To Soga Yura, anything Yuzu gave her was precious beyond measure.
Even a cake that had fallen on the floor.
As long as Yuzu had made it, Soga Yura would have wanted to lick the cream right off the floorboards.
"The Eldest Young Lady had terrible stomach cramps the next day," Soga Iori said.
"She was drenched in cold sweat — it soaked straight through her clothes and bedding."
"And yet she was too flustered to go to the hospital, refused to use the Medical Unit, and didn't even want to tell anyone in the house."
Listening to Soga Iori's words, Soga Yura's expression had collapsed into one of pure, wide-eyed mortification.
[Sister Iori..]
[How do you even KNOW about that!?]
She didn't need to be told who had sold her out.
"The Eldest Young Lady needn't blame Miss Sakura," Soga Iori said with a quiet sigh. "Something that serious — there's no way Miss Sakura could have kept it to herself."
"I understand what the Eldest Young Lady was thinking."
"She didn't want to worry Miss Yuzu."
"So I never breathed a word of it to anyone else, either."
"But that day, when I drove out to Imperial Capital University to deliver the medicine…"
"Miss Sakura was genuinely frantic."
"…" Soga Yura fell silent, head bowed.
She could hardly bring herself to look at Yuzu. She raised a small fist instead, waving it with indignation.
"How dare she snitch on me."
"Just wait until I get back — I'll make sure Sakura regrets it."
She was a proud Fourth Sequence now, after all.
Sakura Mai was nothing. Just a Sakura Mai.
She could knead her into whatever shape she pleased.
Go ahead and tattle! Go ahead and squeal!
Getting her embarrassed in front of Yuzu like this.
But the moment Soga Yura's little fist swung up — Su Yuzu's hand closed around her wrist.
"Don't do something that stupid again."
"Your own body matters more than anything else."
She was technically the younger one — the little sister in this dynamic.
And yet… when Su Yuzu said those words, Soga Yura looked so meekly, perfectly cast in the role of the one being looked after.
In truth —
Soga Yura had always been playing that role. The little sister.
Even the version of her that stood imposing and radiant before the world — the one who smiled at everyone and yet kept every single person at arm's length.
Even that Soga Yura had been a portrait she had quietly sketched in her heart: the image of who Yuzu was.
After Soga Yura stepped into the spotlight to take Yuzu's place, she had spent every day trying to play that role — the Yuzu who stood beneath everyone's gaze, as she had always imagined her.
"Mm…" Soga Yura could only nod, docile as could be.
"If you want cake… I'll make one for you next time."
And besides —
Su Yuzu glanced at her Material Inventory.
Sure enough, there it was — a perfect, identical cake, sitting right there in her inventory.
That Favorability Gift best suited for Soga Yura.
As though the cake her past self had made had simply been copied and pasted into existence once more.
"Okay!" Soga Yura's face broke into a wide, radiant smile.
"Alright then~" Soga Iori said, looking at the two sisters before her, reconciled at last. "The banquet is about to begin."
"Eldest Young Lady, please go and change into your dress."
"I've already laid out your evening gown."
"And for you, Little Young Lady." Soga Iori turned to Su Yuzu with a smile. "I've prepared something special for you as well."
"I believe you'll like it."
The formal attire Soga Iori had chosen for Su Yuzu was a skirt-style white blouse paired with a sky-blue necktie.
Over it went a custom-tailored navy French-cut suit jacket.
The ensemble struck a careful balance — capturing the girl's assertive, gallant air while the blouse's distinctive neckline softened the look with a touch of elegance and femininity.
Su Yuzu spread her arms and let Soga Iori work, standing still as the woman straightened her tie and attended to her appearance.
"I apologize…"
"Miss Yuzu."
"The sizing seems to be just a touch small."
"It hadn't occurred to me that in just over a year… Miss Yuzu seems to have grown a little more."
Soga Iori reproached herself quietly for the oversight.
"It's perfectly fine," Su Yuzu said, looking at the attendant standing close before her. "It fits well enough already."
It wasn't until Su Yuzu saw Soga Yura emerge in her formal dress that she understood why Soga Iori had called the outfit prepared for her a special gift.
A flustered, bashful Soga Yura stood before her in a sky-blue evening dress.
Her hair was pinned up in an elegant style.
Woven through the strands were small ornaments that caught the light and seemed to glimmer like scattered stars.
But the most eye-catching detail was the navy hair ornament on top of her head.
And the one at her chest, too.
Generous, sweeping navy lace rosettes adorned both — doing their absolute utmost to add fullness to the girl's silhouette.
You could tell… the maid had really, truly tried her best.
"Hey, hey, HEY!!!"
"How come Yuzu gets a suit and I get a dress?" Soga Yura stared at Yuzu's sharp, distinguished outfit.
All the bashfulness vanished in an instant.
Obviously, obviously — Yuzu, with her far better figure, was the one who should be wearing a dress.
And besides —
Soga Yura had wanted to be the one taking the lead for once, to show a little more initiative.
But clearly, the very moment that thought arose —
Soga Yura had already been outmaneuvered.
The venue of the Soga clan's evening banquet — a hall buzzing with near-boisterous noise — fell utterly silent the instant the two girls appeared, arms linked.
"Is that… the Eldest Young Lady and… that Yuzu!?"
"I had a feeling when I saw that video, but… so the Eldest Young Lady really did bring that good-for-nothing back with her?"
"Good-for-nothing?"
"Second Brother. Miss Yuzu entered the Second Sequence at eighteen."
"And you, at eighteen — if I'm not mistaken — had only just reached the First Sequence."
Even within the Soga clan itself, there was no shortage of discord.
There was only the Ishikawa family — all three of them.
Soga Ishikawa Irube, whose sheer size and presence made him impossible to overlook — a man built like a small mountain.
And beside him, appearing almost dainty by comparison, Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi and Aunt Asumi — both offering the girls their heartfelt birthday wishes.
Soga Ishikawa Irube gave Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi a gentle nudge on the shoulder.
He only meant to prompt her to go say hello to Miss Yura and Miss Yuzu.
But… it seemed he had misjudged his own strength.
Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi stumbled straight out of the crowd.
Su Yuzu's figure vanished in an instant — and then she was there, steadying Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi with a gentle hand.
Her movement was fast.
Fast enough that most of those present hadn't even managed to follow it.
The eyes turning toward Su Yuzu took on a note of wary, uncertain surprise.
They were thinking — if that girl hadn't moved to catch the Ishikawa girl.
If instead she had drawn a blade and swung it at their throats.
Would they have been able to react in time?
The answer seemed rather obvious.
With exceptions like Soga Ishikawa Irube, most of the Soga clan were purely mental-type Espers.
Perhaps not as visibly frail as Soga Yura — but not by much.
Soga Ishikawa Kiyomi gently stepped out of Su Yuzu's arms.
The girl stood before Su Yuzu and Soga Yura, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.
She fumbled and stumbled through what felt like an eternity before finally managing to squeeze out a "happy birthday."
Su Yuzu's lips curved into a soft smile.
The girl let her gaze sweep across the banquet hall — across all those pairs of watchful, wary crimson eyes turned toward her.
Those gazes carried no small measure of reproach and whispered judgment.
"Thank you, Little Kiyomi~" the girl said, her smile bright, her voice ringing clear.
Those crimson eyes — pure and utterly unafraid — swept the room without flinching, as if making a proclamation —
I'm back.
In the name of Su Yuzu.
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