Chapter 99

Kisshouin Reika-sama is the envy of all the girls in our class.

After all, with her name, she looks like a beautiful and elegant princess, she's a member of Pivoine, and on top of that, she's smart—she's perfect as a girl.

I've always wished I could become close to Reika-sama, but her group is full of equally glamorous girls, and I worry that if I upset her and get on her bad side, my position at Suiran would be in jeopardy, so I hesitate to approach her.

But I wonder what Reika-sama's daily life is like.

I bet she drinks tea surrounded by roses at home and holds poetry readings. Yes, that fits Reika-sama perfectly!

One day, during our second year in the middle school, I suddenly got a chance to get closer to Reika-sama.

Imagine my surprise when Reika-sama, of all people, decided to join the summer camp! It's the event that seems the farthest from her.

Reika-sama came alone, without any of her usual group, so I ended up being her roommate.

Rooming with Reika-sama! I was so nervous, worried I might make a mistake, but she greeted me with a smile, saying, "It's my first time at the summer camp, so please take care of me." I felt a bit relieved.

Reika-sama is the same age as me, yet she's so composed and hardly ever flustered. I should try to be more like her.

When night fell and the fireworks began, Reika-sama, who had been happily playing with hand-held fireworks, suddenly disappeared. I searched for her and found her with the class president, enjoying sparklers in a corner.

What?! The class president and Reika-sama—could it be a forbidden love?

I didn't really think it was true, but it was kind of amusing to imagine.

I decided to tell Miharu, who couldn't come due to family reasons, about it later via email. It's like a love story between a princess and a squire. I'm sure Miharu will find it amusing.

Officially, among us girls, the one who suits Reika-sama the most is Tezuka-sama, but the unexpected rival squire who inserts himself between the princess and the emperor—what will happen next?

I can't sleep unless the room is completely dark. When I mentioned this, Reika-sama accepted it with a smile. I was relieved.

When it was time to sleep, I darkened the room, and after a while, I suddenly heard Reika-sama's voice.

"Adjective-na form!"

...What? What was that?

It sounded like the conjugation of an adjective...

Is Reika-sama awake?

"Reika-sama? Is something wrong?"

"..."

"Reika-sama?"

"..."

Eh... Could it be sleep-talking?!

But it was so clear...

No, maybe I just imagined it.

Let's go to sleep.

After a while, Reika-sama's voice echoed in the darkness again.

"Adjective-i form!"

This time, it sounded like the conjugation of an adjective?!

"Reika-sama~? Are you awake~?"

"..."

...It seems Reika-sama is studying even in her dreams. Impressive.

I pulled the blanket over my head.

I hope she doesn't start reciting the Tsurezuregusa...

The next day, during the hiking break, Reika-sama was walking around with a metal rod in her hands.

Reika-sama?

That night, a ghost scare happened at the summer camp.

When the commotion woke me up, Reika-sama was already up, fixing her hair and peering into the hallway. Her hair, usually perfectly curled, was a bit looser.

The hallway was in chaos, and I heard that someone saw a ghost with messy hair and a white face, eating flesh and looking back with a vengeful gaze! It was terrifying!

When everyone was panicking, Reika-sama calmed us down, saying, "Everyone, please calm down!" With her confident eyes, she declared, "The ghost won't appear again." Her words made us feel safer. Reika-sama is amazing!

After that, the teachers promised to patrol thoroughly, and everyone returned to their rooms.

When I got back to the room and said, "That was scary, wasn't it?" to Reika-sama, she replied, "I'm not Maruyama Okyo..." and seemed a bit down.

I didn't quite hear what she said, but maybe, as a serious person, she felt responsible for the incident as the girls' leader. It wasn't her fault that the ghost appeared...

As Reika-sama predicted, the ghost didn't appear again, and we safely made it to morning. I think Reika-sama is truly remarkable for being able to make calm judgments in such situations.

Since the summer camp, I've been able to talk to Reika-sama more often.

Reika-sama, who is a member of Pivoine, is unusually willing to take on class committee roles, so as a fellow committee member, I get to consult with her about school events, which is very exciting for me, who admires her.

I sometimes see the class president talking to Reika-sama. Reika-sama is like a high-class rose, and not many boys can approach her casually. The squire is doing well.

But a new boy has appeared in Reika-sama's life!

