After crossing the finish line, Tokai Teio seemed to know just how strong she was. Carrying Diego, she excitedly performed her signature imperial dance steps on the track, looking incredibly smug.
No wonder they say horses resemble people—Diego acted exactly the same way after winning.
Clip-clop clip-clop...
"I stand corrected." Ryūju Momo dismounted from Gold Ship, bowed toward Diego with a sharp, serious gaze, and said solemnly, "I hope we'll have another chance to spar in the future."
Heh heh, got up close and personal with Dio—major victory!
Next time, I'll aim to pinch Dio's cheeks!
The star-chasing-successful Ryūju Momo hummed a tune as she led Gold Ship away from the track. Clearly, neither of the two West Team representatives cared one bit about the West Team's victory or defeat.
Neighhh—!!!
Meanwhile, Tokai Teio's smug attitude completely pissed off Silver Bullet. After the race ended, Silver Bullet leaped over the railing and charged straight at Tokai Teio.
Silver Bullet: Is this your master? You're letting him ride you? None of the horses in this academy are any good—they're all after my master!
In a huff, Silver Bullet shoved Tokai Teio aside. Diego gave a helpless smile, slid down from Tokai Teio's back, and remounted the steed he knew best.
Tokai Teio: Wait, how are you this selfish?!
Silver Bullet: Don't you have your own master? How pitiful...
Fortunately, Diego didn't bother translating with the Language of Spirits—his attention had already been drawn to Hori's cheerleader outfit.
"Huh... Hori?"
In his line of sight, Hori wore a short skirt, holding two pom-poms in her hands, and approached Diego with small, quick steps.
So cute...
"Were you wearing that the whole time cheering for me?"
"Yeah, is it cute?" Hori shook the two colorful pom-poms, tilting her head as she asked, "Just kidding—I wanted to imitate Ayasaki-san a bit."
"Feels less impressive than the boys' uniform." Diego took off his own uniform jacket and wrapped it around Hori, narrowing his eyes with a smile. "But... it really is cute..."
Hori's face flushed red, steam practically rising from her head as she fled still draped in Diego's jacket.
"...Id—iot, id—iot!! Idiot!!"
Dio's saying embarrassing stuff again!
"Hmph..." Diego let out a soft chuckle, gently stroking his beloved horse Silver Bullet's head as he gazed skyward, a little lost in thought. "Idiot, huh..."
Meanwhile, over on the East Team stands...
"Kaguya-sama, this is the East Team's medal—please take good care of it." Hayasaka Ai handed the medal over to Shinomiya Kaguya with utmost respect.
But Shinomiya Kaguya stared at the medal in her hands, trembling uncontrollably, eyes filled with disbelief, unable to utter a single word.
Diego Brando actually... helped East Team win...
I was wrong...
I was wrong!
I thought there were no purely good people in this world, so the more Diego Brando acted like a good person, the more I convinced myself he was the same as me—skilled at disguising his true nature.
I hated my own hypocrisy, which only made me want to tear open his heart and see if he was just as ugly inside.
But I was wrong. In truth, he isn't a purely good person—he has his own selfish motives—but he always ends up helping people unintentionally, drawing others to follow him willingly. How could someone like that possibly be the same as me!
So the real feeling I hold toward Diego Brando... is actually admiration!
I admire him. I long to become someone like him.
Thump thump... thump thump...
All her previous prejudices only intensified the emotional impact. Her heartbeat and blood flow accelerated wildly, just like that pounding heart—as the ice sculpture beauty melted in this moment.
With her inner world growing clearer, an impulse surged through Shinomiya Kaguya. She spoke softly: "Hayasaka..."
"Yes?" Hayasaka Ai stood respectfully by her side.
"I've realized something..."
"What is it?"
"Diego Brando... likes me!"
Ohhh, so it's that Dio likes ojou-sama...
?
Isn't this my man?
Has ojou-sama finally lost it?!
Where exactly did you see that Dio likes you?
Speaking of which, isn't your attitude completely off? Shouldn't you be shouting "I refuse to accept this," declaring that Diego Brando is blatantly humiliating you, then throwing the medal on the ground saying "Who cares about this junk"...?
Hayasaka Ai's eyes widened, her voice trembling as she asked slowly: "Why do you say that?"
Shinomiya Kaguya's voice turned soft and shy: "How else do you explain him riding for East Team this time? There's only one logical explanation. Look—doesn't Brando-kun always pick fights with me and make me angry? That's classic shoujo manga trope, right? The tsundere male lead who's bad at expressing himself tries to get the heroine's attention this way, but his methods backfire and make her hate him more—until a crucial moment when he steps up to help her, just like Brando-kun spontaneously helping me this time. The next plot development is him guiding the heroine to confess, and finally the two of them become a couple, happily walking down the aisle into marital bliss..."
