Episode 398: A Sudden Commotion

Sara POV

「Phew… what a pain.」

I murmur that in a low voice that no one can hear, as I reconfirm the situation I’m placed in once again.

Currently, there are four female guides that the Saba side arranged next to me, and on the other side, there are several troublesome men who are arguing or suddenly approaching me.

However, all of those attempts are being blocked by the female guides, and perhaps because they’re keeping each other in check, they can’t seem to take any bold actions… That being said, even if they’re keeping their distance, I’m still surrounded by a crowd, so it remains a nuisance.

I want to go to Kazunari-san’s side as soon as possible, and I shouldn’t be wasting my time being held up in a foolish place like this… I’m getting quite irritated.

「Madam, it’s been a long time. Have you been well?」

「You’re truly always so young and beautiful, I’m so envious.」

「If it’s alright, if you have time after this, would you join us for…」

「Oh, the Madam will be joining us after this…」

「Yes… well, haa…」

On the other hand, next to me, my mother is being surrounded by half the group and is letting out a sigh of annoyance at being spoken to in rapid succession… But the reason it became like this is because my mother was being far too leisurely to begin with, so it’s nothing but her own doing.

Therefore, this is a punishment for making my precious Kazunari-san wait… No, even this isn’t nearly enough of a punishment.

「Why don’t you guys show some restraint? I was the first to arrive here…」

「My father’s a high ranking official who’s handled a major project under Executive Director Satsukawa. Someone like you lot…」

「So what? Unlike you guys, I’ve met the young lady many times…」

What?

I have no memory of seeing your face even in the slightest.

…While making that silent retort, I’m sure it’s just one of those people I dealt with half heartedly when I reluctantly showed my face at this party in the past, and now he’s exaggerating.

To be this self conscious is truly pathetic.

「Nfufu, you’re as popular as ever.」

「If you have time to spout such nonsense, why don’t you hurry up and use that power you’re so proud of to do something about this situation?」

「Sara-chan, so harsh…」

I don’t like thinking this way, but if my mother truly wanted to settle this scene, it’d be very easy… However, it’s never a good thing to use such power indiscriminately, and above all, my mother would hate it, so I only said it as a sarcastic remark.

「Everyone, it will be a nuisance to the young lady, so for now please…」

「A nuisance? I’m only intending to greet the young lady. Why don’t you guys stop being in the way?」

「That’s right. And I have important business regarding the marriage interview proposal I made the other day…」

「Haha, in that case, I have the prior engagement.」

「Hmph, you were rejected anyway, weren’t you? In that regard, mine was only postponed by the chairman’s orders, so I’m different from you guys…」

「I wasn’t rejected to my face!! The meeting was just cancelled!!」

At the female employee’s casual words, the group in front of us begins to argue once again.

But thanks to that, their attention seems to have shifted, so shouldn’t we take this chance to leave?

「Ah, honestly, this is exactly why I don’t want to show my face in public.」

My mother seems to have somehow escaped the situation, murmuring such things in an exasperated tone…

「What a coincidence. I also wish I could never show my face again for eternity.」

「You can’t do that, Sara-chan. Because of Kazunari-kun.」

「I know that. That’s why I’m here today with the intention of staying until the end, isn’t it?」

The reason I decided to attend a Saba party properly for the first time is, of course, for the future… I don’t care about my own position, but since Kazunari-san has resolved to follow in my father’s footsteps, I also need to steel my resolve.

That is why, even in a party that can be called a farce like this, I must participate as Kazunari-san’s partner.

「Madam, young lady, if this continues there’ll be no end to it, so let’s break through the circle even if it’s a bit forceful.」

「That’d be fine, but honestly, I don’t want to put Sara-chan into a crowd. I don’t want her to be touched by any man other than Kazunari-kun, even by chance.」

「You’re stating the obvious. The only man allowed to touch me in this world is Kazunari-san alone.」

「…Wow, young lady, how passionate.」

「…Nice, this is getting interesting.」

「…The story about the young lady having a partner really was true.」

「Now, now, leave that talk for later. Anyway, right now, while those guys are having their internal squabble, we should get the Madam and the young lady…」

I wonder if I should call these female employees reliable for having such a cheerful conversation in such a troublesome situation… Well, regardless, I’m tired of staying here, and above all, the fact that I’m making Kazunari-san wait while this is happening is a major problem for me.

