CH 17

I should give Ibuki a return gift sooner, before any pointless rumours would’ve spread. To that end, I was going to give the chocolates from yesterday as a return gift today. I wanted to eat some with Satsuki-chan too, so I brought two different packages.

The normal breaktime was too short, so I waited for time to pass, wondering if lunchtime couldn’t come faster, and why it still hadn’t come yet. If Satsuki-chan and I were close friends, we could’ve gathered and eaten somewhere during the normal breaktime, but that’d be challenging with our current relationship.

Azami-chan and Satsuki-chan seemed to be on bad terms… Azami-chan acted like that towards me too, so I still couldn’t say that we were close friends at all. I had become friends with Satsuki-chan relatively quickly, but we still weren’t as close as I wanted us to be. 

I just randomly answered Raihoukai tests to kill time until it was finally lunch break. Touka Academy didn’t provide lunch, but was on a school cafeteria system from elementary. If you wanted to eat your own lunch, you could bring a packed lunch or have it delivered at noon. If you just wanted to eat what the school provided, you could go to the cafeteria.

From what I saw yesterday, Azami-chan and Satsuki-chan both got lunch from the cafeteria. There was the possibility that it was just a coincidence, but I thought they’d do the same today, so I headed to the cafeteria too. I went inside and looked around… there she was!

“Satsuki-chan.”

“Sakuya-chan?”

I called out to her, and she turned to look at me, slightly surprised. Had I done something to surprise her that much? Well, whatever. More importantly, the main topic.

“Uyd R pbyal vbkp vyczl okvb usw?”

“Zlp… ts yblye…”

Ggyxk-nbyd, bla qszzsolap vyttkdt yzsdt, pyv kd vbl qwavbla vyczlp. Mbyv oyp nsdqkaxle. Ebkzl R jdlo vbyv, R pbswzed’v tlv kxryvkldv. Wkapv, R pbswze fwpv qkdkpb lyvkdt zwdnb dsaxyzzu okvb Fyvpwjk-nbyd. Mbl xyvnb oswze nsxl yqvla: vbl yqvla-xlyz elpplav.

Rv qlzv zkjl R oypd’v clkdt vss olznsxle… Txx? Mbyv oyp pvaydtl… R vbswtbv Fyvpwjk-nbyd bye srldle wr iwkvl y ckv, cwv… pvkzz, R oswzed’v cl ekpnswaytle. R oswzed’v tkhl wr sd xu qwd zywtbkdt yde qzkavkdt pnbssz zkql okvb Ggyxk-nbyd yde Fyvpwjk-nbyd. R’e elqkdkvlzu clnsxl nzspla vs lhlausdl!

“Fyjwuy-nbyd… vbl oyu usw lyv kp…”

“Twb?”

Ebyv? Eyp psxlvbkdt olkae? Mblal oyp psxlvbkdt oasdt okvb xu aknb uswdt zyeu’p vyczl xyddlap, aktbv? R bye zlyadle yzz xu lvkiwlvvl yde xyddlap qasx Yypvla Ysxsnbk. Tl’e es yduvbkdt vs xl, lhld pwrla olkae vbkdtp. Mbkdtp vbyv usw’e osdela obyv vblu olal qsa yde olal nsxrzlvlzu wdalzyvle vs xyavkyz yavp, zkjl lvkiwlvvl, vly, yde qzsolap…

R’e esdl lhlauvbkdt R xldvksdle lyazkla, cwv oyp vblal psxlvbkdt oasdt okvb obyv Yypvla Ysxsnbk bye vywtbv xl? Ebyv pbswze R es…? R eked’v zlyad ydu svbla vurlp sq xyddlap lkvbla, ps R jdlo ycpszwvlzu dsvbkdt…

“It’s so clean…”

“I… is that so…? Thank you very much…?”

What… what did that mean? Was she just pointing out that something was wrong in a roundabout way because she couldn’t say it directly? What should I do…? Maybe I should’ve learned real manners from somewhere after all, right?

When mom had recommended learning those kinds of things, I rejected all her options. But I too had to act somewhat like a young lady since I was in this environment, which I only realised now. If I’d known before, I would’ve taken up etiquette lessons a long time ago like my mother suggested.

