Chapter 51: Marina’s Party! I have to go!

At the dinner table, Ishikawa Yota began to tell his parents about what had happened today at the Ōka Association.

“I expect the invitations will arrive at the house soon. Today at the Salon, Nogami Hiroki gave us party invitations.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

Her father’s reaction was flat, as if he weren’t surprised at all.

Perhaps this party was an annual tradition he already knew about.

Even if he didn’t, it was normal for families to hold various parties during important seasons, so it really wasn’t worth making a fuss over.

“Decline it.”

“Eh?”

Without waiting for Yota to go into detail, her mother made a firm decision.

Her father and brother both froze for a moment and looked at her mother, who remained calm and composed without changing her expression.

Ishikawa Yuka, however, wasn’t surprised; given her mother’s personality and stance, she had expected her to say that.

“I will not agree to Yuka attending a Noyama family party. Decline it.”

Just as I thought.

Because of that previous incident, her mother certainly wouldn’t approve of her going to another Noyama family party.

Of course, the last commotion had no direct relationship with the Noyama family, and it would be unreasonable to even harbor a grudge against them.

But it was ultimately because she attended a Noyama family party that those troubles were stirred up.

Given her mother’s temperament, it was only natural that she wouldn’t want her attending other families’ parties from now on.

“Isn’t it a bit early to make a decision? It won’t be too late to decide after hearing the details. Yota, tell us more.”

Her father really wouldn’t give up…

Once her mother had spoken like that, she wasn’t one to change her mind easily.

At this rate, it might trigger another argument between the couple.

And this time, Yuka stood with her mother.

The two shared the same thoughts; though their reasons differed, their desired outcome was identical, so they could naturally form an alliance.

“I think it’s faster to just look at the invitation. Here…”

Saying this, Yota handed the invitations he and Yuka had received to their parents.

The contents of the two were the same, so it didn’t matter which one they looked at, though the designs were slightly different.

“Hmm…”

Her father scanned the invitation and closed his eyes with a troubled expression, seemingly realizing something.

Her mother also snapped the invitation shut and spoke.

“We will be in the middle of our trip that day. Unfortunately, we really won’t be able to attend.”

“Mmhmm…”

Her father still looked troubled and only gave a vague grunt of acknowledgement.

Yuka understood her father’s thoughts; it wouldn’t actually be impossible to reschedule the trip now.

They didn’t care about cancellation fees or the hassle of rearranging; for the Ishikawa family, that was a non-issue.

From her father’s perspective, he actually really wanted to reschedule the trip to attend the Noyama family party.

This wasn’t just to let Yuka get closer to Nogami Hiroki.

Attending such occasions and maintaining relations with other families was also part of her father’s job.

Deep down, he probably felt that since they had received an invitation, he should at least show his face and give a greeting.

But right now, those words were hard to say.

The annual summer family trip was one of the few family activities for the Ishikawas.

No, that wasn’t quite accurate…

The Ishikawa family certainly had many events and ceremonies, but opportunities for the entire family to travel together were rare.

Because they had to accommodate her father’s work, family trips could only be arranged during summer vacation or the turn of the year.

Furthermore, even after plans were made, it often happened that the whole family couldn’t gather because of her father’s work at the last minute.

While they wouldn’t cancel the entire trip for everyone, trips where her father was absent and the family couldn’t be whole were not uncommon…

At times like that, her parents would naturally argue.

Actually, the couple’s relationship was quite good, and Yuka knew that her mother always secretly looked forward to traveling with her father.

Therefore, when her father couldn’t go because of work, it was only natural for her mother to be angry.

Because of this, their family trip was a significantly important event.

How could such an important activity, meticulously planned and prepared in advance by her mother, be rescheduled now just for a Noyama family party?

If her mother placed more importance on the Noyama party, she might have accepted the rescheduling.

But the mother of the Yuka in this world was not enthusiastic about an alliance between Yuka and Nogami Hiroki—or rather, Yuka had created this situation.

