Episode 149: Yamazaki Dancing to the Tune

「You noticed!?」

Yamazaki bit the hook of Eri-san’s acting, reacting with joy despite Yuzuha standing right next to him.

He looked like he was genuinely thrilled to think he actually had a chance with her… he looked so happy.

On the other hand, Yuzuha was just blinking blankly.

「Yes. I’ve never been this close to a man before, so I naturally thought… but you have a lover, don’t you?」

Yamazaki didn’t lose his composure yet. After hearing her out, he looked at Yuzuha next to him.

With eyes that looked like he was staring at a total stranger…

「No. She’s just a friend. It’s a misunderstanding.」

「Eh!? Misunderstanding? What are you talking about, Kazuma-kun! We’re!」

Hearing herself called just a friend, the airheaded look on Yuzuha’s face turned to shock and panic for the first time.

「It seems like there’s been quite a misunderstanding, hasn’t there? That lady over there seems to think she’s your lover?」

Being called a「misunderstanding」even by Eri-san, Yuzuha’s expression shifted to one of pure anger.

「I told you, it’s not! I’m Kazuma-kun’s actual girlfriend! Who do you think you are!?」

The target of her anger turned toward Eri-san.

Of course, this flow was exactly as planned.

「Oh, how clumsy of me. Nice to meet you, I’m Nishikawa Eri. As the daughter of the Nishikawa Group’s chairman, I have a relationship with Yamazaki-san.」

「T, the Nishikawa Group? …Eh, why would someone like that…」

It’s not like anyone doesn’t know the Nishikawa Group.

When it comes to the daughter of that family, Yuzuha would realize the difference between them whether she liked it or not.

「Yuzuha, let me say this as a friend, but Eri-san is different from you. Watch your mouth.」

Yamazaki was completely playing up the「just a friend」angle with Yuzuha.

At this point, it was clear that Yuzuha had already been tossed aside.

「Why… why would you say that? But I really…」

「Heh, so that’s how it is. You just got confused and thought you were lovers.」

At this point, Tachikawa-san, who had been a silent observer, cut in for the first time.

「Y, you’re… definitely…」

It looked like Yuzuha finally realized who she was talking to.

She glared at Tachikawa-san with eyes full of hostility.

「Women with overactive imaginations are so pathetic.」

「True. Oh, Nishikawa-san, sorry I’m late!」

As if agreeing with Hanako-san’s jab, Todo-san made her entrance. That meant the preparations were done.

「Yo, sorry to keep you waiting. Looks like things are getting lively?」

Hayato walked out as well, saying something incredibly blatant. It looked like the personnel placement was complete.

「Hayato-kun!! Hey, what’s going on!? I don’t understand any of this!!」

Since the person who brought her here had appeared, Yuzuha aggressively approached Hayato.

「Hm? I don’t know what you want to hear, but if you’ve got questions, I’m not the one to ask, right?」

Hayato brushed Yuzuha off bluntly, acting like it wasn’t his problem.

Seeing people he didn’t know gathering around, Yamazaki seemed to start feeling that something was off.

「Eri-san, what exactly is all this…」

「These are all my precious friends. Is there a problem?」

「N, no… not really.」

When told that by the all-important Eri-san, Yamazaki couldn’t even voice an objection.

Between the unexpected appearance of Yuzuha, his previous conversation with us, and now a bunch of strangers who all seemed connected somehow showing up, he looked like he was trembling with fear over what was about to happen.

「Yamazaki, shouldn’t you worry about yourself instead of us? Eri-san is troubled, so give her an answer.」

「Ugh… Takanashi…」

I called out to him mockingly as he shifted his gaze around, desperately trying to think of some countermeasure.

It was obvious just how much he was struggling…

「Yamazaki-san, who exactly is that person? Surely you weren’t making moves on me while you already had a girlfriend?」

Finally, Eri-san asked the one question Yamazaki didn’t want to hear.

There’s no other path left for you but to answer clearly, you know?

「O, of course not. Like I said before, she’s definitely just a friend. It seems she has a very active imagination and got a bit of a misunderstanding.」

「That’s not true! I’m Kazuma-kun’s proper…」

「Come to think of it, back in middle school, I heard about how Yamazaki really felt about Yuzuha. I heard she was just a plaything and I ended up punching him without thinking.」

I brought up that old story to back up Yamazaki’s statement.

It was to emphasize that she was a「fling」rather than a friend.

「Wait, Kazunari, what are you saying…」

「Is that so? Kazunari-san?」

At this point, Sara-san joined the conversation.

Sara-san had been holding back this whole time to the point where it was painful to watch.

