“I’m home.”
Evening.
After the sun had set, Arisa returned home.
There was no reply.
Though that didn’t mean no one was there.
With slightly heavy steps, Arisa made her way to the dining kitchen.
Her adoptive mother—Amagi Emi—was at the sink, washing dishes.
“I’m back… Emi-san.”
Normally, Arisa was the one who prepared dinner.
It wasn’t a strict rule, but it had become routine.
However, today she’d eaten with Yuzuru, so she was late.
And so, unusually, Emi had made dinner instead.
Of course, Arisa had informed her beforehand—
But even so, she felt a bit uneasy.
Meanwhile, without turning around, Emi replied as she continued washing dishes.
“Oh, welcome back. …You’re quite late, aren’t you?”
There it was—a jab right away.
What a hassle, Arisa thought inwardly, as she responded.
“Yes… I apologise for the inconvenience.”
“Oh, I don’t think it’s an inconvenience at all. …You’ve been quite busy, haven’t you? In various ways.”
“…Yes.”
A loaded way of speaking.
But Arisa had long since learned that responding seriously or arguing would only make things worse.
So she let it pass.
“Then… I’ll head upstairs.”
She tried to leave quickly and retreat to her room.
But Emi called out again.
“Oh, right… make sure you wash that dirty body of yours properly before bed. And those ‘dirty undergarments’ too… I’d rather not have them in the same washing machine.”
Not “clothes”—but specifically “undergarments.”
The implication was obvious.
Emi thought Arisa had slept with Yuzuru.
“…Understood.”
Whether she truly believed it or was just being spiteful didn’t matter.
Correcting her would be pointless.
Besides—
(…There’s not much point correcting her anyway.)
If it were completely false, Arisa might have denied it.
But it wasn’t entirely wrong either.
As told, Arisa went to the bathroom and took a shower.
“…She’s gotten quieter.”
Honestly, Emi’s remark felt underwhelming.
Before, she would’ve said far worse.
The sharpness of her “verbal knives” had clearly dulled.
Most likely, it was because things between Arisa and Yuzuru were going well.
Yuzuru himself probably wasn’t exerting direct pressure—
But his family name was undoubtedly acting as a shield.
(…I’m always being helped. I feel bad.)
Thinking back, she’d received a very expensive Christmas gift.
And she couldn’t confidently say she’d returned something of equal value.
Of course, Yuzuru would probably say it didn’t matter—
But—
(As a person… I don’t want to become complacent.)
If she kept relying on him and only receiving—
She’d surely become dependent.
She didn’t want to be someone whose only merit was “having a wonderful boyfriend.”
After her shower, Arisa dried off quickly, changed into her nightwear, and dried her hair.
Leaving the dressing room, she headed to her bedroom.
Her room had originally been a storage space.
Not so much because she was mistreated—
But because she’d been an unexpected “third child.”
The Amagi household was above average financially, but not wealthy enough to simply add another room.
Still, the room itself was properly insulated and equipped, so Arisa had no real complaints.
As she walked down the hallway—
“Arisa… you’re back.”
“Yes. Just a little while ago.”
She ran into her cousin, Amagi Hiroto.
He was home for spring break from university.
(…Can’t he go back already?)
She hadn’t had a great impression of him to begin with—
And after learning he’d been behind a past incident involving her former classmates, that impression had plummeted.
Hurry up and go back to your flat, she often thought.
Of course, she never said it aloud.
“I heard today was the marathon… you’re quite late.”
“Yes. Is there a problem?”
Her reply was cold.
Even Hiroto seemed to notice her irritation and flinched.
“N-no… sorry. That was insensitive.”
“…”
Arisa frowned slightly.
It seemed he’d misunderstood something.
That irritated her.
“It’s not like anything happened between me and Yuzuru-san.”
“I-I see… that’s good, then…”
It didn’t seem like the misunderstanding had been cleared up.
Feeling it was pointless, Arisa tried to end the conversation and return to her room—
But—
“Arisa! …I’ll help however I can!”
He grabbed her arm.
“…What are you talking about?”
“I mean… that. The engagement. You don’t have to just go along with what that guy says—”
In that instant, Arisa felt her blood boil.
“Could you not speak badly about Yuzuru-san?”
Her voice came out louder than intended.
Seeing Hiroto stunned, she realised what she’d done.
“…Sorry.”
She bowed slightly and hurried off.
Then—
“Arguing is rare for you.”
A girl stood in front of her room.
Her cousin—effectively her younger sister.
Amagi Mei.
“Ah… Mei-chan. Did I disturb your studying?”
“No, I was just playing on my phone. …Please don’t tell Mother.”
Games were limited to one hour a day.
That was Emi’s rule.
She disliked games.
That was why Arisa herself had little experience with them.
But while consoles could be controlled, phone games were harder to monitor.
Mei, being clever, played them in secret.
She’d even managed to get small in-app purchases approved by their father.
It was a kind of cleverness Arisa didn’t have.
“Also, I wanted to talk to you.”
“…To me?”
“Yes. About the engagement.”
Arisa’s expression stiffened.
Ignoring that, Mei continued calmly.
“Father asked me… if your engagement with Takasegawa-san were to fall through, would I be willing to step in? Something like that. …Of course, he phrased it more delicately.”
Arisa’s mind went blank.
Still, she forced out words.
“T-that means… what exactly?”
“It’s just a hypothetical. If either you or Takasegawa-san—or both—were to lose interest and the engagement became uncertain. A backup plan, essentially.”
Hearing that, Arisa let out a small breath of relief.
So it hadn’t already been broken.
(…Come to think of it…)
She remembered her adoptive father, Naoki, asking if she truly disliked the engagement.
She hadn’t been able to answer clearly.
She hadn’t understood his intent.
She’d wanted to say no immediately—
But what if he wanted her to say yes?
That uncertainty had frightened her.
So she’d avoided answering.
He’d said she could tell him later—
But she never had the chance.
“…I see. Then… Mei-chan, what about you?”
“I don’t particularly want to marry him. I’ve never even met him. …And I’d like to inherit Father’s business.”
Unlike Hiroto, who had little interest in the family business—
Mei seemed to have some.
Though she was still only in her final year of primary school.
“That… makes sense.”
Arisa felt a small sense of relief.
As long as Mei wasn’t interested, Arisa remained the only option.
“Well, even if I married Takasegawa-san, it wouldn’t mean I couldn’t take over the company.”
“…Eh?”
“I haven’t met him, but from his photo… he seems quite handsome. And his personality doesn’t seem bad either—despite what my brother says.”
Then Mei smiled faintly.
“And he’s wealthy. If you don’t want him, Arisa-san… I wouldn’t mind. Of course, after meeting him first.”
Then she asked—
“So, Arisa-san… how do you really feel about marrying Takasegawa-san?”
Arisa couldn’t answer.
If Mei was willing—
And if Naoki thought Mei was more suitable—
Then…
At the very least, Arisa didn’t have the courage to refuse.
“U-um… what about you, Mei-chan?”
Unable to say yes or no—
She deflected.
“I already told you my stance.”
Mei sighed.
“Well, that’s fine. Marriage is still far off. There’s no need to decide now.”
But—
“You should at least be clear about how you feel. Unless you truly don’t mind either way.”
With that, Mei left.
Arisa stood there in silence, then entered her room and closed the door.
“…Yuzuru-san.”
Leaning her back against it—
She softly spoke the name of the one she loved, as if asking for help.
