"Far from over?"
"It means you need to be mentally prepared—if it suddenly switches again one day, there's nothing I can do."
"...There's something like that too?"
Originally, after suddenly switching bodies with Kaguya and then switching back, Rinji thought the ordeal was over and he had nothing more to worry about. But now, it seemed like things were far from settled.
Rinji narrowed his eyes at his father, suspicion written all over his face.
"Old man."
"Hm?"
"You're not thinking, 'This is kind of fun,' and intentionally not resolving it completely, are you?"
"Of course not."
His father replied righteously.
"How can you doubt your own father? Am I that kind of person? Have I ever done anything to wrong you? Don't you feel ashamed, asking yourself that?"
"I've had doubts about your character ever since you sent me to Grandma's when I was little," Rinji replied expressionlessly.
"You really hold a grudge, huh? Do you still remember what I told you back then?"
Rinji's father turned around, showing him his back.
"A true man, no matter how much his appearance may change, will always have an unshakable heart. Sending you to your grandma's was to set you on the path of manhood through adversity."
"You make using me as a human shield sound so noble. Your shamelessness is improving, old man."
"Anyway, that's how it is. You go home and prepare. I'll contact you once I figure out a solution."
With that, Rinji's father shoved him out the door, and added casually, "Oh yeah, tell that little girlfriend of yours to come in."
"Hayasaka? Sure."
Rinji walked out, and not long after, Hayasaka stepped inside.
She closed the door behind her, still a bit tense. Although the brief interaction so far had shown the man to be kind and seemingly satisfied with her, he was still Rinji's father—nervousness was inevitable.
"Uncle."
"Miss Hayasaka. Here's the thing: this matter is far from resolved. I hope you can stay close to my son for the time being, in case something happens again so you can respond quickly."
Hearing this, Hayasaka's expression grew serious.
"You mean… there's still a chance the body switch might happen again?"
"Yeah. I'm leaving Japan later tonight. While I'm gone, I'll try to handle everything happening to him as soon as possible."
"I see. Understood."
"Good…"
"Uncle, can I ask you something?" Hayasaka suddenly said.
"Go ahead."
"You're not thinking, 'This is kind of fun,' and intentionally not resolving it completely, are you?"
"How could you suspect your future father-in-law like that? Am I that kind of person? Have I done anything to wrong you? Don't you feel ashamed asking yourself that?"
Hayasaka: "..."
Staring at Rinji's father, who continued to act all hurt and innocent, she was momentarily speechless.
"Uncle, if it were truly an unsolvable issue, you'd be more anxious as a father after something like this happened to your son. But you've been unusually calm this whole time. And ever since I walked in, the right side of your mouth has been twitching upward—you're obviously trying to hold back laughter."
Hayasaka looked at him calmly.
"You and Rinji both aren't very good at lying."
"..."
"If there's a way to completely fix this, please share it. This is about Rinji—it's not something to take lightly."
"Ahem. You're quite observant. You're right—there is a way to completely fix it. But just because I'm not fixing it now doesn't mean I'm not taking it seriously. It's just that I already know how this will end."
"Eh?"
"Relax, this isn't a dangerous situation. At least, not until the whole thing is over," Rinji's father said with a smile.
---
"You're early, President."
"Ah, yeah," Shirogane replied bashfully, "since... well, it's a special day, you know."
After a good night's rest, Kaguya woke up early and arrived at the date location she and Shirogane had agreed on.
Yesterday, Rinji and Hayasaka had escorted her home. Even though she came back unusually late, no butler came to question her, so she returned to her room easily and went straight to rest.
She slept for around six hours before her alarm woke her. After getting ready, she left for her date.
Normally, she'd have to report her itinerary to the butler when leaving the house. But she couldn't exactly say it was a date with the president—if word of that reached the main family, both she and Shirogane would be doomed.
But as soon as she stepped out, a servant informed her that the butler was missing.
Or rather, both the butler and the head bodyguard had vanished. No one had seen them since early morning.
With the two main figures gone, the rest of the servants were left without leadership. Naturally, the authority fell to Kaguya as the young lady of the house.
She figured this was probably Rinji's doing. Though she didn't know the details, the most important thing right now was the date with Shirogane.
After instructing everyone to keep quiet about the matter, Kaguya set off.
"Let's go then."
"Mm."
Since their relationship had just become official, both Shirogane and Kaguya were visibly blushing.
Shirogane's mind was in turmoil.
Should he hold her hand or not?
'We're dating now, right? Holding hands shouldn't be a big deal. It's normal…'
After hesitating, he finally worked up the courage to gently brush her fingers with the back of his hand, then naturally clasped hers.
The move made Kaguya both flustered and happy.
As the two enjoyed their date, not far away in front of a café, two people in coats and sunglasses were sipping coffee.
As Shirogane and Kaguya passed by, the two took off their sunglasses.
It was Rinji and Hayasaka.
"Today was supposed to be our date, and now we're stuck worrying about Shinomiya."
"It can't be helped. Your dad said things aren't resolved yet. If something happens suddenly, I'll need to pull you—who'd become Kaguya-sama again—away from the president."
Hayasaka glanced at Kaguya's outfit.
A white dress with a leather jacket—a standard girly look. If Rinji swapped into her right now, it'd be a disaster.
"Who knows when this'll all be settled?"
"Hopefully soon," Hayasaka replied, sipping her coffee.
"New Year's is in a few days. Kaguya-sama and I have to return to the main house. If you swap bodies around that time—wait, Rinji, your expression just now clearly shows you're thinking of something outrageous."