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Chapter 309: Shouldn’t You Be Calling Me Sister Seika?
🕑 Added 2025-04-25 14:27:12 +0000 UTC"Was that really enough, Akane?"
Minami asked softly, glancing at the girl who had practically dragged him out of the café.
He wasn't some clueless fool who couldn't read a room.
After nearly half a year of knowing Shinjo Akane, he could tell—
What she was showing on the outside didn't match what she was feeling inside.
"It was enough."
Akane shook her head.
"I said everything I needed to say."
It was true.
She had said it all to her parents.
"Honestly, this is the first time I've ever felt this free."
She opened her hands and stepped forward a couple paces, then turned back to him, a mischievous smile lighting up her pale, delicate face.
"It was my first time ever telling my mom and dad how I really feel!"
Her voice was giddy, full of energy as she turned her bright gaze on Minami:
"Minami-kun, did you see their faces? The way they looked when I said those things, shocked out of their minds!"
She came closer, her expression softening into something like wonder, but the joy still radiated:
"It was amazing... I've never seen them like that before! Let me tell you, Minami-kun, I—"
She was getting more and more excited, her words tumbling out until—
"That's enough, Akane."
Minami's voice cut in gently, stopping her mid-sentence.
He looked at her, serious now.
"You don't have to pretend to be okay."
"Eh...?"
The words caught Akane off guard.
Her expression faltered, confused like she didn't understand why Minami would say that all of a sudden but Minami didn't say anything more.
He simply looked at the lilac-haired girl before him with a gentle, composed expression, saying nothing.
Silence...
A long, heavy silence stretched between them...
Then...
Akane suddenly lunged forward and threw her arms tightly around Minami.
At the same time, her voice trembled slightly, muffled and shaky:
"Jeez... Minami-kun... Why are you always like this..."
Yeah... why?
Why was it that Minami always understood what she was thinking so clearly?
Why was it that he could tell without her saying a word that she was forcing herself to act strong?
Akane didn't understand.
She had done such a perfect job hiding it, hadn't she? And still, she couldn't fool him.
Her hands clutched the front of his shirt, fists tight.
Minami didn't say anything. He simply moved his arms and wrapped her into a warm embrace.
As mentioned before, he wasn't some oblivious fool who couldn't read a situation.
Especially not after over half a year of being close to Akane.
Of course he understood what she was feeling.
To put it simply, she had just rejected her own parents.
Even if they had never shown her love... even if they had left her in the care of their housemaid, Karasawa Yuka...
They were still her parents.
It wasn't the kind of thing you could just walk away from with a simple "We're not family anymore."
People have feelings and for Akane to feel disappointed, to feel hollow, after a conversation like that was only natural.
Minami gently patted her back.
As someone outside the Shinjo family, this was all he could do, just quietly be by her side.
And so, about ten minutes passed.
When the pale blue clock at the station chimed the hour, the lilac-haired girl finally lifted her violet-red eyes from his chest.
She had probably been crying.
Her eyes were rimmed faintly with red.
Minami brushed a hand gently across the edge of her eyes and asked:
"Feeling a little calmer now?"
"Mm..."
Akane murmured in reply without thinking, then quickly turned her head away, embarrassed.
She had just realized because of how she'd been crying against his chest—
Minami's shirt was a complete mess. Soaked and wrinkled, totally unpresentable.
"As long as you're feeling better, that's what matters."
Minami clearly didn't care about his shirt.
He just took her hand and began walking forward, asking as they went:
"What do you plan to do next? Any ideas?"
"Next..."
Hearing the question, Akane's expression faltered into uncertainty.
That's right.
Now that she had said everything to her parents, what came next?
The real world wasn't like a dream.
She hadn't even graduated high school, and now she had cut ties with the Shinjo family.
Without their protection, an overwhelming wave of financial pressure would soon come crashing down.
Even if she didn't regret her choice, that looming pressure was still daunting, like a mountain pressing on her.
She couldn't help but feel a little lost.
Seeing that confusion in her expression—
Minami spoke up:
"They probably won't take back the apartment right away. You should be able to stay there a while longer."
He reached out, gently stroked her hair.
"Why not take that time to think about your next goal?"
Minami's voice was calm as ever. "And if you still haven't figured it out by then…"
He paused, then offered a gentle suggestion:
"Why don't you come stay at my hometown for a while? Clear your head. Don't worry, I won't let you shoulder all this pressure on your own."
The truth was simple.
No matter how much of a genius Akane was, she was still just a high school girl.
Supporting herself and saving for university?
That was practically a fantasy.
As her boyfriend, there was no way Minami would sit back and let her suffer through it alone.
In fact, he had already started preparing to write professionally.
After all, in the simulations, he had managed to help Satou Matsuzaka out of her financial crisis through writing novels.
There was no reason reality should be any different. He was confident he could earn money the same way, enough to help Akane get by.
When she heard his words, Akane blinked, then slowly realized what he had just said:
"Your hometown...?"
"Yeah. What do you think? Want to come?"
"Of course I do!"
Unlike Futaba Rio, who would take her time for ages only to send a LINE message late at night confirming her decision...
Akane's answer was immediate, without hesitation.
The lilac-haired girl nodded, face full of excitement because going to Minami's hometown meant one thing, she'd get to meet his parents and two older sisters.
Which meant… it was the perfect chance for Minami to win some serious Heartthrob Points!
The two of them quickly finalized the trip, completely in sync and just like that, a huge weight lifted off Akane's shoulders.
