The cultural festival of Suimei started with fireworks shot into the sky.
The day was bright, so they couldn't see the fireworks' beauty, yet the fireworks' sound excited everyone.
Hikigaya, who was part of the committee, became the guard and led the guests to enter the school in an orderly manner. The sun was high and bright, which showed that the weather was good. But, unfortunately, it was so goddamn hot.
Still, unlike the students in the first years that were treated like underlings.
As for the second year, and also the friends of Shishio, Yukinoshita, and many others, his position was better. He leaned under the tree, watching and supervising the first year in a relaxed manner under the shade. He was no longer at the bottom of the chain of food, and right now, he should be something near the upper, which made many look up at him secretly.
Frankly, it felt great since he was treated like a boss now.
He somehow understood why many were addicted to power and authority since this feeling was just intoxicating.
'Well, I'm not sure if we're friends.'
To begin with, what is a friend?
Someone that walked with me? Eating together? Playing together?
He wasn't sure, but he knew that he might be the guy with the best relationship with Shishio, and this relationship would last forever unless Shishio took an interest in Totsuka, which was impossible.
"Onii-chan!"
He looked up and saw his little sister, Komachi.
"Yo."
However, Komachi stopped after a meter and looked at him up and down as if she was facing a stranger.
"What's wrong?"
"No... it's just I feel that Onii-chan has changed?"
Komachi felt that Hikigaya had changed.
"Change? What kind?"
"...you have become more handsome."
"........"
In disbelief, he stared at his little sister and asked, "What do you want? I will treat you with whatever."
"Yay~! Onii-chan, you have become more handsome!" Komachi hugged Hikigaya's arm happily.
"It's rare of you to praise me like that, after all."
The only thing that came out of Komachi's mouth was either an insult or a cute act, so it might be her first time praising him; he was handsome.
"Well, it is because you seem to be more confident, and you don't have your dead fish eyes any longer, you know?"
"...really?"
He was dumbfounded when he heard Komachi's words.
"Un!"
Komachi really felt that her older brother had become more handsome, and she felt it wouldn't be weird to meet her older sister-in-law soon. Unfortunately, she might not be able to meet one. Instead, she might meet an older brother-in-law.
Still, Hikigaya wasn't ugly. Instead, he was quite good-looking. If his eyes weren't dead, he could be so-so and get a normal girlfriend during his high school life. Moreover, staying with Shishio also made him even more attractive and changed his outlook on life, giving him more confidence.
No, this wasn't confidence. Instead, he felt that the people around him were ordinary compared to Shishio, so he had never felt inferior to anyone except for Shishio.
"Maybe, this is the power of status?"
"The power of status?" Komachi tilted her head, showing confusion.
"It's okay. You're still a child. You won't understand." He patted Komachi's head with pity since this girl might not understand the power of status in her life.
After staying with Shishio, Hikigaya learned many things, and he knew the vastness of the world, yet even so, his goal didn't change, which was to get a stable life. However, if possible, he wanted to marry someone, so he could become a household husband and take care of the house since no matter what working under a person was just exhausting.
"What do you mean by that, Onii-chan?!"
While Komachi was furious since she didn't expect the older brother she had looked down upon to suddenly look down on her, everyone's attention was gathered at the entrance.
At the entrance, a luxurious black sedan appeared, and the driver of the car opened the door.
However, Hikigaya didn't expect to meet a familiar person.
Yukinoshita Haruno.
If he wasn't wrong, this woman should be Yukinoshita's older sister, but more importantly, the two women behind her were even more imposing.
The first one had a similar feature to Yukinoshita and Haruno, yet she was a little older and wore a kimono.
However, the other one was wearing a woman's suit and let his purple hair flow freely on her back.
When Hikigaya saw this woman, he felt this woman was familiar somehow. Still, he quickly looked away, feeling he shouldn't stare at them. He felt they emitted an aura that a mortal like him shouldn't get involved in.
In other words, he was just lazy and didn't want to be troubled by this matter.
"So this is a status..." Komachi murmured on the side, which made him, as an older brother, quite gratified, thinking she had grown up, but it seemed he couldn't stay quiet.
"Ah, you over there! You're Shishio's friend, right? Can you tell us where he is?"
"......"
All the attention was on him, and he could only sigh, wondering whether he could regain his quiet life.
---
"Misaki, your game is ready, right?"
"Un!" Misaki nodded and said, "It's done! And it'll be the greatest masterpiece!" She didn't hesitate and told the truth to her friend, Saori Himemiya.
"Then, who did the music?" Saori asked curiously.
"It is Shishio. Sorry, Saori."
