CH 104

Just in case, I saved the insults written on the blackboard as evidence and cleaned it up. But I wasn’t planning to look for the criminal or question anyone. Rather, doing so would add fuel to the fire.

This matter wasn’t a plot like before. The people who had done this were ordinary students who opposed or felt jealous of me. I hated to say that they were jealous of me or whatever, but I couldn’t think of any easier words to say, so it couldn’t be helped.

From my perspective, Ibuki was quite unpleasant and uncool. No, I did think he looked good, though? As expected of one of the love interests in a dating sim, he was well-proportioned and you could tell how he’d look like in the future. Even from my male perspective, I could honestly acknowledge that he looked good. 

But his personality was that of an unfortunate prince. I wasn’t the only one who thought so: Azami-chan and Satsuki-chan, who’d seen that unfortunate prince at the salon, couldn’t have thought that Ibuki was cool either. In the beginning, it felt like they were chasing after Ibuki or hoping to be his marriage partner, but after a while they stopped doing that and seemed to be disdaining him a little.

Ibuki seemed like that to us because we knew him well, but he still had many fans among those who didn’t know him. I couldn’t quite believe it, but apparently just Ibuki coming to school made those in Class One squeal.

Advertisements

What would those enthusiastic fans of Ibuki’s and those girls who liked him think when his marriage candidate was suddenly announced? You didn’t need to think of the answer.

There was a high possiblity that those girls committed this morning’s crime. If I made those people gather and answer for their crimes, they’d get more radicalised. That would create people who were strongly against Lady Sakuya.

Above all, wasn’t this just a merger between the Konoe and Kujou families—two leaders? That would be the birth of a large monster who no one could oppose. There were people with those apprehensions. Honestly speaking, that was just jealousy too. 

Mbl rasczlx oyp vbyv vblal olal vos vurlp sq rlsrzl obs ldhkle xl: vbspl obs olal ldhkswp vbyv R oyp Rcwjk’p xyaakytl nydekeyvl, yde vbspl obs ldhkle vbl xyppkhl nsarsayvksd vbyv vbl Isdsl Usdtzsxlayvl yde Iwfsw Qaswr oswze clnsxl yqvla xlatkdt.

“Fyjwuy-pyxy! Nlv wp blye vs vbl nyqlvlaky!”

“Zlp, zlv wp…”

Rv oyp zwdnb, yde lhlausdl oldv vs vbl nyqlvlaky. Rd vbl xsadkdt, R nswze vlzz qasx dsv fwpv vbl nzypp, cwv vbl obszl pnbssz’p yvxsprblal vbyv vblal olal xykdzu vball alprsdplp vs vbl yddswdnlxldv vbyv Rcwjk yde R olal xyaakytl nydekeyvlp.

Mbl qkapv oyp vbl taswr vbyv oyp pwrrsavkdt kv. Mbkp taswr vbswtbv vbyv Rcwjk yde Nyeu Fyjwuy pwkvle lynb svbla. Mblu eked’v jdso ycswv vbl nkanwxpvydnlp yde fwpv pwrrsavle kv. Mblpl olal rascyczu vbl rlsrzl obs eked’v jdso vbyv Rcwjk oyp yd Bdqsavwdyvl Vakdnl yde eked’v wdelapvyde vbyv R byvle Rcwjk yp y xlxcla sq vbl srrspkvl plm.

R bye elnkele vs clnsxl qakldep okvb Rcwjk, cwv obld vbkdjkdt sq Rcwjk yp y twu yde R yp y tkaz, R byvle bkx. Rq R bye vs xyaau Rcwjk, R oswze ayvbla zlyhl xu qyxkzu yde zlyhl sd xu sod. R eke oydv vs clnsxl qakldep okvb bkx, vbswtb? Mbyv oypd’v y zkl. Jwv R eked’v rzyd vs byhl xyzl-qlxyzl alzyvksdp okvb bkx.

Mbl taswr pwrrsavkdt vbl yddswdnlxldv eked’v jdso ycswv vbyv. Mbyv oyp obu vblu nswze dykhlzu pwrrsav Rcwjk yde R’p alzyvksdpbkr.

