Chapter 34: This guy is dead?!

The people around were staring at Ishikawa Yuka with incredibly frightening expressions.

Specifically, the senior students who were close to the Noyama family had faces that were terrifyingly grim.

Most of the others were in a state of shock, or were standing with their mouths agape as if they had witnessed something unbelievable.

Yuka didn’t understand at all why everyone had those expressions.

‘What on earth happened…?’

“W-Wait! Everyone, calm down! There’s a reason for this!”

‘Was that Kurohara Masahira?’

As the members of the Ōka Association approached Yuka aggressively, Masahira stood in their way.

It was rare to see him, usually the picture of the “Snow Prince,” looking so flustered.

Just what had gone wrong?

“What happened?”

“Ishikawa-san… do you really not know?”

Yuka’s question from behind Masahira only earned her a look of disbelief and a counter-question.

She truly had no idea what he was talking about.

“Is everyone worried about Matsuyama-san?”

If she thought about it that way, it made sense.

Everyone must be concerned about Shoko, who had been pushed aside.

She was a girl, after all; it would be a problem if she had any scrapes.

“Um… everyone saw you knock Nogami-kun unconscious…”

“Huh?”

She had indeed used a palm strike and then thrown him… but shouldn’t that Nogami guy have gotten up by now?

How long was he planning to stay down?

“Nogami-kun, how long are you going to lie on the ground? Shouldn’t you get up?”

She spoke as she glanced toward Nogami’s direction.

“T-This guy… is he dead?!”

Nogami Hiroki was lying on the balcony with his eyes rolled back, motionless…

‘Who did this to him? How terrifying!’

‘Right! I can’t leave Shoko in such a dangerous place; we have to leave here as soon as possible…’

“He’s not dead! Don’t just go pronouncing people dead like that!?”

“Besides, wasn’t this all your doing, Ishikawa-san!?”

“Eh~… I didn’t do anything that excessive, you know?”

She had only given him a light tap with a girl’s slender arm and followed it up with a shoulder throw.

None of those were fatal attacks.

Normally, he should have shouted “Ouch” and scrambled back to his feet immediately.

Someone must have delivered a follow-up blow after she threw him.

“That’s a bit of a stretch for an excuse, isn’t it!?”

“Everyone saw it! The scene where Ishikawa-san knocked Nogami-kun out!?”

“I was merely protecting myself from a thug who shoved Shoko and tried to give me a bear hug. Besides, a girl’s light tap and a little fall shouldn’t result in this, should it?”

Back when she was training with her master, she was constantly scolded with words like, ‘You couldn’t even kill a baby like that!’

In reality, even when she hit her master with all her strength, it had zero effect.

The master was quite old, yet he was still lively after being thrown by her.

How could the “Young Master” Nogami Hiroki, who was supposedly able to handle a gang leader with one hand, be injured by such a level of force?

Furthermore, she had been beaten much worse by her master during her training.

The power and frequency of the palm strikes she endured were over a hundred times greater, and they were all aimed at vital points, yet wasn’t she perfectly fine right now?

There was no way Nogami could be unconscious from something so minor.

“A light tap?! In your eyes, that was just a light tap!?”

“Then who do you say caused Nogami to be in such a wretched state!?”

“Who knows? Perhaps after I threw him, some other thug came along and finished the job?”

“That’s too far-fetched! No matter how you look at it, Ishikawa-san was the one who did it!?”

‘Hmm… is that really so?’

‘By the way, Masahira has been very noisy for a while now.’

This was completely different from the “Snow Prince” image in the game.

Though reality might just be like this… how should she put it… as expected, seeing only the non-daily parts in the game is what makes it beautiful.

Even the handsomest guy can be a disillusionment once you see his mundane side.

“What are you two whispering about!”

“To do such a thing to Nogami-kun… don’t think you can just get away with this, Ishikawa Yuka!”

“Eh… is it me?”

She was being targeted… it was all because Masahira insisted on pinning the blame on her, and now even the Ōka Association thought it was her fault…

This was bad…

“Yuka-sama did nothing wrong! Nogami-kun was the one who suddenly shoved me, and Yuka-sama only acted to protect me!”

