"So, Shiratori-kun, are you saying she's also your girlfriend?"
In the evening, at a small restaurant just outside the school grounds, Takahashi Mio held her forehead and looked at the young man sitting across from her with an expression that was equal parts exhausted and complicated.
"She's an ex-girlfriend."
Shiratori Seiya corrected her, swallowing the sushi in his mouth.
There was nothing to hide.
He had asked Takahashi Mio out tonight precisely to clarify this matter—to prevent this jealous girl from overthinking and letting it affect her studies or, worse, her upcoming special training.
Seeing Shiratori Seiya say this so casually, Takahashi Mio let out a long sigh and forced a bitter smile onto her lips.
"Why do you have so many ex-girlfriends? Why did you two break up? And you won't break up with me later, will you? You won't go back on the goal we agreed on before, right..."
Shiratori Seiya considered her words carefully before responding in a calm, reassuring tone:
"It was just some special circumstances. But you don't need to worry. We agreed before, and I won't go back on my word. Just relax."
"Oh."
Takahashi Mio nodded, then took a healthy swig of her beer.
Her peach blossom eyes narrowed slightly. A rosy blush crept across her fair, pretty face as she looked at Shiratori Seiya with a half-smile.
"However, it seems your ex-girlfriend still likes you quite a lot. It feels like you haven't completely broken things off."
"..."
Hearing this, Shiratori Seiya's brow furrowed.
This point was indeed as Takahashi Mio had said. Based on Hasegawa Saori's reaction that morning, their breakup had been entirely his own one-sided wish.
But Shiratori Seiya couldn't help wondering—why had there been no issue when he was dating Hojo Shione before, yet this time Saori's reaction was so intense? And so much time had passed since then.
Thinking this, he looked at Takahashi Mio and said:
"I will make things clear with her. These matters are indeed my problem to handle..."
However, before he could finish, Takahashi Mio quickly put down her cup and waved her hands.
"No, Shiratori-kun, you've misunderstood."
"I'm not asking Shiratori-kun to completely break things off with her or anything. After all, our relationship..."
Takahashi Mio paused here, choosing her next words carefully.
"I mean... have you ever thought about getting back together with her?"
Shiratori Seiya's brows furrowed even deeper. He narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Takahashi Mio's face as he asked in a low, serious voice:
"What do you mean?"
Seeing the obvious shift in Shiratori Seiya's expression, Takahashi Mio sighed and bit her red lip lightly.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not saying I want to break up with you. I'm just saying... even if you were to date her or something..."
She hesitated, then pushed forward.
"I can actually accept it."
Hearing this, Shiratori Seiya gave her a long, meaningful look. He was too lazy to play along with whatever game she was trying to run.
"If you could really accept it," he said bluntly, "you wouldn't have rushed in when I was talking to her today. And you didn't look very scared when she pointed a sword at you earlier."
"I..."
Takahashi Mio opened her mouth, but the words got stuck in her throat.
After a long moment, meeting Shiratori Seiya's steady gaze, she gritted her teeth. A hint of genuine resentment appeared in her eyes.
"Yes, I was just unhappy."
"When you two were on the dojo floor, you were hugging and embracing. And then you two were alone in the lounge. Even if I'm just a nominal girlfriend... I'd still feel wronged, wouldn't I?"
"Besides, who knew she was so dangerous?"
"Anyway, our relationship is what it is now..."
She shuddered dramatically.
"I don't want to get pierced through the heart by a sword while walking alone at night later..."
As she spoke, Takahashi Mio picked up a chopstick from beside her, poked at her own open palm, then propped her chin on her hand.
"Anyway, we're not in the same school. As long as you don't go too far and embarrass me in front of my friends... do whatever you want."
"..."
What she said seemed reasonable on the surface. But Shiratori Seiya remained silent for a moment before finally responding:
"Don't joke around. I think you've had too much to drink."
On the surface, Takahashi Mio's words seemed fine. But in reality, they were a huge problem.
She might claim not to care, but Hasegawa Saori probably cared a great deal about this—otherwise, she wouldn't have taken a swing at her with that bamboo sword this morning.
Moreover, this kind of two-timing would be clearly unfair to Saori.
Takahashi Mio pouted, seeing that he didn't believe her.
"It's just beer. How could I be drunk? I'm being serious..."
Shiratori Seiya clearly didn't want to dwell on this topic any longer. He suddenly looked straight into Takahashi Mio's eyes.
"I'll ask you something. Did Hojo Shione say anything to you?"
"..."
Hearing this, Takahashi Mio's heart skipped a beat.
Her mind raced, trying to determine if she had given herself away somehow. But after running through everything—unless Hojo Shione directly told Shiratori Seiya about their messages—there was absolutely no way he could know.
Thinking this, Takahashi Mio didn't speak. She slowly took out her phone from her bag.
She switched to the chat interface with Hojo Shione and handed it to Shiratori Seiya, smiling self-deprecatingly.
"Do you think a celebrity like her would say anything to a nobody like me?"
"Unless she's still hung up on you, I can't think of any reason for her to chat with me..."
"Oh, there's also the possibility that she wanted to deliberately disgust me. I initially thought she added me as a friend for that purpose, but now it seems I was judging a gentleman by my own petty standards."
Shiratori Seiya took the phone and glanced through the chat history. Aside from the initial greeting, there was indeed nothing else between them.
"You'll become famous in the future too," he said, hearing the sourness in Takahashi Mio's voice. "And you may not lose to her."
He glanced at the time.
"It's getting late. I'll walk you home. I didn't get to take you out properly today, so before the special training starts, I'll take you out to have some real fun."
"Hehe, we'll see. Actually, I'm so tired every day now that I can't be bothered to go out and play."
Takahashi Mio packed her things and stood up, following Shiratori Seiya out of the restaurant.
The apartment she rented wasn't far from here. They reached her building in about ten minutes. She looked at the young man in front of her and said seriously:
"By the way, what I said earlier wasn't a joke. Would you please consider it seriously?"
After speaking, Takahashi Mio didn't give Shiratori Seiya a chance to reply. She winked at him, turned around, and quickly ran upstairs.
....
Standing at the third-floor window, watching Shiratori Seiya walk away, Takahashi Mio finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
Her body slid down the wall, and she plopped onto the tatami mat, staring blankly at the incandescent light above her head.
After a while, a smile unconsciously appeared on her face.
Followed by a silly little giggle.
She had long expected Shiratori Seiya to ask if she had any contact with Hojo Shione. That woman was clearly not someone to be trifled with—but Shiratori Seiya was definitely no fool. He would discover Hojo Shione's schemes sooner or later.
So, every time she finished sending a message, she deleted the chat history.
As for what she'd just told Shiratori Seiya—that she wouldn't mind him dating that crazy woman? That was also her true feeling.
Since Hojo Shione liked to manipulate her and make her so uncomfortable... why not just go along with it and push things forward?
Hehe. If Shiratori Seiya really rekindled his old flame with that crazy woman, let's see who would suffer more. At least she was still his official girlfriend.
Manipulative bitch.
Let's see what else you can do.
Reaching up to rub her temples, Takahashi Mio took off her socks and stared blankly at her toes for a while.
Fragments of recent events flashed through her mind.
Suddenly, a question popped into her head.
Why were all his ex-girlfriends so amazing?
One was a Kendo prodigy. Another was a singer on the rise. And now he was going to help her achieve her acting dream.
Shiratori Seiya... what exactly are you trying to do?