Translator: Silver Editor: Namorax

「22」

I was in a good mood on the way to the game room.

I shouldn’t be bothered by the Suwa for a while.

Usually, I didn’t select my friends solely upon merit.

That was just an added benefit.

Friends.h.i.+p was dependent upon mutual trust.

When a friend was in trouble, it was enough to be there and help as much as you could.

Of course, considering the level of trouble you could get into as a part of our world, having friends capable of handling ma.s.sive problems was a necessity.

I said what I said, because Suwa’s obsessive nature wasn’t healthy.

His deep attachment to s.h.i.+ori was understandable.

However, being dissatisfied because your partner isn’t giving you their undivided attention all the time is the foundation of a yandere.

Learning to balance the benefits with the disadvantages would be a useful skill for him to learn.

That way he could see the abnormality of his attachment.

However, there was no way he could produce merit within a year or so.

In any case, the fact that the daughter of a Toro branch family was here, meant there was a chance of Toro Rin showing up.

Hopefully, Suwa will be in better shape when he arrived at s.h.i.+nonome next spring.

I would be able to rest at ease if that were the case.

Yes, that was good.

I hated being wrapped up in other people’s love life.

“You seem to be in a good mood, Mizuki.”

Hayate cheerfully commented on my good mood.

He’d been by my side for five years, so he had a good read on my emotions.。

Though it could be annoying at times, I’m glad that he understood how I felt without me needing to say anything.

“Yes. I’m happy that things will be peaceful for a while.”

“I see. That’s good then. You can focus on your recovery.”

“I have rehabilitation to look forward to, don’t I?”

“You’re unexpectedly enthusiastic about rehabilitation. I’ll accompany you so you don’t get bored.”

“Thank you. I won’t be bored if you come along.”

It was a bit early, but I needed to start thinking about my future.

Unless I decided my course now, it would be impossible to determine the direction of my studies.

It’d be troublesome if Hayate said he wanted to take the same courses.

More than anything, I needed to see what I wanted to do.

“If you need anything, just tell me and I’ll have it prepared.”

“Yes. Thank you. I’ll ask should the need arise.”

A floated a smile before stopping at the head of the stairway.

One, deep breath.

My expression changed completely.

I wasn’t Mizuki anymore. I was a daughter of the Sagara house.

Generally, game rooms are built on the main floor or in the bas.e.m.e.nt.

I’ve heard that being a game room hadn’t been the bas.e.m.e.nt’s intended purpose.

After being raised in a traditional j.a.panese house, I’d been surprised when I first came here.

A game room on the first floor made it a welcoming place open to the guest, but placing it in the bas.e.m.e.nt indicated that it was for private use.

Otomo’s game room took up the entire bas.e.m.e.nt.

It was mostly reserved for private use.

The reason for that was the lovebirds’ collective hobbies.

Uncle was a movie lover, and Nanami adored the stage.

Whenever Nanami heard one of her favorite plays were being performed, she would go see them no matter where on earth the stage was.

Sometimes, she dragged me along with her.

Luckily, those extended trips were reserved for summer vacation.

Don Juan, which she mentioned before, was also a nod towards the stage.

Not only did Nanami have arrangements with world famous opera houses, she also had a finger on the pulse of minor theaters too.

In fact, it was only because of her that I even learned Italian.

Not knowing what was being said on stage could ruin the entire theater-going experience. Personal, I felt it would be a waste of a trip if you couldn’t understand anything.

My movie-loving uncle was accepting of her aboard trips.

However, whenever he became obsessed with a new movie, he had the habit of remodeling the game room after it and would reenact scenes from the film with Nanami.

It was the same for my room.

The game room game room was modeled around a billiards movie, uncle’s pride in his work was reflected in the partially recreated set from the film.

A bar, which was an exact replica of the one from the movie, was off to one side.

There were two pool tables in the center of the room, and a sizeable billiard-shaped game stand in the back.

