Chapter 70: Curfew

Now… I had finally gotten home. I already told mom about the invitation from the Konoe family a few days ago, so she’d probably get mad if I told her that I wanted my schedule to be changed so I could play. But I had to tell her. I couldn’t pull out here if I wanted to play with the other six.

“Um… mother…”

“What is it?”

Oh… she was glaring at me for some reason… or so I felt.

My mom was probably planning to look at me normally, but I felt like she glared at me every time she looked at me. But I couldn’t back down; I had to say it. Endure!

“I would actually like my plans in November to be changed, however…”

“…why?”

Agh… she was clearly glaring at me now… But will I lose!? I had lived for quite a while if you counted my past life. I wasn’t as old as my parents in this world, but there wasn’t much of an age gap between us. I’ll show them my manliness!

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“Mbl taswr sq jkep vbyv R yx qakldezu okvb ekpnwpple yzz tyvblakdt vstlvbla yde cwukdt nzsvblp. Jwv vblal yal dsv xydu eyup oblal kv kp nsdhldkldv qsa wp vs tyvbla. R yx dsv yhykzyczl sd vbl sdzu eyu vbyv kp nsdhldkldv, yde ps vbl sdzu xlvbse qsa wp vs tyvbla kp cu nzlyakdt xu pnblewzl sd vbyv eyu.”

“Fyjwuy, R bye oyadle usw dsv vs rzyu vss xwnb obld pwxxla calyj pvyavle, aktbv?”

Tlal kv oyp… sq nswapl pbl’e pyu vbyv…

“Zlp…”

“Zsw vsze xl ulpvlaeyu vbyv usw oswze ts vs Isdsl-pyxy’p ryavu, ulp? Gde usw pvkzz okpb vs rzyu elprkvl vbyv, nsaalnv?”

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“Zlp. Isdsl-pyxy’p ryavu kp rzyddle qsa Flrvlxcla sa Xnvscla; kv okzz sdzu zypv qsa sdl eyu. R yx rzyddkdt vs tyvbla okvb lhlausdl kd Lshlxcla. Zsw byhl nlavykdzu vsze xl dsv vs rzyu vss xwnb, xsvbla, cwv usw eke dsv pyu vbyv R nswze dsv psnkyzkpl yv yzz. Uswze sdl alyzzu pyu vbyv tskdt swv vs rzyu sdzu sdnl lhlau xsdvb kp vss xwnb?”

R pvyale qkmlezu yv xu xsx. Rq pbl olal vs pyu vbyv rzyukdt sdzu voknl kd Flrvlxcla vs Lshlxcla oyp rzyukdt vss xwnb, vbld pbl’e byhl vs qsacke xl qasx ydu yde yzz bwxyd nsdvynv. Rq R zssjle yoyu, R’e zspl. R bye vs zssj ekalnvzu yv xsx!

“You definitely only have two plans for these three months. But if I were to allow this, would you not say “Then, this day too”, “This day in addition” “Since you allowed the last time, this too”, right?”

“That is…”

I didn’t know… in reality, my plans weren’t set. I didn’t know if something would rapidly come up. Even though I just had two plans now, I couldn’t deny that they might increase. But…

“Even so… will you not grant me this day…”

I directly looked at mom. No matter what she’ll say… I couldn’t give up on the seven of us gathering.

“*sigh*… Then, Sakuya, I will give you permission to have only one day: Konoe-sama’s party or this gathering with you seven. I will leave the choice to you.”

“Huh? Really!? Thank you very much! I will then choose for the seven of us to gather! I will not attend the Konoe family party!”

Yay! This was a reward, actually! If I could have a reason not to go to the Konoe family party, hurrah! To me, this was an unmatchable response!

“Is that so… Understood. Sakuya… I will place a curfew on you. You do not need to attend Konoe-sama’s party and this gathering with the seven of you.”

“…huh?”

Mom calmly said that.

