"You were one of the children I watched grow up too. I took care of you quite a bit when you were little, and in the blink of an eye, you've grown so much." Sawamura Sayuri's eyes filled with nostalgia, as though she had recalled the day she first met Jiang Lianqiu and Belfast. "Seeing the two of you end up together makes both Eriri's father and me very happy. Eriri has been spoiled by her father and me, so she can be a little prickly. I hope you'll be more understanding of her in the future."
"Mom, why are you saying such weird things?!" Unable to bear it any longer, Eriri began kicking Sawamura Sayuri's leg with her little foot beneath the table.
Sawamura Sayuri shot her daughter an annoyed glare and dropped the subject, merely turning toward the kitchen and deliberately drawing out her voice. "Bel~fast~, the red bean rice can be served now!"
"Yes, Mrs. Sawamura."
The moment she heard the words "red bean rice," Eriri's eyes started spinning with spirals again.
Perhaps because their relationship had made a breakthrough, Eriri treated Jiang Lianqiu differently at school that day—so differently that even passersby could tell.
At lunchtime in the school cafeteria, Eriri did not eat with the friends she had recently made. Instead, she followed closely behind Jiang Lianqiu and finally chose an empty table with him.
"Eriri, can you come somewhere with me after school today?"
Eriri, who had been eating, froze, and her face instantly reddened.
Her gaze darted about as she quickly glanced at Jiang Lianqiu, then turned her head and whispered, "Th-then... can I go home and change first?"
Wearing a school uniform on a date would be too strange.
Jiang Lianqiu immediately realized that the young girl had misunderstood, but he did not point it out. He only said, "We're going to the Ginza Argentum Tower."
Eriri looked at Jiang Lianqiu in confusion.
Of course, she knew about the Ginza Argentum Tower and the Ginza Argentum Ring behind it.
Over the years, the reason her father had been able to rise smoothly from an ordinary British diplomat stationed in Japan to the British ambassador to Japan, receive a knighthood from the Queen, and become a noble with the title of lord was, ultimately, because of the childhood friend before her.
Even though Jiang Lianqiu had never explicitly shown favor toward the Sawamura family under any circumstances, his mere existence, along with her relationship with him, was enough to make countless people rush to curry favor with the Sawamuras.
It was ridiculous. Even the commander of the U.S. forces in Japan had to bow and scrape before her father now. She had heard that when she had just entered high school, quite a few people from the Ivy League had openly and secretly asked Mr. Sawamura whether she wanted to attend university there—full tuition waivers, maximum scholarships, and every possible benefit at the highest level.
As for the Ginza Argentum Tower, Eriri had been there before, but those visits had been purely for fun. Yet judging by Jiang Lianqiu's expression now, was he bringing her there this time because of some serious matter?
At that thought, sweetness like honey welled up in Eriri's heart.
Her childhood friend intended to include her even in serious matters. That put her greatly at ease.
Even if it was not a date, Eriri smiled, dimples appearing at the corners of her mouth, and asked softly, "Mm, is there anything I need to prepare? Do I really not need to change clothes?"
If it was some formal social occasion, then a dress and the like would surely be necessary.
Don't let the fact that the Sawamuras had raised her into an otaku fool you. The etiquette training expected of a young lady had not been neglected.
Just then, accompanied by a Fragrant Wind, came Utaha Kasumigaoka's slightly teasing voice:
"Junior Sawamura, you don't mind if I sit here, do you?"
Jiang Lianqiu looked at Eriri in amazement—the young girl's tuft of blonde hair had shot straight up like an antenna in that instant, and her puffed-up appearance made her look even more like a little beast baring its fangs in warning...
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