Wakaba Mutsumi: "..."
After hesitating for a while, she still lightly nodded, "Mm."
It happened too suddenly.
Wakaba Mutsumi hadn't been ready to come clean to Sakiko. Even though she had tried to think it through, in such a hurry, she didn't have time to fabricate a perfect excuse.
["What are you afraid of!"], In the consciousness space, Mortis appeared completely unfazed, even confidently patting her chest, ["With me on your side, Mutsumi a mere Sakiko, if she dares to invade, I will surely send her back defeated."]
Wakaba Mutsumi lowered her eyes, not wanting to deal with this idiot.
She did indeed like Onii-chan, a like that made her want to walk into the chapel of marriage with him.
But she also equally cherished the friendship with Sakiko and didn't want to lose it just like that.
Things had come to this point, and trying to bluff her way through it seemed nearly impossible.
Sakiko had already raised her guard against her and would no longer believe her words easily.
However Wakaba Mutsumi's brain spun rapidly and suddenly thought of a method.
A certain philosopher once said, if you want to unite two opposing sides, the best way is to introduce a common external enemy.
The light-green-haired girl raised her head and looked directly into the golden pupils of her childhood friend, which seemed to carry both wind and frost, and also the sharpness of a blade. She softly said, "Sakiko, I have something I want to say to you."
This was an extremely plain bedroom, dominated by a minimalist style.
The porcelain marble floor was as smooth as a mirror, and the sky-blue gauze curtain was lifted by the night wind, revealing a gap. Moonlight spilled in like poured milk, flooding over the velvet large bed, on which lay several adorably clumsy plush toys. The silver glow trickled down their curled fur like beads.
Only a small lamp was on in the room. The warm yellow glow wasn't too bright, but enough to illuminate the faces of the girls sitting opposite each other. Under their long, dense eyelashes, the light cast faint shadows, inexplicably reminding one of an ancient poem Dimly seen, ghostly lamp a thread, revealing a peach blossom face.
"President is still in the living room. If you have something to say Mutsumi, you can start now," After a long silence, Sakiko said faintly.
She rarely ever took on such a cold, even indifferent demeanor with her childhood friend. But at this moment, Sakiko really couldn't put on a gentle smile for that familiar face anymore. How many people could face their best friend who stole the guy they liked and act like nothing happened?
Anger was only human. Cutting ties completely and never speaking again wouldn't be strange at all.
Except for those with special fetishes.
Sakiko clearly didn't have such fetishes. Having shed the aura of a former rich lady, she was just an ordinary girl. She had a temper and also a possessiveness toward the boy she liked.
Wakaba Mutsumi knew her childhood friend's personality well, so she didn't give Sakiko the chance to let her emotions run wild. She got straight to the point.
"Sakiko, you like Onii-chan."
Sakiko froze for a moment, stunned by the directness of the attack as sharp as an iai slash.
The girl instinctively wanted to deny it, but her pride stopped her from retreating, and she lightly nodded, completely unaware she had already fallen into the other's pace.
"Recently, I discovered something."
The girl kneeling opposite lowered her lashes. Her porcelain cheeks blurred under the soft glow, her features indistinct. Her cherry-pink lips parted slightly, her voice very low, yet as overwhelming as the tide, hitting Sakiko head-on like a crashing wave.
"Onii-chan seems to have a girlfriend."
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
No one knew how long it passed. Maybe half a minute, or maybe half an hour.
Sakiko finally heard her own voice. Like rusted gears that hadn't been oiled in ages, hoarse and dry, "That person who is it?"
Wakaba Mutsumi shook her head, "I don't know. I only overheard Onii-chan talking on the phone with some woman."
Secretary Sakiko clutched at a strand of hope in her heart, like a drowning person grabbing the last straw.
"C-Could it be that you misheard?"
Wakaba Mutsumi didn't refute her, only softly said, "The content of that call was them deciding on a place to go on a date this weekend."
Sakiko opened her mouth, but still couldn't utter a full syllable.
It wasn't like she hadn't suspected Mutsumi of lying to her. But such thoughts only existed in her mind for a fleeting second before being wiped out. Not because she trusted her childhood friend so deeply, but because she was sure Mutsumi would never fabricate a rumor about the President in such a way.
