Chapter 29
Shirayuki Academy’s courtyard was spacious.
A number of benches were scattered around, arranged so many students could rest there.
But now, after school, only one person was sitting on any of them.
Toudou Mizuki walked straight toward the lone figure and called out as brightly as he could.
“Houjou-san, may I sit next to you?”
Houjou Noa, who was sitting on the bench, raised her face and smiled.
It was a weak smile.
“Oh. What’s up?”
“You seemed like you didn’t have your usual energy.”
Noa did not say anything.
She immediately lowered her gaze to her feet.
“Are you worried about Kisaragi-san and the others?”
“…Well… yeah.”
“I was angry that they used violence, but I’m not angry at Houjou-san.”
“…Ah. I think I understand that too.”
Silence fell.
Feeling awkward, he looked up at the sunlight filtering down from under the trees.
Through the gaps in the foliage, a clear blue sky could be seen.
“We haven’t really had a proper talk between just you and me, have we?”
“…That might be true.”
“I regret not talking sooner, maybe things would have gone a little better.”
“…It’s not your fault.”
There was none of the usual drive in Houjou Noa.
While looking at the clear sky, Mizuki inadvertently muttered, recalling distant memories.
“…You know, I wanted to go to school.”
Noa raised her face.
“I was in the hospital all the time. I couldn’t move. I had tubes in me. I didn’t even know if I’d be healthy enough to enter junior high school.”
Fragmented memories.
The clear sky he used to see only through the hospital windows.
That same sky is now spread out above him.
“…You were hospitalized only during your third year of junior high school, right?”
“…Yeah. But that time, I just didn’t want to go to school. Funny how things never go the way you expect.”
Noa made a puzzled face.
Facing the weakened Noa, Mizuki ended up telling the truth unintentionally, and he gave a small, evasive smile to cover it up.
“What I mean is, I’m not very used to people my age. I think I could have handled things with Gobai-san and the others better. I regret not being able to predict it beforehand. So, to be clear once more, I really don’t intend to blame Houjou-san.”
Noa did not say anything.
She simply stared intently at Mizuki, as if trying to read his true intentions.
“By the way, what about Shinonome-san? Did you have a fight?”
“…Yeah. I said something I shouldn’t have.”
“Do you think you can make up?”
“I don’t know. It might be irreparable.”
“…I see.”
Perhaps because Mizuki had revealed his true feelings first, Noa seemed willing to respond now.
After thinking for a moment, he decided to press on.
“I want you to ignore me if you don’t want to answer this…”
With that preface, Mizuki carefully continued speaking.
It was something he knew he would have to ask someday.
“Why did Houjou-san transfer to Class K?”
“At first, it was just curiosity. Since Isshiki Shizuku transferred on the very first day, I needed to look into it.”
“Mm.”
Mizuki vaguely understood the reason why Isshiki Shizuku had transferred—a trivial trigger of helping her pick up a dropped key.
In contrast, Noa’s actions were inexplicable.
“When I looked into it, I found a record of a traffic accident. Winter of your third year of middle school. A clear, empty road late at night. I could more or less understand what happened.”
“….”
“It was a city bus heading back to the depot on automatic return mode. Not a quiet vehicle at all—so anyone should have heard it coming. That alone was enough for me to be sure.”
And then, she said quietly.
“When I learned that, I thought… we were similar.”
Mizuki didn’t say anything else.
He just waited silently for her to continue.
“Do you know why I am popular with girls?”
“….”
“It’s because I make my appearance resemble that of a handsome man. And also, because I am the next head of one of the Eighteen Founding Houses.”
“….”
“That’s all. That’s the only reason. There’s nothing else. It’s meaningless.”
Saying so, Noa exhaled.
“…That’s why you fought with Shinonome-san?”
“Isn’t it obvious? It was doomed to fail anyway.”
It was a voice filled with resignation.
“On the surface, I think I’m keeping things together decently. But there’s always this detached part of me asking, ‘What’s the point of continuing any of this?’”
“….”
“You feel it too, don’t you? That sudden, overwhelming sense that all of it is just stupid?”
Mizuki did not deny it.
He waited silently to hear more.