“Shoko…”

This feeling… it was as if the Shoko from the game… had manifested.

Although she had felt a sense of distance before, as if the girl lacked the vibe of being Lady Yuka’s confidante… the current Shoko was exactly like her in the game.

Shoko looked incredibly cool standing her ground and insisting on her point in the face of the Ōka Association seniors.

Even Yuka was on the verge of falling in love with her.

Why was this child’s role not the rival ojousama, while a failure like the game’s Lady Yuka was the villain? It was clearly a mistake by the developers.

“T-Tokudaiji-san? What on earth is wrong with you? You were hurt by Ishikawa Yuka too, weren’t you?”

“Ah! Could it be… you were threatened? That’s it! It must be! How contemptible, Ishikawa Yuka!”

The seniors were frantically saying nonsensical things.

Why were they so determined to believe she had threatened Shoko?

She really wanted to ask these people how they could possibly arrive at such a conclusion after watching the whole thing.

“A-Anyway, everyone calm down first!”

Masahira was still trying to mediate, but his presence was entirely insufficient.

It wasn’t enough to calm the agitated members of the Ōka Association.

While Yuka was thinking, ‘Are we going to argue on this drafty balcony until the end of time?’ and observing the situation, a certain figure began to squirm and wake up.

“Ugh… where am I…”

‘Oh no. This is probably the worst possible timing.’

Nogami Hiroki had actually resurrected.

‘Couldn’t you have stayed “dead” for a bit longer…?’

She felt that in this situation, anything he said would only complicate things further.

No matter how one looked at it, he would be cast as the villain being condemned.

…Wait? Could this also be a plot by Nogami and Masahira?

If this was an event to frame her as a villain in front of the Ōka Association members… then everything would make sense!

‘I see… so that’s it.’

‘This incident was Nogami’s attempt to kill me by pushing me off the balcony.’

‘After failing, even if he got beaten himself, he would frame her as the criminal.’

‘No wonder he pretended to be knocked out by that level of attack. It was all calculated.’

“Are you awake, Nogami! Stop everyone! At this rate, Ishikawa-san is going to be treated as a villain!”

“Ugh…”

Nogami, who was still pretending to be dazed, stood up slowly, and then—

“Ishikawa Yuka is not at fault! The previous rumors were all false as well!”

“From now on, anyone who criticizes Ishikawa Yuka or spreads rumors because of what happened before will not be forgiven by me!”

“Remember, that would be making an enemy of both the Noyama and Ishikawa families!”

Nogami宣告 this while thrusting his finger out at the members of the Ōka Association.

…………Hey, wait! Don’t just drag the Ishikawa family into this on your own!?

What right do you have to casually announce “making an enemy of the Noyama and Ishikawa families”!?

The Ishikawa family has nothing to do with this! If you want to do it, use the Noyama name alone! Don’t drag us down with you!

“T-That… Nogami-kun? Setting aside whether the rumors are true or not… the fact that you were hit and thrown by Ishikawa Yuka just now is a fact…”

“Huh? …Speaking of which, why was I sleeping in a place like this? Hmm…”

Nogami crossed his arms, hand to his chin, and tilted his head in confusion.

It seemed that after she threw him, he had truly been attacked by someone and rendered unconscious with memory loss.

How pitiful… who could have done such a terrible thing…

Though she didn’t want to believe such a violent person existed in the Academy… given Nogami Hiroki’s hatable personality, he was probably retaliated against by some enemy.

“Nogami, you were hit by Ishikawa-san and then thrown…”

Masahira added helpfully.

She had indeed given him a palm strike and a shoulder throw, but those weren’t fatal attacks.

She was careful to avoid the neck and vital points with the palm strike, and she had used her hands to cushion the impact of the throw.

Of course, since he hadn’t taken a defensive fall himself, there was some damage, but it was only a back injury; he should have recovered quickly.

“I was hit by Yuka? Masahira… don’t be ridiculous. How could I be defeated by a dowdy girl like her?”

