Chapter 24: I’m definitely, definitely gonna die!!!

The final bastion, Mother, eventually compromised under the joint persuasion of Father and Brother.

Ishikawa Yuka had to admit that she must attend Nogami Hiroki’s party.

Since even her parents and older brother had sanctioned her attendance, she no longer had any room to refuse.

Since it had come to this, only one path remained: she had to not only attend the party but also ensure that both she and the Ishikawa family emerged unscathed.

First, there was the matter she had repeatedly emphasized and worn herself out reminding her father about ever since recovering her past life’s memories: he absolutely must not engage in any shady dealings.

If her father took a single wrong step and gave the Noyama family leverage, the Ishikawa Group’s performance would plummet, the family would be held accountable, their assets would be confiscated, and they would be saddled with massive debt, leading to their ultimate downfall.

It was precisely because she foresaw such a future that she had warned her father time and again.

But had her father truly taken it to heart…?

At the party, it was highly likely that Nogami Hiroki would expose her father’s irregularities on the spot.

If the other party already possessed evidence, she would be powerless to stop them.

Now, she could only trust that her father had indeed followed her advice and had not crossed the line.

Then there was herself.

In fact, one could even say the key lay with her.

The primary issue was: she knew absolutely nothing about party etiquette.

Having never attended a social banquet, she didn’t even have a concept of what kind of occasion it was.

This was the first hurdle she had to overcome.

Even if Nogami Hiroki’s goal was to bring down her and the Ishikawa family, he might not necessarily go for the kill right away.

Following common logic, rather than physical elimination, he would more likely attempt social assassination first.

For example… yes… by inviting someone who has never attended a party and knows nothing of etiquette to a large-scale event, making her a laughingstock in front of everyone for not knowing the rules.

From the perspective of ordinary people, it might be considered cute for a first-grade child to lack manners.

But in this circle, things were completely different.

These children of high society, strictly taught etiquette from a young age, had already stepped into the social world before even starting elementary school, and their words and actions in such settings were constantly scrutinized.

A child’s discourtesy would not be easily forgiven; what people observed was whether the child was well-bred, intelligent, and sensible, or a fool who didn’t even understand basic manners.

Of course, no one would openly scold a child for being rude.

But even if it wasn’t pointed out to their face, the family’s reputation would suffer, potentially even affecting future marriage alliances.

Every family understood this well, which was why they disciplined their children strictly and provided elite education to avoid mistakes as much as possible.

So, what about her?

As her mother feared, she neither understood etiquette nor had any contact with the social world; she was a complete novice who wouldn’t know what to do in such a setting.

How could someone like her suddenly handle a large-scale party hosted by the Noyama family?

While it was her own responsibility for not accumulating experience through smaller parties in the past… the threshold for her to directly challenge a Noyama family party now was simply too high.

Therefore… she had to find a way to master etiquette and social common sense before the party began.

There was about a month left before Nogami Hiroki’s party…

To pull off a crash course starting now, there was only one way…

****

The next day, after school at Ōka Academy…

Yuka did not go to the Ōka Association Salon today.

It wasn’t that she was skipping; she had received formal permission from her mother.

From today until the Noyama family party, she was allowed to go home early every day.

The reason was…

“Toraiwa-sensei! I beg of you!”

“Oh… let’s hear it.”

Yuka, who had rushed to the Toraiwa Style dojo immediately after classes ended, bowed her head and pleaded straight away.

“I must attend my first-ever party in a month! I beg you to teach me perfect etiquette and proper conduct for a party before then!”

“Hmm…? One month, you say…”

She thought the master would agree immediately, but he instead stroked his chin and closed his eyes in deep thought.

Perhaps teaching all the rules of etiquette to a layman in just one month was indeed asking for the impossible.

But even if it was impossible, she had to do it.

If she failed, the Ishikawa family was finished!

“And… that’s not all. Not only must I not make any mistakes at the party… but there may even be someone attempting to take my life there! Please train me so that I can appear perfectly poised on the surface while surviving an assassination in the shadows!”

