She was still dragging that night with her. "Contract or not, you are my wife"——those words whispered in the dining room wouldn't leave her head even as morning came. The sensation of her wrist being grasped. The weight of his hand on her shoulder. (It's all for the contract. He said he has a duty of care.) While telling herself that, Tsumugi sat at her desk on the 14th floor of Marunouchi Central Tower, staring at documents. Through the window, she could see Tokyo Station's platform. The November sky was covered in thin clouds, and today the sunlight was weak. "Tsumugi, do you have a moment?" Shibata, the section chief of the Overseas Procurement Division, called out to her. A 52-year-old man with a gentle face, he looked slightly more apologetic than usual. "[serious]Could you deliver some documents to the 27th floor? The Management Planning Department received urgent approval documents, and they need to be submitted by today" The 27th floor. The floor where Soushi was. The Management Planning Department. She hesitated for just a moment. But it was work. It didn't matter. "[gentle]Understood. I'll go right away" Tsumugi took the documents and stepped into the elevator. —— When she got off on the 27th floor, the air felt slightly different. A closed area requiring a security card. Unlike the open floor of the 14th, there was a quiet, tense atmosphere. When she knocked on the door of the secretary's office near the reception desk: "Come in." A composed voice answered. Inside, a single woman stood before a desk. Jet-black long straight hair fell cleanly from her shoulders. Her indigo eyes seemed to be measuring something the moment they saw Tsumugi. A small diamond ear cuff on her left ear cartilage. She was probably at least 168 centimeters tall, and her perfectly straight posture fit completely into this place. "You must be Tsumugi from the Overseas Procurement Division." The woman smiled. It was a perfect smile. The angle of her lips, the softness around her eyes——all calculated. But only deep in those eyes, there was no smile. "[cold]I am Reika Sakurai. I serve as Soushi-sama's secretary" The way she said "Soushi-sama" caught in Tsumugi's ears. "[gentle]I'm Tsumugi. It's a pleasure to meet you" As Tsumugi handed over the documents, Reika accepted them politely. Her movements as she checked the contents were efficient and without waste. Tsumugi noticed thin burn scars on Reika's right wrist. Old, deeply etched marks. But Reika made no attempt to hide them. "[cold]Are you aware, madam?" Reika looked up and spoke casually. "Soushi-sama doesn't allow people close to him outside of work. Not once until now——even I barely have conversations beyond business matters." The words were polite. But the meaning behind them was not. In other words——you're nothing special. If even I can't get close, there's no way you'd receive special treatment. (I see.) Tsumugi didn't let her smile falter. She understood Reika's intent clearly. But what was driving Reika——was it feelings for Soushi, or something else entirely——she couldn't read that far yet. "[gentle]I see. As for Soushi... there's still so much I don't know about him" She answered honestly. There was no need to lie, no need to defend herself. Reika looked at Tsumugi for a moment as if searching for something. Then her perfect smile returned. "[sarcastic]How straightforward you are, madam" "I'll take the documents. Thank you very much." She said nothing more. Tsumugi bowed lightly and left the secretary's office. The moment she stepped into the hallway, she took a slightly deeper breath. (What is that person trying to do?) Did she have feelings for Soushi? Or was she just trying to protect her position? Either way——it was better to be careful. That sensation spread slowly through her chest. Then she heard footsteps from deeper in the hallway. "——You were here." She looked up. Soushi was walking toward her. Black suit, his usual expressionless face. But the moment he saw Tsumugi, his steps stopped for just an instant. "[cold]Delivering documents?" "[gentle]Yes, my section chief asked me to" Soushi nodded curtly. He seemed about to say something, when——the secretary's office door opened. Reika came out. Still holding the documents, she looked at Soushi, then at Tsumugi——and for just an instant, her expression wavered. The mask of her smile cracked, just slightly. Soushi turned toward Reika. "[serious]You said unnecessary things" His voice was low. Not shouting, not emotional. But a voice that brooked no argument. Reika's jaw lifted slightly. "[cold]……Understood" A flat response. But those indigo eyes——for just a moment, they took on the color of something being held back. Soushi said nothing more and walked down the hallway. His back receded into the distance. Tsumugi stood frozen for a moment. (Did Soushi... protect me?) She wasn't sure if she could think of it that way. But the fact remained that he'd said those words to Reika——and that fact quietly knocked on something deep in her chest. As she headed toward the elevator, Tsumugi looked back at Reika once more. Reika was looking straight at her. There was no smile. Just quietly, with eyes that said nothing——she was looking at Tsumugi. —— Lunchtime came. The 14th floor employee