The Stand User Of The Daily World

Chapter 136: The Circle of Beauties-

"Ah, yes, it's me, Sanae!"

Sanae was startled by Eriri's sudden outburst.

"Sanae, do you know Shunsuke?!"

"Shunsuke... You mean Fujii Shunsuke? Of course I know him! I actually met him at your house, Eriri-nee. Didn't you know?" Sanae reminisced, her tone a mix of nostalgia and sighing. "But it's been years since I last saw Shunsuke-nii. He's your boyfriend now, right, Eriri-nee?"

"Pfft—"

Eriri felt as if a knife had been plunged into her heart, and tears nearly welled up in her eyes.

"Huh??? Eriri-nee, what's wrong? Did I say something wrong? Did I make a mistake?" Sanae panicked.

"Wait! Sanae, you said it's been years since you last saw Shunsuke. Is that true?" Eriri suddenly sprang back to life.

"Ah, yes... Is there something wrong?"

Sanae was utterly confused by Eriri's erratic behavior.

---What's going on? Did something happen between Shunsuke-nii and Eriri-nee?

"Good! That damn Shunsuke, how dare he lie to me! Sanae, let's go!"

Fuelled by anger, Eriri grabbed Sanae's hand and quickly marched toward Shunsuke.

"Huh? What's going on? Also, how did Shunsuke-nii even manage to get into a high-class banquet like this? He's amazing."

Completely bewildered, Sanae was dragged along by Eriri.

...

"Ara, isn't this my dear great-aunt? What are you doing here at a gathering for young people instead of joining the elders in the back garden?"

Just as Shunsuke had finally managed to calm Chika down and was listening to her chatter about Shuchiin Academy alongside Kaguya, a girl with short twin tails—Shijo Maki—approached, holding a wine glass filled with cola.

Even in her icy "Ice Kaguya" state, Kaguya's forehead nearly twitched with irritation. Sure, I might be a generation older, but I'm still young, okay?!

"Fujii, long time no see. I didn't expect you and Chika to still be so close."

"Za Warudo!"

Shunsuke immediately stopped time and began to recall.

Then he came to a conclusion: So you're the one who said you'd marry me when we were kids, only to disappear without a trace!

---You vanished for so many years, and now you show up again without even calling me by my name. Why is this so realistic even though it's a 2D world?!

---Playing with a young boy's heart like that—you deserve all the suffering you get!

Time resumed.

Shunsuke smiled and clinked glasses with Maki (with cola, of course). "Maki, it's been a while."

---Well, no matter how others address me, I've decided I'll keep calling her by her name.

"Yeah, it's—"

"Idiot, idiot, idiot! Shunsuke, you big dummy! Why do you remember Maki but not me?!"

Chika began pounding Shunsuke's chest with her tiny fists.

Maki raised an eyebrow at being interrupted.

Shunsuke averted his gaze. "How could I forget? I was just joking."

"Really?" Chika looked up skeptically.

"Of course. We first met when you got lost playing hide-and-seek with Moeha at the Sawamura house, right?"

Chika believed him.

Maki let out a sigh of relief. "Geez, I thought you actually forgot about Chika. You shouldn't joke about things like that—Chika would be hurt."

"Yeah, but teasing Fujiwara-san is just too much fun."

"Fujiwara? Why aren't you calling her Chika?"

"Because I already have a girlfriend?"

—Not to mention, it would be awkward to suddenly change what I've been calling her for so long.

Maki frowned. "A girlfriend? Don't tell me you actually think I wouldn't notice you're just pretending to be the Momobami family's head's boyfriend."

"...It was that obvious?"

Shunsuke was speechless. He had agreed to Kirari's request and had kept everything under wraps. Yet somehow, it was exposed in no time at all.

Although Kirari probably didn't care whether it was revealed or not—she was only interested in maintaining appearances—Shunsuke, who valued keeping his promises, found the situation frustrating.

Noticing his expression, Maki flicked her ponytail and grinned smugly. "Hah! Did you really think you could fool me? I'm a love master. It's obvious at a glance—there's no romantic vibe between you two."

—Oh, really? If you're so amazing, why are you always clueless about your own love life?

Shunsuke thought to himself. Maki was indeed sharp and insightful when analyzing other people's relationships, but when it came to her own, she was utterly oblivious.

"Eh?! Maki-chan, is that true?!"

Self-proclaimed love detective Chika was in shock.

Why hadn't she noticed anything?!

"You didn't know, Chika?"

Maki glanced back and forth between Shunsuke and Fujiwara Chika, suddenly sensing something odd despite her usually spot-on observations about others' romances.

"Was I supposed to know?"

Chika and Maki exchanged confused glances.

"Fujii-kun."

"Fujii-san."

"Shunsuke!"

"Shunsuke-nii."

Suddenly, Shunsuke was simultaneously greeted by—wait, not five beautiful girls—four beautiful girls and a stunning woman.

"..." x5

The five of them stared at each other in awkward silence.

Shunsuke froze for a second before regaining his composure and greeting each person in turn.

"Yukinoshita-san, Eriri, Sanae-chan, Moeha, long time no see."

"Wait, Fujii-kun, what about me?" Haruno put on a polite smile, pointing to herself with a seemingly friendly expression. "Did you forget me? How heartless."

"No, but... who are you again, miss?"

This time, Shunsuke was sure—he had only met Haruno once. Yet here she was acting as though they were close. Was she here just to expand her social network or something?

"I'm Yukino-chan's sister, Yukinoshita Haruno. Back when you were in elementary school—"

"Onee-san!"

Yukino tugged at Haruno, signaling her to stop.

"Alright, alright. Since Yukino's shy, I won't say anymore."

Despite being the least socially prominent person present, Haruno remained poised, casually greeting each person one by one with the effortless charm of a seasoned adult. Her elegant demeanor seemed to win the favor of several younger girls.

—What a fake woman.

Kaguya, her intelligence fully intact, thought to herself.

—Such a phony smile.

Maki, a social genius in everything except her own love life, looked on with disdain.

—Showing off in front of pros, huh, Miss Yukinoshita?

Hayasaka Ai silently mused.

—Why are there always people like this trying to get involved? So annoying. Moeha really is the cutest.

Fujiwara Moeha clung to Sanae's hand absentmindedly.

—I don't know why, but something feels off.

Despite her notoriously low intelligence, Chika's instincts kicked in.

—Enemy detected!

Sanae, fully immersed in her chunibyo delusions, thought fiercely.

To Yukino, her sister had always been an unreachable figure, like the sun. Yet in front of these people who had been polished by either voluntary or involuntary experiences in elite social circles, Haruno was no different from anyone else.

Except for Eriri.

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