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Arriving at the venue and getting out of the car, I feel countless stares directed at me. I hear a few whispers asking who I am or if I’m a daughter from an up and coming enterprise. That’s completely wrong, though.

“It seems like they’ve identified me since I arrived with you, mother.”
“Still, they do seem quite surprised. I suppose not many recognize you in your present state.”

Unfortunately, the only ones that know about the present me are the students at the academy. Maybe there’s some that visit the cafe, but they probably would never expect the daughter of the Kisaragi family to be working there.

“Let’s hurry to the reception desk. The stares are discomforting.”
“I still want to thoroughly show off my precious daughter, though.”
“Stop.”

I don’t want to be the center of attraction. Moreso since mixed in with the curious stares are those that are of clear disdain. Appearance wasn’t the only issue about me, after all.

“Ah, principal.”

Arriving at the reception, the principal was there. He’s waving his hand with a troubled expression, I guess I should talk to him. There’s an unfamiliar lady behind him for some reason, though.

“I’m really grateful you came.”
“I wouldn’t cancel at the very last moment, you know.”
“You looked really reluctant, after all. So I couldn’t help but worry about it.”

True, I really didn’t want to. Still, I can’t let my selfishness cause Shizuru trouble, you know. The bodyguard people would probably get pissed if they heard that, though. What about us then?! and so on.

“Please let this be the last time. I’ve already stepped away from high society, after all.”
“Say that to her. She’s the real culprit here.”

The principal stepped aside, showing the person behind him. From how he spoke, she should be a relative. If I remember correctly, the principal is a third son, but I don’t know how many other siblings he has.

“I suppose I should introduce myself. I’m Satsuki Oomi. Are you my little brother’s collaborator?”
“The principal has always been very kind to me. Could you please do something regarding his private life?”

The troubles just keep piling up, you know. Hearing my statement, the lady smiled at me. Since they’re family, she should know what kind of person her own brother is.

“Yup, you’re the collaborator, alright. On behalf of my foolish brother, I apologize for all the trouble he’s causing you.”
“It was a lot of trouble, that’s for sure. I’d like to terminate our cooperation soon, would that be alright?”
“Nuh-uh.”

She said so cutely, but I’m sure my face can’t hide the fact that I’m fed up with it.

“Until when do you plan for the cooperation to continue?”
“Until my fool of a brother gets married.”
“That’s a long road ahead.”

They’re now finally lovers, but if you ask me if they can develop from there, I can’t say for sure. After all, the one who initiates their dates is the principal. He definitely doesn’t have any solid plans.

“I want Shizuo to just handle it all.”
“I know about him as well, but he’ll reach a bottleneck sooner or later.”

Yeah, I feel that too. At worst, we might need to hold an emergency meeting in my room. If the principal is there too, it’s sure to turn into a place of judgment. The two of us are definitely going to start condemning him.

“Nonetheless, I’m curious about this person who my foolish brother fell for. I’ve yet to meet her, after all.”
“She’s not particularly out of the ordinary. She’s not a lady of high standing or the like, just an ordinary person.”

The only thing out of the ordinary about her is the amount of alcohol she can drink. If they ever actually get married, I wonder if she’ll drink the way she usually does. Even she would probably hold back on her wedding day. But she’ll probably drink a hellish amount afterwards, though.

“Hmph, since my wimp of a brother fell for her, I was sure that she’d have some sort of quirk.”
“She does have one. One that causes heavy damage to the liver to the uninitiated, that is.”
“Ah, so that’s what it was. There were days when he came home reeking of liquor, you see.”

Well, that’s exactly what happens when you keep Shizuru company with drinking. Still, strangely whenever I meet Shizuru in the mornings, she doesn’t smell like alcohol. Akane sometimes smells of alcohol, though. I really wonder how her body is built.

“Still, people do change, don’t they? To think that the once nasty little brat has turned into such a reliable helper.”
“So much to the point that the people around are bewildered.”
“Of course they would be, with how big of a change it was. She’s completely different inside and out.”

Yep, that’s half-right. The outside is genuinely Kotone herself, but I guess there’s no trace of her old look. No matter how thick her makeup was, there should be at least some distinct features for people to remember. I guess the inside was just too overpowering.

“Sis, we’d better get inside soon, or we’ll be late.”
“OK, foolish brother. Then, Kotone, enjoy the party.”
“That’s impossible.”

When I gave a frank reply, she left with a laugh. Still, she’s the culprit for this event, huh. She seemed to be the proactive type, I wonder why the principal didn’t inherit that trait. Maybe her sister took all the proactive genes.

“Kotone, be a bit more mindful in how you behave.”
“Sorry, mother. When I think about how she’s the principal’s family, I just couldn’t hold my tongue.”
“Thanks to that, you’re the center of attention now.”

Oh boy. She’s right, I do feel more stares than when we got out of the car. With the old Kotone in mind, they probably didn’t expect me to have any connections with the other twelve families.

“Let’s go inside as well. If we stay here, we might bump into more acquaintances.”

If I interact with even more of the twelve families, I’ll just gather more attention. The same thing is going to happen later anyways, so no need to suffer through this now.

“Really, the Kotone before and now are far too different.”
“I’m aware of that. Would it be fine to stay in the corner as usual?”

Before, Kotone would have already caused a problem at this point. Most people already gave up on her. It was common practice to just ignore Kotone no matter what she does. That’s why when I arrived, there were some that were on guard.

“Still, the party’s started and yet there’s people still throwing a glance. It’s really bothering me.”
“If it was the old you, you would have found them to be easy targets and headed straight for a fight. I’d appreciate it if you hold back this time.”
“It’ll only wear me out, so I’m not doing that. Still, the reason for this party hasn’t been made clear yet.”

Since the party started, the host has begun giving a speech, but why this party is being held is unclear. They’re simply saying that something wonderful has happened and that they want to deepen the friendships of everyone present. However, there’s no details on what this wonderful thing is. It doesn’t really matter since I know what it is.

“To begin with, at this rate, there’s no assurance that they’ll reach the point of marriage.”
“Isn’t that where you are to display your capabilities?”
“Mother, are you telling me to go for it as well?”
“Building connections is important. And while it’s true that you’ve made a quite solid connection with the Satsuki family, isn’t there a possibility of this bridge being cut if you fail?”

Will the principal be able to recover from being dumped after finally being lovers? I feel like he’ll be out of commission from the academy for a while if that happens. I don’t imagine him ever laying the responsibility on me, though.

“In the first place, I don’t know how long it’ll take for them to get married. I’d prefer that they settle down before I graduate.”
“That’s going to be up to the couple themselves. With that in mind, you might have to help them out even after your graduation.”