Chapter 51: It Got Resolved
Accompanied by Kuzuryuu Shiori for some reason, the three of us head toward Fuyunagi-san’s apartment where she lives alone.
Kuzuryuu-san is apparently extremely intelligent, but when speaking with her, she’s just an ordinary girl appropriate to her age. She goes out eating and shopping with friends from university, and seems to be doted on by the adults there.
Well… she’s also absurdly beautiful, so apparently middle school boys confess to her as if it’s the most natural thing in the world, which puts her in a tough spot. Fuyunagi-san has been giving her advice about that in her own way.
“You should just swat them away and brush them off!”
She declared, offering a solution that completely tossed subtlety out the window.
But for some reason…
“Amazing!”
…Shiori, the one who’d come for advice, seemed totally satisfied.
Well, for all the boys who’ve fallen for the Kuzuryuu’s little sister. I can’t help but want to send them my sincerest condolences…
As we chatted while walking, before long, we arrived at Fuyunagi-san’s apartment.
“Just wait a moment—I’ll open it now.”
Fuyunagi said as she inserted the key into the lock.
But then…
“…?”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s unlocked…”
“Which means…”
“…Haa… it’s my mother.”
So she’s here again…
Though quite some time has passed since our first meeting, her impression remains terrifyingly strong.
Beautiful people or those with good features tend to show their anger or bad moods more clearly on their faces than ordinary people do.
That’s why they feel especially frightening.
Being Fuyunagi-san’s mother, her fearsome aura and sheer presence are on a whole different level. Even though Fuyunagi-san is used to her to some extent, the dignity of an adult and the difference in experience and authority isn’t something you can overcome or get used to so easily.
Honestly… I don’t want to go in there.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you going in?”
“The door is unlocked, nine times out of ten it’s probably mother, but there’s a possibility it’s a burglar, so be careful just in case.”
Fuyunagi hesitantly turned the doorknob and opened the door.
“………It’s my mother…”
At the entrance sat a pair of unfamiliar yet elegant women’s shoes.
There was no doubt—it belonged to Fuyunagi-san’s mother.
As expected, when we moved from the entrance toward the living room, there she was.
“Oh, welcome home, Shizuku. And you have a friend with you, I see.”
“Yeah…”
“Oh my, you must be Shizuku’s boyfriend, right?”
“H-hello… I’m Majima Takuma.”
“Yes, I know. Please take good care of Shizuku.”
“Yes……?”
Huh?
Strange.
Based on our last encounter, I was fully expecting something like “Break up with her! You’re not worthy of my daughter!” But… isn’t she being kind!?
“And you’ve brought one more guest, I see? Eh…… e-eh…!!!?”
“It’s been a while, Fuyunagi-san’s mother. As you may already know, my name is Kuzuryuu Shiori.”
“K-K-Kuzuryuu…sama!? Why is Kuzuryuu-sama here!?”
“Yes. Ever since the incident at the restaurant, I was deeply impressed by how Fuyunagi Shizuku-san never lets others overwhelm her, so I wished to become her friend.”
“I-is… is that so? Shizuku!?”
“Y-yes… I’ve become friends with her.”
“T-that’s wonderful!! Truly, truly wonderful!! Haha… ahaha…”
This is kind of funny…
To think that Fuyunagi’s mother, who is a stubborn and unreasonable tiger mom, would be so shaken… the name Kuzuryuu seems to have an overwhelming effect on adults.
“Apparently… she’ll inherit one of the Kuzuryuu Group’s subsidiary companies in the future and become its head. And when that happens, she is even willing to bring the Fuyunagi family under that group’s umbrella.”
“I–is… is that really true?”
“Yes. Well, that’s assuming I become the president… but I’d say the chances are higher for me than for my brother.”
“Ahaha… hahaha… ah! I–I’m terribly sorry… Kuzuryuu-sama, thank you so very much… I don’t even know how to express my gratitude…”
“Please don’t take that too seriously yet. As of now, it’s nothing more than something a child says… however, I won’t spare any effort to make it happen.”
“I-indeed… and I will also wholeheartedly support Fuyunagi-sama’s dreams!”
Apparently, Fuyunagi’s mother’s goal is to rebuild the Fuyunagi family.
I didn’t know this, but it seems the Fuyunagi family used to be a fairly notable, wealthy household.
However, now they’ve fallen to the level of an ordinary family that’s only somewhat affluent, and their former prestige is completely gone…
More than Fuyunagi’s mother, it’s her grandfather, who really wants to restore the family to the time when they were wealthy, and he’s been drilling that into his daughter and granddaughter nonstop.
The Kuzuryuu family is a worldwide powerhouse of wealth.
If the Fuyunagi family could come under their umbrella, rebuilding wouldn’t just be a dream.
No wonder Fuyunagi’s mother is desperately trying to curry their favor.
“And also… Shizuku… I actually came today because there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Something to tell me…?”
“Seeing how the arranged marriage turned out… you may consider the engagement with Kuzuryuu Souma annulled. And from now on, I won’t force any arranged marriages on you either.”
“So it’s not because Shiori showed up and changed your mind, right?”
