Chapter 46

"Accomplices share the closest bond in the world."

"I like you."

The things Nangong Cheng had said played on a loop in her head like surround sound.

So did his face, always wearing that superior expression.

"Heh..."

"Who's he trying to fool...?"

Kikyo Kushida gave a cold laugh.

Did that wicked Nangong Cheng really think she was as sweet and lovestruck as Sakura Airi and Karuizawa Kei?

Just because they were Fated Partners didn't mean she had to revolve around him.

With a thought, the panel appeared.

[Host: Kikyo Kushida]

[Age: High School Girl]

[Measurements: B:82(D) W:55 H:83]

[Fated Partner: Nangong Cheng]

[Points held: 5100]

[Items held: None]

[Abilities held: Beginner Acting (innate)]

But was she supposed to be happy or sad?

She had never expected the system to recognize her talent for putting on an act as a skill worth 1,000 Points.

Why did that have to be her talent?

Because a fake was still a fake.

No matter how well she pretended, it would never become real.

The idea that something counted as real if you could keep it up for a lifetime without anyone finding out... That was nothing but hollow comfort.

Kikyo Kushida glanced at the Black History Exchange Card she had been longing for, then picked up her phone and typed a reply in the small group chat.

"Let's keep things civil and not make personal attacks, okay~"

"And I don't have those kinds of feelings for Nangong at all. It's really awkward when you say things like that~"

After replying in the group chat, Kikyo Kushida opened Nangong Cheng's profile.

She took a deep breath and began hammering at the screen—

"Nangong Cheng, you xxing xx..."

Kikyo Kushida had honed remarkable typing speed from chatting with multiple people at once.

Five insults a second might have been beyond her, but the effect was much the same.

After cursing him for several minutes, she suddenly remembered something. She backed out, opened an Anonymous Gray Avatar's chat, summarized what had happened today, and sent it off as intelligence.

Then Kikyo Kushida took the Digital Camera Nangong Cheng had given her from the bedside drawer and remembered that humiliating night.

And the feeling of floating among the clouds.

A wicked heat surged through her.

"That wicked Nangong Cheng is trying to corrupt my mind with this filthy thing."

"I'll have to purify you thoroughly!"

The release is today, so I'm updating early. After this, updates will still be around 7:30–8:00 p.m.

Volume One: A Mom Is Just a Role

The next day.

Nangong Cheng had expected breakfast to be the usual routine, but an unexpected visitor showed up.

"You're... Amikura, right?"

"What brings you—"

"Nangong!"

Before Nangong Cheng could finish, the furious-looking girl cut him off.

"I know everything!" she declared. "I won't let you bully our Honami!"

What was that supposed to mean?

What did she know?

He hadn't done anything he needed to feel guilty about, had he?

"Sorry, Nangong. I explained everything to Mako, but she's still a little worked up. Please don't be angry..."

Ichinose Honami stepped between them.

First, she gave Nangong Cheng a brief explanation. "Mako saw me coming out of your room when I went back last night, and she thought I..."

Then she turned to Amikura Mako with a show of anger. "Mako, what did you promise me before we came?"

"Didn't you promise to speak nicely?"

"I..."

You wouldn't have let me come if I hadn't promised...

Amikura Mako pursed her lips. She still looked upset, but she didn't dare say another word.

The Great Angel's authority.jpg

Nangong Cheng found the whole thing rather amusing.

"It's fine, Ichinose. Let Amikura say what she wants. I'd like to hear what else she has to say."

"Well..."

Ichinose Honami couldn't tell what Nangong Cheng meant. Was he not angry, or was he very angry?

Before she could think it through, Amikura Mako's eyes lit up. She straightened her back and rallied. "Nangong, I did get a little worked up just now. I'm sorry."

With that, she gave him a solemn bow.

But she quickly turned serious again. "That said, why did you make that deal with Honami under such a strange condition?"

"She's only sixteen! How can she be your mom?!"

Nangong Cheng rubbed his chin, his gaze moving back and forth between Ichinose Honami and Amikura Mako.

