“...A relationship? Ro-man-tic? Ro...mance?”
Yugo repeated the four-character word over and over, testing different intonations as if trying to decipher a foreign language.
It took more than a split second—several long moments passed, in fact—for the weight of her words to sink in. But the instant he realized he’d just been confessed to, Melt let out a shriek in his place.
“N-N-N-No! Absolutely not! What are you saying? So suddenly?!”
“I wasn’t asking you. Yugo’s opinion is the only one that matters here, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Look, uh... even if you suddenly ask me to start dating you, it’s not like I can just say, ‘Sure, sounds good,’ you know...?”
Thanks to Melt’s explosive reaction, Yugo was actually able to keep his cool. While he stumbled over his words, he managed to deliver a rejection to Setsuna.
Setsuna didn't get angry. Instead, she let out a soft sigh and offered a thin smile.
“I suppose that’s true. If you were the sort of man who’d jump at an offer like that, you would have already made a move on the girls around you. Despite being surrounded by some of the most beautiful girls in the academy, you don’t have anyone you call a lover. I’m not sure if I should call you innocent or just stoic, but I predicted you weren’t the type to enter a relationship with someone you’ve only just met.”
“Then why go out of your way to ask? And what did you mean by being able to give me the thing I want most?”
“Let’s take this one step at a time. First, as to why I proposed a relationship.”
Ignoring Melt’s blatant hostility as she tried to wedge herself between them, Setsuna held up a single finger and began her explanation.
“As I said before, I have a very high opinion of you. Your unconventional ideas will surely bring about a breakthrough in the modernization of my Shrine Maiden Attire. Beyond that, your personal strength is top-class—no, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it’s peerless. Furthermore, you have no family baggage since your parents disowned you, and your relationship with your former fiancée has been cleanly severed. Do you see where I’m going with this? Yugo, to me, you are a prime catch—one with so many ‘supers’ attached that I’ve lost count. Can you really blame me for wanting to stake my claim?”
“Stake your claim... the way you put it, you mean—”
“Yes. Eventually, I intend to take you back to Yamato and make you my husband. I suppose dating here at the academy would just be the preliminary stage, wouldn’t it?”
“Pffft—!”
Yugo sputtered in shock. Setsuna’s utter lack of hesitation in declaring her ultimate goal left him wheezing.
While he coughed and struggled for air, Melt stepped in to lodge a formal protest.
“Wait just a minute! That’s definitely not okay! Dating is one thing, but marriage?! You can’t just decide something like that on a whim, and you certainly can’t decide it for him!!”
“That is true. Which is why I’m not asking for an answer this very second. Fortunately, I’ve joined your group. That means we’ll be spending much more time together during our Academy Life from here on out. During that time, you can get to know my character. If you decide I’m suitable as a lover—and eventually a wife—then you can accept my offer. As long as you make it clear that I am your number one, I don’t mind how many concubines you take. Even if you fall for another woman and enter a relationship with her, I’ll simply accept that my own charms weren’t enough and give up. Though, I have no intention of losing.”
“Guh...!!”
Melt let out a low groan as Setsuna shot her a pointed glance.
Realizing this was a formal declaration of war, Melt tried to rally herself. She puffed out her chest, proudly displaying her ample curves to Setsuna.
“H-Hmph! I don’t know what you think you’re offering, but we have things that you don’t have, too!!”
Setsuna looked at Melt, then at Anhel—whose impressive bust was obvious even through her thick work clothes—and offered a small, knowing smirk. She took a step forward, standing directly in front of Melt.
“Ah, I see. Well, you needn't worry about that. I, too, am a ‘haver.’”
“Huh? What does that—wha?!”
A soft boing sound seemed to fill the air. Or rather, that was the sensation Melt felt against her own chest.
It felt as though she had suddenly bumped into an inflating balloon. Melt looked down and saw that Setsuna’s chest, which had been perfectly flat a moment ago, had suddenly surged outward, pressing against her own in a direct challenge.
“Wait... what? Did her chest just get huge all of a sudden?!”
“They didn't grow; this is simply my true size,” Setsuna explained calmly. “I’m an archer, and a large chest only gets in the way of the bowstring. I usually keep them suppressed with a sarashi and wind attribute magic. Once I release the binding... well, they’re about this size. You like women with large breasts, don’t you, Yugo? If that’s the case, I have to make sure I’m appealing to your tastes.”
“I—I mean, it’s not like I’m specifically a ‘big breast’ guy or anything...!”
“Gunu-nu-nu-nu-nu...! I-I won’t lose! Mine are bigger! I said mine are bigger!!”
“Stop shouting that at the top of your lungs, Melt! People are going to get the wrong idea if they hear you!!”
Yugo delivered a sharp retort to Melt, who was currently screaming with the same frantic energy as a certain whip-wielding man with the heart of a maiden from the Immortal Soldiers.
Panicked by how far the conversation had veered off course, Yugo tried to steer it back to the original point.
“Anyway... what’s this thing you keep saying I want most? I’m not exactly desperate for a girlfriend, and while I’m not saying I’m indifferent to big breasts, they’re definitely not my top priority.”
“I’m sure. If you were a man who could be satisfied by something so superficial, I wouldn’t have considered making you my husband. What you desire most right now... deep down, I think you already know what it is.”
Setsuna slipped past Melt and closed the distance between herself and Yugo.
She pressed her freed, soft weight against him—a deliberate act that served as both a temptation and proof of her words—as she finally gave voice to the one thing she could offer him. The thing he needed most.
“What I can give you is standing in the academy.”