But she immediately dismissed that thought because Utaha wasn't that old either…
'Hmm, both are high school students who came together for some reason. Could it be a love story between a young master from a noble family and an ordinary girl? No wonder the 'other woman' in Shi-chan's novel is a rich girl, while the female lead is an ordinary girl.'
'I was wondering before how Shi-chan could write such realistic plots. Now I know... it's based on personal experience.'
Feeling the editor lady's strange gaze from across the table, Utaha couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.
"What's wrong? Is something off?"
Sonoko quickly shook her head, then showed a smile, making a small fist to cheer her on.
"Don't be afraid of difficulties, bravely pursue your own happiness!"
"???"
…
Compared to the strange, fantasy-filled joy in the café, on the other side, Kaguya, who had just returned to her family's estate, powerlessly collapsed onto her bed.
The room was dim, with only the faint sound of breathing audible.
Kaguya lay on the bed. Her usually crimson, placid eyes now lacked their usual confidence. Her jet-black, lustrous long hair seemed to have lost its shine due to its owner's mood.
Click!
Suddenly, the room's lights turned on. A golden-haired girl in a maid dress walked in. Her ponytail was tilted to one side, making it look quite distinctive. She was Kaguya's childhood playmate and maid… Hayasaka Ai.
She entered, looked at the young lady lying on the bed, and a flicker of heartache passed through her eyes.
Hayasaka walked over, gently patted Kaguya's shoulder, and said softly, "Ojou-sama, Great Master wants you to go to the dojo now. He has something to discuss with you."
'Great Master' naturally referred to Shinomiya Koken, Kaguya's grandfather.
Hearing this, Kaguya was silent for a moment, then stood up from the bed and walked towards the door.
"Alright, I understand."
Watching her young mistress's despondent back, Hayasaka sighed and followed.
She was also thinking about whether she should find something interesting lately to cheer up the young mistress.
'Didn't the news recently mention the release of some groundbreaking VRMMORPG?'
'Maybe I could get it for Ojou-sama and let her play games to relax?'
As a maid, one must not only take care of the young mistress's daily life but also her mental health.
Kaguya rarely encountered situations like this. In fact, Hayasaka didn't have much experience dealing with it, but she had still learned a couple of tricks from the maid handbook.
One thing she firmly believed was that when feeling down, one should shift their focus to something else interesting.
'Hmm, I'll ask her later, after Ojou-sama returns from Great Master's place.'
....
Inside the dojo at the Shinomiya Estate.
It should be mentioned here that the Shinomiya's main family residence is actually the traditional Japanese mansion where Yusei often goes to learn swordsmanship from Koken. Its area is incredibly vast.
The place where the Shinomiya Family currently lives is a somewhat Western-style mansion and estate.
On one hand, the location is different, and on the other hand, for entertaining guests and VIPs, this kind of Western-style estate is more suitable.
After all, the Shinomiya Family has many international businesses, and they occasionally need to entertain foreign dignitaries.
But as the inheriting family of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu, a Kendo dojo is present, no matter where they live.
At this moment, Kaguya and Koken sat facing each other, silent, as if pondering something serious.
Time passed minute by minute. Just when Kaguya could barely resist the urge to ask the huge doubts in her heart, Koken spoke.
This dignified, physically robust old man looked at his granddaughter. His red eyes were calm, his tone even.
"You want to ask about Kazami Yusei, right?"
Hearing the name 'Kazami Yusei', Kaguya couldn't help but bite her red lip and nod heavily.
"Yes, I... I'm very confused. Why would Grandfather teach Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu to an outsider?"
Koken's placid eyes narrowed slightly. He thought of one word: 'Outsider.'
Thinking this, he couldn't help but take a deep look at his granddaughter but didn't say anything.
After a while, he slowly spoke, "Because his swordsmanship talent is extraordinary. A hundred years... no, at least a once-in-a-millennium swordsmanship prodigy."
Hearing her grandfather's words, Kaguya jerked her head up, looking at her grandfather with an expression of utter disbelief.
"A once-in-a-millennium prodigy?! How is that possible?!"