My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As Expected

Yukino thought for a moment. "I get it. You must have gotten a brick in your eye. That makes perfect sense, too."

Maki Shijo: "..."

Was that supposed to make sense?!

Compared to that night on the terrace, when they'd met in a corner and Yukino's eyes had been red and her spirits low, making her look rather pitiful, today she seemed to have returned to her usual, impervious-to-everything, utterly obnoxious self.

Every sarcastic remark she made felt like a stab to Maki's heart.

Why did Yukino seem even more detestable now, despite not being as overbearing as before?

And yet, this detestable Yukino had held up an umbrella, shielding Maki from all the scrutinizing, even judgmental, gazes coming at her from every direction, sharp as blades.

Fate was such a wondrous thing. It had somehow brought together two people who, if they'd met in the past, would probably have started pulling each other's hair the moment they laid eyes on one another.

Time seemed to stop right there, turning the space around them into a small, quiet harbor sheltered from the storm.

Maki sniffed.

Unlike the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya Family, whose relationship with her family was cold and terrible, Maki had grown up in a warm, loving home.

Her father was stern but kind, her mother was busy but still made time to pay attention to her children as they grew, and she had a rather silly but pretty adorable twin brother.

The Shijo Family had given her an excellent standard of living and a wonderful environment to grow up in. More than that, they'd given her a full measure of love that asked nothing in return. And it was precisely because of that that Maki held herself to increasingly high standards, never allowing herself to do anything that might bring shame upon her family.

She and her good friend Nagisa Kashiwagi had been friends for years. They'd always looked after each other, grown together, and learned from each other. They were each other's most important and closest friends in the world, so Maki would never allow herself to do anything that could hurt Nagisa, even a little.

Even so-called fair competition was forbidden, as far as Maki was concerned.

Bound by this prison that she herself had built, brick by brick, Maki would probably spend the rest of her life peeking at the view outside through its cracks.

Maki lowered her head. "I truly want Nagisa to be happy more than anyone else. I want her to always be able to enjoy being in love with Tanuma-kun."

And, for the same reason, she would suffer more than anyone else.

Yukino glanced at her, but, unusually, didn't fire back with a sharp retort.

"Yukino, you've dated so many people. Have you ever genuinely liked anyone?"

"No."

"I've heard that the quicker the answer, the more likely it is to be a lie."

"Then, Maki, have you ever fallen into a cesspit?"

"Of course not!!!"

Only after she'd said it did Maki realize what Yukino had done. Embarrassed and furious, she glared at Yukino with eyes that were no longer red.

Perhaps Maki's joke had cheered her up a little. The cold, solemn expression that had been on Yukino's face melted away, like ice on a lake in early spring.

With her black hair cascading over her shoulders, the girl looked as beautiful as the goddess in the myths who had chased the moon.

She gently folded up her umbrella.

"I'm going."

And so, in that little harbor where the wind had died and the clouds had stilled, time seemed to start flowing again.

They seemed about to turn from two girls who had met in a sheltered harbor into strangers passing one another by.

"Yukino!"

Yukino, who had put her umbrella away in her bag, turned around. The petite girl looked deeply dissatisfied, but couldn't help smiling all the same.

"Next time we meet, I absolutely won't embarrass myself like this again!"

"I think you should try making some other friends."

Before leaving, Yukino said that to Maki without turning around.

Maki had rarely gone out alone before, and she'd never cried in front of another girl her age over and over, embarrassing herself like this.

Still, it wasn't a bad feeling.

As a daughter of the Shijo Family, even though her parents and family hadn't placed too many demands on her, she'd always held herself to strict standards. She'd never had this kind of leisurely time.

Friendship was a relationship that took a lot of time and effort to maintain. Maki didn't have that kind of time.

Aside from Nagisa, she had no other friends.

Aside from Tanuma, she'd never liked anyone else.

So what had Yukino meant by that?

Did she actually want to be friends with Maki?

Maki almost choked on the thought.

Get lost! You're my biggest enemy!!!

Soon, a black car pulled up beside Music Fountain Plaza. Its driver, dressed in a dark gray suit vest, quickly got out and opened the door for the Eldest Miss of the Shijo Family.

He even courteously placed his hand against the upper edge of the car door, as if terrified that she might bump her head or hurt herself in the slightest. He looked ready to bow all the way to the ground.

Maki frowned without letting it show, but didn't say anything.

She planned to bring it up discreetly with the driver on the way back.

Of course, she couldn't tell the Shijo Family's butler about it. Otherwise, the driver, who'd only just been assigned to her, might be fired on the spot.

Japan was a society with a very clear hierarchy. Seniors and juniors in companies and schools, the strong and the weak, the daughters of conglomerates and ordinary drivers—the enormous divides between people cut across the whole country, separating one person from another.

Many people working for the Shijo Family acted as if they were determined to make sure everything was absolutely perfect.

So Maki wasn't surprised by how low these people were willing to bow.

But she also understood perfectly well that she received this treatment solely because of the Shijo Family whose name she bore.

She didn't dislike people who flocked to her for their own benefit, nor did she look down on ordinary people who would bend their backs as far as necessary to survive.

She'd simply lived abroad for a long time, and still wasn't used to Japan's hierarchical way of life. That was all.

"I don't really want to go home just yet. I'll walk around nearby."

