「 Speaking of which, how’s school? 」
Katsuko-nee said.
Now that she mentioned it, Nei nor Edie hasn’t made a call yet.
「 I’ll try calling them 」
I take out my phone.
For now, let’s call Edie. I’m worried about Megu.
I call Edie’s phone.
「 Err, let’s look at the cameras 」
Katsuko-nee operates her laptop and opens the school monitoring system.
Purururururu, purururururu
『 THIS is Edie! Hafuuu!! 』
Why are speaking in a broken language
「 Edie, what are you doing right now? 」
『 Me? I’m running! Haa, haa, fuu 』
Running?
「 Ah, I’m projecting the image on that screen 」
Katsuko-nee said. I look at the large monitor on the dining room’s wall.
Then.
『 Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!! 』
Edie’s running
inside the track and field’s ground.
She’s wearing gym clothes for some reason.
『 Hey! Don’t run while in a call!! 』
Captain Takeshiba shouted loudly!
『 It’s Darling! I have to answer it! 』
Edie replies while speeding up.
「 Why are you running? 」
My orders were to hide and protect Megu.
『 Ah, you see! Takeshiba-senpai said, “if you’re just going to watch from the sides then start running” 』
Captain Takeshiba found her quickly.
『 But you see, this is not fun at all. This is just a long distance run on flat ground with a group of girls 』
Does Edie prefer jumping around obstacles?
『 That one from earlier was interesting. I feel like I’m jumping over barricades 』
Hurdle run, is it?
『 Also, that one is also interesting that “bang and run!”1 』
Err.
「 Do you mean “Javelin?”2 」
『 Yes, that one! 』
Hmm.
「 Edie, where’s Megu? 」
『 Megumi?! Darling’s calling!! 』
No, you don’t have to shout.
Katsuok-nee switches the camera.
Megu’s helping the other first-years cleanup.
She’s showing a sullen face, not even responding to Edie.
『 She looks angry 』
Edie said while still running.
Yeah, she’s angry that I had Edie stealthily guard her.
I didn’t tell Megu after all.
I mean, Edie wasn’t hiding at all.
『 Hey! One more lap left! Start speeding up! 』
Captain Takeshiba said. Edie.
『 OK!! 』
Byuuun!!
Edie speeds up suddenly.
This is the last lap, and yet she’s running with the momentum for a short-distance race.
Too fast.
『 GOAL!!! 』
Edie runs through the white line.
『 Captain, she broke the prefecture’s high-school student record 』
A junior member in charge of measuring time is amazed as she looks at the stopwatch.
We’re having a conversation here and yet.
As expected of Edie, not bad.
『 I asked this earlier and I will again, why are you not taking this seriously? 』
Captain Takeshiba presses a question.
『 Well, there’s no meaning on running on a flat surface 』
Still, Edie isn’t sweating at all.
『 Next time, I’d like to try that. Bang and run! 』
『 Javelin! 』
『 You just have to throw that as far as possible, right? 』
『 What else can you do with that? 』
Captain Takeshiba’s face looks confused.
『 It’s fun to hit some moving targets with that! Just like we’re hunting! 』
『 Are you a caveman? 』
『 Not caveman! American! 』
Ah, she can’t understand what captain meant from the p.r.o.nunciation.
『 Captain, Edie-san is an American. She should be in the hunting race 』
The other girl standing next to captain said.
『 What the h.e.l.l? 』
『 Don’t they often say that? j.a.panese are agricultural people. Westerners are hunting people 』
Then, Edie.
『 That’s a flawed idea. During the period when agriculture was introduced to j.a.pan, the rest of the world are already starting with it. Rice and wheat cultures, though there’s that idea, comparing j.a.pan’s agriculture with the West’s hunting culture is just weird 』
She said casually.
『 For rice, especially with j.a.ponica rice which is what j.a.pan mainly cultivates take time and labor. Therefore, j.a.pan is called masters of growing rice. On the other hand, if you sow the wheat seeds, you don’t need to do much more work than that. That’s why there are no masters in cultivating wheat 』
Captain Takeshiba and the other girl listens to Edie’s talk.
