Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 273, Section 8. "They actually did that with Masumi right in front of me...!"

This happened after a survey on the dating views of restless young people concluded.

It was afternoon.

Chiai had lunch at the coffee shop, chatted with the girls for a while, and then prepared to say goodbye.

"Oh, is Chiai leaving already?"

Mami clung to her arm, "Isn't this too rushed? Wouldn't it be better to wait a little longer?"

"Sister Mami, when did you become so clingy?" Chiai said helplessly.

"Because Chiai's reactions are always so funny, a little clumsy and adorable, she could easily rank first on the list of heroines that make you want to tease them~"

Mami slightly curled the corners of her lips, a mischievous smile appearing on her face, and looked at Masumi with a meaningful look in her eyes.

"You agree, right, Masumi-kun?"

“I don’t have a penchant for playing pranks on people,” Masumi shrugged.

"So that means Masumi-kun doesn't deny the previous part?"

Mami revealed a wicked smile, and seeing her malicious expression, Masumi sighed softly.

"You guy..."

"It's too much!"

The young girl's eyes were filled with tears, and an embarrassed blush rose on her face as she protested indignantly.

"They're making fun of me... I'm going home!"

She snorted through her nose.

"I was just kidding."

Asami, still grinning and acting nonchalant, reached out and patted Masumi's shoulder hard again.

"Masumi-kun, hurry up and take Chia to the station, say some nice things to calm her down."

"Is this the mess you got into?"

"But you're the only one who can turn things around, so do your best, Masumi-kun!"

Mami put on an indifferent expression, gave him a thumbs up, and grinned, revealing a set of pearly white teeth.

Upon seeing this, Masumi turned her face towards Chiai.

"Let me take you to the station—"

When Mio saw him say that, she grabbed Masumi's wrist tightly.

"In that case, I want to go too! I can't leave Masumi alone with a kissing maniac."

She said it with absolute certainty.

"KKKKKiss maniac!? Who are you talking about, Mio-neechan!"

"Who else could it be?" Mio's wariness was blatantly obvious: "The survey results clearly exposed the dark side beneath your innocent exterior!"

"That's because the other answers on the questionnaire were all inappropriate options like 'behind the body,' 'body,' or 'foot.'"

Qian Ai shouted shyly, her blush lingering.

"Eh, so that means Chiai doesn't want to do 'that' with your Masumi-nii?" Mami asked teasingly.

"Well."

When Qian Ai was asked the question, her previous momentum vanished instantly. She hunched over as if withered, muttering softly:

"It's not that... I don't want to... but it's too early now... at least I should wait until... ouch ouch ouch!"

Qian'ai's throat suddenly blared like a whistle.

As if she were recalling the specific scenarios described in the questionnaire, her cheeks flushed, her breathing quickened, and she unconsciously licked her lips, which had become dry without her noticing.

Mio stared at her expressionlessly and murmured in a low voice:
"Sex maniac".

"certainly not!"

Qian Ai blushed and denied it.

"Oh my~" Rinne interjected, "Isn't Mio the 'incompetent wife' who lets Masumi do whatever she wants as long as she's not in your presence?"

"Don't mention that ridiculous questionnaire again!"

Mio glared at her fiercely.

"And what right does Rinne have to talk about me like that! I remember you were the 'capable wife' who took care of Masumi, who had become a useless person, yet still couldn't win his heart, right?"

"It's all because the questionnaires were messed up."

Rinne gave a disgusted look, staring at Masumi with cold eyes, her whole body radiating a chilling aura.

"He clearly said he only liked me, but his will is so weak and fragile. He gets lustful whenever other women show interest in him. He's practically horny all day long, yet he accuses me of having a big sex drive. Even though we did it, I still get beaten up. Not only that, he looks down on the hardships of life and only wants to live as easily as possible. He even plans to sell his family's coffee shop and convert it into a coin-operated parking lot. This kind of man is just awful!"

Ugh, I did terribly on the questionnaire.

That said, even so, the heir is willing to stay by her side through thick and thin. Is she some kind of deity? The Great God of the Age of Gods.

"Is remaining silent a way of fantasizing about that kind of life?"

With just a cold glance from the heir, Masumi surrendered without hesitation.

"...Please don't assume that I'm the fictional character in the questionnaire. Are you saying that this questionnaire is just trying to force respondents to compromise by asking increasingly outrageous questions?"

