──side Asaki──
「Ojou-sama, thank you for your hard work.」
「Yes, you too. Please take it easy and rest for today.」
I thank the people who helped in the search for Nanami-senpai.
Fortunately, I’m gradually gathering talented individuals around me, and it was good to realize that through this incident.
「Still, Nanami-senpai. I couldn’t learn much about her personality at the academy, but she seems like an interesting person.」
I had already been investigating various things about Shou-niisama’s surroundings, but admittedly, due to the short time since our return, there was a lack of information.
Especially gathering people like those earlier was only a recent development.
Now, I might think “if only I had been more skilled from the start”, but without that year and a half of experience, I wouldn’t be who I am today.
「Really, I owe so much to Shou-niisama.」
Although the pretext was to help someone in need, it turned out to be a good sample test.
Gathering people, collecting information. Plus, laying the groundwork in various places.
In a situation where many relatives still look down on me, moving independently and as a result, being able to create a debt with the Amano family was significant.
That person always helps me in unexpected ways. The only regret is that he’s not aware of it. Rather, he tends to underestimate himself too much.
Originally, I was taught that human relationships are nothing but a matter of mutual use or being used, so I couldn’t understand the concept of connections between people.
That’s why now, I feel happiness in being connected by a strong bond with Shou-niisama, Hikari-san, and Dai-niisama.
「It’s best to eliminate or crush anyone who might harm our bonds early on.」
I mutter something that might be considered dangerous if overheard, and I think of a certain existence.
──I have an older sister who is called a genius.
Since childhood, we’ve been compared to each other, competing to see who is more suitable as the successor of the Kujou family.
This wasn’t just about academic ability, but also about whether we had the ability to lead people. It didn’t matter if we didn’t have the elements. Whether by enhancing academic ability and, for example, gaining power to achieve it.
Or by achieving it through violence. Strength cannot be measured in a single way. That’s why the result. It’s judged by whether you can bring others to your will, to achieve the desired outcome with your own hands.
As for my sister, I think our relationship as siblings wasn’t bad originally. But she is undeniably a genius, and I, who am just slightly above average, couldn’t possibly compete with her. She’s probably a being similar to Dai-niisama or Hikari-san. Although those two I’ve seen with my own eyes are so far beyond that she might not reach their level.
That’s why it was only natural that my sister was chosen as the next head of the family and it was decided that I would marry into another family.
My intended marriage was with the Amano family in question. However, it was strictly unofficial.
Naturally, the Amano family must have informed that man, their only son, and in fact, that man treated me as if I were his property.
I myself had no feelings for that man, and remained indifferent no matter how he flirted with other women or what he did.
Originally, I was told that the engagement would be announced after graduating from the academy, and marriage would follow after university graduation, so it was probably judged that we could do as we pleased until then.
I was often told to be with him at official events, but I didn’t like the way that man looked at me as if licking me all over, so I tried to keep our interactions to a minimum.
In hindsight, it was probably a futile resistance. After all, when it came to the future, my will wasn’t involved, and everything had already been decided. Or so my past self had resigned to.
I’ve already investigated the incident that man caused while I was away.
It seems the Amano family, fearing for their reputation, visited the victim’s family, made a settlement that was almost like a threat, and forcibly resolved the matter, but this time that incident became a tailwind, allowing me to create a debt with the Amano family.
I feel sorry for the victim at the time, but what’s done in the past can’t be changed, so there’s no point in worrying too much about it. I’ve arranged for compensation money from the Amano family to reach them, so they can have some hope for the future, and in exchange for that, I will take the debt owed to the Amano family.
That said, in a sense, the victim has achieved revenge, so there’s no need for me, an outsider, to feel guilty.
Naturally, this incident allowed me to break off the engagement. Moreover, there will probably be people who now hold me in higher regard.
But the position of the next head of the family doesn’t interest me much now, and my sister is nothing more than someone to be used if necessary. Of course, I have familial affection, so I would lend a hand if she’s in trouble.
In the past, my family was everything to me.
That’s why I didn’t oppose the engagement, and when my sister was chosen as the next head, I didn’t object, accepting that I was just a part of the Kujou family, resigning myself.
But there’s someone who shattered that value system of mine.
