Most people in this world are blessed at birth and receive their "Calling" when they come of age. Those who never receive their gift are known as the "Cursed Ones." When Fumi Matsukata turns ten without receiving her Calling, she's about to be abandoned by her family. Instead, however, they decide to keep her around as their servant.
Fumi's younger brother, Itsuki, on the other hand, is born with a powerful Calling, which he uses to torment Fumi incessantly. One day, the Matsukatas receive a proposal of marriage from the prestigious Togo Clan, a long line of clairvoyants. They assumed that the clan's eldest daughter wished to marry their talented son. So how will they react when they find out that the heir Seiji wishes to come take Fumi for his own?! In a world where those without a divine gift are scorned, a girl who's been taught that she's worthless suddenly becomes the wife of a formidable heir. Now that she's escaped her horrible family's clutches, will she find happiness? Will she find love?
Kikuka is a server at Hananoya, a high-class restaurant frequented by well-to-do politicians and entrepreneurs. She's also the daughter of the establishment's current owner and his late mistress. Her mother was kind and gentle, but suffered from illness, and eventually passed on to the next world. Since then, Kikuka has been working hard at Hananoya while enduring constant mistreatment from her mother- and sister-in-law. She never argues back, keeping her promise to her mother: always smile and never resent those around her. But when her sister-in-law grows tired of putting up with her, she's abandoned in the mountains one night. However, before despair takes ahold of her, Kikuka stumbles upon the rumored pavilion, Hell's Gateway. There, she meets Homura, a man with glistening, vermillion hair and otherworldly beauty... And for reasons she cannot understand, he treats her with a warm kindness that she's never known...
A few years have passed since Gaoh became the new emperor of the Hakushu Nation. Bad rumors have gone around about Gaoh getting rid of government officials, and spending loads of money on lavish banquets, so he is feared as the "Mad Emperor". Gaoh is currently recruiting courtesans for his harem, and our protagonists Shushu has her reasons to become one. One day the palace, a government official tries to make a move on Shushu, but Gaoh comes to her rescue?!
Ema has been dating her childhood friend, Aoi, for 8 years. They have been living together for four years, and Ema hoped to get married one day... However, Aoi has been neglecting the housework recently, and even treats her birthdays as an after-thought. Ema's desire to be with Aoi as a lover sometimes feels one-sided. Just as Ema starts to worry if they can even get married at this point, she runs into her high school crush, and he's just as kind as he was back then...
Cute, sexy, mature, and the golden retriever type! Today, I'm being led by the nose by a mysterious boy whose charm is totally unfair. Meiko works part-time at a vocational school once a week. She's still getting used to teaching, but there's one thing that gets her through the day... her serious student, Yukari. He's Meiko's angel. Just seeing his cute face calms her heart. But outside of school... Yukari has a hidden side?!
"I've found you, my spring." The Takatsukasa family is the largest conglomerate in the empire. Within their residence, there lie special gardens where all four seasons exist. These serve as a barrier, protecting the imperial capital from evil insects. The caretakers who maintain it are chosen from the four great families, each responsible for one season. Hio lost her parents when she was a child and was taken in by one of the great families, the Harusaki family. She's been bullied by the daughter of the family and is treated worse than a servant. Hio's fate changes when she plays her father's violin and is suddenly whisked away in the strong arms of Sakuto, the head of the Takatsukasa family. "You're the only one. You're the only one who can..."
"It's not that I don't want to get married. I just want to be accepted for who I am. Is that so much to ask...?" Suzu is a thirtyish woman with a cute-and-fluffy exterior that belies a strength no man can hope to match. But when she tells off her insistent mother by saying she'll only marry a man stronger than she is, she's set up with... a ninja?!? Is that his job...? How does he earn a living...? But Akitsuki the Ninja just smiles away, oblivious to Suzu's confusion. There's no way she could take him, and yet this kindhearted man, who nonchalantly accepts the true self that put off every other suitor she's ever had, secretly makes Suzu's heart flutter...
Homurako Yoshii, a country girl born and raised, transfers into an elite girls' school in the heart of Tokyo. There, she meets Sasara Takamura, admired by those around her for her brains and her beauty... but she's actually a he?! The two of them, polar opposites in both status and personality, are drawn to each other....
Komachi Sakanoue, 20 years old. Ten days into a new part-time job and can't follow directions. But, come on, I'm so curious... I just have to know more about that man in the special seat by the window, where the sunlight hits... - The cafe where I work has a long-time regular, a comic book artist who writes a certain popular comic series, and right now I'm pretty obsessed with him. Even the boss getting angry doesn't discourage me from sneaking stealthy peeks as he works. Sure enough, the world flowing from his pen is brimming with love again today. I adore his work, and I adore him, too. I want those listless eyes to be fixed on me. I want to know what he's thinking, and what the world looks like through his eyes. Sir, please, tell me what I have to do to become someone special to you...
With both my parents passing away early on, I've spent my days working to support my younger brothers and sisters. One of the few things that helped me through this was fawning over my favorite character from a mobile game, and my boss, who happens to be the handsome and talented producer that created said game. But, one day he found out about my secret part-time job. If I'm fired, I can't pay the bills. If I can't pay the bills, we'll be out on the street...!!! But instead of exposing me, he makes me an offer. The deal? Become his housekeeper. I didn't think that would include putting him to bed though...?!
