After playing to their hearts’ content, the five of them changed back into their regular clothes and left the water park.
Though it was still a bit early, they decided to go for dinner at a nearby restaurant.
“Hey, so I’m thinking of calling a cab… how many should I get? Yuzurun and Soichiro-kun were in the ‘train camp’, right?”
In other words, it was a question of whether they’d go home by public transportation like trains—or take a cab.
Leaning back against the sofa, Yuzuru replied.
“I’m normally train camp… but honestly, I’m exhausted today. Call one for me too.”
They’d gotten a little too carried away midway through the day, and now his whole body felt sluggish.
Especially the swimming race they’d done at the pool earlier—it had really taken a toll.
“Same here… I don’t have the energy to take the train.”
Soichiro looked like he was already halfway to passing out. With his elbow on the table, he answered drowsily while nodding off.
Meanwhile, Chiharu was casually playing with his hair.
“Um, I’ll take the train—”
“I’ll drop Yukishiro off on the way, so one cab will be enough. Don’t worry about the cost—I’ll cover it.”
Yuzuru cut in before Arisa could finish.
“Uh… I’m really fine, though.”
“If you’re the only one going home by train, who knows what people will say later.”
“…Well, if you put it that way.”
Hearing the exchange between Yuzuru and Arisa, Ayaka and Chiharu let out impressed sounds.
Then the two of them started shaking the half-asleep Soichiro.
“I want you to drop me off too.”
“Please take me home as well.”
“Your houses are in the opposite direction… Besides, I just want to go home already. Let me go. I’m sleepy… Actually, you guys should be the ones taking me home.”
Soichiro looked genuinely exhausted as he said that.
Yuzuru thought it served him right—but the kind-hearted Arisa seemed to feel sorry for him.
So she stepped in to help.
“By the way, Ayaka-san, Chiharu-san… would you like to exchange contact information?”
“Sure!”
“Now that you mention it, we haven’t yet.”
The three of them exchanged contacts.
From the looks of it, they’d gotten quite close during their time at the pool earlier.
Seeing that made Yuzuru feel a small sense of happiness.
On the way home that day,
Yuzuru and Arisa sat side by side in the cab.
“Today was really fun.”
Arisa said it with quiet sincerity.
Normally she was cool and composed, but perhaps swept up by Ayaka and Chiharu’s energy, she’d seemed far more lively than usual partway through the day.
From Yuzuru’s perspective, it was a rare sight—and he was satisfied.
“Looks like you got pretty close with Ayaka-chan and Chiharu-chan.”
“Yes… Can I say we’ve become friends?”
“Whether you think so or not, I’m sure they already do.”
Judging from their behavior, they had clearly taken quite a liking to Arisa.
They’d even secretly given Yuzuru a strict warning—
“If you make Arisa-chan cry, it’s the death penalty.” “If you’re a man, take responsibility and make her happy.”
…Even though he had already explained that he was only her fake fiancé.
“Speaking of which, Takasegawa-san.”
“What is it?”
“The three of them… they’re from fairly wealthy families too, right?”
“Hm? Yeah, I’d say they fall into the wealthy category.”
Though of course, even within “wealthy,” there were different levels.
“Where do they live? Do they normally take cabs like this?”
Ayaka had summoned a cab so casually earlier that Arisa had gotten curious about how they usually got around.
Yuzuru pulled up what he remembered about their living situations and commutes.
“Ayaka-chan… I think she lives within an hour by car. She’s usually driven by a personal chauffeur.”
“Really? I’ve never seen that.”
“Apparently she gets dropped off about a three-minute walk away from school. …I guess getting dropped off right in front would be embarrassing.”
The high school Yuzuru attended was a private one, and quite a few students came from wealthy families.
Still, when you looked at the overall numbers, students from ordinary households were the majority.
Ayaka was a teenage girl, after all—she naturally had a sense of embarrassment about that sort of thing.
“What about Satake-san?”
