"Shizuku-chaaan! Let’s play!"

"Yeah, welcome. Come on in."

A few hours after returning home from the eventful entrance ceremony.

As I opened the front door to the cheerful sound of the intercom, there stood Hoshikawa Aoi, wearing a shiny camel-colored randoseru and smiling brightly.

"You remembered our promise from the graduation ceremony!"

"Of course I did. No way I’d break a promise with you, Aoi. Here, your randoseru’s heavy, right? Put it in my room."

"Okay!"

Watching Aoi happily run inside, I let out a small wry smile.

Even though we ended up going to different schools, the fact that we lived just a few minutes’ walk apart was a blessing.

As far as playing after school went, nothing had changed from our kindergarten days.

Inside my room, we placed our brand-new red and camel randoseru side by side on the floor.

I brought orange juice from the kitchen downstairs along with a plate of cookies Mom had bought, neatly arranging them on the low table.

"Here, your favorite chocolate cookies. I figured I’d hear all about your first day, so I brought extra."

"Wow… Thanks, Shizuku-chan! Let’s eat!"

Watching Aoi munch happily on the cookies like a small animal was as adorable as ever.

Taking a sip of my juice, I brought up what I had been most curious about.

"So? How was your school? Was it a full-on savannah around the boys like I expected?"

"Yeah… There are three boys in my class, but the moment recess started, all the girls crowded around them… it was really noisy."

Aoi swallowed her cookie and let out a slightly heavy sigh.

It sounded exactly the same as my Class 1-1.

Even though the stage had shifted from kindergarten sandbox to elementary school classroom, the 1:15 gender-ratio hell remained unchanged everywhere.

"You didn’t join them?"

"Nope! Because I’ve got you, Shizuku-chan!"

Aoi puffed out her small chest and answered instantly, her emerald-green eyes sparkling.

I smiled and naturally reached out to gently stroke her silky blonde hair.

"Good, that’s my girl. Trying to please those arrogant brats doesn’t suit you. But hey, weren’t you lonely sitting by yourself during recess?"

When I asked with a bit of concern, Aoi shook her head vigorously.

"No. Um, there’s a girl named Mio who sits next to me, and she didn’t go over to the boys either. So we drew pictures together and talked. Mio’s really nice… I think we can be friends!"

"Oh! Seriously!?"

I leaned forward without thinking, my face lighting up.

Honestly, I had been worried all day—like an overprotective uncle from my previous life—that Aoi might end up isolated after we went to different schools.

"That’s awesome, Aoi! Making a friend on your first day like that, nice!"

"Hehe… Shizuku-chan praised me."

"Of course I did. And I’ll praise you as much as you want. Friends are important, so take care of her. And if you ever fight with that Mio girl or someone bullies you, don’t keep it to yourself—tell me right away, okay? Even if it’s at another school, I’ll make them cry for you."

"Fufu, Shizuku-chan, you’re like a mom."

Aoi giggled happily and hugged my arm tightly.

A sweet, soap-like scent tickled my nose.

Yeah, girls really are the best.

Being freed from that tense, cutthroat classroom and spending time being doted on by an angelic girl like this—this was my true oasis.

'...That’s a relief. Looks like Aoi will be fine in her new environment.'

Feeling genuinely relieved, I gently patted Aoi’s back as she rubbed her cheek against my arm.

—However, I had no idea that inside Aoi’s mind, as she closed her eyes happily in my arms, something entirely different—and far more intense—was unfolding.

'...Shizuku-chan was really happy. I’m so glad…'

The reason Aoi spoke to Mio, the girl next to her, wasn't a coincidence.

Nor was it simply because she didn’t want to be alone.

It was because of the words Shizuku had said on the day of the graduation ceremony.

'I like someone who has a strong sense of self.'

Aoi had engraved those words deeply into every corner of her being, without missing a single syllable.

'Shizuku-chan doesn’t like girls who fawn over boys. She likes girls who can make their own friends and have their own world… That’s why I became friends with Mio.'

Mio herself was kind and a good girl.

Aoi genuinely was happy to become her friend.

But at the core of Aoi’s actions was always one thing—becoming Shizuku’s ideal girl.

To be praised by Shizuku.

To become someone worthy of standing beside her.

For that, she would make any effort.

'I need to get better at more and more things. Cooking, cleaning, studying… I’ll become more perfect than any other girl around Shizuku… and in the end, I’ll definitely become Shizuku-chan’s bride!'

Her grip around my arm tightened slightly.

At just six years old, the blonde angel had already resolved to devote her entire life to Nanase Shizuku.

The weight of that love was deeper and darker than the Mariana Trench.

"Aoi? What’s wrong? You sleepy?"

"No… I was just thinking how warm you are, Shizuku-chan."

"I see. Well, there’s still time before dinner, so just relax."

"Okay!"

At my carefree words, Aoi gave the brightest, most adorable smile of the day.

And so, the single lily blooming in the savannah of male dominance and female competition quietly spread its roots—deeply, and with a terrifying level of devotion, unnoticed by anyone around it.