In that case, this isn’t the time to be talking about this and that… but, I…

「…-san!!」

「…!?」

That voice that barely reached my ears just as I was finally about to steel my resolve was…

There’s no way I could mistake it, it’s the voice of the most precious man whom I love more than anyone else.

And, splitting through the crowd, appearing before me was…

Fufu…

To rush to my side like this in my time of need, as expected, Kazunari-san is the most reliable and most wonderful man in the world♪

「Sara-san!!」

I split through the crowd and shouted the name of Sara-san, whose figure I could finally see. Perhaps my voice barely reached her even in this bustle, because Sara-san turned back with a startled expression.

And from what I can confirm from here, as I imagined, there are several young men… they seem to be arguing about something… around her, and women in suits are forming a wall to keep them back.

Those people are probably the guides for Sara-san’s side that Takenaka-san mentioned.

But to be surrounded by such a crowd, and if all those guys are aiming for Sara-san, I can’t just stand here and do nothing!!

「…Haa, seeing this from this distance, it’s seriously no joke. It’s way beyond being better than an idol.」

「…With her being such a beauty and the only daughter of the Executive Director, it’s no wonder that guys aiming for her are swarming.」

「…True. She’s exactly my type, but it’s impossible for me to cut into that group.」

「…That tall guy over there, he’s the son of the general manager of Hardy, right? And the guy with glasses and a 7/3 part is the son of the sales manager of Mitsuoka, and the one next to him is from our group company…」

「…So the guys gathered there are of that caliber.」

「Excuse me a moment, passing through.」

「H-hey, what is it suddenly… wait, T… Takenaka-san!?」

Takenaka-san somehow pushed aside the onlookers who were surprised to be spoken to and finally succeeded in securing the final path.

After that, I’ve just gotta rush to Sara-san’s side… but those guys are standing in front of me.

「Sara-san!!」

I raised my voice again and stepped forward without hesitation through the gap Takenaka-san made.

Sara-san, who’d been looking this way, bloomed into a radiant smile.

Good, it seems she’s alright for now.

「Wait a moment. Who are you?」

「A face I’ve never seen? And didn’t you just call the young lady by her name?」

「The young lady hates such overly familiar behavior, you know? It’s pathetic to act like a friend without knowing that.」

「I don’t know what your business is, but would you refrain for now? From now on, Sara-ojousama and I have an important talk…」

「Hey, don’t decide that on your own! I’m first in line to talk to the young lady!」

「You guys are the ones who have nothing to do with this. Don’t butt into me and Sara-san.」

As expected, the guys who looked like they were arguing just now stood in my way as if to intimidate me for suddenly appearing.

I tried to talk back without backing down, but Masaomi-san told me not to reveal our relationship yet…

Now, what should I do.

「This guy… a brat who doesn’t know how to speak properly.」

「I wonder what company your parents are from? If you take that attitude with us, you don’t know what trouble you might be in later.」

「No, this guy should be properly cautioned right here. Just who does he think he’s talking to…」

「How interesting. Try telling me just who’s cautioning whom?」

「「!?」」

Suddenly, cutting into our conversation was…

In contrast to her usual soft, beautiful voice that sounds like a rolling bell, this was a freezing cold voice that hid an intense anger within its calmness.

「What do you mean by being in trouble later? Are you perhaps intending to do something to Kazunari-san?」

「E… err?」

「Y… young lady!?」

「Just now, you called this guy by his name…?」

「I called him by his name. Is there something wrong with that?」

「「!?」」

Quietly gathering intense anger, Sara-san’s gaze becomes sharper and the pressure of her voice grows exponentially stronger.

With that appearance that was practically allowing no further argument, the men began to visibly falter…

「To begin with, what’s wrong with you all? Just as I thought you’d gathered suddenly, you’re being noisily troublesome…」

「I, I wanted to talk with the young lady about our future…」

「I have absolutely nothing to talk about with you, though?」

「Guh… no, that is…」

With a blunt, cold response that left no room for negotiation, the man who’d been acting pretentious showed a panicked expression.

But the guys remaining behind him were oozing with a sense of ease, as if laughing at the man who’d just been rejected…

「Good evening, Sara-ojousama. I’m the one who sent the marriage interview phot…」

「Don’t call me by my given name so familiarly. It’s unpleasant.」

「…-, m… my apologies for that.」

「Ahem, it’s an honor to meet you. I am the eldest son of Kazama Nao, who serves as the general affairs manager at Euit…」

「Why are you starting a self introduction on your own? To be able to only have a one sided conversation without considering the other person’s situation, I wonder about your standing as a company employee and a member of society.」

「Ugh… m… my apologies.」

Sara-san, having had her wrath touched by the hostility directed at me, ruthlessly cuts down the men who speak to her one after another.