He began with an explanation. "Amikura, this was a deal Ichinose and I both agreed to. Besides, you and everyone else in Class B have benefited from it—"

"But how can you say a sixteen-year-old girl can't be a mom? I'll have you know some girls become moms to lots of people while they're still in elementary school."

"N-no way!"

Amikura Mako gave him a look that said she wasn't so uneducated he could fool her. She grabbed Ichinose Honami's arm and shook it, seeking backup.

"Honami, say something."

"Didn't you say yesterday that it was embarrassing?"

Ichinose Honami smiled awkwardly.

It was embarrassing.

But it wasn't really that bad, was it?

It wasn't as though she would lose a piece of herself.

"Nangong..."

"Hold on, Ichinose."

Nangong Cheng raised a hand to stop her, then continued speaking to Amikura Mako. "Amikura, if you say Ichinose can't be my mom, let me ask you something. What kind of woman do you picture when you think of a mother?"

"Or rather, what kind of woman would you want your mother to be?"

Amikura Mako froze. After thinking seriously for a moment, she answered, "Gentle, understanding, capable, dependable, strong..."

Nangong Cheng smiled. "Now think about what kind of girl our Ichinose is."

"..."

Amikura Mako was speechless.

Come on. You can't just make them match like that!

"That's different..."

"How is it different?"

Nangong Cheng didn't give Amikura Mako time to think. He pressed on with his nonsense. "You have to understand that 'mom' is just a role. Age has nothing to do with it."

"Some people live their whole lives without ever becoming qualified mothers, while others are born with what it takes to be great ones."

Amikura Mako had no answer.

She was convinced something was seriously wrong with Nangong Cheng.

No wonder he had discovered the school's secret on his first day. A genius really did think differently from ordinary people.

All she could do was cling weakly to her position. "Anyway... you shouldn't call Honami 'Mom'!"

Nangong Cheng spread his hands helplessly. "So, Amikura, you don't want me to call Ichinose 'Mom' anymore. Is that right?"

"Ichinose and I only made a verbal agreement, so if you decide she shouldn't keep paying her side of the bargain, I can't exactly go through the school to seek redress."

"But don't forget that Class D and Class B are rivals. I still have plenty of ways to retaliate within the rules. If you think Class B can bear the consequences, go ahead and take Ichinose away."

Amikura Mako opened her mouth, but her expression visibly fell.

Ichinose Honami sighed.

"Nangong, this is between you and me. The deal won't end until you no longer want to call me 'Mom,' or you no longer need me to cook for you."

"And Mako is a good person. She just got carried away because she was worried about me. I apologize on her behalf..."

With that, she started to drop to her knees.

But Amikura Mako couldn't let Ichinose Honami make that sacrifice for her. She stopped her at once, then bowed a full ninety degrees to the expressionless Nangong Cheng.

"I'm sorry!"

"I misunderstood you, Nangong! If you want revenge, take it out on me alone. Please don't drag Class B and everyone else into it."

"Mako..."

Ichinose Honami tugged at Amikura Mako's arm, trying to pull her upright.

At the same time, she gave Nangong Cheng a pleading look, hoping he would let the matter go.

"...All right. Straighten up."

Was Nangong Cheng angry?

By all rights, he should have been. Amikura Mako had come in shouting at him like she was spoiling for a fight. Someone with a shorter temper certainly would have lost it.

But in truth, she was no different from a cat puffing up its fur.

Not only was she completely unthreatening, she had fallen silent the moment Ichinose Honami gave her a stern look. It was almost...

Besides, he could tell Amikura Mako discovering Ichinose Honami's Mom Act was no accident. Combined with his conversation with Sae Chabashira in the office today, there was a good chance Chie Hoshinomiya had arranged it.

Heh. Getting impatient already?

In the end, though, Nangong Cheng pretended to be angry. That was how he could get the most out of this situation.

"For the sake of your close bond with my Ichinose Mom, I'll let it go this time."

Amikura Mako and Ichinose Honami both breathed a sigh of relief.

But they were celebrating too soon.