Chapter 96: Meeting Master in an Unlikely Place

I came to the academy in a miserable mood. Lately, a lot of people were greeting me, so people even greeted me as I came into my classroom.

“Greeti…ngs…?”

“Hey! You’re here, Sakuya!”

“Konoe-sama…”

When I entered the classroom, Ibuki and Enju were inside for some reason. This was Class Three, right? Let’s go out quickly and check. Yep. Class Three was written on the nameplate outside. This was unmistakably Class Three.

“Morning, Kujou-san.”

“Takatsukasa-sama, greetings.”

Ibuki’s grinning face was pretty annoying. What was it… it was like the annoyance you felt at a p*rverted, precocious brat. Any boy would understand.

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I wanted to be friendly with them so they’d help if something came up. But if we got engaged, we’d be heading towards the same ending as in the game. That was a massive problem. Even I knew how stupid and insensitive someone could get from love. Ibuki was clearly interested in me… no, in Lady Sakuya. As a girl…

If I forgave Ibuki’s aggressive actions like this, we really might get engaged. If I didn’t put that to a complete stop…

In the game, Ibuki treated Lady Sakuya, who was chasing after him, coldly. He said he didn’t have any interest in her and she still chased after him. What on earth was this? How annoying. If that’d happen, it was better not to get involved with Ibuki unlike the game “Flowers Blooming in Love”. Then when it got to this…

In the game, he was openly uncomfortable with Lady Sakuya chasing after him, treated her coldly, then destroyed her in the end like she was just a joke. What was up with that? When I ignored Ibuki like he wanted me to, he started chasing after me… this was getting more and more annoying… I really did hate Ibuki…

“Yes… Yes… Returning today… Yes… Yes… then, Kujou-san will be under my custody. Yes… I am sorry for the earliness of the hour. Yes… Then, please excuse me.”

In no time at all… Enju was calling someone. I got a very bad feeling. I wouldn’t forget Enju’s smile after he hung up. That unpleasant smile like a demon’s…

“Kujou-san, I have obtained permission from your parents. They’ve said that you are allowed to return home with Ibuki, so there’s no problem, right?”

This damn brat! What “There’s no problem, right?”! There was a huge problem, stupid idiot!

“Oh! Well done, Enju! Sakuya! It’s fine now, right?”

“Ugugugu! I under… stand…”

No! No! I’d absolutely refuse! But… since my parents gave permission, I could only stay silent and obey. And also, by some bad coincidence, I didn’t have Hundred Earth training today because of Master. I said I had lessons as an excuse, but I didn’t have any today.

I thought it was rare that Master took a break from training, but so many things were happening when school ended today so my plans were all messed up. Ibuki! Enju!

　　～～～～～～～

“Greetings.”

When I got to the salon, I sat in my usual seat. Then, Kaya-san immediately sat beside me. Speaking of that, who was Kaya-san attending the Takatsukasa family’s party with?

“Kaya-san.”

“What is it? What is it?”

No… why did she say that twice? I just called her name, but she replied super eagerly…

“No, um… Kaya-san, what are you going to do about the pair situation at the Takatsukasa family party?”

“You’re interested? You’re interested, right? You think that some suspicious unknown guy will steal me away, right? That is jealousy! Sakuya-chan! That is the fire of jealousy!”

…Was Kaya-san really okay? Lately, she’d been somewhat… no, let’s stop there… Kaya-san was one of my few true friends.

“Oh… then, what are you going to do about your partner?”

“Don’t worry! I only like you, Sakuya-chan! It can’t be helped at the party, so I’ll just pick someone from the Konoe monryuu and order them to go with me! You have nothing to worry about, Sakuya-chan! But, wow…. big sister’s so touched that you feel jealous!”

Oh… sure… I’d just leave that alone…

But was that so… would it just end at the Oogimachisanjou family giving orders? If the person she ordered wanted to go with someone else, that was pretty unfortunate, but… that wasn’t related to me. That was that family’s and Kaya-san’s problem.

It looked like the ones invited were mostly members of the Five Norths Association. The one exception were those who partnered with people who weren’t invited after consulting with the Takatsukasas. That was because not everyone had a partner. These conditions were especially annoying, so you’d think that it was normally impossible for everyone to have a partner.

Probably… Enju probably planned this so that Ibuki and I could be partners at this party. My word… those two were really using their own positions and inconveniencing others. Calling people to this annoying party…

“Oh! Then, what about Azami-chan and Satsuki-chan’s partners?”

“Sakuya-sama… you are being jealous! But do not worry! I only love you, Sakuya-sama!”

Azami-chan, who was already coming over here, said something like that. No… I wasn’t going to be jealous over the person you were attending a party with, but…

If… Kaya-san, Azami-chan, and Satsuki-chan were dating someone, then would probably marry them, my heart would hurt. But if it was just someone you were pairing up just for a party, I wouldn’t really mind. If I minded that much, I’d then be jealous of pairs that were made just for a school dance.

“My partner is Takatsukasa-sama.”

“Huh!?”

Satsuki-chan, who appeared from behind Azami-chan, said those words which shocked the three of us. Satsuki-chan and… Enju?

What…? Once I heard that, I quite literally started feeling sick. Satsuki-chan and Enju were partners…

“I must tell Takatsukasa-sama not to step within 100 meters of Satsuki-chan…”

I wouldn’t let him breathe the same air as Satsuki-chan. Enju would have to wear protective clothing and carry an oxygen cylinder. Letting Satsuki-chan wear it would be more certain, but that would be a burden for her. That was why Enju could wear it.

