Chapter 509

"Yes! I think so too!"

"This is really a blow. I never imagined my Talent sister would be like that... She's almost caught up with me."

"No, no, no, where do you get the confidence to say that? Hmm?"

Ichiji Nijika stared at her shameless best friend with expressionless, dead fish eyes.

"I see."

Sakurakoji Talent rested her chin on her hand, seemingly realizing something, "Oh right, the school she attends now seems to be around there, and... it seems to be the same one as Rakuna's."

"Huh?!"

X N.

The group was startled at the same time, and for a moment they forgot to make any expression, staring blankly at him.

"This, this, is this real? Mr. Talent?!"

"You didn't tell us that!"

Even Kanau, who was engrossed in the Matcha Parfait, stopped opening her big pink mouth and looked over in a daze and surprise.

Huh? With me?

"You didn't ask before."

He shirked all responsibility without batting an eye.

"That's true... wait a minute! Could it be that Miss Ogura is a middle school student?!"

"Oh, no, that school is a combined junior and senior high school program, and she's currently in her first year of senior high there."

"Ah~ I see, that startled me. I thought all middle school students these days were like that..."

Kita Ikuyo gestured a couple of times, unsure of what to say, her forehead glistening with tears.

"I understand!"

Ichiji Nijika patted her shoulder, agreeing wholeheartedly.

"So she went there alone yesterday?"

"No, it was with some friends. They seem to be in a band too, but it's just started."

"Ah, those ladies are all beauties."

Added by Gotou Hitori.

Upon hearing this, several pairs of large, beautiful eyes simultaneously fixed on him.

"..."

It's no wonder they're siblings; they're both so good at attracting beautiful women...

Seeing their reaction, Yukino Shita Yukino, who had been eavesdropping for a while, was also slightly intrigued. "Sakurakoji's younger sister... what kind of person is she?"

"That's how it is!"

Kita Ikuyo didn't even need to open the photo album; she just showed her the screen wallpaper.

"..."

"You actually set it as your wallpaper?" Looking at it, Sakurakoji Talent's eyes flickered with a dim candlelight.

The phone, with its stylish design and youthful appearance, reflected the image of a stunningly beautiful woman with white hair.

Even with Yukino Shita Yukino's discerning eye, one has to admit that she is a woman of unparalleled beauty.

Not only her appearance and facial features, but also her clothing and overall elegant and confident demeanor are far beyond what ordinary people can match.

She wasn't one to judge people by their appearance, but even she had to admit that this girl possessed a rare beauty that could be described as a protected species!

If this were ancient times, she might have been a "Helen" or "Cleopatra" capable of triggering a war between two nations...

Just one glance was enough to fill her eyes with satisfaction, and she unconsciously reached into her wallet to pay... It was a terrifying charm; with just that, the other person could probably live a life of luxury for the rest of their days.

"... She is indeed a very outstanding beauty. I understand what Ijichi- san meant by 'similarity' now."

She couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, then hesitantly turned to Sakurakoji Talent:

"But strangely enough, even though she looks so much like her, I can't equate her with Sakurakoji. Is this what they call charisma? There's always a layer of gentleness and playful liveliness hidden in her expressions."

"Are you saying I lack gentleness and playfulness? I can tell."

"Hmph~"

She curved her lips into a meaningful smile.

It's like saying, "You're not completely stupid," or "So what if you figured it out?"

"Although fraternal twins are almost the same as ordinary siblings, this case makes me a little uncertain... Sakurakoji- san, are you twins?"

"No, although it's easy to misunderstand it that way."

"Impressive, right? If it weren't for the height, voice, and build, I would have thought this was the Talent senior!"

Kita Ikuyo put her phone away, opened the photo album, and continued to share the Group Photo from last night with her.

The beautiful woman standing with them, though tall, was noticeably shorter than Sakurakoji Talent.

"That's really impressive..."

Yukino Shita Yukino murmured to herself, then suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, you called her 'Miss Ogura' just now, right? Why was that?"

"Well, because she said her name is 'Ogura Asahi,' we were also curious why she didn't have the same surname as Senior Talent, but she said the reason was complicated and told us to ask Senior Talent..."

The women turned to look at him again; in truth, this was the real reason they had come.

