Edea: Hero Summoning Conspiracy 138 'Girl' Talk

"You don't know about it because I haven't mentioned it before but Kazuya's marriage was arranged before he was born." Ayame's declaration was a like lightning that struck Kaguya. This was the first time that he had heard about this.

"Judging by your expression, it seems like you understand why I am concerned" Ayame sighed after seeing the pale expression on her friend's face. She didn't know that Kaguya was shocked because he knew that it wasn't Mei she was talking about because he had already been born before Kyouko met Mei.

"are you sure about this?" Kaguya couldn't help but ask.

"I wouldn't be this concerned if I wasn't. Unfortunately, this is the reason why my grandfather was initially against me pursuing him. He was present when the engagement was decided after all." Ayame answered as she observed the different expressions that her friend was making. This made her feel a little touched since Kaguya rarely made any expressions yet she was now showing a lot of emotion because of the difficult problem she now presented. Ayame believed that her friend was trying her best to think of a solution for her.

In reality, Kazuya didn't know what to think at the moment. Various thoughts entered through his mind as he realized that he had dug himself a hole when he decided to use that method to reject Stockton Kurumi. Anyone in his grandfather's circle would have assumed that he accepted the engagement that was set by them once they hear about what happened.

Kuronuma Komori was already informed by Ayame so it was only a matter of time before their whole circle learned about it. He suddenly regretted announcing what was supposed to be vague agreement between his mother and Mei. This secret agreement between the old men just made things a lot more complicated because it didn't seem like Kyouko knew about the arrangements his troublesome grandfather made for him in advance.

"First things first, do you know who Kouzuki Kazuya was arranged to marry?" Kazuya tried to calm himself. There was no turning back time so the only thing he could do now was to find out everything that he could so that he can figure out a way to deal with the hole he just dug himself.

"That's the problem. His fiancé has always been beside him. I've spent too much time with my plans because I didn't think that such an engagement would push through in this day and age. Kazuya gave off the impression that he wasn't interested in such things yet but it turns out that he didn't put his mind into it because he already made up his mind" Ayame couldn't help but feel sorry for herself and bitterly smiled.

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"You mean… he's engaged to Shiroyuki Tomoyo?" this came as another surprise because Jirou never mentioned such a thing to him. The doubts he had about Jirou being overly supportive of him was now cleared up. He was already seen as his future grandson so Jirou spared no effort in helping him in whatever he needed help with.

Kazuya always found it strange that Jirou had been such a supportive figure when they got to know each other. He had always been lenient no matter what absurd thing Kazuya did and always defended him even if he didn't agree with his way of doing things. Ayame's revelation cleared up the doubts he had for a long time. It wasn't the close ties of their families that made him responsible for taking care of Kazuya, it was a grandfather doting on his future grandson!

"Yes, he is engaged to the Shiroyuki girl I was talking to you about last time. She has already taken over the female division in the middle school level and I have been considered someone from the past. This is especially because of my loss to Akabane Nanami who I heard was thanking Kazuya for all her improvements" she said with a sullen expression.

"I see…" he was starting to think of ways to get out of such an engagement. He assumed that Tomoyo was in the same position that he was in and was not aware of the engagement as well. Kazuya didn't even think that the robot girl he slowly raised would conspire against him especially since it involved both their fates. They did get along well and have been close throughout the years, but he treated her as a friend that he had a large amount of trust towards.

"To be honest… I feel betrayed." Ayame leaned on the table in low spirits. "Here I am working as best as I can for him but he goes and trains Akabane Nanami and had her ruin the undefeated streak I was supposed to have before graduating.

"(Me? Betray her?)" he scoffed at her in his mind. "He didn't betray you. You were just too busy with your plan and neglected training. This made Akabane Nanami catch up and defeat you after years of being under your shadow." Kaguya didn't try to sugarcoat his words as he defended his alter ego.

