"Wow, Kaguya, it's great that you're still alive!"
Wearing a light pink kimono, the lively and adorable Chika rushed over and threw herself at Kaguya's delicate body.
Her strength was so great that Kaguya could not help but stumble back two steps, almost falling to the ground.
It was Toru who reached out in time and wrapped an arm around her waist, allowing Kaguya to steady herself.
However, Kaguya, who had just been deeply moved, immediately turned pale after hearing Chika's words and unconsciously ground her teeth.
What do you mean, it's great that I'm still alive? Could it be that Chika, you thought I was already dead!
Also, why is your chest so unfair? This weight, this softness, it's simply maddening!
As for who that thought belonged to, it could only be Kaguya.
Stimulated by Chika's chest and her suspicious words, Kaguya immediately sank into a dark mood. At this moment, she was completely like the cold Kaguya who had been feared at Shuchi'in Academy in the past.
She chuckled twice and gritted her teeth. "Chika, explain yourself. Did you think I had passed away?"
Chika wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and exclaimed, "Isn't that right? People who drop out of school halfway usually have an incurable disease, don't they?"
"Where did you learn that kind of common sense? Even I know that common sense is wrong!"
"In books. Novels are all written like this. Kaguya, didn't you not want to tell me the news that you had an incurable disease because you didn't want to make me, your good friend, sad, so you silently endured the pain of your serious illness alone and could only go home to wait for death?"
Chika said it as if it were true.
If an ordinary person said these words, one would definitely think she was joking.
But when such words came from Chika's mouth, it made one wonder if this might actually be what she thought.
"How could I have an incurable disease? Hurry up and get that strange idea out of your muddled brain!"
Kaguya did not know where she got the strength from. She grabbed Chika's shoulders and shook her forcefully, shaking Chika until she was dizzy. She looked as if she really wanted to shake her brain loose.
"Ah, ah, Kaguya, be gentle! I'm dizzy!"
At this moment, Moeha chuckled and betrayed her sister, saying, "Kaguya, now the whole Shuchi'in Academy is saying that you have an incurable disease and won't live long. Everyone is worried about you."
"By the way, Kaguya, guess who spread this rumor."
"Also, I heard that the high school student council office even hung up a black-and-white portrait of Kaguya. Kaguya, guess who did that?"
Who else could it be?!
Kaguya felt an endless surge of strength well up inside her.
She tightly gripped Chika's shoulders, her face distorted. The way she shook her forcefully made it look as if she really wanted to shake Chika to death on the spot, then make a black-and-white portrait for her too.
Toru watched the playful antics of these good friends with amusement and did not go over to disturb them.
Suddenly, another firework exploded, plunging the entire sky into a sea of dazzling colors.
Kaguya stopped shaking Chika. She turned her head, leaving a fair and beautiful profile, her intoxicating, red wine-like eyes staring blankly at that firework.
"Wow, what a big firework!"
Chika, who had been saved, opened her mouth wide and exclaimed, completely ignoring the fact that other people nearby were watching. She kept jumping around in surprise.
Even when others looked at her with strange eyes, she went her own way and did not care at all.
And this calmness and freedom, on the contrary, made Kaguya envious.
This kind of state, where one could ignore anyone's gaze and only do what one wanted to do, only do what one was willing to do, was not something ordinary people could achieve.
In a sense, Chika had reached a certain highest realm in life, enough to make everyone envy and admire her.
How wonderful.
Kaguya thought this.
And Chika hugged Kaguya again. This time, she hugged her very tightly, her expression also very serious, without the previous flightiness, and said solemnly,
"Kaguya, how about we come watch the fireworks together again at this time next year?"
Kaguya nodded forcefully. "Okay."
"Then it's a promise."
"It's a promise. No matter what happens tomorrow, I will definitely come watch the fireworks with Chika."
"Pinky promise, pinky promise, whoever lies will swallow a hundred needles!"
Watching Chika's childish antics, Kaguya could not help but smile. She extended her little finger and made a pinky promise with Chika.
Beside the two of them, Toru just watched with a smile, seeing the intense female bonding there.
At this moment, Hayasaka, wearing a yukata and with her hair tied in a single ponytail, stepped forward and came to Toru's side, saying softly, "Thank you, Young Master Fujiwara."
"If it weren't for you, I'm afraid Kaguya-sama's later life would likely have been spent in pain."
"I've read in many books that if life is too sad and one's mood is always bad, it's easy to die young."
Toru was speechless for a moment.
Hayasaka, why are you also starting to curse Kaguya to death like Chika?
He said, "The Shinomiya family is your enemy. I thought you would hate Kaguya very much."
Hayasaka shook her head. "How could that be? Kaguya-sama and I grew up together since we were young. In my heart, she is actually more like my younger sister."
"If I hadn't been taking care of Kaguya-sama all this time, I would probably have found a way to leave the Shinomiya family long ago."
"Because Kaguya-sama was there, I was able to endure and persevere."
"You can make her show such a sincere smile, and you can bring her out to watch the fireworks together. I really don't know how to thank you."
"Kaguya-sama told me when she was very young that she wanted to come out and watch the fireworks display with everyone."
"But even such a simple wish, no one has ever been able to fulfill it all these years. Yet you fulfilled the desire in Kaguya-sama's heart, Young Master Fujiwara."
Toru raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then how do you want to repay me, Hayasaka?"
"That depends on what Young Master Fujiwara needs."
"I heard that ancient maids also had to satisfy some of their master's physical needs?"
Hayasaka said with a straight face, "I think you must have misunderstood something. That wasn't a maid, but an old-fashioned servant girl."
"Maids became widely popular only during the Victorian era. They were a profession, and their main job was to manage household chores for their employer's home, not the things you mentioned."
"You should know that during that period, if a noble's personal servant was a maid, they would be laughed at by other nobles, because it would make people suspect that you were neglecting your duties for pleasure and were a good-for-nothing."
"In that era, personal attendants were all male servants."
Toru looked in the direction where the fireworks were blooming and said in a low voice, "I don't mind being laughed at, or being told I neglect my duties for pleasure, because I myself am someone who neglects my duties for pleasure."
Hayasaka, who always maintained a serious impression with a straight face, even with her shyness deliberately feigned, inexplicably blushed on her fair cheeks after hearing Toru's words.
She tried hard to control her slightly trembling hands, warning herself not to get carried away.
(To be continued.)