"So he must like me!"
Freshly descended into full sand sculpture mode, Shinomiya Kaguya delivered an utterly outrageous declaration. Hayasaka Ai gradually stopped hearing the rest of her words—only one thought remained in her mind.
I'm burning all of ojou-sama's shoujo manga when we get home!
Where exactly did you get the idea this is a shoujo manga plot?!
What part of Dio "spontaneously" helped you?! Then what was I doing, throwing away my dignity to beg and whine for his help?!
And that way you call him—Brando-kun?! Shouldn't you be grinding your teeth in hatred calling him Diego Brando?!
Hayasaka Ai's eyes lost their shine as she gradually gave up thinking.
"...But in love, the one who confesses first is the loser. I've decided—for the days ahead, I'm going to make Brando-kun reveal his true feelings and confess to me proactively." The sand sculpture princess had fully sunk into her delusions.
"...Hey hey hey, wait—Dio already has a girlfriend. I don't mind if it's ojou-sama, but are you really okay with that?" Hayasaka Ai pointed expressionlessly at herself.
Hayasaka Ai's words struck straight to the heart. Shinomiya Kaguya slowly closed her eyes, covered her ears with both hands, and laughed as if refusing to accept reality: "Hahaha, excellent men always have many romantic prospects. As long as I'm his first, I permit him to play around before marriage."
"And look, Hayasaka—Brando-kun is still looking at me right now. That fierce gaze is so affectionate... he's actually really cute..."
Hayasaka Ai followed the direction of Shinomiya Kaguya's pointing finger. Sure enough, Diego's line of sight was aimed toward this section of the stands.
But down below, Diego's pupils were dilated, his brain completely blank, endlessly pondering the ultimate question of what to eat when he got home.
Ojou-sama, please stop with the mental victory already...
Translate for me: what exactly is "a fierce gaze full of affection"?!
With Dio's looks, even staring at a dog would come off as affectionate!!
Didn't you just say yesterday that you hated his fierce gaze the most?!
Today's verdict: Hayasaka Ai—defeat!
(Sanctioned by the sand sculpture Shinomiya Kaguya)
...
Click! Click! Click!
Sitting in the stands, Hori Kyosuke held a camera and snapped three photos of Diego. Noticing Diego's attention drawn by the shutter sound, Hori Kyosuke waved excitedly and shouted:
"Yo~ Brando-kun, you looked super cool out there on the track!"
Then he leaned back, hooking an arm around the other parent beside him—Fujiwara Daichi—and boasted smugly: "How's that, Daichi? This is the kid I'm proud of!"
"You trying to mock me or what? How the hell do you get such an outstanding kid?" Toward this old high school friend who loved to roast him, Fujiwara Daichi felt utterly helpless. He pushed up his glasses and, refusing to lose, held up a photo of Fujiwara Chika. "So what? My daughter is the cutest in the world!"
"Brando-kun is the handsomest in the world!"
"My daughter is the cutest in the world!"
"Brando-kun!"
"My daughter!"
"Hmph!" ×2
The two bickered like elementary school kids, simultaneously huffing and turning away with crossed arms and pouts.
The noisy pair quickly drew the attention of the originals—Hori and Fujiwara Chika—who hurried over from the East Team section.
On the way, Fujiwara Chika nervously clung to Hori's arm, asking worriedly: "Hori-san, what do I do? My dad's hogging Diego-kun—what if he ends up hating Diego-kun?"
"Uh, no need to worry about that. Just have Dio talk to your dad for five minutes and it'll be fine." Well aware of Diego's mysterious special attack against elders, Hori gave an awkward laugh to reassure Fujiwara Chika.
"Why?"
Whoosh!
"Otosan, okasan, imouto... let go already!!!"
A gust of wind blew past.
The two turned to look—Goto Hitori was scrambling over on all fours like a spider, yet somehow arriving at lightning speed beside Diego, frantically trying to pry apart the trio of Goto Naoki, Goto Michiyo, and Goto Futari surrounding him.
"Haha, Goto-san sure has personality..." Hori wiped sweat from her brow with a strained smile.
"Yeah... compared to her, my dad doesn't seem so bad anymore..." Fujiwara Chika nodded in agreement.
Cut to—Hori Kyosuke and Fujiwara Daichi joining the fray.
"Hey, this is my kid—of course I get to talk to him first!" Hori Kyosuke slung an arm around Diego's shoulders as if it were obvious. "Brando-kun, you'd rather go eat ramen with me at that place outside, right?"
Fujiwara Daichi shot Hori Kyosuke a glare, then politely greeted Diego with a slight bow: "Hello, Brando-kun. I'm Fujiwara Chika's father. My daughter often mentions you at home. Her mischievous personality must have caused you quite a bit of trouble—thank you for looking after her."
She really has caused quite a bit of trouble...
