CH 16

I became a 4th year, and it was around the time that the weather was starting to grow warm that it happened.

A boy from another school confessed to Yurie-sama. The news arrived just as school ended, and Kaburagi Masaya was in the Petite Pivoine salon. I had been killing time in the salon to wait for my lessons to begin, so I was present to witness the moment that a human transformed into the devil. Enjou chased after Kaburagi who had made a mad dash out of the salon, leaving the rest of us who were left behind, wondering if it was okay to talk about it. After some silently exchanged glances, it seemed that we all decided just to wait it out and see.

The result was that the student from the other school was instantly taken down by the sprinting Emperor. The Emperor had Yurie-sama board his car, and the two of them rode off, leaving the boy behind on the floor.

Ever since that day, in order to exterminate every boy who approached Yurie-sama, Emperor would always go to and from school with her in the Kaburagi’s car. Even when he wasn’t with her he had middle school students affiliated with the Kaburagi family standing watch in class, and even during Yurie-sama’s lessons, he would try to spend as long as possible with her.

His Majesty the Emperor, the idol of all the girls, had become a splendid stalker in the making.

If it continued like that, naturally even Yurie-sama would feel suffocated by it. Even if it was just the clinginess of a cute little brother, she still had a limit to her patience. And naturally, Yurie-sama eventually got angry at him, and partially to have him reflect, she declared that he was forbidden from approaching her.

Well, yeah. I mean, now that she’s in her second year of middle school, naturally she’d want to hang out with her friends after school once in a while, and there’d be times when she’d want to be by herself too. Think about it; keeping watch 24-hours a day, sticking to you like glue, and on top of all that, growling like a mad dog the moment a guy approaches you. Far from blaming her, I take my hat off to Yurie-sama for putting up with it for as long as she did.

And now, with Yurie-sama angry at him and having forbidden him to approach her, Emperor is down in the dumps. He’s just like a wilted plant.

He’s not a ridiculously arrogant person or anything, but he normally has this confidence, and this regal aura like the world belongs to him. And today it was nowhere to be seen. With dead fish eyes and a hunched over back, what he wore was the aura of a loser. Apparently even Enjou didn’t have a way to revive this shell of a person, and he was just watching over from the side, helplessly.

Perhaps they didn’t want to get wrapped up in his bad mood, because for a while now, the salon has had less people than before. Certainly, it’s what a wise person would do. But as the careless person that I am, I thoughtlessly opened the door to the salon today, looking for sweets. Even thoughtlessness should have its limits…

I had comrades in my thoughtlessness, so we quietly had tea together. Today’s tea is a black tea that the British royal family uses. The ginger cookies of the same brand are sweet. Aah, so yummy. But lately, maybe because I quit swimming school, but I get the feeling that I’m getting a little round… I’ve heard that your fat cells multiply during puberty. And apparently those fat cells don’t disappear all your life. How horrific. I’d better be careful… I think I’ll have just one more of these yummy ginger cookies.

“I’m done for…”

I think I just heard something that I wasn’t meant to.

“Yurie won’t even pick up the phone…”

Even after all that’s happened, he’s still been persistently calling her? Even though that’d just get her more mad…

“Yurieee…”

With his head in his hands like that, he’s the very picture of a useless husband whose wife has run away from him. I can’t watch this any longer.

I know what Yurie-sama is actually thinking.

The truth is at the English school that I’ve been attending since April, Aira-sama shares the same classroom as me. When my lesson finishes, Aira-sama’s begins, so we have chances to meet. And the other day, Aira-sama told me about her best friend, Yurie-sama.

According to Aira-sama, Yurie-sama didn’t think Emperor’s excessiveness was good for his future, so she was keeping him away in hopes that he would reflect on his selfishness and grow. Apparently just “raking him over the coals a little”.

I think those coals are just a little too hot though.

Emperor doesn’t think of Yurie-sama as an older sister. Even though it’s obvious to everyone that he’s the very picture of a boy in love, has Yurie-sama really not noticed? Wondering that, I asked Aira-sama, but apparently Aira-sama didn’t know either. “She probably has noticed Masaya’s feelings, but maybe she’s reluctant to acknowledge them because it would ruin their relationship~ Yurie herself can only see Masaya as a little brother after all.”

From an Oneesama in her second year of middle school, it probably would be pretty hard to do something as cruel as rejecting a little 4th grader and forcing him to see reality. You sure have it tough, huh, Emperor. Ah, speaking of which, in the manga he also had his heart broken by Yurie-sama, and ended up tattered as well, didn’t he. I had no idea that he was this bad from this age though.

While I was spacing out and thinking about that, perhaps his beastly instincts noticed, because Emperor suddenly glared my way. Geh-, this is bad.

“Oi. You there.”

“Y-, Yes?!”

Awawah, this is bad. I stepped on the tail of a wounded tiger!

“If there’s something you wanna say, then say it.”

“S-, Something I wish to say?”

Something I want to say, something I want to say… What the heck do I want to say? Aah, the fear is sending me into a panic.

“U-, Umm, apparently Yurie-sama wants to rake you over the coals a little!”

“HAHH…?”

UU HYOHHH! MY TONGUE SLIPPPEDDD!!

“Why do you know something like that?”

“I, I HEARD FROM AIRA-SAMAAA!”

AIRA-SAMA, I’M SORRY!

“Aira? You’re close with Aira?”

“We go to the same English tutor!”

“English tutor… I see.”

Emperor started to mutter to himself as he thought about something, but then he suddenly looked up and stared right at me. And his eyes were filled with power, like the cicada-shell-man from earlier was a lie.

“Alright. You. From now on you’re my spy on Aira.”

EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?

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