Even if she hadn't figured out what came next in her life without her parents...
As long as Minami was by her side, there was nothing to fear.
After walking Akane back to her apartment, Minami headed toward STARRY on his own.
Along the way, countless thoughts swirled in his head.
What Akane might face from here on.
What he needed to do to support her.
All sorts of plans and scenarios started rooting themselves in his mind.
His goal was simple:
Use Shuka High's winter break to write and finish a few novels.
With Yamada's father helping connect him to publishers, he could submit his work directly and start earning money.
It was a path he'd already taken in the simulations—one he was confident he could handle.
And with his Lv.4 writing talent, he was sure he could earn enough to support a life with Akane.
Roughly outlining the plan in his head, Minami finally looked up at the simulation interface floating in front of him.
Originally pale blue and empty—
Now it had a new line of text:
"System Notification: Host has collected the Maiden's Heart of Love (Trust)."
"Trust, huh..."
Minami muttered as he read the words on the simulation screen.
Yeah... it fit Akane perfectly.
In the simulation, it was because she trusted him that she'd chosen to pursue her tokusatsu dreams by his side.
It was because she believed in him that she was willing to chase such a vague, uncertain future with him.
And it was that same belief that had given her the strength to stand up to her parents today.
She had placed her future entirely in his hands.
For Minami, Akane wasn't just the girl who loved tokusatsu—
She was someone who trusted him so deeply, it was impossible to ignore.
"That makes four now..."
He swiped the simulation screen aside.
Kita Ikuyo's "Passion," Yamada Ryo's "Devotion," Futaba Rio's "Admiration," and now Akane's "Trust."
Without even realizing it, Minami had collected the hearts of four girls.
And just like that, he had invited all four of them to his hometown.
Kita had already said yes over LINE.
For some reason, this socially anxious girl was oddly obsessed with anything that resembled a trip.
And then there were Ijichi Nijika, Gotoh Hitori, Chisato Nishikigi, Takina Inoue, and Satou Matsuzaka.
Getting Chisato, Takina, and Satou on board would be easy.
They were the type of girls who always listened to Minami.
Especially Chisato and Satou. He was confident that the moment he mentioned spending New Year's at his hometown, they'd agree on the spot.
And once Chisato was in, Takina would naturally come along too.
As for Mika the café manager and Satou's aunt, Matsuzaka Sayuri.
Well, they weren't even a concern at this point.
Manager Mika had always silently approved of the situation between Minami and Chisato and Takina.
And as for Matsuzaka Sayuri, now that she'd turned over a new leaf, there was no way she'd reject a request from her niece, Satou Matsuzaka.
Which meant... the next challenges lay with Ijichi Nijika and Gotoh Hitori.
Nijika was tricky for a very simple reason:
If Minami wanted to invite her to his hometown,
then he would have to deal with her older sister—Ijichi Seika.
And just his luck...
That older sister, with hair and eye color identical to Nijika's, happened to be a full-blown sis-con.
If he wanted Nijika to come home with him—
then getting past Ijichi Seika was absolutely unavoidable.
And Gotoh Hitori's case? Even more complicated.
Sure, her social anxiety had eased a bit...
But if he suddenly invited her to his family's home, the pink-haired girl might just panic and back out at the last moment.
Not to mention her parents.
It was hard to imagine Gotoh Naoki and Gotoh Michiyo just casually letting their daughter go spend New Year's at some boy's house.
What a pain...
Each one more troublesome than the last.
Minami sighed and rubbed his forehead.
He could already feel the headaches these hurdles were going to cause.
Still, they were hurdles he had to clear.
Deep in thought, Minami pushed open the door to STARRY.
Usually bustling with life, the place was surprisingly quiet.
But that made sense.
His last two exams had ended around noon.
Even after taking Akane to meet her parents and walking her home, barely an hour had passed.
Now, arriving at STARRY, it was just a little past 2 PM.
In other words, there were still two hours before showtime.
STARRY, as a basement livehouse, didn't really get busy until around 4 PM and stayed active until midnight.
So the current silence was perfectly normal.
Minami made his way down into the venue.
But he hadn't even taken a few steps before a sharp, unmistakably aggressive voice called out behind him:
"Ah... Minami, so you're here."
Talk about speak of the devil.
Minami couldn't help but turn around to face the blonde woman standing behind him.
He had just been thinking about Ijichi Seika and now here she was, catching him the moment he stepped into STARRY.
Then again, it made sense.
Shimokitazawa High had exams today as well.
Meaning both Yamada Ryo and Ijichi Nijika would probably be arriving late to STARRY.
And since Ijichi Seika was the venue's owner—
Running into her here was nothing out of the ordinary.
With that in mind, Minami didn't hesitate. He turned to face her and nodded politely:
"Hello, Manager."
His tone and attitude were just as calm as always.
And that, should've been nothing.
But it was exactly that attitude.
That calm, collected demeanor.
That rubbed Ijichi Seika the wrong way.
Because she knew.
She knew that her little sister, Ijichi Nijika, had already fallen for this guy without even realizing it.
Fallen for this charming, sneaky little bastard.
She even kissed Minami on the cheek during participating for the Teen Youth Music Festival.
That was her little sister's first kiss, damn it!
Okay, maybe it wasn't mouth-to-mouth.
But it was still Ijichi Nijika's first kiss!
And what did Minami do after that?
He was still calling her "Manager" like some distant stranger.
Of course she was annoyed.
If it was already clear that he was in a relationship with her little sister—
Shouldn't he be calling her "Sister Seika" by now?