Iwamuro-kun from the judo club, who looks rough and doesn't match Reika-sama at all. When they stand together, they look like a princess and her mercenary guard.

According to a friend in the same class, Iwamuro-kun is Reika-sama's recent favorite, and she enjoys dressing him up in girls' clothes for the sports festival and school festival.

Iwamuro-kun seems to be unable to resist Reika-sama and obediently lets her apply makeup. "It's like Beauty and the Beast, and they might actually suit each other," my friend said, but I want Reika-sama to be with the emperor.

I don't want to see Tezuka-sama with a weird girl. At the very least, I want him to choose someone we can all agree is wonderful.

Everyone knows that Tezuka-sama has always liked Yurie-sama, but if it's not Yurie-sama, the only one we can accept is Reika-sama.

My admiration for Tezuka-sama is relatively light, but if he chooses a boring girl, I'm worried about what the more radical fans might do.

♦♢♦♢♦

In the first year of Suiran High School, there are three people, male and female, who you absolutely cannot make enemies with.

One of them is the female boss, Kisshouin Reika.

She is the daughter of the Kisshouin family and a member of Pivoine. It's said that if you anger Kisshouin Reika, you'll end up making enemies with all the girls, such is her power.

I've rarely seen her angry, and she usually has a calm smile on her face surrounded by her entourage, but there's a rumor that she slapped Manaka Makoto, who tried to stage a coup, with a fan. Slapping with a fan is pretty intense... It's an aristocratic fight.

Manaka Makoto and her group of similar friends make a lot of noise, but they are no match for the goddess Carlie.

Even if we could beat Manaka, we can't. They are too strong.

Most importantly, their attitude towards us and the emperors is completely different! They call me by my last name and give orders! If I resist, they get angry! I want to tell Carlie-sama that Manaka and her group are getting too cocky, but I'm too scared to talk to Carlie-sama directly!

Kisshouin-san has two sidekicks who protect her like the wind and thunder gods: Kaze Fumika and Imaura Kikuno. They are scary.

These two lead the group in putting pressure on anyone who disrespects Kisshouin-san.

When I accidentally forgot to submit something in class with Kisshouin-san, I was surrounded by her entourage and glared at, "Don't bother Kisshouin-sama." My family had to bring it to me.

Once, someone jokingly called Kisshouin-san "Carlie" after she passed by, and they were taken away by Kaze and Imaura. When they came back, they were pale and completely subdued. What did they say to you...?

Since then, we've been self-censoring the "Carlie" nickname. If Kisshouin-san herself found out, we might be punished not only by her entourage but also by her fan.

Kisshouin-san has many secret nicknames, but "Macky" hasn't been discovered by Kaze and the others yet.

There's also "Dolly Girl" from the general atmosphere.

During the sports festival, some people were excitedly making puns like "Dolly Girl doing a quadrille!" I was a bit hopeful, but Kisshouin-san didn't participate in the dance. It was a shame. I thought her princess hair and dance would be worth watching, regardless of the pun.

However, Kisshouin-san appeared in the costume relay as a mouse with a pumpkin on her back!

The audience, who had been laughing at the other costumed participants, fell silent. The empress as a mouse...

We didn't know whether to laugh or pretend not to see.

Kaze and Imaura were cheering her on with expressions of "What a pitiful sight!" so I decided not to laugh.

When the mouse Kisshouin-san appeared, even the emperor and Ensho-kun were wide-eyed, but I was surprised to see the class president cheering her on with a smile, "Go, Kisshouin-san!" Is the class president a big catch?!

But since the class realized Kisshouin-san is lenient about costumes, they plan to have a cross-dressing café at the next school festival.

When I asked Sago, who is a class committee member with Kisshouin-san, "Kisshouin-san, the mouse was cute, but the butler costume was cute too, so come see us as a customer on the day," he laughed. They are really going to have Kisshouin-san cross-dress!

Not everyone will be serving; there will be a backstage group, but...

"Aren't you scared?"

"Of what?"

"Treating Kisshouin Reika like that. Didn't she get angry?"

"No, no. Kisshouin-san is a kind sheep inside. Oh! I'll ask her to wear sheep ears. I'll go ask her now."

Sago! You have too much guts!

Kisshouin-san in a butler costume with sheep ears... I might go just to see it.