Truthfully, she probably wanted to just unload on Yamazaki and Yuzuha…

「Yeah. But the story got twisted into some weird thing about me hitting Yamazaki out of jealousy.」

I answered her question while apologizing to Sara-san with my eyes.

「What’s that! I never heard anything about—」

「You’re an incredibly noisy woman. Shut up and listen!」

Sara-san barked at Yuzuha.

Feeling the intense pressure, Yuzuha went quiet. I continued, wanting to end this quickly for Sara-san’s sake.

「Yamazaki definitely said Yuzuha was just for fun. That’s why I couldn’t forgive him and punched him.」

「What is that story!? I don’t know anything about that…」

Yuzuha reacted as if my story was news to her, but Eri-san cut her off and started speaking.

「I see… but in our world, stories about flings aren’t exactly uncommon. Right, Yamazaki-san?」

Taking my lead, Eri-san emphasized the word「fun」and spoke to Yamazaki as if it was a totally normal thing to happen.

「Y, yes. That’s right. This is strictly just a relationship for fun.」

Just as expected, Yamazaki bit on the bait, looking relieved that he’d found a way out.

「…Lies… that’s a lie, right? It’s a lie! Hey, Kazuma-kun, you’re joking, right? Tell me you’re joking!! That’s so cruel!!」

Having been explicitly told she was just for fun, Yuzuha finally couldn’t take it anymore and started screaming.

She’d finally started to understand, whether she wanted to or not.

「I’ll say it as many times as it takes: it’s your misunderstanding. In the first place, did I ever once tell you I loved you?」

「………………Eh?」

「I never told you I loved you, and I never confessed.」

Yamazaki spoke to Yuzuha as if he were just stating cold, hard facts.

Seeing how composed he was, he was probably telling the truth.

But even I was shocked by this.

Calling it「preparednes」would be too kind. If he intended this from the start, thinking about the time he’d throw her away, then he really is a piece of trash.

Everyone else seemed to have the same impression, all looking equally shocked.

However, Sara-san’s gaze only grew sharper, and Tachikawa-san looked lost in thought as if remembering something.

「Eh… eh, no way… but…」

「You seem to have been mistaken, but we aren’t dating. There’s no doubt about that. Do you remember me ever confessing to you?」

「…………No? …Wait, I don’t… eh? Eh? I don’t, why don’t I!? I don’t!!! No, that’s not right!! We really are!! And I told Kazuma-kun I loved him so many times!!」

Judging by Yuzuha’s reaction, it seems Yamazaki really hadn’t said anything.

Yuzuha grew more and more frantic, shouting as if she’d gone mad.

But in this flow, when it came to the「I love you」that Yuzuha probably said to Yamazaki…

「I thought you were telling me you liked me as a friend. It was all in your head.」

The response was so predictable it almost made me roll my eyes.

「It’s a lie, it’s a lie!!!!! …hic… I really… hic」

Yuzuha seemed to have run out of ways to argue back, and she finally burst into tears.

Part of me felt bad for her, but this was still her own fault.

「Well, it seems we’ve reached a conclusion. If there was no confession, then it’s safe to say it was just that person’s misunderstanding, right?」

「Yes, that’s why I don’t have a lover. And that’s why I’m interested in you—」

Yamazaki is a total moron.

Does he seriously think he can just sail through like this?

He’s way too optimistic.

「You’re disgusting… you… What do you think women are?」

Eri-san’s demeanor changed completely.

Here we go…

He’d made Yuzuha realize his true feelings.

Next was Yamazaki himself.

「Huh? B, but… I thought you said that kind of thing happens.」

「It seems you’re just like that person and you’ve got a misunderstanding. I only said those stories exist; I never said for a single second that I approve of them. As a woman, I can’t forgive that kind of thing.」

Realizing his position had suddenly turned for the worse with Eri-san’s sudden shift, Yamazaki started to panic.

「W, wait a minute! This is… well, um, ah, it’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! It’s just a figure of speech! By “fun,” I meant having fun as friends…」

「Pfft… Hahahaha!」

「What is it, Takanashi!!」

I couldn’t help but laugh at Yamazaki’s pathetic display.

I wasn’t supposed to join in yet, but whatever.

「Sorry, sorry. I just didn’t expect a grade-school level excuse to pop out here. Don’t you realize that what you’re saying is completely nonsensical?」

「Takanashi-kun, you shouldn’t laugh. He was being serious. He gave it his best and he’s at a grade-schooler level… pfft, kuku…」

Taking my lead, Hanako-san joined in too. It looked like she was focused on mocking him.

