Shishio sat in the corridor with a warm tea in his hand, staring at the yard absentmindedly. On his side, there was a novel he had half-read, but he put it aside since he wasn't in the mood to read it anymore.
What happened yesterday was just mind-boggling, and he knew that he was being unfair to Yukinoshita. However, he had promised everyone to reject his engagement. While the other party was Yukinoshita, if he accepted this engagement, it would be unfair to everyone.
As long as this engagement was completed, his first wife was, without a doubt, Yukinoshita.
While he didn't doubt that she was the most suitable to become his wife since she also came from a family whose status was similar to his, and she received an education on how to become his wife. It might be hard to imagine, but if he gave an example when he was busy, she knew what she should do, and she also knew how to help him.
On the other hand, while his other girlfriends were beautiful and special, they lacked the education and etiquette to help him. While he didn't mind, they might think differently. But it was better not to mention this matter any longer since his engagement with Yukinoshita had stopped.
After they went home from the party, the girls brought Yukinoshita to the girl's side.
He couldn't enter, so he returned to his room. The only unfortunate thing was that no one was by his side, and he felt slightly frustrated. He suddenly thought about his parents and could imagine that he might have a little sister or little brother sooner or later.
'Hopefully, it's a little sister.' He thought.
His parents aside, he knew he had to say sorry to Yukinoshita. Sipping his tea again, it had become quite lukewarm, but suddenly his eyes were attracted to the person who walked out from the girl's side.
"Senpai?"
"You're not sleeping?" Yukinoshita asked. Unlike last night's appearance, which made her as beautiful as an elf, she dressed in frilly pajamas she borrowed from Kawai Ritsu, making her appear cute.
"I have slept." He shook his head and asked, "How about you? It's your first time sleeping here, right? What do you think?" While he didn't think Yukinoshita had trouble sleeping in Sakurasou, there were too many people that slept there since most of his girlfriends gathered in Sakurasou to ask about the engagement.
"It's okay. I sleep well."
She looked at the cup on his side and asked, "Is that tea?"
"Um, it's lukewarm, though."
"Let me help you make a new one. Where is the kitchen?"
He looked at her for a moment and stood up. "Let me help you."
"You can just point to where the cup, tea, and all the necessary things for me. You just need to sit and relax."
"....."
It felt weird when this girl was so gentle with him, but he nodded. Still, he stood up to help her to take out all the necessary items that she needed to make tea.
"There's a lot of tea here."
Not only green tea. There were many types of tea, Japanese, black tea, or herbal tea, such as chamomile, mint, and even ginseng tea.
"What is ginseng tea for?" It was her first time seeing one, so she was quite curious.
"For stamina."
"...."
"I am serious."
"Let's not drink it in the morning. With your libido, I am afraid that you might attack all the girls you see." She gave a helpless sigh and blushed, remembering how he showed his erection when they kissed.
"...wise choice."
The two discussed what kind of tea they should drink. It was still early in the morning, and the sun was like a blazing mound in the distance. Yet the light was still dim, and it was rather dark. However, it didn't interrupt their conversation, and they discussed many things about tea.
Yukinoshita loved tea, and to prove that, she always prepared tea for everyone in the clubroom.
In the end, they decided to make tea with a combination of lavender and mint.
Still, there was also something that attracted her the most.
"What is this?"
"Cobra and scorpion alcohol."
"...I can see that."
Besides tea, there were many other beverages kept on the shelf in the kitchen, such as coffee and alcohol. However, the most surprising one was the cobra and scorpion alcohol. It was a large glass with clear alcohol, a whole cobra, a few scorpions, and some ginseng.
"Is this also for stamina?"
"yes."
"...."
"Do you need a lot of things for stamina?"
As his ex-fiancee and girlfriend, she was naturally curious since she knew they might do it in the future.
"Not really, but the others often try to give me this, so I can stay healthy."
He didn't really need this type of stamina drink, but he had to say the taste was quite unique, so he didn't mind their gift. The one who gave him this one was Sakurajima Mai. After she finished her job, she brought a lot of things for him, including this cobra and scorpion liquor, which made him speechless.
"Do you want to try it?"
"...I am a bit curious, but we haven't reached a legal age, so no."
"That should be the case in this country, but if we're in Germany, we're already legal."