“Sakuya-chan… you are worrying that much, it seems.”

“Oh…”

Satsuki-chan reddened and got fidgety. How cute… I wanted to… hug her… I wanted to protect her like she was a frail small animal. If that was what she was aiming for, Satsuki-chan was a remarkable temptress. But I still thought that was fine. I would be deceived. I would protect her!

“Sakuya-sama! My partner is Hirohata-sama!”

“…huh?”

This time… the three of us stiffened at Azami-chan’s declaration. Hirohata…? Mizuki…? That guy… I thought he was strange before, but… he was a l*licon after all!?

What was this playboy Mizuki doing!? He was just a l*licon! P*do! I’d kill him!

“I understand… I will enjoy encasing Hirohata-sama in concrete and throwing him into the water…”

“W-Wait! Wait a second, Sakuya-chan! This isn’t my fault! Ibuki decided that I’d partner with her!”

Once I’d decided that I’d obliterate Mizuki, he immediately came over here. It looked like he didn’t want to be encased by concrete and thrown into water. It wasn’t like a man to make excuses and run away.

“Then… did Konoe-sama and Takatsukasa-sama decide who Satsuki-chan and Azami-chan’s partners would be?”

“Right! They did that! I didn’t decide by myself! Kaya-chan approached a guy from the monryuu to be her partner, and then Ibuki and Enju decided so that they wouldn’t fight!”

“…well, that is fine.”

I wouldn’t put him in concrete and drown him after all. The root of all evil was instead Ibuki and Enju. But let’s really hit the nail in the head.

“However… if you do anything to Azami-chan and Satsuki-chan… no matter who you are, I swear on the name of Kujou Sakuya that you will regret it. This applies to everyone, okay?”

“——gah! ——agh!”

I stared intently at everyone, and they all desperately shook their heads. This was probably fine. If some stupid person laid a hand on the two of them after that… I’d do what I said and they would become the first example. That was all there was to it.

“Kujou-san… as expected, you’re here.”

“…huh?”

As we were talking about that, the salon door opened and Enju entered. Then he stood in front of me.

“You promised that you’d go to Ibuki’s house today, right? Since you did that, why’d you come to the salon?”

“…oh, that is true. However, is it not Konoe-sama’s fault for not providing a meeting place nor method to get there? I had assumed that we were meeting at the salon, so I am merely waiting here.”

Well, I really had forgotten, but Ibuki didn’t tell me where we were going to meet or how to get to the Konoe house. It was Ibuki and Enju’s fault for forcing a meeting and not providing any concrete details. That was unmistakable. Even if I was wrong, I’d assert that.

“*sigh*… I get it. I know it’s our mistake, so let’s go. Ibuki’s waiting.”

“Understood.”

With Enju leading, we walked. At the time, I’d told my brother that I’d been invited to the Konoe house. I asked Enju about that, and it seemed like the Konoe family’s car would be going to the Konoe household, so my brother went earlier. Today only he got on the car and returned home, and the Konoe family were told to welcome me as well and were waiting at the lobby.

“Oi, Sakuya! You’ve kept me waiting a while!”

“You had not told me where to meet you nor how to get to the Konoe house… so I had gone to the salon as usual and waited there.”

I implicitly said “It’s your fault, isn’t it?” and glared at Ibuki. But Ibuki didn’t get it and just said “Come to think of it, I didn’t”, and immediately got in the car. It looked like he didn’t care or just didn’t get the sarcasm. Well, first graders were like that. The others—people like Satsuki-chan and Enju—were too unlike first graders.

Basically, I got in the Konoe family’s car with Ibuki and Enju, and the three of us headed to the Konoe estates. I didn’t know why Enju was coming too. Ibuki wasn’t complaining, so I didn’t really care, but…

And also, those two always stuck together… it felt like their relationship was someone suspicious… ah!

Come to think of it… both in the game and in this world, Ibuki and Enju were normally together. This was just a possibility, but… did they really have that sort of relationship?

You couldn’t say that they didn’t, you know? It was a dating sim targeted towards girls… and girls liked BL, right? That was just my assumption, but… I really thought that they liked those things. Then the Ibuki x Enju ship was also…

“Kujou-san… are you thinking something weird now?”

“No? Not at all?”

Enju, who suddenly turned around and looked at me, said that.

“Hey! We’re back!”

Then, Ibuki… did you usually greet people like that? Was this guy really the son of the distinguished Konoe Conglomerate? He just seemed like some uncle… was it really okay for this guy to be the future leader of the Konoe Conglomerate?

“Sorry for disturbing.”

How many times had I come to the Konoe house? I really didn’t want to come if I could help it, but… 

“Oh, Sakuya-chan, welcome. What’re you doing today?”

“Greetings, Konoe-sama. Ibuki-sama and Enju-sama have strongly suggested that I come today…”

I casually told on Ibuki to Mrs. Konoe. She looked a bit surprised and glared at Ibuki; maybe she’d get mad at him later. Serves him right.

“Oh… so once we take a break, you go hurry and play.”

“Huh!? Master!?”

Once I’d come into the Konoe family’s living room… Master was drinking tea and relaxing there. Why on earth was he here?