The driver smiled broadly. "Of course. Whenever you'd like to head back, Eldest Miss, just give me a call. I'll be nearby."

Maki didn't refuse.

In fact, with tensions between the Shijo Family and the Shinomiya Family gradually rising, whenever Maki went out, there were plenty of eyes belonging to the Shijo Family's bodyguards watching her from places she couldn't see.

Maki certainly wasn't going to throw a fit like some spoiled rich girl at a time like this. If anything happened to her, that would be a real disaster.

Just then, a brightly colored sports car slowly drove over. The passenger-side window rolled down, revealing a fashionable-looking woman with pink hair in the driver's seat.

Resting one hand on the steering wheel, the woman smiled. "Miss Shijo, why don't you hop in?"

The Shijo Family's main domestic allies were the three families—Shirakawa, Eguchi, and Takeda—but a whole host of other families, large and small, were eager to curry favor with them.

The Katori Family was one of them.

Maki didn't get into the car.

She looked at the woman inside. "Mirai Katori?"

Mirai Katori smiled faintly. "That's me!"

Maki was silent for a moment. "I told you last time, I'm just an insignificant member of the Shijo Family. The family's finances and business partnerships have nothing to do with me."

The Shijo Family had spent years building its business in Europe and America. It wielded considerable influence in overseas markets and had deep pockets to match.

Japanese companies that had long coveted those vast overseas markets but lacked the means to enter them, as well as emerging businesses in need of financial support, all dreamed of attracting the Shijo Family's attention.

Miss Katori had also attended the Shirakawa Family's banquet last time, and Shushi Shirakawa had briefly explained her family's situation to Maki.

The Katori Family's younger daughter was an ambitious, enterprising woman. In another family, someone like her might have been named heir.

But she had an older brother, and he was capable in his own right—not some useless, spoiled wastrel.

So, given her circumstances, Miss Katori's only future seemed to be helping her family through a Marriage Alliance and becoming a suitable wife in a wealthy household.

But Miss Katori didn't want to accept her fate.

She smiled from ear to ear. "I don't have ambitions big enough to partner with the famous Shijo Family. I just want to get to know you a little better."

"Would you be willing to spare a few minutes to hear me talk about my business idea? Don't worry, I'll leave as soon as I'm done. I definitely won't bother you!"

Maki checked the time on her phone. "Go ahead."

She didn't particularly want to listen.

She'd met plenty of so-called entrepreneurs who went around the world pitching their businesses and looking for investors.

The Katori Family's heir had already been chosen, and the Shijo Family would only do business with Ryosuke Katori.

Though the Shijo Family had plenty of money and liked to proclaim that it would distance itself from the corrupt Shinomiya Family, it was still a bunch of heartless capitalists. They couldn't be bothered to pay much attention to the Katori Family, one of countless potential business partners downstream.

Still, Maki was in a decent mood today, so she was willing to waste a few minutes.

Miss Katori smiled faintly. "Miss Shijo, you're a young lady of the exalted Shijo Family. You probably can't understand the helplessness of women from small families like ours..."

Maki's expression was cold.

Ninety-nine percent of the people on this street couldn't match Mirai Katori's wealth even if you added all of theirs together. If she was helpless, how were ordinary people supposed to live?

Jump off a building?

"And my target customers are exactly these young ladies who have no freedom, but so much money they don't know what to do with it."

Wow. Other people cooked themselves in an iron pot. This woman was cooking her own friends.

"For example, the young lady from the Oda Family, the Second Miss of the Yukinoshita Family, and that young lady from the Hirano Family. No matter how beautiful, outstanding, or talented they are, they're still destined to be forced into a Marriage Alliance one day. No matter how rebellious they are, all they can do is dye their hair and act out for a year or two. That's why people like them need—"

"What did you say?"

Mirai Katori looked up and saw the Shijo Family's young lady, who had been composed all along, stride over and brace both hands on her car window.

The petite Maki, whose face still held traces of a young girl's innocence, had pursed her lips into a distinctly displeased expression.

"Who did you say would be forced into a Marriage Alliance?"

[Next time we meet, I absolutely won't embarrass myself like this again!]

The important part of what Maki had said was the first half, but Yukino, a genius at misunderstanding people, had focused on the second half.

She absolutely wouldn't embarrass herself like that again?

What did that mean?

Did it mean that next time, Maki would make Yukino embarrass herself even more?

Thinking about the deep enmity between them, and the strange little tricks that had happened back when Haruno was managing the Yukinoshita Family Branch Company...

Ummmm...

And, by such a coincidence, Maki was near the Music Fountain Plaza mentioned in the system prompt.

Could Maki Shijo actually be the Boss?

[System, isn't my deduction flawless?]

The system didn't give Yukino so much as a peep.

Her phone rang.

"Yukino, where are you? I'm at the bench at the far right of the fountain plaza!"

Yukino turned around and spotted her after a few glances. "Turn around."

Kasumigaoka, with her cat backpack on, turned around. Her gaze swept over the crowd, then settled on Yukino. She jogged over.

"Yukino."

Yukino hurriedly said, "Slow down, slow down."

What if she bumped into the cat?!

Kasumigaoka smiled softly and took the backpack off her back, holding it out in front of Yukino. "It's really soft inside. It won't hurt the cat."

With a star right in front of her, Yukino instinctively took a step back.