Just as Yakumo had said, rumors of Tatsuya and company had speedily spread among the Magicians. "Shizuku, that, is it true!?" "…There's no mistake." Moving her line of sight away from the Honoka who was standing on the other side of the table, Shizuku replied with difficulty. "Miyuki is the next Head of the Yotsuba Family!?"
"Yeah." As if losing her strength, Honoka lightly sat back down. In front of the two were bite-sized cakes and red tea. Today was Sunday, January 6th. Shizuku and Honoka were in the Kitayama Household's dining room enjoying desert time after the meal. ——Although the atmosphere was turning anything but 'enjoyable'. With Honoka, who rarely came over to play (to be precise, it was Shizuku who invited her), talking about this topic made Shizuku herself uncomfortable, but compared to telling her suddenly after meeting her again in the future, she felt it was better to tell her right from the start. As Shizuku had thought, Honoka did indeed suffer a serious blow, and she was now sitting in the chair, in a listless state. "Miyuki is… So it's like this…" However, the listlessness persisted for a surprisingly short time. Honoka muttered, as if accepting it, then resolutely looked at Shizuku. "Although it gave me a fright, I can accept this. If it's the Ten Master Clans and even one of the Yotsuba Family, it feels like having that kind of ability and power is understandable." Although Honoka's expression was tinged with loneliness, she looked at Shizuku with an understanding expression. "Well, from who did you hear that from? Auntie? Or from Uncle?” "The Yotsuba Family contacted the Heads of the Main Members of the Hundred Families through the Magic Association. It was one of my Mom’s contacts from the old days that told her." "Ah, if Papa were home he might have told me." Honoka's dad was a subordinate of a strong member of the Hundred Families. Because the news was not specially designated a secret, the possibility that the source of the rumors came from the workplace wasn't low.
Initially, Shizuku was feeling slightly lucky at the fact that Honoka's dad was not home. Honoka's dad did not know about her being in love. Just bringing up anything related to Tatsuya and Miyuki to her dad might have caused him to warn her to stay away from the two. "Honoka." "Yeah, what is it?" However, for Shizuku, it was not easy to properly handle this matter. Especially knowing she wasn't good with words, the trouble of exactly how she should tell her started growing heavier. (But… I really must tell her.) Honoka might cry. No, she will definitely cry. At that time, the only one able to let her cry out honestly was herself, and Shizuku's sense of duty began to well up. If she didn't do so, it would feel like running away from the topic. "Actually, there was a follow-up to what I heard from Mom." "Follow-up? Exactly what is it?" Shizuku took a small breath, "It's that Miyuki and Tatsuya-san are not actually siblings but rather cousins. Also, it looks like even Miyuki and Tatsuya-san did not know this. Following that, Tatsuya-san has also been chosen to be Miyuki's fiancé." Finished in one breath. "It cannot be…" Honoka's face tried to remain strong, then immediately broke into a smile. "Rea-aaa-lly, Shizuku. Just stop with this type of cruel joke. April Fools is still three months away."
Honoka waited for Shizuku to smile as well. Waiting, for Shizuku to reply with something like 'I’ve been found out' with an expression without malice. However, Shizuku only looked into Honoka's eyes with a calm expression. "Hey, Shizuku. Stop joking." Fear appeared in Honoka's eyes. Even so, maintaining a smile, she implored Shizuku with a half-joking tone to tell her that this was a joke. "Honoka." However, Shizuku's tone wasn't what Honoka was waiting for, but was a sincere tone. "…It's true?" Honoka asked, while shaking. "…Yeah.” Shizuku affirmed painfully. "How could…!" Honoka stood up, wanting to run out of the dining room. "Honoka!" While her back, was tightly hugged by Shizuku. "Let go of me!" Honoka struggled with slightly rough actions. She was not in fact conscious of who it was that hugged her. More importantly, even where she herself wanted to go, no, what she wanted to do, she did not know. However, a type of survival instinct to escape from what she feared made her want to run with all her might, away from the darkness. With the hands pushing away, their strength was totally uncontrolled. “Kya!”
A wail. As well as the sound of a body hitting the table. The sound of the grinding of table legs. The sound of chairs flipping. The sound of forks being strewn across the floor, and of utensils breaking. "…Uhh.” Followed by a moan suppressing the pain, which pulled Honoka's consciousness back to the present scene. What she saw upon turning her head in panic, was Shizuku lying beside the flipped chair. While on the floor behind her, were fragments from all the broken utensils. "Shizuku!? S-