Chapter 64 – A Battle Royale? They're All Throwing Themselves at Him! (Patreon)

"Kouma-kun, let's sit here!"

Toward the left side of the middle section of the audience, Miyako led Kouma by the hand and they sat down.

Shuchi'in Academy was flush with money; all the audience seating in the performance hall used actual cinema-style chairs. Cushioned seats, padded backrests—even the slender frame of a young woman would feel a soft, enveloping embrace the moment she sat down.

Most importantly, the armrests on these cinema seats could be lifted up. Miyako had noticed that little detail from the very beginning. As she sat, she naturally raised the armrest between their two chairs. Just like that, two single seats instantly became a double seat with no divider.

Still holding Kouma's hand, Miyako said to him, as casually as she could manage, "It might get really crowded later. Maybe Kouma-kun should sit a little closer to me..."

Kouma looked down at that. The seat cushion was generously sized. Even with Miyako's full, shapely rear sinking slightly into the plush cushion, there was still a fair amount of space left. And with the armrest gone, the two cushions were practically merged—the space was even bigger.

Given Kouma's young, small stature, he could even rest his head directly on Miyako's smooth, round thighs and lie all the way back.

Miyako noticed that too. The image of Kouma resting his head on her lap surfaced in her mind, sending a slight flutter through her body.

She might only be Ai's manager, but she had always treated Ai like her own little sister. She was even planning to officially adopt Ai and become her legal guardian. And so, the little brother Ai cherished so dearly was naturally her little brother too.

Offering her little brother a warm lap pillow—that was completely reasonable, right?

Miyako rationalized it all in her head, then voiced the offer. "If Kouma-kun gets tired, you're welcome to lean on me and rest."

Kouma shook his head. "I'm not tired yet..."

That said, he did shift a little closer to Miyako. Their bodies were practically touching now.

She hadn't succeeded in giving him a lap pillow, which left Miyako faintly disappointed. But being able to sit so cozy and close, savoring the light, pleasant feeling the young boy brought, was already satisfying enough for her. The school festival performance was long—she wasn't in any hurry at all.

"Maybe once the crowd really fills in, I could even hold Kouma-kun in my arms..."

The mere thought sent ripples of excitement surging through Miyako's heart.

"Kouma-kun?"

Just as Miyako's fantasy was getting started, an elegant, slightly husky, mature female voice sounded beside her ear. Miyako and Kouma both turned, faintly surprised.

In the dim light of the performance hall, a woman wearing a huge pair of sunglasses that obscured most of her face appeared before them.

"Yukiko... nee-san?"

Kouma saw her fair, radiant skin—still visible even in the low light—and instantly named her.

"Kouma-kun recognized me at a single glance! Looks like you keep me in your heart after all." Beneath her sunglasses, Yukiko Fujimine's red lips curved upward in delight. She settled her full, shapely rear directly onto the seat next to Kouma.

Only then did Kouma notice Ran Mouri standing behind her. "Ran-nee."

Ran's pretty face flickered with a hint of shyness. The instant she saw Kouma, the scenes from the haunted house flooded back into her mind, and her firm, powerful thighs tensed slightly. "Kouma-kun, you're here too," she replied, taking a seat beside Yukiko.

Miyako watched the woman who had pressed herself right up against Kouma and narrowed her beautiful eyes. "I'm Miyako Saito, Kouma-kun's aunt. And you two are?"

Yukiko removed the huge sunglasses, revealing her breathtakingly gorgeous face. "I'm Yukiko Fujimine. I'm Kouma-kun's onee-san." She placed particularly heavy emphasis on the word "onee-san."

"And this is Ran Mouri, a student here at Shuchi'in—also Kouma-kun's onee-san."

"Yukiko Fujimine? The mega-star who swept the nation?"

"That's right. But I retired from show business over ten years ago, so I can hardly be called a big star anymore." Yukiko spoke with a mix of pride and modesty.

A flash of surprise crossed Miyako's eyes. Over a decade ago, when Miyako had been just a fledgling idol herself, she'd naturally known of this woman—someone her own age who had already become a global sensation.