"You of all people know how busy our schedules were…" Ayame felt wronged that Kaguya didn't take her side. Then again, this friend had always been like this and wasn't afraid of telling her if she was wrong. "Akabane Nanami wasn't supposed to catch up. I paid attention to her progress and estimated that she wouldn't be able to catch up even if I stopped training. I didn't expect her to try and seduce Kazuya… that thieving cat" she grumbled.

"Seduce?" Kaguya shook her head helplessly. "(Looks like this girl is still naïve as ever.)"

"There's are a few things that you should know. Though Kazuya and Shiroyuki Tomoyo may have been betrothed to each other before they were born, it was Shiroyuki Jirou who drew the short end of the stick amongst all those who had granddaughters that was close to his age." Ayame told the story of how they were engaged. She knew the story from Komori because it was used as the catalyst so that they could convince Kou to switch the engagement over to Ayame instead.

"What a troublesome bunch of old guys" Kaguya couldn't help but put a palm on her face. Who would have thought that these bunch of respected old men were like kids whenever they were gathered together.

"That's not all, Akabane Nanami's grandfather had the same idea as my grandfather and has been pushing grandpa Kou to accept the engagement between the two of them. Don't you think that's too shameless of them?" Ayame didn't miss the chance to badmouth them.

"(Aren't you guys doing the same thing?)" was what Kazuya thought. Kouzuki Kou had always been a troublesome person but he didn't expect that he already gave trouble for his own grandson before he was even born. Kyouko was most likely not aware of this which was why he never heard of it before.

Kazuya was a little thankful towards Ayame. He wouldn't have known these things if it weren't for her. His identity as Kazuno Kaguya finally gave him something that didn't involve what they had planned for it. This information wouldn't have been available to Kouzuki Kazuya because from his perspective, his grandfather was taking advantage of the situation and enjoying being fought over by his friends.

He understood how Kouzuki Kou thought. He was silently taking revenge for his friends who didn't want to agree to a betrothment before they found out how capable Kazuya was in this lifetime. This was what was holding the old man back from informing them or announcing it officially which gave Kazuya a little time to think of countermeasures for this.

Though he initially thought of this as a troublesome chore, he was starting to find a couple of advantages when taking on a girl's identity. Combining his experiences with what Matsumoto taught him about women, he was slowly finding women to be a good source of information in which a boy or male like him would have to go through a lot to find out.

"Did he use the Kouzuki clan's promise?" this was probably the most important point.

"Do you think we would have made a move if they did? Even I would have lost hope if the engagement was sealed with the Kouzuki clan's promise" this was what Ayame was feeling unsure about. Kouzuki Kou may not have used the unbreakable promise in the name of the Kouzuki clan but she wasn't sure if Kazuya did.

"What do you plan to do?" Kaguya asked curiously. Ayame was a prideful girl so he hoped that she would back down quietly.

"I'm going to just start the plan and show myself in front of him after my concert!" she declared as if she had just decided. This startled Kazuya because this was exactly what he was afraid of. This girl just made a rash decision that will make his situation even more precarious.

"Don't be stupid and impulsive" Kaguya tried to remain indifferent and scolded. "You will be given the same treatment Stockton Kurumi was given if you recklessly go through with your plan." He had no choice but to try and convince this girl to keep quiet.

"What do you think I should do then? Let them quietly get married without even trying!?" Ayame was clearly agitated. Though Kazuya wanted to answer with a simple yes, he already knew that this girl was not going to listen.

If there was one thing he learned about this girl after spending time with her as Kazuno Kaguya, it was that she was not as bad as he thought. Although she had quite a unique way of thinking, she was but a stubborn girl who seemed to have taken an interest towards a boy.

Though he was not an experienced person when it came to relationships, he believed he wasn't dense. Kurumi was attached to him because of her obsession when they were friends. Although he had no memories of the time spent between them in their childhood, comparing the current one and the one from his previous life, he judged that what happened between them was nothing serious enough that would cause the princess to chase him around like she did now.

