Akashigata Tsubaki looked at the small watch on her slender wrist before she looked at her smartphone. After reading his latest chat once again, she took a mirror to check her makeup.
Tonight, she dressed as beautifully as she could, starting with a white Bardot top shirt that showed off her round and thin shoulders and finishing with a long cream skirt that made her appear feminine and reserved. Her hair was tied into a braided updo that showcased her graceful white nape and was adorned with a silver necklace. Moreover, this hairstyle also showed earrings on her cute ears.
The moment she entered this cafe, she became the center of attention. No eyes could look away from her, whether female or male, but while the male was entranced, the female was jealous.
Watching how beautiful Tsubaki was, there was no doubt those men who saw her hoped she would glance in their direction, giving them a hint so they could approach her.
Yet, even without that hint, some men dared approach her and tried to hit on her, but unfortunately, she ignored all of them.
However, Tsubaki didn't care about those men since, in her mind, there was only one person who occupied that place.
'Mizuto Irido...'
If that accident didn't happen, then their meeting would be different, but unfortunately...
When Tsubaki thought about that, she couldn't help but feel gloomy. In the past, her future was bright, and she could imagine that she would be a graceful lady who would marry someone she loved and have a happy family, yet all of that was destroyed by a single mistake from her father.
Yet, was it?
Sometimes, she wondered whether there was all of that, yet she didn't bother to think this matter through since it was meaningless. She was just a high school girl, and even if she was chosen as a Saio-Dai, she knew that this title was nothing but something she had gained after her mother sacrificed herself for her.
Yet, even if she knew that there was nothing she could do, she tried to ask her grandfather. While this grandfather wasn't something official, as her mother was the child of a mistress, she hoped that he could help her. Unfortunately, what she received was a disappointment and even a sense of dread as he told her that he should search for her own way in life.
As she was in high school, without even the proper skills to work in society, what kind of job could she get?
What kind of skills could she use to get a lot of money?
While she tried to escape from reality, this person, who she had always thought of as someone she looked up to, told her, "Use your body." There was no hesitation in his words. Everything was said smoothly, as if it were his second nature. It also made her realize that while she thought of him as something special, he thought of her as nothing but just another stranger.
At that time, many things were brewing in her mind, and she wanted to do something, yet she couldn't do anything since she was powerless.
What was she?
And who was he?
The difference in their position, wealth, status, and everything was too much for her to even show hatred.
There was nothing she could do, and she just went home, wishing to tear that man apart, and threw his corpse to the stray dog for feed without mercy until she saw her mother's thin shoulder as she sat on the sofa in silence...
They were powerless, and she knew that this was the only thing she could do.
Even if she was the heir of the Ikebana school and her skills were good with her skill, she knew that everything would be over.
So, after that meeting, she went out, telling herself and forcing herself to do this by staying in the expensive bar and other places where those rich men usually stayed. While she hated herself for knowing this useless knowledge, she knew where to meet them due to her parents' situation.
However, she couldn't bring herself to do it. When she thought about how she would lose her first time to those lustful, wretched men who might even have an STD, she had always felt dread.
Yet, given her dark future and her mother's pressure from many fierce-looking men, she kept forcing herself, but she failed to force herself until she saw "him."
It was just a coincidence; she saw him in the morning when her mother greeted "him" softly. While her mother's soft expression surprised her, his appearance surprised him more. Yet, unlike her mother, who could talk with him, she could only stand still, staring at him from a distance.
By then, that was what she did.
She kept staring at him like a stalker, and as always, there was someone beside him, smiling and laughing like an idiot. Yet, toward that idiotic girl, what she felt was intense jealousy as she couldn't be as carefree as that girl, who could hold and talk to him in a trivia manner.
She wished to be hers, she thought.
Yet, she knew her condition well, with the debt and how her family was targeted by that bastard's enemy. She knew well that her existence was nothing but just a burden for "him."
At the same time, she also knew that that bastard sacrificed her, and it made her angry, cry, and frustrated.
Why? Why? Why?
How could others be like that, yet she was like this?
However, one day, her mother told her that everything was okay, there was no need to worry, and she should cut all of her relationships with that bastard. While she was confused, she knew how happy her mother's face was at that time, but she didn't ask anything and just quietly nodded since she knew that in a place where she didn't know, her mother gave her everything.
She even saw the group that the bastard led and the man who targeted her mother being bombarded, and many even died that this group might even cripple, which made her happy.
At the same time, she knew that she could return to her normal life.
As for that bastard? She didn't care at all.
Moreover, there was no need for her to make herself into a whore to accompany someone for money.
With all of this, she was able to continue to do her best with her Ikebana and had her normal life continued, but could she?
With what was happening and the scars on her heart, she could return to how she used to be.
She knew that she couldn't.
While everything is okay now, she had this sense of paranoia that everything might be taken away from her. She wished for everything to be okay. She didn't want to rely on anyone. She wanted to have her own power, so by then, she approached Mizuto and decided to sell her virginity to him.
As expected, he was startled and looked at her with a doubt since he thought she was joking.
However, when she explained, he believed her.
Still, when she thought about how much her body was, she wasn't sure how many. Moreover, Mizuto was just a high school student. How much money could he get?
Lastly, what she wished to do with him was to make him a good memory of her.
She wanted him to be her first, so she gave him more or less an appropriate price according to her non-existent knowledge.
Yet, who would expect Mizuto to give him so much money directly?
When she asked him if he would be afraid that she might run away with this money, he said, "You don't need to worry. The moment you receive this money from me, you can run away."
Oh~!
She wouldn't run away!
She wished to jump into him right away!
However, she could see that he hesitated and told her to think about her decision for two weeks. Yet, in those two weeks, instead of lessening her will, it strengthened her will to be eaten by him. Yes, she knew that their beginning wasn't good. In his eyes, she was nothing but a whore that asked him to buy her, but it didn't matter since as long as she could be connected with him, she was okay with it.
As she thought about what they would do tonight, she looked at her smartphone before she stood up directly, leaving all the men who wanted to talk with her.
All of them were stunned and wanted to get angry, but they knew that she was waiting for someone. At the same time, they wanted to know who was the man who could get the heart of this Saio-Dai.
Yup, they knew that Akashigata Tsubaki was this year Saio-Dai, and of course, they approached her since it was rare for them to be able to meet the epitome of wisdom, grace, and social standing among the women in Kyoto.
Still, when they walked out of the cafe to see what kind of man had caught her, their lips twitched, and they returned because they knew that, facing this man's firepower, they might be as good as shrimp.