What a twist! The loser heroine!

When Himegami Karen heard Wenshui's father's completely incoherent words, she was taken aback for a moment, then nodded and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I should thank you on behalf of that kid."

"Ugh?"

“He hasn’t had a proper friend since elementary school… well… probably after fourth grade.” Wen Shui’s father looked troubled. “You were the first classmate he ever invited to our house alone. To be honest, it startled me.”

"Elementary school... has it been that long?"

Himegami Karen stroked her long pink hair with a touch of emotion, and smiled slightly when she heard that this was the first time she had been invited here alone.

"Yeah, Kazuhiko keeps spouting nonsense about pursuing solitude, then he just shrinks into his own little world. I, as his parent, can't persuade him otherwise."

Wen Shui's father sighed, "If it weren't for his younger sister always taking care of him, he probably would have developed some kind of mental illness. I was worried about that for a long time."

"Is it that serious...?"

"But things have gotten much better recently. I heard he made a friend, but it seems to be a girl."

Princess Himeko's expression suddenly became incredibly interesting.

“…It’s not so bad, is it?” After a moment of silence, she smiled.

“Yes, that’s a good thing.” Wen Shui’s father tapped the table with his finger and said softly, “However… that child doesn’t seem to consider you a friend yet.”

"I'm not in a hurry. These things should be done step by step," Princess Hime said with a smile. "I think we'll probably need some kind of catalyst."

"It's amazing how patient you are..."

"Hehe, after all... Wen Shui helped me a lot on New Year's Day."

"Huh? New Year's Day? But I heard from his sister that Kazuhiko just helped you change the denomination of the coins to the correct one..."

Faced with her father's question, Himegami Karen simply smiled, picked up her coffee, gently shook her head, and then drank it all in one gulp.

"If possible, I would like to find an opportunity to tell him those things in person."

She exhaled softly, then said in a low voice:

"Please keep this a secret, Uncle."

◇

Kazuhiko packed his toiletries, including towels and soap, into a bag and put it in his suitcase. Then he wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead.

My dad's luggage wasn't difficult to pack. He's a very meticulous person when it comes to life, and his clothes and personal belongings are usually neatly arranged in the closet. Wen Shui didn't have to put in much effort to pack his luggage.

"Finally finished."

He carried his not-too-heavy suitcase out of his parents' room, and before he even reached the living room, he could hear Himegami Karen and his father seemingly having a very pleasant conversation.

"I never expected him to be like this in junior high."

"Oh dear, everyone has their embarrassing moments."

Don't use my embarrassing moments as fodder for conversation.

"You're getting carried away. It's a pity I have to go to the company soon, otherwise I would have shown you his junior high school graduation album."

"...Just kill me already."

The thought of showing his friends his photo album was so incredibly embarrassing that he quickly made his suitcase make a loud noise to end his father's conversation with Himegami.

"Dad, I've packed my luggage."

"Wow, you're quick! The timing is perfect. I should head to the company now."

Wen Shui's father took the suitcase from his son and said with a smile.

"Is the time really that tight?"

"It's more like perfect timing. I specifically left room for me to clean up by myself while you're not home. Don't underestimate my time management skills."

"You should learn more about it; it might be very useful in your future studies and life."

At the entrance, after saying these words to Kazuhiko, the old man turned to look at Himegami Karen, who was all smiles. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Himegami-kun, thank you very much for coming here today. It was a pleasure chatting with you."

He took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Hime: "During our previous conversation, you mentioned that your family's company is responsible for overseas business?"

"Yes."

"I am currently working as a translator. If your company has any needs in this area, please feel free to contact me."

"How could I trouble you like this..."

"Just think of me as a foreign language consultant. If I have time, I'll try my best to help you solve your problems," the old man said with a smile. "Don't mention it."

He pushed open the door and looked at the clouds gradually dispersing on the horizon: "Oh dear, it looks like the weather is about to clear up."

Another week has passed...

Wen Shuiheyan pursed his lips, watching his father's retreating figure.

"Have a safe journey, Father."

"You'll feel more comfortable calling me 'Dad'."

"Shall I call it again?"

"No thanks, no thanks."

The old man waved his hands repeatedly like a child. He looked at his son, then at Himegami Karen standing next to him, and said with a smile, "Take good care of yourself."

This middle-aged office worker in a suit was walking forward when he turned around and struck what he thought was a cool gun pose, before crashing into a telephone pole.

"it hurts!"

"Watch where you're going..." Kazuhiko shook his head helplessly.

"Pfft, Wen Shui, your dad is so funny." Himegami Karen put one hand on Wen Shui's shoulder and laughed heartily.

