「 Tell me this 」
I ask Ishigami Mizuki.
「 What’s your school? You’re not from the same school as Misuzu, right? 」
The girls who attend the school for the young ladies…
Went to the garden party that was conducted at the garden of the Kouzuki main mansion.
She wasn’t there.
「 I’m attending a boarding school in Switzerland 」
Ishigami Mizuki.
「 Anju’s with me. I graduated from middle school in Switzerland and came back to Japan this July 」
「 I see, end of the school year in Switzerland is also before the summer break 」
Nei said.
「 School doesn’t start in April like in Japan, but the graduation ceremony is in July. 」
Nei went to America, so she knows about schools other than Japan.
Meaning, Ishigami Mizuki attended a middle school in Switzerland before summer.
「 And so, I’m transferring to a Japanese high school this fall. I’ve found a high school that will accept me so I’m attending a different school from the school for the young ladies 」
Ishigami Mizuki said, but…
「 No, if you talk to Misuzu’s school, they’ll accept you 」
In fact, Agnes just got enrolled recently.
「 Besides, Ishigami-san is a daughter of nobility so they should be able to accommodate you a certain extent 」
The school for the young ladies is run by Jii-chan and Kaan to protect the daughters of the nobility.
「 That’s, uhm… 」
Kurose Anju-san speaks.
「 Mizuki-sama might find it difficult to blend in with the class since everyone’s been attending since kindergarten 」
「 Anju, that was unnecessary’ 」
Oh, I get it now.
Ishigami Mizuki has a bit of a high-handed and limelight-hungry personality.
If she were to enroll into the school for the young ladies, where daughters of nobility attend, and a community of girls has formed…
She worries that she might be the one get left behind.
And so, she went to a different school.
「 Kurose-san’s going to the same school? 」
I asked.
「 No, I’m no longer going to attend school 」
「 Huh, why? 」
She’s a bodyguard though?
「 I’m not old enough yet to attend high schools in Japan 」
「 Anju skipped middle school in Switzerland and she’s completed the compulsory education in Switzerland 」
Ishigami Mizuki looked at her bodyguard and said.
「 She’s just a year younger than me. But since she can’t stay with me all the time in the Switzerland boarding school if we’re in a different grade. I had Anju study hard and have her enroll in the same class as me, which is a grade higher 」
Huh, Ishigami Mizuki just ordered Kurose-san to skip a grade?
「 And so, we finished our middle school in Switzerland together 」
「 But, there are no skipping grades in Japan, so I won’t be able to attend high-school until next spring 」
「 I see, but in such cases, you graduated in middle school there, if you have no choice, then how about going to Japan’s middle school even if it’s just for six months? 」
Nei asks.
「 If I go to high school and Anju goes to middle school, who will be my bodyguard?! 」
「 That’s why I’m waiting in front of Mizuki-sama’s school every day from morning until evening 」
Kurose-san said.
This is just absurd.
I mean, Ishigami Mizuki’s too self-centered.
Well, let’s leave that alone for now
「 Are there any other daughters of nobility like Ishigami-san who goes to other schools? 」
「 I think there’s only one or two apart from me 」
I knew it.
Going to that school is a status.
So, usually, the nobility sends their daughter to that school.
「 That was an oversight, not checking the existence of girls who attend a different school from Misuzu and the girls 」
Edie’s right.
The enemy used that oversight.
「 What about Mizuki’s school? 」
Mizuki’s brother, Ishigami Norio asks me in displeasure.
「 Well, I just confirmed it now. The bad guys used you to pinpoint us 」
I said.
「 I greeted all the girls who goes to Misuzu’s school. Besides, Misuzu, Ruriko, and Kaan Momoko-neechan are usually careful to maintain a good relationship with the daughters of nobility 」
Those who were at the garden party at the Kouzuki mansion had accepted my relationship with Misuzu.
We’ve gone through the right procedure.
Jii-chan, the head of the Kouzuki house accepted me.
And my relationship with Misuzu is public.
「 Therefore, even if you had a complaint about Motoko, the ladies in that school won’t’ come to me to complain. If they want to say something, they’ll go to Misuzu 」
I mean, unlike the Ishigami siblings.
I’m not from the nobility, but nobody among them thinks that they can order me around like a subordinate.
「 I’m sure that Koda told you that I’d just follow any orders as long as you give me a hard order without explaining, but… 」
「 You don’t know Yo-chan, that’s why you believed what you were told1 」
「 The enemy chose you to come here because you never met Darling 」
Nei and Edie said.
「 W-What does that mean? 」
「 That’s right, what is it that we don’t know about you? 」
The Ishigami siblings looked at me.
「 You don’t know me, and that’s why you just came here following Koda’s plans 」
I sighed.
「 We don’t know you well either that’s why we were skeptical about a lot of things 」
「 Koda’s told you to bring that taser gun you have, right? 」
Edie points out.
「 T-That’s indeed the case 」
Ishigami Norio holds the taser on his armpit and said.
「 Have they told you to use that without hesitation in case we raged? 」
「 Ugh, Koda also said that 」
I knew it.
