I Will Do Everything In My Power To Bring Happiness To The Enchanting Beauty Who Can No Longer Smile. - Chapter 63: Sakakibara Tsubame and The Second Strategy.

Sakakibara Tsubame and The Second Strategy.

“Waaaahhhhh! Congratulationssssss! I-I’ll bring a proper gift next time to celebrate!”

“She’s flying. She’s really flying off the handle all at once.”

“I-I need to ask my mom for an advance on my allowance…! She always says I’ll need lots of congratulatory money because when my friends get married and have kids and grandkids, it all adds up…”

“If her mom hears that, she’s going to faint, I swear.”

When I returned with Tsubame and told Shirao and the others, their joy was overwhelming. Se-chan’s excitement, in particular, was off the charts.

“Well, it’s about time, huh? It felt long, short, and yet long again.”

“…I know I made you wait for a lot. I really do.”

“Today’s plans got thrown off too. But hey, you said it in the end—nothing else matters.”

“Yeah!!!!!! Let’s go tell Kizuki-san too! She always said she wanted to meet whoever Shigure ended up dating! She’s really wonderful—Tsubame-chan, I know you two will get along great!”

“I actually heard about it from Shigure just now. I’d love to meet her too. Looking forward to it.”

“Leave it to me!!!!!”

Se-chan’s grin was so wide it might just split her face—nothing like I’d ever seen before. Looks like I’ll be seeing Kizuki-san again too, after a long while. …I wonder how she’s doing in high school.

While we were talking, Tsubame’s mother was smiling kindly at us—then she suddenly stood up.

“I’ll cook something delicious to celebrate. Would you two like to stay for dinner?”

“Ah, n-no, please don’t trouble yourself. My family should already have dinner waiting for me…”

“M-me too… It’s far too much for me, I’d probably faint from the honor…”

“Is that so? Well, please come eat with us another time, then.”

Even Tsubame’s mother was more energetic than usual—easily fifty percent more excited than normal. Usui-san was smiling softly too—just as I noticed, Tsubame’s mother turned her beaming smile towards her.

“Usui-san, you’ll eat with us too, won’t you? Actually, please do.”

“Eh? Ah, um… n-no, I couldn’t possibly impose that much—”

“Or did you already buy ingredients for tonight’s dinner?”

“N-no, it’s not that, but…”

“Then please, join us.”

Whoa—she’s assertive. Usui-san was clearly taken aback. And Tsubame struck while the iron was hot.

“Come on, Usui-san. Might as well stay and eat.”

“T-Tsubame-san, not you too—”

“Otherwise, you’ll just end up eating cup noodles again tonight, won’t you?”

“………I-I was actually thinking I might buy a proper bento tonight, just this once…”

“…If you’re buying a bento at this hour, that means a convenience store one, right?”

“…Well, yes.”

“Mom’s cooking is way better than a convenience store bento. Settled—stay and eat.”

Seems like Tsubame’s team had the upper hand—Usui-san gave in and agreed to stay for dinner. Her face looked healthier than earlier, probably because she dozed off while I kept her talking for an hour and a half.

“So, Usui-san. There’s something I want to ask you about.”

“Hm? What is it? If it’s about Shigure-kun, I think it’s safe to go public, you know?”

“Ah, yes. We’ll announce it—but it’s something deeper than that, actually.”

“…Tsubame brushed over it, but you’re sure the agency’s fine with this?”

“Well, at this point, yes. Recently the industry’s been buzzing about ‘that mystery boy always at Tsubame-san’s side.’ Finding out he’s her boyfriend will just connect the dots.”

“T-true enough…”

We’d been seen hugging in the studio already. Tsubame’s never made it public that she’s an only child, but no one’s going to mistake me for her brother.

As I thought that over, I tuned back into the conversation.

“So, Tsubame-san, what’s this deeper thing you want to discuss?”

“It ties into what you mentioned earlier, Usui-san. I’ve figured out how to stop the invitations from coming altogether.”

Usui-san’s eyes widened at Tsubame’s words—then narrowed. She was all business now.

“Wow… she’s suddenly so incredibly cool… She was already precious just for being Tsubame-chan’s manager, but now—”

“Se-chan. This macaron’s delicious.”

“Faaai.”

Se-chan was about to spiral off again but Shirao reeled her back in. Now that I noticed, they’d brought out fancy macarons too. This really was something else.

…It distracted me for a second, but this was serious. I needed to listen properly.

“Let me say this upfront, Tsubame-san. Just going public with your relationship won’t make the invitations stop. At best, it’ll work for a short time.”

“I know. …But the ones who keep sending them are the ones who look down on Shigure-kun, right?”

Tsubame’s eyes narrowed too, and she turned to look at me. She reached out her hand—when I took it, her eyes softened at once.

“Then we’ll just make them see it—see that the happiest place for me is right here, by Shigure-kun’s side.”

I didn’t quite grasp what she meant. …Was there really a way to do that? Of course I’d make her happy—but how do you show everyone that?

—Ah. There was one way.

“—Wait, Tsubame-san…”

“You both realized?”

Tsubame looked back and forth between Usui-san and me. Yeah… there really was just one way, but it hardly seemed realistic.

“But, Tsubame-san, that’s…”

“It’ll work. I know it will.”

Unlike me, Tsubame was absolutely confident. Se-chan, done swallowing her macaron, piped up curiously.