“It’s Shiori-sama, Shizuku!”
“It’s fine, Mother. Adding ‘-sama’ doesn’t sound like something friends would do.”
“Is that so? Then… I suppose that is acceptable.”
“So what brought about this change of heart?”
“…I discussed it with Kanemasa-san… your father, and we reached that decision.”
“With Father!?”
“Yes. He told me… if you love your daughter, then stop taking away her freedom. Fufu… he was right. I had convinced myself that, because I suffered in the past, it was your duty as my child to suffer the same, and that enforcing that was my responsibility as a parent…”
“That’s not exactly something to laugh about.”
“You’re right. But thanks to your father, I realized it… I only wanted to make you taste the same pain I did. That’s not what a parent should do. Your father and I will handle the restoration of the Fuyunagi family ourselves. So you’re free to live as you please.”
“Mother…”
“Ufufu, what a wonderful display of parental love! Truly touching! Please allow me to help as well!!”
“Shiori…”
“Shiori-sama!”
What is this…
Everything just got resolved in one go…
And somehow it even turned heartwarming.
Character Summary (non-official)
- Majima Takuma / Taku (真島 拓真 / タク) — Taku is an utterly average high school boy in both appearance and ability. His hair and uniform are always neat but unremarkable, giving him the classic “background character” characteristic.
- Fuyunagi Shizuku (冬柳 雫) — Fuyunagi Shizuku is a stunning black-haired high school beauty with a mature, graceful aura. Her long, silky hair, elegant posture, pure and innocent atmosphere, and impressive figure—including her large chest—give her an appearance so gentle and comforting that a tired working adult might instinctively want to cling to her and call her “Mama.” Her looks alone make her feel like a UR-rarity heroine. At school, she’s admired as a pure, wholesome, and almost ideal girl—popular among girls, constantly confessed to by boys, and always at the center of her class. In private, however, Shizuku reveals a selfish, bratty, and emotionally unstable side. She’s clingy, easily upset, mentally fragile, and relies heavily on her boyfriend for emotional support while demanding secrecy and setting controlling conditions in their relationship.
- Sakurada Nagisa (桜田 凪咲) — Sakurada Nagisa is a gyaru and one of the central members of Fuyunagi-san’s friend group. With light-brown hair, piercings, and perfectly applied bold eye makeup, she has a flashy style but is undeniably beautiful—cute enough to stand out even among the popular girls. Sado Kengo’s current girlfriend.
- Natsume Kano (夏芽 華乃) — The class president. A dignified, serious beauty whose pure appearance gives her a charm distinct from Fuyunagi-san. She prioritizes efficiency, logic, and rationality above all else, resulting in a rigid, no-nonsense personality that makes her unpopular with most classmates.
Sado Kengo (佐渡 健吾) — A high-spec soccer club member who once acted as Shizuku’s fake public boyfriend. He is now Sakurada Nagisa’s actual boyfriend.
- Katou Susumu (加藤 進) — The textbook “protagonist’s best friend” character. He’s a founding member of the self-proclaimed “Unpopular Men’s Club”. Although he’s extremely jealous of Takuma for landing a girlfriend like Fuyunagi—thus “betraying” the Unpopular Men’s Club (a group Takuma never actually agreed to join)—Kato remains loyal to him despite both his jealousy and the negative public opinion surrounding Takuma.
- Fuyunagi Reiko (冬柳 澪子) — Fuyunagi Shizuku’s mother. She is, in every sense, the woman Shizuku was shaped from—from their breathtaking beauty to the way they view men and even their underlying desires all mirror one another. Beneath that elegant, doll-like exterior lies a strict and controlling parent fixated on restoring the Fuyunagi family’s former prestige. Unlike Shizuku—who directs her warped affection toward someone she genuinely chose—Reiko tries to force her ambitions onto her daughter, believing that arranging Shizuku’s marriage is the key to reclaiming the family’s lost glory.
- Fuyunagi Kanemasa (冬柳 兼政) — Fuyunagi Shizuku’s father. A highly capable and successful man who even took the Fuyunagi family name in order to marry Reiko. Despite the family’s rigid traditions, Kanemasa is the one person who genuinely supports Shizuku, encouraging her to live freely and choose her own path—including whom she loves. The only reason Shizuku’s mother and grandfather don’t openly oppose his stance is because his success and value to the family make him too important to antagonize.
- Kuzuryuu Shiori (久豆流 詩織) — Souma’s younger sister—a beautiful, sharp-tongued genius with strikingly foreign features. Despite her Japanese-sounding name, she is a natural blonde with radiant golden hair, inherited from their great-grandmother, and possesses elegant looks that stand out strongly against Souma’s more traditionally Japanese appearance. Cold, dismissive, and brutally honest toward her brother, she seems to harbor open disdain for him, even though she once adored him as a child. Academically, she is a prodigy who skipped grades at fifteen, now attending university with multiple acclaimed research papers to her name. Her intelligence creates a stark contrast to Souma, fueling his inferiority complex and twisted sister-obsessed longing.
- Kuzuryuu Souma (久豆流 創真) — Fuyunagi Shizuku’s arranged marriage partner.