‘Well, excuse me for being a dowdy girl…’

Admittedly, the Lady Yuka in the game was a dowdy girl.

Even with her internal self changed, the basic stats should be about the same.

Nogami’s analysis was correct… after all, how could Nogami Hiroki, who could take down a gang leader with one hand, be knocked out by a girl?

“Anyway! Since I’ve said so, stop your babbling! Disperse at once!”

“Furthermore, you are absolutely forbidden from spreading rumors about Yuka from now on! Everything before was a misunderstanding!”

“Since Nogami-kun has said so…”

“We have nothing more to say…”

No… they definitely hadn’t accepted it.

Their gazes were clearly still shooting daggers at her, and an aura of absolute disagreement lingered beyond their words.

‘Is this… really okay?’

Glossing over this using Nogami’s authority—wouldn’t it lead to more trouble later?

If it didn’t involve her, she didn’t care if the Ōka Association and Nogami had a falling out… but if it implicated her, please spare her.

She didn’t want things to become more complicated.

She just wanted to stay quietly in her corner.

She wouldn’t do anything unnecessary, so she wished they wouldn’t bother her either…

“Yuka-sama! It’s okay! I will definitely protect you, Yuka-sama!”

“Shoko… don’t push yourself too hard. You’re just a delicate girl, after all.”

While the words were reassuring, Shoko herself wasn’t reliable.

In the game, Shoko was a dangerous character who would do anything for Lady Yuka.

It seemed like the signs of that were already appearing.

“Are you worrying about me! I’m so happy, Big Sister Yuka!”

“Wait, Shoko… everyone is watching…”

With the Ōka Association members and Nogami’s group still present, Shoko hugged her again.

While Yuka was happy, she felt it was better not to be seen in this kind of situation.

She didn’t care about herself, but she had heard that the Tokudaiji family intended to arrange a marriage between Shoko and Nogami; this wouldn’t look good.

“If you understand, then disperse! Get lost!”

“…………”

After being scolded by Nogami, the members of the Ōka Association scuttled away from the balcony.

No, they returned to the school building.

Then Nogami and Masahira followed, and finally, Yuka and Shoko walked back.

Her brother Yota glanced at them, his expression unreadable.

Sigh… she was truly exhausted.

And it seemed like not a single problem had been solved.

In fact, she felt like a new heap of trouble had been piled on top of the old ones.

But whatever… it wasn’t like she planned on marrying Nogami anyway.

She didn’t care what the people around her or Nogami thought.

If anything, it would be easier if she were hated and no longer had to deal with them.

What mattered to her was getting along with the cute ojousamas and girls who appeared in Love 100% and having fun together; as well as avoiding the flags related to Nogami and Masahira and breaking the ruin flags of the Ishikawa family.

As long as she maintained those two points, her personal reputation and evaluation didn’t matter.

“Miss Yuka…”

“Emi? What is it?”

While she was resting in her room, Emi came over to speak.

Was she here to confirm the final schedule?

“How did you manage to tame the daughter of the Matsuyama family, Miss Yuka?”

“………Huh?”

…What? Tame…?

“Emi! You are never to use that kind of phrasing for Shoko again! Do you understand!”

“! I am terribly sorry…”

Perhaps because she had flared up, Emi showed a moment of genuine shock.

But anyone would be angry to hear a friend spoken of that way.

What on earth was wrong with Emi today?

“Sigh… forget it. You may leave for today. Thank you for your work.”

“Then I shall take my leave.”

But Emi had already returned to her usual self.

After all, acting tough with a first-grader didn’t have much of an effect.

She hadn’t intended to scare Emi, so this was fine…

Just what was with Emi today?

The topic, the wording—everything was strange.

No… having been with Emi for so many years, how much did she truly know her?

What if the current Emi was the abnormal one?

What if the usual Emi wasn’t her true self, and the current one was…

‘What am I thinking… true Emi, false Emi.’

Emi was Emi.

Yuka flopped onto her bed, allowing herself to be briefly immersed in these meaningless thoughts.