Chapter Summaries

Sogo Doma tried to make Shizuka Hiratsuka recognize her favorable impression of Taihei while undermining each of the qualities she praised. The conversation left Shizuka repeatedly defending Taihei, while Sogo continued teasing her about it.

• Sogo Doma reflected on Taihei's ability to win people's affection and grew wary of his popularity.
• Sogo used Taihei's natural likability as part of a plan to make Shizuka Hiratsuka develop a favorable impression of him.
• Sogo pointed out that Shizuka was indignant on Taihei's behalf and asked what kind of person she thought Taihei was.
• Shizuka defended Taihei as kind, persistent, tolerant, and able to cook, while Sogo dismissed each quality.

The chapter explained how difficult it was to enter Japanese social circles and contrasted Yukino Yukinoshita’s precise, textbook-based cooking with Sogo Doma’s far more appealing food. It left Yukino craving the cat-food lunchbox Sogo made for her, despite believing that girls should prepare their own lunches.

• The narrator described how newcomers struggled to join neighborhood and new-mother circles, and noted that political marriages could help people enter high society.
• The narrator explained that Mrs. Yukinoshita had not sent Yukino Yukinoshita to Totsuki because she followed instructions without showing the innovation the school required.
• Yukino Yukinoshita’s carefully measured cooking was described as reliable, though less impressive than the food made by Totsuki students.
• Mashiro fed Yukino Yukinoshita Baumkuchen, and Sogo Doma later fed her his cat-food lunchbox.
• Yukino Yukinoshita compared Sogo Doma’s cat food with her own and wished he would make her lunchboxes taste worse so she could keep preparing them herself.

Sogo Doma reflected on Taihei’s natural popularity and used it to steer Shizuka Hiratsuka into defending his brother. He left Shizuka flustered as he dismissed the qualities she praised in Taihei, including his kindness, perseverance, tolerance, and cooking.

• Sogo Doma recalled how Taihei won the affection of nearly every girl he met, contrasting his popularity with his own fraught interactions with Rindo Kobayashi.
• Sogo reasoned that Taihei’s charm would make people defend him if Sogo criticized him, and used that tactic with Shizuka Hiratsuka.
• Sogo pointed out that Shizuka had a favorable impression of Taihei, and she admitted that he was kind.
• Shizuka praised Taihei’s perseverance and tolerance, but Sogo reframed those qualities as stubbornness and weakness.
• Shizuka brought up Taihei’s cooking, and Sogo argued that it was unremarkable because men in the Doma family traditionally stayed home and cooked.

Sogo Doma discussed Yukinoshita’s cooking and the expectations placed on women before telling Shizuka Hiratsuka that Taihei seemed to have few good points. He left Hiratsuka inclined to defend Taihei, while privately insisting that Taihei was a rival for Umaru’s affection and the Onii-chan role.

• Sogo Doma explained that Yukinoshita’s cooking was respectable but could not rival Totsuki’s elite chefs, despite the second daughter’s fondness for his cat food.
• Sogo Doma reflected on how family roles made women feel pressure to cook and noted that Shizuka Hiratsuka saw Taihei’s cooking as a bonus.
• Sogo Doma told Shizuka Hiratsuka that Taihei did not seem to have many good points at first glance.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka silently objected, believing Taihei was an outstanding older brother.
• Sogo Doma privately reaffirmed his rivalry with Taihei and his determination to remain Umaru’s only Onii-chan.

Sogo Doma’s cooking left Yukino Yukinoshita craving the cat-food bento he made, despite her confidence in her own precise cooking. After tasting his food, she wanted him to prepare it for her every day but struggled with the idea that making bentos was supposed to be a girl’s job.

• Sogo Doma reflected on how difficult it was to enter Japanese social circles and how political marriages and aristocratic schools could help people move into upper-class circles.
• Sogo Doma considered why Mrs. Yukinoshita had not sent Yukino to Totsuki, noting Yukino’s exact imitation of recipes and lack of initiative.
• Yukino Yukinoshita had believed her cooking was good enough to support herself by opening a small shop.
• Mashiro fed Yukino Baumkuchen, and Sogo Doma later gave her a cat-food bento that she found irresistible.
• Yukino admitted she had prepared her own bento and said she could make cat food, but after eating Sogo Doma’s cooking, she wanted him to make it for her every day.