"Ms. Kumakawa, you're my 'fave'." A dental hygienist, Satomi Kumakawa, is stressed from her poor work environment and has developed insomnia. What helps her sleep at night is listening to the story-reading streams by her fave, "Koki". She spends her days happily supporting him by sending Super Chats to him. One day, she is assigned to a patient named Koki Machida, who turns out to be her fave in the flesh. She swears to keep her Super Chats a secret and is determined to protect her fave's oral health as a professional...! But somehow, Satomi becomes his "fave"?!
"I will not fogive anyone who lays a hand on my bride." The Tenryu family has had women with powers of healing for generations, but when someone without those powers is born, they are treated as an outcast and treated harshly. Mitsuki was born into a power part of the Tenryu family but was quickly made an outcast as her lack of healing powers became apparent. At the age of seven, her mother suddenly passed away forcing her to move in with her aunt. Day by day, she has been treated terribly by her relatives due to her status as an outcast. However, all of that changed when the new head of the family came of age.
Through music, the Hanamura clan manifested special powers that brought about prosperity to their clan; however, Akari, who didn't exhibit any powers, was deemed a "Seed of Misfortune" and scorned by her family. From then on begin her days of bearing callous treatment from her parents and sister. But one day, she finds an invitation to a soiree hosted by one of the oldest and noblest clans in the country. It seems the head of that clan, Mikoto Sazarashi, is searching for a bride. Finding herself unable to resist going, Akari attends the soiree - only to be quickly discovered by her sister. Akari is immediately berated and belittled by her, but...a handsome, young man appears, takes Akari's hand, and declares, "I've finally found you, my beloved bride." Check out this great Cinderella story set in an Eastern setting and filled with romance, turmoil, and mystery!
*This volume compiles ch. 1-5 of "The Fox Lord's Bride ~Taisho Romance Chronicles~"
Tae has been practically inseparable from her best friend Kiyo since college. And while Kiyo may be loose with women, Tae can always count on him for support - like whenever she crashes at his place to drown her sorrows over being dumped yet again. But what lies ahead in the morning after another night spent drinking together till dawn?! They're not quite lovers and not quite friends... but a revelation threatens to change all that. Can they move past mixed messages and misunderstandings to become something more? Or are they stuck as "best friends forever"?
In order to shake off the hurt of being cheated on by her now ex-boyfriend, Hana goes on a trip with her best friend Mizuki. At their destination, the two meet a pair of guys, but just as they've started to get to know each other, it dawns on Hana that her troubles are the result of her own too-sweet personality. Now determined to better herself, Hana sets out to change her pushover ways...?! This is the hapless love story of a clumsy quartet: Hana, who's always sacrificing herself for others; Mizuki, who only wants to be loved; Narita, who earns others' ire when he tells them blunt truths; and Ayumu, who is kind, but also something of a playboy. Can the four of them get their acts together long enough to avoid stumbling over themselves?
Have you ever cried while looking in the mirror...? "With this face, if I talked about fashion or went out to buy cosmetics, I'd be a total joke." Living with such thoughts, pitifully ugly office worker Tachibana Rin passed the days miserable and taunted by fate since she shares a first name with the most beautiful woman at her company, Kaizuka Rin. But that's just how it had to be. After all, for ugly girls, life's over before it begins... Then one day, Rin wins 11,910,000 yen in the lottery!! "Life's over for ugly girls, but for me this is just the beginning."
After getting away from her hometown - and her delinquent brother who basically ran the place - Yui is living it up at university. There, she falls for a cool, handsome (same difference!) Prince Charming in glasses who is the total opposite of her idiot brother, but unexpectedly her prince's friend is a delinquent!? On top of that, he's always getting in her way!! Just as she thinks it's all over for her, in more ways than one, she discovers that her prince in glasses lives in the apartment next door!?
She finds her boyfriend cheating, and at the same spot her ex shows up out of nowhere!! Her harmonious lovey-dovey life with a popular photographer is suddenly overturned, and she's knocked down to her lowest rock bottom ever - what will become of Mahiru now!? Truth and lies become entangled as this complicated four-way affair begins...
After losing her parents and being bullied in middle school, Towako retreated into a reclusive life of reading books and writing amateur fiction, with her older brother supporting them both. But one day, a trio of handsome nightclub hosts -- her brother's new coworkers -- suddenly barge into her house, and into her life! Whether it's running into one of them naked, or being on the receiving end of a sudden embrace... Towako's days of quiet solitude may be over for good?!
"He's the CEO?! That guy from yesterday?!!" After losing my precious puppy who'd been at my side through high school, college, and since graduation, I went to a bar to drown my sorrows by the gallon. While I was wailing with grief, the man sitting next to me cut in with a majorly nasty retort: "Why not take some pills for your dysfunctional brain and start acting your age?" Well, I don't have to take that from some stranger!! So I returned the favor by sticking my leg out to trip him with an, "Oh, sorry. That was on purpose!" (Yeah, maybe I went too far...) Then, the next day that same guy turns up at my office and apparently he's the company's CEO! What's more, he's here looking for...me...?!?!