Chapter 50: Why did it turn out like this?

After returning home, Ishikawa Yuka continued to ponder her plan for the outing.

The general direction was set; now she needed to decide specifically where to go and what to do.

Normally, students of Ōka Academy would go window shopping along commercial streets lined with luxury boutiques and then dine at high-end restaurants requiring reservations or dress codes.

But would inviting Marina to do those things truly bridge the distance between them?
As Kohara Yuko had said, as long as the two experienced something together and created shared topics for conversation, it would be meaningful.

The distance should narrow.

However, Yuka felt she couldn’t just be satisfied with that.

While overthinking could lead to a counterproductive result, she believed that such overly formal activities made it difficult to truly get close.

What she wanted was a more relaxed and free atmosphere that would allow someone to let their guard down and show their true self… she hoped to achieve that kind of effect.

Of course, she couldn’t be too deliberate about it, lest she make Marina feel uncomfortable… it was indeed a difficult problem.

‘…Alright.’
Yuka made up her mind.

For this date with Marina, she decided not to follow the usual path of a high-society lady.

She would do it her own way.

Perhaps it would fail, and a typical young lady like Marina might not like this approach.

Even so, she had to try.

Moreover, she felt that this method would be very effective on Shoko.

Although she wasn’t yet clear on Marina’s tastes and preferences, Shoko would definitely love it.

Since the decision was made, the next step was to plan the specific proposal…

She began to do some simple preliminary research and conceive the plan for the day, preparing for the outing with Marina.

****

Despite having thought of many plans, she still found it hard to finalize anything.

Yuka was still not quite sure how to make a girl happy; this seemed a bit difficult for her.

But she couldn’t give up.

To get closer to Marina, she absolutely could not back down here.

As usual, after greeting Marina in the morning, Yuka invited her to have lunch again, but she was rejected once more.

In the end, she ate with Shoko and her group.

“Um… Keiko… I’m having a bit of trouble eating with you staring at me like that…”

“Ah, sorry.”

Despite her words, Fujiwara Keiko’s gaze remained firmly locked onto Yuka.

Lately, they had always sat like this: Yuka in the middle, flanked by Shoko and Keiko on her left and right, with the other three sitting opposite them.

And for some reason, Keiko, sitting beside her, always stared at her directly like this.

It was definitely not an illusion.

As long as Yuka turned her head, she would invariably meet her gaze.

Even so, Keiko wouldn’t look away, just continuing to stare.

Being stared at like this while eating made it truly hard to swallow.

Even someone who didn’t care about etiquette could understand that.

Moreover, Yuka was naturally bad at handling these kinds of scenes and had no idea how to deal with it.

“Since you want to look so much, why not just sit opposite her?”

“Mmm…”

Kitagawa Asami pointed out the obvious once again.

Indeed, compared to looking from the side, sitting directly in front was much more convenient.

This should have been common sense.

“From a viewing perspective, sitting in front is indeed better.”

“But sitting beside her is closer, so this is better.”

‘No, no, no! Keiko? What is “better”? I don’t understand at all?’

‘First of all, why do you have to stare at us like this? Wouldn’t it be better to focus on your own food?’

“Eh? Why?”
Asami truly was fearless, or rather, blunt… she said whatever came to mind… a trait Yuka actually envied a bit.

“If it’s just for looking, looking from the front is indeed better.”

“But to be as close as possible, sitting on the side is closer than sitting opposite.”

“When sitting on the side, I can smell the fragrance wafting over when Yuka moves, and I can even feel her body heat.”

“I want to be close enough to hear her breathing.”

‘Keiko?! What are you saying?!’

‘What on earth happened to this child?’

‘She wasn’t like this before.’

‘Previously, she should have been the type to be a bit afraid of me and avoid me; this is too strange.’

‘Why did it turn out like this?’

While being approached actively was better than being feared and avoided—which was what Yuka wanted—she felt something was off.

