Volume 3 - CH 12

When he heard those words from Chiharu.

I see~, Yuzuru thought to himself.

Ayaka, Chiharu and Tenka are friends of Arisa.

The word “friend” here includes not only the essence but also the perception of the people around them.

Since the study session, the four of them have been eating lunch and chatting together (although not very often since they are in different classes).

The people around them have witnessed this.

So it’s not unusual for Ayaka and Chiharu to invite Arisa out to meals.

Also… it is not uncommon for Ayaka and Chiharu to invite Yuzuru to lunch either.

It’s also a well-known fact that Yuzuru, Ayaka, and Chiharu are close friends.

Yuzuru and Arisa do not have any contact with each other in terms of school relationships.

But through Ayaka and the others, they have a strong connection.

Using Ayaka as an intermediary, they became close friends and were attracted to each other.

It will be a natural storyline.

“… Ah, sure.”

Well, Yuzuru said to Ayaka as he emerged from the sea of thoughts.

Then he turned his gaze behind himself, to Arisa.

” What about you, Yukishiro-san?”

It was a nostalgic way of calling her.

Yuzuru asked Arisa while immersed in a bit of nostalgia.

On the other hand, when Yuzuru called out to her, Arisa at first looked stunned…

But soon after, she came back to herself and smiled.

“I don’t mind either. Takasegawa-san”

The sound of it was a little nostalgic.

The place chosen for lunch was the cafeteria.

The group consisted of Ayaka and Chiharu, Yuzuru and Arisa, and Soichiro, Hijiri and Tenka.

More importantly…

“…This is the first time that the seven of us have gathered at school, right?”

It was Hijiri who spilled it out.

“Yes, I suppose so. I wonder if we’ve finally become friends in the official sense of the word.”

The one who made such a meaningful remark was Tenka.

The one who sensitively picked up on Tenka’s words was Hijiri.

“You black-hearted woman…”

“Ara. Excuse you… It is natural to want to get to know Ayaka-san, Takasegawa-kun, and Satake-kun, isn’t it?”

She stated that without hesitation.

It was like a public declaration that the reason behind the contact between Tenka, Yuzuru, Ayaka, and Soichiro was because of their family background.

…Most importantly, the three of them were not shocked by this.

They knew from the start what Tenka’s intentions were.

It is natural for the Nagiri family to want to connect with Takasegawa and Tachibana, even if they do not receive their support…

And it was possible that Nagiri would try to approach at some point, and when they did, it was something within expectation.

Therefore, what is important for both Yuzuru and Ayaka is the fact that Tenka had openly stated this fact.

That means that…

“I’ll be in your care going forward, everyone.”

She smiled mischievously.

Then she stuck her tongue out slightly.

A little devil.

Such words passed through Yuzuru’s mind.

We have become such good friends that I can proudly confess that I contacted you all because of your family background.

I hope you will continue to be my friends and business partners.

Or so Yuzuru read Tenka’s words.

Unintentionally, Yuzuru chuckled.

It’s a good way to say something without giving the other person a bad impression.

She is indeed the daughter of Nagiri, the heiress of a religious family.

She is very good at talking.

And so far, it was not so surprising to Yuzuru…

“By all means, let me return the favor when I get the chance, okay?”

With that wink, Yuzuru felt his heart leap as he was smiled at.

Tenka’s gaze lingered on Yuzuru and Arisa’s lunch boxes

Yes… the contents of their lunch boxes were exactly the same.

Of course, it was already a known fact to the members of the group that Yuzuru was having his lunch made by Arisa.

So in addition to the earlier glance, the intention of deliberately looking at Yuzuru and Arisa’s lunch box was that…

He can ask her for love advice.

And she’s rooting for them.

That’s how he perceived it.

(Ah,…You’re working with Hijiri, huh)

And at this point, Yuzuru realized that the flow of the conversation up to this point was a deliberate one created by Tenka and Hijiri.

… Although he was happy to have the support, he felt a little ridicule.

No, it definitely contained the intention of ridicule.

