[Milady's inner world is so cute!]
While Hayasaka Ai and Shinomiya Kaguya were whispering to each other, the words echoed once again in Diego's mind.
Diego had already come to believe that the Shinomiya family was not the same type as the Zenin family. From just this brief contact, the memory sprite's translations had given him tremendous interest in Shinomiya Kaguya.
Because that "mouth says one thing, heart says another" act was really fun!
So Diego leaned over the back of the sofa and extended a date invitation toward Shinomiya Kaguya: "Shinomiya, if you're free today, could you spare a whole day for me, Dio?"
"Eh? I do have time, but you mean..."
"Interested in going on a date with me, Dio?"
Suddenly called out, Shinomiya Kaguya was caught off guard. Happiness had come too suddenly. Her face flushed faintly, yet she still forced a cool demeanor: "S-sure, why not."
"Good. After all, for the next while we'll be living under the same roof, so we should get to know each other properly." Seeing Shinomiya Kaguya agree, Diego rose from the sofa, stretched lazily, and said, "I'll head out first and wait for you at the gate."
"Well, can't be helped. You do make a good point."
Diego strode away on his long legs. As he passed Hayasaka Ai, she slipped the hair tie from her palm into his hand and gave him a playful wink.
Diego first glanced suspiciously at the hair tie from the corner of his eye. Under Hayasaka's meaningful blink, he instantly understood her intention.
Oh! My hair's a bit messy. Maid-san really is thoughtful—tying it up will definitely make me look even cooler!
I'm insanely handsome!
With perfect mutual understanding, he took the hair tie and left the Shinomiya family reception room.
The golden figure gradually faded into the distance. The cool mask Shinomiya Kaguya had maintained in front of Diego vanished instantly, replaced by dizzy spiral eyes and faint steam rising from her head in a panic.
"Ha-Ha-Ha-Hayasaka————!!!" She grabbed Hayasaka and shook her frantically, voice trembling with urgency as she cried for help. "Wh-wh-wh-what do I do?! This is my first date—I have zero experience! Does my current image look too cold? Will Brando-kun dislike it? What type does he like? Is it the cute type like Fujiwara-san? Quick, help me get ready!"
Then, mimicking Fujiwara Chika's style, she grabbed a ribbon and tried to tie it into her black hair—making the overall look bizarrely eerie under the hairstyle.
At this moment, Shinomiya Kaguya still didn't know that the adorable inner monologue hidden beneath her lifelong cool facade had already been laid completely bare to Diego through the memory sprite's translation.
Like peeling an orange layer by layer, what Diego planned to do next was remove the last remaining white pith entirely and taste the translucent, glistening flesh inside.
"Milady... I've actually been here the whole time. You don't need to shout so loudly." Hayasaka Ai covered her ears to protect her faintly aching eardrums. She calmly teased while reaching out to remove the ribbon, as if long accustomed to this. "It's really unbelievable. Milady is actually starting to dress up for someone else. You were never like this before..."
"Yeah, but now it's for..." Shinomiya Kaguya's words cut off abruptly. She suddenly froze, mouth slightly agape, unable to close it for a long moment.
Her thoughts fell into a brief blank. Her mind went completely foggy.
Right... why am I so desperate to please him?
This isn't like me at all...
[As a member of the Shinomiya family, you must never rely on others. You must use others, manipulate others, and—when necessary—abandon others.]
[Never let joy or anger show on your face. A polite smile is acceptable, but never display anger, sadness, and certainly never cry.]
"...That's why I think milady doesn't need to change anything special. Just get along with your true self." Only when Hayasaka Ai's familiar voice reached her did Shinomiya Kaguya's thoughts finally return.
"Yeah... thank you, Hayasaka."
Shinomiya Kaguya showed a complicated smile. She didn't make Diego wait long—she quickly stood and went to join him.
...
"Oh, pretty quick. Worth praising."
Soon, Shinomiya Kaguya saw Diego standing at the main gate.
On the other side, the driver responsible for Shinomiya Kaguya's transportation was sweating profusely while working on the engine. When he saw her approach, he explained: "I'm very sorry, milady. For some reason the engine malfunctioned today. I'm already arranging a replacement vehicle. Could you wait just a moment?"