“U-um, what is it?”

Tsubame squeezed my hand tighter—firmly, but kindly.

“I’m going to make a photo book—just Shigure-kun and me as the main focus.”

Silence fell like a stone. Shirao and Se-chan stared wide-eyed. Usui-san’s face turned serious.

“…If I’m in it, it’ll stir up all kinds of things, won’t it?”

“It’s fine. Shigure-kun, you’re handsome.”

“Well, I don’t think I’m awful or anything, but… I can’t compete with real pros.”

It’s the body my parents gave me—no shame in it, but I never thought I’d be posing like a model.

“With some styling, you’d look even better in photos—but let’s set that aside. Obviously, if we do this, I’ll be the main focus. You’ll support me. So don’t worry.”

I had zero objections—if anything, I was fully on board. If I were the main one, there’d probably be riots.

Shirao and Se-chan nodded in agreement, understanding Tsubame’s point.

“I see. So you want to show the world those photos where you look unbelievably happy next to Shigure-kun.”

“T-true! Tsubame-chan’s gotten even prettier these past couple of months too! If you make it obvious that those expressions only appear when you’re with Shigure, people will get it.”

“Exactly.”

Tsubame nodded at their words, then turned back to Usui-san.

“What do you think, Usui-san?”

“…Honestly? It’s way too risky. A photo book of a couple—one half a top model, the other with zero experience. It’d never get greenlit under normal circumstances.”

She was right. One misstep and it’d explode—maybe even damage Tsubame’s whole career.

“But if it’s that director, he’ll take it on, right? As long as he can get good shots—legal and ethical lines don’t scare him. And if the publisher sees big returns, they’ll back it.”

“…Yeah. And right now, I might just be able to push it through.”

Usui-san pulled a voice recorder out of her bag and showed it to us. I see—so she had leverage if it came to that.

“But Tsubame-san… your past joint shoots…”

“Yeah. The other models always got intimidated when they shot with me—they couldn’t perform at their best. Or rather, they got swallowed up by me.”

But—she went on, her voice brimming with resolve.

“I know. And Usui-san… you’re worried Shigure-kun will see me during a shoot and be overwhelmed, aren’t you?”

“…To be blunt, yes. Even now, I feel like I might faint if I let my guard down when you’re working—no exaggeration.”

“…It’s really that intense, huh.”

I remembered how she was right after a shoot—sharp, electric. That must’ve been the aftermath of fully slipping into her model self. Even I’d been a little stunned.

“But don’t worry about that. Shigure-kun will be fine. Right, Shigure-kun?”

“Of course. You’re still Tsubame, even during a shoot.”

“Exactly. And this time, it’s not about showing me off as the ‘Nation’s Enchantress.’ It’s about showing ‘Sakakibara Tsubame.’ So it won’t be that different from what you always see.”

Usui-san closed her eyes, curled her back in thought. Tsubame watched her, waiting patiently for her answer.

When Usui-san opened her eyes again, there was a fire in them.

“…Tsubame-san, answer me one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Do you really believe this will succeed? That you’ll prove to everyone that only Shigure-kun can stand by your side—and make it a work of art in its own right?”

To that—Tsubame lifted the corner of her lips and smiled.

“It’ll succeed. Without question.”

A chill raced down my spine. The entire atmosphere shifted.

“As Sakakibara Tsubame—and as the ‘Enchantress of Nations’—I promise you this: with Shigure-kun by my side, I’ll break through yet another wall.”

A glimpse of her hidden self showed through. Those blazing eyes, that radiant confidence—a smile unlike the one she shows me.

It’s probably a side of her that only emerges when she truly loves her work.

It thrilled me to see that part of her. I swallowed hard—Usui-san wore the same look. It really was rare to see.

“Sorry, Usui-san. Shigure-kun. Maybe what I said before was just a front—this might be my true reason. …When I think about doing this shoot with Shigure-kun, I just can’t help it—I’m so excited I can’t stand it. I get to work at what I love, with the person I love. We’re going to get the best shots ever—no, we’ll get tons of them. Absolutely.”

Then, she tugged me closer, so near I could see her face up close—so full of life that I caught my breath.

“Help me, Shigure-kun. It’ll probably get pretty crazy afterward, but…”

“Of course I’ll help you. If it’s what you want to do—if I can help you grow by being there—I’m in. So don’t hold back, okay?”

“Mm. Thank you. And you don’t hold back on me either, okay?”

“Yeah, I promise.”

She smiled—and in that moment, the sharpness in her presence softened in an instant. Her expression eased back to the usual.

“So, what do you think, Usui-san? Don’t you want to see the best photos we’ve ever taken—ever? I guarantee the response will be the biggest yet.”

“…You really know how to corner me, don’t you?”

Usui-san let out a helpless laugh, which slowly turned into a genuine smile.

“All right. Normally, I’d never agree to this—but if it’s about your modeling, there’s no one I trust more than you, Tsubame-san. I know better than anyone how your talent sits at the pinnacle—and how much effort you’ve piled on top of that. …If you’re saying you and he can make your greatest photo book yet, then, as a former model and your manager—I want to see it too.”

Even Usui-san sounded more animated than usual. Tsubame thanked her with a smile that never wavered.

And so, right after becoming a couple—we already had our first big job.
…And honestly, the excitement outweighed the fear. Probably because Tsubame would be right there with me.