Chapter 10: The Golden Sparkling Ojou-sama
That blonde girl ahead of him—Takumi actually knew her.
His class's resident flower. Compared to that goddess-level mixed-race beauty Laura Takizawa, she was even more beautiful. Of course, her mixed blood was different too.
Even though they had been classmates for two whole years and never exchanged a single word, Takumi still remembered her very clearly.
Watching that somewhat dazed and dejected back walking through the rain, something softened in Takumi's heart. Without thinking too much, he quickly ran over and raised his umbrella to shield her from the downpour.
Ryūko walked aimlessly down the street, letting the rain soak her clothes completely. Some liquid slid from her hair tips down her cheeks—he couldn't tell if they were tears or raindrops.
Suddenly she felt someone approaching, holding an umbrella over her.
She didn't look to see who it was. She just kept walking in a trance. Even when she reached the crosswalk, she didn't notice.
The light turned red. She was about to step forward anyway—
A hand suddenly grabbed her wrist tightly.
"Oi, Ojou-sama! Are you sleepwalking?! Snap out of it!"
A man's voice?
Not Yu-neesan?
Only then did Ryūko slowly come back to herself. She looked and saw an unfamiliar man—no, a boy around her age. He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place him.
Takumi felt something was seriously off with her.
Although the huge gap in their lifestyles meant that even after two years as classmates they were basically strangers, he still understood her to some degree.
She was a genuine ojou-sama through and through.
Even though she was an ice queen toward men, she was beautiful, generous, elegant and dignified toward her friends—she was practically the perfect image of "the ideal woman in every man's dream". Marry her and you wouldn't have to worry about anything for the rest of your life.
Takumi had always thought he wasn't interested in 3D girls, so he never paid her too much attention.
But today… she was really not herself.
Walking in the rain was one thing, but trying to jaywalk like that?
Yeah, you have dazzling golden hair, but that doesn't make you a walking yellow traffic light that can ignore red ones!
"Let go."
Ryūko looked at him coldly. There was no disgust in her eyes, but the tone that kept people a thousand miles away was unmistakable.
Takumi hurriedly released her wrist.
"The umbrella's yours. Go home quickly. A golden sparkling ojou-sama like you acting all depressed like you've been dumped… it's just weird."
After shoving the umbrella into her hands, Takumi turned and walked away.
He could tell this ojou-sama must have suffered some kind of shock to show this side of herself. It actually surprised him.
But he could understand it too. Rich people have their own troubles.
He'd heard that since childhood she had experienced so many assassination and kidnapping attempts that you couldn't count them on one hand. Being guarded around strangers was only natural.
Sigh… rich people. Always being targeted.
"Golden… sparkling… ojou-sama?"
The strange nickname stunned Ryūko.
By the time she came back to her senses, she realized she was already holding his umbrella.
She wanted to call out to him, but in the end, no sound came out.
At that moment, a black Audi slowly pulled up beside her and stopped.
A woman dressed in a suit, ponytail tied high, exuding a beauty and valiant aura stepped out.
She hurried over with clear worry on her face.
"Miss, what's wrong?"
Seeing the pained look in the beauty woman's eyes, Ryūko gave a small smile.
"I'm fine. I just wanted to try walking in the rain, that's all."
Saying that, she unconsciously glanced at the umbrella in her hand.
That person… I'm sure I've seen him before. With my photographic memory, how can I not remember his name? Impossible. From kindergarten to now, I remember every single classmate's name… yet he has no impression at all?
"If only magic could form a protective aura like an umbrella…"
The rain was getting heavier.
Takumi didn't regret giving Ryūko his umbrella.
He just realized that the magic power he possessed wasn't omnipotent.
At least when facing a torrential downpour, he was no different from any ordinary person.
So he could only dash into a nearby supermarket first, planning to buy another umbrella.
"I hope the money I have is enough… good thing I brought my card."
Takumi headed straight to the daily goods section.
Because of the rain, quite a lot of people were buying umbrellas. By the time he got there, there weren't many choices left.
In the end he could only buy a red women's umbrella.
While heading to checkout, he noticed the supermarket also sold bread and desserts.
Thinking of something, he grabbed some relatively expensive pastries and a large bottle of fruit-grain orange drink.
"Three yen just for a plastic bag… I really wonder who actually profits from this so-called plastic restriction order. Probably the plastic bag manufacturers, right?"
He paid with his card while grumbling, then left the supermarket and headed straight to KFC.
By the time he returned, the thundershower had finally stopped.
He put the new umbrella away, returned the old one to the security uncle, and explained that he had given it to a classmate and bought a new one to replace it.
The security uncle laughed heartily.
"Doing a good deed, eh? A shabby old umbrella is nothing. But this is a woman's umbrella—I can't take it. When your classmate returns yours, bring it back to me then."
Takumi thought about it and nodded.
After thanking the uncle, he headed toward the clinic.
Dr. Yamamoto was still reading the newspaper. Seeing him, he smiled.
"Your little sister already went home. Her leg injury isn't serious. After applying my family's secret medicinal wine and ointment, she should be fine for school tomorrow. She just can't get into any fights for a week."
"Phew… that's good. Dr. Yamamoto, how much for the medicine? I'll pay you now."
"No need. Your parents already gave me quite a generous medical fee earlier. I can't charge twice. Hurry home. Don't let her eat those hamburgers and junk. Real homemade food is much better. Seriously, treating this high-calorie garbage as some kind of tonic… I don't know what she's thinking."
For everyone in the neighborhood who had lived here more than three years, his little sister Hoshino Akari was treated like a little princess.
Dr. Yamamoto had lived here for ten years—he practically watched both siblings grow up.
His tone was full of affection.
Takumi knew the so-called "medical fee from parents" was probably fake, but he didn't make a fuss about it.
He simply nodded.
"Understood. Thank you, Yamamoto-jisan."
Under Dr. Yamamoto's smiling gaze, Takumi returned home.
He saw his sister had changed into pajamas and was lying on the sofa reading a book—exactly that "Records of Successive Emperors".
Such a boring history book, yet she was reading it more seriously than Takumi read light novels.
She didn't even notice when he came back.
Takumi glanced along her leg. There was a medicinal plaster stuck on her right ankle—very eye-catching against her snow-white skin.
"I'm back," he said.
"Mm."
Akari gave a single sound and ignored him again.
Takumi could only give a wry smile.
He put the hamburgers, fries, and ketchup aside, then went to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and started preparing lunch.
By the time he carried all the dishes out, the hamburgers and fries on the table had already been completely devoured.
"You can't eat too much of that stuff. You'll ruin your appetite for real food. And it's easy to get fat."
"I know. You're so noisy."
The little tyrant side of Hoshino Akari came out as she scolded him.
Takumi smiled obsequiously.
"Alright, alright. Then please enjoy your meal, Your Majesty."
After lunch, Takumi cleaned up the dishes and went upstairs to the second floor.
He turned on the computer that had been on standby, clicked into the E: drive, and his gaze landed on the icon for "kankin shoujo [re:union]".
In the icon, Nao was curled up, body trembling—clearly crying.
Takumi took a deep breath, double-clicked the icon.
The next moment, that familiar, magical sensation enveloped him once more.
He appeared in the world of "kankin shoujo [re:union]".
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