CH 51

(**Kisaragi-sensei’s POV**)

“―Onee-chan, your phone is ringing, you know?”

With that said, my lovely little sister, Karen-chan, came over to me with my phone.

…I have a bad feeling about this…

Usually, when I get a phone call, it’s not a good one.

I looked at my phone with trepidation.

I knew it…

The name displayed on the screen of my phone was Aoki “Ai” Mana.

Despite her slender appearance, this girl is skilled enough to work as an escort for one of the daughters of the Byodoin Faction.

And despite her kind face and the name ‘Ai’, she has a huge gap between smiling and spitting venomous lines.

She’s one of the three people I’ve been friends with for a long time.

They were three people that I, as a commoner, would not normally get to know, but through fate, we became friends.

This girl is very caring, but she’s relentless with me…

I don’t want to answer it if possible― but she’ll keep calling until I do so…

I went out into the corridor so that Karen-chan would not hear what I was saying.

And then I picked up the phone with all my might.

“Yes, hello?”

“Hello, this is Aoki. I have an order from Alice-sama.”

There it is, the order!

Oh no… I wonder if she’ll try something reckless again…

“…What is it this time…?”

“I think Kanzaki-san will make a request as early as today and as late as a few days from now, and you should agree to it.”

“Kaito-chan is…? 一What on earth is he going to ask me to do?”

Or rather, when did Ai-chan meet Kaito-chan?

Wasn’t he going out with…?

“Is that―?”

I asked, and Ai-chan explained everything from what had happened today.

“―No, no, that’s impossible! If that fails, I’m going to have a huge debt!”

“Don’t worry, it won’t happen. If it comes to that, Alice-sama will take care of everything for you.”

“一Just how much money does Alice-san even have…?”

“That’s not something you should be concerned about, is it?”

When I asked a simple question, she warned me in a harsh tone.

But still, I can’t help it but be curious.

After all, what Kaito-chan is trying to do involves an awful large amount of money…

Actually, how did it even come to this since he was supposed to be on a date with Saijo-san today…?

I’ve heard of it, but Aria-san quarrels too much!

“But maybe he won’t ask me to do it?”

“No, there is no other adult besides you that Kanzaki-san can rely on. Also, I’m sure you can persuade him since you probably don’t think anything of it anyway.”

“What’s up with that!? The other day, Ai-chan made a mess of the program and he was very angry with me! I was only doing what you told me to do!”

Thinking this was a good opportunity, I decided to tell her what I was unhappy about.

“That was your fault for being so reckless! I did tell you to make the program unusable, but no one told you to delete the source code! I was just trying to find out how big of a man he is, but if you go that far out of your way, anyone would be really angry!”

“I’m just saying that it’s wrong to try to test Kaito-chan in the first place! He doesn’t have a lot of friends, but he’s a good kid! Even with the program, you didn’t tell Alice-san about it, and it was Ai-chan’s decision to mess with him!?”

“It doesn’t matter if he’s a good kid or not, he’s not worthy of being Alice-sama’s opponent! Proving that he has the abilities is a must!”

This girl is saying such things again!

It’s as if the world revolves around Alice-san!

“That’s just Ai-chan’s expectations!? That’s not what Alice-san herself said!”

“No, I got it confirmed today.”

“Eh!? Then that means―”

“Yes, Kanzaki-san is definitely the boy who is supposed to be dead, that’s why Alice gave the order to him. Well, someone from somewhere didn’t do justice to that order…”

“Ugh… I’ve apologized to you for that many times already…”

The order that Alice-san gave me― That was to take care of Saijo-san and Kaito-chan.

However―

“You should really get a grip on yourself. I introduced you to Alice-sama because you insisted on becoming a teacher― But now Kanzaki-san is avoiding you, and you can’t even have a conversation with Saijo-san… How are you still a member of society?”

Ai-chan said so as if dumbfounded.

“It can’t be helped! Kaito-chan is dependable in spite of his appearance, so you might want to rely on him if you are in trouble! As for Saijo-san, how can she be a quiet and gentle lady!? How could a blonde-haired gal be a quiet young lady!?”

Naturally, I protested.

Because it’s different from what I’ve heard!

She says she’s a quiet and gentle girl, so I agreed!

Also, Kaito-chan was just following instructions!

