Megumi Kato stretched lazily with a satisfied sigh, then walked to the bathroom in Kotomi Izumi's bedroom. She took a dry towel, turned the faucet toward hot water, and let the towel soak until it was thoroughly warm. After lightly wringing it out, she had a steaming towel ready.
Still not fully recovered, Megumi's steps were a bit unsteady as she made her way back to the bed. With gentle, careful movements, she began wiping down Kotomi Izumi's body—who had already fallen fast asleep from exhaustion. Once she finished cleaning her, she softly pulled the blanket up to cover Kotomi. When everything was done, Megumi gazed lovingly at Kotomi's sleeping face, her eyes overflowing with a love so deep it could never be fully expressed in a lifetime.
Megumi especially loved watching Kotomi sleep. As she looked at her peaceful face, she began imagining their future together—married, building a home, raising one or two children.
If they had too many children, Megumi worried it might tire Kotomi out. One or two felt like the perfect number.
Of course, if Kotomi liked children and wanted more, Megumi would just have to work harder!
Three hundred sixty-five days a year—ten times a day with Kotomi.
Realizing it was getting late, Megumi noted that Kotomi was fast asleep and would likely rest until morning. Megumi began putting on her clothes, preparing to leave.
Once dressed, she sat on the floor for a moment to recover her strength. After regaining enough energy, she went to the bathroom to wash her face, then, unable to resist, tiptoed back to Kotomi's bedside. Carefully, without waking her, she pressed a soft kiss to Kotomi's cherry lips.
She didn't know how long she kissed her, but eventually, feeling satisfied, Megumi stood up, tucked the blanket corners around Kotomi, and whispered softly:
"Goodnight, my wife. Have a wonderful trip. I know you've been to Kyoto before, but still—if you see pretty girls there, don't get so mesmerized that you can't walk away, okay?"
After saying that, Megumi couldn't help but laugh quietly at herself. Kotomi loved her so much—how could she possibly be swayed by someone else?
After all, plenty of girls secretly admired Kotomi Izumi, yet through it all, Kotomi's heart had only ever belonged to her. That thought moved Megumi deeply. Girls could always tell whether someone still loved them or not—and from the day she confessed until now, Megumi could clearly feel that Kotomi's love hadn't diminished in the slightest. If anything, it had grown stronger and more passionate with each passing day.
Kotomi was so faithful—how could she ever fall for someone else or be tempted by another girl? Megumi smiled softly at the thought.
Tonight, Megumi hadn't had the "main course" yet. She wanted to save it for a more memorable occasion—like an upcoming camping trip with just the two of them.
In the quiet of the night, inside a tent under the stars, the two of them would snuggle close, watching the twinkling sky. The air outside might be chilly, but inside—thanks to their sleeping bags, padded mats, down jackets, and their warm embrace—there wouldn't be the slightest trace of cold.
Together, their bodies pressed close, and so were their hearts. Megumi would lower her gaze to her beloved, her future wife—Kotomi Izumi—and slowly lean down…
She would give Kotomi her most precious gift, and in return, receive Kotomi's most precious gift as well.
For that moment, Megumi had even bought a pure white bedsheet to lay over the camping mat—flawless and unstained.
Because only then would the "main course" truly have meaning... Megumi thought proudly to herself.
It was like when she ate strawberry shortcake—Megumi always saved the strawberry for last.
She remembered once watching Yui Yuigahama eat strawberry cake, taking the strawberry first thing, and Megumi had teased her: "Yui, if you eat the strawberry first, it makes the rest of the cake taste so much less special."
Yui had only nodded slightly in response, as if she hadn't really taken it to heart.
Megumi turned off Kotomi's computer, then the bedroom lights, leaving only a small bedside lamp on. She stepped out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her.
"Goodnight, Kotomi," she whispered, smiling softly at the door before turning to head down the stairs.
Instead of going straight to the entryway to put on her shoes, she went to the living room to say goodbye to Uncle and Aunt Izumi.
"Uncle Izumi, Aunt Izumi, thank you so much for having me over for dinner tonight. I really appreciate it. It's getting late, so I'll take my leave now."
"When you have time, come visit often. Kotomi and Aimi will be happy to see you," Akina Izumi said cheerfully as she stood up.
Kaneyoshi Izumi and Akina Izumi walked Megumi Kato to the entryway together.
"It's really getting late," Kaneyoshi said. "Megumi, once you get home, remember to give us a call. But… what's Kotomi doing? She didn't even come down to see you off."
Akina looked puzzled. Normally, whenever Megumi left, Kotomi would always walk her out to the door. But tonight, not only did she not come outside, she hadn't even come downstairs at all.
