"What a strange person…"
However, after hearing Kamijou Mutsuki's words, the Wakaba Mutsumi's gaze became somewhat complicated.
After all, in her view, Kamijou Mutsuki must have paid a considerable price for her.
After all, perhaps in the eyes of true financial conglomerates, that old Wakaba man was just a performer, a working entertainer.
But on the surface, he was already a well-known comedian capable of conversing on equal footing with members of major families like the Togawa family.
This didn't mean their statuses were truly equal, but the resources required to push such an old man one step further were easy to imagine.
That was also one of the reasons she had resigned herself to her fate.
In the Wakaba Mutsumi's mind, Kamijou Mutsuki should have been eager to immediately "eat her clean" and recoup his investment.
Yet Kamijou Mutsuki's way of doing things…
She simply couldn't understand it.
Even so, the girl's attitude toward Kamijou Mutsuki softened quite a bit because of this.
Whether his words came from the heart or not, she truly felt from the young man something she had never once felt from her own father—
Respect for her personality and her choices.
"Touched? Then help me chase Soyo~"
The Wakaba Mutsumi felt she had probably been moved too early.
"No…"
Only a doll would reject someone with even less presence than Anon.
"You… really do have designs on Soyo-chan…"
The girl's gaze became guarded once again.
"That's not quite right!"
"?"
"There's also Sakiko."
"..."
The Wakaba Mutsumi fell completely silent.
She saw through it—this scumbag was just taking pleasure in teasing her.
"Okay?"
Kamijou Mutsuki asked tentatively as he looked at the Wakaba Mutsumi, who had turned her head away.
"..."
It seemed the girl intended to carry silent resistance through to the end, but Kamijou Mutsuki didn't mind.
"The old man said you'll be staying at my place for a while—let's cultivate some feelings. No problem, right?"
"…No problem."
Hearing this, the Wakaba Mutsumi subconsciously bit her lip until it turned pale.
Even if she could understand it, the feeling of being sold by her own father was anything but pleasant.
"Should I have the driver take you home?"
"No need."
"Alright then—look over here…"
Hearing that, the Wakaba Mutsumi instinctively looked toward Kamijou Mutsuki, only to be momentarily dazed by the phone's flash.
"I'll show it off to Sakiko—your childhood friend's first night is mine~ There's photo proof!"
"Stop!"
Seeing this, Wakaba Mutsumi lunged forward like Kaname Raana with her tail stepped on, snatching Kamijou Mutsuki's phone away.
Then she realized—the screen was still on the camera interface.
"..."
Completely provoked, the Wakaba Mutsumi decided she wouldn't speak to Kamijou Mutsuki for the entire day. Kamijou Mutsuki himself was also in agony, because at that moment the Wakaba Mutsumi's cheeks were slightly puffed out, her angry, sulky limited-edition expression practically a breathtaking sight—but his phone had been snatched away by her.
Before long, the two arrived at Kamijou Mutsuki's residence in Tokyo.
"This is…"
The Wakaba Mutsumi broke instantly.
"Sakiko's…"
What appeared before her eyes was a luxurious private villa, surrounded by blooming roses.
Of course, if that were all, it wouldn't have been enough to shock her like this.
After all, the Wakaba Mutsumi was also a rich young lady; her own home was about the same.
The key point was that this villa was a house Sakiko had once lived in.
"When I bought this villa from the Togawa family back then, it cost me quite a lot…"
Kamijou Mutsuki didn't pay attention to the Wakaba Mutsumi's reaction, and led the girl into this residence that should originally have belonged to The-Sakiko-sensei.
Because he wasn't used to having outsiders in his living space, the maids only came by on a schedule to clean, and didn't live there.
As the Wakaba Mutsumi looked at the familiar yet slightly unfamiliar furnishings around her, her emotions grew extremely complicated.
The villa was still the same as before, but she and Sakiko were no longer who they once were.
Sakiko had gone from The-Sakiko-sensei to Customer-Service Sakiko, and she herself was about to become the wife of a stranger.
Just as the Wakaba Mutsumi was quietly spiraling inward, she suddenly seemed to notice a key detail.
Why would Kamijou Mutsuki buy Sakiko's former big house for no reason?
Oh no—could it be that he really wasn't joking earlier, and actually planned to make a move on Sakiko?
Thinking this, the Wakaba Mutsumi subconsciously turned her head to look at Kamijou Mutsuki, only to meet his gaze.
"What do you feel like eating tonight?"
Watching Kamijou Mutsuki take out his phone, clearly preparing to order delivery, the Wakaba Mutsumi tilted her head slightly, as if a huge question mark had appeared above it.
With your family background, living in a big house like this—and you eat takeout for dinner?
As if seeing through her confusion, Kamijou Mutsuki explained.
"I'm not used to having outsiders in the house,"
Naturally, that included chefs.
"And I can't cook myself… but takeout is actually pretty good. Want to try it too?"
In fact, Kamijou Mutsuki could cook, and quite well at that—but his current physical condition didn't allow it.
If the Wakaba Mutsumi had looked more carefully, she would have noticed that the hand holding the phone was trembling slightly.
"Don't eat takeout."
After hearing Kamijou Mutsuki's explanation, the Wakaba Mutsumi, for reasons even she didn't fully understand, snatched his phone away again.
"…It's not healthy!"
This time, she was really channeling Mutsumi-mom energy.
"Then what are we eating?"
Looking at the serious-faced Wakaba Mutsumi, Kamijou Mutsuki asked.
"…I'll make dinner."
The Wakaba Mutsumi's stance was: It's fine. I've got this.
The old man probably thought the Wakaba Mutsumi had come here to enjoy herself—never expecting that on the very first day she'd become the chef instead.
But the Wakaba Mutsumi didn't mind.
Soon, a dinner that wasn't lavish but was delicate and refined was set on the table.
Although the Wakaba Mutsumi was usually a sheltered young lady who never lifted a finger, Tsukinomori Girls' Academy, this famous elite school, really did have substance—at the very least, its home economics classes were top-tier.
So her cooking wasn't bad, but that was as far as it went; it certainly couldn't compare to a professional hotel chef.
At least, in the Wakaba Mutsumi's own opinion, her dishes were far inferior to those made by her family's cook.
As for Kamijou Mutsuki's evaluation…
"Extremely fresh, extremely delicious!"
If he could eat takeout, why would he be afraid of this?
In truth, the Wakaba Mutsumi's cooking only fell short compared to professionals; compared to ordinary people, it was quite good—once again, praise to Tsukinomori's education.
"…You always say strange things."
Even though it was praise, the Wakaba Mutsumi somehow sensed a hint of something off.
Still, despite saying that, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curve up ever so slightly.
Aside from home economics class, this was the first time she had cooked for someone else.
However—
"Y-you… could you stop shaking your hand while eating?"
..................