From Kazuya's point of view, Ayame was very similar to the spoiled princess of Stockton International. The difference between them was the starting point. Ayame immediately felt a bond between them because of the secret they instantly shared with each other. She steadily grew fonder of him as time passed by in which she observed and watched him grow into the impressive person that he was today. Adding the fact that she felt highly competitive over the Shiroyuki Tomoyo who she had lost to in the past.

Both girls were used to getting what they wanted and they most likely grew attached to him because of his rejection towards them. Kazuya was aware of this and he put more importance towards Ayame's feelings because although he didn't have a choice, he got to know her and her feelings more while he was playing the role of Kazuno Kaguya. Comparing her to what he assumed was Kurumi's obsession towards him, although this girl's initial approach towards him was strange, she truly had developed feelings towards him that now had nothing to do with why she paid attention to him in the first place.

"(These girls really have a way of making me realize how pathetic I was in my previous life…)" he couldn't help but feel a little pity towards the old version of himself. Ayame would have never noticed him because of his inability to use mana and Kurumi would have remained the curious girl that would pop up to disrupt his daily life.

"(Wait a minute…)" a sudden thought popped up in his mind. If his hunch was correct, not only would he have gotten a lot of answers in this life, Kazuya would also have solved a mystery that bugged him from his previous one.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Ayame was growing impatient. The Kaguya she knew, although was supposed to be younger than her had opinions about the matters she tried to discuss. She was afraid to hear that she had to give up on her plans after all the effort and sacrifices she made.

"I'm thinking about the consequences if you hastily implement your plan. Don't forget, although you are extremely popular, the power and advantages of being engaged to a person such as Stockton Kurumi outweighs a relationship with you." He tried to calm Ayame down. He didn't want to be badmouthed by her fans when he rejected her and the Kouzuki Corporation would suffer in the aftermath of it all.

"Then what are you thinking about?" Ayame urged to get an answer.

"I've been thinking about what happened. Although I'm not sure, I think Kouzuki Kazuya was bluffing. You said that there have been a lot of students he had rejected yet this was the first time that he had mentioned that he already had a fiancé." He didn't want to reveal what he had done but it was better than letting this girl recklessly pursue in in the eyes of the public.

"Are you saying that he lied?" Ayame was startled. This was almost the same conclusion that her grandfather made earlier.

"From your stories of him, I think he had no other choice. He could have mentioned this so-called engagement when he first received a confession or even the ones that followed after that yet it was only after Stockton Kurumi showed her stubbornness to continue pursuing him that he had no choice but to cut off her intentions." Ayame's eyes instantly lit up after hearing what her best friend had to say. She didn't find it strange and it was as if Kaguya knew what was going through Kazuya's mind.

"Actually… my grandfather said the same thing…" Ayame narrated her earlier conversation with Komori.

"(Damn… looks like they were on to me)" Kazuya felt like he was going to have a headache. Kouzuki Kou really had many ways of making trouble for him.

"Thank you Kaguya." Ayame couldn't help but give this friend of hers a hug after seeing that she was still thinking about the matter. "I'll tell you immediately after I get news from grandpa" she kissed Kaguya's cheek.

This made Kaguya extremely embarrassed. Not only did he let Ayame approach him while he was deep in thought, his hormones seemed to have responded to this attractive girl's scent. He could only struggle free as Ayame giggled after seeing this anti-social friend of hers reacted.

"I have one thing I am curious about." He immediately decided to change the topic. "Is Shiroyuki Tomoyo aware of the arrangement between her and Kouzuki Kazuya?"

"She is. That girl has been aware of it from when I first fought her in the competition." Ayame saw a bit of surprise coming from Kaguya so she decided to give a little more detail. "My grandfather told me that Shiroyuki Jirou already introduced her to their group when their family hosted a gathering." Ayame sighed. "Do you know what she told me when we faced each other in a match?"

"What did she say?"

"She was only in second grade at the time but her declaration still left me with an impression." Ayame shrugged her shoulders.

"??" Kazuya was a little confused. Tomoyo shouldn't have talked to Ayame who was a complete stranger at that time.

"Her words were, 'Kazuya is mine'."

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Chapter end