Chapter 18: There’s nothing more to teach.

Ishikawa Yuka almost forgot about this matter.

No, to be precise, it was not that she forgot, but that she knew she should do it and kept putting it off.

However, the current situation left her no choice. After receiving a gift in full view of everyone, she had to respond as soon as possible.

“Noyama-senpai, this is my return gift for you. It’s nothing special, but please accept it.”

“Yo!”

Huh? Has this guy been saying nothing but “yo” since earlier?

Well, whatever… But what is with that half-smiling expression of his? It’s seriously creepy to look at…

None of that matters, though.

What matters is that, in front of all the members of the Oka-kai, she personally handed the return gift to Noyama Hiroki.

That was enough.

Everyone saw that she returned the gift the very next day after receiving it. From this point on, they were even.

“Then, if you’ll excuse me…”

While everyone’s attention was still focused on Noyama Hiroki, Yuka planned to quietly slip out of the Oka-kai salon…

“Yuka, where are you going?”

“Big brother…”

She got caught red-handed by Ishikawa Yota.

As an older brother, shouldn’t he pretend not to see her at a time like this?

Now that she had finished returning Noyama’s gift, there was really no reason for her to stay here

any longer.
All she wanted was to leave this troublesome place as soon as possible.

But then she thought about it again.

Even if she left the salon, there was still some time before the pickup car arrived.

Since she had to kill time somewhere anyway, staying here wasn’t all that different.

Of course…If she could go somewhere without Noyama Hiroki and Kurohara Shohei, that would be even better.

But if her mother found out that she slipped away from the salon on her own, the trouble afterward would only be worse.

Stopped by her brother, Yuka reluctantly walked alone toward the seats deeper inside.

This spot was hidden and quiet, and over time it had become her personal seat.

This was her territory. No one was allowed to disturb her.

“Thank you, Ishikawa-san.”

“…Huh?”

Just as Yuka was enjoying tea at her favorite corner seat, Kurohara Shohei suddenly appeared.

She was completely confused. Why was this person thanking her?

“Hiroki is really happy. I haven’t seen him this happy in a long time.”

“Is that so…”

Please… Why are you telling me this…What does it have to do with me…

Does he really like that shop’s chocolate that much?

She remembered that in the game Love 100%, Noyama Hiroki mentioned that it was “handmade chocolate from his first love.”

If he liked it that much, couldn’t he just go buy it himself?

It was indeed more expensive than ordinary chocolate, but it wasn’t outrageously priced.

It was just mid-to-high range.

And it wasn’t a limited edition either.

You could buy it anytime at the store, so there was nothing particularly special about it.

Yuka glanced at Noyama Hiroki and saw him carefully holding the gift box.

Given his personality, she had expected him to open it on the spot or even start eating it right away, so this was a bit unexpected.

But it was chocolate, after all.

Wasn’t he worried it would melt and ruin the flavor if he kept holding it like that?

“Kurohara-senpai, the box contains chocolate. Please tell Noyama-senpai that if he keeps holding it like that, it will melt and affect the taste.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for Ishikawa-san to tell him yourself… Well, fine, I’ll pass it along. That’s all, then.”

After saying that, Kurohara left.

Thank goodness.

Her peaceful time had finally returned.

Now she could enjoy her tea properly…

“Hey, Yuka, what about mine?”

“Inadera-senpai…”

Why should I give you a gift?

I returned one to Noyama because he gave me one first, and you clearly saw that yourself, didn’t you?

That was simple courtesy.

There’s no obligation between us.

Why should I give you anything?

“Hey, Taiichi… I told you not to set your sights on my sister, didn’t I?”

“Big brother!”

You’re doing great, Yota-nii!

Hurry up and drive this guy away!

He’s my enemy! All normies should die!

He’s the natural enemy of us non-normies! This playboy! Public enemy of women!

Any woman who falls for a guy like this has problems too!

Meanwhile, a sincere and quiet good girl like me gets ignored, while this frivolous guy just waves his hand and women throw themselves at him!

“I don’t have any improper intentions.”

“What if Yuka gets led astray by you? Don’t do anything unnecessary.”

Thanks to her brother stepping in, Inadera’s attention shifted from Yuka to his conversation with Yota.

Still, Yuka wished they wouldn’t chat near her personal seat.

Her precious peaceful time was being eroded bit by bit.

Inside the Oka-kai salon, Matsuyama Shoko and Anmiya Marina never came near Yuka.

How strange… In the game, they were supposed to stick close to her at all times.

