On a quiet holiday afternoon, Tatsuya stood alone in the city, waiting.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Done already?"
Tatsuya glanced up from the book he'd been reading on a digital site as his companion emerged from a shop.
"Yep. Got what I wanted."
"I see."
Uncharacteristically, his companion wasn't Miyuki. She was tied up with student council duties at First High. Tatsuya had planned to help, but a well-timed (or poorly timed?) phone call had derailed him into this bizarre situation.
"But why me? Surely there's someone more suitable."
"No. No one could possibly be more fitting than you, Tatsuya-san."
Tatsuya wasn't vain enough to take such flattery at face value, nor naive enough to swallow her words without question.
"Still, Aunt—"
"That title's off-limits for now. I'm here incognito, you know."
Tatsuya sighed. His companion was none other than Maya Yotsuba, his and Miyuki's aunt and the current head of the Yotsuba family.
"I never imagined I'd win a sweepstakes."
"Didn't peg you for entering those."
"It's fine. All the mail goes to the Magic Association's Kanto Branch."
"Mail reaches that house?"
"Of course not. It's not even on the map."
She meant the Yotsuba estate, of course, cloaked in a special barrier that rendered it inaccessible to ordinary people.
"I won't quibble about that, but why choose me as your escort? I'm hardly convincing as a romantic partner."
"Then who else should I have invited?"
"What about Kuroba-san?"
"Mitsugu? No way. He's not my type."
Maya's blunt dismissal made Tatsuya privately pity Mitsugu.
"But I'm just a high schooler…"
"When you're in a suit, no stranger would guess you're a high schooler, Tatsuya-san."
Tatsuya sighed again. Despite being well over forty, Maya looked youthful enough to pass for early thirties. Tatsuya, with his composed demeanor and dressed in a suit rather than a school uniform, hardly screamed "teenager." To an outsider, they'd never guess nephew and aunt.
"I'm surprised Hayama-san allowed this…"
"Hayama-san's on my side. We didn't tell Aoki-san or the others, of course."
"And you managed to slip out?"
Tatsuya knew Aoki would lose it if he learned the Yotsuba head was out with him. Aoki worshipped Maya and despised Tatsuya, likely enough to forget her presence and yell at him on sight.
"Aoki-san's on a business trip. That magic-obsessed man keeps himself busy."
"You mean Father? A division chief's got a full plate."
"So, no issues if I'm away from the estate for a day."
Tatsuya doubted it was that simple but saw no point in arguing further.
"Here we are. Wonder what it's like."
Maya had led him to a high-end hotel restaurant. A sweepstakes prize, she'd said, but this was far beyond any typical giveaway. Tatsuya kept his thoughts to himself.
"Reservation for Shiba," Maya announced.
"Yes, we've been expecting you," the waiter replied.
Tatsuya shot her a look—when had she booked under his name? But the waiter's prompt response left no room to press her, and he followed quietly to their table.
"This'll be fun, Tatsuya-san."
"Why my name?"
"I couldn't very well use 'Yotsuba.' That'd cause a scene."
Her logic checked out, but Tatsuya suspected she just wanted to flaunt the "Shiba" name.
"Still, isn't this more of a dinner thing? Why lunch?"
"Don't nitpick, Tatsuya-san. Keep acting so old, and what'll happen to you?"
"I don't think I'm that old."
Tatsuya knew he wasn't your typical high schooler, but he didn't see himself as the fossil Maya implied.
"Still, acting mature lets us go on a date like this, so it's not all bad, right?"
"…I'm not acting old, though?"
His retort was cut short—more like forcibly terminated—by the arrival of their meal.
"Let's dig in."
"Right…"
Resigning himself to the futility of arguing with his aunt, Tatsuya started on the food.
"…Is this it?" Maya muttered.
"Well, you're used to gourmet meals. Miyuki's cooking has spoiled me too, but I'm not that picky."
"I was expecting more from a place billed as high-end…"
Maya kept her voice low so the staff wouldn't hear, but her face screamed disappointment.
"Well, getting to date Takkun makes up for it, I suppose."
"You're back to that nickname."
"So what? No one's listening."
The food left Maya underwhelmed, but being with Tatsuya seemed to satisfy her. Tatsuya, for his part, found the meal decent enough.
"So, was this really a sweepstakes? Or is there another reason we're here?"
"…You're sharp as ever, Tatsuya-san. I'll explain once we leave."
Maya admitted there was more to it as she savored her final dessert. After settling the bill, they stepped into a conveniently waiting car. Silence hung between them for a while.
"…The truth is, the branch families are moving to erase you from the Yotsuba."
"That's nothing new. They've treated me as nonexistent for years."
"No, this is different. They want you gone entirely—wiped from the Yotsuba's existence."
"And how does today's meal tie into that?"
Tatsuya knew the branch families despised him, but he couldn't connect their schemes to this outing.
"If you're my lover, the branch families can't touch you so easily, right?"
"But we're not in that kind of relationship. And nephew and aunt…"
"I'm not talking about a physical relationship. I can't have children anyway. But I do want that kind of bond with you, Takkun. That's why I invited you on this date."
Tatsuya suppressed a sigh. So that was her game. The thought of more invitations like this, balancing Miyuki's feelings and Maya's whims, made him feel older by the minute.
"So, call me by my name from now on, okay? Even in front of Aoki-san and the others."
"Don't blame me for what happens."
Days later, when Tatsuya called Maya by her name at the Yotsuba estate, chaos erupted. Maya, naturally, couldn't care less.
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