Chapter 29: Exploitation?

Since several days had passed since the banquet hosted by the Noyama family, Ishikawa Yuka found that everything around her had quietly changed.

First, there was her mother.

Since that banquet, her mother hadn’t spoken a single word to her.

Initially, Yuka thought she would be scolded as soon as she got home, but far from a lecture, there wasn’t even a common greeting; it was as if an invisible wall had been erected between mother and daughter.

This was likely what one would call “disappointment”…

As a newcomer making her debut, Ishikawa Yuka had received a massive blow right out of the gate.

If her mother had shouted and scolded her as usual, it would at least have been ordinary anger.

But ignoring her daughter before her eyes for so many consecutive days only meant that her heart had grown cold.

And at the Academy…

“Good day…”

“!”

“Ah…”

Every time Yuka opened her mouth to offer a greeting, her classmates would scurry away like startled rabbits.

Previously, although everyone looked at her with a sense of distance—thinking, ‘What’s with this girl?’—they would at least offer a polite response out of courtesy.

Now, however, it was completely different; they either fled in a panic or ignored her entirely, and almost no one was willing to acknowledge her.

“Good day, Marina.”

“…Come with me for a moment.”

In an environment where almost no one responded, Anmiya Marina was one of the few who still acknowledged her.

But today, Marina didn’t even wait for Yuka to finish before standing up and grabbing her by the wrist to lead her outside.

Yuka wanted to at least put her schoolbag down, but Marina’s serious expression made her swallow her words.

She was pulled all the way to the Ōka Association Salon.

Although few people visited the Salon during the short breaks between classes, it was open from the morning.

However, since the mornings were busy and the breaks were short, not many people made a special trip there.

It was said that students would visit during lunch break, but Yuka had never been there at that time; she only knew this from her brother, Yota.

This morning, the place seemed to be empty.

Marina pushed the door open, and after confirming no one was inside, she immediately closed the door, turned around, and grabbed Yuka by the shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes.

“Yuka! Just what on earth is going on?”

“Eh?”

Yuka was completely bewildered.

She couldn’t even figure out “what was going on,” let alone answer “why.”

“There are some very terrible rumors about you right now! That’s why everyone is avoiding you, isn’t it?”

“Ah… I certainly have been isolated, but what do you mean by rumors?”

It seemed Marina knew the reason for her current predicament.

Yuka desperately wanted an answer—why was everyone avoiding her as if she were a plague?

Although they hadn’t been close before, she would at least get a response when greeting people.

Lately, she was being completely ignored.

She had originally thought that such blatant exclusion wouldn’t occur in this Academy filled with nobility, but since Marina seemed to know the facts, she wanted to ask for a clear explanation.

While it hadn’t reached the point of being so “traumatized that she wanted to end it all,” anyone would care about being so obviously ostracized.

If the problem lay with herself, she was willing to apologize or improve; but if she didn’t even know the reason, she had no starting point.

“The rumor says… that to strike at your romantic rival, Matsuyama Shoko, you intentionally poured food onto her dress. Now everyone is saying that you’ll stop at nothing to eliminate those who stand in your way…”

“Ah… I~ see~…”

Hmm… although the content was absurdly exaggerated, the claim that she had soiled Shoko’s dress did have a basis in fact.

After Shoko had knocked over the plate and panicked that day, Yuka had taken the responsibility and bowed in apology in a moment of desperation to save her from becoming a laughingstock.

It was meant as a kindness, but it was not something a “new noble” should have done.

She had initially thought she would just apologize and take Shoko to get cleaned up, not expecting Shoko’s mother to appear and escalate the situation.

Looking back now, Yuka admitted she hadn’t considered things carefully enough; she had only thought that if she left things alone, Shoko would have surely been embarrassed in public.

By comparison, taking the blame for “accidentally soiling the dress” was nothing.

While knocking something over in such a setting was considered a serious blunder, it could happen to anyone.

The key was how it was handled afterward; as long as it was dealt with promptly and properly, both the stain and the mistake could be salvaged.

So even if she took the blame, it shouldn’t have evolved into this as long as the follow-up was handled correctly.

It was just that the timing was incredibly unfortunate… or perhaps some people had fanned the flames, as both mothers intervened before they could leave to handle it, preventing the situation from being settled quietly.

If she had been able to take Shoko away to clean up immediately after apologizing, it would have been over long ago.

“Yuka… I didn’t see it myself, so I’m not sure… did you really intentionally pour food onto Matsuyama-san’s dress?”

“Er~… about that… it could be said that I ‘soiled’ her dress. But it was definitely not ‘intentional’…”

She wasn’t trying to make an excuse, but it truly wasn’t a deliberate act.

Furthermore, the truth was that she wasn’t even the one who knocked it over, so it couldn’t even be called “intentional”…

But even when facing Marina, she couldn’t tell the truth.

She must not arrogantly declare, “It was Shoko herself who knocked it over and couldn’t handle it, so I took the blame for her.”

That wasn’t her original intention, and she didn’t want to claim credit for it.

“I know you’re not the type of person who would do such a thing on purpose. But if that’s the case, why did you let the rumor spread? Everyone is talking about it now, and the situation is quite bad.”

‘So that’s how it is…’

Was this the reason she was being isolated?

“Also… I don’t really want to say this… but I heard that Matsuyama-san herself is spreading this story… I thought her relationship with you had already softened… but after all…”

“…No, it’s alright. Thank you, Marina.”

Marina seemed to believe that Shoko was intentionally spreading false information, but Yuka didn’t think so.

Shoko wasn’t that kind of girl.

Shoko might just be unable to admit she was the one who knocked it over, so she went along with the claim that it was Yuka’s doing; that was fine, as it was what Yuka had wanted.