“Dad has always been like this, never serious.” He Yan said with a wry smile, “I don’t know if Mom passed on this strange comedic talent to her.”

"Huh? Is Wen Shui's mom a comedian?"

"No, she's in charge of entertaining foreigners at welcome parties and often has to liven up the atmosphere."

"I see……"

Himegami lowered her head and looked at the business card in her hand.

"Warm water glow"

She silently put it in her pocket, then gently nudged Kazuhiko with her shoulder.

"Hey, warm water."

"Can I see the graduation album that my uncle mentioned before?"

"Ah, ah?"

Wen Shui acted as if she hadn't heard her.

"I don't want to repeat myself."

Why do you want to see that?

"I'll show it to you then."

Faced with the girl's curious gaze, Wen Shui sighed.

"No taking photos secretly, okay?"

"Hehe, I'm not that kind of person."

~Seventy-sixth defeat~ (Understood)

The aroma of coffee wafted through the air, and a documentary about foreign history was playing on the television, its lively and humorous narration echoing in the living room, which had little decoration or privacy.

Sitting on the sofa, Kazuhiko Onami, who usually relaxes by listening to white noise, couldn't relax at this moment.

"Woooo ...

Himegami Karen, who had already gasped countless times, was about to bury her head in the warm water of her graduation photo album. Her long legs moved rhythmically up and down on the floor, indicating that she was in a good mood.

"What's wrong now...?"

Wen Shui sighed, picked up a cup of black tea from the table, put it to her lips, and took a sip to hide her embarrassment.

"Isn't this a lemon?!"

Princess Hime pointed to a photo in the album and said with a smile.

"She has a lot of photos, why be surprised?" Wen Shui had no intention of looking at his photo album anymore; after all, his middle school experience was almost irrelevant to him.

"But Wen Shui, you're right here."

"um, I?"

Upon hearing this, Wen Shui also became interested and turned his head.

In the photo that Himegami was pointing to, she was wearing a gymnastics uniform and standing next to Shiozumi. Shiozumi was beaming with joy, while Shiozumi looked like he was dead, panting heavily.

Ah... I remember now.

"This is the last sports meet for third-year junior high students."

He recalled carefully: "That time it was a race with borrowed objects, which was a fun thing, but you know Shao Shio's personality, she will participate in anything related to running."

"In order to limit Shao Yan, who swept all the first place in the running events, everyone had to make a special lottery box for her. I don't know what was in it, but it was mostly some hard-to-find items."

"Wow~ That sounds interesting." Himegami's eyes widened, and she asked curiously, "So what happened next? What did Lemon draw?"

"Hmm... she drew the [hardest thing to find in the class]."

As Wen Shui finished speaking, he trembled as if recalling something terrifying. After a long pause, he stammered, "Then, Shao Yan, well, first rushed to the PE teacher and borrowed the megaphone used for announcements—"

"Then, in front of the whole school, she shouted my name loudly through a megaphone. To make sure I showed up, she even 'thoughtfully' set up a repeat mode."

This must have caused immense psychological trauma for someone in such a dark place, triggering painful memories and causing them to clutch their forehead in agony.

"Why am I the hardest thing to find in the class...?"

Upon hearing this, Princess Himeko's face completely betrayed her barely concealed expression.

"Laugh if you want, it's all in the past anyway." Wen Shui sighed, "In the end, due to my physical condition, Shao Yan came in second place. The classmate in charge of the race even praised me for this, saying that I finally prevented Shao Yan from winning all the awards."

"I still don't understand why I get praised for dragging others down."

"Well, since Yashio is happy too, and everyone is happy, isn't that great?"

"…What about me?"

Wen Shui, with her usual deadpan expression, pointed to herself.

"Ah ha ha."

Himegami chuckled and quickly skipped the topic, then turned to the next page.

"Sigh~ By the way, Wen Shui doesn't really like being photographed. There are hardly any pictures of you in the whole album."

"That's normal, isn't it?"

"But any photo with you in it is very interesting."

"Turns out I have the superpower to make photos more interesting. I should apply for this kind of job tomorrow."

Wen Shui calmly offered her critique.

"There's no such job anymore, please focus on your studies—oh, that's it??"

Princess Himegami stared blankly at the empty last page of the photo album, momentarily stunned.

"You're just flipping through it too fast."

Princess placed the photo album on her lap, took a sip of coffee, and then looked down at the album, saying, "No, I need to look at it again."

"What's the point of this?"

"After all, taking photos is not allowed."

[So this guy really did plan to take photos; setting the conditions beforehand was incredibly prescient.]

◇

After some time passed.