At some point, Hakua had realized the disconcerting fact that she was the one being pressured. How many years had it been since she last broke out in a cold sweat like this?
(It seems this won’t be as straightforward as I thought…)
And amidst this turmoil, the subject of contention – Izumi himself – was preoccupied with something else.
“Oi, oi, Izumi-cchi, what’s with this ‘nee-san’ stuff~!? I heard her say she’s the president and your fiancée but~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!?”
“Eh!? Amane!? What’s wrong!? Stop shaking me like that!”
It seemed the one taking the most damage was actually Amane next to him, but that didn’t concern Hakua in the slightest.
(I had hoped to avoid this, but it can’t be helped…)
Hakua made up her mind.
She felt a brief pang of conflict over resorting to this method – a double-edged sword that could be called a ruthless tactic. But the cold-blooded imperial blood coursing through her veins swiftly crushed her hesitation.
Reaching into her tote bag, Hakua pulled out a bento lunch box meant for a boy.
“Izumi-kun. I forgot to give you your lunch box this morning.”
“Ah. Thanks for bringing it all the way here.”
At that moment, the surrounding students including Amane started murmuring at the sound of the rain.
That’s right.
The reason Izumi’s lunchbox wasn’t prepared this morning…it was a setup for this situation!
Of course, claiming to have forgotten to give him the lunchbox was a blatant lie. She intentionally didn’t give it to him as an excuse to have lunch together with Izumi during the break.
It was all a meticulous plan to let everyone know that Shiragiku and Izumi have a [close enough relationship for her to make him lunch]! The students couldn’t hide their surprise at her overly homemade-looking behavior. Amane was especially frozen stiff!
And with a poker face, I opened the lid of that lunchbox.
(Nanao Nanase. Let me show you…the difference in our class!)
From here was the true highlight of the plan.
Shiragiku took the chopsticks, but for some reason instead of giving the lunchbox to Izumi, she took the rolled omelet for herself. Could it be she intended to eat it in front of him? To purposely bring Izumi’s lunchbox only to eat it herself right before his eyes.
The answer is no!
With a perfectly beautiful smile, Shiragiku offered that rolled omelet to Izumi!
(So far so good. After this–)
That’s right, after this!
After this…….
Um, after this…….
……after?
Izumi, Amane, and the surrounding students were at a loss for words.
For some reason, Shiragiku had frozen in that pose!
Izumi tilted his head.
“U-Um. Shiragiku…senpai…?”
Responding to him calling out while sealing away his earlier slip-up (calling her nee san), Shiragiku snapped back to her senses. And she recalled her own brilliant scheme once more.
[Let everyone know we have a homemade lunchbox relationship] -> [Deliver the coup de grâce by having him eat from my lunchbox]
With this combo attack, Shiragiku and Izumi’s lovey-dovey bond (in her view) was supposed to dominate the academy.
In theory at least, it was a perfect plan.
But this plan…contained a fatal flaw that Shiragiku had failed to realize until now!
It was the [Ice Princess] image she had cultivated up to this point.
In other words, her public reputation!
Feed a certain boy an “Ahhhn?” in front of everyone?
Her, Shiragiku Hakua?
A talented lady groomed from a young age to lead a global corporation,
behaving like a lovesick newlywed couple while making goo-goo eyes at a boy?
–There was no way she could do that!
Shiragiku finally realized that her own scheme had inadvertently led to this greatest crisis.
(No no no no way! I can never do something like I do at home~~!)
The only reason Shiragiku could dote on Izumi at home was because it was an isolated space away from the world.
Only within the castle of that 1LDK apartment could Shiragiku be a doting big sister.
But to say something like “I’ll spoil you lots♡” out in the open, for example?
To Shiragiku, that would be equivalent to indulging in public indecency!
If she slipped up, it could even lead to the downfall of her family’s global conglomerate, the Shiragiku household. The happiness of the millions of family members across all branches rested on her shoulders.
Shiragiku asked herself,
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
Should she really say “Ahhn?” here at the cost of taking away those family members’ smiles?
Objectively it was definitely an over-thinking, but Shiragiku had been raised that way, so it couldn’t be helped. If she was the type who could easily say “Ahhn?”, she wouldn’t have schemed this whole de facto marriage route to tie Izumi down in the first place.
(Awawawawa……!)
Blushing so hard steam seemed to pour from her head, Shiragiku was in a state where she could neither advance nor retreat.
Izumi looked at her with a puzzled expression.
(Wh-What’s wrong? What was she planning to do with the rolled omelet?)
Normally, one would assume “Maybe she’ll feed it to me?”, wouldn’t they?
But the current situation didn’t seem like such a giddy event.
Shiragiku glared at him with an intense, demon-like expression. From her demeanor, Izumi sensed an unusual animosity.