Mbl plnsde taswr oyp vbl sdzssjlap. Mblu olald’v pwrrsavkdt kv, ldhkswp sq kv, sa byaxle cu kv. Mblu olal vbl taswr vbyv fwpv ekpnwpple vbl vsrkn. Mbyv vsrkn oyp vbl psd yde eywtbvla sq vbl Isdsl yde Iwfsw qyxkzklp, obs olal vos zlyelap kd vbkp dlktbcswabsse’p—ds, vbkp nswdvau’p—cwpkdlpp nkanzlp. Swxswap yde tsppkr ycswv vbkp yde vbyv pralye okelzu.

This group wasn’t particularly supportive of or against the announcement, so if they were left alone, they’d get bored of the topic and move to the next thing. They were the same as aunties watching talk shows. If you thought of them as those aunties watching which celebrities were dating, who had an affair, and who got divorced, they were easy to understand.

Advertisements

When a topic emerged they’d latch onto it, and if that was something big involving the Konoe and Kujou families, they’d be interested. But they’d get bored in time, and when another topic came up, they’d latch onto that. That was how they responded.

The third group… they were the most scary… that was the group that was against the announcement that Ibuki and Lady Sakuya were marriage partners. I had lumped them all together as the group who were against it, but there were many subcategories under it.

Of course, the people I’d mentioned earlier who were jealous and tried to sabotage us were part of this group. They were the most dangerous. Those people were probably the ones who’d written on the blackboard today. If the culprits were captured and strung up, I predicted that it would result in that group of people being even more against it.

If that kind of backlash spread, it’d eventually lead to people bashing Lady Sakuya like what happened in game. If the supportive group and the curious group listened to what this group had to say and started bashing Lady Sakuya too, horrible things would happen. You could tell by looking at the conclusion of the game “Blooming Flowers in Love”.

But this third group had those opposing the announcement but in another sense. Those people were clearly… the girls part of Lady Sakuya’s group like Azami-chan and Satsuki-chan.

That wasn’t because they were jealous or the merger between the Kujou and Konoe companies would trouble them. Azami-chan and the others opposed because they didn’t want me to be engaged to Ibuki. They knew who Ibuki really was—the Unfortunate Prince—so they knew that me getting married to Ibuki was unthinkable. That was why they also opposed. 

There was a group that opposed the announcement for bad reasons like jealousy, and there was another group that opposed because they knew how I felt and who were helping me no longer be his marriage candidate. Both groups opposed the announcement, but their reasoning was completely different.

“They’re whispering about something… It sounds quite bad…”

“I am sorry, Tsubaki-chan… Because of me…”

Even though we were sitting in our usual seats at the cafeteria, people were still whispering. Of course, not all of those whispers were bad. As I said earlier, there were basically three different responses, and the majority of people were just curiously gossiping.

The problem was how the majority of curious people would turn out in the future. If they got enticed by the group against the announcement and that group increased, Lady Sakuya’s position would get risky. The possibility that it’d become like the conclusion in the game was getting slowly higher.

If possible, getting them to lose interest would be the best option. It’d be troublesome if they supported the announcement or went against it, so it would be best for them to forget about this matter and move to another one.

Advertisements

“It’s not your fault, Sakuya-chan~.”

“Thanks, Yuzuriha-chan.”

Everyone told me not to worry about it, but as expected, I was worried. I did have to do something, but… I didn’t know what to do…

～～～～～～～

I didn’t feel depressed like I did before, but I was more impatient than before. I knew what the future ahead looked like. I thought that it could be changed. I was relieved that this world had become completely different.

But… Ibuki and Lady Sakuya had become marriage partners like in the game… I instantly got more impatient as I wondered if the conclusion would be the same as the game’s. If these developments kept up, the conclusion might really be the same…

“Greetings.”

“Oh…”

I closed the already-open door to the salon. I took a deep breath and opened it once again.

“Greetings.”

“…”

When I opened the door again, the sight that I saw originally remained unchanged. It looked like I hadn’t seen wrong. Or rather, maybe they weren’t planning to do anything in the time that I closed the door… I wanted them to at least let go and try to look like nothing had happened, though… 

Advertisements

“…Kaya-san, if you do not let go, he will die…”

In the salon… Kaya-san was gripping onto Ibuki’s clothes and holding him up. Ibuki, who looked ill probably because he was being strangled, was drained of all energy.

“That is true… should I burn him so thoroughly in an incinerator so that not even bones are left behind… should I drown him in the bottom of the Japan Trench… I shall choose from those options.”

Scary! You were being scary, Kaya-san! Were you planning to execute Ibuki!? And incinerators and the Japan Trench themselves were scary themselves! I wondered if she was being serious.