Even though she was supposed to be popular, for some reason, it made her want to retreat.
It was a little scary.

“……”

And Kiyohisa Tachiki… why was Tachiki glaring at me like that?

‘Did I do something?’

‘I don’t remember doing anything that warrants being glared at like that…’

“You lot! I think you all know that Yuka-sama’s number one follower is me. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”
And then there was Shoko… a young lady saying “number one follower”… is that really okay?

But the atmosphere was too bizarre, so Yuka couldn’t say anything and could only listen in silence.

****

After school, Yuka arrived at the Salon as usual.

Despite her initial resistance to getting involved with the Ōka Association, she didn’t hate it that much now.

This was likely because she had made friends like Shoko, Marina, and Yuko.

No matter how unpleasant a place was, it could be endured as long as friends were there.

“Good day.”

She pushed open the door and offered a greeting as she entered the Salon, and her sight was instantly met with focused gazes.

‘Eh? Eh? What happened? Did I do something? Did I make a mistake?’

“Yo! You came!”

“Nogami-kun…”

For some reason, as soon as Yuka entered the Salon, Nogami Hiroki strode over with a swagger.

This was not at all the way the heir to the country’s premier prestigious family should walk.

He looked exactly like… a little punk.

Setting aside whether he was an heir or not, it was strange enough for a first-grade elementary student to walk like a punk.

“Here! Take it! It’s an invitation!”

“…Huh?”
Yuka took the item Nogami handed her.

It was indeed a very cute item that looked like an invitation at a glance.

“Good! You guys are next.”

With that, Nogami began distributing similar invitations to the other members in the Salon.

But only Yuka’s decoration—or rather, appearance—was different.

Only hers was exceptionally cute.

It seemed there were slight differences depending on the recipient.

The ones for the boys were ordinary, unremarkable invitations.

The ones for the girls were slightly cuter.

Only Yuka’s among them appeared particularly exquisite and extra cute, standing out as different.

“I think Hiroki will be anxious, so could you check it now and give him a reply?”

“Otherwise, I’m afraid he won’t be able to sleep tonight… or maybe he’ll call you during the night, you know?”

Ugh! That won’t do.

While Nogami left Yuka to distribute invitations to other members, Kurohara Masahira came up to Yuka and spoke.

Being called by Nogami at night or something was simply harassment.

“Kurohara-kun, thank you for the warning.”

Although she didn’t know how serious he was, since it was the “arrogant” Nogami Hiroki, she couldn’t say it was impossible.

That guy was the embodiment of selfishness; he very well might call in the middle of the night for his own convenience.

The other people who received the invitations were also checking the contents, so Yuka followed suit.

“Ugh…”

‘What’s this?’
It appeared to be an invitation to a fireworks display party hosted by the Noyama family during summer vacation.

While she intended to refuse Nogami’s invitation anyway, this time there was an even clearer reason to decline.

She could refuse without any reservations; Yuka suppressed a smile that was about to overflow and prepared to reply.

“I’m very sorry, Nogami-kun. My family is going on a trip that day, so I cannot attend. Neither my brother nor I will be able to be there.”

That’s right!

Unluckily for him, on the day written on Nogami’s invitation, Yuka’s whole family was going on a trip and wouldn’t be home at all.

Before Yuka’s consciousness appeared, back when the “Lady Yuka” consciousness was dominant, the family went on a trip every summer vacation.

This year’s plan had long been set, so it was impossible to attend given this schedule.

“Impossible…”

“Nogami-kun!?”

“Are you alright!?”
Upon hearing Yuka’s reply, Nogami fell directly into an “orz” position on his knees in despair.

It was the first time Yuka had seen someone actually do that motion in person.

However, she didn’t care.

A family trip that had long been planned and even booked was a fixed event.

This way she could refuse with a perfect reason, and even her mother wouldn’t have any objections.

“Family trips happen every year; it’s not too late to reschedule, right? Why not discuss it with our parents first before deciding?”

