This was English text translated from Japanese, rewrite this to be more coherent: "……sorry.

　I'm going to go to the bathroom and cool things down."



　After Keikain Runa went to the bathroom, the three remaining boys sighed loudly.

　It was the moment when what I had vaguely suspected came true, and it made me want to hold my head in my hands.



"Hey, Teia.

　I thought so too, but Keikain totally thought of us as family or something."



"I knew that, but... we've been friends for a long time."



　Goto Mitsuya looks shocked, Teia Eiichi looks up to the sky, and Izumikawa Yujiro gives a wry smile with a tired look.

　Of course, there's no way I'd show this to Keikain Luna.　



"I know it's a little late now, but it still makes me want to hold my head in my hands."



　Although the quartet were middle school students, they interacted with a sense of community.

　So, while in a sense it was a normal reaction when she became aware of them as the opposite sex, it was the same as declaring to Keikain Runa that these three were not romantic partners.



「That's about it. Lately you've been acting more and more like a girl.

　What's with the sexy swimsuits at the game show?

　And then there's the race queen..."



　Teia Eiichi grumbles, describing his naivety and open desire as the only thing he can think of.

　He was also a real man.



"Oh, it looks like the photographer is guiding them properly.

　If all goes well, I'll be naked soon."



　The person who provides this information is Goto Mitsuya, who actually digitizes such photos.

　The source of the information was Nozuki Misaki, a member of the young lady's entourage connected to her via the internet.

　She also works as an outsourced programmer for the TIG backup system under the guise of a part-time job, but her master, Keikain Runa, is unaware of this fact.

　Of course, he has no idea that all of her part-time job earnings are spent on high-spec computers and otaku activities.



"Why has the Keikain family allowed this to happen...?"



　Izumikawa Yujiro confronts the groaning Teia Eiichi with reality.

　He also ended up buying her swimsuit photo book.

　His source was Eva Sharon, whom he approached via his father.



"It's safer that way.

　At the very least, the international community would feel more at ease if they were to indulge in love.

　It may have been a great spectacle, but how many government officials do you think had their stomachs in the hands of the attempted terrorist attack at Narita Airport?



　Teia Eiichi could say nothing in the face of cold reality.

　In fact, although he was severely scolded by his parents and others, he was also praised for protecting Keikain Runa, so he was not without something to be proud of.

　On the other hand, Keikain Runa was scolded but not praised at all.

　When Eva Sharon told this story to Yujiro Izumikawa, she jokingly muttered the following:



"My young lady.

　I'm scared that I might get in a tank and go to Iraq like General Patton..."



　Izumikawa Yujiro tries to smile wryly as he remembers, then turns his face back and continues speaking.

　This was a perspective from abroad, not from within the country.



"It seems that in the blue-blood circles in Europe and America, they call her the Duchess of Aquitaine."



"Speaking of the Duchess of Aquitaine, I remember hearing about her in world history class.

　Is this one of the causes of the Hundred Years' War?



"Eleanor of Aquitaine. She became Queen of France, then divorced and became Queen of England.

　She was one of the wealthiest and most important women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages, and is sometimes called the grandmother of Europe.



　Teia Eiichi confirmed what <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PERSON> said, and Goto Mitsuya added his findings.

　The three of them were genuinely moved by the scale of Keikain Runa's analogy, but did not realize the meaning behind it.



"I wonder if there are some wealthy people in the West who are also targeting Keikain?

　Is it possible that the Keikain family is suppressing the scheme?"



"Ah, that's not it, Goto-kun.

　Keikain-san is the "first founder."



　In response to Goto Mitsuya's question, Izumikawa Yujiro, who understands the concept of "home," corrects him.

　This time it was Teia Eiichi who explained this.



"In other words, the choice of marriage is up to Luna.

　That's why my marriage proposal is keeping other conglomerates in check."



　This is also the reason why Iwasaki and other zaibatsu are hesitant to approach Keikain Runa.

　If the Iwasaki Zaibatsu or some other group were to marry Keikain Runa, she would inevitably be absorbed into the Iwasaki Zaibatsu due to its size, history, and depth of human resources.

　In fact, the original Keika Group was absorbed into the Iwasaki Zaibatsu through the marriage of Keikain Nakamaro and Sakurako.

　However, today's Keika Group is a privately owned business run by Keikain Runa.

　She has not given up the power over life and death, and if she were to absorb the Keika Group, which is already a bloated, hodgepodge of building blocks, it may collapse before it can be absorbed, and there may not even be any benefit to incorporating it.

　The Niki and Yodoyabashi families are those who understand this, as they are descended from merchant families of the Edo period and understand the culture of developing their families through female succession, and it is for this reason that they have begun to select the right person to match Keikain Luna.

　In particular, it is clear that the Niki family has no regard for anything, even reaching out to Teia Eiichi.



"Teia. I think you know..."



"ah.

　No matter who Luna chooses, I won't hold any grudges and I'll congratulate her.

　Still, wouldn’t it be annoying for Ruona to choose someone other than these three?”



　Teia Eiichi is aggressively attacking, but it's not as if Izumikawa Yujiro or Goto Mitsuya have given up on the game either.

　He has the ambition and talent to snatch him up if Teia Eiichi fails, and <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PERSON> is well aware of this when he makes this statement.

　Friendship is real, but ambition and calculation are also real.

　I guess that's what male friends are like.



"I was thinking, what would happen if Keikain were to marry and divorce us one by one like the Duchess of Aquitaine?"

"..." (That seems like something Luna would do...)

"..." (Maybe Keikain-san could do it...)

"..." (It would be troubling if Keikain were to do it...)



　The three of them, including Goto Mitsuya who asked the question, fell silent and sighed at the same time.

　It was at that moment that I saw Keikain Runa coming out of the restroom.



"Sorry for the wait"



"Are you okay, Luna?"



"Well, maybe.

　So, an arranged marriage with the daughter of the Niki Group?"



　Keikain Runa, who returned from the restroom, doesn't know.

　And the quartet resumed their conversation.