After that, to avoid Chihaya Tetsuya overhearing their world-shaking plan, Togawa Sakiko and Chihaya Anon left the room and went upstairs to find Nagasaki Soyo.
At first, Soyo was completely confused about the situation. But after hearing Sakiko's plan, she didn't rush to give an answer. Instead, she asked with great curiosity.
"I always knew the day would come when you couldn't hold back anymore, Sakiko. But why the sudden rush?"
"Because I suddenly realized that as Tetsuya-kun's brand continues to grow, he will build connections and come into contact with more and more girls... If we continue to let him interact with girls so obliviously, the number of people who become attached to him will only increase."
Sakiko said to the two of them.
"This change of models is the best example. Perhaps Tetsuya-kun truly had no ulterior motives and was simply trying to match his joint exhibition and design concept, but the problem is, this action will inevitably deepen his connection with other girls."
"W-well, that's true... but not all of those girls will necessarily fall for my brother, right?"
Anon said with an uncertain tone.
But Soyo understood the meaning behind Sakiko's words.
"What Sakiko means is that it'll be too late if things actually develop to the point where feelings are made clear."
Soyo said.
"With Tetsuya's personality of having to see everything through to the end, even if he doesn't accept them, he'll still try his best to respond to their feelings. And if the other person is like me and doesn't care about the title of 'girlfriend' at all, then the number of girls gathering around him in the future will definitely increase."
"Exactly."
Sakiko nodded.
"I don't have any desire to monopolize Tetsuya-kun either, but that's limited to people I'm familiar with, like you all. If more newcomers are added to the mix... even I would find that unacceptable."
"...Mhm, that's true."
Soyo strongly agreed with Sakiko.
"I don't particularly want to see Tetsuya getting involved with anyone other than us, either."
"Therefore, the best way to prevent this possibility right now is to make Tetsuya-kun recognize one thing—that he is already a 'taken' man."
Sakiko crossed her arms.
"Although Uika has lectured him many times before, for a man who is unguarded to his very core, always treats people with sincerity, and is completely unaware of his own charm, mere lectures are useless. We have to leave a mark on him so deep that he can never forget it. And the most direct and simplest way I can think of... is to make his body remember. Tetsuya-kun is a responsible and stubborn man. If something like that really happened between us, he would definitely change his perception and consciously keep his distance from others. And through this plan... we might be able to gain long-term, legitimate opportunities to be intimate with him."
"Eh..."
Looking at Sakiko's eyes, which appeared calm but were brimming with passion, and feeling an intense sense of déjà vu, Anon couldn't help but exclaim.
"Somehow, both your way of thinking and your expression are becoming more and more like Ai's..."
"...It was bound to happen. If you didn't have the 'stepsister' relationship, Anon-san, you probably would have reached this point even earlier than me."
Sakiko neither confirmed nor denied Anon's statement.
"It's precisely because Hoshino Ai understands Tetsuya's true nature so well that she was in such a hurry to create a 'fait accompli' with him back then... For that reason, besides the three of us, Hoshino Ai must also be a part of this. She can't be separated from Tetsuya-kun anyway, so we might as well join forces with her and build a defensive line to keep outsiders out."
"Mhm... a defensive line?"
Soyo pondered for a moment before saying.
"It's certainly a very tempting proposal. However, the premise is that we don't bully Tetsuya too much."
"For that problem, we should just need to keep a close eye on Hoshino Ai, right?"
Sakiko said.
"The rest of us should be the type to know our limits."
"Ah... about that... I think everyone might have a slight misunderstanding about Ai."
Just then, Anon suddenly spoke up.
"When it comes to Ai, while her mood and energy will be the most enthusiastic, when it comes to the actual execution, she might be the weakest one... Also, I think you have a big misunderstanding about my brother, Sakiko-san."
"A misunderstanding?"
Sakiko was taken aback.
"What do you mean?"
"The reason my brother's relationship with us has become like this... isn't because he has no awareness of how he relates to the opposite sex, but because the few of us are 'special'."
Anon said with great seriousness.
"Ai is someone who has shared thick and thin with him, someone he sees as a part of his own life. I am my brother's stepsister, family he can never part with. You, Sakiko-san, were his first assistant and the origin of this whole story. And Soyo has entrusted her life to him for the sake of his brand."
"Anon-san..."
Hearing this, a look of surprise appeared on Sakiko's face.
Although Tetsuya had told her countless times before how unique she was, she had always just seen it as his fondness for her.
So in the eyes of a third party like Anon, I hold such an important meaning to him as well?
"Ai's stage costume back then was designed because of you, wasn't it, Sakiko-san? And after that... it was also because of you that he got to know Soyo and the others, then met me, and with my help, he got to where he is today. So, to my brother, you are a very special existence, Sakiko-san. The reason he accepted your feelings isn't because he's truly unguarded with everyone, it's just because you're special."
Anon continued to explain.
"In other words, because the four of us hold an irreplaceable meaning for my brother, he indulges us to this extent. If it were anyone else, no matter how unguarded he is, he would never rashly accept someone's feelings! So... I don't think you need to worry so much about him, Sakiko-san."