Since she continued to do so, there was no way that neither the Takasegawa family nor Yuzuru himself would back down.

“Ah… I’ll definitely be counting on you… And you can count on me, Nagiri-san. Nagiri, as an ally of Ryozenji, is synonymous with being an ally of Takasegawa.”

At first glance, the words seem almost casual and generic, emphasizing the connection between the houses.

However, based on the close relationship between… Hijiri and Tenka, those words take a turn and become something that makes fun of their relationship.

And it seemed that Yuzuru’s intentions were firmly conveyed to Hijiri and Tenka.

Both of them had subtle expressions on their faces.

“When did Ryozenji-san and Tenka-san first become acquainted?”

And then, as if in pursuit, Arisa asked them that.

Arisa is by no means an idiot… but rather a smart girl.

Although she was not trained in the kind of “tongue fighting” that Yuzuru, Ayaka, and Tenka were, she was aware that she was being ridiculed and could fight back.

“Mm…… Well, since middle school, I guess.”

“Yeah. …… Originally, there was a relationship between the houses, but the ties became stronger a few years ago.”

I am not asking about the houses, I am asking about your relationship.

And when Yuzuru and Arisa were about to follow up.

Hijiri blatantly diverted the topic.

“It is parallel to the improved relationship between Takasegawa and Uenishi.”

“That’s right. Takasegawa and Ryozenji, and Uenishi and Nagiri have a deep relationship with each other… First, the relationship between Takasegawa and Uenishi improved, and then Ryozenji and Nagiri approached each other.”

The relationship between Takasegawa and Ryozenji began in the postwar period.

Ryozenji was founded when Takasegawa gave political and financial support to a man who was Hijiri’s great-grandfather.

At that time, Ryozenji was like a subordinate organization of Takasegawa.

Now Ryozenji is already “independent” from Takasegawa, but still, Ryozenji has not forgotten its debt to Takasegawa. Also, Takasegawa has always been a valued customer of Ryozenji.

Takasegawa is huge, for better or worse, so having a “do-it-all” guy like Ryozenji comes in handy in many ways.

On the other hand, the relationship between Uenishi and Nagiri was much simpler.

Uenishi is the so-called “boss” of the Kinki region.

In addition, since they are both religious people, it would be natural for Nagiri to ask Uenishi for help in many ways.

Therefore, as long as the relationship between Takasegawa and Uenishi is bad, Ryozenji and Nagiri will be careful about the two families.

In other words, if the relationship between the two families improves, Ryozenji and Nagiri will be able to get closer to each other.

(Well, actually, it’s probably the other way around.)

If Yuzuru’s memory is correct, Ryozenji and Nagiri got close a little earlier, before Yuzuru was born.

It is more appropriate to consider the order of events as follows: Ryozenji and Nagiri approached each other, and then Takasegawa and Uenishi closed the distance between them.

…Just as Ayaka and Chiharu were the ostensible bridge between Yuzuru and Arisa.

“… improved? Didn’t Yuzuru-san’s family and Chiharu-san’s family get along very well?”

Then Arisa tilted her head.

That reminded Yuzuru that he had never told Arisa about the relationship between Takasegawa and Uenishi.

“Hmm, you didn’t know? … I thought Uenishi and Takasegawa were famous for their bad relationship.”

“I’m not familiar with such things…”

Arisa shrugged in response to Soichiro’s words.

Unlike Yuzuru, who is the next head of the family and has received education in this area, Arisa seemed to lack knowledge in it.

Apparently, Naoki Amagi had not taught her anything about it.　

It’s also possible that he himself is not familiar with it.

“So, is it similar to the relationship between Yuzuru-san’s house and Ayaka-san’s house…?”

“Haha, it’s true that Tachibana and Takasegawa don’t get along well… But they’re relatives at the same time, so it’s kind of a process… It’s not as bad as the relationship between Takasegawa and Uenishi a long time ago.”

Ayaka replied to Arisa’s question.

And there, both Hijiri and Tenka leaned forward.