"I really like Onii-chan, a like where I want to date him and walk into marriage with him," Wakaba Mutsumi said softly. At this point, she no longer hid anything, her words were completely honest, "So, I understand your feelings."
Sakiko's heart was a mess. Just minutes ago, she was certain Mutsumi had betrayed her. But now, the situation reversed drastically. What she thought was betrayal turned out to be just someone else's stepping stone. In this war called "love," they were both defeated.
At this moment, when she looked again at the silent green-haired girl, her fury had already mostly subsided without her noticing. Instead, she felt a sense of shared sorrow between two defeated dogs
"Sakiko, do you want to quit?", Wakaba Mutsumi's voice interrupted her daze.
"Of course not", Her brain hadn't caught up, but her body had already blurted it out.
How could one leave the sun?
That gentle, strong President who illuminated her like the noon sun. Just imagining the day they'd pass each other as strangers in a crowd, her heart felt like it was being squeezed by invisible hands, and she couldn't even breathe.
'I could endure the darkness, if I had never seen the sunlight.'
"It's okay, Sakiko," At some point, the small lamp at the bedside had quietly gone out. Moonlight like a blade pierced through the gap in the sky-blue curtains, casting a gauzy veil over the two girls embracing. Their slightly warm breaths were so close, the soft touch surging into her heart. Wakaba Mutsumi gently hugged her tighter.
Even though to outsiders, she always seemed like Sakiko's little follower, a silent echoer with no opinions of her own, Mutsumi was actually the older one. At this moment, as she wrapped her arms around the blue-haired girl's thin shoulders, she resembled a gentle older sister comforting a crying little sister.
"I'll help you. Help us obtain EVERLASTING HAPPINESS."
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Chapter 187: Mortis: Stupid Little Mutsumi, Im Speaking Up for You!
Click!
The tightly shut bedroom door was opened, and the slender girls walked out hand in hand, side by side.
"Finished talking?", In the living room, hearing the noise, Kaito turned his head and noticed the two of them with their fingers interlocked, and couldn't help but be a little surprised.
They had only stayed in the room for just over ten minutes. The clock hand had only moved a quarter of the way. Such a short time could hardly be considered long.
Yet the relationship between the two seemed to have undergone some kind of subtle change, becoming closer than before.
This closeness wasn't mixed with any strange emotion. Rather, it was more like transitioning from being good friends to comrades who walk forward side by side.
That's right, comrades.
Although it felt a bit strange, Kaito indeed had a sense of dj vu.
'What's the definition of comrades?'
In the narrow sense, it refers to people who served in the army during the same period.
In the broad sense, having a common enemy or a common goal, maybe that's also enough to call each other "comrades"?
So, here comes the question.
What kind of divine existence could be the enemy, or the goal, that would make Mutsumi and Sakiko join forces?
"We just cleared up some misunderstandings between me and Sakiko," Noticing her Onii-chan's puzzled gaze, Wakaba Mutsumi softly said, "And also figured some things out."
'Is that so?', Kaito's brows slowly relaxed, choosing to believe what Mutsumi said.
Previously, he hadn't eavesdropped on the conversation between the two girls. Although it would've been easy for him, wouldn't even need to expend extra effort, just releasing the seal would do.
But no matter how close siblings are, they should leave ample space for each other's privacy. Recklessly using divine sense to spy on someone's secrets is no less immoral than peeking at a widow bathing through the door crack. At its core, it's the same unethical behavior.
Kaito was not some over-controlling, old-fashioned parent. Even if Mutsumi really had some little secrets of her own, he wouldn't push to know everything. As long as she was happy, that was enough.
Seeing that it was getting late and tomorrow was a weekday with school in session, he didn't dwell on this topic any longer and instead urged the two girls to get to bed quickly.
But Mutsumi stopped him.
The long light-green-haired girl seemed somewhat hesitant. She bit her lip and, after a long hesitation, asked softly, "Tonight can I still sleep with Onii-chan?"
Kaito casually rubbed her little head, "As long as you want to, anytime is fine."
Wakaba Mutsumi's subtle, imperceptible strategy was indeed effective.
When he first heard such a request, Kaito would still consider whether it was appropriate. But now, he didn't think that way anymore.
Habits, really are a terrifying thing. They allow your body to silently accept the existence of another person without you even realizing the change.