Coupled with what had happened at the last party, she was even more repulsed by the idea of a Noyama family party.

Under the intertwining of these various factors, they successfully declined the Noyama family party this time.

At the end, however, her father still couldn’t resist adding one more thing out of reluctance:

“Alright, alright. We’ll go on the trip as planned this year. But… starting next year, we have to consider the trip schedule. That’s fine, right?”

‘This old man…’

He intended to adjust the travel dates starting next year to attend potential parties, leaving the general time frame of this invitation free.

Through this invitation, he had already figured out the general timing of the Noyama family’s summer party.

Starting next year, as long as he arranged the family trip outside that period, he could both go on the trip to keep her mother happy and attend the Noyama party.

Her father was definitely calculating it that way.

“Sigh… I understand… we’ll discuss next year’s trip schedule later.”

“Oh! Good! Then we’ll have to regretfully decline for this year.”

On the surface, it looked like her mother had yielded, making her father somewhat happy.

But that was too naive.

Her mother hadn’t compromised at all; she only said she’d consider it later and hadn’t agreed to clear that time frame starting next year.

At the very least, her mother wouldn’t allow Yuka to attend other families’ parties in the short term.

Thus, she had given her father no promise while letting him be happy for nothing.

What a terrifying mother.

Or rather, her father was too naive.

As the helmsman of the Ishikawa Group, she hoped he could be a bit more shrewd.

For Yuka, however, the result was exactly as she wished, and she had no complaints…

Although she secretly harbored a sliver of expectation that something related to Anmiya Marina might happen if she attended the party, since her mother had granted her permission to skip these extra activities, she had nothing to grumble about.

As for the matter with Marina, she could find a way when she asked her out to play before summer vacation.

In any case, a relationship of trust between friends wasn’t something so simple that it could be built overnight.

She would just treat the next outing as the first step toward becoming closer in the future.

****

After successfully informing Nogami Hiroki that she couldn’t attend the party, Matsuyama Shoko also announced she wouldn’t go; Kohara Yuko said she had no choice but to go despite her reluctance, while Anmiya Marina said she would attend as normal.

Yuka really wished they wouldn’t drag her into such topics in front of Nogami and Kurohara…

If she drew too much hostility, she might really be brought down by Nogami and Kurohara in the future.

It was their business if they refused for personal reasons, but they shouldn’t use her as an excuse.

In short, this strange event that had suddenly popped up was avoided.

It was best not to get involved in unnecessary events whenever possible; who knows if some bizarre flag might be triggered by something inexplicable.

“…So unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend the Noyama family party.”

“That’s just the surface excuse, isn’t it? In fact, you’re quite happy in your heart, aren’t you, Miss Yuka?”

Having received the invitation the day before yesterday and informed them of her inability to attend yesterday, Yuka finally found a chance to invite Marina to lunch today, and she was currently eating with Shoko’s small group.

Somehow, the conversation turned to the Noyama family’s summer party.

So Yuka explained that she had to regretfully, reluctantly, and with great guilt decline the invitation because of the family trip.

But she hadn’t expected Shoko to suddenly interject with a quip.

Why?

“Why doesn’t Yuka want to attend the Noyama family party?”

Sitting next to Yuka today was Marina; usually, this spot was occupied by Fujiwara Keiko.

The four girls from Shoko’s small group sat opposite them.

If it were just the few of them, they wouldn’t care about the seating, but since other members of the Lower Seven families were present, they had to be mindful of the seating arrangements.

“Wha—! N-No… it’s not that I don’t want to attend the Noyama family party, you know?”

Marina’s unexpected questioning made Yuka lose her composure.

Even if she truly didn’t want to go in her heart, she couldn’t say it out loud so brazenly.

If she dared to say such a thing, she would surely invite trouble and might even make enemies.

Should she make an enemy of the Nogami faction, Kurohara and his faction would very likely stand in opposition as well.