cafeteria "Terrace Dining" was nearly full as always. Among the bustle of employees carrying trays of daily set meals, as Tsumugi was heading to her usual table, a voice called from behind. "[excited]Um, senpai!" She turned around. Junichi was standing there with an eco-bag in both hands. His chestnut-colored medium-length hair was slightly disheveled. The silver piercing in his left ear glinted under the fluorescent lights. "[excited]I made a bento today. For you too, senpai" "……Huh?" "[gentle]I wasn't sure how much to make, so I might have made too much. Um, would you like to eat together?" He spoke a bit quickly, his cheeks flushed. Not so much naturally——but genuinely nervous, and unable to hide it. Tsumugi smiled wryly. She thought for a moment about declining. But looking at Junichi's face, which held no malice whatsoever, the words of refusal wouldn't come. "[gentle]……Thank you. Then I'll gratefully accept" The two sat at a window-side table. Junichi pulled out a container from his eco-bag. Teriyaki chicken, tamagoyaki, spinach with bonito flakes. The colors were thoughtfully arranged. "[gentle]Do you cook often?" "[gentle]I live alone, so. I've been learning little by little lately……but my tamagoyaki still falls apart" The tamagoyaki was indeed slightly misshapen. But the taste was genuine. The sweetness and salt balance were somehow just right. "It's delicious" "[surprised]Really?!" Junichi looked up with a slightly surprised expression. Then he smiled happily. A straightforward, unguarded smile. Looking at that smile, Tsumugi felt something in her chest ease a little. (This person is easy to be around.) She didn't have to think about anything. No calculations, no posturing, no probing——nothing. Just time where she could smile honestly. But——suddenly, Reika's cold gaze flickered through her mind. So did Soushi's voice saying "you said unnecessary things." (If Reika saw this, would she think something again?) "Senpai, are you——okay lately?" Junichi's voice pulled her back from her thoughts. "[sad]You seem tired. I sent you a message yesterday, and you read it, but you didn't reply. I was worried I was pushing you too hard" "[gentle]Sorry, I've been busy. I'm fine" "……I see." Junichi fell silent for a moment. Then he slowly opened his mouth. "[gentle]Um. Please don't push yourself too hard. I can kind of tell when you're forcing yourself" His voice was low, serious. The usual innocent quality had vanished. Tsumugi stopped her chopsticks. She searched for words to respond, but couldn't find any. She only answered with a small "yeah." Junichi's face showed that he'd properly received the weight of that "yeah." —— At that moment, if anyone had been looking down from the direction of the 27th floor windows—— Soushi lifted his gaze from the documents in his hands. The cafeteria on the 14th floor——with its glass walls, the tables were visible as distant points. It should have been impossible to make out specific faces. It should have been impossible, and yet——the pen in his hand pressed slightly harder into his fingers. His eyes, tracing the text of the documents, stopped. That was all. —— When she returned to Grandveil Akasaka's 38th floor that night, the lights in the living room were on. Soushi was sitting on the sofa. He seemed to have been reading documents; files lay on the table beside him. When Tsumugi entered, he looked up. Silence stretched between them for a while. She took off her coat, set down her bag——and as Tsumugi was about to say something: "[cold]Don't get too involved with Reika" His voice was quiet. There was no emotion in it, no anger. Just a voice that seemed to be telling her something. "[serious]……Why?" Soushi paused for a moment. "[cold]It will become troublesome" "Troublesome——how?" "[cold]……I won't say more than that" Soushi closed the file. Then he stood from the sofa and headed toward the hallway. His bedroom door closed quietly. Tsumugi was left alone in the hallway. In this space that was just a bit too wide, stretching from the entrance to the living room. (There's something between Reika and Soushi.) She was certain of that. Those words——"you said unnecessary things"——and tonight's "don't get too involved"——they weren't just business warnings. There was something more personal between them. She looked toward Soushi's room. Thin light leaked from beneath the door. She watched it for a while, but that light didn't go out for quite some time. (Does Reika... have feelings for Soushi?) The question surfaced in her mind, and Tsumugi was slightly surprised at herself. If she did——then what did Tsumugi think about that? She tried to find an answer, but couldn't. Through the hallway window, the night Tokyo was visible. Tokyo Tower glowed red. Looking at that light, Tsumugi let out a quiet breath. In the span of a single day, something had begun to shift. The existence of Reika. Her calculating smile and the wavering in those eyes. The rare moment when Soushi showed emotion in the hallway. Junichi's straightforward concern that asked for nothing. All of it was slowly creating a whirlpool inside Tsumugi. (This is going to get more complicated.) That was the only certainty she had. The light beyond the door, tonight, did not go out for a long time.