I’m kinda confused about why Houzuki even did all of in the first place… I’m not sure how she met Hina either, but I guess we’re not really supposed to know that. Anyway, it doesn’t seem like Houzuki’s getting any money from Hina or anything, so is she just so lonely she tricked some random little kid into falling in love with her or did I miss something here?
Houzuki seems to be of wealthy lineage, which I get from the mention of 'her dad's company' on page 10/148, so she might get her money from her parents. And also, Houzuki seems to drown out her sorrows in alcohol as well as the company of a young girl. It's like that feeling of being 'cool' to someone when in reality you're not actually as sorted-out as you present yourself to be.
That's why she starts to break down a little bit when Hina comes back later and reveals that she knows what kind of person Houzuki is now; not the cool mysterious adult she presented herself as, but rather a scared and lonely person running away from her problems.
This leads to the ending where, now that her sole disciple, Hina, has seen through the illusion, she sucks up and accepts the fact that her only path to a better life is going back home and trying again with her life. Also, I think the 'make her fall in love' part was a side effect considering how aware Houzuki was of how groomer-ish their relationship looks on an objective level. She even looks scared on page 29/167 after they kiss, which to me reads as an expression of 'if anyone knew about this my life is over'.
Anyway, that's my thoughts on it.
last edited at Jan 27, 2022 8:37AM