While I feel a sense of reliability in that figure, I can’t just stay silent like this.

「Um, excuse me, but Sara-san is with me…」

「It’s fine, so would you just step back?」

「If you keep staying silent from earlier… just who are you?」

「Huh?」

The moment I spoke up, the attitude of the men who’d been overwhelmed by Sara-san suddenly changed… and while there were individual differences, they began to openly show hostility toward me.

But that was an act that only bought more of Sara-san’s anger… this is a bit bad.

「I understand that you’re an acquaintance or friend of the young lady, but that’s a separate matter from you getting in my way!!」

「That’s right. I have business with the young lady, I have no business with the likes of you…」

「…Enough of this. If you do anything more to Kazunari-san…」

Against the men who were now crowding in with rapid fire arguments, Sara-san’s voice began to take on a low, bone chilling coldness.

However, the guys in front of us were obsessed with berating me and didn’t seem to notice the change in Sara-san…

「Sara-san, calm down!! Don’t worry about me for now, just let this…」

「Heh… I don’t know your faces at all either, but you’re acting quite like big shots, aren’t you?」

「!?」

「Ah…」

「M… madam…」

Just as Sara-san’s anger was about to reach its peak, the one who cut off my voice as I tried to calm her and changed her usual healing, fluffy voice completely was… Mayumi-san.

I noticed she’d been watching the situation from a bit ago, but the Mayumi-san now was clearly different from usual…

「Well, I don’t usually appear in public, and there’s the reason that I have few acquaintances with people from other companies because Masaomi-san handles things… but for now, can I assume that attitude’s your true nature?」

「I… no, t… this is just…」

「So… it is. I only thought to speak with the young lady, and since he was getting in the way…」

「I’m sure I said I have nothing to talk about. Do you perhaps lack the ability to understand even that much?」

「「…!?」」

This truly was the dragon and the tiger standing together.

Receiving the strongest pincer attack from Sara-san and Mayumi-san, the men began to falter in a panic.

And when I looked closely, there were people of various ages nearby who seemed to be related to them and were also panicking…

Or rather, I feel pathetic for being so useless…

『To everyone in the venue. The party will begin in about 5 minutes, but prior to that, there will be a greeting from the Chairman and CEO of Saba Electronics, Satsukawa Shoji, so we ask everyone to please return to your own spaces.』

A leisurely announcement that felt out of place flowed through the hall, creating an atmosphere that slightly dissolved the tension of the scene.

The commotion of the onlookers that had been deathly silent returned a little, and the one who had created that tension, Mayumi-san, relaxed her expression…

「Oh, is it that time already?」

「It’s because Mother took too long getting ready. Thanks to that, didn’t we end up making Kazunari-san wait?」

「Ehh… but Sara-chan, didn’t you set your hair quite carefully too?」

「Not as much as Mother. Anyway, don’t blame me.」

Feeling relieved at the usual conversation between the two that was almost anti climatic, Mayumi-san let out a small laugh,「Nfufu」…

「Well then, for now, let us move locations.」

「That’s right. It’s a nuisance to Kazunari-san to stay in such an uncomfortable place forever.」

「Umm, never mind me, I’m all for moving.」

In fact, while we’re doing this, we’re becoming the center of attention in various ways… especially the looks of envy and other things toward Sara-san and Mayumi-san, and the curious gazes toward me are truly intense.

Well, my existence’s likely too much of a mystery, so I can understand that feeling well enough.

「Oh, that’s right, before I forget…」

Suddenly Mayumi-san dropped the tone of her voice, and with the same tone as before, she turned toward those guys… the men who were surrounded by their associates and were talking with serious faces.

They hadd been worried about our side, so they immediately looked up with startled expressions…

「I’ll overlook this matter this time, but consider that there won’t be a next time. And…」

「If you make any strange moves toward Kazunari-san, be prepared that it will no longer remain a personal problem. Also, never bring such troublesome talk to me again.」

Closed out sharply by Mayumi-san and Sara-san, those men slumped their shoulders in dejection, while some bowed deeply to show their intention to apologize.

At any rate, it seems this matter’s settled for now.

Well, in the end, I didn’t do anything, though… haa.