“Him… I don’t remember the exact distance, but he commutes from home like normal. He’s train camp. …His family has a lot of siblings.”
“A lot of siblings? How many? Like… four?”
In an era where declining birthrates were constantly talked about, even four children would make a couple notable contributors to Japan’s population problem.
But the Satake family was on another level.
“I remember there being enough to form a baseball team.”
“That’s… really a lot.”
Arisa’s eyes widened in surprise.
Yuzuru nodded.
“As you can tell from his name, Soichiro is the oldest of them all. Soichiro’s kanji are 宗一郎. The element 一郎 (ichiro) is a traditional male naming pattern meaning “first son,” commonly given to the eldest boy in a family. …I don’t remember exactly how many are in kindergarten or elementary and middle school, but to drive nine or more kids around every morning, you’d need quite a few drivers.”
Of course, it wasn’t like they couldn’t hire them.
But apparently that family thought it unnecessary.
Once the boys reached a certain age, they all walked to school.
The girls, however, were apparently driven.
“He said walking is better for your health. And… though he didn’t say it outright, it’s probably embarrassing for him to be driven. He’s a guy, after all.”
“What about Chiharu-san?”
“Her family home is in Kansai. Since commuting would be impossible, she lives alone here.”
In that sense, she was similar to Yuzuru.
Though unlike him—who simply didn’t want a one-hour commute—her situation had an actual necessity behind it.
“Isn’t it dangerous for a girl to live alone? She’s from a good family too, right?”
“Yeah. That’s why, apparently, people connected to her family—maybe bodyguards or servants—live in the flats on both sides of her place. …So it’s more like a ‘pseudo’ living-alone situation.”
Whether that really counted as living alone was questionable.
Still, it was a reasonable precaution.
After all, there were criminals who pretended to be delivery workers just to break into flats.
…Though, despite appearances, Chiharu was the martial arts type, so she could probably fend off most men anyway. The Japanese word used in the original text—武闘派 (butoha)—literally means “militant/fighting faction,” here implying someone physically formidable.
“Does that mean… the flats next to yours too, Takasegawa-san?”
“No, my neighbours are just normal people. I’ve never seen any over-the-top security like that. …Though I can’t say with absolute certainty there isn’t any.”
In any case, Yuzuru had no intention of actively looking for it.
This wasn’t Where’s Waldo. There was no need to search.
If he didn’t know, then not knowing was fine.
“…By the way, Yukishiro. What about the Amagi family?”
“My adoptive father employs a driver. But… most of us take the train. …Our household is trying to save money right now.”
“I see.”
Just as the rumors suggested, the Amagi family’s finances didn’t seem to be doing well.
Apparently the cause was that the previous head of the Amagi family—Arisa’s adoptive father’s father—had failed in business. The current head was now struggling to rebuild things.
Considering that… the idea of marrying Arisa off just to obtain financial support—
Yuzuru couldn’t sympathize with it at all, but he could at least understand how desperate they must be.
While they were talking, the cab arrived near Arisa’s house.
Yuzuru stepped out first, then offered his hand.
Arisa looked momentarily surprised…
…but soon took his hand.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
He helped her out of the car.
“Well then, Yukishiro. Maybe we’ll see each other again during summer break.”
“Yes. If that happens, I’ll be the one inviting you next time—”
Right then—
“Arisa!”
A young man’s voice rang out.
A man in his twenties, pulling a carry-on suitcase, walked towards them.
He had neat features and the appearance of a pleasant young man.
“Who’s that?”
When Yuzuru asked quietly, Arisa replied in the same low voice.
“That’s Amagi Haruto. My cousin… and my stepbrother.”
As she said that, Arisa wore a gentle-looking smile—
but it was the kind of smile that held no real emotion, like a mask.
Meanwhile, Haruto had looked delighted.
But the moment he noticed Yuzuru standing beside Arisa…
his expression darkened.
(I smell trouble,) Yuzuru thought with a quiet sigh.