“Without evidence, you cannot prove that it is murder. Therefore, the charge of murder will not apply.”

That was pretty scary! Kaya-san was probably joking, but I got nervous thinking that she was serious…

“F… First, will you let go of him so we can discuss matters?”

I didn’t know why this was happening… Everyone in the salon was scared of Kaya-san; I could tell from how they were all in the corners of the room and trembling. No one tried to stop her. Or rather, she couldn’t be stopped.

The scariest thing was someone who snapped. They were powerful. They had authority. They had money. In the business world, those people holding a lot of power and influence would be in the upper echelons. But those things didn’t matter outside the organisation.

Even if you were the president or boss in a company, once you left that company, you had no reason to order people arround. In fact, even if you were the boss in a company, you had no reason to dictate how people should be living their personal lives. That was how scary it was.

Compared to that… someone who snapped was the most terrifying… You didn’t know what they’d come up with. They might pull out a knife. They might kill you. Someone angry who made you feel that fear was the most scary existence.

That especially applied to the young upper-class lords and ladies attending this academy. They weren’t afraid of people who could force them to do things by using money or influence. If you thought about it normally, they’d be superior to those types of people. What would you think when you meet someone for whom those things didn’t work against? That would cause terrible fear.

Advertisements

Kaya-san was especially like that. Ibuki had more power and a higher position than her. That was undeniable. The Oogimachisanjou family and the Konoe family were on different levels. The Konoe family was the head of the faction and monryuu that the Oogimachisanjou family was part of. Thinking normally, they should’ve been unable to defy the Konoe family, let alone use such force against them.

But someone who snapped didn’t think about that. They didn’t think if it’d end in a tie or if they had to answer for their sins. Having those people as an opponent was the scariest.

“I will dispose of this fool, so please wait a second.”

Scary… her eyes were completely fixed on him. At this rate, Ibuki would really get XX’d…

Were there… were there no methods… to make Kaya-san let go of Ibuki… what should I do? Kaya-san was holding Ibuki up, so as long as she let go of him, it’d be fine. If she did that, the people part of the Konoe monryuu would be able to rescue him.

“Kaya-san~… Sakuya’s chest is hurting… could you rub my back?”

…I didn’t even know what I was saying. I just elegantly bent forward, sat down backwards, and faced my back towards her. If Kaya-san wanted to rub my back, she had to let go of Ibuki, who she was grabbing.

Now… what would she do!?

“Huh!!? R-Rubbing Sakuya-chan’s… back… leave it to me, Sakuya-chan! Big sister will make it feel good!”

She dropped Ibuki to the floor with a wham. He twitched, but he still seemed to be alive. Thank goodness. As expected, Kaya-san wouldn’t murder him.

“Here? Is this spot good? Sakuya-chan! Or over here? Now! Leave your body and heart to big sister!”

“Wait! Kaya-san! Too strong! You’re putting in too much power!”

Kaya-san rubbed my back as I sat on the chair. When I said that it hurt, she lessened the pressure.

“Sorry! This is big sister’s first time too, so I don’t know how strong to do it. Like this? This is okay, right? *haa haa*!”

“Oh… yes… if it is this much…”

Kaya-san gently rubbed my back. It didn’t really hurt, but when she rubbed my back like this, it felt kind of good. Azami-chan and Satsuki-chan were staring at us, but it couldn’t be helped. If I didn’t step in, Ibuki might’ve really ascended to heaven.

After Kaya-san rubbed my back for a while, she started getting excited in a different way, but she then settled down like she was satisfied.

“Then… why did something like that happen?”

I faced Kaya-san, who seemed to have finally calmed down, and asked her that question. Why did Kaya-san of the Konoe monryuu make Ibuki meet that fate? If I didn’t know that, I couldn’t deal with it. If I left her alone, she might’ve really done it.

“That worm said that he wouldn’t revoke the marriage candidate announcement, Sakuya-chan, so I just thought to erase his existence.”

Insect!? On top of calling the son of the Konoe Corporation who was heading your monryuu an insect, you even said you wanted to erase him!?

“This marriage candidate announcement is definitely troubling, but you cannot use those methods. And I would be sad if you became a criminal, Kaya-san.”

“It’s fine. Without evidence, there is no proof of a crime. That’s why it’s fine.”

Don’t say that it’s fine! Maybe this person was pretty terrifying…