“But we don’t agree with the president’s decision. We have a favor to ask, even though it’s sudden.”
“What is it?”
“Make the president and Koyuki-chan realize it.”
“Please.”
Their previously carefree attitude changed to one of desperation.
Saito could tell they genuinely wanted him to do this.
But their request was still vague.
“Make them realize? Realize what?”
“Sorry, we can’t say more. But you can do it because you can face them directly.”
“Our words won’t get through. So please, try. We believe in you.”
Leaving Saito puzzled, they walked away.
Then Saito realized
“But wait! My feet are still tied! Hey!”
Saito tried to chase them, but only his hands were freed. His feet were still bound,
Thanks to this, he fell spectacularly.
Despite his desperate calls, Hamaguchi and Gouda vanished from sight.
“…Seriously?”
“Hey, Saito, what are you doing here?”
“Playing bondage games at school? That’s weird.”
“No, it’s not like that! You’ve got it all wrong! This is—”
While Saito was sulking, Shuri and Minaka passed by and saw him.
This is bad.
They were looking at him like he was a pervert.
Desperately, Saito explained the situation, and it seemed such things happened often at this school.
“Oh, that thing.”
They accepted his explanation.
Though Saito wondered if it was really okay, it was an emergency.
He was just glad they understood.
“So, please get the key!”
“Okay, I’ll go get it. Do you remember the senpai’s name?”
Shuri volunteered to get the key.
“Uh, I don’t remember the girl’s name, but the guy’s name is Gouda.”
“Got it. I’ll go get Gouda-senpai then. Be right back.”
Since he forgot Hamaguchi’s name, he gave Gouda’s nickname, and Shuri cheerfully ran towards the field.
Minaka, left behind, turned back to Saito.
“While we wait for Shuri, can you tell me more about what happened?”
She asked for a more detailed explanation.
“Sure.”
Saito nodded and explained everything from start to finish,
Everything including noticing the tension between Koyuki and Takumi and being asked to help.
“I see.”
After hearing everything, Minaka nodded and then muttered, “Come to think of it, those two…”
“Kanzaki, do you know something?”
“I, I don’t know.”
Saito pressed her, but she looked away, clearly having said too much.
Minaka would make a terrible suspect in a mystery, Saito thought.
Even he could tell she was lying.
She wasn’t good at hiding things.
…
Grabbing her shoulders to keep her from escaping, Saito pressed for answers.
“You definitely know something. Please, I need any information you have! Tell me, Kanzaki. I’ll do anything if you tell me.”
“Alright, alright. Let go. You’re too strong.”
“Oh, sorry.”
When he questioned her seriously, she confessed easily.
She was really not suited to play a criminal.
Realizing she was fundamentally good, Saito let go.
“Before I say anything, this is just hearsay. I don’t know if it’s true.”
“That’s fine.”
“Okay. Apparently, there was talk of them getting engaged.”
For a normal high schooler, this was a distant concept.
“Engaged? …What!? Are they really getting married!?”
Saito’s voice rose in shock.
“Idiot! Keep it down. It was just a rumor. They’re not actually engaged. Otherwise, Koyuki-senpai couldn’t flirt with Nishizono-kun like that.”
“True, if they were engaged, she couldn’t.”
“Right? Calm down a bit.”
Minaka tried to calm the panicked Saito, but once someone panics, it’s hard to stop.
The word “engagement” kept looping in his head, messing with his thoughts.
Though warned it might not be true, it was overwhelming.
(Engagement in high school is too early.)
To Saito, marriage was for adults.
He sometimes heard friends talk about romance, but he had no clear vision for the future yet.
He just wanted to enjoy the present.
Thinking about the future could come later.
Marriage was a shocking concept for Saito who had lived his life with such a childish and ephemeral way of thinking..
It made him feel he couldn’t stay a kid anymore.
A sense of urgency quietly took root in his heart.
“Oh~ hey! Itochi~! I got the key!
“Oh, oh. Thank you, thank you. Yakumo.”
Still unsettled, Saito thanked Shuri, who returned with the key.
Shuri burst out with a “pfft” at Saito’s broken speech.
“Oh no! Ito-chi, you speak like a robot. So funny. What did you do, Minaka-chi? Did you do some human experiment?”
“There’s no way I could do something like that, I’m just a student. I just taught him something and he turned into a broken toy.”
“Oh no, the key won’t go in.”
“Heh, what did you teach him? Come on, tell your best friend.”
