Whereas Hanagaki Akari's loyalty was torn between her love for her beloved king and her friendship with the king's strongest adversary.
Who will she choose?
Sequel to The Boss Queen.
Read the first book to understand the story better since this is...
First update for this new year! Happy reading, everyone!
Author's Note: Cussing. Profanities. Little violence.
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"HOW CAN a bike be so broken like this, Take-chan?" Akari asked in confusion as she was trying to repair her cousin's bicycle he named 'Hayate' in their backyard one summer morning. She just finished tightening the loose bolts with a torque wrench and was now reattaching a slipped chain back in the rear cog. "Was it been hit by a dump truck or something? I thought you are treasuring this poor thing?"
Takemichi was palming his face while standing opposite hers. "Please say no more, Akari." He slumped his shoulders and exhaled a weary sigh, acting as if he was an adult who was already done living a shitty life. "I rather not disclose the details."
"Alright! All done~" the ravenette chirped as she propelled the bike's pedal and stood up, wiping the grease off her hands onto her white shirt. "It took me at least two hours to have this baby repaired!"
"Really?!" His once tired face was now lit up with delight as his blue eyes fixated on his mended bicycle. "You really did fix it! Thanks a bunch, Akari! You're the best!"
A smug grin tugged her lips and flipped her long pony-tailed hair to the side. "Of course, I am! You can try it out if you like," she said. "But I'm not doing this for free, you know! You still have to pay for my services."
His bright smile never left his face and nodded. He really cherished his bike that much, huh? "I'll buy you a box of taiyaki just as promised!"
She jokingly made a curtsy to him. "Why, thank you very much for patronizing Akari-sama's Bike Repair Shop! We offer you high-quality services for your damaged bicycles at our lowest prices! Please come again in the near future and I'll give you a 20 percent taiyaki discount~" she kidded, making both of them laugh at her silliness.
"You are such a joker, Akari," Takemichi mused and climbed onto his bike.
"Oh, are you going to try it now?"
"Yup! Wanna hitch on? I'm still going to buy you a taiyaki, after all."
"Is it okay? I mean am I safe to ride with you?"
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" he growled.
Akari let out an amused chuckle. "I'm just joking, Take-chan! Wait for me here. I'll just go change my shirt. Be right back!" After she said those words, she sprinted off inside the house and made a quick change of clothes before going back outside, bringing her pouch and her flip phone with her.
"I was really surprised that you and Mucho-kun knew each other, Akari. You two seemed quite close," Takemichi said while pedaling his bike along the streets with her sitting on the back.
Akari only hummed, reminiscing the events from yesterday. What happened last night at the Musashi shrine was quite... lively. Not only did she embarrass herself in front of Mikey's gang, Toman, but she had coincidentally met one of Izana's acquaintances, Muto Yasuhiro and learned from Mikey that he was the fifth-division captain of Toman.