She had once been a figure of admiration for a little idol like Miyako! Who would've thought they'd meet at Shuchi'in's school festival?

And she knew Kouma! And she seemed so close to him... A woman the same age as her, and she had the nerve to call herself Kouma's onee-san?! Miyako instantly gained a full appreciation of this former superstar's degree of narcissism.

Narrowing her eyes, Miyako glared at the woman's body snug against Kouma.

She was thoroughly displeased. This woman had plopped herself down beside Kouma without the slightest restraint! That position was supposed to belong to her—the future legal guardian of Kouma's sister, Ai!

At that very moment, Yukiko was also silently scrutinizing Miyako. A gorgeous face, an excellent figure, mature and brimming with that sophisticated older-woman allure—similar to herself in several ways. But she'd never heard the name before, so she probably wasn't one of Eri's acquaintances.

So where had this auntie come from? Could she even compare to her, Eri's best friend and Kouma's biological mother's closest confidante? What status did she hold? And she thought she was worthy of sitting next to Kouma?

The two women's eyes met, and they both saw the hostility reflected in the other's gaze. Where their lines of sight intersected, it almost seemed to spark and crackle.

Kouma, squeezed between two soft bodies, was perfectly content.

The two mature beauties, their lovely faces all pleasant smiles, were each inwardly scheming about how to drive the other away when a gentle, mature voice suddenly rang out.

"Kouma-kun? What are you doing here?"

Yukiko and Miyako whipped their heads around. A voluptuous, beautiful young married woman was walking over, looking slightly surprised.

Then, right before the stunned eyes of Yukiko and Miyako, this lovely young wife scooped Kouma straight up out from between them. Her movements were so natural, her actions so practiced.

They could tell at a glance—she'd clearly done this many, many times before.

"Yotsuya-san!"

"Miko-nee!"

Kouma greeted them both.

"We were just thinking we'd stop by your stall to get some takoyaki before heading home!" the Yotsuya mother said to him, her brows and eyes carrying a hint of flirtatiousness that only Kouma could read.

"Sure! If Yotsuya-san likes it, I can make some extra when the time comes." Kouma smiled and promised.

Seeing their beloved young boy scooped up by this married woman, Yukiko and Miyako immediately couldn't stay seated. They hurriedly stood up.

"And this is...?"

The Yotsuya mother took in the two top-tier beauties—both in looks and presence—who were now looking at her with obvious hostility. She paused for a moment.

That look... she knew it well. That was it... the exact same look Sayuri Sawamura gave her. In an instant, she understood everything, and couldn't help a quiet, inward sigh. Just as expected of Kouma-kun—there are truly too many women coveting him...

Still, as a young wife who had already tasted Kouma's flavor and was only half a step from the finish line, she very naturally put on the air of a victor. "I'm Touko Yotsuya. I'm Kouma-kun's aunt."

She set Kouma down, but their hands remained clasped. Her slender pinky even secretly grazed lightly against his palm.

"Aunt?" Miyako narrowed her eyes.

"Kouma-kun and my daughter Miko are very close. He comes over to our house often to play," Touko stated plainly.

Yukiko and Miyako glanced over at Miko, who was crouched beside Touko, quietly chatting with Kouma.

A very cute girl—and her figure seemed to have inherited some of her mother's voluptuous charms. But compared to the daughter, they felt the mother was far more of a threat.

What neither of them noticed at all, however, was the deep, natural, and intense affection shining in that daughter's eyes as she talked to Kouma. As the very first girl to have dual-cultivated with Kouma, Miko felt no need to fight or compete. In her eyes, as long as Kouma held her in his heart, she was perfectly content.

The three older women, all around the same age, were meanwhile fully locked in a clash of wills, sparks flying in all directions.

After introductions, even Touko—who had thought she was just half a step away from claiming Kouma—felt the pressure skyrocket.

And before long, the Sawamura mother and daughter appeared as well.