"The survey results...are very accurate..."

Haiyue nodded gently and murmured.

"What happened above... was all... something I wanted to do for Masumi..."

"May I ask Haiyue what she intends to do to me?"

"STOP! Masumi-kun."

Mami interrupted him.

"This survey is anonymous. It's against the rules for you to pry into Xiao Haiyue's privacy like this!"

"But she clearly harbors some unsettling desires! Haiyue is a werewolf, she should be voted out!"

"That's too much, Masumi-kun."

Seeing her indifferent attitude infuriated Masumi, so she turned her anger towards Mami.

"What about Asami? I'm very curious about your survey results."

"Eh."

Mami was stunned.

"I'm the referee, and according to the rules, I can't go onto the field myself."

"As the saying goes, 'Rules are rigid, but people are flexible,' and besides, you said it's anonymous, so even if the referee is interviewed, it won't be discovered."

“That’s right!” Qian’ai nodded indignantly in agreement. “It’s not fair that only Mami makes fun of us!”

"Ugh."

Under the gaze of five strong and powerful eyes, Mami gave up struggling and hung her head dejectedly.

"Actually, after Miss Ruko... after Miss Shiratori sent me this questionnaire, I immediately tried to complete it."

Ok?
Was I hallucinating? Did she just mention a senior's name?

"The results of it?"

"result……"

Mami cautiously pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her back pocket.

The questions and format of each questionnaire are randomized, something the five of us have already experienced.

Asami's set is based on filtering the answers to questions to piece together the types of roles that girls want to play in a relationship.

Masumi read the words aloud.

"A lowly nobody who likes getting spanked..."

"Shut up!"

Mami's reaction was exactly the same as Chiai's earlier.

"If Masumi-kun sees this, my butt is going to suffer!"

"Uh, I've already seen it."

"Eek! Is Masumi-kun going to spank me now?!"

Mami looked apprehensive.

The other four girls also focused their attention on Masumi's face.

Chiai: "Ma-Masumi-nii!? So you have that kind of fetish!"

Rinne: "Terrible."

Kaigetsu: "Masumi...is a sadist?"

Mio: "Although I'm not as voluptuous as Ms. Asami, I'm willing to satisfy Masumi's fetishes!" Masumi sighed, utterly exhausted.

"I haven't said anything yet."

◇

Stepping out of the coffee shop, the dark clouds overhead had somehow drifted away, and the sky was so clear it was unsettling.

Even so, it was still very cold.

A dry, cold wind blew in from across Osaka Bay, making everyone walking outdoors shiver.

"It's so cold today."

The voice floated in Masumi's ear with the white breath, and Mio, who had spoken those words, took his arm.

"However, it's much better to stick them together like this, haha."

"Mio, stop clinging to people in front of everyone."

"Where are we in the public eye? Aren't there only Masumi and me on the street?"

Mio pressed her cheek even closer, the sweet scent of her hair filling Masumi's nostrils and making her feel a little itchy.

"Hey! Mio-neechan, don't pretend I don't exist!"

Qian Ai puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

"Tch, why is Qian'ai here too?"

Mio's face was filled with displeasure at having their private time interrupted.

The childhood friend stared in disbelief: "Didn't Mio-neechan say she and Masumi-nii would see me off at the station together?!"

"...It seems there is such a thing."

"Don't act like it's none of your business!"

As Masumi withdrew her arm, Mio's expression turned displeased, and in the awkward atmosphere, the three of them walked up the stairs leading to the platform.

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, the whole city is filled with a restless atmosphere, and bustling train stations are plastered with promotional posters for limited-edition Valentine's Day merchandise.

Chiai stared at the Valentine's Day limited edition product poster with an expression that seemed to say, "I just happened to be looking over there," while saying:
"Speaking of which... is Masumi-nii busy later?"

"Hmm? It's nothing, after all, it's a day off today."

"Oh, oh, that's true."

The childhood friend's eyes darted around, and Masumi, noticing this, asked:
"Is Qian'ai asking this because she wants to talk to me about something?"

"There are still 4 days, 9 hours, and 48 minutes until Valentine's Day," Mio casually reminded him from the side.

Is she some kind of precise timekeeping device?
"No! I wasn't talking about Valentine's Day!"

