The Houjou Holdings – a massive corporation that any Japanese person would know the name of.
With roots spread through finance, food, construction and every other field imaginable.
Especially in clothing with their lingerie brand Mitera at the forefront, their dominance in the fashion industry is unmatched.
There’s hardly anyone who hasn’t heard their slogan “Anytime, Anywhere, Anyone.”
“Not only is her lineage top-notch, she herself is extremely talented too. You can see how she looks. And her grades are top of the class here at Teio Academy. She also shows extraordinary athletic ability, and won the gold medal in the National Speech Contest last year.”
“Damn… her stats are off the charts… So she’s the real deal among The Teio Academy Ten Sai?”
“No, for Houjou they gave a separate title – ‘The Unmatched Eleventh One’.”
“The Unmatched Eleven? Kinda sounds chuuni but also amazing.”
“No, it’s not like that… It implies a level far removed from the students ranked twelfth and below – no matter how hard she tried, she could never join the Ten – that sort of dishonorable connotation.”
For real… Just how good are the current Ten…
“Nevertheless, it’s undeniable that Houjou reigns supreme over the social hierarchy in this class. As a preliminary match before taking on the Ten, I’ll first topple her.”
Mihaneya smiled wickedly.
“I’m going to challenge Houjou to a debate right now. If I thoroughly defeat her on her home turf, she’ll lose her influence and have to cede her spot to me.”
“But she won the national gold right? What chance do you have against someone like that?”
“Because I’m a superstar.”
With that seemingly irrelevant reply, Mihaneya strode confidently over to Houjou’s group.
She spoke to Houjou, they exchanged some words, then Mihaneya came back here –
“Uwah…uwah…” And burst into tears.
“The hell, she made you bawl already!?”
“I-It’s just…just…she’s so m-mean… At first we were just debating normally but… Once I realized I was going to lose, I kept calling her ‘Stupid Houjou’ and ‘Idiot Houjou’…and she got really scary…”
That’s clearly your fault though…
“Dai-chan, please go over.”
“Huh?”
“If you can beat Houjou, you’ll be ranked eleventh. Then after that, I just have to go chomp chomp on you and I’ll be eleventh! It’s perfect.”
Why does she think it’ll be easy to beat me…
“First off, there’s no way I can beat Houjou. And more importantly, don’t make a scene that attracts attent–”
【Choose ]
- Challenge Reina Houjou to a debate match
- Challenge Reina Houjou to a high-speed bread eating match
“No freaking way I’m doing either of those!”
…Wait. Despite my initial reaction to the absurdity of option 2, option 1 seems quite reasonable in comparison. Especially after the previous choices of [Absolutely Do Not Want] or [Absolutely Cannot Do], having a slightly more palatable option feels welcome.
I’m probably numb to how bad these are, but if I have to do something anyway, better it be less awful.
“Fine, I’ll go do it.”
“Eh, you’re really gonna go, Dai-chan?”
“Well, you did tell me to do it…”
“I-I was joking, joking… There’s no way someone pathetic like you could handle her either, but getting in over your head challenging her to proper matches might genuinely get you dealt with around here.”
Huh? …She serious? However powerful the Houjou are, it’s a bit fantastical for them to wield that much influence… But Mihaneya seems genuinely concerned.
“Urgh…”
── But with this headache of a demand hanging over my head, I had no choice but to do it.
“Ohana… There are times when a man has to step up.”
“I think this is definitely not the time…”
I agree…
I pressed my aching head and approached the group of chattering students.
Just as I was about to call out to Houjou, who was at the center of it all…
“Wait a minute. What business do you have with Reina-sama?”
One of the attendants, who had an unmistakable air of an upper-class young lady, glared at me intensely. Reina [sama]? Seriously…
“No, there’s no need to ask for the purpose. Please take your leave.”
Another attendant directed a cold gaze at me.
“We can’t allow such a dangerous individual to approach Reina-sama.”
“No, it’s all a misunderstanding, my various eccentricities…”
“Moreover, your indecent behavior earlier is irrelevant. Don’t think that just any ordinary boy can casually approach Reina-sama.”
Uh-oh… This is serious. They’re not joking; they’re dead serious.