"It's fine. In that case, Brando-kun and I can just walk." Shinomiya Kaguya didn't take the minor hiccup to heart.
Walking slowly together along the street would give them even more time to get to know each other, wouldn't it?
"That won't do. At the very least, Hayasaka should accompany you."
"Oh?" Hearing the driver's words, Diego shoved his hands in his pockets, walked up to the driver, pulled one hand out, and lightly tapped the hood. He asked, "So in other words, this is something Shinomiya Kaguya absolutely needs whenever she goes out? She can't leave without it?"
"Yes, milady has always—"
Vroom vroom vroom...
"Then no need to fix it. Conveniently, one of my, Dio's, hobbies is carrying my mount for a stroll. I also occasionally like to practice calligraphy while carrying it."
Under the driver's increasingly widening eyes, Diego hoisted the car single-handedly onto his shoulder. He raised an eyebrow at Shinomiya Kaguya, pointed grandly toward the gate with a cocky tone:
"Hey~ Shall we go?"
"Pfft... Ahahahaha, Brando-kun really is hilarious!" Shinomiya Kaguya burst out laughing at Diego's antics, wiping the corner of her eye. Thanks to Hayasaka Ai's intel, she wasn't shocked. "Okay, let's go. But you don't need to take the car with us."
"Yes yes..."
Thud...
The car returned to the ground.
The two gradually walked away, leaving only the driver's shell-shocked worldview behind.
Since Diego was the one who proposed the date, he walked ahead to lead the way, while Shinomiya Kaguya simply followed with a smiling face—just as she had once followed behind Hayasaka Ai.
The only difference was that she kept gazing at Diego's profile.
"By the way, Brando-kun, your grades are really excellent. Do you have any secret tips?" Shinomiya Kaguya casually brought it up, launching the first wave of her reconnaissance.
"Hm, let me think how best to explain it to you..." Diego looked somewhat troubled.
Out of Shinomiya Kaguya's line of sight, he pulled a piece of paper from a spatial rift, scribbled two crooked characters on it, and held it out to her.
"Here. Can you read it? Want me, Dio, to read it for you?"
"Don't underestimate me." Shinomiya Kaguya took the note and softly read the two words aloud. "Ge...nius?"
I see. So he's a genius far beyond me—that's why I can't beat Brando-kun?
[Milady, before coming to this world, Dio actually never attended school at all...]
Brando-kun managed to fully absorb this world's knowledge in just a few days... He's really amazing...
"Hmph hmph. Not just you—no one can ever beat me, Dio. The price of defeat is steep, so this great one swore never to lose." Diego's eyes curved with amusement as he boasted as usual. "Shinomiya, did you know? A few months ago I couldn't even say the word 'apple,' but now I'm undeniably number one. And from now on, I, Dio, will forever be number one!"
"Yeah yeah, genius Brando-kun. I'm completely convinced. But I'm not giving up. Someday I'll stand on the same level as you..." While Shinomiya Kaguya was lost in emotion, she suddenly widened her eyes,
realizing something was off.
This is a response... answering the question I just had in my heart?
How does Brando-kun know what I'm thinking?
One of his strange abilities isn't mind-reading, is it? Then wouldn't everything I'm thinking be completely exposed to him?
Shinomiya Kaguya's mind conjured an image of Diego pinching his chin, looking at her like an insect, and saying: Oh kawaii koto~ (How cute~).
No way!
I don't believe it—I don't believe it. It has to be a coincidence!
Shinomiya Kaguya shook her head frantically behind him while Diego desperately held back laughter ahead.
Heh heh, Shinomiya Kaguya really is fun!
Completely different from the Zenin family bunch. It was all my preconceived bias.
"Memory sprite, stop transmitting her inner thoughts to me. Guessing this stuff myself is way more interesting." Diego shook his head lightly.
"As you wish."
The sprite's mind-reading ceased.
Now it was Diego's turn.
Diego curled his lips. From the corner of his eye he glanced at her and said: "Still, this really caught me off guard. I never thought you'd actually let me stay at your house, Shinomiya."