"Kouma-kun?"

The moment Sayuri and Eriri spotted Kouma, their expressions froze, and a subconscious joy rose in their hearts. But then they immediately recalled the awkward situation between them due to what had happened that morning in the Art Club room, and their faces grew somewhat strained.

They had come to the school festival performance precisely to briefly escape that awkwardness—and instead, they'd run straight into Kouma.

But the awkward atmosphere didn't last more than a few seconds. Because they saw the stunning beauties around Kouma—and Touko. Sayuri and Eriri's breath caught in their throats.

Choosing between mother and daughter when it came to Kouma might be a difficult puzzle, but placing Kouma between other women and their mother-daughter duo? That earlier dilemma simply ceased to exist. An outside enemy had appeared—the priority was to join forces and deal with the outsiders first!

"Kouma-kun, you're here too?"

That familiar greeting made every woman present turn their heads toward this mother-daughter pair.

"Another one..." Yukiko's beautiful eyes narrowed, her gaze settling on Sayuri.

Miyako was even more inwardly alarmed and bewildered. In her expectations, shouldn't she have been sitting cozy and close with Kouma, watching the show together? How, in the span of just a few minutes, had so many rivals come crawling out of the woodwork?

As time passed, more and more people filed into the venue. The student performances gradually began.

The opening act was the Rock Club. They were Shuchi'in students, after all, so their skills were solid, and they quickly pumped up the energy inside the hall. The audience was also gracious enough to stand and cheer a few times.

This actually suited the thoughts of Yukiko and the other women quite well. If they were seated—who got to sit next to Kouma? With the aisle wide enough anyway, if they stood, at least they could surround him from front, back, left, and right.

B-Komachi, with its established fanbase, was absolutely a dimensional smackdown on a stage mostly filled with Shuchi'in's amateur students. Even before B-Komachi took the stage, a huge number of homemade fan light-boards were already visible in the audience—most of them shining with Ai Hoshino's name.

And that atmosphere reached its fever peak the moment B-Komachi and Ai Hoshino appeared on stage, delivering a full dose of idol shock-and-awe to the students, parents, and teachers in attendance.

"AI-CHAN!!!"

"AI-CHAN!!!"

Complete strangers among the fans, yet they moved as if they'd rehearsed it countless times. Perfectly synchronized chants and flawlessly organized cheer routines, combined with the lively dance moves of the girls on stage, made the school festival feel as though it had transformed into a full-blown Ai Hoshino concert.

On stage, Ai's eyes constantly swept across the audience. But with so many people and the light so dim, she couldn't pick out Kouma's figure. That was fine. She was utterly certain that Kouma's eyes were fixed on her the entire time.

"Next, a song my little brother wrote for me..."

In the audience, Miyako held Kouma in her arms as she watched Ai shine so brilliantly on stage. "Ai-nee has really worked so hard," Kouma said with emotion.

Miyako fell silent for a moment, images surfacing in her mind of how hard Ai had been training lately. Miyako knew very well: everything Ai had worked for up to now was for Kouma.

Transferring to Shuchi'in was to be closer to him. Making such a high-profile appearance performing at the high school division's school festival was to tell Yukino that even an orphanage girl like her could shine this brightly, could back Kouma up, and had every right to compete for the position of Kouma's sister.

Miyako wholeheartedly supported her in that. Knowing the depth of feeling between Kouma and Ai, she also held high hopes for Ai.

But right now...

"Miss Saito must be tired. Let me hold Kouma-kun instead!"

That elegant, slightly husky voice of a mature beauty sounded beside her ear. Yukiko was looking at her with a face full of pleasant, amiable goodwill.

Miyako turned her head to look—the mother-daughter duo of the Sawamuras, united in purpose; the Yotsuya mother-daughter pair, brimming with confidence...

She hadn't realized that Ai's rivals extended far, far beyond just Yukino...

"For Ai-chan's sake... I've got to put in the effort too!"

Miyako tightened her arms around the young boy, a flash of resolve crossing her eyes.

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