「33」
Put your all into everything.
It was quite the motto to live by, wasn’t it?
It suddenly came to me during the proficiency test.
Yeah. It was a nostalgic memory from my old life.
I was so clumsy and unfocused that I turned in shoddy work and ended up failing miserably.
But now?
Thanks to Mizuki’s high specs, I was understanding faster and capable of a higher level of comprehension.
I’d be a tour de force of whack-mole!
My reflexes also allowed me to swat a fly out of the air with a newspaper……
An I would obviously I never use slippers for something like that.
The thought of having to wear them again prevents me from using them for that task.
Of course, I haven’t seen the game since I came here.
I didn’t even know if it existed here since I haven’t heard about it.
Well, I didn’t want to ask anyone about it, so I’ll ignore it for now.
Those thoughts and others crossed my mind as I let out a sign and filled in the final question.
No matter how high Mizuki’s specs were, I was still me inside.
Too many problems meant they couldn’t all be solved, but one difficult question would make you want to run away.
Theories, like the Pythagorean theorem, could be developed and applied to difficult problems.
The problem arises with performing mathematics.
Suwa seemed to struggle with this part of the test.
For some reason, Ookami told me that little factoid a while ago.
No, I had a general understanding of what Ookami was doing.
He was collecting data on me.
He only revealed that fact to gauge my reaction.
He saw a potential problem and was trying to find a solution.
I was a program to be a.n.a.lyzed.
Ookami had a skill for manipulating people into scenarios of his own design.
He was always thinking of ways to gain an understanding of people and get them to act the way he wanted.
Suwa, who could be called his best friend, was Ookami’s best piece.
His outstanding presence created the perfect shadow to hide in.
Even though Ookami prided himself on his ability to control Suwa’s emotions, the broken heart following Shiori’s rejection last spring allowed Suwa to break free of his chains.
Consequently, Ookami was now focused on me.
When I managed to break Suwa out of his funk, Ookami judged that I was someone he needed to be wary of.
In Ookami eyes, I wasn’t easily swayed by my emotions, which made it difficult for him to manipulate me.
Therefore, he hawkishly observed my movements.
Although Ookami has been at for a while, I should be alright.
Even if something happens, I can seal Ookami with a method he hates the most.
Yes. I had a lousy personality.
In any case, Ritsuko-sama was my primary concern right now.
At the moment, grandfather could handle things on his own.
Instead, I could ascertain Ritsuko-sama’s movement by not moving.
Let’s leave that alone for now.
The longer that the Sagara family remained inactive, the more frightened people became.
There was a surprising number of people that find it off-putting when they can’t get a reaction out of someone.
It was strange because most of the Sagara family was carried by their intuition, only concerned with the results rather than public opinion.
It was a bad trait that looked good on paper.
Next was Ariwara’s problem.
After my meeting with Umeko, I spoke with my sister Kikka…… and she severely reprimanded me.
Being friendly with her meant that there was a chance I’d start liking her.
While removing Ichijō Hideaki was beneficial, I would wound my heart if I came to like her.
Chiaki and Chikage were doing alright.
How was Tachibana doing?
The person himself hasn’t mentioned anything, so maintaining the status quo was good.
The chiming bell brought my recap session to an end.
I collected the answer sheets from behind me and pa.s.sed them to the teacher.
The testing was now over.
I collected my things and put them inside my bag.
Tomorrow, regular cla.s.ses would resume.
Tomorrow, I might prepare some treats for having pa.s.sed the storm.
It was funny that Shinonome’s high school section allowed students to bring in sweets.
Of course, those sweets weren’t convenience store goodies but chocolates, macaroons and similar patisseries from luxury brands.
They were packed in boxes rather than plastic wrappers.
Tea confections were the snack of choice in the salon.
Neither Hayate nor I were overly fond of sweets, and even if I was grateful when I received them, we had trouble getting rid of them.
It was a good thing that Ariwara had a sweet tooth.
Maybe we could all go on a picnic and allow Ariwara to have all the sweets he could stomach.
If we went to the salon and Suwa was there, Ariwara might shout “I love you, Mizuki!” and hug me again.
That seemed to be hara.s.sment directed at Suwa.
Being treated like a child’s teddy bear was a rather painful experience, but it was gratifying in its own regard.
Seeing Suwa’s expression during the hara.s.sment was a bit fun to watch.
