Chapter Text
That day, Matthias unexpectedly brought his daughter a completely different kind of manga.
When Kira first got her hands on it, she didn't look closely and assumed it was the latest issue of Fixer Monthly—after all, Matthias knew she was a die-hard Fixer fan. She'd read every issue multiple times and could even recite the plots by heart. But when she took a closer look, the cover was that girly pink, and the title read: "Strictly Forbidden: Do Not Develop an Accelerated Heartbeat Reaction to Your Tsundere Childhood Friend." Kira swore this was one of the strangest manga she'd ever seen in her life—she couldn't even imagine how this thing had ended up in her father's hands.
"...What the heck?"
She was genuinely disappointed. She even suspected Matthias had bought the wrong one, or had been swindled by some shady merchant. But Matthias insisted he'd done his research, and that girls her age loved this kind of thing. Kira didn't want to disappoint him, so she accepted it—even though she probably wouldn't like it. But this was all for Papa! Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw him wiping away tears with a handkerchief—though it was most likely fake crying. He also promised he'd make it up to her with the next issue of Fixer Monthly.
Later, she tossed the manga onto the sofa, buried under a stack of old Fixer Monthly issues. She genuinely forgot about that pink manga's existence. That's why she never touched it—maybe Matthias, seeing that she truly had no interest in that genre, had given up. But at the same time, he couldn't figure out where his research had gone wrong.
One day, she had absolutely nothing to do. She'd read every column, even flipped through all the old issues she had on hand. Then, somehow, her gaze landed on that pink cover.
She figured she had nothing better to do anyway, so she might as well read it for some light entertainment. She picked up the "new" manga called "Strictly Forbidden: Do Not Develop an Accelerated Heartbeat Reaction to Your Tsundere Childhood Friend" and flipped open to the first page.
At first, she wasn't particularly invested—compared to the Fixer stories, it felt way too mundane. But as the minutes ticked by, she became more and more absorbed in the plot, curious about how the relationship between the main characters would develop, and how the supporting characters would keep throwing obstacles in their way. She'd even criticize the unreasonable plots and characters who made baffling decisions—the kind who definitely wouldn't survive in real life. But in the end, she learned to turn off part of her brain while reading.
Just when the plot reached its most exciting part, the manga ended. To continue, she'd have to buy the second volume. Kira let out a shriek—how could it end on such a cliffhanger?! Ah! She desperately wanted to know the fate of the main characters; she had to read on, she must!!!
When Matthias returned to the corridor after finishing his mission, Kira went up to him and asked if he could buy her the second part of "Strictly Forbidden: Do Not Develop an Accelerated Heartbeat Reaction to Your Tsundere Childhood Friend." Matthias was stunned for a good while.
"Haha! I knew you'd like it, sweetie! Just wait till tomorrow—I'll get you the rest of the series! And if you want to read any other shoujo manga, just tell your best dad!"
Matthias laughed heartily and patted Kira on the shoulder, as if she had just made the most important decision of her life. This made Kira both embarrassed and puzzled.
"Ah! Papa, stop it!!!"
Kira yelled, her face bright red, terrified that anyone else might hear she liked shoujo manga. After all, this was quite different from the Fixer stories, right?
From then on, Kira's life was practically filled with shoujo manga. Even the things she recommended to the other Apprentices shifted from anime stories to these manga. If she ever succeeded in getting them hooked, the entire House of Spiders would probably be awash in pink bubbles. They would be shouting about the power of pure love and going off to defeat enemies.
When recommending to the other Apprentices, she'd also include her reviews, rankings, and the parts that annoyed her. The Apprentices all agreed that Kira was even noisier than before—at least before, she'd been noisy about normal things. How did she suddenly start ranting about these totally unrealistic stories? The Apprentices even started praying that the old Kira, who had never been exposed to shoujo manga, would come back. But clearly, that wasn't going to happen.
But strangely enough, a few times after Kira recommended some to Ren, he actually came to her—though looking rather embarrassed—to borrow a few of the manga she'd suggested. And of course, she generously lent them out! Ren looked really shy at the time. He was usually a person with very little expression—at least, Kira had never seen him blush like a tomato. Seeing him like that, Kira almost thought that even he had started to like the romance plots in shoujo manga.
Later, when she asked him about it, Ren said he hadn't borrowed them for himself—his mentor, the Pinky Nursefather, wanted to read them. Kira was puzzled. Even someone as reclusive as that liked this kind of story? Oh well, never mind—getting someone hooked was a win. This was a big step forward in popularizing shoujo manga among the masses, and it proved her ability to get more people to read and appreciate such stories.
After getting the manga back, she was curious what the Pinky Nursefather thought of them. Ren stammered for a while before finally managing to say, "My mentor found them interesting."
Kira was genuinely surprised. Who knew the Pinky Nursefather was that kind of person! If she ever got the chance to meet this person, she'd definitely chat about the manga plots. Before this, she never imagined that the most mysterious Nursefather also liked romance stories. After all, she had heard that this Nursefather had been forced to come to the House of Spiders and was even forced to give birth to Yoshihide.
Some time passed, and Kira had read just about every manga of that genre. But her enthusiasm clearly hadn't faded. What could she do? She could only reread the stories she'd already gone through. At the same time, she started to imagine what happened to the heroines of the shoujo manga she'd read after their stories ended.
