Chapter 32: What exactly is going on?!

Ever since the day of the party, Nogami Hiroki had been in a state of extreme excitement, occasionally even dancing by himself at home.

As for what he was thinking, what he was remembering, or whom he was fantasizing about dancing with, the answer was practically self-evident.

“You’re in a good mood, Hiroki.”

“……Masahira. Peeping isn’t a good hobby.”

In the Noyama family’s training room, which was comparable to a professional dojo, Hiroki was practicing a dance alone.

From his footwork and rhythm, Kurohara Masahira could tell at a glance exactly which dance he was practicing.

“It’s not like I intended to peek. Besides, is there a problem with being seen dancing in a dojo?”

“I’m not reminiscing about dancing with that person! So there’s absolutely nothing to care about!”

“Pfft, is that an unsolicited confession?”

Masahira couldn’t help but laugh; he hadn’t even asked anything before Hiroki rushed to expose himself.

If he had just said he was practicing his dancing, he could have played it off, but he had to add those unnecessary explanations.

For his age, Hiroki was usually quite precocious and clever, a shrewd young master who even made adults feel inferior.

But as soon as ‘that girl’ was involved, he immediately reverted to a typical brat of his age.

It wasn’t exactly incomprehensible.

Despite having been arranged for many matchmaking sessions and numerous fiancé candidates being selected, Hiroki had never shown interest in anyone.

There were even acquaintances who privately wondered if he had no interest in women and preferred men…

And now, such a Hiroki had fallen in love.

His first love.

It wasn’t strange for his age; one could even say it was a bit early.

At this age, it wouldn’t be surprising for a boy to shout at his nanny or mother, “I love you most!” or “I’m going to marry you!”

Hiroki, submerged in his first love, had completely reverted to a boy appropriate for his age.

He wanted to catch the attention of the girl he liked but didn’t know how, so he teased her and acted tough in front of her, behaving exactly like a little boy who uses pranks to express affection.

“S-Shut up! Did you come here for something?”

Ridiculed by Masahira, Hiroki hurriedly changed the subject.

He firmly believed his feelings hadn’t been exposed.

Normally, he would have noticed, but whenever emotional matters were involved, Hiroki became dull and foolish, all while thinking he was hiding it perfectly.

“Hmm? I was called here. Weren’t you the one who called me?”

“No… I didn’t call you?”

The two looked at each other in confusion.

Masahira had only come to the Noyama residence because he received a notification, but Hiroki said he hadn’t sent for him.

Then who had specifically gathered them together?

Hiroki’s parents… seemed unlikely.

Especially Hiroki’s mother, who never did anything in such a roundabout way.

If she had something to say, she would say it directly.

Then who could it be… Just as they were wondering, they noticed a figure standing at the door.

“Yo, you two.”

“Ugh… Taichi-senpai…”

“Hello, Inadera-senpai.”

The two greeted the person standing at the door—though Hiroki didn’t exactly offer a proper greeting.

But Inadera Taichi didn’t mind, walking into the dojo to approach them.

“Hey, Hiroki…”

“!”

The aura radiating from Taichi as he stood before Hiroki was completely different from his usual lazy attitude; it made Hiroki’s shoulders jerk as he froze in place.

“W-What is it?”

His words still carried that arrogant tone, but his voice had no power behind it.

Taichi usually acted frivolous, especially when it came to women.

Even though he was only in the sixth grade, his romantic escapades were already numerous.

Because his family was close with the Noyama family, Taichi and Hiroki were on intimate terms.

However… the feeling Taichi gave off right now was entirely different from the “big brother next door who can handle Hiroki” he usually portrayed.

This state only appeared occasionally when no outsiders were present—it was when Taichi seriously lectured Hiroki.

He was one of the few people who could truly suppress Hiroki.

“It’s your business if you’re happy… but if you don’t even know what kind of situation the girl you like is in right now while you’re just off in your own world, then you aren’t qualified to say you truly like her.”

“If you haven’t paid attention to her circumstances at all, then you don’t deserve the word love.”