I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn’t notice Suwa’s approach until he was in front of me.
“Sagara.”
Suwa stood at my side with an apologetic expression on his face.
“My mother was saddened that you didn’t receive her letter. I apologize on her behalf. Sorry.”
Suwa bowed his head as he apologized.
“……What is it? I was hospitalized all summer, so I don’t know what’s been going on in the social world.”
His expression turned bitter as he filled me in on what I missed.
“My mother wanted the Sagara and Suwa to come together. I still don’t think we’ve reached that point yet.”
This foolish boy was so earnest in his apology!
You could say I missed this, but the thought didn’t occupy my mind for long.
I unintentionally sighed.
I thought Ritsuko was a more skillful negotiator, was I wrong?
No, this must have been part of her new strategy.
I nodded at that sudden erroneous thought.
Performing a counterattack before the punishment might be a good idea.
It was convenient that everyone else had already left the cla.s.sroom.
People suddenly needed to be anywhere else but here when Suwa called out to me.
What happened to cla.s.smates helping one another?
I guess everyone forgot that.
“Suwa. What do you take Ritsuko-sama’s words to mean?”
Perhaps he didn’t realize the severe implications her offer had for the life of the man called Suwa Iori.
In response, Suwa’s checks turned crimson, and he looked away.
Was the inside of his head a flower garden!? Truly a perfect fool.
“That…… Sagara…… becoming my…… fiancée……”
There it was.
Thought I sighed deeply again, that wasn’t too bad.
Although Suwa had a substantial basis, this was impossible for him.
“That’s not unreasonable, but that’s the less likely meaning.”
“Huh!?”
“……You don’t understand.”
I glanced at Suwa, who’d unknowingly looked back at me when I spoke up.
“Aren’t you ignoring the literal meaning?”
“That’s……”
“Have you been paying attention the Suwa’s stock? Hasn’t it plummeted from what it was a few years ago? Let’s be blunt: What are the prospects for a deteriorating business?”
The Suwa conglomerate was performing well below expectations.
Their stock was barely managing to stay within the green.
The business-savvy keep track of the Sagara family’s activities, and had already been preparing to pull their investments from the Suwa, if they haven’t already done so.
Their continued existence was a testament to the current head’s skill, but he could not facilitate the conglomerate’s revival.
While the next head wasn’t lacking in ability, he still had poor lateral thinking skills.
Unless the successor’s way of thinking was corrected, few people would follow him.
“……That.”
Suwa’s expression froze when I brought up the stocks.
He was wasting his head, wasting it.
Even I made an effort to understood what those numbers meant.
A person was unfit for management if they lacked the proper instincts.
“Do you know why the shock value is falling?”
“…… Yeah.”
“There’s an easy method to fix that problem.”
“There is?!”
“Disown you, adopt me, and me make the next head of the family.”
If that happened, the Sagara would back the Suwa extensively.
Those that didn’t want to make the Sagara an enemy would accept it and the company’s stocks would stabilize in one stroke.
It was a simple task.
Naturally, the Sagara would have some prerequisites before they agreed to that.
Well, if it meant swallowing the Suwa conglomerate, my family might accept it.
Adoption wouldn’t necessarily make me a Suwa.
“That’s ridiculous!”
“There is another way.”
“What……”
“Adopting a child from a branch family and making them the next head. Then I just have to become that person’s fiancée.”
Suwa visibly paled when I said that.
I already had an idea who that person could be.
It was none other than Kaori-sama.
Among this generation of the Suwa family, he was quite popular, and he didn’t lack in ability.
Also, he was the only Suwa I was on friendly terms with.
“No way!?”
“It’s possible. It’s a more likely outcome than adopting me.”
Suwa became more distressed as I calmly explained things to him.
“So, do you still think you can leave things as they are?”
“I am the successor of the Suwa conglomerate!”
“I see. Ritsuko-sama married into the head household and doesn’t hold authority over the business side of the family. As long as your father doesn’t overturn his nomination, you won’t lose it.”
But, there have been times when that has happened.
my gaze remained locked on Suwa as the gears turned in his head.
“I’ll properly apologize for my mother’s folly some other time. Please excuse me.”
“I don’t mind.”
Suwa violently grabbed his bag and left the cla.s.sroom in a hurry.
Well. Ritsuko?
How will you react to your son’s counterattack?
She probably isn’t expecting her son to strike back.
“……I really have a terrible personality.”