There would be mealtimes at school, and I’d have to go to parties and the like even if I didn’t want to. I couldn’t do anything about it right now, but I should definitely equip myself with the very basic manners so I wouldn’t embarrass myself during times like those in future. Noticing something that obvious now was…

“…Satsuki-chan, you have quite good manners. Have you been learning from somewhere?”

Let’s do a little probing. Where could you learn manners from?

“…thank you very much. I learn from a teacher who comes to my home.”

“Is that so?”

Hmm… of course a family as distinguished as the Saionjis would have acquaintances and home tutors like that who would come to their home to teach. I could do that now, but it’d be better to learn something by any means possible. If I continued without knowing anything, I might do something even more embarrassing; therefore, I should do a little investigation. 

“Then, Sakuya-chan, don’t you have some sort of objective in mind?”

“Huh?”

I blanked out when she unexpectedly said that. An objective…?

Oh, right. I was going to invite Azami-chan and Satsuki-chan to eat the chocolate I’d bought from my favourite confiserie with me. I hadn’t exactly planned to forget, but I was eating lunch with Satsuki-chan and thinking about manners, so I put it off. I hadn’t planned to forget at all!

“Ah, actually, I wanted to eat dessert today, so I brought something. Would you like to eat it together?”

Saying that, Azami-chan and the others sitting there invited Satsuki-chan to join them.

“…very well. I will go.”

Oh? With that, Satsuki-chan had accepted. So, I’d just head over to where Azami-chan and the others were and invite them to eat the chocolate I bought yesterday together. Then, my mission would be complete.

“Then, I will go.”

Accompanying Satsuki-chan, I headed to where Azami-chan and the others were sitting. It looked like they’d already finished eating; everyone was drinking tea as they relaxed. We had come at the perfect timing.

“What’re you guys doing?”

But the person standing beside their seats, one of Azami-chan’s followers, stood up and glared at me and Satsuki-chan. She was Higashiboujou Akane-chan. …she was glaring, right? She didn’t look that intense, so that was hard to comprehend, but Higashibou Akane-chan was a war-type vanguard.

She was one of Lady Sakuya’s followers in the game “Love Flowers”: someone standing alongside Azami-chan who prided herself as an accomplished fighter. Right now, she was one of Azami-chan’s followers, but her personality hadn’t changed.

“May I drink tea with you? I have bought chocolate. Shall we eat it together?”

Saying that, I showed her the package I bought. It wasn’t a bulky, easy-to-carry box, but instead a pouch. I’d placed the chocolate for Ibuki’s return gift inside a box, so it was bulky, but this pouch wouldn’t get bulky no matter how much chocolate I put inside. It was perfect for eating with everyone.

“Shut up, you! She said not to get cocky, right!?”

“Ah…”

Akane-chan rudely interrupted, approached me, and lifted her hand. It was heading towards the chocolate pouch I was holding…

“*dodge*”

“Oh…”

She was probably trying to knock down the chocolate in my hand, but she was a little too slow, so I dodged the hit. Akane-chan’s hand met empty air, and she lost her balance with an “Oh no”.

“H-How’d you dodge that?! You!”

Akane-chan raised her hand once again.

Hmm… she was joking, right? She was full of openings and moving slowly… it’d be utterly pointless to say I couldn’t dodge this… I thought she wasn’t seriously trying to hit me, but… what should I do in this situation? Maybe I should pretend to get hit?

“Stop, Akane!”

“——uh! …however…”

Azami-chan suddenly yelled loudly, at which Akane-chan stopped, equally surprised, and stiffened. I didn’t know what to do, so I just watched what was happening.

“Akane, those two are members of the Five Norths Association… you understand what that means, right?”

“——uh!?”

Hearing Azami-chan’s words, Akane-chan suddenly grew pale and clapped a hand over her mouth. Had she understood what she was doing? In-game, everyone trembled with fear just because Lady Sakuya was the young lady of the Kujou family, but… maybe her name had become well-known only before highschool? We had just entered elementary school, so maybe she was still unknown.

“Stand down.”

“However…”

“Do it!”

“Yes…”

Azami-chan said that, and Akane-chan returned to her original seat and sat down. I used to think that Azami-chan was obstinate before, but apparently not?

