Setting aside Kaguya Shinomiya and the others for the moment.
"You..." Outside Sogo Doma's castle at the Totsuki Tea House, the fleeing Yukino Yukinoshita was ultimately caught up with—found—by someone. "I admit I lost just now..."
What the second daughter had actually wanted to say upon being found was, "Why did you come out again...?" But recalling Sogo Doma's mention of a "loser's punishment," as well as Utaha Kasumigaoka's words, she decided to strike first. "But if you intend to use your status as the winner..."
"Don't be ridiculous..." Unfortunately, Sogo Doma did not fall for that. Or rather, he had never considered doing anything after winning in the first place. That would have been too much like bullying. As for punishment, he had only said it casually. "It was a contest, sure, but we never set any stakes..."
"Hm?" Yukino Yukinoshita was stunned by those words. Had Doma Kon... changed his ways?
"Why are you so surprised?" Sogo Doma could not help but remark. "I never wanted to compete with you in the first place. You were the one insisting that I was using some clumsy provocation..."
Yukino Yukinoshita: "..."
Fine, she admitted it had not been some clumsy provocation. It had been the truth. The gap between them was even greater than the gap between a professional player and an amateur enthusiast. But...
Could this bastard not be just a little more modest?
"That's true..." Complaints aside, she would still acknowledge what needed to be acknowledged. "You did not say anything wrong. I was simply overestimating myself..."
"Tsk, tsk..." Hearing that, Sogo Doma chuckled. "As expected of Yukinoshita. Even after losing, you can face it so calmly."
"..."
After a brief silence, Yukino Yukinoshita said faintly, "That's only what you think!"
She was not as calm as she