Chapter 326: Excellent ‘Daughter’

The beautiful woman looked incredibly young—no matter how you looked at her, she didn't seem old enough to be someone's mother. Her skin was extremely fair, soft, and delicate.

Judging by appearance alone, she looked no older than twenty-five.

But that youthfulness was only on the surface. Who could really tell her actual age?

Hayasaka, her face flushed, walked beside the woman. The two of them drew glances from everyone around as they walked down the street.

"What a beautiful woman..."

"Are they sisters? Or mother and daughter?"

"I can't believe someone this beautiful exists in the world..."

The two of them had an extremely high rate of turning heads.

Since Hayasaka had the same blonde hair and blue eyes as the beautiful woman, people around them assumed they were related.

"Um..." Surrounded by so many curious eyes, Hayasaka blushed and whispered, "Auntie, where are you headed? If it's the gymnasium, I can show you the way."

"This isn't urgent."

The woman spoke.

"If possible, could you take me to visit the school? I'd like to see the place where that child attends class."

"Sure."

"Thank you, what a sweet child you are."

The woman reached out and gently patted Hayasaka on the head, making her cheeks flush even redder.

For some reason, Hayasaka felt a strong sense of familiarity from this woman. It was like having her own mother by her side.

Her real mother hadn't come this time due to work, but this beautiful and kind woman seemed to perfectly make up for that absence.

Hayasaka was amazed by this strange feeling.

She had actually found the feeling of a mother in someone she'd just met for the first time.

To avoid attracting too much attention, Hayasaka deliberately led the woman down a less crowded path.

Still, she underestimated the woman's charm.

"Miss, excuse me, may I invite you to the café next to the school?"

As expected, a man soon approached and tried to strike up a conversation.

Most of the people attending today's sports festival at Shuchiin were students' parents—fathers, mainly—who were all married and wouldn't flirt with other women. At most, they'd just be stunned by her beauty.

But for those who came as older siblings instead of parents, like older brothers, seeing such a gorgeous woman at school could definitely stir up ideas.

Just as the woman was about to refuse, Hayasaka suddenly stepped forward and linked arms with her.

"Hey! What are you trying to do to my mom?"

"M-Mom!?"

The flamboyantly dressed man froze in shock at the word.

He never would have imagined that this woman was already married—and even had a daughter this big.

"S-Sorry."

Realizing she was a married woman with a 'daughter' by her side, the man awkwardly backed off and ran away.

Seeing him leave, Hayasaka let out a sigh of relief and awkwardly said to the woman beside her, "Sorry for using that trick, but it's the only way to deal with annoying guys like that. If possible, it'd be better if your husband came with you next time."

"My husband had something to deal with, so I came on my own."

The woman smiled as she spoke.

"But it's alright. I have such an excellent 'daughter' here to protect me."

Even a single smile from her could captivate anyone. Hayasaka realized she had absolutely no way to say no to this woman.

Although she'd already heard that the woman had come to Shuchiin to see her son, she couldn't help but wonder—what kind of guy could possibly have a mother like this? If he even inherited a bit of her looks...

At that thought, Hayasaka suddenly froze.

She quietly studied the woman's face and noticed she looked shockingly similar to Rinji—at least a 70% resemblance.

'No way... that's too much of a coincidence.'

"Is something wrong?" The woman looked at Hayasaka curiously as she stared.

"N-No... um, how should I address you, Auntie?"

"My surname is Takamine."

"..."

Hearing that, Hayasaka's whole body trembled.

So she really is Rinji's mother!?

---

"Go, Rinji!"

"Rinji! You've got this!!"

From the stands, George and Karura shouted out to cheer for Rinji, who was preparing on the track below.

He wore a red headband, stretching and warming up at the starting line.

Shuchiin's sports festival wasn't a battle between classes or grades—it was a match between the red team and the white team.

Among the student council members, almost everyone had been assigned to the red team. Only Kaguya stood staring blankly at the white ribbon in her hand.

She couldn't shake the feeling that she'd been excluded again.

Rinji was currently participating in the 1500-meter run. Because of the high physical demand, very few students had signed up for it.

This was Shuchiin, after all—a school filled with pampered heirs and heiresses.

"On your marks!"

The referee gave the order, then raised the starter pistol.

Bang!

With the crack of the gun, everyone launched off the line at once.

Rinji shot ahead instantly, leaving everyone else in the dust.

In fact, he was deliberately holding back. Otherwise, breaking the world record would've been no problem for him. To avoid unnecessary trouble, he had to cap his speed at about the peak level for a normal high school athlete.

All he wanted was first place—not to set records.

Before long, Rinji crossed the finish line—without even breaking a sweat.

The few students trailing behind all arrived panting, drenched in sweat, hands on their knees as they struggled to recover.

Rinji secured first place for the red team with ease.

"That was amazing~"

Back in the stands, Karura hugged Rinji excitedly.

Even though she herself could've easily run that time, watching Rinji win still filled her with joy.

"Alright, alright."

Rinji rubbed her head gently, a rare smile forming on his face.

"What an adorable girl," said Shirogane's father, sipping a beer nearby.

"Hm? Uncle? Aren't you supposed to be with the president?"

"Oh, he said there's a place near the school that sells delicious curry bread, so I came to check it out."

In truth, Shirogane had deliberately sent his dad away, worried he might embarrass him in front of Kaguya with his usual nonsense.

"By the way, Rinji, did your parents come today?"

"Not sure. I sent them invitation tickets, but they never said whether they'd come or not," Rinji replied. "Probably busy with something. No way they'd come all the way to Japan just for a sports festival."

Still, thinking about his parents not showing up stirred up some mischief in Rinji's mind.

He patted his pocket. Inside was a remote control.

A faintly sinister smile crept across Rinji's lips.

"This time, there's no doubt—we're winning this whole thing."