──In a certain high-class restaurant.
It's a well-known restaurant that celebrities, presidents of various companies, and politicians visit, and it's not a place that ordinary people can often get into. In such a place, Miu was eating somewhat uncomfortably.
"──Miu. You know what we're going to talk about today, don't you?"
"…Yes."
A middle-aged man with a well-developed face that resembled Miu's in some way, was eating across from the model with a stern expression on his face. The man in front of her was Miu's father and the reason for Miu's tension.
"Then, it will be quick. A marriage proposal has been arranged for you. The other party is a young man who runs several entertainment facilities overseas, including a large casino. Recently, he's been trying to start a new business with the money he's gained from running the casinos. After hearing his story in detail, I feel that he has a very promising future. He will be a good fit for our family."
"….."
It might be suitable for you, but it's not for our family. Although Miu felt this way about her father's words, she did not say it out loud.
Miu's father was the president of one of Japan's largest companies, and Miu was actually the president's daughter. However, instead of following her father's ideas and joining his company, Miu jumped into the entertainment industry and became a very famous model.
Therefore…
"…I'm sorry. I'm still working as a model──."
"Don't tell me you're turning this down for some silly show business?"
"Ugh!"
Being pierced by her father's sharp gaze, Miu tensed up. In fact, she wanted to make him apologize for calling her modeling job a waste of time right now. However, she couldn't control her body's response, which was a subconscious reflex ingrained in her for years, and she could only remain silent.
Miu's father spoke to her as if he was talking to a poorly taught daughter.
"Miu. I approved your entertainment activities because I believe it will lead to an enhancement of our company's image. But apart from that, you have also promised to help our company grow if there is an opportunity to do so."
"That's!"
"Don't tell me you've forgotten that?"
Miu, who was once again being looked at sharply, held her tongue again.
"Well, this is for your own good, too. I don't know about modeling or whatever, but your future is secure if you work for me instead of being in the unstable and unpredictable world of entertainment. Why can't you understand that?"
"…You don't know how I feel about being a model."
"I don't know. And I'm not even interested in that."
"Huh!?"
"No matter what you say, I intend to proceed with this marriage proposal."
"….."
Miu turned her face down in frustration at her father's words. Her father let out a sigh of exasperation at the sight of her.
"Good grief… what's wrong with you… if you marry someone I introduce you to; your future will be secure…"
"…I'm not looking for that…"
"──Miu. Don't disappoint me too much."
"Uh!"
Miu's body tensed up at the sound of her father's cold voice.
"You lack awareness as a member of the Midou family. For the sake of the development of the Midou family and for your future, this marriage is very important."
"…Even so, I…"
Miu said this in a faint voice as if she was squeezing it out, but then she thought of a strange idea.
"W-well then… If I can bring a man who can make father feel more at ease, then you will cancel the marriage proposal, won't you?"
"You?"
"Y-yes!"
Miu stared at her father with a serious expression. But her father's expression was cold as if he knew that it was impossible.
"I've told you many times that this marriage is for your future and will greatly affect the development of the Midou family. However, if you can bring a similar… no, an even better partner, I will have no complaints."
"Well then…!"
"Well, I don't think you can. I have some knowledge of your social circle. There has never been a man in your life that you have gotten to know personally, has there? I don't expect you to be able to bring someone who can meet those requirements out of the blue at all."
After saying that much, her father resumed his meal. It was as if he had nothing more to say, and Miu couldn't say anything else either.
＊＊＊
Just when I was getting used to training with Iris-san, I was told by Master Usagi and Iris-san that today would be a day off, as I had been doing a lot of training recently. However, since I was ready to train again today, I was puzzled by the sudden break.
What should I do…? I've already finished my summer vacation homework early so that I can hang out with Kaori and the others before, and since I have a break from my usual training, I might as well stop doing voluntary training as well to rest my body.
I groaned for a while, but then an idea occurred to me.
"That's right! Now that I have a day off, let's go for a walk on Earth after a long while!"
"Woof!"
"Fugo~!"
Night and Akatsuki squealed cheerfully at my words. Then, Ouma-san, who was lying down in the room, opened one eye.
"Are you going out?"
"Yes."
"I see. Well, I don't think it's going to be a disaster, but be careful."
"Eh?"
"I've felt the presence of Evil before, even here on Earth. Since the worlds are connected through that door, it's not surprising that anything can happen."
When I went to visit Kaori's vacation house, I met the Evil Beast in the place where we did the test of courage, and it seemed that Ouma-san had sensed the presence of it while he was in this house. As always, he's amazing…
"What about you, Yuti?"
"Stand by. I'll stay home. I haven't finished my homework yet."
"I-is that so?"
I smiled bitterly when I saw Yuti struggling with her summer vacation homework spread out on the table. Not only did she need to study for junior high school, but she also needed to catch up on the material from elementary school in order to keep up with her classes, so she needed to study more than others. It was a lot of work, but I'm always willing to help if she encountered any problems or didn't understand something in her studies.