The stand seemed to be there for a game called 『akanbe』, which was similar to billiards.

I don’t know why the game had that name.

I could probably learn the reason if I looked into things, but the billiards tables were more interesting.

The wooden tables were polished to a beautiful s.h.i.+ne.

Some people would consider them works of art.

However, billiards tables were for playing the game, and uncle had even said that he’d trained himself to a professional level thanks to a unique training regimen.

The table was robbed of its beauty when I fell prey to uncle’s billiards lessons.

I’d still be a child back then, too short to see above the table, and my arms and fingers were not long enough to properly hold the stick. Despite that, I was trained in the basics of cue handling, thrust techniques, how to perform pocket shots and various tactics of psychological warfare.

There was no doubt that uncle was the culprit responsible for my billiardsphilia.

In that way, the desire to dress up and play a few games was born.

Billiards was a gentlemen’s game that you needed to dress for accordingly.

In my case, however, I wasn’t a gentleman. I was a lady!! But I still dressed like a gentleman.

The meaning behind Nanami’s invitation was 『 play billiards with your friends』.

Despite not knowing what we’d be coming as, Nanami immediately recognized us in our hustler outfits.

Ariwara had been the only one holding a cue. Hayate had placed the rest of them in cue case.

I’d been standing beside s.h.i.+ori, and the others had been behind us.

I didn’t know if Nanami had been able to see the cue box or not.

But, there hadn’t been the slightest hesitation in her speech.

Throwing this party, setting up its unique theme, and isolating the whole thing in uncle’s playroom had all been for the sake of s.h.i.+elding me while I interacted with other people.

Also, the reason that the two Suwaa and I had been invited to the party was to inform both the Sagara and the Suwa households that the Otomo house was willing to intervene.

If mediation was necessary, they were prepared to take on the undertaking. However, I reminded both culprits of their part in the incident before the situation reached that point.

If I were any more blatant in my intimidation, the reactionary high society would demand a clear resolution.

The words spoken aren’t everything.

Never take things at face value.

Review every side of a situation.

Only draw your conclusion after taking in the situation, the character of the other people and all available surrounding information.

That was what uncle had taught me.

Through billiards, I’d learned how to move in high-society circles.

Furthermore, there was another lesson.

Never speak until you determine the potential outcome, how much the situation would influence future events and whether or not you will find the result acceptable.

Words were like seeds.

Once those seeds are sowed, they will sprout flowers that will eventually bear fruit.

What fruit will you bear once you learned words, what will you contemplate, what will you say? That was the lesson ingrained in me.

Even if words were spoken casually, you had to think about their influence, and you had to read the meaning behind what others said.

It was the same when I spoke to Suwa and s.h.i.+ori.

If you were aware of reality and was looking towards the future, you could see the meaning behind what I said and didn’t say.

It was fine either way.

I already had my invaluable friends.

Over the last few years, the youngest daughter of the Sagara had very few public appearances.

Arriving with a member of the Okabe family carried it’s own meaning.

I smiled at the people who came to greet me and continued to my destination.

A myriad of rumors had sprung up in my absence, ranging from the damage to my limbs completely incapacitating me, to my family trying to cover up my death.

Some people even doubted that I was the real Mizuki Sagara.

Since I wore a male uniform at s.h.i.+nonome people thought that I had a male body double.

Even as I descended the stairs, some people looked at my legs to see if I had a limp.

High-society was a strange world.

‘It’s impossible to get by just on beauty alone’ was closer to the truth of things.

I smiled a those veiled people and continued towards the game room.

I heard the echo of wood hitting wood.

After that, I heard the sound of something falling.

“Yes!! It went in!”

“……The cue ball.”

I heard barely suppressed laughter following an energetic shout.

It was Ariwara and Tachibana.

“Heh!? Seriously? What!?”

“Quite rare. Now I get to place the ball as I see fit. You’re rather generous.”

