Starting With The Sefirah Castle In The Anime World

The first gathering had ended smoothly.

A lot had been discussed and clarified, making it a crucial meeting for the future.

As they rode home in the car, Hayasaka turned to glance at Kaguya sitting beside her.

---

"Miss Kaguya, what do you think?"

"About what?"

"The whole 'intertwining of fate' thing."

Kaguya shook her head, unconcerned.

"The diary is a thread, not a chain."

"And Amamiya's actions show he has no interest in forcing anything."

"What if all of that is just an act?"

"It's not."

She shook her head again, rejecting Hayasaka's speculation outright.

"If Amamiya wanted to control our fate, it would be far easier than we think."

"All he'd have to do is interfere just a little in our stories, and he'd get what he wanted."

"Sanzenin Nagi has her weaknesses."

"So do I."

"He knows them but has he ever actually tried to exploit them?"

"Even he himself said that fate intertwining with him only makes our connection with him closer, not necessarily more intimate."

Through multiple interactions, Kaguya had already formed a solid judgment of Ren's personality.

He wasn't the type to talk much.

He wasn't sociable.

He did things quietly and rarely engaged with strangers.

At first glance, he seemed cold and indifferent.

But beneath the surface, he was someone with deep thoughts, someone who could endure loneliness and resist temptation.

He kept a certain distance from girls, always maintaining a level of politeness.

But wasn't that politeness also a form of detachment?

"On top of that," Kaguya continued.

"Based on our investigation, he's lived alone since childhood."

"Other than part-time jobs, he barely has any social life."

"Exactly."

Kaguya was now certain.

She smirked slightly.

"Hayasaka, don't you think Amamiya is actually... quite decent?"

"Setting everything else aside, I don't dislike guys with his kind of personality."

"At least someone like that wouldn't talk behind my back."

She despised betrayal.

She hated people who gossiped behind her back.

And since Amamiya knew her story, he also understood what she loathed.

More importantly, he wasn't the type to spread rumors or meddle in others' business.

From that perspective, his "dull" personality was actually rather appealing.

"As for status..."

Kaguya let out a soft, self-mocking chuckle.

"It was Amamiya who gave us the opportunity to speak on equal footing."

"This gathering may have seemed like a conversation between equals."

"But the truth is, if Amamiya didn't allow it, none of us would have the right to treat him as an equal."

"The Shinomiya name means nothing to him."

Hayasaka fell silent.

It was true.

At this gathering, they hadn't been equals, Amamiya Ren was the one with all the power.

And yet, he had never looked down on them or acted arrogantly.

If anything, he had been overly polite.

That alone proved that he didn't have the kind of personality that would make people resent him.

"So, does that mean Miss Kaguya has decided to accept it?"

"Yes."

Kaguya nodded.

"No one can predict the future, but at the very least, I see no harm in being friends with Amamiya."

"As for what happens next, that will depend on how things develop."

She wasn't one to speculate too far ahead.

If the relationship grew naturally, then deeper interactions wouldn't be a problem.

Recalling the attitudes of the others, Kaguya chuckled.

"Besides, I wasn't the only one thinking this way."

"Suzuki Sonoko and the others seem to feel the same."

Hayasaka thought back to the atmosphere at Amamiya's house earlier.

No one had explicitly stated it, but in the end, they had all silently agreed to continue this connection.

There was no need to say it out loud.

They would just wait and see where things led.

"Miss Kaguya."

"Hmm?"

"I was just wondering… do you think Fujiwara is thinking the same way as you?"

Kaguya's amused smile froze instantly.

She turned her head stiffly toward Hayasaka.

"Hayasaka, can you not bring up unpleasant topics?"

Just hearing that name gave her a headache.

Fujiwara Chika was the embodiment of chaos.

---

Kaguya let out a deep sigh, rubbing her forehead before shifting her position in the seat.

"What's happening at Shuchiin?"

Even after transferring to Teitan High School, she had Hayasaka keep tabs on things back at Shuchiin Academy.

"There's some speculation about your transfer, but nothing major has happened."

"The only noticeable thing is that the President seems… kind of depressed."

Kaguya simply nodded at this news.

"The President should have learned by now that sometimes, he needs to yield."

"When he found out I was a Shinomiya, he should have known better than to indulge in fairy-tale fantasies about me."

"What happens in romantic stories doesn't apply to me."

Even if she hadn't read the future diary, she still wouldn't have chosen Shirogane Miyuki.

It was simply too unrealistic.

"The pressure from my family alone is something he could never overcome."

"Let alone everything else."

Hayasaka nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it's just not realistic."

Miyuki Shirogane was undeniably impressive as Shuchiin's student council president.

Academically, he had even surpassed Kaguya in most areas, except for the entrance exam.

But at what cost?

The ridiculous hours he spent studying, the lack of proper rest…

The constant dark circles under his eyes and his reliance on black coffee told the whole story.

But even if he excelled in academics, would that alone be enough to challenge the Shinomiya family?

Of course not.

Maybe his talent had caught Kaguya's attention at some point.

But that was all.

Because in the end, talent alone wasn't enough to matter in the grand scheme of things.

Now that she had truly stepped away from her former life, any chance of Shirogane shaking Kaguya's world had completely disappeared.

Hayasaka, seeing no point in continuing the topic, shifted the conversation.

"Miss Kaguya, I just got a report."

"Fujiwara Chika is waiting for you."

---

"…She actually showed up."

Kaguya sighed, as if she had known this was inevitable.

There was no escape.

"Forget it. Let's just go back and meet her."

"As much as she always turns everything into a mess…"

"She is my friend, after all."

***

For every 200 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on patreon to read 50+ advanced chapters: patreon.com/Blownleaves.