"Eh~ But I really want to see you wear it, Shinobu~ Is that not okay~"
Deliberately speaking in a cutesy voice, Mitsuba began to act spoiled.
"Uh…"
Shinobu, seeing her use this tone for the first time, was instantly stunned.
"Um, Mitsuba, you…"
"Sigh~ Forget it, forget it~ I thought Shinobu was thinking of me, which is why you deliberately called me out~
Turns out it was just because your foot was injured, and you had your eye on this ready-made human palanquin, wanting to use me as a servant to carry you around~
Indeed~ How could a servant make demands of their master~ It was all my own wishful thinking, my own self-importance~"
"E-Enough! I'll wear it! I'll wear it right now, okay!"
Completely unable to withstand Mitsuba's coquettish yet sarcastic tone, Shinobu admitted defeat.
But Mitsuba still wasn't satisfied.
She turned her head and smiled at Shinobu on her back, continuing:
"You said it yourself, Shinobu~ I didn't force you~ You said yourself that you wanted to wear it for me to see~"
"Yes, yes, yes, I wanted to wear it myself, I wanted to wear it for Mitsuba to see. Is that enough now?"
Going along with her words, Shinobu sighed deeply, quite helpless.
How could she not know that Mitsuba was "retaliating" against her for deliberately acting spoiled in the apartment earlier to make her carry her out to play—wanting to reclaim her dignity.
Seriously… What kind of inexplicable competitive spirit was this!
Mitsuba, are you some elementary school student?!
Shinobu felt as though she had discovered another side of Mitsuba.
Ranting internally, she was ultimately carried into the clothing store by Mitsuba and changed into that school uniform in the fitting room.
"H-How is it?"
Fastening the last button of her shirt, Shinobu walked out of the fitting room and asked softly.
Both hands placed nervously before her, she—who now looked completely indistinguishable from a high school girl—blushed slightly as she carefully looked up to observe Mitsuba's reaction.
"Do I look good?"
Under her expectant gaze, Mitsuba quickly glanced over and said indifferently:
"Well, it's alright, I suppose…"
"What do you mean 'alright'?!"
Shinobu was first stunned, then instantly flushed with anger.
She hopped forward and shouted:
"Damn Mitsuba! Do you know how much determination I had to muster, how much dignity as a teacher I had to abandon, before I finally decided to wear this?!
Now! Immediately! Right this instant! Tell me! Little Shinobu is the most beautiful in the world! This outfit is a perfect match for you! Say it!"
"Eh~ No way~ I won't say such embarrassing things~"
"Say it!! Or I'll strangle you right now!"
Looking at the little butterfly before her, flushed with anger and pinching her neck, a happy smile appeared on Mitsuba's face once again.
[As expected, this little butterfly is the most fun to tease…]
Just a little teasing, and she would immediately show such delightful expressions and reactions. How could something so cute exist in this world?
"Fine, fine, fine, I'll say it. Little Shinobu is the cutest in the world, she… huh?"
The great demon lord was finally completely satisfied. Just as Mitsuba spoke along with Shinobu's words.
Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed two figures that had appeared outside the clothing store at some point.
They were a young boy and girl.
Both wore matching male and female school uniforms, standing on the street outside the glass window, staring with incredulous eyes at Mitsuba and Shinobu frolicking inside the shop.
The boy was someone Mitsuba knew.
Hashibira Inosuke—Young Master of the Eternal Bliss Sect, young master of the Eternal Bliss Arms Company, and the beloved son of Douma and Kotoha.
At this very moment, Inosuke stood outside the window, eyes wide and mouth agape, staring in disbelief at Mitsuba being strangled by Shinobu inside the shop.
Beside him was a beautiful girl Mitsuba hadn't seen before.
Even so, from the butterfly hair ornament on the girl's head and her equally incredulous expression as she looked at Shinobu, Mitsuba guessed her identity.
This should be the adopted sister named Kanao that Shinobu had mentioned to her several times before.
Meanwhile, Shinobu—still in a rage—finally followed Mitsuba's gaze and noticed Inosuke and Kanao outside the shop.
"Uh…"
Her expression instantly froze, and the surrounding air seemed to solidify as well.
Silence, tinged with awkwardness.
The four people before her gazed at each other through the clothing store's glass window.
So, why was Inosuke mixed up with the Butterfly family's little sister?
How did these two know each other?
Speaking of which, if she remembered correctly, it should still be high school class time right now, right?
Why would these two little ones appear here together?
Could they be playing hooky?
"…"
There is nothing in this world that money cannot solve. If there is, it simply means you don't have enough money.
This was Hashibira Inosuke's life motto.
In the Taisho era of Japan, due to certain special reasons, Inosuke—who had moved abroad with his mother and Douma many years ago—returned to this island nation after many years.
And the first thing he did upon returning was find himself a suitable high school.
Although from Inosuke's own perspective, he didn't see the necessity of attending high school.
But there was no helping it—after all, it was his mother's request.
Coincidentally, over these past few years, he had either been traveling and inspecting various European countries or gathering information, running around major battlefields with military observation groups for on-site observation.
Occasionally, he actually wanted to experience that ordinary, normal high school life.
Thus, relying on the modest family fortune accumulated from selling arms to European nations over the years, through a small donation and sponsorship, Inosuke quickly found himself a good school in Tokyo.
But perhaps because the spectacle he made on his enrollment day was somewhat too grand, it seemed to have frightened his classmates. Apart from a certain mute little girl, no one dared approach him to talk?
But it didn't matter. It was a small matter.
With a little monetary power, Inosuke quickly made countless friends at school, with a crowd of underlings following him wherever he went.
This was the power of money.
And among these, that mute girl named Kanao gradually attracted Inosuke's attention.
He first saw Kanao on his enrollment day.
This clumsy girl had crashed into his chest, then hurriedly apologized to him.
Watching her cute antics of being anxious for ages yet unable to speak, only able to write apologies in her notebook, Inosuke was immediately amused.
Of course, that was all.
At first, Inosuke didn't pay too much attention to Kanao, merely considering her an interesting girl.
Until… that incident occurred…