“No matter how many people gather around you… it’s all meaningless, isn’t it? To them, any man would do.”
But then Noa spoke again, her voice firm.
“I am different.”
Her damp eyes were fixed on Mizuki.
The trees rustled in the wind.
“I’ve never really cared that much about being with a man to begin with. I even dated Yukari, after all. The reason I’m drawn to you is because we’re alike.”
It felt as if a cry from deep inside her was about to break free.
“I’m the only one. Only I can love Toudou Mizuki as he truly is.”
Noa’s body collapsed.
“Please… please understand me…”
He gently caught Noa as she leaned on him like a child.
Mizuki patted her crying back softly.
The burden of being the eldest daughter of the Eighteen Founding Houses was something Mizuki could not even imagine.
While patting Noa’s back, he looked up at the sky.
The sunlight filtering through the foliage was soft and warm.
He closed his eyes, surrendering to the spring-like weather.
“Houjou-san, you’re exhausted, and the burden you’re carrying is too heavy. I think you need to rest for a while.”
He held Noa gently, as if comforting her, resting his cheek against hers.
As he did, he sorted through what he could do and what he couldn’t.
“Houjou-san has lots of friends, but… in truth, you’ve always been alone. And that’s been so hard on you, hasn’t it?”
For a moment, he hesitated.
What came next wasn’t something to say lightly.
But it was something he had quietly been considering for a long time.
“Then… let me carry half of that burden for you.”
Noa froze in place.
“It’s hard to stand at the top all alone… so I’ll stand there with you.”
“W-what do you mean…?”
Noa, who had been crying, raised her face.
Mizuki laughed awkwardly.
“I… probably won’t be able to handle things as well as you do, Houjou-san…”
“Mizuki-kun…”
Noa took out a handkerchief and wiped the corners of her eyes.
“When you say that… do you mean not just the class—but standing above my house as well?”
“Yeah… um, only if that’s okay with you, Houjou-san.”
“…So in other words… in the future, you and I would…”
“You used your class-selection rights for someone like me, so I couldn’t just ignore that. I just… didn’t know what to do. And we barely knew each other yet.”
“…I see.”
A sense of relief seemed to flow out of Noa’s body as her strength faded.
Puff, she buried her face in Mizuki’s chest and remained motionless.
“You’ll have to make up with Shinonome-san too, huh.”
“…Yeah. That’s my homework.”
“And I’ll talk properly with Gobai-san and the others myself.”
“…Mm. They’ll probably be happier hearing it from you than from me.”
“I still don’t really know what kind of person Kisaragi-san is, either.”
“…Yeah.”
He gently patted Noa’s back again.
She seemed to be okay now.
“Everyone is probably worried, so I should go back first.”
“M-Mizuki-kun!”
As he tried to stand up, Noa grabbed his sleeve.
“…Please let me stay like this a little longer.”
“Yeah, then just for a little while longer.”
He held Noa and silence continued for a moment.
She murmured softly into his chest.
“It’s already May.”
“Yeah.”
There was a pause after that.
“I want you to choose me for the next gene donation.”
Her expression was hidden.
However, her voice trembled.
Mizuki patted her back several times.
“Okay. I can’t promise anything yet, though.”
“Really?”
“After the Sports Festival, let’s get to know each other a little more.”
“I-I told you before, didn’t I? I’m a troublesome woman… because if you choose someone from one of the Eighteen Founding Houses, you’re required to marry her.”
“Yeah, it’s fine. I remember.”
“…I see.”
He heard her quietly sob again.
Mizuki said nothing and gently rubbed her back.
“…Pat my head too.”
It was the voice of a child seeking comfort.
The sun was still high, the spring light warm on their skin.
Under the clear blue sky, Mizuki quietly ran his fingers through Noa’s soft hair for a while.
Character Summary (non-official)
- Toudou Mizuki (藤堂 瑞樹) — Main protagonist. A boy with androgynous looks, pale skin, delicate features, and gentle eyes. Had a traffic accident and past trauma. Once feared women causing him to not attend Middle School for most of the time and it is the reason he is placed in Class K, the lowest class.
