Chapter 200

Sakurakoji Ashiri stood beside a table of prepared dishes, her Hands clasped in front of her, and smiled warmly at the two people who were welcomed in by Yamabuki Kuyachiyo.

"Oh, I'm here! Long time no see, my little sister~"

"What kind of way of speaking is that?" Okura Rumin glanced at him, somewhat speechless.

"Besides, we just saw each other a few days ago, so it doesn't have anything to do with not seeing each other for a long time, does it? Has your Japanese been a bit strange lately?"

"Don't mind it, I was just saying that." Sakurakoji Talent waved his hand at her, turning his face slightly to the other side with an expression that said, "You don't understand me."

"Your posture is infuriating! Sentence: no dinner!" Okura Rumin pouted, looking at him like a pufferfish.

"No way! My sister specially cooked this for me today, I can't let her kindness go to waste!"

"No~ Even if my brother doesn't come, Kuyachiyo and I will still cook and eat." Ashiri ruthlessly ruined his plans.

"... Ashiri, whose side are you on?" He clutched his chest, looking somewhat hurt.

"Hmph~" Okura Rumin curled the corners of her lips, quite satisfied with his embarrassment, and calmly took her seat first.

"It smells wonderful, and the presentation is exquisite. Miss Ashiri's culinary skills have improved again!"

She glanced at the table and marveled at the exquisite presentation and the variety of delicious dishes that looked and smelled wonderful. Even she couldn't find much of a problem with them.

"Hmph, of course, don't you even know who the teacher is?"

Sakurakoji Talent was a step behind, stepped forward and sat down beside her with a rather arrogant air.

"Hi," Ashiri nodded with a smile, "Although I feel I have grown a lot, I still can't compare to my elder brother."

She remained calm, showing no signs of grief or embarrassment, but rather pride in his abilities.

The more polite and gentle she is, the less competitive she is.

The recklessness, selfishness, willfulness, and rebellious spirit that ordinary children of this age should have are almost entirely absent in her.

To be honest, she's exactly the kind of student that a prestigious girls' academy like Tsukinomori would most like to cultivate.

No matter how strict the school rules are, as long as she knows the rules, she will only say "Ah, I see," and then pay attention next time, silently reminding herself to abide by them.

But this doesn't mean she's just a Yamato Nadeshiko who only goes with the flow and has no ideas of her own. She also has her own hobbies and moods, and she can be mischievous at times. It's just that she has a much stronger resistance to rules and hard work than the average person.

In addition, she inherited her father's pure spirit of dedication, so rather than strongly expressing herself or imposing her desires on others, she prefers to support them with actions from behind the scenes.

However, when it comes to things she cares about and enjoys, she can demonstrate strong organizational and coordination skills (for example, establishing the Asahi Club, managing the daily activities of hundreds of members, organizing tea parties and trips for members, and organizing group stays, etc.).

Her interest in Buddhism may stem from the fact that its teachings on patience, spiritual practice, and meditation resonate with her own spirit.

The fact that someone whose name is that of a major god in Greek mythology has a fondness for Buddhist culture is somewhat odd...

"Maki you could show a little bit of rebellion against him too..." Okura Rumin sighed, both admiring and helpless at her easygoing nature.

"Let's start eating then, it'll get cold if we wait any longer," Sakurakoji Talent suggested.

When he is present, the Ashiri will consciously step back and leave the spotlight to him, so she will not speak as the host. Okura Rumin is Relatives and a guest, and etiquette will restrain her from overstepping her bounds.

Therefore, at this point, he was the only one who could serve as the emcee, and he was well aware of this, so it was no surprise that he accepted the task.

"I'm starting." XN

A few minutes later,

After tasting each dish and praising Ashiri's cooking skills, Okura Rumin asked the hidden purpose of the day, "So, what did you call me here for today?"

She didn't believe that he had simply invited her over for dinner today.

That kind of thing hasn't happened yet, at least not recently.