Could it be that the two of them had a fight upstairs? Maybe something happened and they were sulking at each other right now? Akina wondered.
"Uncle Izumi, Aunt Izumi," Megumi said politely, "when I was in her room just now, Kotomi was lying on the bed playing with her phone. I went to the bathroom for a moment, and when I came out, she had already fallen asleep—sound asleep. I think she must've been exhausted from today's last day of the cultural festival and the award ceremony. Please let her rest well. I've already helped her change clothes and covered her with a blanket, so there's nothing to worry about."
During dinner earlier, Kaneyoshi, Akina, and Aimi Izumi had already learned that Kotomi had won the grand prize at the cultural festival.
Mostly because Kotomi had bragged about it for nearly half an hour the moment she got home.
"Kotomi's leaving for Kyoto tomorrow, so going to bed early and getting some rest is good," Kaneyoshi said with a smile. "Megumi, be careful on your way home."
"Yes, Uncle Izumi, Aunt Izumi, goodbye." Megumi bowed politely before turning and leaving.
...
"Water... I want water..."
In the middle of the night, Kotomi Izumi woke up, parched. She felt as though all the moisture in her body had leaked out—like a water bottle that had fallen over without its cap screwed on.
All the water had spilled out.
Still wrapped in the warmth of her cozy blanket, Kotomi stretched lazily. In the faint glow of the nightlight, she turned on the bedroom lamp. As her sleepy vision slowly cleared, she remembered that she had probably passed out earlier from exhaustion.
Then she had slept soundly.
If she hadn't gotten thirsty, she might've slept straight until morning.
"Ow..."
Kotomi tried to get up and go downstairs for a drink, but the moment she took her first step, the soles of her feet sank into the floor as if she'd stepped on a slab of soft, thick cheese. She almost lost her balance.
Carefully, she steadied herself against the wall and inched her way down to the kitchen. Too impatient to wait for the water dispenser to fill a glass, she opened the refrigerator instead and pulled out a large bottle of chilled mineral water.
Gulp, gulp, gulp...
In less than a minute, Kotomi had drained the entire bottle.
"Ahh... so refreshing!"
With a satisfied sigh, Kotomi let out a deep breath, finally feeling at ease.
...
Kyushu, Kumamoto.
The Hishinaga Residence.
After leaving the Izumi household in Yamanashi and arriving at the Hishinaga family estate in Kyushu, Kumamoto, Ryu Hishinaga—who had weathered countless storms throughout his life—found himself momentarily unsettled when he heard that Arisu Sakayanagi intended to propose to Kotomi Izumi.
He had always known that his granddaughter would one day get married, but he hadn't expected that day to come so soon.
As the head of the Hishinaga family, Ryu understood very well that once he accepted the proposal, the Izumi, Hishinaga, and Sakayanagi families would immediately begin formal discussions regarding the wedding and all its arrangements. In other words, even if Kotomi Izumi and Arisu Sakayanagi wouldn't get married right after their elders agreed to the engagement, it would still signify that their path toward marriage had officially begun.
From a family head's perspective, a marriage between Kotomi Izumi and Arisu Sakayanagi brought nothing but benefits. Through their union, the three great conglomerate families would become more closely linked than ever. It was an immense advantage for the Izumi, Hishinaga, and Sakayanagi households alike.
The only possible ripple was that both of them were girls. But compared to the immense benefits this marriage would bring, that small detail mattered little.
From ancient times until now, political marriages had never truly disappeared—because they genuinely brought tangible benefits between families.
However, the Izumi, Sakayanagi, and Hishinaga families were each proud in their own right and would normally scoff at such arrangements.
But if the two children truly loved each other, then why not bless them? Breaking apart two people in love never led to anything good. Choosing to give them their blessing would not only grant the two girls a happy marriage and life together, but would also serve as a legitimate reason for the families to draw closer and strengthen their cooperation.
It was just like when Kaneyoshi Izumi married Akina Hishinaga. Both the Izumi and Hishinaga families had once rejected the notion of arranged marriage, but when they discovered that the two had already been in love, not a single word of opposition was spoken.
One moment, the Izumi and Hishinaga heads were declaring, "Our family would never enter a political marriage with yours!" The next, they were calmly discussing, "So then, where should we hold the wedding?"
When Ryu Hishinaga learned that the Izumi family had already accepted the Sakayanagi family's proposal, he understood the reason behind the Sakayanagi visit—it was a gesture of respect.
On the surface, Ryu Hishinaga and Takaka Hishinaga were Kotomi Izumi's grandparents, and their approval was naturally necessary if one wished to marry her. But to speak plainly—once the Izumi family had given its consent, the Hishinaga family's opinion no longer held much weight.
