Episode 278: Rivalry

I intended to head to the next classroom, but there was something I wanted to settle before that.

It was about Sara-san.

I needed to apologize for breaking our promise about not keeping secrets, but that wasn’t it. Ever since we left the classroom, Sara-san had been acting strange.

Of course, you couldn’t tell just by looking at her, but to me, it looked like she was deep in thought… like she was feeling down.

If that was the case, the only reason I could think of was what happened just now.

So, following up here was also my job as her lover… no, it wasn’t about it being a「job.」

Even if it was just a small thing, I wanted to do whatever I could for Sara-san.

That was all.

「Sara-san.」

「I am so sorry, I…」

When I spoke to her, Sara-san looked down slightly as if she already knew what I was going to say.

Of course, there was absolutely nothing for Sara-san to apologize for, and if anything, I was the one who snapped and caused a scene first. But I guess Sara-san didn’t see it that way.

In that case, what should I do at a time like this?

For example, what would Sara-san do for me if I were in her shoes?

What did I want to do for Sara-san?

I didn’t even have to think about it.

That was exactly why I should be the one to start…

「Sara-san, thank you.」

I slowly wrapped my arms around her back, being careful with the pressure so it wouldn’t be uncomfortable for her. I rarely did something like this myself. So, to be honest, it was an action that required quite a bit of courage.

I knew for a fact that Sara-san wouldn’t find it unpleasant or reject me… but still, doing it of my own accord made me feel very nervous.

「Kazunari… san?」

「I snapped because of what she said about you, but you got angry for my sake, didn’t you, Sara-san? It made me happy. So, thank you.」

Stroke, stroke…

Just like Sara-san always does for me, I reached around from behind and carefully stroked her head. I had to be careful not to mess up the pressure and ruin her beautiful hair. Paying as much attention as possible, I did it gently and slowly.

「Fufu… in that case, I am the one who should be saying thank you. It made me truly happy that you got angry for my sake, Kazunari-san.」

Perhaps her heart had settled, as Sara-san relaxed and leaned her weight against me. It was so precious that I instinctively wanted to squeeze her tight, but I didn’t want to wrinkle her school uniform.

…Man, there were so many things to worry about, hugging someone in a school uniform was actually kind of a pain.

Stroke, stroke…

「She was a bit of a mystery, wasn’t she?」

「Yes. I believe she was last year’s Miss Contest winner. I had no interest, so I simply ignored that side of things… come to think of it, Natsumi called her a ‘stuck-up girl,’ so I wonder if she was referring to her?」

「She was certainly stuck-up to a shocking degree. Even those two from Natsumi-senpai’s fan club said she was a nasty person. I wonder if Natsumi-senpai had some kind of trouble with her, too?」

「I wonder… we might find out if we ask Natsumi. Regardless, I have no interest in her.」

「You’re right… after being handled like that by you, Sara-san, she’d have some nerve to try anything else.」

「…You’re mean, Kazunari-san.」

Squeeze…

With a「you’re mean」spoken in a voice tinged with a hint of acting spoiled, Sara-san clung to my chest. Usually the roles were reversed and I was the one acting spoiled, but Sara-san acting like this was cute… no, way too cute!

Stroke, stroke…

「Fufu… Kazunari-san…」

Like a cat purring, Sara-san rubbed her face against my chest. What was this, this level of cuteness was against the rules… alright, I’ll stroke her head some more.

Stroke, stroke…

「…H-Hey, Hanako-san. What should we do…」

「…She has completely lost sight of her surroundings. Her bad habit has come out again.」

「…Ahaha, yeah, but… I feel kind of relieved.」

Sara-san stopped rubbing her face and wrapped her arms around my back this time. We were holding each other… basically, a normal hug.

「As long as you understand me, Kazunari-san, I do not care at all what others think. My true self… belongs to you alone, after all.」

「Sara-san…」

「It might be a laughing matter for someone like me, who once sought the approval of others, to say such a thing. But now, as long as you understand, as long as you are by my side, that is enough for me. That alone makes me happy…」

To be honest, I got angry because she said whatever she wanted without knowing the real Sara-san, but even so, I didn’t want to show that side of Sara-san to others.

This cute Sara-san, this Sara-san who was nothing but sweet to me. I was the only one who needed to know her. I definitely had that sense of possessiveness, thinking she was my Sara-san alone.

But if I said that, it would create a contradiction.

「Fufu…」

「What’s wrong?」

「No, I simply remembered how you were just now, Kazunari-san. You are always wonderful, but I love the strong-willed and forceful Kazunari-san from earlier as well.」

That’s right, in the heat of the moment when I snapped, I told Sara-san to「be quiet.」Looking back, I don’t remember ever saying something like that to her before… this was…

「Kazunari-san… please do not apologize, alright? It made me happy, so that would be… a no-no, you see?」

「Y-Yes.」

Man, she beat me to it.

