Chapter 15: A Hundred Flowers in Bloom
"Aniki! Aniki~!"
Takumi was pushing his bike through the school gate when he heard the call. He immediately frowned.
In this world, the only ones who could shout "Aniki" at him without a care for the strange looks from everyone else… were either that chuunibyou tyrant little sister, or this guy.
He pretended not to hear and kept walking.
But of course the other party had no intention of giving up. Rapid footsteps approached, and then a hand slapped onto his shoulder.
"Aniki! You're seriously breaking my heart here! Ignoring me like that… We're best friends, aren't we?!"
"Best friends? More like a toxic friend. And my name isn't Aniki. If you wanna call someone that, go star in a time-travel drama."
"Haha! But isn't the older brother of Her Majesty the Empress basically Aniki?"
"You're already in second year and still this deep into chuunibyou… Sigh. This illness is probably incurable for you, poor thing."
"Shut it! Haven't you heard? 'Even Chuunibyou Kids Want to Fall in Love'!"
"..."
Takumi fell silent and continued pushing the bike, completely ignoring him.
But the nuisance refused to quit. He actually hopped onto the back seat—the spot usually reserved for Hoshino Akari.
Takumi was caught completely off guard and nearly lost control of the handlebars. Fortunately the idiot planted both feet on the ground and stabilized the bike.
"Uwaaa… it's still warm… Empress's warmth…! It's like our skin is touching…!"
Seeing the guy's utterly blissful expression, Takumi finally lost it. He spun around and landed a solid punch.
"You damn pervert! Filthy lolicon! What the hell are you doing this early in the morning?!"
"I'm not a lolicon! I just happen to like someone who is a loli! Besides, the way Empress developed… she's way more like a 'magical girl' than some loli!"
The students passing by were staring at the two of them with weird expressions and starting to murmur.
Takumi covered his face with one hand, revved the electric bike, and completely ignored the security guards shouting as he sped away.
"So embarrassing… Don't you know what shame is? My little sister is only thirteen! You've been saying you like her since last year—you're absolutely a lolicon pervert!"
"Same answer as always: I'm not a lolicon. The person I like just happens to be a loli."
"Aoki Haruto, I'm seriously done with you."
"Haha, if you want, Aniki can just call me Prince Haruto~"
"Get lost."
Takumi parked the bike in the shed, locked it up, and headed straight for the classroom.
Aoki Haruto followed right behind, completely shameless.
"I got two tickets for Conquering the Demons. Wanna go watch?"
"Huh? You're actually inviting me? Let me be clear—if you're planning to use me as a middleman to give them to Empress, I refuse."
"Of course not! These are specially for you. No rips online yet, hehe."
"Feels like you're being way too nice out of nowhere… Either you're scheming, or you want something."
While talking, Takumi suddenly collided with a walking wall of flesh at the stairwell entrance. He staggered back a few steps.
Aoki Haruto, who was tailing too closely, bumped into Takumi's back and also stumbled.
"Oi, why'd you stop so suddenly?!"
"No eyes, huh?"
The meat mountain grumbled in a deep, muffled voice.
Aoki Haruto finally got a good look and sucked in a sharp breath—not just because of the guy's sumo-wrestler physique, but because he knew exactly who this was.
The infamous school tyrant: Goda Taiga.
Takumi privately called him Fat Tiger—just like the bully from Doraemon. Despite the size, he was the captain of the wrestling club.
"S-sorry! Sorry!"
Aoki Haruto hurriedly apologized.
Goda Taiga snorted, didn't bother responding, and just lumbered down the stairs.
"Phew… Rotten luck. First thing in the morning and we run into that monster," Aoki Haruto sighed.
Takumi replied dryly, "I think I'm unluckier. I ran into you before I even got inside the school."
"Am I really that bad? …Ah, I get it. Aniki sees me as a love rival!"
"Love rival my ass. We may be friends, but keep spouting crap and I'll actually get pissed."