　　～～～～～～～

“*sigh*…”

I rolled on top of my bed while sighing. I didn’t get it. Why was my mom so mad?

She hadn’t raised her voice. She wasn’t clearly mad either. But my mom was mad earlier. No, maybe she was tired? I didn’t know…all I knew was that she didn’t have goodwill. Why was mom that mad…

“Lady Sakuya.”

“Momiji?”

As I rolled on my bed, sighing, she called to me. Speaking of which, had Momiji come with me? I had completely forgotten that we were in the same room. I didn’t have time for that to distract me… What would I say to everyone…

“I may be overstepping, but are you perhaps thinking that “I don’t understand why I’ve been given a curfew?””

“…yes. That is what I am thinking.”

It was like Momiji said. I had no idea why my mom had suddenly given me a curfew. Was she just in a bad mood in general? Was it that I had said I wanted to go to a party, and now I was talking about playing again? I only went out once every month, though; was that really something to get mad over?

I still didn’t know. I didn’t know how to live as an upper class young lady. What should I do? I thought my mom’s anger was unreasonable.

“Even if your mother were angry about you playing too often, that is not an unreasonable anger. Your mother is angry because “You ignored your prior plans to attend Konoe-sama’s party”.”

“…huh?”

At Momiji’s words, I got up from my bed and looked at her. 

“I have been too forward. Then, I will excuse myself.”

“Oh…”

Momiji got out of the room without giving me time to say anything.

I thought about what Momiji said. Mom was mad because… I ignored Ibuki’s party…

To me, it was a lifesaver. I didn’t want to go to Ibuki’s party. So if she said that I could only attend one event, then I’d absolutely reject Ibuki’s party. Rather, I’d think it was lucky that I had a reason not to go.

But… was that really a good idea? Ibuki’s party wasn’t just my and his problem. The Konoe family had preparations underway for the party. The invitees were leaving that day open. Even so… Even though we had already discussed the party, what’d happen if I said I couldn’t go because of my own selfish reasons?

It’d cause a lot of trouble for all involved. I hadn’t thought about that. If I cancelled an event that was already in motion, then they probably wouldn’t understand what had happened.

If I had an appropriate reason, then that’d be fine. If my parents were in critical condition, then no one would be telling me to attend the party despite that. But would anyone understand if I said that I only wanted to play on another day, so I bartered the party away? Even though Ibuki and I couldn’t get along, that was another problem.

If I said that I couldn’t attend the party for my own reasons, it’d cause trouble for the Konoe family and for the people I’d asked to attend. Wouldn’t that be the same as the high-and-mighty behaviour of the Lady Sakuya in game? Didn’t I want to save Lady Sakuya from ruin in this life?

Even so, I did something that’d make Lady Sakuya’s reputation and status worse… Of course my mom got mad…

My behaviour was the worst…

　　～～～～～～～

“…-sama.”

…

“…ya-sama.”

…

“Sakuya-sama!”

“Huh? Ah, yes?”

I was surprised at the suddenly loud voice from beside me. What was it…

“Sakuya-sama, what has happened? Are you alright?”

“A-Aah… yes. I am alright.”

Oh, right. I was with everyone today in the cafeteria as usual. I told Azami-chan, who was looking at me worriedly, not to worry and she continued eating.

I had endured yesterday… and I had slowly come to know what an idiot I was.

I had confidence in my studying. I could take a university entrance exam or the high-school equivalent exam right now and enter university easily. I could work. I was proud to say that I lost to none of my colleagues in terms of the work I did in my past life.

But I didn’t know about people’s hearts or about socialising… I didn’t want to go to a party, so if I had reason to refuse, then that was lucky, right? I was so stupid…

Since I was a kid, that selfishness could’ve been forgiven. But for a child attending Touka Academy, that was not a good thing. You couldn’t take back an invitation once you’ve accepted it, even if you were tired or didn’t want to go. I had given that invitation away recklessly. Of course mom had given me a curfew.

