Epilogue

“Chris-chan, do you want to go to a family restaurant today?”

“Let’s go to a new sweet store.”

“We’re going to karaoke, and I was wondering if Chris-chan wanted to join us.”

After school, Chris’s surroundings were noisy as usual. He wondered why everyone was so curious about celebrities.

Kouta was about to leave the classroom when he heard a voice saying,

“Sorry, I promised Kouta I’d go home with him today!”

Huh!? He thought.

At the same time, Kouta was grabbed by the arm and Chris, attached to Kouta’s arm, waved to her classmates with a smile.

“Bye-bye.”

“Hey, you…!”

“Come on, Kouta.”

Kouta was pulled out of the classroom. He didn’t dare to turn around. As soon as Kouta and Chris stepped out into the hallway, it was as if the classroom had exploded in an uproar.

Kouta and the others ran to the elevator door as if to escape.

“Ooooooi, Chris! What have you done…!”

“Hmm? What’s the problem?”

“There’s a problem! It’s a big deal! People are going to talk about it! What are you going to do about it now?”

“Can’t we have rumors?”

Chris pursed her lips.

“Isn’t it just fine? Kouta is free now, anyway.”

He had told Chris that he and Hisame had broken up. Even if there were rumors about Chris and Kouta, there would be no problem.

“No, no, there would be a problem. Rumors that have no basis are not good.”

“Then why don’t you just put up false rumors?”

Chris squeezed Kouta’s sleeve.

“Hey, have you given any thought to what’s going to happen with me?”

He was at a loss for words.

Kouta had followed Chris to the airport and they had formed an alliance again, and Chris had agreed to stay in Japan for the sake of the alliance.

But becoming an ally is one thing, becoming a lover is another.

“…I’m counting on you as an ally, and I want you by my side. But there is a difference between that and─”

“I’m just kidding.”

“No!”

There was nothing more unbelievable than Chris’ “I’m just kidding”.

Chris chuckled at Kouta’s wide-eyed look.

“You don’t have to answer right now. Look at me and think about me.”

Whispering, Chris let go of Kouta’s arm, her twin tails dancing as she moved toward the elevator. Kouta couldn’t help but squint as Chris moved towards the elevator.

He wondered what “love” really meant.

Kouta was so perplexed that he thought philosophically about it.

Too many things had happened during the commotion surrounding the engagement.

He wanted to be united with the person he loved. That belief has not changed. And henceforth, it would never change. However, the important part, “the one I love,” is wavering.

(The only thing I can say is─)

After rubbing his brow, Kouta opened his eyes.

The girl walking in front of him, her sparkling blond hair dazzlingly.

(The world looks shining again today…)

Kouta knew that the world had become much more vivid ever since he had found someone he liked. But even though the person he loved was gone, the world in his eyes remained the same.

As he stared at Chris’s back, she suddenly turned around.

“So, now you want to break off your engagement with Tojo-san, right?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“If that’s the case, Kouta should get another fiancée. Isn’t that right?”

Chris said thoughtfully as she leaned in close.

“I think there’s a girl nearby who could be Kouta’s fiancée.”

“─No, that’s not possible.”

There was a chilling voice.

When Kouta and the others turned around, they saw Hisame, clad in white cold air.

“Why is it that if you find your own partner, you can cancel the engagement that your parents decided on? It will only lead to new engagements, but it won’t solve anything.”

Chris clicked her tongue a little.

Kouta’s gaze wandered.

“Eh, uh, Hisame…”

It was the first time he had talked to her since he had broken up with her at home.

Kouta did not know how to treat his ex-girlfriend.

“I’m sure we’ll get rid of the engagement, just wait and see, Chris and I will definitely get it over with…!”

“─”

Hisame opened her mouth as if to say something. After raising her eyebrows and snarling “…Uuu~..” she finally said not a word and turned her head down with a thoughtful look on her face.

Chris put her hand over her mouth.

“…I’d like to say something, Kouta-kun.”

Hisame glared at Kouta.

“We are leasing the current location of the Gouzanji Ramen Shop at a discount. Don’t forget that if the engagement is revoked, you will have to pay the full price.”

“Don’t worry, Kouta, if that happens, I’ll finance you as an ally instead.”

“Keep quiet, SHUT UP , you vixen!”

“Get lost, Go-To-Hell , Slinking Cat!”

Hisame and Chris started to curse each other in English.

One of them is the best genius in school. The other is a wealthy celebrity and their quarrel attracted a lot of attention.

When Kouta, an ordinary person, was about to leave the vicinity.

“Hey, Kou-kun?”

A voice called out from the staff room.

A pony-tailed girl in plain clothes, perhaps a new student, was looking at him.

As soon as she recognized Kouta, her eyes lit up.

“It’s Kou-kun!”

With her long ponytail fluttering, she rushed towards Kouta in a straight line. She hugged Kouta, who was unable to move.

“”Wha─!?””

Chris and Hisame went into a frenzy. Kouta rolled his eyes.

“Kou-kun, I’m back. I’ve come back to be Kou-kun’s wife as promised.”

The strange girl said happily. Kouta, who had no idea what was going on, heard Chris and Hisame’s voices next to him.

“Isn’t that Nia Kitaouji, the JK potter, an acquaintance of Kouta’s?” [TLN: JK = Joshi Kousei, high school girl]

“I’ve heard of her. She’s won several awards for her ceramics and has appeared in various media.”

He had no idea. He didn’t know anyone who was a potter. Her name itself was new to him.

But he was afraid to say that to the happy girl in front of him.

She peeked at Kouta.

“Huh, Kou-kun, why aren’t you responding? Ten years ago, Kou-kun told me. ‘I want you to make ramen with me forever.'”

”Oh,” his voice came out.

What came back to his mind was the promise he made to her in kindergarten.

She played the role of “bride” in a game of ramen shop.

“That’s why I’ve been training as a potter for ten years, to make Kou-kun’s ramen bowls. I’ve won a lot of awards and built my own kiln nearby.”

”That’s why,” Nia smiled at Kouta.

“We can always get married, Kou-kun.”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA────!!!”

Kouta yelled. He had no choice but to shout. The three girls surrounded him as he held his head.

“Kou-kun?”

“Kouta-kun!”

“Kouta!

“No more fiancées, please!”

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Translator’s Afterword: I DIDN’T EXPECT A THIRD GIRL AT ALL DAFUQ!?