Despite it being winter, Qian'ai's face was flushed, and she kept waving her hands in front of her face.

"Uh... well... it's nothing... important."

The unnatural pauses in the middle broke the words into several fragments.

Masumi gave her a gentle smile, as if to reassure her.

"Don't be nervous, tell me when Qian'ai has thought it through."

"Ah."

Qian Ai blushed and nodded, then lowered her eyelashes and walked silently to the platform.

The 6000 series tram slowly entered the tracks, and the doors opened.

"The car is here."

Masumi reminded her.

"Oh, yeah."

Chiai raised her head, her gaze shifting between Masumi and Mio's faces, and as she took a step forward, she turned back and spoke.

"I'm leaving."

"Well, be careful on the road."

Mio nodded and said goodbye to her.

"..."

Chiai stopped abruptly in front of the car door, turned around, and stared straight at Masumi.

"What's wrong? Is there anything else you want to say—"

Suddenly, the childhood friend and her friend closed the distance between them in one breath, tightly gripping Masumi's arm.

"Excuse me, Mio-neechan, I need to borrow Masumi-nii's time for a while!"

After saying that, she forcefully pulled Masumi into the carriage.

"Eh?"

Mio was stunned, then suddenly spoke:
"You two, wait a minute!"

Too late. The doors closed, and the tram sped away not far ahead.

"How dare they do that right in front of me..." Mio gritted her teeth, releasing her emotions: "Give me back my Masumi!"

These words, accompanied by a white breath, were swept into the air by the cold howling wind and quickly disappeared.

Today, Mio is once again playing the role of an incompetent wife.

◇

About thirty minutes later, Masumi was led to a table in the Asahina family's living room, where Chiai's mother, with a beaming smile, sat opposite him.

"Oh my~ Masumi hasn't visited our house in so long. She's grown taller and her features are more masculine now."

"Excuse me, Aunt Stefanie."

Masumi bowed politely in greeting.

"No, no, please have a cup of black tea to warm yourself up, but it's not as good as Mr. Ii Ken's or Masumi's."

"Thank you."

"Yes, if you don't mind, please try the dessert. It's made with Peruvian purple corn, peaches, cinnamon, and cloves. I'm not sure what it's called in Japanese, but in Spanish it's called Mazamorra Morada."

"Thank you, Aunt Stefanie."

Faced with her warm hospitality, Masumi could only repeatedly express her gratitude.

He wasn't very good at interacting with elders from a young age, but perhaps thanks to his serious and quiet appearance, Masumi has always been well-liked by elders.

It seems that the same was true in Kusatsu before.

So, what is Qian Ai doing now?
After bringing him into the house, her childhood friend said, "Wait for me, Masumi-nii," and then disappeared into the bedroom, where she hasn't come out yet.

"What? Are you concerned about Qian'ai?"

Aunt Stefanie smiled, her eyes narrowing, a knowing smile that seemed to see through everything.

Masumi felt uneasy under his gaze.

"Uh, I wonder what she wants from me."

Although she spoke with a slight stutter, she seemed to be conveying her message well, and Aunt Stefanie smiled kindly upon hearing this.

"That child, what have you been secretly preparing for lately? I guess you're working hard for the upcoming holiday."

"Oh, oh... I see."

Aunt Stefanie suddenly leaned closer and lowered her voice slightly, saying:
"Mom has some top-secret information here. Would Masumi like to know more?"

"--Mother!"

Chiai's dissatisfied voice came from behind the bedroom door.

"Okay, okay, Mom won't reveal the surprise Qian'ai has carefully prepared."

Aunt Stefanie smiled and then spoke to Masumi.

"Masumi looks very nervous. Will Mom's here make you both feel awkward?"

No, that's not true—

“No need for formalities,” Aunt Stefanie interrupted him gently. “I have a yoga class appointment with my mom friend later, so Masumi, please make yourself at home. I'm off now!”

And so, the enthusiasm that had made Masumi so restless disappeared, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"..."

Silence suddenly descended, and only the ticking of the clock on the wall indicated that ten minutes had passed.

Masumi was getting a little impatient when she finally heard the sound of the door hinge being pushed open.

The bedroom door was slightly ajar.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Masumi-nii."

Masumi's eyes widened when she saw her daughter, Omega, return to the living room from the bedroom.

(End of this chapter)