That would be a serious problem.

“But Yuka, you’re happy because you don’t have to go to the party, right?”

“Oh my~, well~”

What was with Marina today… she was pressing especially hard.

Normally, the understanding and considerate Marina wouldn’t say things to put her in a spot in front of everyone…

This was almost like she was advertising to those around them that Yuka “doesn’t want to go to the Noyama party” or “hates Nogami.”

“It’s not that Miss Yuka hates the Noyama family party, but rather she dislikes the noisy atmosphere of parties themselves, right?”

“Eh…?”

At this moment, Shoko suddenly interjected with that remark.

Mmm, it was true that regardless of who hosted, she didn’t really want to attend parties…

“Miss Yuka is noble, ethereal, and beautiful! That is why she doesn’t like noisy places like parties! Such occasions are unworthy of Miss Yuka! Miss Yuka is more suited for standing quietly in a secluded place!”

No… Shoko? What are you talking about again?

This was such a mess that she couldn’t understand it at all.

‘Why would I stand quietly… Ah! Does this mean I’m only fit to be all alone?!’

‘Leaving me to stand lonely in a place where there isn’t a sound…’

Just kidding.

Yuka knew Shoko wasn’t trying to be mean on purpose; she was just being overly dramatic and a bit nonsensical.

“Is Yuka someone who hates parties in general?”

“Uh… well… mm… I’m certainly not very good with parties…”

Under Marina’s intense gaze, Yuka answered stammeringly.

She truly was bad at handling parties, but not for the reason of noise as Shoko claimed.

It was simply that she wasn’t good at it.

She hadn’t attended many parties, her etiquette wasn’t up to standard, and she was always being so careful that it left her exhausted.

She didn’t like crowds to begin with, and even if she went to a party, she didn’t know where the fun was supposed to be.

The food was quite delicious, though.

And she didn’t hate wearing cute dresses.

But if asked whether it was worth the hardship and mental strain to attend a party, the answer was no.

Of course, given her position, there were times she had to attend.

It wasn’t a matter of not going just because she didn’t want to.

Attending a party wasn’t just for entertainment; it also carried various responsibilities and obligations.

The reason her father attended every party possible, even if only to show his face and give a greeting, was that it was his job.

For children of families like theirs, attending parties wasn’t just for play either; it held various meanings and reasons.

One couldn’t simply say “I’m not going because I don’t want to.”

However, for the current Yuka, with her mother’s intentions in play, she likely wouldn’t be attending any parties in the short term.

To put it bluntly, it was essentially a grounding.

Simply put, her mother had forbidden her from attending such venues without permission.

“I see… then in the future when my family hosts a party, would it be better not to invite you?”

‘Eh! A party at Marina’s house! I want to go, I want to go!’

“No! If it’s an invitation from Marina, I will definitely find a way to persuade Mother to let me go!”

“Ah! Miss Yuka! Then my family will invite you when we host a party too, so please be sure to attend!”

“Mmhmm! Definitely!”

Since Shoko had said it as well, Yuka could only nod.

‘An invitation from a cute girl—of course she had to go no matter what!’

‘Mother objects? She’d just have to use her spirit to persuade her!’

She could decline invitations from Nogami and Kurohara, but for invitations from Shoko and Marina, she had to convince her mother to let her attend…

“Um… then could I invite you when my family holds a party too?”

“Keiko’s? Of course!”

“Speaking of which, doesn’t the Ishikawa family hold parties?”

If Keiko invited her, she naturally had to go.

Just as everyone was chatting animatedly, Shoko suddenly asked that question.

Come to think of it, in Yuka’s memory, she hadn’t even attended the Ishikawa family’s own parties.

“I’ve never attended a party hosted by the Ishikawa family.”

“Eh!”

“Is that so?”

Everyone wore strange expressions of surprise.

Now that it was mentioned, it really was a bit strange to have never even attended a party hosted by one’s own family.