『 That’s all influenced by the history. There’s no need for fine work, so slaves exist on the wheat culture. Slaves in ancient times, serfs in the middle ages. Wheat can be made even with low slave work. But, rice takes time and labor, slaves won’t raise productivity. Therefore j.a.pan’s rice culture takes down slavery 』
『 But, that was during ancient times. I learned it in j.a.panese history 』
One of the runners said.
『 It’s said that it’s not taken down. In j.a.pan’s case, the clans released the slaves as the core of their governance. Furthermore, the rice paddle cultivation system collapsed at an early stage that those who cleared up new rice fields became owners of that land 』
Edie explains.
『 Though they’re called a slave, compared to the ancient age, they are free to have possessions, they can also save money and buy back their freedom from their owners. But that’s just a rare case. In other times, the so-called slavery on another land means that they take away the freedom of ownership and also their liberty of marriage 』
They don’t have rights to own nor marriage.
『 Nothing is free, not even their own body and life. All of the rights are taken away by the owner. You can’t marry freely. You can’t make your own family. That’s what a slave means. In j.a.pan, it was during the Edo period where it was a.s.sured that you can own possessions and form a family. In short, it’s not a slave 』
Ah, Megu’s listening to Edie’s talk too.
『 Hey, you dark-skinned girl 』
Captain Takeshiba speaks to Edie.
『 You’re not stupid 』
Err.
『 Uhm, Captain, Edie-chan’s smart you know 』
A cla.s.smate of ours said that. If I recall correctly.
『 Especially English, she’s fluent in it 』
Well, that’s because she’s an American.
『 No, sorry. I thought that you’re just a muscle-head 』
『 Musclehead? 』
Ede tilts her head.
『 I mean, I thought your brain is also made of muscles. Really, sorry about that 』
Captain Takeshiba apologizes.
『 You can’t survive if you can’t think 』
『 Yeah, that’s how the modern age is 』
『 I mean,. Captain, Edie-chan learns j.a.panese at a breakneck pace 』
That girl’s right, Edie can’t be an idiot.
『 Right, you were someone talented who wanted to study abroad. My eyes were clouded over, sorry 』
Then, Edie.
『 Ah, s.h.i.t, I might be an idiot! 』
She presses her phone to her ear.
『 Sorry Darling! We were in a call! 』
Ah, no problems.
I can see and hear everything thanks to the cameras and microphones hidden there.
「 I get the gist of it, continue your task 」
『 Aye-aye-sir! Darling! 』
I ended the call.
◇ ◇ ◇
「 Are you sure you don’t want to talk to Megumi-chan? 」
Katsuko-nee asks me.
「 I don’t know what we should talk about for now. Besides, I feel sorry for hindering her exercise with the track and field club. 」
I replied
「 Ah, Megu-oneechan looks like she’s got an injury 」
Mana said.
「 What’s wrong? 」
Misuzu asks.
「 Hmm, well, she’s acc.u.mulating a lot. Megu-oneechan is a girl who wants to have an ordinary love story with Onii-chan 」
「 Ordinary? 」
Yoshiko-san looks at Mana with a confused face.
「 But, she can’t just monopolize Onii-chan. That’s not allowed in the first place, you know 」
「 I’m not ordinary after all 」
I’ve been a member of Kuromori, a criminal organization long ago.
I have multiple women with me.
「 Last night, Nikita-san stayed over here. That’s what made Megumi-chan agree that he should also enjoy women outside the family 」
Katsuko-nee said.
Ruriko doesn’t know what happened inside the mansion last night and in the school today.
Misuzu and Yoshiko-san don’t know anything about yesterday.
「 In the end, it’s Yukino-san. Megumi-oneechan can’t accept Yukino-san, so she’s in a bad mood to that extent 」
「 What about you, Mana? 」
I asked.
「 I don’t care about it anymore. I’ll do what Onii-chan wants 」
Mana replied with a relaxed face.
「 If Onii-chan wants to have s.e.x with Yukino-san and me together then I can hold myself 」
Don’t hold back.
You can’t reconcile with that.
「 Let’s put Yukino aside for now 」
Yukino’s having fun with Mao-chan and Agnes.