“…Huh? What are you talking about… that person’s situation? What on earth…”

“…………”

Hiroki wore an expression of complete confusion, as if he didn’t understand a word Taichi was saying.

Masahira seemed to have sensed something; the smile vanished from his face, replaced by a blank mask.

“That child is currently suffering under a false accusation because she protected a friend, and she’s being treated horribly by those around her.”

“Did you not even notice that the atmosphere in the Salon has become so strange? And yet you dare say you like her?”

“Where exactly are you looking, Hiroki!”

“!”

Taichi’s words made Hiroki’s entire body go rigid.

However… this was different from the usual freezing up out of simple fear.

While Taichi was indeed someone who intimidated him, he couldn’t care about that right now.

“Taichi! Tell me! What happened to her!”

“…………”

Masahira also looked directly at Taichi, nodding in agreement.

He had sensed the unusual atmosphere earlier than Hiroki, but he hadn’t known the specific reason, thinking it wasn’t a major issue.

He thought that if it were truly serious, there would be a bigger commotion or she would have come to them for help.

But… come to think of it, how could she possibly ask Hiroki or Masahira for help?

She was exactly the kind of girl who would shoulder everything herself and find a way to resolve it.

That was precisely what attracted Hiroki to her.

They had been too shallow.

They knew nothing.

So both of them now listened intently to Taichi’s words.

After peeking at the situation in Class 3-C, Hiroki’s face was hideously pale, looking as if he might storm into the classroom at any second.

“Hiroki… no.”

“I know! …Let’s go back.”

Having heard the situation from Taichi a few days ago, Hiroki and Masahira decided to investigate Class 3-C personally.

After witnessing Ishikawa Yuka’s predicament in the classroom with his own eyes, Hiroki used all his strength to suppress the urge to rush in and cause a scene.

The story he heard from Taichi was simple: Matsuyama Shoko accidentally knocked over some food, and Yuka took the blame for her.

It sounded like no big deal.

To someone who didn’t know the truth, it was at most a slight smudge on Yuka’s reputation.

Forget children, even adults accidentally spill food or splash it on others sometimes.

In such a case, you apologize, handle it properly, and that’s it.

But the matter didn’t end there.

For some reason, rumors began to circulate that Yuka had intentionally splashed the food on Shoko.

While the claim was absurd, once a rumor spreads, things become simple.

Bored gossips were more than happy to grab such a topic and add their own embellishments, so the rumor grew more and more outrageous.

Someone had to know the truth.

In fact, Taichi and Yuka’s brother, Yota, both knew the facts.

Yet for some reason, the rumors didn’t subside; instead, they intensified.

There were many reasons.

For instance, those who were jealous of the Ishikawa family.

Even if they knew the truth, if this could strike at the Ishikawa family, they had no reason to go out of their way to clarify it.

Letting this scandal spread further suited their interests perfectly.

Or perhaps those who wanted to belittle Yuka.

It wasn’t easy to topple Yuka, who was flawless in both lineage and ability and had shone brilliantly at the party.

But using this rumor to destroy her reputation was much simpler.

There were many possibilities.

But… the primary reason was that Yuka herself was protecting Shoko.

Since Yuka voluntarily took the blame and remained silent, those around her couldn’t reveal the truth without permission—that would go against Yuka’s wishes.

That was why Hiroki couldn’t storm into the classroom right now.

If Yuka herself chose silence regarding the current situation… if she was willing to endure it… then outsiders shouldn’t interfere.

Thus, Hiroki, Masahira, and those who witnessed the truth that day all chose to remain silent.

The situation was no different in the Salon.

Not just people from other factions, but even those from the Ishikawa faction were ignoring Yuka, looking at her with cold eyes.

It was impossible for such a situation not to be painful.

Yet Yuka didn’t say a word, silently enduring it all.

So Hiroki continued to endure as well.

Until one day, Matsuyama Shoko was told something by Anmiya Marina and hurriedly left the Salon.

