Chapter 513: A Quiet Life

The day he saw Yukinoshita home, he didn’t find a suitable chance to be frank, and the following days proved much the same.

However, Yuigahama and Hikigaya, the two fellow members of the Service Club, would often look at him with thoughtful gazes, sometimes accompanied by meaningful expressions, as if they understood everything perfectly.

This was probably because, compared to his usual frequency, Himekoji had been visiting the Service Club far too often these past few days, and his private attempts to be attentive towards Yukinoshita had been stumbled upon several times.

Himekoji was behaving very strangely!

Though no one openly addressed it, it indeed caused the atmosphere within the Clubroom to turn odd and delicate.

The chain reaction triggered by Himekoji’s unusual behavior was–

Yukinoshita also began acting strangely!

The club president, who had never missed a club activity before, remarkably took leave twice this week.

On the days she did attend, there was often some degree of tardiness or early dismissal.

While physical discomfort might have been one reason, another seemed to be a desire to avoid everyone…

Or rather, to avoid Himekoji!

Of course, it was also possible she was putting on a show of avoiding Himekoji and keeping her distance in front of everyone.

Though their relationship within the Service Club had never been particularly harmonious, this current performance of estrangement felt overly deliberate.

There was definitely something fishy going on with these two!

It almost looked like… the budding signs of a secret romance?

Driven by curiosity or perhaps other emotions, Yuigahama plotted her own actions alone.

She liked Yukinoshita, and she liked Himekoji. If the reality was truly as rumored above, then even if it meant acting as a guardian angel for these two equally clumsy individuals in this matter, she was willing. After all, watching them was agonizing alone.

…

Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye had adapted quite well to school. She shared one body with Rikka, yet their roles were distinct.

Rikka was responsible for fun; she was responsible for studying.

Regarding the school curriculum, Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye started learning from scratch. In this regard, the girl adopted a serious and meticulous stance. One had to say it was worthy of the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye – even starting late, she swiftly became a top student. Compared to Rikka, who had skipped ahead over a decade yet remained an academic disaster, was utterly devastated.

At home, Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye had developed a love for watching TV.

After school, she would usually sit in front of the TV selecting movies to watch, intensely focused. Only when Himekoji walked past would she tear her gaze away from the screen, biting her lip as she looked over at him with hopeful, pleading eyes.

Then, Himekoji would set aside whatever he was doing (usually nothing important) and sit down to watch the movie with Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye.

Action, comedy, thriller, romance – one movie a day. This was what Himekoji had promised her previously.

They eventually concluded that Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye preferred animated films the most.

Whenever the two of them watched a movie, Mashiro would also often join in most of the time, always deliberately sitting right in the middle to separate them.

Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye always watched with complete concentration. Himekoji sometimes watched intently, sometimes let his mind wander about other things, as many movies she chose were ones he’d already seen before. When watching for the second or even nth time, distraction was inevitable.

As for Mashiro? Her focus was never truly on the movie. She’d often start dozing off shortly after it began. Habituated to late-night manga deadlines, she suffered from perpetual sleep deprivation and frequently had dark circles under her eyes every couple of days. Eventually, she just ended up using this time to catch up on sleep.

When Mashiro was sleepy, her eyes would gradually droop first, and her body would sway adorably from side to side, her little head nodding up and down like a chicken pecking at rice. After struggling back and forth a few times, she’d finally concede defeat, her body going limp as she slumped sideways – sometimes leaning against Himekoji’s shoulder to sleep, sometimes pressing against Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye.

She said it was because Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye’s body was exceptionally cool and felt comfortable to hug in the summer heat. Upon hearing this, Himekoji had always looked for an opportunity to try it out himself.

The movie trio transformed into a quartet after Akiko returned from visiting relatives.

Regarding the sudden addition of this “seductress” at home, Akiko was initially furious and deeply resentful, viewing her as a thorn in her side, an irritant she wished she could just eliminate.

After all, she had painstakingly weathered Nanami’s departure, and the promise of a world for just her and Onii-chan seemed within reach. Yet, after leaving Onii-chan’s side for just a few days, another formidable rival had appeared.

This was an underhanded sneak attack! Too despicable! Too despicable! Akiko refused to swallow this insult!

If she could swallow it, she wouldn’t be a Himekoji! (Note: While she thinks of herself as Himekoji Akiko due to future intentions, legally her surname is now Arisugawa. See below).

Akiko cried, made a fuss, threatened to run away from home, and even mentioned ‘divorce’ for two whole days, only to find her Onii-chan completely unmoved. So… she swallowed that insult after all.

Well, she didn’t actually go by Himekoji anymore now anyway. Since being adopted, she had legally taken the surname Arisugawa. The reason she mostly still used the name Himekoji Akiko was her deep-seated belief that she must marry Onii-chan eventually, so she was essentially preemptively adopting his surname.

Speaking of women taking their husband’s surname after marriage – it’s a rather interesting and somewhat romantic custom in Japan. A man proposing somewhat implicitly might ask the woman, “Would you take my surname?”

“Himekoji Akiko” sounded perfectly smooth. However, names like Himekoji Mashiro, Himekoji Rikka, or Himekoji Yukino felt awkward and clumsy on the tongue – and there was an even more exaggerated one: Himekoji Eriri. What kind of name was that?

Akiko felt she at least held an advantage in this aspect.

Akiko’s anger came quickly, but also faded fast. Just like her initial reluctance towards Nanami and Mashiro moving in, only to quickly become best of friends with them later, Akiko always possessed a straightforward and easy-to-get-along-with personality.

She soon became quite familiar with Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye. In her own words:

She was eventually going to be the Empress ruling the imperial harem – this was the tolerance befitting the proper headwife of the household!

Then, the very next day, this “tolerant, virtuous, and capable” headwife… got into a fight with the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye— no, wait, with Rikka.

She ran over to Himekoji to complain, aggrieved, saying this new tenant had a wildly inconsistent personality – one moment quiet and composed, the next suddenly turning chuunibyou and asking for a beating. But what pained Akiko most was…

Despite her long legs and height, she actually lost a fight against that tiny brat!

She thought that after Nanami left, her position as the household’s top fighter was undisputed and set in stone.

Who knew that someone who looked so easy to bully could pop up and send her to the losing side?

So infuriating!

Himekoji inquired about the reason for their quarrel, deliberated for a moment, then decided to side with truth, not kinship… no, he didn’t even side with truth. Far from mediating, he actually fanned the flames and egged them on, gleefully watching Akiko and Rikka chase each other noisily around the living room, thoroughly amused by the entertaining sight.

It had been a long time since the house was this lively, ever since Nanami moved back to the dorm, Mashiro stayed long-term at the Hotel, and Akiko went back to visit relatives.

He really did prefer a lively house after all.

Thinking this, his heart gradually filled with a feeling called satisfaction.

He began to feel life’s pleasures within these ordinary, peaceful days.

It was quite lovely.

…