Keiryu Doma reflected on why he had never formally named an heir or built connections for Taihei, believing the Doma Family’s wealth and Sogo’s influence made such preparations unnecessary. The chapter left the Doma brothers’ succession unresolved, with Keiryu content to let matters stand as they were.

• Shizuka Hiratsuka considered how outsiders might interpret Keiryu Doma’s failure to publicly designate Taihei as his successor.
• Keiryu Doma dismissed rumors that he had an illegitimate son and recalled how Sogo’s actions had earned the family immense wealth.
• Keiryu Doma recalled how connections had failed to save Shirogane XX after Sogo’s stock market crash.
• Keiryu Doma argued that the Doma Family had risen without relying on connections and saw no need for Taihei to build them.
• Keiryu Doma was pleased that Taihei, like him, had little interest in socializing.

Sogo Doma explained why Totsuki chefs outclassed cookbook readers and argued that Taihei did not seem to have many strengths. Shizuka Hiratsuka wanted to defend Taihei, while Sogo kept up his dismissive act to protect his standing as Umaru's Onii-chan.

• Sogo Doma told Shizuka Hiratsuka that following cookbook instructions could not rival Totsuki's training and reputation.
• The narrator contrasted Yukinoshita's cooking with the expensive meals at Kirinoya, where Elite Ten graduate Hinako Inui was head chef.
• Sogo Doma said Taihei did not seem to have many strengths, prompting Shizuka Hiratsuka to think that Taihei was an outstanding older brother.
• Sogo Doma privately treated Taihei as his lifelong rival but concealed his respect to keep Umaru Doma from seeing Taihei as another Onii-chan.
• Sogo Doma accused Taihei of being a pervert who wanted to control him, insisting that he genuinely saw no good in Taihei.

Sogo Doma tried to push Shizuka Hiratsuka toward Taihei by claiming that Taihei was unwanted and that she was his best chance at marriage. He left Shizuka facing pressure to act while privately planning to help the two get together so Taihei would not challenge his place as Onii-chan.

• Sogo Doma explained that Taihei’s reputation as Demon Taihei helped him avoid complicated social relationships, while he presented Taihei differently to Umaru and Keiryu Doma.
• Sogo Doma mocked Taihei for making little progress with Shizuka Hiratsuka, despite having known her for a long time.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka objected when Sogo Doma claimed no one wanted Taihei.
• Sogo Doma privately planned to make Shizuka feel responsible for choosing Taihei and then help the relationship along.

Keiryu Doma had never named Taihei or Sogo as heir or built their social connections, because he believed Sogo’s financial power made the Doma Family’s rise independent of networking. Taihei was content to avoid socializing, and the chapter left the succession unannounced.

• Shizuka Hiratsuka considered how Keiryu Doma’s failure to publicly designate Taihei as heir made outsiders suspect the Doma Family had no true successor.
• Keiryu Doma reflected that Sogo’s financial success had made the Doma Family powerful without relying on connections.
• Keiryu Doma recalled how Miyuki Shirogane’s father had lost everything despite his social connections after Sogo triggered a stock market crash.
• Keiryu Doma concluded that the Doma Family did not need an heir to build connections because Sogo’s power surpassed that of its rivals.
• Taihei Doma welcomed Keiryu’s lack of interest in socializing, since he preferred keeping close only to Bomber and his childhood friend.

Sogo Doma argued with Shizuka Hiratsuka about Taihei’s few friends and disastrous romantic entanglements, while boasting about his own connections. The chapter left Taihei despairing over having to manage the Doma family and insisting Umaru’s lazy side was only an illusion.

• Sogo Doma told Shizuka Hiratsuka that Taihei had only two school friends and compared him unfavorably with Yukinoshita.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka defended the value of having sincere friends, but Sogo claimed Taihei’s romantic troubles outweighed his small circle.
• Sogo praised his own friendships with Yukinoshita, Kasumigaoka, Mashiro, and Ako, leaving Shizuka unable to refute him.
• Shizuka reflected on the Doma siblings’ perfect grades and wondered why Taihei had become a corporate drone instead of a scientist.
• Taihei Doma despaired over being the only one who could handle the family responsibilities and tried to convince himself Umaru was not a salted fish.

