Tokyo Soft Rice King.

"Yes, yes, there's no need to get married right away. Aren't there other conditions? Let's check the other conditions first."

"That's okay too."

Akira Kuroba said either way was fine.

Just as Tsukimi Ryoui thought, he did propose marriage to repay a debt of gratitude.

Not only can it heal Tsukimi Ryou's finger, but it can also fulfill her long-cherished wish, killing two birds with one stone.

As for the consequences of marrying a big star, Akira Kuroba had already considered them; he didn't just decide to propose on a whim.

It's bound to explode, whether inside or out, but it's all within acceptable limits.

Firstly, internally, everyone will definitely bombard us with questions after hearing this news.

But even knowing the truth cannot change the outcome, and in the end, one still has to accept this fact.

Then there will definitely be people who are very unwilling, and then the polygamy law of Senior Sister Miao will be taken seriously. After all, if the position of the main wife is gone, the only thing to do is to find a way to increase the number of positions.

Afterwards, Lan Yi will most likely be ostracized by them, similar to the passive-aggressive behavior in a class. However, as long as she is with Lan Yi, they won't be able to target her any further.

Kuroba Akira could also have Tsukimi Rii move into his house, thus keeping others in check.

The scapegoat they found actually became the official one – who would have thought?

And if we talk about it externally... the public opinion will explode.

After all, if a national idol of the new generation like Tsukimi Rii suddenly announced her marriage, it would definitely cause a huge uproar.

But it doesn't matter, I can just retire.

Anyway, Tsukimi Ryoui's purpose in becoming an actress was to see Kikurihime again. Since marriage can achieve her goal, there is no need for her to continue working in the entertainment industry.

If I have no income, I can support her myself; that's part of repaying her kindness.

On the other side, Ame no Hikari has also taught Tsukimi Rii how to check the conditions of the Fate Thread.

It turns out that the thread of fate itself is made up of even thinner threads, so the red thread should actually be called a red rope, because it is very thick.

Then, if Tsukimi Ryoui simply 'twirls' it with her hand, she can see the finest individual threads. Then, by specifying a particular thread, the corresponding conditions will automatically appear in her mind.

"Is there a particularly bright line among them? That's the 'core' of the thread of fate, which corresponds to the permanent fate. That's the only line I can see."

"So the condition for a lasting relationship is marriage, right?"

"That's right..."

"There are many other conditions... I want to see what kind of conditions are involved that have prevented me from fulfilling even one of them so far!"

Besides the core, there are more than ten other threads. In other words, even if you don't get married, you will have more than ten opportunities to see Kikuri. However, she has never seen Kikuri even once so far, which makes Tsukimi Ryoui feel that the conditions are probably very harsh.

However, after she started looking at the conditions, she realized she was wrong, terribly wrong.

"..."

Attending the elementary school entrance ceremony... I didn't attend, as I had already debuted as a child actor at that time.

Then came the elementary school sports meet... same as above.

Elementary school open day...

Elementary school graduation ceremony...

Junior high school entrance ceremony...

Junior high school cultural festival...

Three aspects of junior high school...

High school entrance ceremony...

High school cultural festival...

Neither Tsukimi nor Lan Yi participated.

And all of these are occasions in which parents will appear during the child's growth process.

The last time their connection was fulfilled was on Shichi-Go-San, when she turned seven. She still remembers that Kikuri bought her Chitose candy that day.

Looking back now... that was probably her expectation of herself.

It's not about how great one's future achievements will be; I simply hope that my children can live a peaceful, long, and prosperous life.

The reason they had to separate after the Shichi-Go-San festival was because she had passed the age of a child of gods and could no longer stay by Kikuri's side, otherwise she would be 'disappeared' to another world.

Even so, Kikuri still didn't want to miss any important occasions in her child's growth, so at the cost of not being able to see her child regularly, she split the remaining time together into what it is now.

She probably thought at the time that it wouldn't be long before they met again.

However, due to Tsukimi Ryou's misunderstanding and stubbornness, it was delayed for ten years.

"I'm so... stupid..."

Tears welled up silently and slid down her cheeks.

