Chapter 436: You're Even More Ridiculous Than I Thought

Water could be heard from the bathroom. In the living room, the two girls sat across from each other, silently staring.

Rinji sat between them and, sensing the awkward atmosphere, spoke up. "Ai, this is Amano Hina, the daughter of a deceased friend of mine. I'm currently looking after her."

"I see. Nice to meet you, Amano-san."

"Ah… Nice to meet you too, Hayasaka-san."

Hina looked quite tense.

It wasn't that she feared Hayasaka—it was just her first time meeting someone connected to Rinji, aside from Kei.

And Hayasaka's emotionless expression did give off a certain intimidating vibe.

"Hina and her younger brother Nagi will probably be staying here for a while. Once I settle arrangements with the relevant institutions, I'll find them a new place."

"Need help?"

"No, I can handle this much on my own."

"If you've already made your decision, then I've got no objections."

Hayasaka glanced at Hina with curiosity.

It wasn't unusual for a girl to be in Rinji's house. Although he was reckless by nature, he didn't lead a messy private life.

The only women who came to his place were Karura and Fusui (on weekends), Hayasaka (permanent), Kei (occasional visits), and Kaname. And Kaname usually came just to discuss school matters or scold him.

Even if Rinji really were hiding a lover here, Hayasaka wouldn't say anything—she was partly responsible for messing with his mind during the last day of the Hoshin Festival.

Knock knock.

The sound of running water faded. From inside the bathroom, Nagi called out, "Rinji-nii, do you have any clean clothes I can wear?"

"Oh, I'll grab some for you."

Rinji got up, went into his room, and came back with a set of clothes just the right size for an elementary schooler. He handed them to the bathroom.

Hayasaka said, "Rinji, you even have clothes that small?"

"Made them on the spot."

Not long after, Nagi walked out, freshly changed.

As soon as he entered the living room, he spotted Hayasaka.

The unfamiliar face caused the boy to freeze for a moment.

"Uh… is there a guest?"

"Hello, you must be Amano Nagi," Hayasaka smiled warmly at him. "Rinji just told me about you."

"Ah, hello..."

As he greeted her, his mind raced.

Growing up in poverty, he had learned early on how to read people and navigate social situations.

'She's wearing the Shuchiin uniform—must be a rich girl from the same elite school. From her looks and style, she's probably a gyaru-type. If she can come here and call him "Rinji" so casually, are they siblings? No, even if both have blond hair, their facial features are very different…'

After a quick assessment, Nagi smiled and said to Hayasaka:

"This beautiful lady must be Rinji-nii's girlfriend, right?"

Hina: "Eh?"

Hayasaka's expression didn't change. She stood up and gently patted Nagi's head.

Rinji chuckled. "That's right. She is my girlfriend."

With Rinji's confirmation, Nagi breathed a sigh of relief.

Looks like he guessed right.

"Come on, Nagi. I'll help you get your room set up."

"Okay."

They entered a guest room. It used to be Fusui's room. Since she wasn't around now, her things were stored away, and the room could serve as a bedroom for the siblings.

"Rinji-nii," Nagi said while spreading out the bedding.

"Yeah?"

"So you already have a girlfriend?"

"Is it really that surprising that I do?"

"Well… not exactly surprising."

"To be honest, I've been pretty lucky with women lately," Rinji said. "Right now, I have two girlfriends."

"..."

Nagi stared at Rinji in disbelief.

"Shocked?"

"Yeah, kind of."

"Yeah, Two girlfriends is a bit..."

"Only two?."

"...Kid, you're even more ridiculous than I imagined."

"No, I mean... someone like you, Rinji-nii, good-looking and rich—shouldn't you have girls lining up for you?"

"Who told you that? That's not how the world works."

Rinji sighed as he placed two pillows on the bed.

"I was single until six months ago. Even my dad was rich when he was young, and apparently, he didn't even date once in his twenties. What you're talking about is rare. Getting a girlfriend is still about timing and fate. Money can't buy everything."

"That part's true."

Nagi nodded.

"My family's broke, but I still have quite a few close female friends at school."

"Oh?"

Rinji grinned.

"Not bad, kid. How many?"

Nagi held up two fingers.

"Two?"

"Two digits."

"...Nagi, you're in elementary school, right?"

"Yeah."

"You've got issues."

---

Outside the guest room, Hina and Hayasaka were still sitting in the living room.

"Um… Hayasaka-san, are you really Rinji's girlfriend…?"

"Yeah. Though we only started dating recently—today is the third day," Hayasaka replied.

"I see… I'm really sorry. I must've caused your boyfriend a lot of trouble lately."

"Don't say that. Rinji made this decision on his own. I wouldn't interfere with what he chooses to do," Hayasaka said, then glanced at the girl in front of her. "Besides, it's the first time I've seen him so serious about helping someone."

She had also noticed changes in Kaguya lately. Things probably weren't going well for Shirogane.

Under normal circumstances, Rinji would have prioritized anything related to Shirogane. But these past two days, he had vanished from school altogether to investigate other matters.

And today, even Fujiwara came to her to talk about Rinji. It was the first time she saw the ever-cheerful secretary looking genuinely worried.

Whatever's going on must be serious.

Especially since Rinji had started investigating the urban legend of the "Weather Maiden" yesterday—Hayasaka now suspected there might be a connection between Hina and that legend.