Sogo Doma tried to push Shizuka Hiratsuka toward Taihei by insisting that nobody else would want him. He left Shizuka unconvinced, while privately plotting to make her feel responsible for claiming Taihei.

• Sogo Doma explained how Taihei's intimidating reputation as Demon Taihei had eased his social worries, though Taihei still had a couple of friends.
• Sogo Doma told Umaru and Keiryu Doma different stories about Taihei, presenting himself as a Taihei critic to Umaru and a fan to Keiryu Doma.
• Sogo Doma teased Shizuka Hiratsuka that she and Taihei had made little progress after nearly a month together.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka objected when Sogo Doma claimed nobody wanted Taihei, knowing he was a sought-after man.
• Sogo Doma privately planned to make Shizuka feel that she had to pursue Taihei before anyone else would.

Sogo Doma teased Shizuka Hiratsuka about Taihei Doma’s few friends and tangled romances while boasting about his own impressive circle. The conversation left Shizuka reflecting on the Doma siblings’ perfect grades and Taihei’s burden of managing the family, as Taihei tried to convince himself Umaru’s laziness was only an illusion.

• Sogo Doma told Shizuka Hiratsuka that Taihei had only two school friends and mocked his romantic entanglements.
• Shizuka defended the value of having a couple of true friends, but Sogo argued that Taihei’s limited social life made his romances more absurd.
• Sogo bragged that his friends included Yukinoshita, Kasumigaoka, Mashiro, and Ako, leaving Shizuka unable to dispute their popularity and accomplishments.
• Shizuka thought about how Sogo, Taihei, and Umaru all excelled academically despite Sogo’s laziness, and considered how Taihei might have made a better scientist than corporate employee.
• Taihei, responsible for the Doma family because his siblings were unreliable, tried to persuade himself that Umaru’s lazy nature was an illusion.

Sogo Doma reflected on how changing regimes and customs had weakened aristocratic influence while shaping women’s status and marriage expectations. He condemned the traditions that treated women as naturally subordinate and judged beautiful women as unfaithful.

• The narrator compared Japanese seppuku threats to aristocratic families’ eventual refusal to indulge samurai who used suicide as leverage.
• The narrator credited Wu Zhao with reducing aristocratic power and laying a strong foundation for the Prosperous Age of Zhenguan.
• Sogo Doma questioned whether Emperor Xuanzong squandered the prosperity Wu Zhao had left behind.
• The narrator traced women’s declining status to Yuan Dynasty practices and the later influence of Zhu Xi’s theories.
• Sogo Doma concluded that traditions which demeaned women were harmful dregs rather than customs worth preserving.

Umaru resisted Keiryu Doma’s suggestion that she inherit the Doma Family, while Sogo and Taihei’s different views on work and wealth highlighted the family’s expectations. Sogo recalled how Yukino learned to use a vending machine after he teased her, and how he first introduced Umaru to cola.

• Keiryu Doma considered Umaru as a possible heir, and Umaru tried to persuade him that Taihei and Sogo were better choices.
• Sogo was confused by contradictory advice about whether wealthy people should bother picking up money, while Taihei valued the experience he gained working at lower levels.
• Sogo recalled Yukino Yukinoshita buying drinks from a vending machine in exchange for the food she enjoyed at the clubroom.
• Sogo teased Yukino when she struggled to use the vending machine, and she eventually learned how to operate it.
• Sogo remembered that he had given Umaru her first bottle of cola.

Sogo Doma described how he used his resources and schemes to spoil Umaru, strengthen her bond with him, and complicate Taihei’s romantic life. He revealed that he had developed products capable of supporting himself and Umaru, leaving her surprised by his ability to fund their carefree lives.

• Sogo Doma recalled buying the shop where Umaru wanted to work so she could experience a day of work and lose interest in part-time jobs.
• Sogo Doma secretly made room for Umaru’s many arcade plushies and taught her through examples drawn from Taihei’s romantic troubles.
• Umaru asked whether a flawless relationship could exist without asking for anything in return, and Sogo Doma said he would support and spoil her without expecting anything.
• Sogo Doma showed Umaru his products and explained that their profits could let them live carefree while Taihei took responsibility for the Doma Family.