It turns out it was me... my own neglect of my own life that led me away from Kikuri.

Kikuri simply wanted to live an ordinary, happy life... the greatest love a mother can have for her child.

But thankfully, I've finally figured it out!

It's not too late!

Tsukimi Ran wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, quickly rallied, and continued examining the area.

The next line is...

The three-way meeting in high school, and the graduation ceremony.

The next one is the coming-of-age ceremony.

Then came the wedding...

After marriage, the bond between Kikuri and I will become permanent, but the conditions are not simply submitting a marriage application form.

If it's just a wedding, it's the same as before, where parents need to be present. The guardian just needs to sign the papers, and you can only meet once.

If you want to stay permanently, you'll find additional conditions such as "the husband allows his mother-in-law to live in" and "the grandchildren are taken care of by the mother-in-law".

It is indeed rare for married couples to live with the wife's parents, but it does happen. The most crucial point is the latter: the grandchildren are cared for by the mother-in-law.

In other words, Kikuri wanted to help take care of the child.

Seriously, how much does she love children? Her maternal instincts are just too strong!

If Kuroba Akira knew this, he would probably retort that Kikurihime and Akiko would likely have a lot in common, especially when it comes to motherhood.

However, the prerequisite for helping take care of children is... you have to have children first.

So how could they have a child? Naturally, it would be with Kuroba Akira...

"Gurgle...!"

In the end, will I still become his woman?

And it's all because of my own reasons, I might even have to invite him to eat with me... I have no choice but to give it away for free!

This guy's luck with women is terrifying!

"What's wrong? Is it really that difficult to meet the later conditions?"

Seeing her crying and angry, Kuroba Akira guessed that she might have missed some conditions, and the remaining conditions were a bit too difficult.

"Well, not really... it's just that the next time I'll be able to see Kikuri is at the cultural festival."

Is it an open day for the cultural festival?

“That’s right, but I don’t know if she will come… The next one will be the tripartite talks and graduation ceremony, and then it will be the coming-of-age ceremony.”

The next cultural festival will be in six months, the tripartite talks will be at the end of the second year of high school, which is a year from now, and the graduation ceremony will be two years from now.

In Japan, the coming-of-age ceremony takes place at age 20, or at least three years later.

"Hmm... then getting married is definitely the fastest way."

The legal marriage age in Japan is 16, which means that students like Tsukimi Ayane, who are about to enter their second year of high school, can get married.

That's why there are absurd scenarios like a married high school girl taking a break from school because of pregnancy.

Incidentally, in about ten years, the marriage age will be raised to 18 and the age of adulthood will be lowered to 18, finally becoming normal.

However, in the era that Kuroba Akira lives in, this adjustment has not yet been made, so the marriage age for girls is still 16.

When Yuejianli Lanyi thought of the additional conditions, she felt extremely embarrassed. If she had to give birth to his child, wouldn't that mean they were actually having an affair?

However, he still pretended to calmly complain.

"I am of marriageable age, but aren't you under 18?"

"Oh, right."

Akira Kuroba forgot that the legal marriage age for men is still 18, so he is not actually allowed to get married yet.

If I were to make Tsukimi Ryoui wait for me, it would be around the time I graduated from high school, so there would be no need for me to get married just to see Kikurihime.

Kuroba Akira crossed his arms and thought for a moment before speaking.

"Hmm... let's get engaged first, is that alright?"

got engaged?

When the man comes to propose marriage, both families have a meal together and hold an engagement ceremony.

It is indeed an occasion where parents need to be present... but the conditions I just saw didn't include anything related to engagement...

"what?!"

Just as Tsukimi was about to say 'there is no engagement as a condition,' she noticed that the order of the threads had suddenly changed, and the condition of a thread she had previously missed had become 'attending the engagement ceremony.'

The thread of fate that had never changed before had suddenly shifted.

Is Kikuri looking at me right now?

We'll be able to see Kikuri very soon!

"Engagement is fine too!"

"Okay, let's go pick out rings together after we get back to Tokyo, and then find a date to hold the engagement ceremony."