Chapter 88: The Shinomiya Heir

[My artist neighbor is surprisingly talkative.]

[In the evening, she comes over with a casserole and eats with me.]

[It's as if she knows I live alone and just wants to keep me company.]

[What a nosy neighbor.]

[It seems our interactions started when I rescued her the other night. Honestly, I didn't even know who she was at first.]

[I had just finished writing in my diary and was about to rest when I heard a woman screaming outside.]

[Out of habit, I checked the situation, and since I was already there, I helped her.]

[And somehow, that led to us staying in touch.]

[But I can't help but sympathize with her.]

[Being an artist in this country isn't easy, and the money they make isn't as high as the celebrities I know from elsewhere.]

[Yet, there are idol stars who genuinely work hard for their fans.]

[Bringing smiles to those who support them, until they're nearly broken themselves.]

[Heh~ My artist neighbor is really something.]

[So, I decided to test something out.]

[I helped ease her negative emotions, just using what I could do.]

[Well, the results didn't surprise me. It worked perfectly.]

[But after regaining her energy, she suddenly started feeling a bit unreliable.]

[What a contradictory neighbor.]

---

After reading the diary entry, Kaguya immediately called Hayasaka over.

"Kaguya-sama?"

"Hayasaka, is there a female artist living next to Amamiya?"

Hayasaka thought for a moment before nodding.

"Yes. But she has a busy schedule and often travels for performances. She doesn't stay home for long."

A female artist who rarely stayed home.

No—the female artist herself wasn't the issue.

Kaguya remembered that she had been involved with Amamiya because of a case.

"Hayasaka, has this female artist been connected to any incidents recently?"

"Yes."

Kaguya frowned slightly.

"Why didn't you report this to me?"

"Miss Kaguya, you specifically instructed me to focus only on Amamiya."

"…"

Realizing it was her own command that had kept this information from her, Kaguya took a deep breath.

She had given that order herself.

And without concrete evidence linking the female artist to Amamiya, it was reasonable for Hayasaka not to report it.

"Miss Kaguya, would you like me to investigate?"

Kaguya remained silent for a moment before shaking her head.

"Forget it."

"Amamiya deliberately avoided writing her name in the diary, probably to keep us from looking into her. Since that's his choice, we shouldn't interfere."

"Besides, if he didn't name her, it's likely because he doesn't want to use this connection for anything."

Hayasaka considered this.

"That's possible. And given Amamiya's rather reserved personality, that's not unlikely."

Kaguya thought back to Amamiya's demeanor.

Hayasaka's guess seemed accurate.

Amamiya wasn't the type to brag about his connections.

He was quiet, a little withdrawn, and never talked much about himself.

Most importantly, he always treated them as equals.

Because of that, there were bound to be things he wouldn't tell them.

How should I put it…?

Kaguya didn't think this was necessarily a bad thing.

From her perspective, Amamiya's personality wasn't just not bad.

It was actually quite good.

So good, in fact, that she felt guilty for having doubted him before.

For assuming the worst about someone she didn't understand.

"Miss Kaguya, maybe Amamiya isn't as bad as you originally thought."

Hayasaka's words brought her back to reality.

"…I never thought he had a bad personality."

The guilty look in her eyes said otherwise.

Do you really believe that? Because I don't think you do.

Hayasaka resisted the urge to say it out loud.

In truth, it wasn't entirely Kaguya's fault.

Growing up in the Shinomiya family meant she had always been surrounded by scheming, manipulation, and ulterior motives.

Viewing everything through the lens of power and influence was second nature to her.

From a purely strategic perspective, her suspicions about Amamiya were reasonable.

The problem was, Amamiya Ren completely ignored that logic.

He had never asked Kaguya for anything.

If anything, he had outright reduced her advantages in certain situations.

This had caused Kaguya to instinctively search for ways to gain something from him.

To establish a more favorable exchange of benefits.

Because that was how she had always been taught to think.

But Amamiya had never treated their interactions as transactions.

No matter what happened, he never asked for anything in return.

And that was something Kaguya wasn't used to.

"Miss Kaguya, what exactly happened between Amamiya and this female artist?"

"Hmm… It seems he helped his neighbor with something, which led to them getting closer."

"He said he was just meddling."

"But his neighbor seems to have interacted with him a lot more since then."

"He even helped her with something significant."

Hayasaka raised an eyebrow.

"Like what?"

Kaguya hesitated before answering.

"He… resolved her negative emotions."

"???"

Hayasaka was stunned.

"That's… something you can fix?"

For a moment, she seriously considered asking Amamiya for help herself.

As a full-time maid and bodyguard, her stress levels were constantly high.

Thankfully, she no longer had to report on Kaguya's daily activities to the Shinomiya family. That alone had lifted a huge burden off her shoulders.

But even so, she still relied on… unconventional methods to cope with stress.

Like watching hydraulic press videos.

Or those oddly satisfying floor-cleaning compilations.

Or even cow hoof repair videos.

Yes—those were the things keeping her sane.