Animania: Everyone Loves Me

The president had told her the password to the front door a long time ago.

This was also the thing that made Togawa Sakiko the happiest. After all, if it wasn't the utmost trust, who would casually give the key to their house to an outsider?

The way the president treated her was clearly different.

'No doubt, he has me in his heart.'

Secretary Sakiko didn't want to betray this trust. Determined to grow into a woman worthy of matching the president's status, she also didn't plan to be arrogant from being favored.

So even though she knew the password, the blue-haired girl still chose to press the doorbell.

She thought that being able to receive the president's welcome...

But when the door slowly opened, the figure that appeared before her was unusually petite.

"Mutsumi?", Sakiko was slightly stunned, staring blankly at the friend she hadn't seen in a few days but who looked like a completely different person, "Why are you… dressed like this?"

A camisole and sports shorts made for a very casual and very cool outfit.

On other girls, it might be quite normal, but… was this really her conservative childhood friend who loved wearing long skirts all year round regardless of the weather?

"Because I wanted to try something new," Mutsumi didn't explain in detail, seemingly skipping over the topic on purpose, "Sakiko, come in first."

Sakiko dazedly followed her to the living room, then dazedly accepted a cup of black tea, opened her mouth, and suddenly forgot what she wanted to say.

"Sakiko came?"

Kaito was preparing today's dinner in the kitchen. In fact, he had long noticed the little secretary's arrival. At this moment, he stuck out half his body and casually said, "You can chat with Mutsumi for a bit first. Dinner will be ready soon."

"O-okay," Sakiko nodded instinctively, but she always felt that something was off.

Looking at the president's apron printed with a blue mechanical cat pattern, and the childhood friend who, with the posture of a hostess, invited her to sit, she suddenly realized something was wrong.

'This scene before me… how is it any different from a newlywed couple still in their honeymoon phase?'

Instead, she herself seemed completely out of place in this harmonious setting, with a kind of forlorn feeling of "I shouldn't be here, I should be under the car."

"Sakiko, have you been doing well lately?", Sitting on the sofa in the living room, Mutsumi was silent for a moment before initiating the small talk.

Sakiko was briefly dazed.

In the past, when she was with her childhood friend, it was always she who initiated conversations, while Mutsumi was more often the one listening.

But now, it was like she had become a completely different person.

After a moment of silence, she still gently said, "I'm fine. But Mutsumi, this period of time… how has it been living with the president?"

"Onii-chan treats me very well," The girl with light green long hair spoke in a calm tone, her expression also calm, like a deep and still ancient well, making it hard to see her true thoughts.

But as a childhood friend who had grown up together with Mutsumi, Sakiko, her other half, still keenly noticed that when her friend mentioned the word "Onii-chan," there was a slight upward inflection in her voice.

Perhaps even she herself didn't realize this detail. It was more of a subconscious attachment that was hard to completely hide.

Secretary Sakiko felt even more conflicted.

Clearly… in the past, Mutsumi would only show clear emotional fluctuations in front of her.

But Sakiko quickly adjusted her mindset. She remembered that today she came to test whether her childhood friend… harbored feelings for the president that went beyond common sense.

The blue-haired girl lifted the teacup, took a sip of black tea, and only then spoke as if casually, "The president is indeed very reliable. As long as he is by my side, my mood mysteriously calms down… Mutsumi, do you also feel that way?"

Mutsumi lightly nodded, "Onii-chan is a good person."

"Just a good person?", Sakiko blinked her amber eyes, "I thought Mutsumi would give a more intimate evaluation of the president."

"Hmm?"

Mutsumi tilted her head and also blinked her golden eyes, seeming somewhat puzzled, "Onii-chan is an important family member… isn't that right?"

Sakiko stared at her confused and flustered expression, like someone who had made a mistake, unable to find a single flaw.

Hawk-eye needlepoint judgment: 'Doesn't feel like acting.'

'If it is acting, it can definitely be called "natural performance," worthy of an Oscar.'

'Could it be… I am really overthinking it?'

'Or perhaps… Mutsumi simply hasn't realized her feelings yet?'

This guess was quite reasonable.

Sakiko understood her childhood friend very well. From childhood till now, she had always attended girls' schools, had no experience interacting with boys her age, and even her interactions with other girls were pathetically few. She could count her friends on one hand.

With such a quiet and introverted personality, she was a blank slate.

A girl like Mutsumi not knowing what love is… also seemed quite normal?

Her dependence on the president might not be the romantic kind of love she imagined, but rather a familial bond born from long-term lack of care.

Just like she said herself, "Onii-chan is an important family member."

Highlight: family member.

'In other words… crisis temporarily averted?'

Sakiko couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She didn't want to become love rivals with Mutsumi because of the president.

If the earlier guess was correct, then the current situation was undoubtedly the best outcome.

———

["Sakiko, have you lowered your guard now?"]

Mortis hugged a Mutsumi-head pillow in her arms, her tone seemingly strange, ["Never thought… your acting skills would be this good."]

Mutsumi lowered her eyelids, but didn't respond.

Mortis was still marveling at her performance, but only Mutsumi herself knew that everything she had just said actually came from her heart.

No matter how perfect the acting, it was ultimately fake, and fake often meant flaws.

Sakiko was a smart girl. To fool her, relying solely on acting wouldn't work. Only, genuine emotion could.

Mutsumi indeed didn't lie.

She regarded Onii-chan as an important family member.

But… who says a husband doesn't count as family?

Kurumizaka Mutsumi, Kurumizaka Kaito, eventually even their surnames would be the same. How would that not be family?

Sakiko clearly didn't expect that her once thoughtful and obedient childhood friend would actually play word games with her.

Although she didn't fully believe Mutsumi's words, she had indeed lowered part of her guard. She would just observe further in the days to come for a new conclusion.

As for now…

Hearing the voice from the kitchen saying "Dinner's ready," Secretary Sakiko quickly went over.

Helping the president serve the dishes was still more important.

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