Chapter 42. What Did You Say Her Name Was?
"Are you serious?"
Could someone really be prettier than Seele and Bronya?
He just couldn't believe it.
He picked up the teapot, refilled Cocolia's cup, then poured himself one as well.
After talking for so long, he was a little thirsty.
"It's hard to convey directly. It's better if you see for yourself."
Saying that, Cocolia opened the leather bag she'd left on the sofa and took a photo from the middle pocket.
"Here."
Cocolia handed it over, and Xander reached out to take it.
He took a sip of water to moisten his throat, then examined the photo in his hand.
In a Japanese-style room, a young girl wearing an elaborate junihitoe (twelve-layer ceremonial kimono) knelt quietly on the tatami.
Her sleek black hair fell like a waterfall.
Beneath a neat hime cut, an exquisitely beautiful face held a proper, courteous smile.
With just one look, Xander felt a little surprised.
The girl in the photo seemed to gather every impression of Eastern beauty.
For a moment he didn't even know what adjectives to use.
To put it roughly, this face was enough to become the dream girl of most people in Asia.
Moreover, looking at this photo, he inexplicably thought of a character from Gensokyo that he'd quite liked in his past life.
Although ZUN's art is rather abstract, the many fan interpretations have established a general image, and this girl in the photo looked quite similar to her.
But that was just a passing thought.
This kind of attire is a Far Eastern tradition, and there are far too many young ladies from great families who dress like this.
"What's her name?"
Gazing at the photo, Xander asked offhandedly without looking up.
"Her name? I remember it was Kaguya Houraisan. She's the daughter of the chairman of Lunar Capital Group."
"Pffft!"
Xander had just taken a sip of water and couldn't hold it back—he sprayed it out.
He looked up, stunned, and asked in disbelief, "What did you say her name was?"
"Kaguya Houraisan. Why, do you know her?"
Know her?
More than just know her—she was his favorite character in Touhou Project back in his previous life.
If this world didn't already have characters from Honkai and the male and female leads from those everyday slice-of-life series, Xander might have chalked it up to coincidence.
But now, he had no choice but to think this was the character he knew.
Lunar Capital Group.
Chairman's daughter.
It all matched.
Every detail matched.
"Do you have her profile?"
"I've got a digital copy. I'll have someone send it to your email later. What's this, are you interested?"
"A little."
If Gensokyo really popped into this world, his head would truly start to ache.
And with Honkai Energy gone, surely there wouldn't be other supernatural powers around, right?
He sighed and quietly slipped the photo into his pocket.
Whatever the specifics, he'd see when the time came.
Thinking about it now wouldn't help.
"I've set the meeting for the evening two days from now. The place isn't far from here. I'll send you the address after."
"Mm."
Noticing that Xander looked a bit absent-minded, Cocolia frowned slightly.
"Don't tell me you really got bewitched by a single photo?"
"That's not it."
Shaking his head, Xander answered firmly.
"That's good. Someone like that is fine to have a little fun with. But your real feelings belong with Seele and Bronya. If I ever find out you bullied them, you know the consequences, right?"
Feeling the aura that suddenly rose off Cocolia, the somewhat dazed Xander shivered, instantly sobered up, and nodded like a pecking chick.
"Hmph. That's better."
The mood returned to its earlier lightness.
Xander stopped thinking about Kaguya and began chatting about daily trivialities with Cocolia.
She seemed to really enjoy hearing those little bits and bobs, eyes sparkling as she listened intently.
Before long, a rich aroma of food drifted over, and at that moment Seele and Bronya came out carrying the freshly made lunch.
"It's been so long since I tasted my daughters' cooking. Looks like I'm in for a treat today."
Sitting at the table and looking at the array of delicate dishes, Cocolia spoke with some anticipation.
"Seele's cooking has improved a ton. At this point, it feels like life's impossible without her."
Xander's teasing drew a shy scold from Seele.
She shot him a cute glare, then looked to Cocolia and murmured like she was acting spoiled, "Cocolia Mom, don't listen to my brother's nonsense. Seele's not that amazing."
"I think Xander's right. Without Seele, we'd probably be going hungry."
Bronya chimed in with a smile, making Seele even more bashful.
"Even you, Bronya-sis… honestly, you're overpraising me."
It was as if the two had forgotten everything that had just happened, not mentioning the fiancée matter at all.
But the more it was like this, the more nervous Xander became.
It was like a whirlpool hidden beneath a calm sea, ready to pull his little boat under at any moment.
As for treating silence as tacit approval?
No—how could that be.
Seeing the person you like has a fiancée—no one could possibly not care.
If he decided that not talking meant it was fine and started acting without restraint, then what awaited him would probably be a storm's onslaught.
If he really made Seele and Bronya angry, they might tie him up and lock him in a basement in Siberia.
Then he could scream to the heavens and earth and no one would come.
"By the way, Xander, I played that game you made last time. It was pretty good."
"Really?"
During their mealtime chatter, Cocolia suddenly spoke as if remembering something.
"Why would I lie to you? I just didn't expect you to write a plot like that. I thought you only did those rough scripts in risqué games."
"..."
Noticing Cocolia's teasing gaze and Bronya's barely suppressed laughter, Xander started curling his toes in embarrassment.
What do you do when your eroge work gets found out by your foster mom?
Need help online—urgent.
Even Seele had lowered her head with a blush.
Don't think he didn't see her secretly laughing.
"What risqué games? I've never done any of that."
Biting the bullet, Xander refused to admit anything.
"All right, I won't tease you. Actually, after playing your game, I contacted the Anti-Entropy aerospace folks and had a brief chat. They're willing to fund a global charity foundation to help people on the autism spectrum. When they promote it, they'll include you and your game."
"There's something that good?"
"What's the big deal? To capitalists full of worms, this kind of charity—where you spend a little money to boost your reputation—is something they love to do. Don't underestimate your game's popularity."
Her chuckle was full of contempt for those people.
Although Xander really wanted to retort, "Aren't you a capitalist too, Cocolia," his survival instinct made him swallow the words and instead say:
"Motives aside, as long as it truly helps people, it's good."
Understanding Xander's implication, Cocolia smiled.
"I'll handle it personally. They won't dare play any tricks."
"Boss!"
He gave Cocolia a thumbs-up, then, without much hesitation, said, "In that case, I'll donate half of the profits from To the Moon."
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