(Is she that angry that I was going to settle for bread from the shop!?)
Izumi assumed she was upset that he was going to make do with bread from the cafeteria for lunch!
It seemed unreasonable, but it wasn’t that strange of an assumption to make.
After all, from Izumi’s perspective, he had no idea Shiragiku was the type to say “Ahhn?” in front of others.
As the heir to a global corporation, he knew she was a earnest lady, even if she was a doting big sister at home. This was more of a pitfall arising from his knowledge of her home situation.
Incredibly, a bizarre situation had arisen where neither the “Ahhn?” giver nor receiver could move.
The only one with the potential to change the atmosphere was Amane. But she had relegated herself to a mere bystander, her face blushing beet red, gulping – in no state to act when it counted, as was her bad habit.
Would they have no choice but to wait for the lunch break bell to end? That stifling air hung over them.
That’s when–!
“Izumi-kun. Ahn?”
Those words set the stopped time in motion again–.
It was Nanao Nanase.
She offered Izumi the same rolled omelet from her lunchbox that Shiragiku had been trying to give him, unaware if it had been intentionally chosen.
“Eh? Oh, yeah……”
And without any hesitation due to being in an extreme state of tension, Izumi took that rolled omelet into his mouth.
(……Hm?)
As he chewed and savored the sweet omelet…he realized he had just been fed an “Ahhn?”.
His face immediately flushed bright red.
While watching Izumi with a smiling expression, Nanao tilted her head adorably.
“Is it tasty?”
“Ah, yeah. …It’s good.”
When he honestly shared his impression, Nanao smiled happily.
Then hiding her mouth with both hands, she looked up at him as if revealing an important secret.
“You know, I’m the one who made that rolled omelet?”
“……!?”
Izumi’s heart skipped a beat at her casual homemade selling point.
With eyes sparkling with some expectation, Nanao leaned her face a bit closer to Izumi.
“Can I make it for you again sometime?”
When asked that, Izumi could only nod obediently.
“P-Please do…”
“Okay. Leave it to me♪”
Izumi was flustered by that dazzling smile.
(The black and the white, they’re both bad for my heart…)
That’s when “Ah” – Izumi realized.
Come to think of it, he had forgotten about Shiragiku. That bizarre act of offering the omelet roll…Looking back, was that supposed to be an “Ahhn?”?
“Sh-Shiragiku senpai…eh?”
Izumi tilted his head again.
At some point, Shiragiku’s presence had vanished–
Down the stairwell from the rooftop.
Shiragiku descended the stairs alone, step by step. A frigid aura emanated from her shoulders, enough to make passing students flinch in fright.
That anger was directed at herself.
(This is the result brought about by my own weakness of heart, isn’t it?)
To think in that moment of indecision, her chance to give Izumi an “Ahhn?” would be snatched away.
No matter the shackles of being a global corporation heir, it was no excuse. She understood that, and loathed herself for it more than anyone.
(Nanase Nanao. As my preliminary research suggested, she is no mere pure-hearted girl.)
That perfectly timed “Ahhn?” that seized the opening.
And on top of that — Shiragiku felt like Nanao had shot her a taunting smirk! (※Through Shiragiku’s self-conscious filter)
Glancing back towards the rooftop where Nanao would be, she spoke to her in her heart.
(You’re the first to inflict such humiliation upon me.)
Clearly holding a grudge, but no one to correct that perception. To make matters worse, Amane had been up there too, but Shiragiku paid her no mind.
With the piercing gaze that earned her the [Ice Princess] moniker, Shiragiku glared into the void.
(Very well. Nanase Nanao — I acknowledge you as my enemy.)
And she gripped tightly the lunchbox she failed to give Izumi.
(Just you watch, I’ll take Izumi-kun back using every fiber of my being as Shiragiku Shiragiku~!)
With that determination in her heart, a familiar female student approached her from down the hallway.
“President! What are you doing here?”
It was the vice-president.
Apparently she had been searching for Shiragiku.
“Where have you been? We were supposed to decide the agenda for the next student assembly…”
“Ah, my apologies. I got a bit sidetracked with a personal matter…”
What an embarrassing blunder. She hurriedly checked the time on her smartphone when–Shiragiku had a brilliant epiphany!
The blood of a global corporation heir sparked that defining flash of insight!
“…The agenda has been decided.”
“Eh? It has?”
And Shiragiku wore a chilling yet beautiful smile that would captivate the entire world.
“On my honor — I will have the ‘No Couples Ahhn-ing on Campus’ bill passed into law!”
With strides brimming with confidence, she headed straight for the student council room.
Dumbfounded by those words, the vice-president called out!
“…Why!?”
There was no one to answer her question–.
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