I wasn’t going to go as far as apologizing, but since I’d said something forceful, I wanted to at least mention it…

It looks like she「read」me again.

「I do not mind if you act more firmly toward me normally, you know? Even if you told me to ‘shut up and follow me,’ I would happily follow you.」

「Eh!? N-No, I couldn’t possibly…」

「Fufu… but if that happened, I would not be able to see the cute Kazunari-san I love so much. That would be a major problem, so please be careful with the balance.」

「Um… what exactly do you want me to do then…」

I wasn’t doing it on purpose, so being told to manage the balance was a tall order.

It’s not like I was aiming to act spoiled for Sara-san, but I didn’t intend to act that forceful on a regular basis either.

「I am sorry. I am aware that I said something strange myself. However, that aside, for now…」

Sara-san pulled her face away from my chest and moved the arm she had around my back to the back of my head.

This position was almost certainly…

「Kazunari-san, thank you for getting angry for my sake. Your feelings made me truly happy…」

「Sara-san, I was happy too.」

As we gazed at each other from point-blank range, Sara-san let out a soft smile and then slowly closed her eyes. A little bit of strength was added to the hand at the back of my head, and I let myself be led along…

「Hey, you idiot couple, knock it off. Where do you think you are?」

「「!?」」

Snapping back to reality at Hanako-san’s sharp retort… yeah, we were right in the middle of the hallway.

It was fairly late after school, so there weren’t many people passing by… but that didn’t mean there were zero.

There was Hanako-san looking at us with dead eyes, and Todo-san covering her face with both hands while blatantly staring at us through the gaps in her fingers.

And from a distance, a few passers-by were staring at us in a daze, and for some reason, smirking… yikes, are those Yuri-san and the others!?

「S-Sara-san, shall we head to the next one?」

I hurriedly let go of her, and Sara-san slowly released her hold as well, looking a bit regretful. We both pulled back and put some distance between us.

「Indeed. The third-year classrooms next, I believe?」

「Let’s just go and get this over with. Still… Marina is surprisingly…」

「Wha-wha-wha-wha-wha, I have no idea what you’re talking about!?」

For some reason, Todo-san was in a total panic, but more importantly, it was Yuri-san and the others. Getting tangled up with them would waste unnecessary time, so it was best to move on quickly.

「Anyway, let’s head to the next classroom.」

「Yes. Unfortunately, let us save the continuation for tonight. Since I was the one acting spoiled just now, it will be your turn next, Kazunari-san?」

「Eh… well, I mean.」

「Fufu… please act spoiled for me as much as you like in the futon tonight, alright? I wish to dote on the cute Kazunari-san to my heart’s content…」

「I-I-In the futon!?」

「Marina, you’re too loud. Also, Wife doesn’t have any ulterior motives, so it’s fine… probably. You’re overthinking it… what on earth are you…」

「Uuuuuu, Hanako-san, you meanie!!!」

This was bad. At this rate, it wouldn’t be just me, but Todo-san who ended up in a hole.

I had to get to the next place fast…

Well… I could think about tonight when tonight came. Sara-san was a woman of her word, so I could already see how it would turn out.

Kusuhara Rena (Stuck-up girl) POV

I am well aware that I am an extremely privileged individual.

That is an objective fact, and I was born into a destiny where I was chosen, so to speak.

The Kusuhara family, into which I was born, is a founding clan that has long managed multiple corporations. I was brought into this world as the daughter of the president of such a clan.

My older brother, born before me, and I already had our positions decided at that point. My brother, as the eldest son, would inherit the role of president in the future, and I would take on an important post as a member of the clan.

For that purpose, I have been provided with an education befitting the daughter of a company president since I was a child.

Thanks to those efforts, my academic performance was always excellent, and my grades were at the top. By the time I reached middle school, people were drawn to my looks, which I inherited from my mother, and confessions from men increased. My popularity truly knew no bounds.

Well, there was no one who could truly be considered a match for me… I have a status, after all. At that point, commoners are friends at best.

And currently… after going through the elite Special Advancement Course at this school, I will enter an appropriate university and eventually become involved in corporate management.

My future path is already set.

If you only heard that, you might feel the common sentiment of being bound by one’s family.

However, it is only my future path and behavior that are decided. I can decide and move on everything else myself. Therefore, I have never felt that way.

In fact, there are more than enough benefits that serve as compensation. Naturally, there is money, my status as a president’s daughter, and the VIP treatment from those around me that comes with it. Even a commoner could understand how much of a benefit these things are if they thought about it for a moment.

Speaking of benefits, those who are always accompanying me… though they are mocked as an entourage, they are all sons of corporate executives… for them as well, there is a clear hierarchy where they gain benefits by following me.

