A few hours had passed since I infiltrated the Yukihana household. Many were surprised by the newcomer’s sudden appearance, but as I had read, I was able to quickly get into their good graces by taking a slight step back and speaking in a soft and friendly manner. While cleaning up the garden, I talked to them about the current situation in Japan, and surprisingly, I heard some information that I had not expected to hear.
“Hey, so that’s what happened !”
Although it was out of character, I was more cheerful and high-spirited than usual and kept smiling. I always try to communicate optimally by paying attention to details such as eye contact and gestures. I’m not suited for this kind of work, as I find myself feeling uncomfortable.
“Yup. The young lady is into some weird anime again, and she’s buying all kinds of goods. I can’t tell you how hard it was for me to carry all that stuff.”
“Recently, I heard that she has started to get into minor American comic books from overseas, and she doesn’t know where to stop.”
“And she’s into VTubers, too, right? The range is so broad that it’s almost unbelievable.”
Yukihana’s atmosphere has gotten quite dark lately, but she has not slowed down in her otaku activities. Rather, it seems to be getting worse than before, and I wonder if her stress is accumulating.
“The young lady seems to be having trouble lately.”
During the break, I asked about Yukihana’s recent situation. I was sure that these people, who are close to her, would know about something that might be involving Yukihana. Even if they didn’t know about it, I assumed they must have heard rumors about it.
“Well, of course. The boss suddenly gave her a fiancee.”
“And also, I heard that there’s no good rumors about him, right?”
“It seems so. He seems to be the son of the chairman in young lady’s school, but black rumors keep popping up.”
(……I see. I’m finally convinced.)
When I heard that Yukihana and those guys were connected, I had this development in mind as one of my assumptions. And now that I have extracted the information from these guys, it finally fits together as a piece of the puzzle, and they are connected.
Let me ask a more in-depth question.
“What kind of rumors are black rumors?”
“I heard that they enjoy ruining other people’s relationships and pushing them into a corner. Most of them are false accusations, and by the time they realize it, they are at the bottom of their lives.”
“I heard that there are people who have been paid off by the Yukihana group. I don’t know who they are.”
“Seriously, I really don’t know why the boss would let his daughter marry a guy like that.”
Before I knew it, the cleaning had completely stopped, and Yukihana’s fianceé…Shinya’s gossip competition had begun. I also joined them and sorted out more information while giving a proper backlash. For the time being, I was able to grasp most of the circumstances surrounding Yukihana.
Anyway, let’s just sort out the troublesome things that are happening right now. I’m not just talking about Yukihana, but about me as well.
・Because of the sports festival, Sakura is probably aware of my existence.
・Shinya suddenly transfer to this school, and I don’t know what he will do.
・Yukihana has a fiancée whom she probably doesn’t want.
I guess that’s about it. Sakura’s problem is related to me, but the other two problems are completely caused by Yukihana. Yukihana was definitely the reason Shinya transferred to my school.
(From the way Yukihana was acting, she doesn’t seem to like Shinya very much.)
From what I’ve heard, she was forced into such a relationship by her parents, and it must have been extremely uncomfortable for Yukihana. And if the other party is a person who is the subject of endless black rumors, it’s even worse. The reason why Shinya is not forcibly visiting Yukihana at school right now is probably because Yukihana is strongly demanding that they keep quiet about it.
(How far that guy will go with that, only time will tell.)
I decided to leave the Shinya-related matters alone once, but they may have become rather more important. I’ve learned about the problems Yukihana is having, but I haven’t decided how to make the most of it yet. At least, not enough information to take advantage of anything.
“So……are you listening, newbie?”
“Yes. The story about how the young master is addicted to fishing.”
“Yeah. He had the dignity of a man of the sea. I want to follow that person after all.”
“If all goes well, Master Hisui will be the next clan leader, right? Then we can rest assured. The current clan leader is a bit…….you know.”
“Haha, I understand.”
I had assumed that there might be a battle between the sister and brother for the position of the next clan leader, but it seems that it is almost certain that Hisui will be the next clan leader. I’m slightly more convinced because I know that his sister is more likely to take care of that sort of thing.
“Phew…….”
[ [ [!? G-good morning, Young lady !] ] ]
“……hm, morning.”
At roughly the time before noon, Yukihana showed up. And she’s completely caught off guard in her cute pink pajamas.
(Well, I should at least bow to her.)
In order to drown out the unnaturalness, I follow their example and bow my head to Yukihana. Yukihana, as if she is used to it, passes by and heads off somewhere. That direction is toward the bathroom, I think. She’s probably taking a shower or something. If so, it’s a good time to get out.
(I know most of what I need to know. All I have to do now is to get out of here.)
I sent a message to Hisui on my phone. We had discussed the procedure for getting out in advance, and I was to go back out through the back door I had entered. I’m going to ask Hisui to follow me when I do.
But
(He hasn’t read it yet.)
I’m not getting any reads on my messages, as if he’s busy with something. It’s fine if he’s looking at the notification on his phone, but it’s risky to conclude that he’s definitely looking at it. I guess I’ll just have to wait a little longer.
At the same time I’m thinking that there’s some kind of commotion in the house. The underlings were hurrying from place to place around the house. The people I had become friends with noticed this and called out to their friends.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Ah? Don’t you hear? The boss is coming home. Hurry up and get ready !”
“Seriously ! You guys, let’s hurry up and get ready !”
（The boss….they said !?)
I’m unintentionally upset by the return of an unexpected person. It’s someone I’ve only heard stories about, but I’m sure I can’t just meet with him. Perhaps this is the reason why I haven’t gotten a read on the message from Hisui.
I don’t want to get into any more unnecessary problems, so I should probably avoid meeting with a new character here. Perhaps I should take the risk of escaping from this mansion alone.
“I’m going that way. I feel like I’m being summoned !”
“O-okay, I see. Hurry up !”
With that said, I decided to separate from the guys I had been getting along with earlier. From this point on, I was completely on my own. I went to the back entrance where I had first entered, acting as naturally as I should so as not to draw attention to myself.
“……Hm?”
I noticed that my phone was vibrating on the way out. Apparently, I had received a reply to my earlier message. I operate the screen with one hand and immediately display the chat screen.
[Don’t leave home right now.]
That was the only message that Yukihana Hisui sent to me. As soon as I confirmed it, I heard a loud noise from the front door that sounded like the screams of men.
[ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ Welcome back, Boss ! !] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]
I heard the words and quietly put my phone in my pocket.
–