I could hear uncle’s cheerful jeering.

“Mmm. I see……pool…… I’m not that good at it.”

There were several methods to thrust a cue.

You had to imagine where the b.a.l.l.s would go in the instant before you decided on which thrust to use.

The way the b.a.l.l.s will roll wasn’t that difficult to see, but people often get confused when they make their decision.

You needed to calculate the distance and power to ensure that the cue ball stopped before falling into the pocket.

Ariwara’s 『weakness』was due to his faulty gauging of the distance and the power behind his thrust.

“Sorry, I’m late. Have I kept you waiting?”

“Mizuki!!”

“Yeah, Mizuki-chan. As Nanami said, you make a lovely hustler. Yes-yes, you look cute.”

A man who looked nearly identical to a portrait of Phillip II. smiled at me.

“……Thank you for the invitation, uncle. But why did you come as Phillip II.?”

“Yes. Well, I was doubtful at first, but because of her hobby, Nanami insisted that I dress like this.”

A gentle smile appeared on uncle’s face.

“You were overwhelmed.”

“I’d say so. I think it’s fine so long as Nanami is happy. Summer parties are one of her pleasures after all.”

Uncle spoke in a slow tone.

“Plus, I enjoy the opportunity to meet promising youths.”

Had uncle taken a liking to Ariwara?

“Mizuki! Let’s play a game!!”

Ariwara thrust a finger at me and made that bold declaration.

Tachibana took hold of that finger.

“Don’t point at a lady. It’s bad manners to point at other people anyway.”

“This is the pose I decided to use! Besides, Mizuki doesn’t mind, do you?”

“Ahahahaha……… I’m not mad.”

I think it was an excellent pose to use.

“Haa, I was right. Your sense of honor is too narrow.”

“You’re too rough.”

“Isn’t it fine? I have to get Mizuki to marry me.”

“Think about Mizuki’s schedule!? Normally, a housewife who can’t manage to housekeep is unacceptable.”

Ariwara and Tachibana continued their comedy act.

By the way, “housekeeping” referred to maintaining the n.o.ble house.

It differed significantly from tasks like was.h.i.+ng dishes and doing laundry.

Cleaning, was.h.i.+ng and cooking were all left to specialized servants.

The only thing that was remotely related to regular housework was deciding on who did what task and when that task is to be completed.

Ariwara was a detail-oriented type of person, and he seemed to have trouble grasping the bigger picture.

“You all seem close.”

Uncle chuckled as he watched us.

“That’s right. We’re all close”

I started laughing as well, repeating his observation.

“Still, it’s a rare opportunity. Are you going to play against the winner? Or do you have something else in mind?”

“Pairs! Me and Okabe on one team, his majesty and Mizuki on another.”

“Hmm.”

I looked to Tachibana.

“So it seems. Best regards”

“Yes. Regards.”

Ariwara was the one uncle had been teaching.

Tachibana was already an experienced billiards player and didn’t need any further instruction.

“Well, who’s going first? Which set of rules are we playing by?”

Ariwara laughed at my questions.

“Ladies first, Mizuki. It’s all yours.”

“Understood. Thank you, Ariwara.”

“You’re welcome.”

It didn’t seem like he heard me.

I smiled and chuckled at his excited expression.

“Your majesty, would you like to break?”

“I leave it to you, Mizuki.”

Tachibana gave a knowing smile.

“Well, I was entrusted with the task.”

Hayate angrily glared at Ariwara when I nodded my head.

“Mizuki studied under Otomo-sama, do you have any idea what that means?!”

“Eh? Billiards isn’t something you need to be taught.”

“…… This fool……”

Hayate shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

“Than, shall we begin?”

Opposite to Hayate, I was in a great mood as I called to them.

In honor of this beautiful billiards set, I won’t hold back Ariwara.

Prepare yourself.

I lined up my cue stick with a grin on my face.