She really is stable in a good sense.
Well, back then, she’s a woman whose nerves are as thick as a climbing rope.
Somehow or another, she has the strength to adapt to any situation.
「 Yeah, Megumi-chan is much more worrying 」
Katsuko-nee said.
「 Megumi-chan is an ordinary girl 」
「 But, we have Megu’s sense of normality, that helps us feel the deviation 」
Megu’s a girl who’s loved by everyone in the cla.s.s.
They accept me as I am Megu’s fiance.
That’s for sure.
「 Indeed, I’m aware that we don’t have senses for ordinary people 」
Ruriko said.
Misuzu, Ruriko, and Yoshiko-san are all ladies of Kouzuki house. They have completely different senses from an ordinary girl.
Minaho-neesan, Katsuko-nee, and Nagisa are all former prost.i.tutes.
Nei’s a returnee, her family’s killed in Los Angeles, and she was captured by criminals.
MArgo-san and Edie were both born in the USA. Warriors.
Michi, let’s see, she’s already a professional bodyguard.
As for professionals, Shou-neechan and Rei-chan are there too.
They all are out of ordinary girls.
「 Eh? I also have that ordinary senses though! 」
Mana said.
「 Mana, you were living as a daughter of wealthy, weren’t you? 」
Shirasaka house is one of the high-cla.s.s families, Mana’s father was one of the elites in an advertising agency.
At least, she doesn’t have any hardships in money.
「 It’s average, completely ordinary, compared to Kouzuki house at least 」
Well, you can’t just compare it to Kouzuki house which leads the largest enterprise among all other high-cla.s.s families.
I mean, there’s no house next to it.
「 If you go that far, then we’re no match against Takakura-sama’s house 」
Misuzu said.
「 Kouzuki house has been established since the Muromachi era but, Takakura sama’s house is even before the Heian period 」
In what way are you comparing?
「 In the end, what is our basis? 」
Rei-chan who’s been silent all this time asks.
Then.
「 That’s it. You need to reconsider and revise your standards 」
Minaho-neesan comes in.
「 Reika-san, can you come with me? 」
Minaho-neesan tells Rei-chan.
「 I want you to take me to school. I’ll be swapping with Nei 」
Swapping?
「 I want you to go to school, pick up Nei and drop me off there 」
「 I don’t mind, but 」
Rei-chan thinks for a moment.
「 The defense here is flawless. Katsuko’s watching the security system, at worst case, Michi-san’s here 」
「 Please leave it to me 」
Michi tells Rei-chan.
「 Kudou-san’s trick worked so the eyes monitoring the school should loosen up for a while. If we have to move, it has to be now 」
Minaho-neesan said.
「 I’m the director of the school so it wouldn’t be strange if I go to the school, right? 」
Well, that’s true.
「 What about Takakura-san? 」
I asked.
「 Kouzuki SS should be mobilized, right? Yazawa-san and Shou-san should be doing the finishing touches 」
「 They’ll be coming here, right? 」
Misuzu said.
「 Yes, that’s the endgame. But there’s some time needed for pruning 」
Pruning?
「 We’re pruning all of the unnecessary branches and leaves now 」
In short, taking down the underlings from the two Yakuza factions one by one.
「 Kouzuki-sama’s objective is the Yakuza organization itself 」
Jii-chan’s always thinking of the big picture.
「 Leave the school to me. I’m the one who put the security system together there, so I’m more of an expert than Nei 」
With Edie as her personal bodyguard and Minaho-neesan managing the system, I don’t have to worry about Megu’s security.
「 Also, I’m much more influential to Megumi than Nei 」
Minaho-neesan knows Megu since she lived in this mansion.
Megu’s mother was a colleague of hers.
「 Also, Nei’s project should be making progress 」
Nei’s project?
「 You all are making a misunderstanding, Megumi is not that ordinary 」
Minaho-neesan?
「 You guys are wiser than ordinary children, and you had various complications behind your back from the start, so you tend to overthink things 」
What does that mean?
「 Nei’s going to bring you an ordinary high school girl. Try studying from that sample 」
Minaho-neesan smiles.