My sister, who was called a genius by those around her, now seems so ordinary to me compared to an overwhelmingly superior existence.
──Light Novels──
──Read Here──
That was Hikari-san and Dai-niisama. I still can’t forget the shock of glimpsing their true power. It’s regrettable to describe my friends this way, but those two are truly monsters.
They skip one or two steps in the processes usually required to solve problems and achieve the desired results. Whether that’s fortunate or unfortunate for them is another matter.
──And one more person.
He crushed his supposedly incurable legs over and over, enduring the pain to regain its function──
Enduring ridicule as a useless parasite to stay by our side, surviving himself──
And in the end, he was the one who filled in the missing piece.
For him, it probably wasn’t anything special. Not giving up.
It was fundamentally different from people like Hikari-san and Dai-niisama, who can obtain what they want.
It was probably inevitable that I, who had been giving up all along, would come to admire Shou-niisama, who didn’t know how to give up. I remember finding that strength of heart that makes the impossible possible so dazzling.
After that, I started to imitate him, reaching out for that admiration. Although when I first met him, I thought he was an ugly, struggling, pathetic man.
Fortunately, I had more than enough power in that world.
I continued to heal injuries that the church’s healers couldn’t, helping as many people as I could who came seeking help. I thought it was my given role, and I was just performing these acts out of a sense of duty.
But no one could know my true feelings, and before I knew it, I was being called a saint.
Although if I was a saint, he was nothing more than a saint or a god, just laughable.
I was revered as if I were an object of faith, shown courtesy by royalty and nobles, and actively participated in meetings with nobles, including royalty.
I still remember the moment when it suddenly clicked for me what it means to rule over people.
Looking back, it was probably from then on. That I stopped fearing Hikari-san and Dai-niisama.
There’s no need to compete on the same stage. If they are monsters, I should just use them. I don’t need to become a monster myself, if I use them correctly, I won’t lose to anyone.
Of course, as a premise, they are irreplaceable friends. I believe it’s my role to make sure they don’t become isolated, to make sure they don’t become true monsters in the real sense.
That’s why I decided to use the Kujou family to protect us.
Once I made up my mind, it was surprisingly easy, as if to say, what was all that until now.
I used to think of myself as “part of the family”, but now I’ve realized that the existence of the Kujou family is nothing more than “one element that constitutes me”.
Come to think of it, when I returned here and reunited with my sister, who I used to think was such a genius, unbeatable, she looked so small, it was like a lie.
First, I started by selecting people from several families that serve the Kujou family, bringing out those who had been buried.
Those who have ability but haven’t been recognized will pledge their loyalty if they are properly evaluated. Although the future is uncertain, for now, it’s enough for me.
Next, I decided to bring my grandfather, who still has strong influence in the business world even after retiring, to my side.
I promised to tilt the power relationship with the Amano family, which has continued since my grandfather’s generation, towards the Kujou family with this incident, and asked for his support in the future.
Perhaps because I suddenly started saying such things. My grandfather looked at me with a puzzled gaze, but after a while, he thinly smiled and said, “Do as you like”, granting his approval.
Now that I’ve produced visible results, my grandfather won’t break his promise. If he does, I might have to use the Amano family to crush the Kujou family──
Well, that’s enough thinking about the Kujou family for now.
After all, my guiding principle is simply to protect and support Shou-niisama together with the other two.
Nanami-senpai is an uncertain element, but for now, she’s just another one who depends on Shou-niisama.
If that’s the case, I can decide later whether to bring her in or use her.
「Fufufu… Now then, what should I ask Shou-niisama for?」
For a moment, I almost fell into the lustful thought about having children with him… but that’s far too premature.
I don’t think I can’t satisfy him, and I know that despite everything, Shou-niisama cares about my appearance.
Only God knows what kind of relationship we’ll have in the future, but no matter what the outcome, I have no intention of leaving his side.
As long as I can pull the strings to achieve the result of being by his side, that’s enough.
「Haa… Shou-niisama.」
A moist sigh escapes from my lips.
Thinking mischievously that it might be fun to keep it for years and tease him by hinting at it from time to time, I decided to prolong the enjoyment and closed my eyes, wrapped in a sense of happiness.