Chapter 50: Another Party

I got home today and thought about various things. So… since we’d decided on the basics, now for the concrete details of where we were going and what we were going to do… Kids who attended Touka Academy would normally walk around areas with high-end shops and look at the products, or eat at shops that had a dress code and required reservations. But would I really get closer with Satsuki-chan if I invited her to do those things with me?

Kaya-san had told me that doing so gave us a common experience which we could then talk about, and that there was meaning in just having a conversation. It should help us grow closer as well. But I wasn’t satisfied with that.

There wasn’t any point in overthinking and the occasion going badly. However, I didn’t think that being together so formally would help us get closer. I wanted something more… disorganised, or rather carefree, or rather something where we didn’t have to be on guard and could instead have fun, something where we could easily show our true selves… I wanted something like that.

There wasn’t any point if I tried too hard for that and Satsuki-chan got uncomfortable, but… what should I do…

“…alright.”

I prepared myself. I wouldn’t do upper-class lady things with Satsuki-chan. I’d do it my way. It might fail. For someone like Satsuki-chan, who really seemed like a rich young lady, it might go badly. Even so, what about trying it my way?

I also thought that Azami-chan would easily accept it. I didn’t know what Satsuki-chan’s hobbies, preferences, or likes were so I couldn’t say anything definitive, but Azami-chan would like it. Now that I’d decided, I needed to plan how I’d go about it in real life…

I made some preparations, thought of my plan for the day, and my preparations for playing with Satsuki-chan progressed.

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“Xb, psaau.”

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“Hmph…”

Then, Yuzuriha-chan slid in and said that. That was true. If she sat in the seat directly in front of me, it’d be easier for her to see me head-on instead of sitting beside me and seeing my side view. Anyone would know that.

“If I were only watching, it is true that sitting in front of her would be better. However, it is better for me to sit beside her, where I am nearer.”

No, no! Tsubaki-chan? What? What was better? I didn’t get it, but what? In the first place, why’re you saying that you need to look at me! Focus on your own lunch, okay?

“Huh? Why?”

Yuzuriha-chan was remarkably confident, or rather, frank… she said whatever she was thinking… I was kind of envious of that.

“If I were only watching, it would be better to sit in front of her, where I can clearly see her. However, I want to be near her, so it is better to sit beside her. If I am beside her, I can smell her slight fragrance every time she moves and even feel her warmth. I want to be so close to her that I can hear her breathing.”

Tsubaki-chan!? What’re you saying!? What happened to her? She wasn’t like this before. She was more like… a girl who was scared of and avoided me, but something was off. Why had this happened?

No, this is fine, right? I’d rather her be closer to me inside of being scared of and avoiding me, but something was still off. I was supposed to feel welcomed, but for some reason I was pulling away. It was kinda scary.

“…”

And also… why was Akane-chan glaring at me like that? Had I done something wrong? I didn’t remember doing anything so bad to warrant her glaring, though…

“Ladies! I think you understand, but I am Sakuya-sama’s first follower. Okay?”

“Yes.”

And Azami-chan… a lady saying she was a follower… was that really okay? But the atmosphere felt too off, so I didn’t say anything and could only listen.

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I’d be going to the salon today. I did dislike being involved with the Five Norths Association in the beginning, but that wasn’t true now. That was probably thanks to me making friends like Azami-chan, Satsuki-chan, and Kaya-san. You could endure any horrible situation if you were with your friends.

“Greetings.”

The moment I opened the door, greeted everyone, and entered the salon, everyone looked over at me. Huh? Huh? What on earth had happened? Had I done something? Messed up?

“Oh! You came!”

“Konoe-sama…”

When I entered the salon, Ibuki was rudely heading straight towards me for some reason. It wasn’t a big issue, but I couldn’t imagine that this was how the number one young master of this country walked. This was that… a delinquent walk. A young master who hadn’t even entered first grade was walking like a delinquent.

“Come! Take this! It’s an invitation!”

“…huh?”

I took the thing that Ibuki had handed to me. It was definitely a cute-looking invitation.

“Alright! You guys are next.”

Saying that, Ibuki handed out the same invitations to everyone else in the salon. But mine was the only one that was decorated, or rather, it looked different. Mine looked strangely cute.

Well, it looked like there were some differences based on who was receiving it. The guys got a normal, ordinary invitation. The girls got slightly cute invitations. Mine was the only one that had a different appearance, or rather was oddly cute, or rather was just slightly different.

“I think that Ibuki’s worried, so maybe check the invitation and reply to him quickly, okay? If not, I think he won’t be able to sleep tonight… Or maybe he’ll call you at night?”

Geh! I didn’t like that. Ibuki walked away from me and gave the other members invitations (?), and Enju came in front of me and said that. What kind of bullying was it that Ibuki would call me at night?

“Takatsukasa-sama, I am greatly obliged for the warning.”

I didn’t know if he was serious, but I couldn’t say that the “Arrogant Prince” wouldn’t do something like that. A kid like him who’d go off on his own would really call at midnight if it was convenient for him. Everyone who’d received the invitation was checking its contents, so I did the same.