Usually, Misaki would ask Saori to make the music for her anime, but this time, she didn't ask her. Instead, she would usually ask Shishio since his sense of music was better than Saori's. She might seem stupid, but she was picky when it came to her anime. After all, she wanted to create the best, and Shishio was also her man, so everything was easier.
"No, it's okay, but is it okay for me to come with you if he makes the music again? I want to learn from him."
Unlike Misaki, Saori knew that she wasn't a genius, and she also didn't think she was a genius, but she didn't want to give up.
Then, what should she do?
As she kept thinking, she felt it might be better to follow Shishio, too, since she could tell that many girls seemed to be improving at a crazy speed, like Nanami, who was the most normal among all of his women.
"Hmm...." Misaki looked at Saori for a while with a suspicious gaze.
"Wh-what's with that gaze?!" Saori was startled and blushed by Misaki's gaze.
"It's okay. I am sure that he is happy that I have introduced you to him, but what about your boyfriend?"
Misaki remembered that Saori's boyfriend was the current student council president, Souichirou Tatebayashi.
Wouldn't it be bad if he knew that she had visited Shishio?
"Well, it should be okay...?" Saori thought for a moment and felt it should be okay. To be honest, she didn't really like Tatebayashi, and she just accepted his confession because she was curious about a relationship, but it was far more boring than she had thought.
"Really?"
"Yes." Saori nodded firmly.
"Hmm..." Misaki thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay." She knew that Shishio had a bad hobby, and he loved someone who had a lover since the taste of stealing something from someone else was unbearable.
If Shishio knew what Misaki was thinking, he would slap her buttocks several times when they went home.
"So, when is your game being played?"
"Hmm, it should be on the third day of the cultural festival."
"Third day? Well, it is a shame that I can play it now."
"Hehe..."
Saori wanted to say something, but suddenly her eyes caught Mitaka once again. She frowned, and it caused Misaki to feel confused.
"What's wrong, Saori?"
"It's Mitaka again."
"Oh."
Misaki suddenly smiled, but her smile was quite strange.
"...are you happy?" Saori asked in suspicion.
"Do I look like someone who is happy?"
"No." Saori was speechless, then said, "Your face is like a villain who is planning something bad."
"Haha..." Misaki only laughed and thought that it was only the third day that her family was going to visit. It also happened on the day that her game would also be played. By then, she wondered what kind of surprise she was going to see.
"...you're not planning anything bad, right?" Saori asked worriedly.
"It's okay. You don't need to worry, but how about we watch his movie?"
"His movie? I have heard of it! Is it good?" Saori asked curiously.
"I only watched it once before, so I want to watch it again. Come on, Saori. Follow me! Also, treat me! The ticket is 150 yen!"
"...you're richer than me, yet you ask me to treat you?"
Saori was speechless since, unlike Misaki, who was a professional and had money, which was enough for her to buy land and a house in Tokyo, she was different since even if she helped Misaki's music, she was an amateur. Instead, she was more than happy to do it for free if it gave her a chance to work on professional work.
"Okay."
However, she agreed since 150 yen was nothing compared to Misaki's favor.
As they left, Mitaka hesitated. He wanted to approach and talk with her, especially about the game she created with all the members of Sakurasou.
Why was she so cruel to leave him behind like this?
If possible, he wanted to talk on the phone, yet he realized that his phone was blocked.
The only thing that he could do was approach her directly.
They were students from the same school, so it should be something easy.
Yet he was afraid.
He was afraid that Misaki was no longer there.
While Misaki was still around, he was afraid that she had changed. She no longer fell for him, and he had already forgotten about him. When he thought about that possibility, he couldn't help but feel weak, and all the power in his body was drained.
It was like he was a superman who had encountered kryptonite.
He could no longer work his magic, fooling many girls like it was his second nature. Instead, he became indecisive and fell into depravity.
If possible, he wanted her to take the initiative to talk with him, which was also why he often appeared occasionally, hoping she would notice him.
Unfortunately, she ignored him and didn't even look in his direction.
While he felt annoyed and angry since the thought of a girl who begged him like a devoted dog suddenly bit his hands until they bled, he was also scared since the reality he hoped for was different.
Suddenly, a picture of someone emerged when he was in deep thought. He took his phone and only realized they didn't share contact information.
'Should I meet him?' Mitaka thought.
However, it would be hard for him to meet since Shishio was so busy at the moment.
"Don't surprise me like this, mom."
"Hehe... it's worth it to surprise you like this." Shioriko smiled when she saw her son, and her eyes brightened, but she looked at him for a moment before she took her phone. "Let me take a picture of you. Then, I am going to show it to your father."
"...."
Shishio had to say that sometimes taking care of his parents was tough.