「 Misuzu-san, Yoshiko-san, Ruriko-san, and Michi-san. You girls never had the chance to see an ordinary schoolgirl 」
「 No, but, we go to school everyday 」
Misuzu said.
「 Really? I think that greeting fellow students with “How do you do,” isn’t ordinary. That’s what the ordinary citizens think 」
Well, Misuzu’s school is the best high-cla.s.s-lady-school in j.a.pan.
A wealthy kid can’t enroll.
They need to be in the upper-cla.s.s.
「 Mana-san too, you went to a high-cla.s.s school too, didn’t you? 」
「 It’s a school where daughters of celebrities and wealthy people can enroll 」
Mana said.
「 Then that’s not normal either 」
So what is normal?
「 Then, let’s go Reika-san. We’ll use my Benz 」
「 Understood. Michi-san, I’ll leave the rest to you 」
「 Roger 」
Rei-chan stands up.
「 Katsuko, show them what Nei’s currently doing 」
「 Certainly 」
Then, Minaho-neesan and Rei-chan leave the room.
◇ ◇ ◇
「 Nei-oneesama’s live feed? 」
Ruriko asks Katsuko-nee.
「 Give me a moment, I’ll look where Nei-chan is right now 」
Katsuko-nee quickly operates her laptop.
「 Ah, she’s in tea-house 」
「 Tea house? What? 」
Is there a place like that in the school?
「 It’s used by the tea-ceremony club in the past. They’re gone now, so n.o.body uses it 」
I see.
「 Nei-chan seems to have brought the keys to the monitoring room. 」
Seems like that thing is prepared in the room under the princ.i.p.al’s office.
「 I’m displaying the feed 」
Then, the monitor shows the tea-house.
Somehow, I imagined a small and dark room for the tea-house, but.
It’s a bright and s.p.a.cious tatami-mat floor room.
Right, you need it to have enough s.p.a.ce to accommodate anyone if the tea-ceremony club uses it for their activities.
Then, click, the door’s unlocked.
『 Okay, come in! 』
Nei invites someone inside the room.
『 Ooh, to think that there’s this kind of room. 』
Coming inside is Hoshizaki-san wearing her tennis clothes.
『 There’s tatami mat here, it also has good exposure to the sun, and there’s even an air conditioner and heating! That’s why I use this often when I skip cla.s.ses 』
Nei said.
I see it would be cold in the rooftop if she wants to skip cla.s.ses during winter. Too hot during summer either.
『 Huh? Won’t they get angry when we get in without permission? 』
『 It’s okay. 』 Didn’t I tell you? I’m adopted by the director’s family. No teacher will complain about me!
Nei throws the keys to the floor and turns on the air conditioner.
『 Hoshizaki-san, what do you want to drink? You can get anything from that fridge over there!! I’m the one who put that in there 』
The room has a small refrigerator.
Hoshizaki-san opens it without hesitation.
『 Then, I’ll grab this afternoon tea 』
『 Get me one too! 』
『 Lemon or milk? 』
『 Hmm, Lemon! 』
Hoshizaki-san hands Nei a plastic bottle.
『 Hoshizaki-san, you can use this room too. Ah, don’t tell the others though 』
『 I know, I get it, it would be troublesome if rumors fly around and I get banned 』
Hoshizaki-san picks up the key Nei threw away.
『 I can’t duplicate this key, can I? 』
『 Nope. I have to return it to the teacher in charge when they check. If you make a duplicate, it would be exposed that we use it, then they’ll change the lock, right? 』
Nei said.
『 Then that means, Natou-san, can you get the keys to the other rooms as well? 』
『 Only for the school building here! I don’t have keys to the boys’ clubroom though 』
『 Jeez, I don’t want keys for that! 』
Hoshizaki-san laughs.
『 Well now, sit down and drink some tea 』
Nei opens up the bottle.
She sits down on the tatami mat.
On the other hand, Hoshizaki-san.
『 Can you get the aircon stronger? It feels hot in this room 』
She sits down on the tatami mat. Her skirt fluttered.
Ah, I see her think thighs.
The white cloth too.
「 That’s bad manners 」
Ruriko said.
