The rain had cleared from Suzuran-dori shopping street, but humid air still lingered in its wake. Cloud shadows reflected in the wet cobblestones. The sound of water dripping from eaves. It was the same shopping street as always, and yet to Kirihara Runa, it felt like a different world entirely. She'd stopped counting how many days had passed since returning to Akabane. She stood in front of the set meal restaurant "Manpuku-tei," still holding Shirogane Toshiya's umbrella. (What is this person really thinking?) That rainy night. Toshiya offering her an umbrella on Akabane's shopping street. His expression from that moment wouldn't leave her heart. Behind those cold-seeming eyes, something had churned. Fear, perhaps. Or desperation. "Runa." That voice came. She turned. Toshiya stood there in a black coat, his hair slightly damp. He'd left this morning—how had he found her? Runa didn't ask. Instead— "What are you doing coming all the way out here...?" "I want to talk again." His voice carried the calm composure of a company president. Yet beneath it flowed something deeper, something profound. The two entered the restaurant. The owner, Okochi Genta, looked up from behind the counter, but as if he understood something, he guided them to a table in the back. This should have been the noisy lunch hour, but few customers had come at this time. Just the two of them. The shopping street visible through the window. Daylight streamed in, and it felt as though only their corner was illuminated. "I... failed," Toshiya said. His opening words startled her. "That email. The whistleblowing. It was all Toichiro's trap. I knew that. But..." Toshiya gazed out the window. The shopping street's scenery. The light reflected there. "I wanted to believe in you, but I was being crushed by my responsibility to protect the company. Caught between those two things, all I could do was hurt you." Runa's eyes grew moist. But before she could answer, a maid arrived with water. She set it down and left to take their order. Toshiya pointed to the daily special. Runa nodded. Silence stretched between them. In that silence, Runa faced her own feelings. (This person... he really is sorry. I've never seen that expression on his face before.) The set meals arrived. Rice, miso soup, grilled fish as the main. Three side dishes. The usual Manpuku-tei special. Nothing different about it. And yet, in this moment, Runa's entire world was trembling. "I... have things I want to say too," Runa said. She set down her chopsticks. A deep breath. Her hand unconsciously touched the star-shaped scar beneath her left collarbone. "I didn't accept the contract marriage just for money." "My mother's medical bills—that part was true. But..." Her words stopped. Runa's eyes clouded with tears. "That apartment in Shirogane-dai. That high place. It all terrified me. I felt like I had no right to stand there. Every single day, I was holding my breath." Hearing those words, Toshiya's expression shifted. A faint softness appeared. "But... at some point. More than that fear. You became what I was thinking about." Runa ate her grilled fish. The way she ate was ordinary. But her voice was small, subdued. "It felt like I was lying. It hurt so much. So when I was suspected at that board meeting... somewhere in my heart, I thought 'this is the end.' And that made me so sad." Tears traced silently down her cheeks. She couldn't eat her rice. She simply sat there. "...Until you came to Akabane, I cried every single day." At those words, Toshiya stopped eating entirely. He gripped his soup bowl with both hands, his gaze falling into it. "I see." His voice was very small. "I see... you're the same as me." Toshiya turned his face toward Runa. In his eyes was a light different from before. "I... actually..." He paused, searching for words. "Ever since Father died, I've been alone. I had to carry everything by myself. The company, the group, all of it. No one I could trust. The only reason I had to live was protecting the company." Those words were far too honest for this ruthless president. "But after you came... it changed. Something changed." "When I'm with you, the tension leaves my shoulders. I can breathe. I didn't understand what that was. But now I do. This is peace." Runa's heart trembled greatly. "You're not... my everything. But you've become the most precious thing to me." "So let's end the contract." That single phrase stopped her. "Let's start over. This time not as a contract, but as a real relationship. I want to make you my wife—truly." Runa's tears increased. Seeing those tears, Toshiya took her hand. On the table, two hands overlapped. Warmth. That warmth made Runa's entire body shake. "Believe me. I won't betray you." "I promise. No matter what happens, I'll protect you." Runa could only nod. Words wouldn't come. She simply squeezed his hand in return, conveying everything through that grip. "But..." Runa took a breath. "Toichiro's conspiracy. The whistleblowing issue. My position within the company. Nothing's been resolved." "Won't even harder things be waiting for us from now on?" "Yeah. That's true." Toshiya gripped her hand even more firmly. "But this time is different. You're not alone." "We fight together. We overcome this as two. No matter what storm comes, we face it together." "That's a promise." In that moment, Runa understood something for the first time. (This person... is really strong. But he actually needed someone. Someone ordinary like me.) And Runa, too, had been needed. They left the restaurant. Suzuran-dori shopping street. The humid air after rain. The setting sun cast long shadows on the cobblestones. Their shadows stretched out side by side. In front of Manpuku-tei. In front of the side dish shop. In front of the vegetable stand. Along that path, many townspeople watched the two of them. Okochi Genta. The staff at "Okazu Yokocho." The vegetable stand owner. Everyone witnessed the two holding hands. Back at Manpuku-tei, Okochi Genta smiled softly behind the counter. "That young lady... she'll be happy, won't she?" The two left the shopping street. The road toward the station. Beyond that road waited the Shirogane-dai apartment. But perhaps Runa would no longer find it frightening. (Harder things will happen from here on. Toichiro's conspiracy will continue. But...) Runa gently leaned against Toshiya's shoulder. (If this person is here. If we can fight together. I feel like we can overcome anything.) Shirogane Toshiya felt that lean and gently wrapped his arm around her. The sunset grew even redder. The shopping street saw them off. A new vow had been exchanged. Not a contract, but a real promise. The only light to overcome the storms that awaited them ahead. Yet beyond that light lay developments no one could have foreseen. Toichiro's conspiracy was merely the prologue, and the power struggle within the Shirogane Group was about to accelerate further. The true trial for Runa and Toshiya was only just beginning.