In truth, the story of Kaguya. and Shirogane Miyuki is a good one, especially the early parts. The bad-forth testing and battle of wits between the protagonists make for a highly eaining dynamic.

  Ren remembered enjoying the initial chapters immensely when he first read them.

  However, sihe real Kaguya had already made her decision, there was o dwell oopic further.

  He chose his words carefully.

  "Amamiya!"

  Hayasaka suddenly raised her hand, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

  "What happeween Miss Kaguya and the male protagonist in the inal story?"

  "Hayasaka!"

  Kaguya shot her a sharp gre, her tone icy with warning.

  Yet Hayasaka's curiosity refused to be quelled.

  Ren shook his head slightly, a small sigh esg him.

  "There's no clusion. Shinomiya-san just said she didn't want to be trolled by the narrative."

  "Her decisions and as altered the trajectory of her future."

  "But if you ask me, I think her upbringing, her family education was the real reason for the divergence from the inal story."

  "Oh? And why is that?" Hayasaka tilted her head, intrigued.

  "Strict family education. A mihat prioritizes the family's be above all else. A ck of freedom. Those factors shaped Shinomiya-san into someone who calmly evaluate both herself and others."

  "Although the inal story was quite eaining, with the male and female protagonists stantly engaging in amusing antics, it's important to note…"

  Ren paused before tinuing, "In edic stories, there are always so-called 's.'"

  With that, he stopped talking, leaving his point implied but unsaid.

  Kaguya didn't need him to eborate further. She uood what he meant.

  In edic stories, the protagonists are often portrayed as "s" whose exaggerated as are desigo amuse the audience.

  "'s' naturally behave in a way that provokes ughter from their audieherwise, how would the story remaiertaining?"

  "Hey~ So Miss Kaguya was the of the story?" Hayasaka's curiosity only grew stronger.

  "Amamiya, could you expin that part in more detail?"

  Ren g Kaguya, whose expression had darkened siderably.

  He couldn't help but think Hayasaka's curiosity might nd her in trouble ter.

  "Miss Kaguya, isn't this a good opportunity to uand what you might have bee if you had chosen differently?" Hayasaka teased, unfazed by her emplrowing irritation.

  "Besides, isn't Miss Kaguya at least a little curious?"

  "…Hayasaka, we'll discuss this whe home," Kaguya said through ched teeth, her fists trembling iraint.

  At that moment, she truly wished she could freeze Hayasaka into an ice sculpture.

  But as much as she tried to suppress it, her curiosity about her own story was undeniable.

  No matter how much she cimed she wouldn't follow someone else's narrative, the desire to know what had been pnned for her lingered in the back of her mind.

  Taking a deep breath, she finally gave in.

  "Amamiya-san, I admit… I'm a little curious about the story."

  "Could you tell me about it?"

  "Of course."

  "But I feel like you're walking straight into the fire," Amamiya thought.

  Still, there was a certain amusement in watg someoively seek out details they knew would embarrass them.

  "Well then," he began. "I'll try to summarize your trajectory in the inal story."

  "First, there's the version of you known as 'Ice Kaguya.'"

  "In that state, yuarded against anyone who isn't part of your inner circle. You're like a hedgehog bristling with sharp needles, keeping everyo a distance."

  "Then, something happens—you realize your feelings for the male protagonist. That leads to the sed phase: 'Love-Brained Kaguya.'"

  "In this phase, your thoughts revolve around ohing, getting the male protagonist to fess his feelings for you."

  "Why? Because, in your mind, 'love is war.'"

  "In a war, the first person to fess is the one who loses. That belief bees yuiding principle, and you make it your mission to manipute the situation so that the male protagonist fesses first."

  Ren's tone remained calm, but his words carried an undeniable sense of irony.

  "Of course, the male protagonist holds the same belief. He sees himself as inferior and believes that in order to maintain his dignity in love, you must fess to him instead."

  "So, the two of you engage in a prolonged battle of wits, each determined not to be the first to admit your feelings."

  "It's absurd and voluted, but that's exactly what makes the story so funny."

  "Ice Kaguya… Love-Brained Kaguya…"

  Kaguya's face turned red with embarrassment as she dug her toes into the ground, trying to process everything Ren was saying.

  Even the cept of "love as war" sounded unfortably like something she might have thought of.

  "It's too idealistic," Kaguya finally muttered, her embarrassment giving way to a more critical perspective.

  "The story doesn't at for the pressures of the Shinomiya family."

  "If I acted so self-teredly, it would only be a matter of time before the Shinomiya family intervened. And when they did, I doubt the protagonists iory would end up with a happy ending."

  "Acc to the story, though, it does have a happy ending, doesn't it?"

  "To reach that ending, there must have been upheaval within the Shinomiya family, right?"

  "That's correct," Amamiya firmed. "The Shijo family made a move, which destabilized the Shinomiya family."

  "…I thought as much," Kaguya said with a sigh.

  She wasn't surprised by this revetion.

  The Shijo family had long been eager to weaken the Shinomiya family, so it was only natural for them to seize any opportunity to attack.

  Iy, Kaguya had already uncovered signifit internal corruption within her family's ranks. She had no doubt that the Shijo family had been gathering simir information for years, waiting for the right moment to strike.

  "I imagine how it would py out," Kaguya said.

  "With the Shinomiya family in turmoil, my eldest brother would see me as a tool to stabilize the situation, likely by arranging a political marriage with the Shijo family."

  "You're absolutely correct."

  Hearing this, Kaguya could only shake her head.

  "What a reckless sario. The idea of fighting the Shinomiya family head-on while als to rescue me? It's the kind of thing that only works in fi."

  "In real life, the male protagonist wouldn't stand a ce. If my brother called the police, he'd be arrested immediately."

  "Stories like that only succeed because they're stories."

  "Then what about your friends?" Ren asked.

  "My friends…?"

  "Fujiwara Chika, for instance. Or the maid beside you," he added, gng at Hayasaka.

  "To give you an example," he said with a smirk, "after the story ended, Fujiwara Chika ended up running for offi a political ele and she won by a ndslide."

  "…" That's ridiculous," Kaguya said, her voice ft.

  She wao ugh, but the thought of Chika holding a political position was too uling to be amusing.

  It might sound like a joke, but something about it felt eerily pusible and that made it even harder to process.