A true family head was never a fool. And indeed, the heads of the Izumi, Sakayanagi, and Hishinaga families were all seasoned foxes. In the past, when they competed fiercely in the business world, it was always a battle to the death. The smarter one was, the clearer one understood the massive benefits that would come once Kotomi Izumi and Arisu Sakayanagi married.
One of the greatest advantages would be the establishment of peaceful coexistence between the three families—a unified front against all other rivals.
Both the Izumi and Sakayanagi families hoped for less internal competition among the three. Conveniently, the Hishinaga family desired the same.
As family heads, none of them feared competition—but the rivalry among the Izumi, Hishinaga, and Sakayanagi conglomerates involved enormous capital flows with every move. Each bout of competition turned into a prolonged war that dragged on for years.
For a long time, the three patriarchs had longed for peace. Given their current strength, there was no real need for further rivalry. Losing a competition meant only a single business loss; winning one earned just a few billion yen.
Yet, within Japan's corporate world, a hidden undercurrent of forces existed—ones that did not wish to see the three great families coexist peacefully.
Over the years, Yakken Izumi, Shoujin Sakayanagi, and Ryu Hishinaga had all been searching for a perfect "reason for truce."
Without a compelling reason, peace among the three families would never be achieved, even if the family heads themselves wished to end the conflict.
Across Japan, numerous smaller noble families and companies—those beneath the three great houses—had no desire to see the rivalry between the top families come to an end.
Just like how, in the ocean, the small fish would rather see the sharks fighting among themselves than living in peace—because once the sharks stopped fighting, they would inevitably turn their gaze toward the smaller prey.
If Kotomi Izumi and Arisu Sakayanagi get married, that would be the perfect "reason for truce"!
The three great families could, in the most natural and unassailable way possible, put an end to all rivalry between them.
Surely, Yakken Izumi and Shoujin Sakayanagi—the two old foxes—were thinking the same thing.
Once Kotomi and Arisu married, it would also mark the beginning of an official alliance between the Izumi and Sakayanagi families. With the Sakayanagi family's support, the Izumi family's ambition to dominate all of Tokyo would only advance faster.
Such drive, such audacity—it was no wonder the Izumi family had once risen to power seemingly out of nowhere.
Since that's the case, thought Ryu Hishinaga with a smile, as Kaneyoshi Izumi's father-in-law and Kotomi Izumi's grandfather, I too shall lend the Izumi family my strength!
Thus, the Hishinaga family agreed to the Sakayanagi family's proposal.
A few days later, the Izumi and Sakayanagi families would formally sign the engagement contract.
Preparations for the wedding of Kotomi Izumi and Arisu Sakayanagi would soon begin.
However, the Hishinaga family shared the same condition as the Izumi family: Kotomi Izumi and Arisu Sakayanagi must truly love each other. If they did not, the Hishinaga family would stand with the Izumi family in tearing the engagement apart.
Takaka Hishinaga watched Arisu Sakayanagi, who was preparing to depart, her eyes filled with warmth and affection. Smiling kindly, she said:
"Little Arisu, you've only been here a few days, and you're already leaving. I can't help but wonder—did we fail to treat you well enough?"
"Grandmother Takaka, it's not that at all," Arisu said with a gentle smile. "These past few days have been wonderful. It's just... I really miss Kotomi, so I plan to return to Chiba tomorrow. She doesn't know about the proposal yet. The last time she came looking for me and found I wasn't home, she got a little upset~"
Whenever Arisu thought of Kotomi Izumi, a tender smile would unconsciously appear on her lips.
"With Kotomi's personality, if you tell her about the proposal directly, she'll definitely blush and scold you," Takaka said with a cheerful laugh.
Over these few days, her heart had gradually calmed—from the initial shock of hearing that Arisu wished to marry Kotomi, to genuine warmth and blessings for their future together.
Then Takaka sighed softly, her tone turning serious and heartfelt as she said to Arisu:
"Arisu, even though you've already promised me this before, I must remind you once more: even if Kotomi never regains her memories from back then, don't rush her, and don't ever bring up the fire from those years ago. The trauma she suffered from that incident runs deep—if she's forced to recall it, it could cause irreversible damage to her mind."
"Grandmother Takaka, please rest assured," Arisu replied solemnly. "The reason Kotomi was injured in that fire was because of me. If my legs had been working properly, she wouldn't have been hurt trying to save me.
"Back then, I couldn't protect her. So from now on, I'll spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to protect her.
"I love Kotomi. I fell hopelessly in love with her back then—and even now, that hasn't changed.
"Even if she never regains her memories of me, even if she's forgotten everything we shared, I won't lose heart. I'm willing to wait for her. But I won't just wait idly for her memories to return.
"I'll make Kotomi fall in love with me all over again!"
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