Chapter 391: The Next Stop
Under the night sky.
Sakurai Saki opened the passenger door of the car parked in front of the Shinomiya estate.
"Get in."
"Umu."
Shinomiya Kaguya still hadn't completely calmed down after the recent escape.
Sakurai Saki had actually taken her straight out through the main gate.
Kaguya sat in the passenger seat, watching Saki insert the key into the ignition, and asked anxiously: "Is it really okay to leave Shirley there?"
"You saw how she fought just now, didn't you? You're still worried about her?"
"That's true." Shinomiya Kaguya recalled.
That slender receptionist from the ryokan had even more terrifying combat skills than a professional bodyguard.
"She's not an ordinary person, is she?"
"…You figured it out already?" Sakurai Saki started the car, then turned on the headlights.
"I thought about it again. That hot spring ryokan we went to during the winter camp was really strange. Just a short distance down from the mountain peak and we'd already arrived, even though we weren't even halfway down…" Shinomiya Kaguya said confidently, "She's a Yuki-onna, isn't she?"
"That's right."
"Thank you for sending her." Shinomiya Kaguya had already guessed as much.
Shirley was probably someone he sent to protect her.
"But suddenly diving into my body like that—you really went too far."
"Huh? I thought my disguise was pretty good. Which line gave me away?" Sakurai Saki checked the messages on his phone while setting the GPS.
"The only person who calls me 'Kaguya-chan' is you."
"Didn't my mom call you that too?"
"She—Jinguuji-san—likes to call me 'little cute'…" As she said this, Shinomiya Kaguya's cheeks turned faintly red; Sakurai Saki didn't even need to look to know.
Because her voice softened, clearly showing her embarrassment.
"The names of those men who looked at you with contempt—I've remembered them all. And those women too."
"You plan to…"
Hearing that, Shinomiya Kaguya felt a little uneasy.
"What? You still want to forgive them after what they said to you? The Shinomiya Kaguya I know isn't the type to be that compassionate."
"Didn't I already vent my anger?"
Although Shinomiya Kaguya had been educated as an elite since childhood and deeply influenced by the Shinomiya family code, when it came to killing… she simply couldn't do it. Even indirectly, without using her own hands, she still couldn't.
"I may be done venting, but I'm not."
Sakurai Saki adjusted the navigation map, then turned to glance toward the Shinomiya estate.
In front of the gate, Yuki-onna's face was stained with drops of blood, looking like a bewitching flower in full bloom. The two exchanged a brief look, and after Shirley gave a small nod, Sakurai Saki drove away.
"If I ask you to let them go, what then? They must have weaknesses too; there's no need to take their lives. Just send them to prison…" Shinomiya Kaguya said in a negotiating tone, "Would that be okay?"
"Kannon at Horyu-ji probably shouldn't be the one sitting there—it should be you instead." Sakurai Saki sighed as he spoke.
For a sheltered young lady like Shinomiya Kaguya, the fact that she'd even dared to raise her hand against someone earlier was already beyond what Sakurai Saki had expected.
Even though Kaguya often acted haughty and domineering at school, she still followed her own rules.
Her tricks were all within the harmless boundaries of student life—
Recording conversations, spreading rumors, tattling to teachers — at most, like with the Ishigami Yuu incident back then, when she was furious, Kaguya used the Shinomiya family's connections to make that scumbag face his deserved retribution.
If this had been Hayasaka Ai instead, she definitely wouldn't have let those women go so easily.
"I don't want you to do those kinds of things because of me."
Shinomiya Kaguya pressed her lips together and whispered, "A prince should be upright and righteous."
"That's just your bias, isn't it? A villainous prince can be cool too."
Sakurai Saki focused his attention on the road ahead.
"So, where are we going now? Back to Tokyo?" Shinomiya Kaguya just wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible.
"Going back without settling this doesn't suit my style."
"Settle this?"
This matter wasn't just about her being forced into a political marriage.
The Shijo and Shinomiya families were entangled like a complex lock, and she herself was the key that could open it.
"Who do you think can calm everything down now?"
"...I don't know." Shinomiya Kaguya fell silent, thinking deeply.
"The answer's simple — your father, Shinomiya Gan'an. Honestly, conflicts between great families like this aren't something people our age should get involved in."
"Our worries should only be about relationships, the uncertainty of youth toward the future, and the growing weight of homework — not battles for power in the business world."
Just like Ishigami Yuu once said—
Any manga where high schoolers have to solve a conglomerate's problems is definitely trash.
At best, it only works in a gag series.
"Father?"
At that moment, Shinomiya Kaguya herself didn't even know whether the man who had always been cold to her, avoided her, and had never once shown her any affection — was truly her biological father or not.
To say she didn't care would be a lie.
During all the days she'd been staying in the house, she hadn't even seen him once.
"The man who built the Shinomiya empire — I don't believe he'd just lie in bed and let his company be devoured step by step by the Shijo family."
Kaguya shook her head lightly. "My father can't hold on much longer. He's no longer capable of managing anything. A few years ago, he already started transferring power to my brother — probably because he knew this day would come."
"Then we'll just make him recover. If he's sick, we cure him — simple as that."
Sakurai Saki's tone was calm, as though none of this seemed particularly serious to him.
In truth, ever since he learned about the matter between the Shijo and Shinomiya families, he hadn't cared much from the start.
"That's impossible…"
Shinomiya Kaguya trailed off, but then suddenly recalled all the strange things that had happened today — and froze.
In a world where yokai and supernatural powers existed, what was truly impossible anymore?
For all she knew, someone from the future might show up one day.
Sakurai Saki said, "Your father suddenly became clear-headed again last autumn — he's not as simple as you think."
"…" Shinomiya Kaguya fell silent.
After all the chaos that had just happened, she felt utterly exhausted.
Sleepiness washed over her, and she slowly closed her eyes.
The scenery outside the car changed quickly — neon lights began to appear, and pedestrians filled the streets.
The car eventually stopped in front of a private hospital.
Sakurai Saki had been here before.
Six years ago, during his time travel, the mother of the Nakano quintuplets had been hospitalized here.
Nakano Maruo had once been the hospital's director, but he had since transferred back to Tokyo. He had connections with the Shinomiya family — otherwise, how could those five academically hopeless sisters have gotten into Shuchiin Academy?
After all, Shuchiin was essentially under the Shinomiya family's covert control.
Sakurai Saki parked the car neatly in the lot.
The sound of the engine made Shinomiya Kaguya stir awake. She slowly opened her eyes, her voice still drowsy: "We've arrived?"
"Umu. The hospital where your father's staying."
All he wanted now was to get this matter over with quickly.
His flight was scheduled for tomorrow morning — if delayed, he wouldn't have time to sleep tonight.
"Let's go."
Sakurai Saki said as he opened the door and stepped out.
Shinomiya Kaguya followed from the passenger seat. The kimono she was wearing was incredibly eye-catching.
She had only had time to change her shoes and socks earlier, not her clothes.
Too late for that now.
"I… I'm a little scared."
Sakurai Saki didn't respond. He simply walked over to her and gently took her hand.
That warmth spread through her, easing her heart at once.
...