Although Marina tried to be discreet as she approached Shoko to whisper, Hiroki and Masahira—who were always watching Shoko—couldn’t possibly have missed it.

They wanted to chase after Shoko immediately, but they were held back by people around them and couldn’t break away.

By the time the surroundings finally quieted down, Hiroki and Masahira exchanged a look and left the Salon in sync.

Some time had already passed, and Shoko was long gone.

The two could only follow their intuition to search for Shoko within the school building.

And then…

“Hiroki, over there.”

“!”

The sound of a girl’s tearful voice, and two girls standing face-to-face.

The moment he saw this, Hiroki, who had been holding back until now, felt the blood rush to his head and lunged forward.

“Hey!”

“Ah…?”

Hiroki rushed up from behind and shoved Shoko aside.

He was convinced that Shoko was the culprit behind all the rumors, and now he assumed Shoko was bullying Yuka and making her cry.

If he had been able to observe more calmly… an onlooker might have thought so, but for Hiroki, who had been suppressing his rage, he had reached his limit.

“Yuka! It’s okay now!”

“…Huh?”

With that, Hiroki hugged Yuka tightly.

In his eyes, he was protecting a girl who had been bullied to tears.

However…

“You… what are you doing!”

“Eh?”

Yuka, who was supposed to be held, nimbly slipped out of Hiroki’s embrace.

He didn’t even see how she did it.

He felt like he had her in his arms, yet she suddenly vanished.

Hiroki’s brain couldn’t keep up with the change at all.

“What are you do—”

“Ohho…”

Then… a precise knife-hand strike came from Hiroki’s blind spot, striking his chin.

His neck snapped back, and Hiroki’s consciousness cut out instantly.

His unconscious body began to slump.

“Me-ah!”

“Gack!”

But that wasn’t the end.

The unconscious Hiroki, who was about to hit the ground, was grabbed and slammed onto the balcony floor with a heavy shoulder throw.

Because he was unconscious, he couldn’t take a defensive stance, and the impact to his chest squeezed all the remaining air out of his lungs.

“Shoko! Are you alright?”

“My, my…”

Hiroki, who had been struck and thrown into a coma.

Yuka ran toward the shoved Shoko, helping her up.

Masahira, watching this from a slight distance, held his forehead and shook his head helplessly.

“What on earth is going on!?”

“Ah~ sigh…”

Immediately after, members of the Ōka Association appeared in a group, perfectly timed.

Masahira shook his head even more helplessly as they were caught red-handed in the worst possible scene.

Afterward, even if Masahira wanted to explain, no one was willing to listen, and Yuka was severely condemned.

However, once Hiroki regained consciousness, he insisted that “Yuka did nothing wrong,” which managed to temporarily settle the situation.

But that didn’t mean the problem was solved… one could even say it had worsened.

That day, the matter ended ambiguously without resolution.

By the corridor of a grand mansion, an old man in a wheelchair spoke:

“So you came back in disgrace just like that? With your abilities, you could have made better use of the previous incident and this one. Why did you hold back?”

The old man’s raspy voice made it difficult to discern his emotions, but it was certain he was dissatisfied.

“Inadera has already acted. If we exploited the previous incident any further, I fear we would have exposed our own leverage.”

“Hmph… a lapdog of the Noyama family, then…”

The old man wrinkled his face in disgust, turning his gaze toward the garden.

“Regardless, continuing further would likely invite trouble; it is time to stop. The seeds have been sown. Even if someone hears the rumors are false later, the impression of those around them has already solidified. From now on, whenever something happens, those seeds will take root, sprout, and eventually grow into a towering tree.”

The young girl kneeling before the old man lifted her head and replied:

“Hmm… since you say so, then so be it. So next time… the matter of her throwing the Noyama boy in front of others, do you plan to save that for later use?”

“Yes. We cannot evade this matter. I will make good use of this opportunity.”

“Is that so… then that’s fine. With your abilities, you should be able to handle it properly. Right? Marina.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

Anmiya Marina bowed again to her grandfather in the wheelchair, her expression so calm that not a single ripple of emotion could be seen.