「 Hey, explain what’s going on 」
「 What was Koda’s plan on us? 」
The Ishigami siblings don’t understand what’s going on it seems
「 Koda, or should I say that it’s the people backing Koda who made the plans, but… 」
I speak to the dumb son of noble.
「 The plan is for you to come here and create a fuss 」
「 Speaking of which, he was definitely fanning the flames 」
「 And so, if either you, or darling, or both, get hurt badly in the commotion, or accidentally die, then, it will develop to a major incident 」
Well, that’s how it should’ve been.
「 They didn’t expect Edie to knock him down that quickly. He brought nearly a dozen minions with them so I think they figured that those men can control the mess at their own pace 」
It was close.
We averted the worst situation by crushing Koda quickly, he was the head and the rest got scared by Edie’s strength.
「 I don’t get it at all. What is it about? 」
「 That’s right, explain it properly 」
Oh, these siblings.
「 It means that the objective was to lower Yo-chan’s reputation! 」
Nei said.
「 You two were just pawns for that purpose 」
「 Ishigami-san came over to the school to ask Yo-chan and yet, for some whatever reason, or even no reason at all, a violent incident happened, and Ishigami-san and others got injured or even killed as a result… 」
「 Those people are going to put the blame on Darling 」
Edie said.
「 They will omit the details and tell rumors that Darling’s a violent person and that’s why you two got in so much trouble. People will believe the lies if they know the fact that you actually got injured 」
「 And for that to happen, they’re making us face-off Ishigami-san 」
「 I mean, it won’t’ just be Ishigami-san who’ll get injured. The enemy’s considering killing me off depending on the situation. That’s why they made you bring that stun gun 」
I think.
「 Maybe you’ll feel threatened enough that you’ll taser me 」
「 But I heard that people don’t die from tasers? 」
Ishigami Norio said.
「 It was Koda who told you that, right? 」
「 Even stun guns can kill people once modded. There’s an example of that abroad 」
Edie and I replied.
「 Or maybe, using the taser to keep Darling immobile and use another method to finish him off 」
「 Even so, the fact that you shot Yo-chan will become a scandal! That’ll paint a picture where a son of a noble killed Yo-chan, right? 」
「 That’s what the enemy wants 」
That means…
「 In the end, Ishigami-san was just forcefully involved in this incident. The enemy target was me from the start 」
「 You? 」
「 Why? 」
The Ishigami siblings.
「 Just like you two. Some don’t find it amusing that I, who wasn’t born in the nobility, became Misuzu’s partner, the daughter of the Kouzuki house 」
I explained.
People are disgusted by the fact that people like me are getting inside the Kouzuki house.
That’s why they want to tear me off from Jii-chan and Misuzu.
Even if it means killing me.
「 The enemy’s set a trap to eliminate me, or ruin my reputation that the Kouzuki house had no choice but to abandon me 」
That’s the case.
「 Also, it’s a good idea for them to go to a place that won’t have Misuzu so she doesn’t get harmed 」
「 Meaning, the enemy wants to attack Yo-chan, but they don’t want to get the young lady of the Kouzuki house to get involved! 」
Then that means…
The enemy is someone who knows from somewhere that Misuzu won’t come to our school festival.
If the information is leaked, then…
「 Wait a second, if the enemy is saying that they’re concerned with Misuzu-sama’s safety, why is it that they’re trying to harm Onii-sama and me? 」
Right, they don’t care if the Ishigami siblings get injured or killed.
The people who could think that…
There’s only one possibility.
「 I see it now 」
Our enemy is within the Kouzuki house.
They got the information that Misuzu and Ruriko won’t come from the Kouzuki SS.
「 The biggest group who’s bitter about me getting into the Kouzuki house are them 」
Shou-neechan’s probably noticed the problem inside the Kouzuki house beforehand.
That’s why she can’t use the regular troops because that’ll leak the information to the enemy.
Kudou-papa and his unit had to be deployed.
「 Shou-neechan’s as reliable as ever. She plans to check the holes in the organization using this opportunity. 」
The enemy’s able to get inside the Kouzuki SS.
She’s deliberately let them swim to remove the entire group.
「 Hey, what is it that you figured out 」
「 That’s right, let us know too 」
The Ishigami siblings tell me with a displeased face.
「 Well, it just means that we’re in a bad situation 」
「 We’re in a predicament, whether we survive or not depends on the next moves 」
Edie smiled.
「 It doesn’t matter if it’s you or me. They will attack in this school, and if anyone’s injured, or dies, the enemy wins 」
The enemy’s subordinates have blended in with the school festival visitors
「 Furthermore, our enemy’s already hinted the possibility of a bomb 」
Edie looked at Kurose Anju-san.
「 Earlier, you told us that you were carrying a bomb on your backpack, which was a fake 」
「 Ah, yes 」
Right, Kurose-san was already forced to use bomb terror as a tactic.
Well, Kurose-san actually wasn’t carrying explosives, but still.
「 Those were Koda’s instructions too, right? 」
「 Yes, that’s right 」
Kurose-san replies.