Shuri, who was standing a little away, was very interested in Minaka’s story about changing Saito.
Like a snake, she slithered over and wrapped herself around Minaka.
“Can it be a secret?”
“Even if you ask cutely, no way. So, it’s decided! Tickle punishment until you talk! It’s been a while since I did this.”
Minaka, realizing she couldn’t escape, begged to be spared, but the response was merciless.
Shuri narrowed her eyes like a cat and lowered her arms from Minaka’s neck to her waist.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
“Ahaha, no, that’s cheating! Shuri, that’s unfair!”
“If you want me to stop, you better spill it. I still have three more stages of evolution left, you know? The longer you hold out, the worse it gets. Tickle, tickle.”
“Eek! Okay, okay, I’ll talk! Just stop!”
Under Shuri’s relentless tickle attack, Minaka quickly gave in.
“Pant, pant.”
“Heh, this is nothing for me.”
Shuri was very pleased, seeing Minaka collapse in a few minutes.
“The key still won’t go in.”
“It hasn’t gone in yet!? Ito-chi, let me do it for you.”
Noticing Saito still struggling with the key nearby, Shuri sighed and unlocked it for him.
Later, Minaka explained again that the engagement talk with Takumi and Koyuki might have come up, and Shuri was just as shocked as Saito,
“No way, way, way, what!?”
Seeing the two broken robots, Minaka sighed deeply,
“That’s why I didn’t want to say it.”
“Engaged in high school, huh. Rich people think differently.”
“Yep, yep.”
After a while, Saito and Shuri calmed down, sitting side by side on the stairs, sipping tea they bought from a vending machine.
They looked just like an old couple from the countryside.
Minaka, who came back with the last tea, sat next to Shuri with an exasperated look.
“But, I wonder, is there any benefit for those two to get engaged? Their parents work for their respective group companies, and it seems they’re doing well. They don’t need to get engaged just for profit like in TV dramas.”
With half of her tea gone, Shuri voiced her question.
“Well, that is…”
Minaka was flustered again.
Saito and Shuri’s eyes gleamed.
“Oh, seems like you know something! Ito-chi, go! Hold her down! I’ll tickle her again after that.”
“Got it.”
“Got it! Wait, I’ll tell you. I can’t handle a second round.”
Just as Saito and Shuri prepared to put Minaka through another tickling ordeal, she raised the white flag.
“Tch, so lame. Alright, spill it, Minaka-chi.”
“Spill everything.”
The two, who wanted to play with Minaka a bit more, urged her to explain quickly.
“Why are you talking like delinquents? Well, fine. This time, it’s something you can find out if you look it up. The representative of the Shirayuri Group and the representative of the Hojou Group have been close friends for a long time. They might have thought about engaging their kids if they were around the same age—”
“—Like in manga, ‘Oh, our kids are around the same age, let’s get them engaged.’ So, the rumor might have spread because of that.”
“Probably, yes.”
“Oh, Minaka-chi, you look like you just had an idea.”
“It’s not that! Don’t point it out, Shuri.”
“Haha, sorry, Minaka-chi. You’re so cute, I just want to tease you.”
“So, what does that mean exactly?”
“To put it simply, it means the president and vice president are childhood friends. And, their parents might be joking around, causing everyone else to get excited, just like us now.”
“Got it, thanks for summarizing. What!? They’re childhood friends!?”
This new information was also shocking.
The engagement talk might have been a rumor, but Takumi and Koyuki being childhood friends seemed to be true.
Saito was so surprised he stood up.
“A shocking new fact.”
“Yeah… but if they’re childhood friends, why do they treat each other so badly? They should be closer. It makes no sense.”
To Saito, treating a childhood friend like that was unthinkable.
While it can be annoying, they are usually fun to be around.
Even if they fight,
rejecting them completely like Takumi does to Koyuki is unheard of.
Especially if it could break off the relationship.
“Well, it’s puberty. For the president too.”
“You mean?”
“He doesn’t want to be misunderstood by the person he likes. If he gets along with the vice president, people might think the rumor is true. So, he avoids her.”
“Is that how it works?”
“That’s how it works. I’ve handled many love consultations in middle school, so trust me.”
“Oh, so it’s true.”
If Shuri, who was more experienced in such matters, said it was possible, it must be true.
“Though, you’ve never dated anyone.”
“Hey, Minaka-chi, we agreed not to mention that!”
…Probably.
With Minaka’s revelation, Saito’s trust in Shuri dropped, and he decided to consider it as just one opinion.
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