"..."
Sakiko was silent for a moment after hearing this, then nodded.
"Mhm, you're right... the few of us do indeed hold an irreplaceable meaning for Tetsuya-kun."
"Exactly! So—"
"But you have to understand, some things... don't fail to happen just because Tetsuya-kun doesn't want them to."
Sakiko shook her head.
"In another year, Tetsuya-kun will be entering [Filia] with me. Anon-san, being from an ordinary family, you probably don't know this, but those young ladies from noble families are far more terrifying than ordinary girls. If Tetsuya-kun continues to approach them with his current unguarded attitude, what awaits him will be a hell you can't even imagine. Things like kidnapping, abduction, and drugging—they are genuinely capable of doing things like that."
"Eh, eh, eh?!"
Anon cried out in alarm, and Soyo nodded with a wry smile.
"Sakiko is right. While most young ladies have indeed received a good education, there's a portion who have grown up wild due to being spoiled or lacking discipline. For these young ladies who wield power and are true to their desires, moral concepts and so-called propriety simply don't exist for them. And Tetsuya's meager sense of crisis is completely useless in front of them."
"So, we're not just trying to cultivate Tetsuya-kun's awareness, we're also reminding him... of the danger of girls."
Sakiko said.
"After all, what we can do to him could very well be done by other girls. If he doesn't realize this soon, he might really be eaten clean by those young ladies who are like wolves and tigers."
"Whoa! We can't have that!"
Hearing this, an intense sense of crisis immediately arose in Anon's heart.
If her brother was with Soyo or Sakiko, she would at most be a little jealous. But to be "forced" by a group of strangers who had no feelings for him whatsoever—as his sister, she would disagree a hundred times over!
"I understand, Sakiko-san! I agree with your plan!"
To avoid that nightmarish scenario, Anon immediately agreed to Sakiko's plan.
"As for Ai, I'll be responsible for convincing her! But I don't think it'll be a big problem. After all, she probably doesn't want my brother to fall into the hands of other girls in the future due to his lack of caution."
"Mhm, I'm glad you understand."
Sakiko nodded.
"In that case, I'll leave Hoshino Ai to you. If she has any other ideas, she can come and talk to us at any time."
"Yes!"
Anon nodded with a strong sense of mission.
"I will definitely explain all of this to Ai properly!"
...
After that, Anon first sent a few messages to Hoshino Ai on her phone. Then, after receiving some kind of reply, she left the house directly, preparing to talk to her in detail face-to-face.
After Anon had left, Soyo finally turned to look at Sakiko.
"Part of what you just said was just to trick Anon, wasn't it?"
Soyo said.
"After all, you two will be enrolling in school together. With you there... even if some young lady tried to approach Tetsuya, you would definitely chase her away, right?"
"While it was a slight exaggeration, even with me there, I can't guarantee I'll be by Tetsuya-kun's side 24/7."
Feeling a bit guilty for having her lie exposed, Sakiko slightly averted her gaze.
"And I've come to properly realize recently... that Tetsuya-kun is also a man with healthy desires."
"Well... that's true."
Soyo nodded.
"Ever since he accepted my feelings, the way he looks at me has become completely different... but even so, there's no need to be too worried, right? Just as Anon said, Tetsuya isn't that kind of frivolous man. Even now, though he could make a move on us at any time, he's still desperately holding back."
"A person's patience has its limits! And once you break past that limit, it becomes uncontrollable!"
Sakiko, who had once completely lost control while drunk and thrown a huge tantrum at Tetsuya, said in an incredibly firm tone.
"By this time next year, Tetsuya-kun will be of legal drinking age! We have to help him release those desires that might cause him to lose control before then!"
"..."
Although it seemed pretty clear that Sakiko would be the one to lose control first, Soyo ultimately swallowed her retort and just said.
"So, what's your plan... after the [TGC] is over, call Hoshino Ai here, and the four of us will force ourselves on him together?"
"That would be too crude, and I don't want to do anything too rough to Tetsuya-kun."
Sakiko shook her head.
"I plan to hold a private celebration party just for those involved with [Starry Sky], like after the live show before... And then... trick Tetsuya-kun into drinking a little bit of alcohol."
"...Is that really going to be okay?"
Soyo couldn't help but question it.
"He'll recognize the taste of alcohol immediately, won't he?"
"It's fine. At the party that day, I had a cocktail that didn't taste like alcohol at all. We just have to get him to drink that."
Sakiko said without batting an eye.
"Of course, if he really does see through it... then we'll just have to wrong him a little, and the four of us will have to do it by force."
"So in the end... what we're planning to do is basically the same as those unscrupulous young ladies you were talking about."
"It's not the same. Didn't Anon-san just say it? We're very special to Tetsuya-kun!"
"No matter how special... four people at once is a bit too much..."
Soyo sighed just imagining the scene.
"Well, I guess this is probably the only way to get Tetsuya to accept all of us at once."
If I calculate the time... there's still about two months left?
I should look up some nourishing recipes online and prepare Tetsuya a little in advance...
With a mixture of anticipation, excitement, and worry, Nagasaki Soyo decided to start making some preparations.