Even setting aside the game’s setting, under normal circumstances they should have been sitting together, chatting and laughing by now.

Wasn’t their conversation during lunch break pretty smooth?

By all logic, drinking tea and chatting together now should be perfectly normal.

So where exactly did things go wrong?

Well, there was no point in rushing it.

There were still several years left.

She would slowly build their relationship over time.

Yuka thoroughly carried out an “invisibility” strategy in the salon, spending her time hiding in the shadow of her brother’s conversation with Inadera.

Before she knew it, she was sitting in the car on the way home with her brother.

“Big brother… Should I also go formally study etiquette?”

“Hm? Why?  I think you’re doing just fine, Yuka.”

But Marina’s expression today was kind of strange.

Other than Master Tora-iwa, she really hadn’t learned etiquette from anyone else.

Could it be that what that ninja old man taught her was wrong after all?

Maybe she really should study at a proper place.

“Actually, today in the student cafeteria, I was with Anmiya-san…”

Yuka told her brother about her interaction with Marina at the cafeteria today.

This brother of hers, who was far too mature for an elementary school student, might notice something.

If her etiquette truly had problems, it would be better to correct them early.

Whether she liked it or not, as a daughter of the Ishikawa family, she would only have more opportunities to attend banquets and social events in the future.

If she embarrassed herself due to poor etiquette at that time, it wouldn’t just be her who lost face.

The entire Ishikawa family would be disgraced.

And it could even become the trigger for the Ishikawa family’s decline.

Avoiding mistakes and unnecessary risks as much as possible was always the better choice.

“Hmm… If you’re really that concerned, getting evaluated by a professional institution might be fine… But I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”

Her brother spoke while seriously thinking it over.

As expected, this brother was reliable.

Although his calm maturity was nothing like an elementary school student’s…

Come to think of it, the members of the Oka-kai, as well as Shoko and Marina, didn’t act like kids their age either.

It seemed elite education really did matter.

In any case, after entrusting the issue entirely to her brother, Yuka felt much more at ease.

However, she couldn’t go home just yet.

Next, she was sent directly to the Tora-iwa Style dojo, where she was put through brutal training by her master.

Could this be karma for calling him an “old man” in her head…?

Today, after school, she could go straight home without going to the Oka-kai.

Although it wasn’t “straight home” in the strictest sense, just knowing she didn’t have to go to the salon made her feel much more relaxed.

Since enrolling, she had been forced to report to the salon every single day, shrinking into a corner like a transparent person.

But today, with special permission from her mother and brother, she could leave early.
Because…

“Big brother, are you coming too?”

“Yeah, I’ll come take a look as well.”

Today, Yuka was going to be evaluated by an etiquette instructor outside of the Tora-iwa Style.

On days with Tora-iwa Style training, there was absolutely no time to spare.

Even being one second late would increase the training intensity by 1.5 times, so she couldn’t take that risk.

The Chika-kai’s lesson schedule was also fixed.

Instructor Naoko, who was in charge of teaching, had other students to take care of and couldn’t adjust the time just for her.

That meant the only thing that could be adjusted was her swimming class at the fitness club.

She had already informed Coach Toyama in advance that she might be late, and unlike school classes, the fitness club didn’t have strict time limits.

Coach Toyama was a very popular trainer, and many housewives wanted to book his lessons.

Although she didn’t want to inconvenience him, the club’s lesson times were relatively flexible, and the coach could freely arrange things during the time she was late.

To avoid being late as much as possible, she didn’t go to the Oka-kai salon after school today.

The pickup car was already waiting at the school gate.

Today was just a trial lesson to evaluate her current etiquette level, so it shouldn’t take too long…
Probably.

“Ishikawa-san, thank you for waiting. Please come this way.”

“Okay.”

Wow. This teacher clearly looked like a professional etiquette instructor.

Although she was probably already middle-aged, her posture was straight and her movements elegant.

In her previous life as a straight man, Yuka hadn’t been interested in mature women, but a capable woman like this was well within her range, even if she was older.

“Then we’ll start with changing clothes…”

“Ah, that’s fine.”

She was still wearing her Oka Academy uniform and needed to change first.

The teacher offered to help, but Yuka declined and chose to change by herself.

She was already used to doing things on her own, and it was actually easier than having someone assist her.

“S-So fast… Where did you learn this?”

“Huh? Well… you could say that…”

Did this really count as “learning”?

During her training under Master Tora-iwa, she was often required to change clothes frequently.

During water training, he would deliberately make her change into an inconvenient yukata and then throw her into the pond…

And her master was extremely short-tempered.