He wasn't surprised that she saw through his act. He simply put his chopsticks in his mouth and then explained, "It's nothing. Uncle Iyo will be back from Europe this weekend, and I'll probably invite him to dinner at the mansion. Would you like to come along?"

"Uncle Iyo?"

"Mr. Iyo?"

Although she could address Okura Iyo directly by his given name given her seniority, she usually opted for this compromise, considering the age difference between them.

Most importantly, she genuinely declined any honorific titles such as "Great Aunt" or "auntie."

Starting from elementary school, she persevered for many years, and only recently has she finally earned the title of "Rumin-san" from others.

She thought for a few seconds and then asked, "Just a meal?"

Sakurakoji Talent admired her sensitivity and wit, thinking to himself that she was indeed worthy of being the president of a large company.

"I heard they'll introduce me to someone, something like social interaction."

"Given your situation, this is truly unusual..." Okura Rumin immediately sensed something amiss.

"I heard that the other party has helped Uncle Iyo a lot, so it's hard to refuse. But it's just one meeting, and I can do whatever I want afterwards."

"Wait!" Her gaze darkened, and she stared at him suspiciously. "Is this a blind date?"

"Huh? Is my brother going on a blind date?!" Even the oblivious Ashiri perked up his ears, widened his eyes, and stared intently at him.

Standing behind her, Yamabuki Kuyachiyo unconsciously clenched her maid skirt and looked over nervously as well.

"..."

"You guys are so gossipy," he said, tracing his cheek with his fingertip.

"I don't know. To be honest, I don't even know if the other person is male or female, nor do I know their real purpose. They just said they wanted to meet me."

"It's even stranger that I know Talent-kun... He's clearly just a shut-in!"

"No, isn't it precisely because we don't know each other that we want to get to know each other?"

"Did you hear about your situation from one of your Relatives?"

"That's not out of the question. Although they wouldn't specifically mention it, they might just casually bring it up when showing off to each other."

Do you think it might be a blind date?

"That's unlikely. If that were the case, Uncle Iyo would have a reason to refuse, right? Maybe he really just wants to get to know me."

"Is that so?" Okura Rumin's gaze was haughty, revealing a hint of doubt.

That's it.

Perhaps sensing his sincerity, she gave a soft hum and fell silent.

After a while, she put down her chopsticks after finishing her meal, making a soft sound, as if she had made up her mind.

"I understand, I want to go too!"

"Are you alright?"

"It's alright, I don't have anything to do on the weekend anyway, and I can use the Piano in the mansion to practice."

"No need to ask Ashiri?" Seeing her express her opinion, he looked at his sister, but immediately relaxed his brow. "No need to ask anymore, right?"

Her answer was obvious without even asking.

Ashiri smiled simply, "Hey, since Uncle is coming to visit, I should go and see him!"

"Understood, it's settled then. Let's go together." He concluded, "But we might have to go a little earlier, because I need to get there beforehand to prepare the food."

"Huh? The meals are to be prepared by Talent-kun?" Okura Rumin in surprise, then muttered, resting her chin on her hand, "Looks like there's another reason to go back to the past."

"My elder brother made this himself? I want to eat it! I want to eat it!"

Sakurakoji Talent remained silent, letting out a slight exhale. In truth, this was the only point he wanted to make.

If you cook for your guests yourself without inviting them, then you'll likely be blamed afterwards.

The next morning, as usual, he skipped class and went to the recording studio in Shinjuku Ward where he had been before.

At the entrance of the building, he saw two graceful young women.

That's right, he dragged the two of them to skip class with him again today.

"If this continues, will Xue's father drag me over and beat me to death?" Sakurakoji Talent suddenly had this concern.

"Too slow!"

Seeing him trotting over, Touma Kazusa frowned in displeasure, her deep, magnetic voice humming, "You're the one who called us here, how can you be so late?"

"Sorry, I live quite far away."

"Then leave early, that's the bare minimum, isn't it?"

"That's right, that's correct..." Sakurakoji Talent nodded in agreement, then closed his eyes, took out his phone with the screen lit up, and gestured, "But we still have five minutes until our agreed time, right? Why should I be scolded by you for no reason?"

