"First of all, the price you paid exceeded the commission's requirements, so—is there anything else you want?"
If the value of that price had still been somewhat vague before—clouded by anticipation—then after experiencing it firsthand, Akira truly felt it was worth far more than expected, and he now had the confidence to say so.
Hayasaka Ai, on the other hand, once again found herself confused—Why am I worth so much?
And this was still under the assumption that she didn't know the details of Akira's conversation with the Shinomiya patriarch.
She believed he had spoken in the roundabout, tactful, face-saving manner of high society elites.
If she had known that Akira had all but insulted the Shinomiya patriarch—calling him tasteless for buying art to show off, claiming his life was dull and unfit for fatherhood, with poor upbringing and a lousy personality—her confusion would have reached new heights.
After thinking it over for a while, Hayasaka Ai tentatively raised a finger and asked, "Ten million?"
Akira stared at her for a long moment before finally showing an expression of bitter disappointment.
"Is that all the ambition you've got?"
"Then..."
After a bit of probing and realizing that what Akira had in mind far exceeded ten million, Hayasaka Ai became bolder. "What if Miss Kaguya…"
"Stop right there, Hayasaka. I need to warn you—paying the price on someone else's behalf is foolish."
Hayasaka Ai shook her head. "No, I'm doing it for myself."
"Alright. I understand that desire to atone with your own sacrifice.
But what I discussed today with Mr. Shinomiya was about the importance of not breaking promises as part of proper upbringing.
Barring any major incidents—so long as that young lady doesn't go shopping and partying every other day, and keeps up her usual good behavior—she won't be overly restricted."
"Next," Akira raised a hand and drew a horizontal line in the air, "as an outsider, this is as far as I can help her.
Beyond that, it's either helping her seize power within the Shinomiya family or helping her leave it entirely.
Unless something major happens, I'm not willing to accept either of those requests."
Hayasaka Ai's original plan had just been to make Kaguya's life a little easier. But when she heard that Akira had already tackled the family's upbringing policy, her mind buzzed.
Then, hearing the rest, she quickly shook her head. "No need. That's more than enough already. I'm very grateful for your help."
Akira nodded. "Good. Then let's move on to what you want."
"That really is enough…"
"You have no bargaining power, Hayasaka. From the beginning, I've determined the value of what both sides give, and I decide what needs balancing.
I don't like deals that aren't at least roughly fair."
After the tangled mess of dealings with Utaha, Akira had learned his lesson.
So he wasn't going to waste time arguing with Hayasaka Ai. Whatever he said the value was, it was. She'd already offered herself up—what more could she do to resist?
"But what I want…"
She did have something in mind—but it might cause a lot of trouble. If the original problem had only been her own safety, Akira's involvement now raised the stakes several levels.
Besides, she was still worried about the young lady. There were many things that still needed cover…
After some thought, Hayasaka Ai said, "I want to leave the Shinomiya family—but not yet. Could I ask for your help later, when the time comes?"
"OK. Then we'll talk later."
Akira was more than happy to delay things a bit. After all, he had just experienced something so uniquely pleasurable that he wasn't eager to see it end anytime soon.
After that, Akira brought up a question that made Hayasaka Ai rather uncomfortable.
"Next is the entanglement behind you."
He also made an invitation that left her with complex feelings.
"Have a seat. No need to be so formal."
But Hayasaka Ai didn't react much. After what they'd just done, where she sat hardly mattered anymore.
…If anything, it was a little too comfortable.
Reading the meaning behind his raised hand, Hayasaka Ai once again sat down in Akira's lap.
This time, however, she didn't sit upright like a doll. Instead, she leaned back into him naturally.
That made Akira very satisfied.
"Is the factional struggle in the Shinomiya family severe?" he asked, as if casually.
Since this sort of thing was practically common knowledge, Hayasaka Ai answered easily, "Yes. The inheritance dispute is pretty serious."
"Judging by how that young lady's being raised like a caged bird, she probably doesn't have any inheritance rights left. So, this so-called traitor—what faction are you with?"
Hayasaka Ai pursed her lips and didn't answer.
"Just say it," Akira replied with a casual tone.
"Even if you don't tell me, I'll figure it out when I get back. At most, it'll just waste a bit of my time."
He didn't mind revealing this to Hayasaka Ai, because she'd already been caught in the courtyard's illusion maze.
Even if he hadn't admitted anything back then, her attitude must've leaned toward belief—about as high as the odds of winning second or third prize in a lottery.
So saying it now didn't matter.
And because she'd experienced that maze, Hayasaka Ai was half-convinced about his "divination" claims.
Besides, with his reputation and methods, even revealing it didn't feel like "betraying" anyone again.
"Shinomiya Oko," she said softly.
After that, both of them fell silent. Akira casually rested his hand on Hayasaka Ai's remarkably firm abs.
After a while, Akira couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you going to explain who Shinomiya Oko is?"
Hayasaka Ai looked genuinely surprised. "You don't know?"
Akira looked even more surprised. "Why should I?"
He's the strongest candidate to inherit the Shinomiya family!
A man who might become the head of a 20-trillion-yen conglomerate in a decade!
That was what Hayasaka Ai wanted to exclaim—but then she remembered that Akira had just discussed parenting policy with the Shinomiya patriarch—and won.
Suddenly, thinking "everyone should know this" seemed kind of stupid.
"He's the eldest son of the Shinomiya family and currently the most likely successor."
"Oh, I see. So, what kind of leverage does he have over you?"
Hearing his calm reaction, Hayasaka Ai was certain: those things she thought were monumental—Akira probably didn't see them as problems at all.
"Before I was born, my family lost a power struggle with the Shinomiyas and got absorbed. To survive within the family, we had to attach ourselves to a particular faction."
Power struggle? Absorbed?
Akira noted those terms.
Anyone who could go toe-to-toe with a giant like the Shinomiyas obviously wasn't just some random family.
That meant Hayasaka was probably from an elite household herself.
So that's how it was.
"You ended up as a spy by Kaguya's side for years, but in truth your loyalty lies with her.
So you're considered a traitor to your faction. You love her, but keep betraying her. The deeper the love, the stronger the guilt—it's a real soul-crusher."
Hayasaka Ai's body gave a faint shiver.
If she were standing, she might have been able to hide it. But sitting in Akira's lap, there was no concealing such a reaction.
Just as he said—the more she cared for and loved Kaguya, the more that betrayal tore at her.
And for these past ten-plus years beside Kaguya, Hayasaka Ai had…
Every day
Every day
Every day
Every day
Every day
Every day
…been tormented by guilt to the brink of collapse.
Akira tightened his embrace slightly, helping to steady her trembling.
Quietly, he began thinking.
As the final bursts of color lit up the sky, the fireworks festival officially came to a close.
Loudspeakers began directing the crowd to disperse and reminded people to clean up their trash.
"I should be going now, Ogiwara-san."
Hayasaka Ai rose gently and bowed to him.
Though the movement was small, the loose yukata still revealed a little more than expected.
Yup, definitely padded…
Akira waved his hand, letting her go change in the bathroom.
He didn't speak again until she was ready to leave.
"From today onward, you can start slacking off in your spy work. If anything goes wrong, I'll cover for you. Also, send me your date of birth and your parents' phone numbers."
"…What do you mean, Ogiwara-san?"
"Don't ask too much. It's not time yet, is it?"
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