Having overcome the panic in the haunted house, eaten churros and taken a short break, we timed it for sunset and headed to the amusement park's symbol, the great Ferris wheel.

"Wow... the sunset is so beautiful."

"Yeah! The sky is orange, Shizuku-chan!"

While waiting in line, Anju and Aoi looked up at the sky, which was beginning to turn red, and got excited. The gondolas on this Ferris wheel seated four. As we were exactly four, it worked out perfectly for riding together.

However, the 'seating arrangement' became an issue here.

"Nanase-san, I am slightly uncomfortable with heights, so I will be seating myself beside you!"

"Ah, that's sneaky, Anju-chan! I want to sit next to Shizuku-chan too!"

As expected, sparks began to fly between the two over the seats on either side of me. Shaking my head with a "good grief," I took the hand of the silver-haired transfer student, who was timidly clutching the hem of my clothes.

"Sorry, you two. Lise probably still isn't used to the scenery in Japan, so I want to sit next to her and explain things. You two take the seats across from us. Besides, if you're enjoying the view, you can see each other's faces better sitting opposite, right?"

"————!!"

With that killer phrase delivered with a full business smile—'you can see each other's faces (*in this case, my face) better'—Aoi and Anju let out a "hyaa!" and fell instantly silent, blushing. Thus, with the formation of me and Lise sitting side by side and Aoi and Anju sitting opposite, the gondola began its slow ascent into the evening sky.

* * *

"Regarde, Lise. C'est la ville où on habite. (Look, Lise. That's the town we live in.)"

"Ouah... C'est beau... (Wow... It's pretty...)"

As we gained altitude, the miniature-like town spread out below, and Lise pressed herself against the window, eyes sparkling. Recalling my past life when I'd guided an overseas client to Tokyo Tower, I carefully explained each visible sight in French.

'...Really, seeing kids happy is so healing. Chaperoning as the organizer all day was totally worth it.'

As I gazed at Lise's silver hair with a paternal feeling—no, more like a senior's sentiment—Lise suddenly pulled away from the window and turned to face me.

"Um, Shizuku."

From the mouth of the girl who would normally say "Dis, Shizuku" in French, came faltering Japanese.

"Hm? Lise, you just..."

I opened my eyes a little in surprise, and Lise, shyly fidgeting with both hands, stared straight into my violet eyes. Then, her sapphire-blue eyes slightly glistening, she slowly, with great effort, strung her words together.

"Kyou wa, issho ni, asonde kurete... Shizuku, arigatou. Watashi, tottemo, tanoshii, desu...!"

It was broken Japanese, with grammar and pronunciation far from perfect. Yet the tone of her voice conveyed painfully well just how hard she had practiced for this day, just to convey her feelings directly to me.

"............"

Inside my chest, my heart thumped loudly. That surge of emotion—just like that time in my past-life corporate slave days, when a junior from an overseas branch who couldn't speak Japanese at all stayed up all night to memorize a Japanese greeting in gratitude.

"...That's amazing, Lise. You really worked incredibly hard to practice Japanese."

Unconsciously, I pulled Lise's small body into a tight embrace. Patting her head gently, I dropped my husky voice close to her ear.

"I understood. Your feelings reached me properly. I had a ton of fun today playing with you, too. Thank you, Lise."

"Shizuku..."

Hugged and praised by me, Lise buried her face in my chest, tears of joy spilling down her cheeks. A pure and beautiful cross-cultural exchange that transcended the language barrier. Immersed in emotion, I thought, ‘I just can't help but root for a kid who tries so hard.’

...Yes. I had completely forgotten about what kind of eyes the two heroines sitting across from us were watching this scene with.

* * *

[Anju and Aoi's Perspective]

Inside the gondola bathed in the setting sun.

On the opposite seat, a black-haired prince and a silver-haired fairy embraced each other, creating a deeply emotional atmosphere.

Witnessing that sight, Anju and Aoi clenched their fists on their knees with a grinding grip.

'...That was calculated. That was a weapon of womanhood, completely and utterly calculated...'

Anju's brilliant mental computer sparked, sounding alarms.

'Pretending to be an innocent foreigner who can't speak the language, then deliberately showing off broken Japanese at such a romantic moment... Isn't that the ultimate combo of "gap moe," designed to stimulate Shizuku's protective nature to the absolute limit! Lise... what a terrifying child...'

Anju felt a fierce impatience as her own French study plan was being fundamentally overturned by Lise's "counter-approach via Japanese acquisition."

Meanwhile, Aoi.

The highlights in her emerald-green eyes had completely vanished, now dark and murky like the deep sea.

'...Ah. My Shizuku-chan is touched by another woman's words. Hugging a woman who isn't me, stroking her so gently, so lovingly...'

Aoi's left hand—the wrist wrapped with the star bracelet Shizuku had given her—trembled faintly.

'...That silver hair called Shizuku-chan's name. Said "thank you" to my Shizuku-chan. Unforgivable. I should be the only one who gets to move Shizuku-chan. The place in Shizuku-chan's heart is my special seat alone...'

It was the moment when Lise's existence in Aoi's mind was fully updated from "pitiful transfer student who can't communicate" to "the worst kind of pest trying to steal Shizuku-chan's heart."

'...So that Shizuku-chan doesn't have to speak French, I'll... have to shut that woman's mouth forever... fufu...'

Inside the enclosed gondola.

Against the beautiful orange sunset, Shizuku's unknowingly bestowed "emotion of cross-cultural exchange" had thrown a massive igniting agent onto the tsundere's competitive spirit and the yandere's elimination impulse, elevating the three-way love-hate drama to the next stage.