Chapter 61: Is Marina jealous?

Ishikawa Yuka felt that Matsuyama Shoko’s visit yesterday was truly overwhelming.

For some reason, her initial impressions of both Kohara Yuko and Shoko were gradually crumbling.

No… this should be a good change for her.

She and Yuko had started out in an almost hostile relationship, and Shoko gave off a subtly different vibe from the game Love 100%.

To be able to become this close now, this change should be a good thing…

But for some reason… there was this indescribable unease, this vague worry that things were heading in a disastrous direction…

“Good morning, Marina~”

“Good morning, Yuka~”

Walking while lost in thought, she had arrived at the classroom before she knew it, and exchanged the usual greetings with Anmiya Marina, who had arrived early.

Lately, she felt that Marina’s attitude had also softened a lot.

This should be a good thing.

At this rate, she should be able to form the small trio of Lady Yuka and her closest friends, Marina and Shoko, just like in the game Love 100%…

After sitting in her seat for a while, the number of people in the classroom gradually increased.

Then, that energetic voice rang out:

“Good morning, everyone!”

“Good morning, Shoko-sama!”

“Good morning, Shoko!”

“Good day, Shoko-sama!”

As always, Shoko was highly popular in the class, and the responses echoed one after another, making it seem as if the entire class was answering her.

This formed a stark contrast to Yuka’s situation, where her greetings were mostly ignored or only reluctantly answered by a few.

Although it was much better compared to the beginning… there was still a long road ahead before she could mingle seamlessly with everyone.

“Good morning, Big Sister Yuka!”

“Good morning, Shoko.”

Shoko came before her and bowed in greeting as usual.

This had become a fixed daily routine, and everyone was already used to it without finding it strange.

“Thank you so much for having me as a guest in your room yesterday! I had super fun! I was the first person ever invited to your room, right?”

“Eh…? Well… aside from family and servants, it is indeed the first time…”

Usually, Shoko would return to her seat immediately after greeting, but today she spoke loudly about yesterday’s events.

A topic like this could clearly wait until between classes or during lunch break… and her voice was so loud, it was almost as if she was deliberately making sure everyone heard.

“I was so moved! Also, I’m looking forward to going out together during summer vacation! We definitely have to buy cute matching accessories!”

“O-Okay…”

‘I’m telling you, your voice is too loud… everyone is looking over here…’

‘Even Marina, who is usually indifferent to her surroundings, is looking this way… was she perhaps startled by Shoko talking so loudly nearby?’

Shoko chattered on for quite a while longer before finally returning to her seat, thoroughly satisfied.

During lunch break, everyone had lunch together at the usual spot.

This had become almost a fixed routine.

Shoko and Marina sat on Yuka’s left, while Kiyohisa Tachiki and the other three sat opposite them.

Today’s topic naturally focused on the things Shoko had mentioned in the morning.

“Shoko-sama actually went to Yuka’s house all by herself? So sneaky.”

“Oh my? Then you can also make a promise with Big Sister Yuka, Keiko.”

Hearing Fujiwara Keiko say this, Shoko responded nonchalantly.

But Yuka felt that wasn’t the problem; what everyone cared about was that Shoko had secretly arranged to play with her alone without telling them.

Although it was partly her fault for not taking the initiative to tell everyone about her promise with Shoko… if it turned into a five-person group visit again, scheduling would be a hassle… and this time Shoko specifically wanted it to be just the two of them playing at her house.

“Then Yuka, play with me next time too, okay?”

“Uh… if the schedule allows for it… I’ve been playing around too frequently lately, and Mother has gotten stricter, so I can’t agree immediately…”

This was actually not a lie.

Although Shoko had won her mother’s favor and the arrangement passed smoothly, her mother had pointed out afterward that she had been playing too wildly lately.

Even though she didn’t explicitly forbid it, it was best understood as her mother hinting that the frequency was too high.

Out of social necessity, her mother wouldn’t forbid her from going out to play.

On the contrary, for ordinary young ladies, socializing with faction companions like this was natural, and not participating would be problematic instead.

However, Yuka had been expressly forbidden by her mother from attending parties and felt the invisible pressure of “do not socialize outside without permission.”

If she wanted to go out and play in the future, she had to discuss it with her mother in advance; otherwise, there was no telling what kind of scolding she would get.

She had already explained to everyone: although they could set a tentatively feasible date, it could only be finalized after she went home and confirmed with her mother.

“Yuka’s family is so strict~”

“I suppose… that’s right…”

Yuka gave a vague reply to Musha Toyama Kazuha’s words.

She herself wasn’t entirely sure either.

Perhaps because she was psychologically an adult, she could understand her mother’s worries and reasoning… and as a commoner in her past life, she didn’t understand the rules of high society.

If she was told this was the norm, she could only accept it obediently.

“But… next time I also want to go have fun at Yuka’s house, or go shopping together.”

‘Oh! Even the usually reserved Toyama Kazuha is saying this…’

Kazuha seemed to have some reservations before, and might have even been a little afraid of her, keeping her distance; but being able to converse like this now made her truly feel that their relationship was gradually getting closer.

“Sure! We definitely have to play together again.”

“Mmhmm.”

Kazuha nodded obediently.

Now only Kiyohisa Tachiki remained somewhat reserved.

Only Tachiki seemed to still have a sense of distance and a stiff attitude… even though they could be closer.

“……”

‘Eh? Is there a gaze shooting over from the side…?’

Turning her head, she saw Marina staring intently at her.

Even though she wasn’t eating anything, her lips seemed to be slightly pouting, and her cheeks were puffed out.

‘Is she angry?’

“Marina?”

“What is it?”