- Mikado Rei (御門 玲) — Very busty, early 30s. Mizuki’s assistant and caretaker, who manages his daily life. Maternal, affectionate, and deeply attached to him—sometimes possessive and openly jealous. Mizuki’s first pairing.
- Isshiki Shizuku (一色 雫) — Beautiful girl with long jet-black hair tied in a half-up style, sharp almond eyes, and the refined grace of someone raised in a noble household. calm, intelligent, and composed member of the Isshiki family (Eighteen Houses). Observant, level-headed, and quietly protective of Mizuki.
- Houjou Noa (北条 乃愛) — Tall and well-endowed, heir of the Houjou family (Eighteen Houses). Charismatic and confident, raised under her mother’s strict education to embody leadership. From an early age, she was taught how to command and guide her many followers, mastering the art of controlling people not out of cruelty, but to ensure mutual benefit and stability for herself and those loyal to her.
- Gobai Miya (御倍 美弥) — One of Noa’s followers; She wears her black hair tied back in a practical ponytail. Comes from a family of martial instructors who have run a kendo dojo for generations.
- Shinonome Yukari (東雲 由香里) — Noa’s closest follower and aide; often supports or enforces Noa’s decisions.
- Sakura Sanae (佐倉 早苗) — One of Noa’s followers chosen as the Class K PE commitee member.
- Kaminari Nene (神成 寧々) — Tall, athletic, and kind. A sports-recommend student who is gentle yet insecure about her height. Mizuki’s second pairing.
- Aihara Yura (相原 由良) — Cheerful, friendly girl from Hokkaidō. Down-to-earth and unspoiled by city culture, known for her warmth and sincerity.
- Minaki Suzu (皆木 鈴) — Short, pragmatic, and sharp with golden-highlighted hair as her signature appearance, so she wouldn’t be underestimated because of her height. Comes from a fallen noble family. Level-headed, observant, and strategic; tends to watch situations calmly rather than intervene emotionally.
- Otonashi Nagi (音無 凪) — The smart, quiet, and timid girl who sits by the window, keeping her long hair over her eyes to avoid attention. Ever since she was young, she has had a tendency to completely freeze up whenever she’s confronted or put under pressure, unable to move or speak. The condition never improved, and combined with her perfectionist nature, she devoted herself to studying rather than making friends. Thanks to her grades, she earned the academic qualification to enter the prestigious Shirayuki Academy, but she failed the interview due to her symptoms and was placed in the lowest class, Class K. Believing she would never be able to interact properly with a male, she had long given up on romance—until she met Toudou Mizuki.
- Kurosaki Ren (黒崎 蓮) — Kurosaki Ren is the leader of the delinquent group in Class K, easily recognized by her bleached hair and sloppily worn uniform. She’s confident and proactive, often taking the initiative and taking responsibility for her friends, guiding the group when situations get tense or uncertain.
Himura Ririka (緋村 梨々花) — The quietest member of Kurosaki Ren’s group, but also the bluntest. She has little awareness of social atmosphere and asks whatever she’s curious about, even if it’s rude or uncomfortable for others.
Aoyama Haruka (青山 遥) — The timid and easily overwhelmed member of Kurosaki Ren’s group. She mostly follows Kurosaki Ren’s lead during conversations, rarely speaking up on her own.
Momohara Nao (桃原 奈緒) — The cheerful, energetic, and bold member of Kurosaki Ren’s group. She smiles brightly, shows interest without hesitation, and talks to Mizuki with genuine enthusiasm.
- Nanase Hikari (七瀬 光) — Class A representative from the Nanase family (Eighteen Houses), responsible for law enforcement among the Eighteen Houses. Proud, ambitious, and calculating.
- Shirakawa Kento (白川 健斗) — Tall, slender, with short blond-dyed hair. Class C male student, cheerful and talkative, but emotionally volatile. Has undergone Ideological Reconditioning following past trauma. Knowledgeable about the Promotion Act and often surrounded by Class C girls.
- Kichijouji Susumu (吉祥寺 進) — A tall boy from Class A. He has high ambition, cold, and pragmatic. Though highly capable, his detached and demanding personality makes him difficult to work with, reflected in the unusually high turnover of aides assigned to him. He values efficiency over sentiment, treating every task as a matter of logic and order rather than emotion.