“I’ve heard that the relationship between Takasegawa and Uenishi was at its worst, but I don’t know much about it.”

“Now that we’re talking about it, I’d love to hear more about it.”

There was no lie in the words of Hijiri and Tenka.

But if anything, it was probably more out of concern for Arisa than out of curiosity.

And naturally, it was also to encourage Yuzuru and Chiharu to explain to Arisa.

“I’ll explain it to you briefly. There was a dispute during the Meiji Restoration. It was a dispute over land acquisition and old interests.”

“On the political side, there was the abolition of Buddhism, state Shintoism, and so on…”

“Our shrine is also engaged in Shinto-Buddhist syncretism, and our religious affiliation is different from that of Ise Shrine. We didn’t like it when people impose such things on us.”

“Takasegawa was originally a member of the Shogunate faction and was the spearhead of the new government. In contrast,…”

“We were more neutral than the Shogunate. I think that’s why we were spotted.”

“That’s why we had skirmishes…”

“So we have been in a sort of secluded state since then.”

“Well, relations have improved considerably now, so there’s no need to worry about it.”

And that’s how it was explained to Arisa.

In fact, the relationship between the two has improved to the point where a marriage proposal has been discussed between Yuzuru and Chiharu,……, but Yuzuru did not mention this because it would cause unnecessary misunderstanding and misinterpretation from Arisa.

“I see… What’s it like to have a different faith affiliation?”

Arisa’s interest seemed to have shifted towards Chiharu’s shrine.

Maybe she decided that “Takasegawa and Uenishi getting along badly” was not a good topic to talk about, or maybe she was genuinely intrigued.

Perhaps it was both.

“Our shrine is quite old. According to tradition, it’s been around for more than two thousand years…”

When asked about her house, Chiharu answered in a good mood.

Chiharu’s house is older than any of the members in this group.

… but that’s just folklore and shouldn’t be taken seriously.

It’s only about a thousand years old for certain. However, it is still by far the oldest.

“Wow… that’s impressive.!　Is there anything unique about it?”

“Let’s see. I think the best feature is… matrilineal inheritance. We often have researchers come to visit us. They say it’s quite valuable because it shows the vestiges of the matriarchal society that Japan used to have a long time ago.”

Matrilineal inheritance.

This means that property and rituals are passed down from mother to daughter.

Therefore, this means that the sons and daughters of Chiharu’s son… will not be given the right to inherit the Uenishi family name.

“That’s interesting… Does that mean that Chiharu-san will one day have a prospective groom to marry into the house…?”

For a moment, Arisa turned her gaze to Soichiro.

Chiharu, on the other hand, shook her head from side to side.

“No, I will not take a son-in-law. As long as I inherit the governorship of Uenishi, I cannot get married. Fufu, it means that I will dedicate myself to the gods.”

Somewhat confidently, Chiharu said and placed her hand on her chest.

Her words were very proud, and there was not a trace of anxiety or dissatisfaction about the future.

Arisa, on the other hand, looks a little confused.

‘Not being able to get married  ‘ didn’t sound like a good thing to her, and also she couldn’t understand how they can have a ‘matrilineal inheritance’ without getting married in the first place.

“Well… then, um, what will you be doing?… You know about children, or rather, successors. Are you going to adopt a child?”

“No way. I’ll give birth to one.”

“……?”

Arisa tilted her head, puzzled.

Chiharu, on the other hand, had a wicked grin on her face.

She then looked over at Yuzuru.

‘Don’t give away any spoilers’,  she implied.

Yuzuru, Soichiro, Ayaka, and Tenka knew the story.

Hijiri, on the other hand, was leaning forward slightly and doesn’t seem to know much about Uenishi’s faith.

“But …you can’t get married, right?　Um, well, then with whom will you have children?”

When Arisa asked her question, Chiharu answered as if she had been waiting for her.

” Well, of course. With father.”

“…!?!?!?!?”

Arisa’s eyes became like dots.

In addition, Hijiri dropped his chopsticks.