How should I explain this to everyone… I had a curfew, so I could no longer attend the party nor play with everyone?

No… could I give up that easily? Could I stay silent, stand down, and give up on everything?

“Sakuya-sama, has something happened after all?”

Azami-chan looked at me worriedly. Right… it was pointless to worry about things that had already happened. I now had to reflect, not worry, so that I wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

“Everyone, please listen… Yesterday, I had made the wrong choice and my mom forbade me from going on outings.”

“Huh!?”

Everyone looked surprised. I had proposed that we should go out, so they were probably worried and wondering what to do. That was why I strongly continued.

“However, do not worry. Please wait a little. I will convince her!”

Right. I couldn’t just fret about it. I couldn’t pretend that what had happened yesterday didn’t happen. But I could try my best again. I wouldn’t give up completely just because she forbade me from going out.

No matter how many times… no matter how many times it’ll take, let’s talk with mom. I knew that I was imperfect from the beginning. I knew that I couldn’t do everything in one go. That was why I could fail. I couldn’t just give up. Let’s go fight, no matter how many times it’ll take.

“Then, we must all ensure we do not plan anything on that date as well.”

“Right. We’ve got to insist that we can’t have any other plans on that day.”

“Satsuki-chan… Yuzuriha-chan…”

Everyone also believed that I could convince mom. That was why I had to answer those hopes. I didn’t have time to give up.

　　～～～～～～～

Then… one more time—no, I had decided that I’d convince mom no matter how many times it’ll take, but… I didn’t have a basic plan. How should I convince mom?

I was stupid for not knowing why mom was mad at me until Momiji had told me. I didn’t care about people’s feelings or about common sense in this world. I may be speaking for myself or whatever, but I was amazing at studying in my past life. But that was it. I had weak relationships. Other people were just rivals to compete against to see who was better. I didn’t know how someone like me could convince mom.

I could confront mom with reasoning or talk with her using logic and not emotion. In the first place, attending parties and going out with groups of kids were my job. It was my mom’s fault for opposing it. By all rights, I should support her, but I thought the way my mom voiced her opposition was weird.

But it was my fault for immediately deciding not to attend the party just because I didn’t want to go. If we talked logically, the conversation would probably go in that direction.

In the end, the problem was whether I could resolve anything by saying that to mom. That was probably impossible. My mom had her own reasoning, and on top of understanding what I was thinking, she still gave me a curfew forbidding me to play outside. If I brought that up again, I’d get no results.

Then, what should I do… If I knew, I wouldn’t be worrying like this… Sure, enthusiasm was good, but I didn’t have a single solution.

“Hey, Sakuya-chan.”

“Yes. What is it, Kaya-san?”

Kaya-san, who was sitting across from me in the salon as usual, called out to me. I looked straight at her and answered.

“If you’re worrying about something, why not consult with this big sister?”

How did Kaya-san know that I was worried? Was I that easy to read? It was easy to say “What’s the point of consulting a sixth-grader”? But Kaya-san was a young lady who was part of the Oogimachisanjou family. Her experience as a young lady was far above mine. Maybe I should ask her about it.

“I wanted to ask someone for something, but I had made the wrong choice and angered them. However, I must ask the person about said request no matter what. How can I make them listen to the request?”

“Oh, that’s easy. Why not just apologise?”

“…huh?”

Apologise? Maybe I could just apologise, but…

“Can’t you just honestly apologise and honestly speak your request? They’ll listen to whatever you say, Sakuya-chan.”

“Honestly…”

Honestly… was I being honest? Hadn’t I only been thinking of how to get around it by using cunning methods?

I see… that was true…

“Kaya-san! Thank you very much!”

“Fufu, it’s fine. This big sister wants to earn at least some points with you like this, Sakuya-chan.”

… Let’s pretend I didn’t hear that last part. But thanks to Kaya-san, I knew. Let’s go talk to mom again today.