Ai-chan was the one who told me to pester him because he avoids people!

Though I’ll admit, it’s my fault for losing my keys so often!

“That was something we didn’t expect either… Alice-sama was worried that if she didn’t do anything about it… there would be trouble― But nothing really happened, right? It’s strange that Kanzaki-san and Saijo-san are suddenly getting along, so Alice-sama suspected that something must have happened between them…”

“Yeah, that part’s fine! I haven’t received any reports of incidents or fights at school!”

“I hope so…”

Jeez, Ai-chan and Alice-san are so worried…

Nothing happened at school.

Most probably, Kaito-chan helped Saijo-san with something troubling, and then they just became friends.

Otherwise, if there was trouble between them, it would be strange for them to be friends in the first place.

“But more importantly, as I’m sure you know, the fact that Kanzaki-san is that boy means that he is an important person to Alice-sama. Also, the game to be played this time is quite important. No matter how nostalgic Alice-sama is, if you do something unnecessary in this case and he fails― You know what would happen, don’t you?”

Ai-chan changed her usual gentle tone of voice to a low one and told me so.

“I-I know already! I’m not going to fail this time!”

“I’m really counting on you… And of course, be careful not to let Kanzaki-san find out about our relationship. If he learns that we are involved, Alice-sama may be disliked by Kanzaki-san, even though we finally are able to make contact with him again.”

“I know that too!”

Really, just how intoxicated are you that everything you say is ‘Alice-sama this, Alice-sama that’…

In the first place, I’ve never even met Alice-san…

“One more thing, be careful not to get too close to any girl acquainted with Kanzaki-san. After all, you’re saying that Kanzaki-san’s dating multiple women is the “Proof that Kaito-chan is getting popular! And it means that he and Saijo-san are getting along great!” Rather, Alice-sama was sulking a little. She even said, “It was really… a mistake… I screwed up… 一I should check him out with my own eyes… to see what kind of person he really is.”… I even introduced you to Alice-sama and she even arranged for you to become a teacher at the school because she thought it would be easier to learn about Kanzaki-kun… Introducing you was the biggest mistake I ever made, like really…”

Ai-chan has been spewing vicious words at me with a sigh.

How awful…

I was just trying my best to help…

Or rather, it’s good that Kaito-chan is getting popular!

Alice-san, instead of sulking, should have just embraced Kaito-chan!

“Well then, how does Kaito-chan look from Ai-chan’s point of view?”

I had no choice but to change the subject a little because I felt like I was going to be verbally abused.

“I’m still not sure of what I’ve seen. However, when I was observing Alice-sama, I thought I had to blind him.”

“What’s that scary stuff you’re saying!?”

“No, I didn’t do it anyway, because it would have angered Alice-sama…”

Wow, she didn’t mean it as a joke!

If Alice-san allows it, she would have done it for real!

This is why I hate martial artists, they scare me so much!

“But― it turns out he’s a pretty interesting guy.”

“That’s because he’s a boy, isn’t it?”

“No, that wasn’t the reason.”

“Hee~― Then, what is it?”

I was curious about what Ai-chan had said, so I asked her.

Other than the fact that he was that boy, I was curious as to what else interested Ai-chan.

“It’s a secret. Especially for someone like you, it’s not a good thing to know.”

“E-ehh!? It’s something that bothers you to that extent!?”

“Yes. Also, I’ve been on the phone for a long time. I have to go back to Alice-sama’s side now, so I’m hanging up the phone. Anyway, please listen to Kanzaki-san’s request honestly. Last but not the least, please do not ask for anything in return.”

“Ah… yes, I understand. In return, if something happens, please take care of it, okay?”

“Of course. With that, excuse me.”

“Bye-bye.”

With that, I hung up the phone.

Anyway― This is a strange thing that has happened…

I’ve known that rich people are really bad just from listening to Mana-chan or Shinomiya Ai-chan, for a long time now.

Weak and strong.

It’s a world where only those who can prey and crush on the people around them can rise to the top and survive.

And all people in such a world are alike, they said.

Haa~… I’m really glad I was born a commoner…

Kaito-chan is trying to cross over to the people who live in such a world.

Good luck, Kaito-chan…

I prayed for Kaito-chan’s success, and returned back to the living room to admire Karen-chan for a change―.