"Eh? Do I look like the type who'd ignore a homeless classmate?" Shinomiya Kaguya narrowed her eyes slightly, covering her mouth with a fist as she laughed softly.
If it weren't Brando-kun, I wouldn't care.
Wait—if he really can read minds, won't hearing that make him think I'm selfish and a bad woman?
Haha, just kidding. I'd agree even for someone else.
Under her rich inner monologue, Shinomiya Kaguya began a fierce left-brain vs. right-brain battle, thinking in sharp spikes to try disrupting mind-reading Diego.
"No, I thought you'd be scared of me—at the very least you'd definitely hate me."
Diego naturally had no idea that the moment he told the memory sprite to stop, Shinomiya Kaguya had launched into a full dramatic performance.
He continued: "After all, I used our bet to thoroughly humiliate you."
"Ah—that... did that happen?" Shinomiya Kaguya looked at Diego with a perfectly blank expression.
"...Don't you think it's humiliating to have someone as insignificant and common as me serving under you?"
"What humiliation?"
"Then when I stared at you before and you ran away in panic—wasn't that because you found me terrifying?"
"Ah, that... being stared at so directly by a man was a first for me..."
Am I an idiot?
What was I even excited about back then...
"But I've never thought Brando-kun was terrifying. Please believe me." Shinomiya Kaguya's cheeks flushed faintly, like spring breeze brushing past, carrying a shy sweetness. "That's exactly why I want to understand Brando-kun—to see what a genius completely superior to me, yet true to his own heart, is really like."
The reason she was being so bold was her thought: Since Brando-kun can read minds anyway, there's no point hiding anything.
So she decided that rather than passive defense, she would go on the offensive—voicing everything she wanted to tell him no matter what.
Shinomiya Kaguya put her hands behind her back, stepped in front of Diego, bent slightly at the waist, tilted her head, and met his deep blue eyes once again with her crimson ones. She asked: "Then what about you, Brando-kun? Do you really hate me, being from a noble conglomerate family?"
"You're surprisingly straightforward. Completely different from what Maid-san said. How should I put this..." Diego rubbed his temples, looking troubled.
Soon after, his gaze suddenly froze as if he'd thought of a good idea. He chuckled lightly: "Look closely at my, Dio's, face. Does this smile of mine look like one I'd give to someone I hate?"
"..." Shinomiya Kaguya stared blankly, then lowered her gaze and let out two self-deprecating laughs. "So stupid... Why did I ever dislike Brando-kun in the first place over something so trivial, just for the sake of so-called dignity?"
"There's no why. I just wasn't happy about it. Some things can't be judged rationally." Diego shook his head lightly and explained, "Because that's just how I am."
Then, after a moment's hesitation, Diego took the hair tie from his pocket, walked behind Shinomiya Kaguya, personally tied up her loose hair, and held a mirror in front of her.
"How's it look? Cute?" Diego rested one hand on Shinomiya Kaguya's shoulder, bringing his head level with hers, and gently blew on her earlobe.
"Very cute... but why all of a sudden..."
Diego explained again: "I was originally going to use this hair tie to tie my own hair back. But then I thought—I'm already insanely handsome. As a proper emperor, I should occasionally leave others a little hope of catching up."
"So it's yours now. Work hard to stand on the same level as me, Dio, as soon as possible."
Shinomiya Kaguya stared at her completely transformed reflection in the mirror. She closed her eyes, covered her mouth, and laughed softly, nodding.
I never thought I could become cute too...
"Okay, President."
"Oh? The election results aren't even out yet."
"It's fine. Let me get used to the title first. Since you said you absolutely won't lose, leave the campaign speech in three days to me with peace of mind."
"Well, that might not be bad."
Diego straightened up. His gaze swept around and was drawn to the claw machine in the mall. He invited: "Want to go inside and play some claw machine?"
Shinomiya Kaguya gave a soft affirmative: "Sure, but this is my first time. If I fail, you can't laugh at me."
"Relax. With me, Dio, here, failure's impossible..."
Though it was Diego's first time too, he was brimming with confidence.
The two entered the mall. The moment they stepped inside, Diego sensed two familiar presences.