"Hmph," Touma Kazusa turned her head away expressionlessly, "No matter what time the appointment was, it's wrong of you to make a girl wait for you in the cold wind, isn't it?"

"If you keep being so Kokoro, no woman will like you in the future."

"A cold wind?" He raised his forehead and squinted at the sun, which was radiating warm sunlight.

"Tsk, it's because you fuss over these things every day that people say you're annoying." Touma Kazusa and shook her head, implying that 'this child is no good anymore.'

"You just want to say that line and then lecture me, right?" He stared at her with a dark gaze, his eyes unblinking.

"Have we been discovered?" She turned her face away and stuck out her little tongue where the two of them couldn't see.

"Heh~ Hehe~" Kogisora Yukina found their verbal sparring amusing and asked curiously, "Talent-kun, where do you live?"

"Minato Ward."

He came from the apartment; the two of them probably met up near the school and then came together.

"Wow~ No wonder they're rich!" she exclaimed, covering her mouth in amazement.

"It's not really related to that, is it? The black-haired Princess next to you, although her family is rich, doesn't she also live in the Kita Ward?" He gestured towards Touma Kazusa.

"Eh, is Touma-san's family also very rich?" Kogisora Yukina looked at her in astonishment; this was the first time she had ever heard of this!

Chapter 255 Two-Way Opening, You Who Are My Irreconcilable Enemies

"Tsk, it's my mother who's impressive, not me." Touma Kazusa clicked her tongue unhappily and touched her waterfall-like black hair.

Although their relationship improved somewhat when Touma Yoko returned last time, the sense of estrangement created over the past two years is not so easily resolved.

Her ingrained behavioral and mental habits still caused her to subconsciously resist.

"No, you're not simple either, okay? Although you are indeed awkward and difficult to deal with in terms of personality, your skills are impeccable." He observed Kogisora Yukina and subtly revealed this to her.

As the relationship between the three of them deepens, she will eventually find out. It's probably about time she told him.

Unless absolutely necessary, given Touma Kazusa's awkward and aloof personality, he estimated that she was unlikely to bring it up herself, since it wasn't a necessary time to go to her house for training.

"I looked it up, didn't you win the national Piano championship not long after you started high school?"

"Eh~ Eh?!!!" Kogisora Yukina's loud, shocked exclamation spread outwards, attracting the attention of many people.

Touma Kazusa deliberately avoided her gaze, glared at him, and was annoyed by his talkativeness. "That's all in the past, and those little squabbles don't prove anything, don't you know that too?"

"Just a minor skirmish..." Kogisora Yukina felt dizzy and disoriented; her worldview had been shaken.

So, being number one nationwide was just a small-scale affair?

"You're too hard on yourself," Sakurakoji Talent with a wry smile, his brow furrowed.

While this may not seem like much to true geniuses and professional performers, given that there are champions every year, let alone just a champion of a national student competition.

But the very fact that she has this idea means she's a true genius...

"No wonder Touma-san was in the Music Department before. With this kind of ability, then..." Kogisora Yukina hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.

After being bombarded by this explosive news, she felt that the other person had suddenly become great and lofty.

"I don't really know. Are all the students in the Music Department at Houjou like Touma-san?"

In that case, it's understandable why the students in those classes look down on those in the regular classes; they certainly have the right to do so.

"Pfft~!" Touma Kazusa chuckled dismissively, finding it amusing.

Even now, after two years of neglect, she could easily defeat that bunch of good-for-nothings with one hand—literally.

"No, this girl's talent is unparalleled there. Even the instructors there are probably far inferior to her," Sakurakoji Talent explained for her.

Music and fine arts are undoubtedly the most unreasonable disciplines in the world.

In other areas, even in the natural sciences, you can at least narrow the gap by reading more books; at the very least, you'll be able to understand them.

In sports, the gap between the two sides can be narrowed to a very small extent through hard work—although that final point is still an insurmountable chasm.