Unlike in this country, in Germany, they could drink alcohol when they were 16.
"Then, do you know what country we are in now?"
"Can we just pretend that we're in Germany?"
"What do you think?"
He only shrugged his shoulders since he just couldn't defeat her stare. Her stare was dangerous and expressionless, and one couldn't tell what she was thinking, but it made him excited.
"Senpai."
"If it's alcohol, you can't drink it. Be satisfied with tea for now."
"Can I kiss you?"
"...."
She stared at Shishio without emotion and asked, "What do you think?"
"Great!"
He kissed her without hesitation and hugged her in his arms.
"..."
She was speechless, but she accepted him and hugged his neck affectionately.
However, their kiss was quickly interrupted by the sound of the boiling water.
"We can continue later." She patted him lightly and prepared the tea.
He stared at her and thought that he was really lucky to have Yukinoshita.
As the hot water was poured on the dry lavender and mint leaves, they needed to wait five minutes before the tea was ready. While waiting, they sat in the corridor, watching the yard.
Unlike before, the yard Sakurasou was beautiful since he carefully dressed them with flowers and planted a few vegetables.
"It's nice here."
"Do you like traditional Japanese houses?"
"My house in Chiba is built in a traditional Japanese house, after all, so I might have gotten used to living in this type of house." She looked at Shishio and asked, "How about your home in Kyoto?"
"My parents' house is modern, but my ancestral family's house is Japanese." He looked at Yukinoshita and said, "I want to see your house in the future."
"Well, I want to visit your house too..." She was embarrassed, but she told him what she felt inside her heart.
He smiled before he apologized. "Sorry."
She was stunned before she asked, "Why did you apologize?"
"You might have realized why I have decided to stop the engagement, right?"
While the feeling of wanting to marry her without the involvement of others so their marriage could stay pure was real, the real reason was that he didn't want his other girlfriends to feel sad. If he had agreed to that engagement back then, as he said before, he would have broken his vow with everyone to reject the engagement, and lastly, it would be unfair to them.
While they were all familiar with Yukinoshita, what made her so special compared to the rest?
If so, why didn't he make the rest his fiancee?
Honestly, even if he accepted the engagement, they might not say anything, and they would still love him and be with him, but they would be sad. This was something that he couldn't accept since he was the reason why they were sad. Naturally, he decided to deceive Yukinoshita's mother, and his family, by telling them that he wanted to maintain the purity of their relationship.
If the one who said this was an adult, they might not believe it, but it was him, who was only a teenager.
Purity.
This single word had always been something that described a teenager, and for him to use this reason to stop his engagement with Yukinoshita was simply the embodiment of impurity, so he apologized to her since he knew he had deceived her.
"So, are you lying to me that you want to maintain the purity of our relationship?"
"No, I am not lying, but that's not the only reason."
"Then, let's leave it like that."
"Are you okay with that?"
"Un." Yukinoshita nodded. "While knowing that you only love me is a good thing, the fact that you can throw others away without consideration might make me worry for the future, even if I believe that you love me so much that you can throw everything away for me." While his relationship with other girls was something that shouldn't be accepted, who made her crazy for him?
However, it was good to know that he cared about the others, so even if she had become older and her beauty disappeared, she knew he would love her forever.
"...while I am speechless at how narcissistic you are, you're not wrong, though, since I am crazy for you."
"It's troublesome to have such a man with me, though."
"Oh? Should I leave then?"
"You dare!"
The two looked at each other and laughed.
"Thank you."
"Me too."
"Why did you thank me?" He was confused.
"Because you have brought me out and taught me how wonderful it is to love someone." She gently caressed his cheek and kissed him again. "I know I have said this several times, but I love you."
"....."
He was in a daze and thought that he was really lucky to have this girl as his woman.
"You're not going to say anything?" She blushed and was slightly dissatisfied since he didn't say anything.
"I love you too." He kissed her lips, too, then asked with a smile, "Satisfied?"
"Not enough."
"Is it only me, or are you acting spoiled now?"
"Oh? You don't want me to act spoiled in front of you?"
"Why not?"
He hugged her in his arms, enjoying the morning and tea in their hands.
She looked at him for a moment, smiled, and hoped that this kind of day would continue forever.