Umaru Doma embraced her comfortable couch-potato life, which Sogo Doma encouraged, while Taihei Doma reflected on how his work experience had made him harder for Sogo to fool. The chapter ended with Taihei considering how seniority-based workplace hierarchy was justified under a fig leaf.

• Umaru Doma recalled how Sogo Doma persuaded her that a carefree life was a reasonable goal after she had experienced the hardships of work.
• Umaru Doma remembered Sogo Doma buying her a lottery figurine after she failed to win it herself.
• Taihei Doma realized that working as a corporate employee had taught him to spot flaws in Sogo Doma's deceptions.
• Taihei Doma reflected on how people took satisfaction in seeing a once-admired genius become an ordinary employee.
• Taihei Doma reasoned that seniority-based hierarchy depended on comparing workers who started under equal conditions.

Sogo Doma recalled how his objections to falsified history led Keiryu Doma to send him to Totsuki and later use his ostracism to revive the Doma Family. The chapter left Sogo reflecting on Keiryu’s values and Umaru’s growing interest in the Celestial Empire.

• Young Sogo Doma challenged a middle school teacher over the textbook’s account of the XX War and argued that the country should acknowledge its wrongdoing.
• Keiryu Doma explained that the Doma Family had declined because it stayed out of the war and urged Sogo to protect Umaru if the family fell.
• Sogo Doma decided that being a fool who spoke the truth was preferable to being clever and going along with everyone else.
• Keiryu Doma sent Sogo to Totsuki, then turned the cultural world’s ostracism of him into a reason to advance the Doma Family.
• Sogo Doma joked about lacking the hardships of a protagonist, while Umaru grew deeply interested in the Celestial Empire under Keiryu Doma’s guidance.

Shizuka Hiratsuka reflected on Sogo Doma’s perfect grades and her efforts to manage the Service Club while trying to get Yukino Yukinoshita to improve his behavior. She recalled discussing Sogo’s drinking with Taihei Doma and was left realizing how helpless he was about his brother.

• Shizuka Hiratsuka considered the pressure from Toyogasaki’s leadership to recognize Sogo Doma’s perfect scores.
• Mafuyu Kirisu asked Shizuka Hiratsuka whether the school should hold a commendation ceremony for Doma, then suggested Shizuka help manage the class.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka recalled bringing Mafuyu Kirisu in to help with the Service Club and hoping Yukino Yukinoshita would correct Sogo Doma’s behavior.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka remembered asking Taihei Doma about Sogo’s drinking and learning that their father had once beaten Sogo badly enough to hospitalize him.
• Taihei Doma admitted their father had eventually given up trying to make Sogo quit drinking, leaving Shizuka Hiratsuka struck by his helplessness.

Shizuka Hiratsuka reflected on how Sogo Doma and Yukino Yukinoshita might balance each other, while Eriri recalled how Doma comforted her after a childhood disappointment. The chapter left Eriri unwilling to admit that she valued Doma and her friends.

• Shizuka Hiratsuka considered how Sogo Doma's carefree ways and Yukino Yukinoshita's earnestness could influence each other.
• Shizuka struggled to explain Doma's many friendships and his effect on Yukino to Yukinoshita Haruno.
• Eriri remembered angrily insisting she and Doma were not friends when he teased her about a childhood recording.
• Sogo Doma provoked Eriri and offered to charge her for his help, distracting her from her sadness.
• Eriri later realized Doma had deliberately cheered her up, though she would never admit how much she appreciated him.

Shizuka Hiratsuka reflected on how Sogo Doma’s influence had drawn Yukino Yukinoshita into otaku and yuri culture, and why she had summoned him to discuss it. As Doma resumed provoking the girls and scrambling to escape the consequences, Hiratsuka began to understand Yukino’s frustration.

• Yukino Yukinoshita and Eriri Sawamura privately reflected that they had grown accustomed to Sogo Doma despite insisting they were not his friends.
• Shizuka Hiratsuka worried that Yukino had been drawn into otaku culture and become unusually familiar with yuri after joining the Service Club.
• Hiratsuka recalled how Utaha Kasumigaoka’s provocative advances forced Yukino to team up with her against Doma.
• Hiratsuka explained that she had called Doma aside after Yukino seemed to consider the rumors about her and Haruno seriously.
• Doma began testing the girls’ patience again and frantically tried to save himself from the consequences, amusing Hiratsuka.