Chapter 49

(A/N Notes: I managed to force myself into writing this chapter… As for why I haven't been updating it as much as I wanted… It's because I haven't been feeling the right vibe of inspiration to write a chapter for this story)

*Growl*

The very characteristic sound of a stomach growling was heard, making the people surrounding a certain table all look in the direction of the sound, which led to none other than… Sakurako.

"… I'm hungry"

Who with her usual expressionless face pointed that fact out loud without any hint of shame or embarrassment.

"Of course, you're hungry. When are you never hungry?"

Sighing, Himari couldn't help but feel rather disappointed at her cousin, who despite having the looks, position, and personality of a calm young lady… Her demeanor to basically everything was either ignoring the opinion of her surroundings whenever she could or just doing the first thing that came to her mind, which was always related to food as far as Himari could remember.

"Sakurako-san, do you want me to go get some food for you?"

"I'd love to, Ichiro-san"

"Do want anything in particular as well?"

"Hmmm… Not that I can think of, so you can just pick a little bit of everything"

"Got it, I'll be back shortly, Sakurako-san"

"Nn *Nods*"

"…"

Seeing the two interact, Himari couldn't help but scrunch her face a little further, at the fact that Ichiro, who was Sakurako's fiancé, only appeared to spoil further whatever little remained of Sakurako's lady-like demeanor.

Yes, this was definitely all because of how unladylike Sakurako was, and totally not a form of escapism by Himari as she tried her best to ignore Kohaku and her fiancé, Kazuo, flirting with each other right next to her. Nor an attempt to find a flaw at the relationship of Sakurako with her fiancé, so that she could feel better at being the only person who was still single at the table.

Yes, Himari was definitely not jealous of being surrounded by two couple of normies.

"… Sacchan, what music are you planning to play at tonight's performance?"

"Hmmm… I don't know"

"Please, don't tell me you're planning on playing an anime song again"

"…"

"You're not going to right?" *Cold sweating*

"…"

"Why aren't you saying anything, Sacchan?" *Cold sweating intensifying*

"… … …" *Looks away*

"OI!"

Noticing exactly what Sakurako was planning to do, Himari couldn't help but want to give her a sermon for not taking her performances more seriously, but before she could start complaining, Ichiro intervened.

"Here's your plate, Himari-san"

"Ah, thanks, Ichiro-san"

"You're welcome, Himari-san. And here's your plate, Sakurako-san"

"Thank you, Ichiro-san"

"Do you want me to already get you seconds, Sakurako-san"

"Yes, please"

"Got it"

Seeing Ichiro spoiling Sakurako like, this caused Himari to sigh again as she picked up a fork and knife to start eating, but before she put the meal inside her mouth, she suddenly remembered a very important fact.

"Ichiro-san…" *Stops Ichiro by grabbing one of his arms*

"Yes, Himari-san"

"Why did you brink a plate of food for me?"

"Hm? I thought you were also feeling a bit hungry from how grumpy you were looking"

"… *Sighs and shakes head* You're really a piece of work"

"I'll take that as a compliment, Himari-san"

For a moment, Himari was about to say something about the reason Ichiro had just given her, but she was able to notice that this was exactly what Ichiro wanted her to do. So she decided to not say it and let go of Ichiro's arm as she felt tired from almost falling into that trap.

When Himari began to eat the meal in front of her, she glanced at Sakurako who was engrossed in eating, yet even as she was keen on eating her food, Sakurako still showed elegance in her table manners.

That was until the fried shrimp reached her mouth, where then, all her elegance fell flat as she was now munching it, with half of the fried shrimp sticking out of her mouth as it rapidly entered her mouth with each munch.

With Sakurako too preoccupied with eating, and Himari too preoccupied with feeling disappointed in her cousin, while Kohaku and Kazuo had left to go get their meals, the two girls didn't notice the presence of someone approaching Sakurako from behind.

"Ah! If it isn't the esteemed, young lady of the Kogane family. It is a pleasure to see you here today"

"…!"

Hearing a certain voice coming from behind her, caused Sakurako to have a delayed reaction, as she was finishing to eat a karate inside her mouth. As such, she cleaned her mouth with a handkerchief and turned to look at the person who had just called her.

And there she saw, a tall and very handsome boy, just about her age, wearing a clearly expensive black suit, which only reinforced his black hair and eyes, giving him the image of a very Japanese person.

"…"

"…"

Sakurako looked at the boy with empty eyes, as if she was searching for something inside her mind, but as she did so she gave her usual reply to such situations.

"It's also a pleasure to able of meeting you here today, Fu…Ji…"

"…"

"Hmm…Mo…to-san?"

"It's Fujimori, but I understand the mistake"

The boy lightly shooed Sakurako's mistake away, appearing unfazed by the rather obvious tone that Sakurako had forgotten who he was, much to the disappointment of Himari, who sighed yet again, before greeting the boy named Fujimori.

"Fujimori Masao-san, it is good to see you in good health"

"Ah, likewise, Ishii-san. And I hope you are enjoying the party as well"

"Thank you, Fujimori-san"

After exchanging greetings, the boy called Masao turned to talk with Sakurako again"

"Kogane-san, there is something I want to talk with you"

"… Yes?"

"So, I have heard that you had your engagement broken with your fiancée from the Hasegawa family, is that not right?"

"… … … Yes?"

Sakurako's tone was that of confusion as she tilted her head to the side, not from what Masao was talking about, but why he was talking about that.

"I see, then if you allow me, I would like to invite you to have a marriage interview with me next week"

"Thank you for the invitation, but I already have a new fiancé"

"Is that so? Then who is that fiancé who would leave his partner all alone in a party like this?"

"…" *Points in Masao's overall direction*

"… … … I'm your fiancé?"

"No, it is Ichiro-san who is right behind you"

"Huh?… !?"

With that, Macao turned to look behind him, and there he saw Ichiro gently and friendly smiling with his eyes closed… But all that Masao, Himari, Kohaku, and Kazuo, who both had just returned from the banquet table could be… A demonic-looking smile.

As for Sakurako, she turned back to finish eating the meal on her plate so that she could start eating the second plate that Ichiro was currently holding.