Besides, Mutsumi always slept so obediently, like a reserved elementary schooler, never hogging the blanket, never stretching out in a "" shape, always keeping her small hands gently folded on her chest. Her serene appearance made her seem like she was about to be buried, truly the perfect bed companion.
'Don't get the wrong idea. I mean bed companion in the literal sense. A companion who sleeps on the same bed.'
"Then", Wakaba Mutsumi looked up, her slender fingertips had somehow grabbed onto the hem of his shirt. The girl asked cautiously, "Can Sakiko come too?"
["Little Mutsumi, what the hell are you doing AHHHHHHHHHHH!"]
Inside the consciousness space, Mortis let out a sharp screech.
She had no objections to sleeping with Onii-chan, but what's with proactively bringing along a third wheel?
Her own progress bar had only just reached halfway, and now she was helping someone else cut corners and overtake her. From a small-scale view, this might be a virtue called helpfulness, but from a larger scope, it's basically disaster relief.
'I said I'd help Sakiko find happiness,' Wakaba Mutsumi replied. She truly was a girl who walked her talk.
["But happiness is a limited resource! If you give it to someone else, your own happiness will decrease! It's the same for me!"]
Mortis was furious. She didn't have some crazy childhood-friend filter on Togawa Sakiko. She had no intention of playing the thankless role of starving while watching someone else feast.
But this time, Wakaba Mutsumi didn't speak again. What responded to her was only the endless void in the consciousness space.
["Stupid Little Mutsumi, I'm not speaking up for you anymore!"]
Mortis gritted her silver teeth in anger. She had never wanted so badly to have a body of her own. That day wasn't far off. Once she condensed her physical form, the first thing she'd do would be to cut ties with this dumb Little Mutsumi. She could capture Onii-chan all by herself. This cucumber siding with outsiders, completely unnecessary.
[Reality]
"Let Sakiko come too?", Kaito raised an eyebrow. He didn't dislike the little secretary. In fact, Sakiko had long since been categorized by him as "one of us." She was someone he didn't need to act formally with. A devoted, tireless SpongeBob-type employee. Hard to find even with a lantern. Kaito had no doubt that if needed, she would even pay out of pocket to come to work.
But sleeping on the same bed with someone of the opposite sex, especially when said girl hadn't yet reached the legal marriageable age, was still a bit too... stimulating. Even if nothing happened and it was just regular sleeping, not everyone could accept such a thing.
Togawa Sakiko's delicate face flushed like burning red clouds at the horizon. Her brain went dizzy, she'd never been so nervous in her life.
Before coming out, Mutsumi had only said she would help her, and help them find happiness. But never mentioned what method she'd use. Sakiko had assumed her childhood friend would take it slowly and gently.
Who would've thought she'd be this aggressive. Like a peerless sword princess, charging forward the moment she saw an opening.
If it had only been her alone, she'd never dare make such an overreaching request to the president. But the one who had spoken up was Mutsumi. Sakiko had no idea how to stop her. And deep down, maybe she didn't really want to stop her either.
When the moment arrived, shrinking back would only betray Mutsumi's kindness. Togawa Sakiko gathered her courage. If even her childhood friend wasn't afraid, what did she have to fear?
"I don't mind," The reply was firm and strong. Yet at this moment, it came out weak. But at least, she still said it.
Kaito looked at his secretary, whose face looked like a bullied bun. Soft and squishy like freshly made blueberry daifuku, with a mochi-like texture that made you want to squish it or take a bite.
He thought for a moment and didn't refuse, "If Sakiko doesn't mind then come along."
This voice was like rain from heaven, relieving the tension in Wakaba Mutsumi, who had been nervously awaiting her Onii-chan's answer. She knew her actions were somewhat reckless and risky. The safer route would've been the one Sakiko imagined. Like boiling a frog slowly in warm water.
But not everyone had her conditions. The role of "little sister" naturally came with many conveniences.
To help Sakiko, she had to take a different approach.
And now the reward was clearly worth it. This experience was like opening a door. In the future, making similar requests would be much easier.
Thankfully, Onii-chan was still the gentle Onii-chan she knew, not rejecting her bold request. In the end, she'd successfully brought Sakiko onto the track.