When Matthias wasn't around, she could only pass the time with these comics. But slowly, a question began to form in her mind: what is love really like? Is it really as described in the comics—making your heart race and pound? These stories had actually sparked a desire in her to experience love for herself. Though Papa let her go out, she probably wouldn't be able to find a beautiful romance in a place like the outside world! Now, she was genuinely curious about the taste of love.
She actually gave it some serious thought. If she limited the scope to just the House of Spiders, there were nine candidates!
"Uncle The Index? I doubt he even has his own will! He only listens to that Beeper—he's like a battle AI from one of those mecha manga... Dating a machine would be way too weird. And he himself gives off a creepy vibe. Pass!"
"Papa?! Are you kidding me?! He's my Papa! He's my idol and my family—how could I ever date him? That's impossible, no way!"
"Uncle Callisto...? If the person he's dating is from Ring, maybe there'd be a chance, but he probably treats art as his one true love! Pass!"
"...Auntie Valencina? Don't even think about it!!! She's so emotionally unstable! I want to live a few more years... She's like those villain bosses in horror manga who flip the table when they're in a bad mood—way too scary to be a romance option! Absolutely not!!!"
"Actually, I've never met the Pinky Nursefather in person, but she reads manga too! She seems like one of those mysterious hidden masters from isekai reincarnation stories. She'd be fine as a friend to chat about plots with, but dating... the age doesn't match, right? Pass!"
"Albina? Doesn't she already have Fasia? They're like that canon couple in yuri manga, locked in for good! I don't want to be the villainess who breaks up a couple. Pass!"
"Sora...she seems so shy, always muttering about that Great Magicked Beeper. She's like those characters in mystery manga who know the truth but can't explain it properly. Dating her would suffocate me first. Pass!"
"...Ren?I'm still mad he turned down my Fixer recommendation last time! His head is full of his mentor—he's like those straightforward disciples in shonen manga who only care about their sect. He probably wouldn't even understand the topic of romance! Forget it!!!"
"Lucio... honestly, I'm not sure. He's kind of like the 'beautiful, strong, and tragic' protagonist type from manga. Thinking about it that way, it might work! And I know him pretty well too, though I don't think he's the most suitable dating material. But whatever, I've set my sights on him now—okay, I'll go ask him tomorrow!!"
Kira did think it might not be quite right. This was the House of Spiders, after all—the uncles and aunts had taken them in as Apprentices mostly so that when Yoshihide returned, there would still be people to pass on those techniques. Should she really be starting her own secret dating plan...?
But who cares!!! She just really wanted to try experiencing love! No matter what, just let her have a taste of it! She'd already rehearsed a thousand arguments in her head to convince Lucio to agree. If all else failed, she'd just pester him until he gave in!Besides, as long as she's careful not to get caught, isn't that enough?
The next day, she headed to the Thumb Corridor. Auntie Valencina happened to be out. Lucio's situation was as expected—he looked like he'd just finished training, sitting against the wall covered in wounds, resting. Though his expression was calm, Kira could still sense his hatred toward Auntie Valencina. She didn't need to guess what had happened.
She deftly picked up some bandages and started wrapping Lucio's wounds. Inside, she was struggling. Could she really make such a request when he was in such a vulnerable state?! What she was about to say sounded like she was taking advantage of him! But this guy was usually glued to Valencina's side—how could she possibly ask him in front of her?! If she did, Auntie would definitely kill her!!!
When she finished bandaging him, she sat down beside him. Neither of them spoke first.
After a few seconds of silence, Kira finally broke it.
"Hey...? Did Auntie Valencina hit you again today?"
"...Isn't it obvious enough? It's not like I fell down by myself."
Kira inwardly groaned. Where had all those conversational skills and knowledge she'd learned gone? How could she ask such a stupid question!!! Come on, Kira, just open your mouth and ask already!!!!
Before Lucio could say anything, Kira blurted it out at double speed.
"Can you... go out with me? I don't mean anything weird by it! It's just—you know, I've been really into shoujo manga lately and I want to try out the feeling of love. And we're pretty familiar with each other... haha, you know..."
At first, Kira's gaze was locked firmly on Lucio. But the more she spoke, the less confident she became, until she finally lowered her head, unable to look him in the eye. At that moment, she genuinely felt like the world had stopped. If Lucio reacted weirdly, she'd definitely blow up this place and the entire House of Spiders.
"?"
Lucio remained silent, and Kira could feel him thinking hard. She was sure he would never agree to such a ridiculous request! Kira silently swore to herself that if Lucio rejected her, she would just say it was a joke and never fantasize about dating again.
Kira felt like she could dig a three-bedroom apartment through the Thumb Corridor floor with her toes. So embarrassing!!! Why wasn't he saying anything!
"Are you serious...?"
"Look, I'm serious! It's just for the experience—it's not like you'll lose anything. When I get bored of it, we can end this ambiguous relationship, okay!"
Lucio was silent for a long while.
"...Let's give it a try."
Kira was so excited she almost wanted to shove all her shoujo manga at Lucio so he could study the romance techniques—she could barely stop herself from screaming out loud.
Kira was so thrilled she was practically flailing around, doing weird things like pinching herself to make sure it wasn't a dream, then looking left and right to make sure no one had overheard their secret conversation, and finally giving Lucio a big hug. He could feel his wounds throbbing. Had he lost his mind? Agreeing to something like that. But he'd already agreed—there was no backing out now.
Lucio thought that at least one of the two of them had definitely lost their mind—or maybe both of them had.