Chapter 334: Teenage Girl, Idol! Rush!

In an old, run-down house lived a family of three.

Just like the state of the house, their life was very frugal. The beautiful girl Rei Ao had encountered—Shirogane Kei—was one member of this household.

The other two were her down-and-out father and her older brother, Shirogane Miyuki. As for their mother, she was already divorced from their father.

When Kei's mother left the Shirogane family, she wanted to take the smarter child. Because Miyuki's grades had been poor when he was young, his mother took Kei and left Miyuki behind.

However, after her mother got a new boyfriend and started living with him, Kei's stress gradually piled up. Although the boyfriend wasn't a bad person, he was still a stranger to her—and a man—which was difficult for a teenage girl to accept.

Coupled with her guilt toward her father and brother, and the pain of not agreeing with her mother's methods, Kei ultimately decided to follow her own wishes and return to live with her father and brother.

Still, she knew she was growing up and naturally understood the concept of maintaining a proper distance between males and females. She kept things respectable with her brother and didn't wear revealing clothes around the house. Her family was currently very poor; even the dishes on their dinner table were incredibly simple.

Shirogane Miyuki was the type of person who studied intensely, gulping down his meal so as not to waste any study time. All of a sudden, he recalled something and said to Kei, "Your bicycle's fixed now. Be sure to take extra care next time you ride it. It's pretty old."

Their father sighed and added, "Once I earn some money, I'll buy you a new one."

"Mm-hmm, okay," Kei replied with a nod.

Hearing mention of the bicycle brought her thoughts back to what had happened that morning. She remembered that her brother was a third-year student too. Out of curiosity, she asked, "Hey, oniichan, do you know a senpai named Rei Ao?"

"Rei Ao?" Instantly, Miyuki zeroed in on that name. Looking shocked, he asked, "You know him?" Their father also paused, looking over in surprise—apparently it was a boy's name. The father's "radar" went off.

"Um..." Kei felt embarrassed by their piercing stares. She shrank back slightly and explained, "My bicycle broke down while I was trying to ride uphill the other day. I ran into a senior named Rei Ao, and he helped me push it to school."

"Oh, so that's what happened. I thought maybe you two already knew each other," Miyuki said, sounding a bit disappointed. Kei grew even more curious and asked, "So, you do know him?"

"Of course!" Miyuki perked up. "He's my idol!"

"Huh?" Kei tilted her head. It sounded like this Rei Ao senior was something special. Miyuki became animated as he told her all about how Rei Ao had risen from obscurity to claim first place across all subjects with perfect scores—an inspiring feat. For Miyuki, who came from a struggling background, Rei Ao was a huge role model. He had always taken Rei Ao as his goal.

"All-subject first place… That's amazing!" Kei exclaimed, mouth agape.

Hearing this, their father stroked his chin thoughtfully. If that was the kind of boy Kei had met, then perhaps he really was worthy of his precious daughter. (If his daughter knew he was thinking that, she'd probably give him a good smack.)

Their father said, "Kei, since he's a classmate who helped you, let's invite him over someday to properly thank him."

"Huh?" Kei had also considered thanking Rei Ao, but seeing their rundown home and the meager food on the table, she couldn't help lowering her head in self-consciousness. "Father…"

Miyuki also realized how awkward their current financial state was, so he felt a bit confused about his father's decision.

But when he noticed his father's meaningful look, it dawned on him: his sister was a teenage girl who might develop feelings, so their father wanted to see what kind of person Rei Ao was before letting Kei spend time around him.

If Rei Ao ended up looking down on their poverty, then Kei would see the reality, and it would keep her from any farfetched teenage fantasies.

Miyuki could understand his father's thinking, but he didn't like the idea of viewing his idol in such a negative light. Still, their father had made up his mind. "It's settled. When he comes, we'll treat him well."

Kei hung her head, lost in thought.

…

At the Yotsuya household:

They had just finished dinner when Touko Yotsuya grabbed Miko and asked, "Miko, why hasn't Rei Ao been over to visit recently?" They were a couple, yet were rarely seen together.

"Um…" Miko blushed and her heart began to pound. Because if she wanted Rei Ao to come, she'd have to strike another "trade." Each time, she had to go to the field and do the plowing—that was so embarrassing she couldn't say it out loud! She could only gloss over the question with, "He… He'll come in a few days."

"Oh, good. We really ought to show him our thanks," her mother said. Rei Ao's protective charm had been so effective—any evil spirit within a hundred-meter radius was destroyed, so they no longer had to live in constant fear.

"Miko, let me know when Rei Ao is coming. I'll make a special 'husband's meal' for him," Touko said earnestly.

"Ugh, I-I will!" After that, Miko spun around and dashed back to her room. Watching her go, Touko Yotsuya shook her head with a smile, thinking Miko's embarrassed. They might be even closer than I realized… maybe they've already…

"Sigh, I hope they're taking the right safety measures," she thought, cheeks turning a bit red. She felt she should provide them with something for protection, but she didn't have any personal experience with that herself.

"Phew…" Safely escaping her mother's questioning, Miko let out a breath of relief. She was really worried her mother would insist Rei Ao come over right this second.

Flopping onto her bed, she took out her phone and noticed messages from Hana:

Hana: "Miko, have you had dinner yet?"

Miko: "I have—just finished, actually."

Miko: "Hey, Hana, have you had any more sudden hunger attacks lately?"

Hana: "Nope! Ever since you gave me the protective charm, they're totally gone! It's really working!"

Miko: "That's good."

Seeing that her best friend was no longer being harmed by evil spirits (which had been making her constantly starving), Miko felt relieved.

Hana: "Hehe, so I want to thank that friend of yours who gave me the charm. When can I meet him?"

Miko: "Uh…"

She started to sweat. She was trying to dodge her mom's request, and now Hana was pressing her too. This felt more stressful than going to some scary place!

Miko: "Cough, in a few days, in a few days."

Hana: "Alright."

She'd brushed her off yet again.

Hana: "Oh, by the way, tomorrow's the weekend—want to go draw fortunes at the shrine?"

Miko: "Hmm… sure."

Miko was planning to draw a love fortune to see how things might go between her and Rei Ao. Imagining walking down the aisle with him made her so embarrassed that she buried her face in her pillow.

Hana: "Great, that's settled then!"

~~~

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