward from there."
There was no excitement in his impassioned words to match their intensity. As if he were stating the most ordinary thing, Tetsuya vaguely but powerfully proved his resilience.
"Forgive my lack of experience, but I cannot imagine the kind of power a so-called prestigious family possesses. I only know that no matter how powerful the Togawa family is, as long as I am alive, I will continue to search for a way for Sakiko to find happiness... but if I die, well, then even I can't really do anything about it."
There was not a hint of jest in his calm, almost joke-like words.
Although Minami had always looked down on so-called "dreams" and "courage," she, who had met countless people, could not see any of that in his expression.
His state was too calm, his words too heavy, and his way of thinking, which used life itself as the boundary, dealt a blow to her long-unchanged values from a different dimension entirely.
After all, for someone born into the glittering upper class, the concept of "death" was far too distant and terrifying. Before this word, the wealth and power she held up as truth suddenly seemed as light as nothing...
"You..."
She wanted to refute him. On what grounds could a nineteen-year-old boy so easily use a word so distant from him as the basis for his resolve? But when she looked into his eyes, that gaze, as still and waveless as a pool of stagnant water, stopped her question.
What he guaranteed was not "Sakiko's happiness," but that he would always "be by her side" no matter what happened.
For this boy, that was all he could guarantee, and it was a promise he would carry out for the rest of his life.
He had truly prepared himself to "take responsibility" until the day he died—
"Also, it may be a bit abrupt to ask this now, but I still want to know... what exactly is the relationship between you and Sakiko, Minami-san?"
Tetsuya couldn't help but ask.
"Why would you, also an outsider, be the first to question my status as one? Why do you care so much about Sakiko's choices? From what standpoint are you trying to sway her decisions?"
He didn't understand. From Minami's words and actions so far, it was clear that she was a person who prioritized profit and held emotion in contempt.
But even so, not only did she actively and proactively intervene in the relationship between Sakiko and the Togawa family, she was even willing to argue with him over it.
Simply being his daughter's childhood friend shouldn't have been enough to make her do all this.
"..."
Hearing this question, Minami first looked up at Sakiko and Mutsumi standing together in the distance, then she spoke.
"Sakiko."
"Yes."
"If it's him, it should be fine to tell him, right?"
"...Yes."
Sakiko, who had not yet recovered from his earlier speech, answered absentmindedly.
"If it's Chihaya-nii... there's no need to hide anything from him."
"Is that so? Very well."
Having received her consent, Minami nodded, then looked back at Tetsuya and said:
"When you first met Mutsumi, did you ever feel that she and Sakiko... were inexplicably similar in many ways?"
He nodded silently.
The first time he saw Mutsumi and Sakiko sitting together, he had indeed felt as if they were sisters—
"Well then, although it's a bit late, in order for you to understand my intentions, I'll add a simple self-introduction."
To Tetsuya's dawning expression, Mori Minami said:
"I am Mori Minami, from a branch of the Togawa family. In terms of blood relation, I am Sakiko's grandaunt."
"...Ah."
If that was the case, then it meant... what he had felt when he first saw Mutsumi was no illusion.
She and Sakiko were not just simple childhood friends; they were indeed cousins, related by blood.
"Now that the introductions are over, let's get back to the main topic."
Having introduced herself, Minami looked at him again.
"I have certainly understood your intention to spend the rest of your life with Sakiko. In that case, as her grandaunt, may I interpret your statement just now... as a marriage proposal to Sakiko?"
"...What?"
(T/N: Am kinda unsure regarding grandaunt or if it's aunt, considering the author used grandaunt, even though the context should be aunt.. but I'll use grandaunt.)