We went out for a walk, leaving Yuti and Ouma-san to take care of things.
"It's been a while since we took a walk like this."
"Woof."
"Fugo."
While Night wore a collar and a leash, Akatsuki didn't have anything on him. The reason was that Akatsuki didn't like it. Akatsuki was often at his own pace and did not do anything dangerous, and he listened to me, so I've left him as is for now.
"Hmm?"
As I was walking leisurely along the walking course, I noticed a bulletin board in the town. There was an advertisement for a summer festival to be held tomorrow night.
"A summer festival…? I talked about going with everyone when we came back from Kaori's vacation house… but what should I do?"
Unfortunately, I don't have a smartphone, so I don't have a way to get in touch with everyone.
…I guess I should just go ahead and buy some new appliances and stuff for the house. Wasn't it impossible to sign up for a smartphone without parental consent? If that's the case, I would like to avoid getting one…
Even though it was my day off, I felt depressed because I remembered something I didn't like.
"Woof!"
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
I noticed that Night was staring in a certain direction. When I turned my gaze in the same direction, I saw Miu-san sitting on the riverside of our walking course, staring at the river in a gloomy mood.
She looks like she's lost in thought… Did something happen to her?
Fortunately, there weren't many people around, and no one seemed to have noticed her, so I called out to her.
"Miu-san?"
"Eh…? Oh, Yuuya-san!"
When Miu-san recognized me, she raised her voice in surprise.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Yes! Ah… I'm sorry that the president of my office forced you to do that before…"
"N-no! Please don't worry about it. I think it was a good advertisement for our school…"
Yes, the president of the agency which Miu-san belonged to had asked me to cover the ball game of the Ousei Academy the other day.
"What's wrong? You looked like you had something on your mind…"
"Oh, haha… I'm sorry, I showed my embarrassing side."
"Oh no! Is something wrong?"
"No, it's nothing serious…"
Miu-san was on the verge of saying something, but she shook her head once and looked at the river again.
"…Yes, that's right. As Yuuya-san said, I was in trouble…"
"Oh, u-um, it's late now, but you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
"Fufufu. Certainly, it's a little late. But it's okay. Would you mind listening for a moment?"
"Y-yes."
As I slowly sat down next to Miu-san, she stared at the river and began to talk in whispers.
"To tell you the truth… I think I might not be able to continue working as a model."
"Eh?"
My eyes widened at her unexpected words. After all, Miu-san was an extremely popular model. She's been on the cover of many magazines, and there's not a day that went by that I don't see her in some advertisements on the street.
If I might add, I didn't think the president of the agency to which Miu-san belongs would let her go so easily. Was there some kind of trouble with her work?
As if to answer my question, Miu-san continued.
"Of course, it's not that I want to do this. It's just that my family doesn't think I should continue working…"
"Your family…"
Miu-san's words brought my parents' faces to my mind again, but I quickly shook my head to dismiss the thought.
"I love my job as a model. I love modeling, and I don't want to quit. But it's not a world where I can continue to work while there's friction with my family."
I didn't know much about the entertainment industry, so I couldn't say for sure, but I'm sure the problems she was facing were pretty complicated. Besides, I've never met Miu-san's parents, so I couldn't say anything about them, and I shouldn't get involved in their family affairs.
I couldn't say a word to Miu-san, who struggled with her thoughts and itching to say something. Miu-san laughed, looking a little refreshed.
"…I'm sorry for talking about this to an unrelated Yuuya-san…"
"Oh no! I'm not…"
"No. I like my job. I just wanted someone to hear that I love my work and that it's something I can be proud of… My father denied… me that."
I was at a loss for words when Miu-san smiled sadly at me.
Suddenly, Miu-san stood up and stretched as hard as she could.
"Hmm! It's been a while since I went for a walk, but I was able to meet Yuuya-san like this, and more importantly, Yuuya-san listened to me. It's a good idea to take a walk. I've been a little depressed lately…"
When I saw Miu-san acting cheerfully to hide the mood she was in earlier, my mouth naturally moved.
"Miu-san."
"Yes?"
"Do you have time tomorrow?"
"Eh? Oh, you mean tomorrow? I don't have any work tomorrow, so I do have time…"
"I heard there's a summer festival near here tomorrow. It might take your mind off things a bit…"
"Eh? T-t-t-t-that will be… a d-d-date."
The second half of her words were too small to be heard, but I continued.
"Of course, as long as you're okay with me…"
"N-no! It's okay! There's no problem!"
For a moment, I was pressured by Miu-san, who seemed more excited than I expected, but then I breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'm glad… then let's meet here tomorrow at 6 pm."
"Y-yes!"
That's how I ended up going with Miu-san to the summer festival tomorrow.