"Hahaha, stop pretending! Everyone knows our Aniki is a legendary siscon! Going to school together every day, shopping dates, movies, ice skating… You two basically look like a couple. No wonder you ignore every girl in class—even when the Golden Princess is right there, you never give her a second glance. A princess is nice… but she can't compare to Empress."
"You—! I have zero interest in 3D girls. Parents aren't home, so I'm her guardian. Going to school together isn't weird. Following her wherever she goes isn't weird. You have no idea how much Mom and Dad adore their little princess. If anything happened to her, I'd be finished."
"Hmm… When we talk 2D, it actually makes me think you're an even bigger siscon."
"Huh? Why?!"
"Because compared to normal girls, doesn't Empress's chuunibyou beautiful-girl energy have that ultimate 2D moe appeal? No wonder you—"
Aoki Haruto suddenly shut up mid-sentence.
A girl had just passed by them.
Golden hair flowed freely, untied, fluttering in the breeze. Pleated skirt to the knees, white thigh-high socks, and a large purple bow at her chest that only amplified her noble, dazzling beauty.
"Princess…"
Aoki Haruto muttered in a daze.
Takumi glanced over—sure enough, it was her.
The Golden Sparkling Ojou-sama, Ryūko—the one everyone in class called the Golden-Haired Princess.
She exuded an overwhelming aura. Wherever she walked, the crowd instinctively parted.
Aoki Haruto quickly stepped aside.
But Takumi didn't slow down at all. He simply kept walking forward at his normal pace.
Surprisingly, Ryūko matched him perfectly. She didn't overtake him—instead she walked right beside him, their footsteps falling into perfect sync as they climbed the stairs toward the classroom.
Takumi didn't think anything of it.
To everyone else… it was simply unthinkable.
"Someone's actually walking side-by-side with the Golden Princess?!"
"That's crazy… I tried once, but I couldn't even breathe under that pressure…"
"It feels so surreal… Who is that guy? He's in our class too? And… kinda hot? They look like the perfect prince and princess pair…"
"Tch, who does he think he is? Total poser."
"Have we… met before?"
The moment they stepped into the classroom, the golden-haired ojou-sama suddenly turned her head and asked.
Takumi glanced at her.
"We've always met. Most recently… last Saturday."
"So it was you."
Ryūko paused for a second, then bloomed into a sweet, radiant smile.
In that instant—it was like a hundred flowers blooming all at once.
The entire classroom was bathed in the light of that smile.
Silence fell for a few heartbeats.
Then—
"So beautiful… I never knew the princess could smile like that…"
"Unreal… She's always been an ice queen… She actually smiled… I'm dying…"
"Uwaaa… Why… Why isn't her first smile for me?!"
"Who the hell is that guy?! I'm so jealous I want to strangle him!"
Takumi blinked once, then said casually,
"Your smile is pretty nice. Before this you always had that stiff face—I thought you had facial paralysis."
"Eh?"
The golden beauty froze. Then she let out a half-laugh, half-annoyed huff.
"You're the one with facial paralysis! Hmph!"
She turned and walked toward her seat.
But after two steps she looked back.
"…Thanks for that day."
"No problem. Oh, right—speaking of which, I almost forgot. You didn't throw away that umbrella, right? If you still have it, can you return it tomorrow? I borrowed it."
Ryūko froze again.
Countless people had gifted her things—precious necklaces, gems, sports cars—she never cared.
But this guy… was asking for an umbrella back?
She stared straight into Takumi's eyes.
No trace of scheming. No hidden intentions.
Her ojou-sama temper instantly flared up.
"I threw it in the trash! If you really want one back, I'll buy you an entire umbrella store! Hmph!"
She stormed off angrily.
Takumi scratched the back of his head, completely baffled.
"What the heck… Asking for an umbrella back made her that mad? Ojou-sama minds are impossible to figure out…"
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