Translator: Silver Editor: Namorax

「30」

I left the hospital at the end of summer vacation.

It was great that there were no further issues.

As that thought crossed my mind, I noticed something.

When did I become a trouble consultant!?

Well, it wasn't like I caused trouble… it's just that people kept bringing their problems to me.

It was somber and unnerving realization.

However, that was something I kept to myself.

I completed my vacation coursework during the first half of summer.

The break a.s.signments issued by s.h.i.+nonome Academy wasn't that difficult.

Since the heirs of influential families attended the academy, overseas vacations were frequent enough that the school didn't want to deal with parents complaining about overworking the students.

Usually, parents demanded more work, but the opposite was the case here.

In spite of that, I would be ashamed of myself if I merely lazed around instead of preparing for the upcoming proficiency exams.

Hayate had kept his promise and visited me every day.

Hayate's younger sister Satsuki frequently accompanied him.

It was a delightful experience overall.

She was there, waiting for me after my discharge

“How are you doing, Mizuki-sama?”

Satsuki offered me a formal greeting when she saw me.

“Sacchan, you came to see me again? Thank you. I'm feeling very well today.”

Thinking about how cute she is, I answer her greeting with a smile.

“Mizuki-sama! Please call me Satsuki, not Sacchan! I'm also Mizuki-sama's attendant.”

She made that selfish demand of me.

Hayate seemed disheartened by her behavior.

“Satsuki! Wait. As of now, you still haven't been a.s.signed to anyone.”

“It's as good as done. I've decided to serve Mizuki-sama!”

Satsuki discontent was obvious.

“……Hayate, Sacchan. What happened within the Okabe family?”

I haven't heard anything from grandfather or father.

Of course, the head of the Okabe family has remained silent.

What happened during my hospitalization?

“Nothing yet.”

Hayate remained indifferent.

“Father believe that its necessary to increase Mizuki-sama's security detail.”

Satsuki gave me a straight answer.

“Why me specifically? Usually, wouldn't it be for my older sisters?”

“Your attendance of Otomo-san's party is a topic of interest.  We've been overwhelmed by invitations ever since then.”

Hayate's expression was grim when he answered my question.

“When we informed the senders that you couldn't attend due to your poor health, a few idiots tried to force their way into the hospital. Although the Okabe stopped them, Suwa tried to make a move as well.”

“Suwa? For what?”

Hayate's face twisted into a frightening mask at the question.

“Hayate-niisan! Why haven't you crushed the Suwa yet!? Such a house only breeds misfortune!! Their existence is unnecessary!!”

Venomous barbs sprung from Satsuki's lips.

It wasn't superficial anger either.

“Even that family leads a conglomeration. The employees will be left in the streets if we sever the head. The economy would collapse. The innocents will suffer unnecessarily.”

Although Hayate's voice remained calm, it seemed as if he was trying to persuade himself.

“But!! They're the ones in the wrong! Mizuki-sama has already endured hards.h.i.+ps! They didn't even properly apologize and continued to cause problems!! Such people are unnecessary!!”

“Sacchan!”

Before I could think about it, I wound up embracing Satsuki.

I didn't want to hear those cruel words from her.

“……Mizuki-sama.”

“You're such a good child. Sacchan is truly kind. Thank you. But, please don't talk like that anymore.”

I whispered those words into her ear and brushed her soft her in an attempt to soothe Satsuki.

“…………Mizuki-sama……”

My arm tightened as she began to struggle.

“But, it's frustrating! Mizuki-sama, you used to have such long and beautiful hair…… now you have to cut it short. Then there's your training. You were so cool when you threw Hayate-niisan around in judo, but you can't even do that now……”

Wait, Satsuki.

What on earth was your image of me!?

While I was good, wouldn't I be a certified savage if I could toss Hayate around as you described!?

“Hey, Sacchan. Even if I hadn't gotten hurt, I probably couldn't throw Hayate anymore. Did you forget about our height and weight difference?”

“Heavy……”

Hayate's expression softened for some reason.

No, given his height and muscle ma.s.s, he was heavier than an average person.

It didn't mean that he was fat.

“Sacchan is still good though.”

“Mizuki-sama! I'm being held by Mizuki-sama!!”

Satsuki became fl.u.s.tered when she noticed how close our faces were.

“And it's not Sacchan, it's Satsuki! Please call me Satsuki from now on. Okay!”

“Huh? Ah, yes. Sorry, let's do that. Satsuki.”

“Yes.”

She barely managed to contain her smile as we parted from one another.

“Also, I'll make Mizuki-sama my bride.”

“Satsuki!”

Hayate brought his fist down as soon as the declaration left Satsuki's lips.

“Eeeh!! Why!?”

“It's natural!! Think about your age! Stupid kid. There's no way father will allow that.”

“But, I'll never let them get to her!”

Why were these siblings quarreling?

“Hayate. Please continue with your explanation.”

I locked eyes with him when I made the demand.

“……It seems that Suwa personally came to invite you to a party his mother is hosting. Things became heated when I asked about the authenticity of the invitation.”

“Ritsuko-sama?”

Perhaps she wanted to speak to me.

She felt that her son was responsible for my injuries.

Maybe she believed having Iori marry me would settle matters.

That was the general way of thinking in this world.

However, that would be an insult to the Sagara and Okabe.

Both families would object to such a wedding.

The anger sp.a.w.ned from harming a family's precious child wasn't silenced that easily.

I was more accepting of the idea of being Satsuki's bride than marrying Iori.

Sacchan was a cuter miniature Hayate after all.

“Hayate, tell everybody to pull back.”

He was surprised by my order.

“But!”