It was the father-daughter pair whose relationship had been steadily improving: Jotaro and Jolyne!
"Brando-kun, which doll do you think would be best to grab?" Shinomiya Kaguya pointed at the dazzling array of plushies in the claw machine, somewhat conflicted.
"Grab that heart one." The heart faction's Diego gave an instant answer.
"Okay."
Clunk...
As soon as the words left her mouth, Shinomiya Kaguya inserted coins to start the machine and nervously operated the joystick.
The claw wobbled under Shinomiya Kaguya's control until it hovered above the heart plushie—but slightly off-angle.
And when she said she'd never played claw machines before, she wasn't being modest. As a complete beginner, she reached out and slapped—sending the claw plunging down.
"Ah, oh no—it looks like it's still a bit short!"
Shinomiya Kaguya nervously squeezed her eyes shut.
Just as the claw was one short distance from the heart—
The World!
Time that belongs only to me—13 seconds!
The yellowish figure appeared behind the two and stopped time.
Diego looked toward The World and gave a slight nod.
"Muda!"
The World instantly understood. It hooked the heart plushie's tag onto the claw—so even if the plushie itself wasn't grabbed, it would still be pulled out along with the tag.
Meanwhile, on the other side—because time had suddenly stopped—Jotaro, carrying Jolyne's schoolbag on his back, turned toward the direction of the Joestar family's strange perception. He watched the entire scene with clear disgust.
What the hell is Dio doing? Using his Stand to pick up girls? Disgraceful.
Sensing Jotaro's gaze, Diego frowned and glared back defiantly before releasing the time stop early.
Time resumed...
"Wow, what luck! Brando-kun, look—I somehow hooked the tag by accident!" Shinomiya Kaguya opened her eyes and, like a little kid, excitedly raised the heart plushie for Diego to see.
"See? Told you failure was impossible. Newbie protection."
On the other side, Jolyne's eyes suddenly sparkled. She grabbed Jotaro and ran toward a claw machine.
"Dad, look! There's a claw machine over there!"
Still some distance from Diego, Jolyne didn't spot him. She and Jotaro arrived at a claw machine on the other side of the mall.
"Jolyne wants to grab that one!" Jolyne smiled and pointed at a green heart.
"..."
Though his daughter was adorable like this, Jotaro still felt somewhat sour.
Damn Dio—he's ruined Jolyne's taste!
"...Jolyne, let's grab the dolphin instead." The starfish faction's Jotaro adjusted his hat brim and pointed at the dolphin plushie next to the green heart in the machine.
"Why a dolphin? I want the green heart."
Clunk...
Jolyne inserted coins to start the machine and went straight for the green heart.
Star Platinum: The World!
Time stopped!
"Ora!!!"
Star Platinum's speed A swiftly adjusted the claw's descent angle. Precision A ensured the claw grabbed the dolphin plushie perfectly.
Time resumed...
"??? Why did it grab a dolphin??? I was clearly aiming for the heart..." Jolyne held the dolphin in confusion.
"Pfft..."
The corners of Jotaro's mouth lifted slightly. He was quite satisfied with the result and inwardly gloated hard.
But he forgot one thing: Diego was still nearby.
So when he turned his head, he saw Diego wearing an even more contemptuous expression.
Diego raised his middle finger in an international gesture of disrespect and mouthed: Cheating on a kid? I despise you.
Jotaro didn't respond. He simply pressed his hat brim down even lower.
"Tch. Damn Jotaro—just bullying Jolyne because she can't move in stopped time. Next time I restore her time stop ability and see how you explain it." Diego clicked his tongue, muttered a few curses under his breath, then took Shinomiya Kaguya's hand and left. Though it was phrased as a question, it felt impossible to refuse: "There's an annoying guy in the mall. Let's go play somewhere else?"
"Annoying guy?"
"Don't mind him. Just come with me."
"Wait—don't pull me!"
"Huh? I, Dio, don't care about that."
What Diego didn't notice was the faint smile the girl showed while playing.
Not a polite one—but her first genuine smile from the heart.
I, Shinomiya Kaguya, recently started admiring someone. His name is Diego Brando.
...