Watching his son walk out the door, schoolbag in one hand and a fancy cake box in the other, Seiichiro silently swallowed.
For some reason, it felt eerily like he was watching himself get kicked out of the house.
"Hey." A trace of unspoken worry flickered in his eyes as Seiichiro leaned close to his wife, who stood nearby with her arms crossed and a slightly dangerous smile on her lips. "Why the rush to send him back?"
"He took a day off today. Even if he goes back, he probably won't head straight to school, right?"
Satomi didn't answer immediately. She just turned her head, fixing him with a meaningful stare until the already nervous husband's scalp went numb. Only then did she look away, her tone dripping with quiet resignation. "Do you really think your son is anything like you?"
"Let me tell you, if it weren't for the engagement our grandfathers arranged, I never would have waited for a blockhead like you back in the day."
Wait! I'm talking about our son! How did this suddenly get back to me?!
Rolling her eyes at her clueless husband, who still had zero awareness of how dense he'd been back then, Satomi propped her chin on her palm and let out a long sigh. "Sigh... I just hope Miyahito doesn't take after his father."
"What's wrong with taking after me?" Feeling deeply uncomfortable at being the target, Seiichiro grumpily reached out and took his wife's hands. Then, he gently pressed his lips to the back of her hand. "If he didn't take after me, how would he ever find a wife as excellent as his mother?"
Hearing this, Mrs. Aragaki's cheeks flushed slightly. She shot her husband a witheringly affectionate glance, then playfully swatted his hand. "Right now, I just hope he brings a normal girlfriend home for once."
Letting go, Satomi turned and started toward the stairs, her tone full of maternal worry. "I'm not that open-minded."
"Not bringing one home is one thing, but bringing home a boyfriend is absolutely out of the question."
"If I hadn't recently found out there's a girl around him, I'd already be plotting to invite Mrs. Sawamura over more often."
"Mrs. Sawamura's daughter... well, her figure is a bit... well, she's surprisingly well-built for an easy delivery."
Listening to his wife calmly detail her original backup plans, even Seiichiro—a veteran of political maneuvering—felt his brain struggling to keep up.
But on second thought, her worries weren't entirely baseless.
After all, aside from his sister, their son had never once mentioned being close to any girl since childhood.
Even during rare family outings, they'd never seen their son—who was as disciplined as a monk—show even a hint of interest in the opposite sex...
"Well, Satomi, you can rest easy now." Smiling and shrugging, Seiichiro fell into step beside her as she headed upstairs to tidy their son's room. "Miyahito is a perfectly normal high school boy."
"We probably don't need to micromanage his love life anymore."
"I hope so." Even knowing her son was perfectly fine, Satomi couldn't shake the worry. "Miyahito has only ever revolved around his sister since he was little. Mou, I'm terrified he'll just stand by and let the right girl slip through his fingers..."
Listening to his wife constantly mutter in his ear—"Should we find a way to help him?",
"Hey, Seiichiro, why don't you train him? Teach him how you confessed and proposed to me.",
"You did the confession and proposal in one go, and before I knew it, I was married to you. Yeah, that's an experience worth learning from."
Seiichiro scratched his chin, looking slightly troubled.
Speaking of which, he didn't feel his son was the type to just let his crush get away... After all, in his memory, at critical moments, his son's decisiveness in action could genuinely give his old man a massive shock.
"By the way! During summer break, let's send Ayase to Tokyo for a few days. Let her scout the terrain first? What do you think, Seiichiro?"
"Ah... yeah. You know me. I unconditionally agree to whatever you say."
"Then it's settled. What date do Ayase's exams end?"
"July 13th."
"Then I'll send Ayase to Tokyo on the 14th!"
Hmm, found it. So my son's off-the-charts decisiveness at specific times... is definitely inherited from his mom!
....
Meanwhile, Chiba Station.
"Sigh..." Unjustly kicked out of his own home, Miyahito gloomily surveyed the bustling station and the busy ticket gates, complaining helplessly. "This timing is just awkward."
Glancing at the wall clock, he quickly ran through his options in his head.
If he went home first, he'd have to leave again in an hour or two. Too much hassle.
If he went straight to the agency? Ugh, more nagging from Maki-nee about new tracks. Pass! Pass!
What about school? By then, second period would be over, and dismissal would be near.
Wait... dismissal?
"Alright! Decided! I'll go to school and pick Utaha up after class!"
The helplessness instantly vanished from his face, replaced by his usual energetic self.
"Perfect. I made her walk home alone yesterday, so I'll make up for it today!"
As he calculated the time and headed for the gates, a small shop selling women's accessories by the roadside caught his eye.
His gaze was instantly drawn to the display window. He stopped, his eyes slowly landing on a certain white accessory atop the mannequin's head.
Unconsciously, he seemed to see that day again—walking through Tokyo with his sister, when he'd "accidentally" spotted a certain light novel author.
Standing still, he glanced down at the cake box in his hand, then took a step toward the accessory shop.
Ding-dong——!
"Excuse me, could I trouble you for a moment?"
"Hello, welcome! How can I help you?"
"Yeah." With a polite, gentle smile, Miyahito pointed to the mannequin in the window. "Could you please get me one exactly like the one on that model's head? Thank you."
"Ah, certainly." The shop owner, smiling warmly, replied softly. "Would you like it gift-wrapped? Our boxes and ribbons are very popular with young ladies, you know."
"Mhm. Of course, it'll just be an extra 200 yen for the wrapping fee."
Miyahito chuckled. "That's fine. Please wrap it for me. Oh, and for the ribbon, please use wine-red."
"Understood. Please wait just a moment."
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