“Oh… your life… is it…”

Yuka didn’t know what the master was thinking at that moment.

He just kept his eyes closed, seemingly in deep thought.

Maybe he didn’t believe there was such a thing as assassination in this day and age, or he thought it was a fairy tale for a novice like Yuka to master etiquette in a month.

Even so, the master was the only one Yuka could rely on.

She had already obtained her mother’s consent to devote every possible moment to her Toraiwa Style training for the next month until the Noyama party.

She no longer had to show her face at the Ōka Association after school; a car would pick her up directly.

Other talent classes were reduced or rescheduled.

Even on days with other classes, her schedule was arranged to ensure maximum time at the Toraiwa Style dojo.

This schedule also needed to be discussed with the master.

“It seems you are serious… Very well! I understand! Overcoming such a predicament is the very essence of the Toraiwa Style! This old man will surely forge you into a strong individual capable of surviving any crisis!!”

“Th-Thank you, Sensei!”

Great! The master agreed! Now there should be hope!

Admittedly, the Toraiwa Style might be a bit strange compared to other schools.

But her father had said that anything, if studied to the extreme, has its own value…

Yuka believed so too.

She didn’t know why the Toraiwa Style was so ostracized in the industry, but as long as one mastered it and carried themselves with dignity, they would naturally possess a corresponding aura.

The core of etiquette lies in respecting the other party and having mutual esteem.

Even if you don’t actually know the method or you make a mistake, what matters is showing sincerity and respect; one isn’t wrong simply because they failed or didn’t know.

Compared to that, even if one perfectly follows etiquette in appearance and procedure, it is meaningless if there is no heart of respect for the other person.

Perhaps some great person said those words, or perhaps they didn’t.

“Now then… you used a fancy word like ‘party.’ Does that mean you’ll be wearing a western dress and dancing?”

“Eh…? I heard I’ll be wearing a dress, but I don’t know if there will be dancing.”

How could she know the specifics? She had never attended one before.

“I see… Then just in case, learn how to dance as well.”

“Yes…”

Since the master said it, she had no choice but to comply.

From that day on, Yuka’s hellish training began.

“Sensei! Is there any point in doing this!?”

“Instead of wasting breath asking questions, focus on doing it right! …If you fall, you’ll die, you know?”

“Eek!”

Yuka was currently being forced to move across a row of sharpened bamboo poles.

The bamboo was mounted very high, and below her, she could see a dense array of spikes, like a bed of nails.

If she slipped and fell, she would surely be skewered through.

The bamboo poles were arranged at various intervals and heights, and she had to walk on them barefoot.

Furthermore, she couldn’t forget the movements of her upper body.

She guessed this was probably Toraiwa Style’s unique dance training—memorizing dance steps by moving across these poles.

“Movement’s wrong!”

“Yah!”

“Too stiff!”

“Ah!”

“Step sequence is off!”

“I’m going to fall!”

It seemed she had to move along these poles according to the dance steps; once she got the order wrong and tried to step on the incorrect pole, she would plunge toward the spikes below because the distance or height wouldn’t match.

She had to move between the poles without looking at her feet while paying attention to her upper body movements.

This was surely an impossible task! She was definitely going to fall!

“Faster! Keep up with the music!”

“Heh! Heh! Hoo! Heh! Heh! Hoo!”

“Your breathing is off! Match your breathing to your movements!”

“Yes!”

On this day alone, Yuka experienced no fewer than ten heart-stopping moments where she nearly fell.

In the end, she managed to finish the day’s training without becoming a human kebab on the spikes.

“Hmm… You’ve more or less mastered the steps. From today on, do it blindfolded.”

“………What?”

What did this old man just say?

Do it blindfolded? On top of this?

Is he crazy? There’s a bed of nails down there! Falling is no joke! Is he an idiot?

“Hurry up.”

“Yes!”