‘Brother! Why did you have to do something so unnecessary!’

‘Look! Nogami is wobbling back up like a zombie!’

‘Why did you do that! Are you trying to sell me out to Nogami!’

“Fine! Yuka! If you change your trip plans, the Noyama family will cover all the cancellation fees! If necessary, I’ll personally go to the Ishikawa residence to explain to your parents.”

‘Don’t come! Absolutely don’t come!’

‘And don’t be a busybody! I want to go on a trip happily with my family!’
Although she actually wasn’t looking forward to the family trip all that much, she had to say so at this moment.

Why did she have to spend her precious summer vacation seeing Nogami?

Come to think of it, what was this guy plotting?

Was he trying to set her up there and then bring down the Ishikawa family?

‘I see… that must be it.’

‘So he’s willing to negotiate directly with my parents to change the plans?’

‘But don’t think you’ll get your way!’

‘If you think everything will go according to your wishes, you are dead wrong!’

“Nogami-kun… please don’t easily say things like ‘covering cancellation fees.’ You aren’t using money you earned from working yourself.”

“That is money your parents worked hard to earn, not money you made, right?”

“To say so easily that you’ll squander someone else’s money… perhaps you should take a good look at yourself?”

“!?”

Nogami fell into the “orz” position again, as if an audible “clunk” sound could be heard in the background.

Today’s Nogami was actually quite amusing.
But Yuka wouldn’t forgive him.

This guy was the demon who betrayed, belittled, and destroyed “Lady Yuka.”

She couldn’t let her guard down just because he was temporarily funny; who knew what he would do.

“If Yuka-sama cannot come, then I’m not interested either.”

‘Shoko! Saying that in front of Nogami isn’t very good, is it!?’

Refusing to attend was fine, but was it really okay to use that reason and say it right to his face?

By the way, wouldn’t this make Nogami think it was all my fault? Is that okay?

Wasn’t it the accumulation of things like this that led to “Lady Yuka” and the Ishikawa family being destroyed?

“I… was also looking forward to watching fireworks with Yuka… if Yuka can’t come, then it doesn’t matter…”

‘Hey! Yuko! You’re part of the Nogami faction!’
Nogami was growing more and more dejected! What should be done about this!?

“Now, now, we can’t give a reply on the spot anyway. Right, Yuka? Let’s discuss it with our parents before replying; is that alright, Nogami-kun?”

‘Brother!’

Even though the scene was indeed chaotic, he shouldn’t give him that kind of hope.

It would be better to just refuse clearly now.

At least I absolutely do not want to attend another Noyama family party!

That’s right… come to think of it, wasn’t the trouble with Shoko caused by Nogami in the first place?

Thinking of this, Yuka gradually grew angry.

Although as a result, she was able to become so close with Shoko, which might be a good thing… but

Yuka and Shoko truly had to go through a lot of unnecessary trouble because of it.

Perhaps it wasn’t all Nogami’s fault, but he certainly bore responsibility.

So it really was Nogami’s fault!

“Ishikawa-san, don’t bully Nogami too much.”

“Kurohara-kun… isn’t the one who has been bullied all this time me…?”

Which of Masahira’s eyes actually saw her bullying Nogami?

Because Masahira was Nogami’s friend, was he being biased?

That was a very rude thing to say.

Hmm… but if her relationship with Shoko could progress at Nogami’s party, then could this party also become an opportunity for her relationship with Marina to advance?
Because Yuka avoided behaving like a “young lady,” her relationships with those around her had changed.

If she started acting a bit more like a “young lady” from now on, would it have an impact?

While she didn’t want any negative effects, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if her relationship with Marina developed as it did in the game.

However, in any case, this was not something Yuka could decide alone.

They might go on the trip as originally planned, or the plan might change depending on her brother and parents, leading them to attend the Noyama family party.

Although she didn’t really want to go, Yuka secretly harbored a sliver of expectation regarding her relationship with Marina.