Thus, I was leading an extremely smooth student life without a single cloud on the horizon.

Until that day… however.

That day… the summer break of my second year of middle school, which I will never forget.

Even as a child, I understood that my father’s company’s performance was slumping due to the global recession. However, I watched on with peace of mind, certain that my father would handle things. But what awaited us at the end was the company becoming a subsidiary through an acquisition by a mega-corporation…

In my father’s generation, the company that had been a family business for many years came to an end and was reborn as a related subsidiary of Saba Electronics.

The saving grace was that the form of management itself was maintained.

There was no replacement of anyone below the president, and a formal structure was established by accepting several resident staff from the parent company, Saba Electronics, as executives who also served as auditors.

Therefore, I am still able to maintain my position as the president’s daughter as I do now.

However, that position is no longer rock-solid. It has become a position established under the condition that… the parent company does not have a change of heart.

I suppose it is a position like standing on thin ice.

In exchange for that, though, new advantages have increased.

For example, this school… in reality, Saba Electronics provides almost all of its funding, and the reason my advancement here was decided was because of the benefit of having various things made easy for me.

Even if it is a subsidiary, we are a member of the group, and since I am a president’s daughter, my treatment naturally changes.

That is why those who assist me also advanced to this school, and thanks to them, my status in this school was gradually established. At the same time, rumors began to spread that the school would move if anyone opposed me… and before I knew it, I began to draw all sorts of attention. Of course, I personally do not have that much authority.

If I were to tell my father, it might be a different story…

And once attention began to gather, the number of boys drawn to my looks increased further, as did the number of girls trying to go with the flow. I had friends of a sort, but when you become a high school student, you can feel those kinds of hidden motives quite blatantly.

Well, that cannot be helped, as I am in such a position.

So, although there were some changes, my high school life was scheduled to be generally smooth sailing. Unfortunately, however, everything did not go… as conveniently as planned.

Because in this school, there is one person who is an absolute thorn in my side, a hateful existence.

That person’s name is「Satsukawa Sara」.

I knew that name even before I enrolled. I still remember clearly what my father once told me.

「Rena, a young lady named Satsukawa will be enrolling as a classmate at the high school you’re going to. Make sure you get along with her.」

「…I don’t mind, but this is the first time you’ve ever said such a thing, Father? Is there a reason?」

「She is the daughter of Senior Managing Director Satsukawa at the Saba Electronics headquarters. From our perspective, she is a superior existence.」

「…Even if he’s a Senior Managing Director at the headquarters, aren’t you the President, Father? For you to care that much about status…」

「This is something you don’t understand yet. Just be quiet and obey.」

「…Understood.」

「Listen, whatever you do, do not cause trouble with that young lady. Even if it looks like a conflict is about to start, you be the one to back down. Do not ever make the mistake of opposing her.」

「………Yes.」

Even though they were my father’s words, I could not possibly accept them. If the other person were the daughter of the president of the headquarters, I might understand, but why must we act so humble toward the daughter of a mere executive?

As a president’s daughter, I cannot possibly think I am losing that much in terms of status. No, I should be overwhelmingly superior in terms of being well-bred.

If you tell me not to lay a hand on her, I would at least like to show her the difference in our upbringing… to show her that I am of a higher rank.

…With that lingering resentment, I enrolled and immediately came to know the「Satsukawa Sara」in question.

The day of the entrance ceremony.

The greeting for the representative of the new students is an honor held by the student with the top entrance exam scores.

Having always been the front-runner in terms of grades until now, I naturally expected to hold that role. I had more than enough confidence.

But… the one chosen was not me, but that「Satsukawa Sara」.

I lost in terms of grades for the first time.

And of all people, to that woman.

For me, who had been on a smooth path until now, it was the first shock, the first humiliation.

The one who gave it to me was none other than「Satsukawa Sara」.

My first impression of her at the entrance ceremony was that of a beauty different from me, a Japanese-style beauty, so to speak. The politeness of her movements and her calm atmosphere. Her long, beautiful black hair.

She did not have the refined movements that I do, but she had a dignified and imposing presence during her greeting as the student representative.

She became a rumor immediately after enrolling, and the classroom building for the first-years became a bizarre situation where male seniors were always wandering around during breaks.

I felt that it could not be helped with those looks, but I also have my own pride in having gained popularity from men due to my looks.

So it is a fact that I felt a sense of rivalry, thinking I was not losing either.

Besides, I considered her entrance exam grades to be a fluke, in the end.

And time passed without any significant contact…

Before I knew it, the gap between me and her, far from being reversed, only continued to widen.

I could not win even once in terms of test grades, and from what I heard, she was far superior in terms of confessions from boys. Moreover, after obtaining the position of Student Council Vice President, which is essentially the role of a heroine in this school, the tinted glasses from the boys only continued to grow worse.