Sakurakoji Talent patted Ichiji Hoshika on the shoulder, then asked the impatient girl for a lollipop, tore open the wrapper, and put it in her mouth.

After licking for a few seconds, he slowly said, "It's a secret. I'm telling you, but don't tell anyone else, understand?"

"Oh oh..."

"Gurgle!"

"Curious, curious!"

"..."

He struck a pose and continued reciting his pre-prepared lie, "You know, my family, like Yukino Shita's, takes our mother's surname, right?"

"This is what they call marrying into the family, right?"

Kita Ikuyo.

"That's right!"

He gave her a thumbs up to thank her for her support, "But unlike Yukino Shita's family, my family doesn't have two sisters, but a brother and sister."

Yukino Shita Yukino seemed thoughtful. "So, as the elder brother, you've already been designated as the family heir? And my sister can take our father's surname?"

That's exactly what I mean.

"What is your father's surname...?"

"No, that's not it."

Sakurakoji Talent reached out and shattered her guess. Although this point seemed to have been mentioned before, it didn't matter whether it was mentioned or not, since it was easy to find out anyway.

"My father's surname is Okura, not..."

I was about to say that his surname wasn't Ogura, but after thinking about it carefully, I realized I couldn't say that—I had to leave it at that.

"Ahem! Anyway, my sister's real surname isn't Ogura, it's Okura!"

"Huh? Is that so?"

"Then why?"

"Miss Ogura lied to us...?"

"Because,"

He paused, thinking about where to begin, "Compared to Yukino Shita, my family's situation is even more unique."

"Why are you talking about me again?"

Yukino Shita Yukino frowned.

"Because we're the only two people here who are in the same boat."

"Don't use such inappropriate language, Sakurakoji- san."

She issued a warning.

Heeding the advice, he continued, "Well, so compared to a typical son-in-law marrying into another family, my family is a bit different, because my father's family background is actually more illustrious..."

"Huh? This is it again..."

"Is this love?"

He suppressed the urge to complain.

While it can't be considered entirely wrong, ultimately, the reason things turned out this way back then was entirely due to Okura Iyo.

"That's not entirely wrong, is it?"

He chuckled dryly, "Because our surname is too well-known, and my sister prefers to keep a low profile, she doesn't like to use our family name in public and prefers to use an alias."

"Ogura: おぐら (Ogura), Okura: おおくら (Ookura), they're very similar, aren't they? There's only a one-syllable difference, that's the logic behind her name selection."

He explained the logic behind the naming of the Okura Yusei back then—and you know what, it was a perfect substitute, without any logical fallacies whatsoever...

"She probably had you ask me because she didn't want to explain this to her friends."

"That child is very mischievous and lively; she's done just as many bad things as I have. Don't be fooled by her appearance!"

In the end, in order to further reduce his suspicion, he played the role of a normal older brother who liked to complain about his younger sister.

Chapter 464 Midterm Exam and Donut: Half for You

"So that's how it is... I didn't expect there to be such a hidden story."

"Is that so? She seemed very quiet and elegant."

"If she were really quiet, she probably wouldn't be in a band, right?"

"That's true."

"My heart feels like it's being pricked slightly..."

"..."

Leaving aside the others, the five members of the Kessoku Band.

"Oh, right, there's one more question."

Ichiji Nijika's breath hitched for a moment, and she looked at him evasively. "Um, Mr. Talent..."

"What?"

"Your sister said your grades are about the same as hers, is that true?"

Right after she asked that question, the other four people either looked at the ceiling, played on their phones, looked down, or ate their Matcha Parfait... and continued eating their Matcha Parfait.

She's probably the only one who could bring up such a sad topic.

"... more or less."

"But your sister seems to be number one in the country, could it be that you are too...?"

"..."

"..."

Sakurakoji Talent didn't answer directly, only saying that the performance had started and he had a lot of things to do, so he should leave quickly.

He also gave them a task, telling them to hurry up and practice, as he would be checking on them later!

After a flurry of noise, calm finally returned to normal.

But the one who couldn't find peace of mind the most was Yukino Shita Yukino, whose eyes had lost their sparkle and who could only numbly go out and go home, even though the mission was over and she could go home and relax.

They're both younger sisters, why...?

And that guy, could he really be...?