“You wanted to drink tea, right? Would you like to sit over there?”

“Th… thank you very much! Satsuki-chan as well.”

“Then, we shall join you.”

Azami-chan offered the seats opposite to her, and Satsuki-chan and I sat down. Azami-chan’s followers moved their seats around so it looked like we were facing each other.

I just wanted… I thought we were all going to sit around a table and have lots of fun while drinking our tea, but now it felt like we were opposing each other.

“Oh! Then, would everyone like to eat this? It is very delicious.”

I tried to change the mood by taking out the chocolate I’d bought. The cute pouch was tied with a ribbon. I untied the ribbon, opened the contents, and recommended it to everyone.

“That’s a shop I’ve never heard of.”

“It’s a shop that girl would go to buy from, so it’s not going to be that big anyway.”

“Ahaha.”

Azami-chan’s followers said that as they took one each and brought it to their mouths. Satsuki-chan also ate one. Azami-chan was watching the situation.

“Huh!? What is this?!”

“Delicious…”

Hah! See! This shop might’ve not been too famous, but it was pretty delicious! Well, you might’ve thought it was strange for me to brag about a shop I hadn’t even created, but it made me happy when a shop I thought was good was recognised.

“Well… it really is delicious… Sakuya-chan… could you tell me the name of this shop?”

“Yes, I can.”

I told everyone the name of the shop and where it was located. It had a proper location that was easy to remember. It was really mysterious why this shop wasn’t that famous. It was lots more delicious than a horrible chain store that was just well-known.

“Hmph…”

Azami-chan, looking reluctant, took a bite too…

“Delicious!”

Yes! It looked like Azami-chan liked it too. I hadn’t planned to proselytise the chocolate, but it had happened anyway.

“Then, everyone, please get as much as you wish.”

I felt good recommending the chocolate to everyone, so I forgot to eat some myself. In the end, I hadn’t eaten a bite of the things I’d brought, since everyone ate them all.

～～～～～～～

Once that fun lunchtime ended, I returned to depressing after-school activities. I seriously wanted to ignore the Five Norths Association…

But I couldn’t do that today because I had to settle the score with Ibuki, or rather, give him my return gift. I needed to give it soon, in one day if possible, so I wouldn’t owe him further. If my debts increased beyond this, it’d be a problem.

I was thinking about Ibuki, so I got kind of down. Let’s think about a more cheerful topic. Yeah… like… how I drank tea with everyone at today’s lunch. Was that not a shining example of laughing happily together? It was, right? Yep, it definitely was!

Sitting at a table with fellow girls and having fun drinking tea and conversing… that was unmistakably laughing happily together. I thought that, so it was definitely true for me. It didn’t matter that there was a little killing intent in the actual conversations.

Alright! We had fun!

“Excuse me.”

“Hey!”

I had felt much better and happily opened the salon door to the Five Norths Association. Then, I saw Ibuki, already in the middle of the room. But he was facing me and waiting for something, his arms crossed. Was he waiting for me? It definitely looked like it.

“Um…?”

“…”

Ibuki, his arms folded, stared at me. His nose looked a little puffy, and he was sniffing. What happened to him? Did he go crazy? Oh wait… he was crazy from the beginning.

“Hey, Kujou-san. You have business with Ibuki, right?”

“Takatsukasa-sama?”

Enju had said that, but I didn’t have any business with Ibuki, you know? Rather, I didn’t want to be associated with him…

I was in a good mood, remembering laughing happily with the girls at lunch. But, I’d gotten involved in something weird the moment I entered the salon, so I felt completely deflated. I wanted to go home already…

“I do not have any particular business with him, however?”

“Huh?”

“Huh…?”

Enju titled his head. I also tilted my head. Why would you ever think I’d have business with Ibuki or Enju?

“Sakuya… you have business with Ibuki-kun, right?”

“Brother?”

Even my brother, unable to continue watching, said that. I thought he’d be on my side, but he instead supported Enju. What was this? I really didn’t have…

“Oh~! There was that!”

Right. I’d completely forgotten… I was going to settle the score with Ibuki… or rather, I’d come here today to give him a return gift. Remembering my important task, I stood in front of Ibuki with everyone watching.