“Um…”

Hmm? It looked like this was an invitation to a fireworks display that the Konoe family were holding over summer break. I had always refused Ibuki’s invitations from the beginning, but now I had an even clearer reason to do so. I was going to refuse without hesitation, so I desperately contained the smile threatening to break out on my face and replied to him.

“My apologies, Konoe-sama. My family is travelling on that day, so I cannot attend. Both my brother and I will not be there.”

Right! Unfortunately, the day written down on Ibuki’s invitation was the same day that my family was going on a trip, so I wouldn’t be there. Ever since before my consciousness had emerged and Lady Sakuya was still in this body, the family had vacationed during summer break every year. The plans had already been finalised for this year’s trip, so we couldn’t participate on that day.

“Stupid…”

“Konoe-sama!?”

“Are you alright!?”

Hearing my reply, Ibuki fell down on his knees and bent forward¹The orz pose . It was the first time I’d seen someone do that pose in real life. Well, I didn’t care. We already had a family vacation booked. I could refuse using the perfect reason and without my mom’s nagging.

“We go on a family vacation every year, so maybe we can change our plans now. What about we consult with our parents and then decide?”

Brother~~~~! Why’d you have to say something so unnecessary now! Come on, look! Ibuki was standing up and swaying like a zombie! Why’d you do that! Were you selling me to Ibuki!?

“Alright! Sakuya! Change your travel plans! The Konoe family’s paying all cancellation fees. If you want, they can go to the Kujou family and explain to your parents.”

Don’t go! Absolutely don’t go! Also, don’t do anything unnecessary! I wanted to go on a fun trip with my family! No, I didn’t think that family trips were that fun, but I’d say that now. Why did I have to go and meet Ibuki during summer break?

What was this guy planning? Was he going to trap Lady Sakuya and destroy the Kujou family?

Is that so… He was definitely going to do that. Was that why he’d even go out and directly talk to my parents so they could change their plans? But did he think that was going to work!? If he thought it’d all go his way, he was sorely mistaken!

“Konoe-sama… do not casually say “We will pay the cancellation fees” for money that you did not earn yourself. It is not your own money, but instead money that your parents worked hard to earn rather than your own, right? That you would so easily say such things… perhaps you should consider examining yourself more, correct?”

“——agh!?”

Ibuki, looking shell-shocked, had fell down on his knees and bent forward again. Ibuki was kind of funny today, right? But I wouldn’t allow it. This guy was the devil who’d betray Lady Sakuya, trap her, and destroy her. If I let my guard down because he was being kind of funny, I didn’t know what he’d do. 

“If Sakuya-sama is not coming, I am not interested.”

Azami-chan! Wasn’t it pretty dangerous to go that far in front of Ibuki!? Refusing him was alright, but saying you weren’t going for that reason in front of the guy himself was a whole different thing, right? And wouldn’t Ibuki think of me in a bad light? Was this okay? If this sort of thing piled up, wouldn’t Lady Sakuya and the Kujou family be destroyed?

“I… was also looking forward to seeing the fireworks with Sakuya-chan… if she is not coming, then you may do as you wish…”

Hey! Kaya-san! You’re part of the Konoe monryuu, right!? Ibuki was slowly getting depressed, you know! What do we do!?

“W-Well. We don’t have to respond here and now. Right, Sakuya? What about we consult with our parents and reply then, okay, Ibuki-kun?”

Brother! The situation was definitely chaotic, but you didn’t have to say something that would give him hope. Rather, it was better to refuse him right now. At the very least, I wanted to avoid something like the party at the Konoe house, please!

Right… when I thought about it, Ibuki was the cause of everything that happened with Azami-chan. Once I thought that, I got steadily annoyed.

Well, just based on the results, I became friends with Azami-chan because of that, so maybe it was a good thing, but… it was unmistakable that I’d caused unnecessary trouble for Azami-chan and I. It wasn’t really Ibuki’s fault, but he was the cause. That was why Ibuki was wrong!

“Kujou-san, don’t bully Ibuki too much.”

“Takatsukasa-sama… am I not the one constantly bullied by Konoe-sama…?”

How could Enju come to the conclusion that I was bullying Ibuki? Enju was Ibuki’s friend, so maybe he was working on building that sort of impression, but he was still being too impolite.

Hmm… but if my friendship with Azami-chan had developed at Ibuki’s party, maybe my friendship with Satsuki-chan would improve at this party, right?

Because I’d avoided acting as Lady Sakuya did, my relationship with my surroundings had changed. If I started acting a little bit like Lady Sakuya now, maybe that’d affect something, right? It might have a bad effect and I’d be troubled. But, if that meant I could become friends with Satsuki-chan like in the game, that wasn’t bad at all.

Well, no matter what happened, I needed to decide. Maybe I’d go on the family vacation like planned, or maybe we’d change plans and attend the Konoe family’s party depending on my brother and parents.  I didn’t really want to go, but the fact that it was related to Satsuki-chan gave me just a bit of hope.