Celebrity Love Adventure

Episode 7

An Offer from an Outsider

Later that night, after parting ways from Ryota, and his fellow Wave members, returning home, and taking a bath, Sho sat on the edge of his bed. He was wearing a white short-sleeve T-shirt with a collar just below his neck to reveal some of his skin, a pair of khaki shorts down to right above his knees, and a pair of navy blue house slippers that matched his bedsheets and pillows. He couldn't stop thinking about when he and Kazuma returned to the V.I.P. room earlier. Letting out a sigh, the recent memories came to him as though he were in another world.

"Huh? Wait, don't tell me you've fallen for her!" Ryota exclaimed with surprise written all over his face.

"It's not like that!" Sho shouted back, blushing furiously.

"Admit it, Sho," Ryota said in a collected manner. "What kind of girl would catch your attention like her? A female magician you've described as someone refreshing and interesting isn't ordinary. They're more than part of your day-to-day life."

"Ryota's got a point," Kyosuke added. "Besides, you were blushing pretty hard there, Sho. Don't think for a second that you're able to hide anything from us."

"We've been together for a long time to tell that you're someone who's easy to read," Ryota stated with narrowed eyes. Next, his facial expression changed to one of anger. "So, admit your feelings for her to us, dammit!"

Sho sighed deeply. "Fallen for her, huh."

I did admit to the guys that I was interested in her, he thought. But... does that really mean anything other than wanting to know more about her? I can't have feelings for her already, but I did find her more soothing and unique than any other girl there is.

More importantly, he had to keep his promise to Nanaka. He had to send her a text to let her know he meant every word that night after meeting her again. Thus, he reached for his cell phone from the dresser next to his bed and flipped it open.

Searching for Nanaka's name, he used katakana since hiragana wasn't included in Japanese for magicians, so their names—especially with any kanji—would be broken into katakana readings to make it easier. When he saw her full name, his eyes widened.

"Huh?" he said aloud. "No way... Her last name's Suzushiro? As in, the Royal family of Neon?" While he kept staring at Nanaka's name, he noticed her given name was made up of three kanji that were interesting to have altogether just for one name. "'Nanaka' is written with the characters for 'love' (愛), 'shore' (渚), and 'flower' (華)." In a brief second, he was smiling. "How cute. Her name's something that only belongs to her."

Well, she is a member of the Eight Great Families of Neon, he pondered. Their names are unique, especially having kanji and readings of their names only for them. Even those who marry into those families only have their names become special. But as a member of the Royal family, she 's...

Sho's eyes widened in realization, but there was an uncertainty tugging in the back of his mind. "No way. There's no way, right?"

As he gripped the cell phone in his right hand, he stared at Nanaka's name.

"This has to be a joke. I can't just think of her as royalty all of a sudden."

He finally typed the first message from him to Nanaka.