After nearly five minutes of relentlessly calling Miss Yamada,
the phone silent until now finally picked up, and Ryo's voice came through.
She sounded completely groggy, her words barely coherent.
The conversation between Minami and her went roughly like this:
"Ryo, where are you?"
"Hmm? Minami...? I already... can't eat anymore..."
"...No, I'm asking where you are."
"Steak...? You can have it, Minami. I really can't eat another bite..."
"I'm not talking about steak! I'm asking where you are right now!"
"Mmm... I'll definitely pay you back the money I borrowed, so stop yelling at me like that, Minami..."
"I..."
In short—pure chaos.
It had to be said:
Miss Yamada definitely had an incredible natural talent for "testing the patience of everyone with low blood pressure."
At that moment, Minami was seriously considering whether he should just head over to Ryo's place and physically bring her out.
As previously mentioned, Starry was only about one or two streets away from the Yamada residence.
It would probably be more efficient to go pick her up.
Fortunately, just as he was thinking that, a calm, elegant voice came through the phone.
"Ah... is this Minami-kun? Don't worry, I already checked with Ryo about the situation. I'll send her over shortly. Just wait a bit at the venue."
The moment the voice spoke,
Minami immediately recognized it—
it must be Ryo's father who had taken the phone.
Clearly, he'd noticed that even though it was already time to leave, his daughter was still in her room babbling nonsense, so he grabbed the phone to reassure Minami.
And... he was even going to personally bring her over.
Minami shook his head helplessly.
He had always known that Ryo's father was endlessly indulgent toward his daughter,
but even he was surprised it went this far.
Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long.
Only about three or four minutes later,
a long, luxurious car appeared in front of Minami and the others.
"Ah, Minami-kun, come on, hop in. I'll give you all a lift to Shimokitazawa Station,"
Ryo's father said with a smile, waving them over as he rolled down the window.
Then, the car doors opened automatically.
And everyone could clearly see—
In the backseat, half-asleep and being fed milk and bread by her mother,
Yamada Ryo.
"..."
At that moment.
Aside from Minami, who was already used to such scenes.
Everyone else felt, quite keenly,
"Ah, yes. Money and parental love are truly wonderful things."
Following the order, everyone got into the car,
filling up all the remaining seats just right.
To make enough space, Ryo's father had even chosen to personally drive instead of letting the chauffeur do it.
The engine gave a soft purr.
Under Ryo's father's steady driving, the car smoothly glided into the early morning streets of Tokyo.
Shimokitazawa Station wasn't far from Starry.
After only a short drive, they arrived at their destination.
After the car stopped, the girls stepped out one after another,
each silently marveling at the mighty power of money.
Originally, they were supposed to walk about ten minutes to reach the station.
And given how Ryo overslept, their meeting time was supposed to be delayed.
But thanks to her father's lift, they ended up arriving much earlier.
After getting out of the car, they overheard Ryo's mother nagging her now-awake daughter:
"Ryo, if you're short on anything over there, just buy it."
"I know."
"If you run out of money, remember to tell us."
"Okay, I understand."
"Don't stubbornly endure if you're broke. Here's ¥500,000 in this wallet for you to use. And remember—"
"I know! Don't say it again, Mom! Geez, do you think I'm unreliable or something?"
Yamada Ryo's elegant and lazy voice sounded a bit impatient,
patting her chest confidently with an expression that screamed:
"Why doesn't my mom trust me?"
...However—
That kind of expression might fool her overly doting mother,
but it absolutely couldn't fool anyone else present.
After all, this girl literally slept through the gathering time.
How was she shameless enough to say she was reliable?
As Ryo sluggishly clambered out of the car,
on the other side, her father pulled Minami aside.
"So, Minami-kun,"
he said with a wink,
"how do you like this car?"
"Hm?"
Minami, who was waiting for Yamada Ryo and her mother to finish up their matters, hadn't expected Yamada's father to suddenly say something like that to him.
He turned his head, a little surprised.
But soon enough, Minami nodded honestly without hiding anything.
He was indeed quite interested in Yamada's father's specially extended car that could fit many people.
It wasn't because it was expensive or especially comfortable.
It was because Minami remembered clearly—
in the simulations where he reached a happy ending with the girls,
he would often take them on trips, traveling together.
When dragging along a large "family" like that, normal travel would be quite inconvenient.
If he had a car like this for road trips,
it would make everything a lot easier.
After all, Japan wasn't that big.
You could basically drive around and explore everywhere.
Yamada's father smiled and rested his arm on the window frame, speaking in a gentle tone:
"When you get back from Akita, I'll give you one."
"Huh?"
Minami let out a small sound, surprised.
Was this really something you could just casually offer?
As expected of a super-wealthy family that ran a private hospital in Tokyo...
A luxury car, just gifted like that?
For a moment,
Minami couldn't help but feel that even before marrying Ryo,
he was already being... "sponsored" by her.
However—
"This isn't really appropriate, Yamada-san."
Minami still shook his head and declined.
The gift was just too extravagant.
He and Ryo were still only boyfriend and girlfriend.
Accepting a luxury car now would feel way too presumptuous.
But facing Minami's concerns,
Yamada's father simply waved his hand and chuckled:
"Don't overthink it. It's just a gift.
But on the condition that you first get your driver's license,
and... you take good care of my daughter while you're in Akita."