‘She’s definitely angry, right? That reply was super sharp. Did I do something to make Marina angry?’

“Um… did I do something to make you angry?”

“No, it’s nothing… I’m not angry at all.”

‘No, you are clearly angry… no matter how you look at it, you’re angry.’

‘But why? She’s had a long face since before lunch. I don’t remember offending her…’

“Anmiya Marina is just sulking because Big Sister Yuka hasn’t paid much attention to her, and the secret memories and matching accessories she thought belonged only to her and Big Sister Yuka are now going to be shared with others.”

“Eh?”

These words came from the neighboring seat opposite her, from Shoko’s direction.

Looking back, Shoko was staring at Marina with a provocative expression.

“Whether it’s shopping alone together or the matching small accessories, she self-righteously thought of them as her exclusive memories with Big Sister Yuka and felt full of superiority. But now Big Sister Yuka invited me to her room first, promised to go shopping with me, and even agreed to buy matching accessories. So Marina is just jealous and sulking. Right?”

‘Eh? Just because of that? Saying it like that will definitely make her even angrier, right? But I want to be good friends with everyone…’

‘However, for Marina, is it like feeling displeased because a close friend is getting along well with other friends?’

She felt that Marina could just play together with everyone.

But it wasn’t like she couldn’t understand Marina’s feelings.

When a close friend leaves you behind to get close to others, how should one describe it… stifling? Jealousy?

She could understand that kind of emotion too.

Marina was probably feeling exactly like that right now…

“I’m sorry, Marina. I didn’t take your feelings into consideration.”

Marina had only recently joined this small group, chatting and eating together.

But this was originally Shoko’s circle, making Marina an “outsider.”

In such an environment, watching others converse lively, it wasn’t strange for her to feel excluded.

It was Yuka’s own lack of consideration.

“N-Not at all! I’m not…”

Marina hurriedly denied it with a bright red face, but this attitude instead exposed her true thoughts…

Well, it looked quite cute, but she couldn’t let Marina feel hurt or sad because of this.

“How about this then. Next time, the seven of us can either come to my house to play, or go shopping together.”

Coordinating the schedules of so many people would probably be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

Making such a promise would surely push the date far back.

Even so… she still wanted to play with everyone together.

The seven of them together… just like that small group that always stayed by Lady Yuka’s side in Love 100%…

Although she said during lunch break that the seven of them should play together… it was naturally difficult to coordinate schedules, and the conclusion was that a day when everyone could gather would be pushed back to a long time from now, so they decided to discuss it at a later date.

The matter was temporarily shelved, and after school, she headed to the Salon in the company of Marina and Shoko.

“Good day.”

Walking into the Salon, just as she was heading toward the usual corner seat deep inside, Kohara Yuko immediately came over.

“Yuka, has Matsuyama-san already been to your house?”

“Eh? Mmhmm…”

Asked so suddenly, Yuka nodded and responded vaguely.

The day of Shoko’s visit was indeed discussed while Yuko was present, so it wasn’t strange that she remembered… but to clearly remember the exact day someone else went out to play?

And what was the problem with that anyway?

“Then according to our previous promise, I’m the second person to be invited to your house. When would be a good time for me to go? Tomorrow? The day after? How about this Saturday? Yes, we can have more fun on a day off, so it’s decided.”

“Eh! No… um…”

They had indeed made such a promise, but this was too sudden.

Tomorrow, the day after, this weekend, or whatever—scheduling isn’t something that can be…

And more than the scheduling issue… Shoko and Marina were glaring fiercely in this direction!

They were watching!

And pricking up their ears to listen!

They were definitely eavesdropping!

Shoko was fine; she had just visited Yuka’s house yesterday, and she was present when Yuko claimed the second visit.

Although she would mind, since she knew the situation, it should be fine.

But Marina was glaring super fiercely!

That was absolutely a death stare!

Her face clearly said: “You didn’t invite me, but you invited Yuko first?”

W-W-W-What should I do… How should I handle this?

But inviting Yuko to her home was indeed promised beforehand.

At this point, she couldn’t just say, “I’m not inviting you anymore.”

Moreover, she had no reason to refuse; she didn’t hate playing with Yuko or having her visit.

There was no reason to reject Yuko’s request.

“What’s this, you’re going to play at Yuka’s house? Then I’m going too! When is it?”

At this moment, Nogami Hiroki interjected…

‘Don’t come! That means literally don’t come to my house, and also don’t interrupt!’

‘Things are going to get complicated! Stop pestering me!’

“Please don’t come, Nogami-kun. This is a promise between Yuka and me. It has nothing to do with you. Please mind your own business.”

“…Eh?”

Her voice overlapped with Hiroki’s.

What did Yuko just say?

Did she just tell Hiroki “it has nothing to do with you” and “don’t come”?

Yuko… isn’t the Kohara family a branch of the Noyama family?

And wasn’t Yuko the one who came to give her trouble in the first place because she was angry about what happened between her and Hiroki?

What was with those words just now?

It was as if she didn’t care about Hiroki at all, and even found him to be a nuisance?

“Did you not hear me clearly? Please do not interfere between Yuka and me. And please do not get too close to Yuka. You will taint my Yuka.”

‘Eh??? She actually went that far?’

‘Is this really okay?’

‘If Hiroki throws a tantrum and makes a scene, it’ll be huge trouble…’

“……”

‘Ah… Hiroki actually wilted and walked away dejectedly. Isn’t he going to get angry?’

If it were the arrogant Nogami Hiroki from the game Love 100%, anyone who dared to speak to him in such a condescending tone would have been beaten to a pulp, regardless of gender…

Just like how Shoko and her small group, as well as Marina, were different from the game, had Hiroki changed too?