It’s not even about social hierarchies anymore; it seems like Houjou has established an ironclad regime within this class.
“Guh…”
My headache seemed to urge me to hurry. I didn’t want to flop around again, but I couldn’t just leave.
“Houjou!”
Ignoring the piercing stares of the attendants, I forcefully called out to the person at the center of it all.
” …… Apparently, the Japanese language doesn’t work for you.”
They all simultaneously stood up, exuding an intimidating aura.
Uh… Th-This is bad…
“S-Sit down! Forget about it!”
With a sudden remark, their movements came to a halt.
The one who spoke, Reina Houjou, looked at me with a bored expression.
“…So?”
Uh, scary… A single word, and cold sweat trickled down my forehead.
“Well, sorry, but… Can you have a debate with me for a moment?”
“Huh? …Why?”
W-Why, indeed?!
Wh-What is this audacity… This is definitely not something a high school girl should have.
Just from that, her gaze alone could kill someone, and her voice was absolute zero, not to mention the overwhelming pressure she exuded through her presence.
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scene transition
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READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
These can’t just be skills she acquired. They’re the innate qualities of someone born to rule… Come on, saying she can’t make the Ten must be a joke…
“U-Um, why…I mean, I wanted to experience your gold medal debating skill firsthand…or something like that…”
Squirming pathetically under Houjou’s overwhelming pressure, I’m tripping over my words.
“No thanks. Waste of time.”
…Well duh.
But her reaction works for me.
The objective according to the choice was simply to [Challenge] her. The moment I proposed a match, the choice prompt in my head disappeared cleanly.
“How long you gonna stand there? Hurry up and scram.”
“Y-Yes ma’am!”
My voice goes completely squeaky. No, she’s seriously terrifying… I’m so glad she turned down the match… With a profound sense of relief, I turn my back on Houjou.
“What’s with everyone today anyway? First that incompetent, now this pervert. The earlier one was desperate enough that I humored her with a match, but he’s not even worth talking to.”
“It’s only natural. No one can compete with your logical reasoning, Reina.”
“That’s right. Even though the speech contest wasn’t head-to-head, you were so overwhelmingly skilled. Just remembering makes me swoon.”
“Haah. And that incompetent is too much of a small fry to be at Teio Academy.”
“The chairman is known for her eccentricity. As long as someone specializes in one thing, she accepts them readily regardless of everything else… But even I have to agree that guy doesn’t make the cut.”
“I concur. Such vulgar riffraff has no business being in Reina’s sight.”
“Right? We should use your family’s influence to do something. Maybe get him expelled?”
“Don’t kid yourself. Using the family over trash like that would make us the laughingstock.”
“Oh, that guy…”
It was unforgivable trash talk – though they weren’t yelling, I was still close enough to hear it all clearly.
“I-It’s okay, Dai-chan!”
At that point, Mihaneya tugged urgently on my sleeve.
“Just ignore stuff like that. Picking a real fight and incurring her wrath could genuinely get you dealt with around here.”
“I was wondering earlier too… Is the Houjou influence for real that powerful?”
“Yes. I heard they make huge donations here too… It wouldn’t be strange if they could interfere with management or personnel. And also–”
“And also?”
“Aside from family power, do you feel you could win an argument against her? ”
” …… I don’t think so.
“Right? I’m still shaking over here… so don’t worry about it.”
“Well, if you say so–”
“By the way, didn’t you say something weird earlier? Not just spouting nonsense about taking down the Ten Sai, but becoming a superstar in the future too.”
“Yeah. My ears couldn’t believe such a mediocre flunky saying something so delusional and sparkly-eyed.”
“Quite right. I was astonished she could declare such things when someone as perfect as Reina is aiming for the top.”
“Hey, cut it out. There’s no way I wanna be some cringey thing like that.”
“My apologies. I shouldn’t have compared you to such a Showa relic.”
“Haah… And you know, I think it’s pretty embarrassing for high schoolers nowadays to still have dreams and stuff. When you sparkle your eyes and talk all passionat–
“…Hey.”
“Huh? What do you want, you flunky transfer student? I told you to scram.”
“Don’t laugh at people’s dreams.”
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