Under the master’s stern glare, Yuka had no choice but to put on the eye mask she often used in her regular training and climb onto the bamboo.

Come to think of it, why did her training frequently involve an eye mask… isn’t that strange in itself?

“Ha!?”

“Oh?”

Just now… something had brushed past her foot with the sound of slicing air.

The moment Yuka dodged based on an ominous premonition, something had indeed grazed that spot.

Needless to say, it was the master’s bamboo sword!

This old man was actually attacking her feet with a bamboo sword while she was blindfolded and walking on this thing!

This was no joke; she really could fall!

She was definitely, definitely going to die!!!

Was she going to die before that Noyama brat could even make a move on her!!

“Oh… You’re starting to be able to dodge. Then this old man won’t hold back!”

‘Wait! Please, hold back! This isn’t a joke! I’m going to fall! I’m really going to fallllll!!!!’

“Ah!”

The master’s training went far beyond dancing.

Yuka had heard from her brother that the Noyama family party would be buffet-style, so she studied the corresponding etiquette.

Especially for someone like her who had never attended a buffet party, she didn’t even know how to take the food.

Simple dishes would be fine, but considering that Noyama and Kurohara might want to embarrass her for social assassination, they were likely to prepare foods that were particularly difficult to eat or had high etiquette requirements.

To prepare for such a menu, she needed to actually taste and learn from various foods… Ah…?

“!?!?!!?”

Yuka suddenly collapsed with a thud, her body twitching and convulsing on the floor.

It wasn’t voluntary, nor was it because she was choking.

Her body was making autonomous reflex actions beyond her control.

“Fool! That was laced with an anesthetic!”

“!!”

Yuka wanted to protest this absurd behavior, but she couldn’t make a sound, only able to roll and twitch awkwardly on the floor.

“Yuka. Didn’t you say someone wanted your life? Enemies might not always attack openly from the front. They might poison you. You must learn to identify toxins instantly to protect yourself; even if the worst happens and you accidentally ingest it, you must be capable of responding. This was just an anesthetic, but an enemy seeking assassination might use a colorless and tasteless poison, you know?”

“…”

‘He’s… right!’

The master was right.

She had been so focused on etiquette that she hadn’t considered the danger of being poisoned at all.

She had to remain vigilant about every detail and possess the strength to overcome even the unexpected…

****

She selected food from the buffet table.

She avoided several items she shouldn’t touch and only picked the safe ones.

“Mmhmm. It seems you’re gradually becoming able to distinguish the poisoned ones.”

“…………”

The master said this as he looked at the small plates of food Yuka had sorted.

However…

“!?!?”

“Hmm…”

Yuka had dodged two traps set by the master.

First, the master had fired needles as thin as cow hair.

The needles were coated in poison.

They were thin, transparent, and not very hard.

The goal was to make her eat a poison needle that had been shot into the dish.

Furthermore, such a needle would be almost unnoticeable even if it entered the mouth.

With low hardness, it was said to melt upon being eaten, leaving no sensation of a foreign object and no evidence.

While perhaps only the master could manage to throw needles into the dishes like that, the thought of someone using such a method to administer poison was chilling.

She wondered for what purpose it was developed; the material seemed as if it were born specifically for assassination.

Next, while Yuka’s attention was drawn to the needles, a thread hung down from the ceiling above where the master was standing.

It was a mechanism designed to let poison drip down the thread and into the plate in her hand.

Even if the poison needles were spotted, it didn’t matter; they were a deliberate distraction.

While she was distracted, the poison would drip from her visual blind spot above.

It was an incredibly insidious mechanism.

“Good…! You’ve endured this month! With this, there are likely very few people who could assassinate you!”

“Yes! Thank you, Sen—!?”

Before she could finish, the master thrust at her one last time with his bamboo sword.

Yuka, who was about to bow, dodged at the very last second.

“Hmph! You must not let your guard down until the very end!”

“Yes!”

After a month of intensive cultivation, Yuka was finally setting out for that perilous demonic feast set by Nogami Hiroki.