"Not at all—Chika-san's lively personality brings me a lot of fun!" Diego scratched his head and laughed heartily, once again slipping into his highly elder-approved disguise mode.
"Oh, is that so?" Fujiwara Daichi's mood brightened instantly. He patted Diego's shoulder familiarly, corners of his mouth rising as he launched into enthusiastic discussion. "By the way, I heard Brando-kun is always top of the grade. If you could study together with my Chika sometime, it'd be a huge help."
"Hey, don't get so chummy with my kid!" Hori Kyosuke snatched Diego back again.
Thwack!
Hori Kyosuke clutched his head and crouched down—the culprit being his daughter Hori, who had delivered a chop to the back of his neck from behind.
"What are you doing here! Stupid dad!! Stop clinging to Dio—can't you see he's already troubled?!"
"Kyoko... girls your age are supposed to give their dads some face..." Hori Kyosuke looked pitifully at his daughter.
On the other side, seeing her crush talking with her father, Fujiwara Chika approached Fujiwara Daichi with a flushed face and asked quietly: "Dad! Why are you hogging Diego-kun?"
"Chika?" Fujiwara Daichi turned, held a finger to his lips in a shush, and lowered his voice: "It's all because you keep mentioning Brando-kun's name at home every day—so I had to come to the sports festival to check him out!"
"Eh? Come on, was I really that loud?"
"So now it's my turn as a father to shoulder the responsibility. Let me have a private chat with Brando-kun..."
With that, Fujiwara Daichi made an excuse to pull Diego aside to an empty spot for a detailed talk.
Fujiwara Chika watched the two conversing in the distance with full worry, while Hori rested a hand on her shoulder and murmured ominously: "Fujiwara-san... you're done for..."
"Why? Is Brando-kun rude to elders? Please don't let that be true!"
"No, it's just that your father won't be your father for much longer. Dio—he's an invader."
"Eh?" Fujiwara Chika's head filled with question marks as she tried to process.
In her line of sight, Diego and Fujiwara Daichi were getting along famously. Fujiwara Daichi's originally furrowed brows had relaxed; he kept nodding at Diego's words, his chest shaking with hearty laughter.
Five minutes later...
"Hahaha, Brando-kun is truly an outstanding young man!" Fujiwara Daichi returned to Fujiwara Chika with a fully satisfied expression, leaning close to whisper ultra-quietly in her ear: "Chika, I never imagined you'd know such an excellent guy. Dad fully supports you chasing him! No—actually, if you can't catch him, don't bother coming home to see me!"
Important things must be repeated: Diego possesses transcendent-level elder-conquering ability.
"Eh?" Fujiwara Chika's eyes went blank. She shoved Fujiwara Daichi away in embarrassed fury and demanded: "Why?!"
What on earth did you two talk about?!!
Diego watched the whole scene with a smug smile. Beside him, The World held a copy of Dark Psychology. When dealing with politicians, this book never fails.
The power of books is truly limitless!
...
Long-absent side story:
In Morioh, Jotaro Kujo returned home after a tiring day of work outside. Physically exhausted, but mentally fulfilled.
Thanks to Diego Brando, his relationship with his daughter was finally improving!
"Jolyne, I'm home. Did you behave and listen to the teachers at school—"
????????
Jotaro froze, instantly transforming into the same type of Stand user and mastering the signature black-face expression unique to di*k biology creatures.
Before him, Jolyne sat obediently in front of the mirror while Diego tied her hair.
"Dio, what are you doing?" Jotaro's tone was hostile. "Why are you in my house?"
"♪~"
Jolyne hummed happily, legs swinging slightly, face beaming with a bright smile.
"I'm helping Jolyne with her braids—what, isn't it obvious?" Diego didn't even turn his head, hands continuing their work as he tied the small braid at the back of Jolyne's head into a heart shape, then gave a thumbs-up. "Looks good, right? It's a green heart!"
The guy called Dio still has zero taste—hearts are nowhere near as good as five-pointed stars!!
"Yaroo... Dio!" Jotaro's anger meter skyrocketed. He pulled Jolyne over, gently held her hand, and asked carefully for her opinion: "...Jolyne, how about we undo this braid, okay?"
"No way, I like it!"
Besides, you wouldn't know how to tie it anyway...
Jolyne puffed her cheeks and refused, wearing the exact same expression as Frieren-neesan from a distant other world she'd never met.
"Heh!" Diego grinned in the most punchable way possible, snatched Jolyne back from Jotaro's grasp, pulled a green lipstick from Silver Bullet's saddlebag, and waved it. "Here, Jolyne—this green lipstick is for you~ wryyyyy!"
"Wow, thanks Dio-oniichan!"
Jotaro faced the greatest crisis of his life!
Jolyne, don't call that old geezer "oniichan"...
I was here first—why did it turn out like this...