「 That was an advance warning. The girl doesn’t have the bomb, but he gave bombs to others to kill Darling and the people at the school fest. 」
「 Why do it in such a roundabout manner? 」
Ishigami Norio asks with a dumb face.
「 It’s obviously to alert us to the explosives and make us use extra manpower 」
Kudou-papa’s definitely brought his subordinates, but…
He has limits in his manpower.
We’re in the middle of the school festival, and so we have students and guests watching.
Kudou-papa’s hidden crew can’t move much.
With a limited number of people, they have to constantly monitor the school to make sure no explosives are secretly brought into the school.
「 Well, using explosives would be the last resort. I don’t think they will detonate the bomb unless they’re sure they can blow up Yo-chan and Ishigami-san. There’s no point in injuring other people in an explosion and not the targets 」
Nei said.
The enemy doesn’t want to do just regular massacre terrorism.
I’m sure that they want to seize the power of the Kouzuki house themselves after kicking me out.
I’m sure they’re avoiding anything that could prove fatal to them later on if possible.
「 Anyway, we’ll send Ishigami-san off the school securely. Once you left the school and we’re apart, the enemy can’t target you anymore 」
If they were to get injured while still in the middle of their visit, then that would be my responsibility.
But if we’re to send off the Ishigami siblings and we’re apart, I can’t bear responsibility to that.
「 Our car’s parked outside the school’s main entrance 」
「 Contact your chauffeur, tell him to bring the car in front of our building 」
Ishigami Norio and Mizuki said.
「 Are you stupid? Your car is the most likely to be plastered with explosives! 」
You can have the car bought in front of the school building and they’ll detonate it as soon as you get in.
That’ll definitely kill me since I’m sending them off.
「 Koda was with you in that car, right? So, consider that there’s enough possibility that he’s done something to it 」
「 I-I see 」
「 That’s indeed a possibility 」
Please do something about these dumb siblings.
「 We’ll prepare a different car to send Ishigami-san off 」
I said.
「 Hey, Yoshi-kun, in that case, 」
Megu who had been quiet all this time, speaks up.
「 The room next to this one 」
Right, the room next to the reserve broadcast room is the principal’s office.
From there, you could go down to the hidden room in the basement and let Ishigami-san escape from the secret garage in the faculty parking lot.
「 Don’t Megumi 」
Edie stopped Megu.
「 Our enemy is investigating the school. If they can’t get Darling today, they’ll use it for their next opportunity 」
The enemy is inside the Kouzuki house, so they’re planning long-term.
「 If you let the enemy discover the secrets of this school, it’ll become a problem later 」
The enemy knows that the Ishigami siblings entered this room.
And if the Ishgami siblings were to be seen exiting the faculty parking lot…
They’ll figure out that we have hidden passageways here.
「 You both have phones, right? 」
「 Of course 」
「 I have it here too 」
「 This is the broadcast room so it’s blocked from radio waves. But, the enemy should be checking your location through GPS 」
The principal’s office and the hidden room in the basement and the secret passageway are all built to prevent any reception.
However, once they walk out of the hidden garage of the parking lot, they’ll get through the reception.
It’s troublesome to have the enemy know that it’s the exit to the hidden passage.
「 We need to leave the room as normal, and take Ishigami-san out of the school fairly and honestly 」
Going through students enjoying the school festival and visitors from the outside.
That’s a hard situation.
「 First, let’s arrange the car 」
We can’t use the cars from Kouzuki SS.
We need to consider that we have an enemy among the guards in the cars.
Our only choice is to rely on Kudou-papa.
Kudou-papa should’ve guessed the situation and is preparing the car already.
「 Yo-chan, call Minaho-oneechan 」
Nei said.
「 But, Minaho-neesan told me to deal with it myself 」
Right, Minaho-neesan.
「 Yoshi-kun. When you’re in trouble, you should consult with them, isn’t that a decision too? 」
Megu said.
「 Either way, we’re in a heavy situation so we’re going to need help 」
Edie added.
「 Right. I should ask for advice 」
I took the extension phone on the wall.
Since it’s Minaho-neesan, she’s likely to be listening to our conversation from the start.
But still, I’m going to use the telephone since the Ishigami siblings and Kurose-san is watching.
『 I heard it all. I’ve made some arrangements 』
As soon as I press the phone to my ear, I hear Minaho-neesan’s voice.
『 It’s common that you can’t decide everything yourself 』
Minaho-neesan seems happy that I chose to consult with her.
『 The first support group just arrived 』
As soon as the Minaho-neesan said that.
I hear a knock on the door.
「 Edie, open it. Support has come 」
「 OK 」
Edie opened the door.
「 Hello!!!!! 」
What appears is Kinosh*ta Ryouko-san, wearing some school uniform from some random high school.
She’s one of the Banbarubie 3 before, someone who moves in the shadows.
Kinosh*ta-san is trustworthy.
「 Oh, Hello. That uniform suits you, Kinosh*ta-san 」
She sure has a baby face that she definitely looks like a high-school girl
「 Ahaha, you’re making me blush 」
Kinosh*ta-san smiles.
However, her arm is holding her usual explosive flail.