And eventually, Satsukawa Sara began to be called the「Lonely Goddess,」and a fan club even appeared.

Even for me, that has not happened yet… it is hateful beyond measure.

I cannot possibly understand it. Even if you call it ‘lonely’ to make it sound good, she is simply rejecting her surroundings. She is a misfit with a defect in her social skills, is she not?

Even if her looks are good, why is she so popular…

But I noticed immediately.

That title of「Lonely Goddess」is a cover to turn those flaws into virtues.

Taking the lack of social skills, such as a lack of cooperativeness and sociability, and conveniently interpreting it as「because she is a person who is strict with herself,」and converting it into likability. That is the truth hidden behind the title of「Lonely Goddess.」

Once you understand that, it is clear that this title was also intentionally created. As for who created it and spread it… I do not even have to think about it.

Satsukawa Sara is riling up her supporters and even having them create a fan club, secretly pulling the strings behind the scenes to link it to her own evaluation. Moreover, she even had a friend named Yuzuki Natsumi lead a female-oriented fan club to create a support system… what a black-hearted woman.

Just then, I learned that a Miss Contest was being held as a project for the school festival.

This is a truly perfect opportunity, both for gaining new supporters and for establishing a new status within this school. Moreover, since I was requested to participate in the invited slot by the executive committee, I could not possibly refuse, could I?

And I heard that Satsukawa Sara was also planning to participate in the student council slot. In that case, I resolved to use any means necessary… even the underworld, if need be… to expose Satsukawa Sara’s true nature and crush her here once and for all.

But the result was… when the day came, Satsukawa Sara actually fled.

She likely learned that I would be participating and thought that if she lost, there was a possibility she would lose the temporary status she had built up until now. When you lose contact and there is a last-minute cancellation, it is obvious that you ran away.

And the result of the contest was, naturally, my overwhelming victory. Since it was a foregone conclusion, I felt no particular joy, but I was disappointed that the opportunity to directly crush Satsukawa Sara was lost.

If there were no restriction from my promise to my father not to directly lay a hand on her… it is truly a shame.

I spoke with her only once before, after the Miss Contest. However,

「I simply prioritized my work. In the first place, I had no interest.」

was the only response I received.

And those eyes… completely cold, an emotionless gaze that left me unsure if she was looking at me or not.

There is no way a woman like that could be popular. In that case, there is no doubt she is moving behind the scenes to gain popularity.

And today, we ended up facing each other in an unexpected place…

Ah, just remembering it is hateful, frustrating…

To think that I could not oppose that woman’s pressure and could not say anything back…

I have dealt with all sorts of people until now. Not just students, but adults, and even people in power.

Yet I could not say a single word.

A terrifying intensity and pressure, clearly different from when we were talking about the Miss Contest.

And… those eyes, completely different from before.

A lukewarm word like ‘anger’ would not suffice; it was an intense will where I felt something clear, as if I were being told that my very existence was not permitted.

Being hit with that head-on, I could say nothing, move nothing… I just stood there silently and let her speak.

To a member of the same sex… and even though the opponent is just a mere classmate!!!

As for why she showed such intense anger…

She was completely unmoved by my provocations, and more than that, she had dismissed everything with zero interest… no, that is perfectly obvious.

For that Satsukawa Sara to call a man by his first name and let herself be called by her first name is something that is normally impossible.

And that last line…

In other words, Satsukawa Sara has feelings for Takanashi. And Takanashi feels the same way.

That is likely why Satsukawa Sara bared such an unbelievable amount of anger concerning Takanashi.

But with this, I may finally have found an opening to exploit in Satsukawa Sara, who until now had no clear weakness. Now, if only there is a chance…

And… Takanashi.

To know who I am and still treat me normally, I thought he was a man with some promise…

Or rather, while letting me expect for even a moment that he might be one of the few people who could understand me… to think that he did not know who I was at all.

Though I say so myself, my fame in this school should be no less than that of some「Goddess.」In fact, I have already received numerous confessions even from first-years.

Shelving his own ignorance… how dare he, how dare he embarrass me like that.

Moreover, to be put to such shame in front of my classmates… I can never forgive him.

Along with Satsukawa Sara, I will be sure to pay him back if the chance arises. That small woman called the「Angel」is the same. Women with titles are always worthless beings, after all.

However… it is truly painful that I cannot directly lay a hand on them now.

Normally, there would be no need for mercy, but having to choose such roundabout means is truly a chore.

First, I will make them realize who is superior in this upcoming Miss Contest.

Once the existence of Takanashi is brought to light on stage and the ideal image of the「Lonely Goddess」 crumbles… I wonder just how much popularity will remain. I am looking forward to it.