He patted Minami's shoulder with a smile.
"After all... there aren't many people who can actually convince Ryo to travel far."
Yamada's father knew his daughter's personality very well.
Normally, she couldn't even be bothered to go slightly far places.
She would absolutely save every ounce of effort whenever possible.
And yet this free-spirited daughter was actually willing to travel 600 kilometers to Akita just to be with Minami.
Just realizing that fact made Yamada's father feel a bit astonished.
It said everything.
Through such small signs,
he could fully understand
just how deeply his daughter had fallen for this black-haired boy.
After a little more chatting, once Ryo had finally dragged her suitcase out of the car,
Yamada's father chuckled, waved goodbye, and drove off.
"Phew... Let's go, Minami. Let's not waste any more time."
Ryo walked up and, standing behind Minami, began urging him with a flat expression.
But before she could even finish her sentence,
Nijika had already stepped forward, pulling on Ryo's annoyingly calm lips.
"You! Are you serious?! If you hadn't overslept, we would've been here way earlier!
Now you're the one telling us to hurry?!"
She grumbled as she half-dragged Ryo toward the station entrance.
Seeing the rest of the girls hauling their luggage along and following after,
Minami shook his head and silently fell in step behind them.
After entering the station and walking for another thirty meters,
they spotted Gotoh Hitori and Ikuyo Kita waiting up ahead.
No need to say anything about Ikuyo Kita—
it was a day out, after all,
and her youthful, pretty face was lightly made up, glowing with soft radiance.
But what really caught everyone's eye today was Gotoh Hitori.
She wasn't heavily made up.
She had simply trimmed her overly long bangs a little.
And instead of the usual outdated pink tracksuit,
she wore a pale knitted cardigan suited for outings.
The sleeves were a little long, so her delicate fingers only peeked out slightly.
There were no decorations or logos on her chest—
only the pure, natural curves that even the other girls instinctively glanced at,
feeling a bit self-conscious about their own figures.
And her vivid blue eyes,
purer than today's sky,
shyly peeked out from under her fringe.
Just a glance at her invoked a feeling of wanting to protect her.
Her facial features were refined and delicate.
Her skin, so pale from rarely leaving the house, almost looked luminous.
It had to be said:
Gotoh Hitori's beauty score definitely deserved its 9 out of 10.
Even without makeup,
just this simple styling exuded an aura of a fragile beauty.
If she were to properly dress up...
Minami shook his head.
It would be so beautiful,
he could hardly imagine it.
"Ah... Minami!"
Clearly spotting him as well,
Hitori's slightly anxious expression brightened with excitement.
She waved at him vigorously.
She even broke into a run, her pale brown boots clacking on the ground.
Unfortunately, she only managed a few steps—
before tripping over herself,
and falling flat onto the floor.
"Uuugh—"
Hitori sat up, rubbing her head.
She really couldn't understand why her mother insisted she wear this awkward outfit today.
Wouldn't a simple tracksuit have been so much easier?
And now, because of these clunky boots,
even standing up hurt her ankle.
Feeling a little wronged,
Hitori's mind drifted to what her mother had said the night before:
"Hitori, remember.
You're going to meet Minami's parents this time.
You have to leave a good impression."
"Eh?"
"No 'eh'!
Absolutely no more wearing those ugly tracksuits!
You have to wear this outfit tomorrow!
And fix those bangs too—do you know what you look like?"
"But, but—"
"No buts!
Listen to me, Hitori: Minami is a boy.
Of course he'll be amazed if you dress up for him!
That's how boys are."
"Showing your best self to someone you like
is one of the happiest things for a girl, you know?"
That was what she said, anyway...
But Mom...
Did you ever consider that asking someone with social anxiety to show a "perfect side" in front of the person she likes is practically mission impossible?!
Hitori was practically tearing her hair out inside.
She had completely ruined it.
Finally mustering the courage to dress up,
and before Minami could even admire her properly,
she had faceplanted onto the ground.
Forget making a "perfect impression" even just protecting her normal image now seemed impossible.
She sighed inwardly, trying to get up.
But her foot still hurt from the unfamiliar boots.
Just when she didn't know what to do next, a voice called out:
"Can you stand up, Hitori?"
And along with the voice,
a hand was extended toward her.
"Ah... um..."
Hitori instinctively looked up.
Her nervous, hamster-like eyes met the clear, clean black eyes of the young man before her.
He blinked once, and then smiled as he praised her:
"Hitori, this outfit really suits you.
You look so much better than in your usual tracksuits."
Seeing the surprised look in Minami's eyes,
Gotoh Hitori's already pale face instantly flushed,
as if she had been dipped into hot water.
His words of praise,
like the clear mountain spring water in the middle of summer,
flowed out sweetly and refreshingly.
It was only then, that Hitori finally understood the meaning behind her mother's words.
Making the person you like feel amazed by your appearance... really was a wonderfully happy thing.
Yet, being naturally shy,
she couldn't find any words to say at this moment.
All she could do was let out a soft "mm."
Her pale hand at first, hesitated slightly and shrank back.
But finally, with a sudden movement,
she reached forward and firmly grabbed Minami's outstretched hand.
At that moment—
Hitori felt it clearly.
It was as if she had grabbed onto the sun itself.
And with just that simple action, all the dark clouds that had lingered in her heart—
were swept away completely.
Leaving not even a trace behind.