Besides, Shoko despised underhanded methods; she was a straightforward person who would say things to one’s face.

Someone like Shoko, who knew the truth better than anyone, could never intentionally spread lies to slander another person.

If she really did it, there must be some unavoidable hardship involved.

Therefore, Yuka intended neither to confront Shoko nor to blame her.

Since she had taken the initiative to shoulder the responsibility, it was fine for Shoko to say she was the one who soiled it.

If Shoko was being forced to lie, then Yuka wanted to help her escape that predicament even more.

“Alright, let’s head back to class before the lesson starts.”

“Yuka…………”

Yuka gently patted the shoulder of Marina, whose expression looked as if she were about to cry, and the two of them left the Salon together to return to the classroom.

If Marina’s information was accurate, then the reason for her isolation had been found.

Since she had personally admitted to it at the time, it wouldn’t be appropriate to change her story and deny it now.

She could only look for a chance to explain that she had indeed accidentally soiled Shoko’s dress, but it was by no means intentional.

However, if no one asked, she didn’t want to go around actively publicizing it.

She decided to wait until someone asked before explaining.

Of course… given the current situation where every student was ignoring her, it was likely that no one would ask at all.

The isolation wasn’t limited to her classmates.

In the Ōka Association Salon after school, she was treated entirely like thin air.

Yuka always sat in the innermost part of the Salon, and on the surface, everything looked no different from usual.

But she clearly felt that since that day, the atmosphere here had completely changed.

Marina’s words this morning had made her understand why.

All the members of the Ōka Association had attended the banquet that day, so the news spread particularly quickly.

It was likely that after returning home that night, the incident became a hot topic of conversation in every household.

That was why she was immediately isolated starting the next day.

Previously, even if she sat alone in a corner, someone would come over to talk or exchange a few words occasionally.

But now, it was as if she didn’t exist; no one took the initiative to speak to her.

And when she took the initiative to speak, she was completely ignored.

After trying once or twice and being ignored, she stopped initiating conversation—perhaps those people just happened not to hear?

Although she couldn’t conclude that everyone was isolating her… the general atmosphere was certainly like that.

The gazes of some people were clearly marked with a sharp scrutiny.

Her brother, Yota, also seemed to have noticed the unusual atmosphere in the Salon.

He was the only one who still treated Yuka as usual, but he clearly felt the abnormality in the surroundings, and his expression often turned very grim.

Yuka never let him witness her being ignored firsthand, but he would occasionally glare fiercely at other members.

“Yuka, let’s go back.”

“Eh? Okay…”

It was still early, and the car for the pickup hadn’t arrived yet.

But as her brother stood up to urge her, Yuka followed him and left the Salon.

As she walked out, she said goodbye as usual, yet there was still no response.

The fierce expression that appeared on her brother’s face at that moment was terrifying—was Ishikawa Yota really just a sixth-grade elementary student?

“The car might not be here yet at this time…”

“It’s fine. I’ve already instructed them to start picking us up at this time from today on.”

Her brother held her hand tightly, looking straight ahead as he spoke.

Yuka couldn’t see his expression at that moment, but the strength transmitted through that hand holding hers seemed to reveal the anger in his heart.

Today was a day for Toraiwa Style martial arts training, so arriving early was no problem.

The lesson times for the Chika Association were fixed, so arriving early would just mean waiting.

By comparison, the Grand Fitness Club and Toraiwa Style had no strict time limits, which was more convenient now.

Arriving early meant she could train for a bit longer.

“…And that is the situation.”

“Hmph! While it’s true your luck was poor, you were also being far too naive, Yuka.”

After Yuka explained the recent situation to her master, Toraiwa Takeomi, this was the evaluation she received.

She was speechless; she had indeed failed to consider things carefully enough at the time.

If Shoko had accepted her apology and they had gone to clean the stain together, it wouldn’t have blown up so much.

As the master said, the timing was terrible—if both mothers hadn’t suddenly appeared to disrupt things, it might not have reached this stage.

But it was already too late for regrets.

What she thought would at most result in a scolding or some whispers behind her back had unexpectedly evolved into this.

She asked the master if there was any room for salvage…

“You have likely been used.”

“Used?”

“Exactly. Whether you truly poured the food intentionally doesn’t matter at all. What matters is that you admitted to it and apologized in front of everyone. Between two parties in a competitive relationship, this incident can be exploited significantly.”

The master’s words were not without reason, but could it be an over-analysis?

“Even if there is no hostility between you and that girl, the same might not be true for your families. It is entirely possible for the Matsuyama family to use this incident to suppress the Ishikawa family.”

“I see…”

‘Yes… Shoko is definitely not a bad child.’

She was the type to speak her mind directly, never one to gossip behind someone’s back.

But as the master said, someone in the Matsuyama family might want to exploit this situation.

Yuka didn’t know the other members of the Matsuyama family, nor was she clear on the relationship between the Ishikawa and Matsuyama families.

In Love 100%, Lady Yuka and Shoko had a relationship akin to master and servant, but the family relationships in reality might not be the same.

Furthermore, this place had subtle, or rather significant, differences from the game world; she couldn’t rely entirely on game knowledge.

“What should I do?”

“Hmm… that depends on what you want. Yuka, how do you want things to proceed?”

The master was right.

Did she want to clarify the rumor? Or did she want to expose the person spreading the lies?

What needed to be done depended on her goal.

“I…………”

But what did she actually think?

And how did she hope things would turn out?

To be honest, she wasn’t sure.

Although she was troubled by the strange rumors… it didn’t seem to have reached an unbearable point.

Even if she was isolated by everyone, at least Marina was still willing to talk to her as before.

If she thought about it carefully, not having to deal with those irrelevant social interactions might not be too bad.

However… this couldn’t go on forever, could it… so… what did she truly want?