If she was even slightly slow preparing to change, the training intensity would double.

There was no way she could change leisurely.

But if she rushed and ended up dressing sloppily, the training intensity would triple.

In short, she had to change quickly, neatly, and perfectly.

Through that kind of training, she unknowingly mastered the skill of changing clothes quickly on her own.

However, this method belonged to the Tora-iwa Style.

It might differ from conventional dressing methods.

That was one of the reasons she came here for evaluation.

She secretly guessed…

The ultimate changing technique of the Tora-iwa Style probably reached the level of instant clothing change or even substitution techniques.

No one had ever said it out loud, but that was how she imagined it.
So perhaps this way of dressing, designed to facilitate ninjutsu, was inherently unorthodox.

“Is my way of dressing really a problem?”

“No, it’s absolutely perfect…(Then why did you even come here to learn…?)”

For some reason, the teacher seemed slightly displeased when she answered.

Why was this teacher upset?

She didn’t quite catch the muttered remark at the end.

Had she offended her without realizing it?

In any case, after finishing changing, it was time for “training.”

There were other students in this classroom, and today Yuka would blend in and experience the lesson alongside them.

“This is Ishikawa Yuka-san. She’s here today for a trial lesson and will be attending class with everyone.”

“I’m Ishikawa Yuka. Please take care of me.”

Following the teacher into the classroom where the other students were waiting, Yuka bowed and greeted the senior students as she was introduced.

But what was going on…?

After she finished her bow, the senior students suddenly started whispering among themselves.

She looked at the teacher beside her and noticed that the muscles on her face seemed to be twitching slightly.

…Could it be?

Was her etiquette really flawed after all?! And to such an extent that it left people dumbfounded?

What should she do? Was it a mistake to follow Master Tora-iwa’s teachings so completely?

But as someone who had been an ordinary man in her previous life, she had no idea what to do in this situation.

Even if it was wrong…

She would still follow what Master Tora-iwa taught her for now.

If it really was incorrect, she would ask the teacher here to correct it.

To find the problem, she had to first show exactly what her master had taught her.

“Haa… Then, Ishikawa-san, please demonstrate your current level of etiquette for everyone.”

“Yes.”

Huh? Wait? No explanation, no instruction, and she was supposed to demonstrate in front of everyone right away?

This was basically a public execution…

But she had no choice.

No matter what the task was, she had to give it her all and carry it out exactly as Master Tora-iwa had taught her.

“Ishikawa-san… You said you were worried that your etiquette might be problematic, so you came for an evaluation…”

“Yes. Is there really something wrong?”

She had just been asked to demonstrate various etiquette movements.

Every single one had been taught by Master Tora-iwa, so she performed them all according to the Tora-iwa Style.

But the senior students remained silent, and the teacher’s face kept twitching slightly.

So her etiquette really was problematic.

Everyone must have been desperately holding back laughter.

“You… You’re not studying the Tora-iwa Style, are you?”

“The Tora-iwa Style?!”

“No way…”

“I thought no one could learn the Tora-iwa Style anymore…”

“I went to visit, but I was turned away…”

Huh? What was this atmosphere?

The senior students were whispering among themselves.

She couldn’t hear everything clearly, but it felt bad… Should she stay silent?

But that wouldn’t be honest.

She should just tell the truth.

“Yes. I am indeed studying the Tora-iwa Style.”

“I sincerely apologize. There is nothing left that our classroom can teach you.”

“……What?” The teacher… bowed deeply.

What was going on?

Did this mean they had nothing to teach a disciple of the Tora-iwa Style?

Was the Tora-iwa Style ostracized in this field? What should she do?

Would no place accept her anymore just because she was a Tora-iwa Style disciple…?

Pressed by the atmosphere of being “politely asked to leave,” Yuka hurriedly exited the classroom.

After Yuka left, the classroom fell into silence.

“Teacher… That girl… she’s only in elementary school, right? Is it normal to be able to do things at that level?”

“Could she be even better than the teacher…”

“Shh! Don’t say things like that!”

The students whispered among themselves, but the teacher had no strength to refute them.

She was thinking the same thing.

The level she had just witnessed far surpassed her own.

“Extraordinary…To be accepted as a disciple by Master Tora-iwa…That alone proves she is special.”

“Alright, everyone. Now is not the time to worry about others.”

“Everyone has their own fate. Let’s focus on our own lesson.”

Treating everything that had just happened as a demonstration by an exemplary instructor, the teacher and students returned their attention to the lesson.