“Stop everyone but my grandfather. Leave everything to him for the time being. I'll personally speak with Ritsuko-sama about punis.h.i.+ng Iori for his actions.”

The paling Hayate reluctantly nodded along with my instructions.

Satsuki remained silent.

“……I told you so. Of all the Sagara, Mizuki is the most frightening when angered.”

“Hayate?”

I called out to Hayate when I caught him whispering something to Satsuki.

“Uh!! Yes!?”

“What are you telling her?”

“Nothing! I'm not saying anything!!”

He did his best to mislead me with a haphazard bow and a poor excuse.

“Well, good. If Suwa made a move, Ookami shouldn't be far behind. Keep an eye out for any suspicious behavior.”

“Ookami……understood.”

His expression changed with a nod.

“Satsuki.”

“Yes!”

I reflexively patted her head when she gave me an energetic response.

“Mizuki-sama!”

“Ah, sorry. Based on recent events, I'll accept the Okabe's offer of additional guards. However, only under the condition that Hayate in never removed. Is that alright?”

“Yes! I'll serve Mizuki-sama to the best of my abilities.”

While Satsuki was delighted at that fact, Hayate made a complicated expression.

It couldn't be helped.

For the time being, Hayate couldn't take on the full duties as my guardian.

Since I was unwilling to back down in this situation, I couldn't take it if I compromised his position.

My father and grandfather probably planned to keep me under constant surveillance whenever I left the house.

The responsibility of contacting and commanding those guards will fall on Hayate.

The other party aimed to get me alone and isolated after all.

“Please, Hayate.”

“I understand.”

I smiled back at Hayate and began planning for the upcoming second semester.

I'll take first place in the a.s.sessment exams.

The cla.s.sroom was in turmoil at the start of the second semester.

“Good morning, what's going on?”

The room became quiet when I asked that question.

“Did something happen?”

Some finally spoke up after I slowly restated the question.

“There's a rumor going around that the Sagara family is announcing an engagement……”

“My eldest brother is the only one getting married, and I haven't heard any news on the topic.”

Confused, I turned to Hayate, and he nodded along with my statement.

“I-Is that so?”

“Yes. Well, another older brother has been talking about proposing to the woman he declared the love of his life…… I'm looking forward to meeting them.”

While I tried to laugh the whole thing off everyone stared at me with stunned expressions.

“D-Do you mean Yak.u.mo-sama?”

“No. It's an older brother. The age difference between us is too large for you all to be familiar with him.”

As I was answering with a smile on my face, the entire room seemed to heave a sigh of relief.

“Maybe those rumors were about that bother then?”

“Yes! That's the source of the rumors. That has to be it.”

Gradually, the tension left the room and normalcy returned.

Unless Suwa proposed, I could push through this matter unscathed.

It happened just as I placed my bag on my desk.

“Mizuki!! Mizuki-chan!!”

He could be heard from the other end of the hallway as he ran into the cla.s.sroom and hugged me.

“I love you! I truly love you!!”

“Eaugh!! Ouch!!

Our checks touched as he embraced me.

“Ariwara!! Let her go! Release Mizuki! You're hurting her!!”

Hayate's complexion darkened when 『pained』groans left my mouth.

“Be silence, Okabe! Don't interfere with my declaration to Mizuki.”

“If you continue to harm Mizuki, I'll crush you.”

“Eh? Crush me?”

“Let the crus.h.i.+ng commence!”

“…… Stop causing a ruckus in other cla.s.ses.”

Both of them broke away from their glaring to see my displeased expression.

“Sorry, Mizuki! Are you alright?”

“…… I thought you were gonna crush me.”

“Sorry. I was so happy that I lost my sense of reason.”

Murderous intent sprung up from somewhere as Ariwara tried to laugh off his actions.

Though our heights were similar, he was deceptively strong.

Being caught off guard by his strength was somewhat uncomfortable.

“Everything is settled then.”

“Yes. It's all thanks to you, Mizuki. They others said as much.”

“I see. That's good to hear.”

“Yes.”

Ariwara nodded with delighted smile plastered on his face.

Because she wasn't a bad people, the non-violent and non-harmful outcome was for the best.

“I'm truly indebted to you, Mizuki.”

“No. Don't worry about it. My sister just nudged things in the right direction. Though I'm a little sorry for how things turned out.”

“Is that so? Such a thing is…… oh. I see.”

Ariwara shook suddenly shook his head as if he'd just realized something.

“I was a bit reckless regarding that matter. I need to be more considerate of power relations.h.i.+ps moving forward.”

“That's right. Well, apart from one aspect of her personality, she's quite a lovely find, a diamond in the rough, if you will.”

If there hadn't been such a large age gap, Ariwara might have been more accepting of the engagement.

“Yeah. I hope she finds some form of happiness.”

Ariwara smile remained throughout the remainder of our conversation.

I'm sure that when he told others this story, it'd be when he's giving someone a blessing.

With our conversation complete, I urged Ariwara to return to his cla.s.sroom.

Then the doors suddenly opened.

Everyone simultaneously looked towards the door.

“……Ah……”

A surprised Suwa stood in the doorway.

People were shocked at the drastic changes to Suwa's appearance.

Those unaware of the reason behind the changes simply returned to their conversations.

Those that longed for Suwa were in a state of rapture.

And, those who knew what had happened this summer glared at him.

“Ariware, Hayate, I think you should return to your cla.s.srooms.”

“……But……”

“Are you going to be late to homeroom the first day back?”

They shrugged and left after I jokingly asked that question.

Hayate and Suwa glared at one another in pa.s.sing.

That wasn't very adult-like, Hayate.

Suwa offered me a wry smile as I did my best to ignore him.