Well, ordinary school girls do that when other boys can’t see them.
『 Okay, let’s get the temps lower 』
Nei lowers the temperature.
『 Still, you’re right, this room is perfect for lazing around 』
Hoshizaki-san lies down.
Ah, I can see her panty now.
Her a.s.s is round, well shaped.
『 Right? You know, I like this. This is the furthest part of the floor, so even teachers don’t patrol here 』
『 You can stay here during the school festival. Right 』
Our school festival is at the end of October.
『 Ooh? Could it be that you have a boyfriend? 』
Nei asks Hoshizaki-san.
『 That’s not the case! 』
Hoshizaki-san laughs.
『 Huh? But Hoshizaki-san has a boyfriend, right? 』
Nei pokes, Hoshizaki-san.
『 Hmm, I do, but it’s complicated 』
『 What’s complicated? 』
Hoshizaki-san gets up.
『 You see, I thought of swapping with another guy by Christmas. Or, before the school festival 』
『 Huh? For real? 』
『 You see, the guy said that he really wanted to date me, so I did, but 』
『 He’s not quite what you expected? 』
『 I mean, he’s worst than what I expected 』
She sighed.
『 I feel like I was too impatient. That’s why I want to get a new one. I don’t want to spend my 17th Christmas alone. At worst, I’ll hold it until the school festival, then I’ll get a new one. If he acts like a boyfriend during the school festival and asks me to look around together, that would be the worst 』
『 You hate it that much? 』
『 Well, it would burn in my memory for the rest of my life. I don’t want that. We just started dating, so no important events are happening yet. It would soil my memories! 』
『 Really 』
『 Ah, there was my birthday 』
『 Oh, then that means it’s quite a huge event 』
『 Nono, that guy just got me a present, and that’s it. He said “I have a family party tonight” and he parted. That guy didn’t even take thirty minutes with me 』
『 So what was his present? 』
『 Well, he asked me what I want in a mail beforehand. I even gave him the item number from online shopping and still, that guy bought a different color from what I want 』
『 By the way, what was the item? 』
『 Pochi Mary Quant 』
『 Ooh 』
Hoshizaki-san drinks down the tea while still having her panty exposed.
『 How about Natou-san? 』
『 What? 』
『 Natou-san, are you dating anyone? 』
『 Ugh, I don’t! 』
『 Ah, you just said “Ugh” that’s suspicious 』
Hoshizaki-san laughs.
『 you see, I’ve been interested in Natou-san since long ago 』
『 Me? 』
『 Yeah, Natou-san’s really beautiful after all 』
『 Hoshizaki-san’s beautiful too 』
『 But that’s all. I’m not the same as Natou-san 』
Ugh, she accepted it.
『 But isn’t Hoshizaki-san the number one girl who boys want to make their girlfriend? 』
『 Well, Natou-san was a bit scary until last summer. Isn’t Natou-san more popular now? 』
『 I think my love letters increased 』
『 Natou-san, are you not using LINE? 』
『 Nope 』
『 Ah, you better not. Messages saying “I like you. Please go out with me” will increase 』
Hoshizaki-san smiles wryly.
『 But for real, I wanted to talk like this at least once with Natou-san 』
『 Me too, yeah 』
Nei laughs.
「 Is this person ordinary? 」
Ruriko’s surprised.
「 Yeah, I can’t say that she’s what’s ordinary in a sense, but 」
Katsuko-nee mutters.
「 But, I think that this is normal for girls who are more beautiful than others 」
I see.
「 I knew it, beautiful girls are a bit more spoiled that they seem to underestimate the people around her 」
Katsuko-nee.
「 Ah, I just remembered, I might’ve been like her back when I was in first-year high-school 」
Katsuko-nee was kidnapped and turned prost.i.tute in that same year.
「 Yeah, I was a bit too self-absorbed, thinking that I’m blessed by G.o.d 」
Then, she looked at Misuzu.
「 You girls have beautiful faces, but you were exposed to the eyes of the upper cla.s.ses, and you had to grow up while keeping self-control, so you don’t understand why is she so sloppy, don’t you? 」
That’s.
1. Yarinige
2. Yarinage