Many things were spinning around in my head.
A political marriage—I hadn't heard of something like that in this day and age.
In the first place, we have the Red Thread of Fate. As long as the Red Thread exists, a story that ignores human rights like that shouldn't...!
"...That's right, that's it. Why would something like that happen when there's a Red Thread of Fate? If people connected by the Red Thread get married, that's happiness...!"
"Akky. Whose happiness is that happiness?"
"Eh... Well, yours..."
"Yes. If we have this thread, Ryuya and I will be happy. But a family of a large corporation like ours doesn't think that way."
...What does that mean...?
I tilted my head, not understanding the meaning of Neika's words.
"Children of large corporations like ours marry the sons or daughters of partner companies to strengthen the bonds between businesses and give back to society."
...Huh? Give back to society?
"Sorry. It feels like my head suddenly became stupid. ...In other words?"
"It means that the happiness of society is more important than my personal happiness."
"How can such a ridiculous thing be true!?"
It was so shocking that I stood up without thinking. There's no way something like that should be allowed to pass. What are they thinking...!
Ryuya looked up at me with slightly cold eyes.
"Akito. There are many cases like this in the world, they just don't come out in the open. It just happened to be us. ...That's all."
"There's no such thing as a coincidence! Ryuya, why the hell are you so calm!?"
"...Calm, you say?"
Ryuya stood up slowly—and grabbed me by the collar with force.
"Does this look calm to you, you bastard! Huh!?"
"Ryuya, stop it!"
Ryuya raised his fist with a terrifying expression. However, with Neika's scream, it was not brought down.
"What the hell... What the hell do you know! This suffering! This pain! What do you know about me!?"
"How would I know, you damn idiot! A Ryuya who's moping around isn't Ryuya! Someone as boundlessly cheerful as you shouldn't be the type to give up over something like this!"
"That's what I'm saying, you don't get it! The opponent is adults! The economy! It's society itself, something we can't even imagine! Before we talk about giving up or not, it's not even a match from the start!"
"You—!"
Blood rushed to my head, and I also raised my fist—.
"I said STOP IT!"
"Bubeh!?"
"Hagah!?"
Eh, ah, it hurts...! Did I get punched in the face...!?
From the impact from the side, Ryuya and I were knocked over. Neika, the cause of that impact, landed on the sofa and pointed at us as we lay there.
"Calm down, you two idiots! Don't fight over something like this! Dummy! Moron! Stupid stupid stupid!"
An unexpected pain. Neika's expression looked as if she were about to burst into tears.
Seeing that, the blood that had rushed to my head instantly cooled. It must have been the same for Ryuya, as he released his grip on my collar.
"Sorry, Akito. I..."
"No... I'm the one who's sorry. That's right. You guys are the ones suffering the most..."
We both boiled over at once, and thanks to that, we were able to become calm. I sat back down on the sofa and moistened my mouth with tea. Still, I wasn't convinced in my heart. Well, of course. It's impossible to ask someone to be convinced by this.
"Have you two thought about what you're going to do from now on?"
"Yeah. Actually, we've talked about a lot of things. ...We've decided to accept this reality."
At Ryuya's words, Neika gripped her skirt tightly. It felt like they had reached a conclusion after talking, but they weren't satisfied with it.
Even if we're not satisfied, we're still children. There's nothing we can do against adults, companies, and the economy. It's just too much. Shit.
"...Do Neika's parents know that Ryuya is her Fated Person?"
"...I haven't told them. They're busy with work, so I haven't been able to talk to them properly..."
"I see..."
Certainly, I've been to Neika's house a few times, but there's only a maid there, and I've never met her parents. I haven't heard much about her parents from Neika either... I wonder what kind of people they are.
"Then, why not try to take some time to talk with them? Her parents probably don't think her Fated Person is so close by."
"B-But..."
"Akito, I appreciate the sentiment, but..."
"In anything, they might unexpectedly understand if you try talking. If Neika's Fated Person was someone you didn't even know, persuasion might be difficult... but if they know she's tied to someone so close, they might reconsider. Right?"
The two of them fell into thought. Then, Ryuya was the first to nod.
"Nei. Can I ask you too? I want to at least greet them once, after all."
"Ryuya... are you sure?"
"Yeah. I'm prepared."
"...Understood."
Neika took out her smartphone and made a call.
"...Ah, Father. Is now okay? ...Yeah, sorry. It'll be over soon."
Neika gazed at Ryuya with a flushed face she usually didn't show. And then.
"There's someone I want to introduce to you. Could we meet?"