「Ugh… you guys…」

「So, Yamazaki-san, when you told me it was just for fun, you meant we were having fun as friends too? Come to think of it, I don’t remember you ever telling me you loved me, either.」

Tachikawa-san joined in right on cue.

It looks like things were the same for Tachikawa-san as they were for Yuzuha.

If that’s the case, he definitely did it on purpose.

「What an interesting man. Thinking you’re clever for preparing an escape route for times like this, yet your words and actions are childish and you have zero judgment. To think you still believe you can talk your way out of this situation… even your perception is infantile. You’ve worked so hard on your outer appearance, but you’re really just a magnificent paper-mache facade, aren’t you?」

「…………Huh? W, what?」

Sara-san finally entered the conversation, having judged it was okay now that I’d joined.

The part about Yuzuha was over, so it should be fine.

Yamazaki looked like he didn’t know how to react, probably unable to process being insulted by a woman out of nowhere.

By the way, Yuzuha was being hammered by Tachikawa-san with things like,「You were just like me, weren’t you? How does it feel to be told you’re a fling in front of everyone?」

…Realize what you’ve done now, Yuzuha.

「Oh, so even to you, Sara, his outer appearance looked good?」

Eri-san asked Sara-san curiously. Since she’d said his outer appearance was well-made, I guess she was asking out of interest.

「Don’t make me laugh. From where I’m standing, I can’t see any difference between him and a hyottoko mask. Ah, but it was rude to compare a traditional hyottoko mask to a childish paper-mache facade.」

「Why you—!」

「I wonder what you were about to say to my dear friend?」

「Ugh…」

Yamazaki finally processed that he was being insulted by Sara-san, but just as he started to shout at her, Eri-san intimidated him.

…I relaxed my fist for a second.

I was planning to punch him if he got any closer to Sara-san…

There were guards (apparently private ones…) disguised as guests brought by Eri-san stationed around the room, but that’s besides the point.

「Well, it looks like everyone else is tired of waiting, so let’s hold today’s main event. Yamazaki-san, I’ve prepared something very interesting, you know? Get it ready!!」

Eri-san gave a loud command.

With that as the signal, the doors to the venue opened and people started flooding in.

It was the crowd Yamazaki had gathered who’d been waiting in the lobby.

Then, a projector was set up in the center, and a giant screen was unfurled on the stage.

「W, what are you planning to do!?」

Yamazaki, who had been staring blankly for a while, seemed to have a bad feeling and asked Eri-san.

Eri-san ignored him, turned on the microphone handed to her by a staff member, and began her speech.

「Welcome, everyone. I’ll give a proper greeting later, so for now, please enjoy the entertainment screening that’s about to begin.」

The lights in the room went out in sync with Eri-san’s declaration.

I decided to speak to Yuzuha, who was still sitting on the floor.

「Yuzuha… watch this closely.」

「…Kazunari?」

She probably didn’t expect me to talk to her. She called my name with a bewildered look.

「See for yourself exactly what kind of man Yamazaki is.」

「No, I don’t want to! I’ve already… hic」

As Yuzuha started crying again, I was about to force her to face the screen, but Sara-san pulled her up and forced her to stand.

「You can see it well from here, can’t you? Even with your simple brain, you can understand what’s happening, so watch until the very end!」

「Hic…」

Overwhelmed by Sara-san’s intensity, Yuzuha went quiet.

「I’m not interested in sticking around for this farce. I’m leaving.」

Yamazaki seemed to have judged that whatever was happening was dangerous to him personally, so he thought about leaving rather than worrying about Eri-san.

Of course, I wasn’t gonna let him escape.

I grabbed his right arm, and Hayato quickly grabbed his left.

「Come on, we’ll stay with you and watch it together.」

「Don’t be shy, enjoy the show.」

When Hayato mocked him to go along with me, Yamazaki naturally tried to struggle.

「Let me go! I’m calling the police…」

At this point, I decided to play one card to shut this noisy guy up.

「Hey, those mixers of yours count as prostitution brokerage. We’re about to screen that right now. Do you really want to call the police and watch it together?」

「!!??」

That definitely worked.

His body, which had been struggling, froze instantly, and he stared at my face with a look of pure terror.

The video was already starting to play on the screen, showing the rowdy behavior at the mixers.

A stir went through the venue, including voices of agitation.

Yamazaki’s probably starting to realize exactly what kind of situation this is.

「Just shut up and watch. You’re curious about what evidence we have, aren’t you?」

Whether he’d given up or was thinking of a countermeasure…

Yamazaki didn’t say another word until the video was over.