Chapter 91: Volume 12 - CH 4

“Alright, stupid chicken, see you tomorrow at school.”

It was currently 7pm. In front of the school gate, Masamune gave her final farewell, and then blasted off with her motorbike. I thought of seeing her home today, but she just said ‘Nah, I feel like letting this baby run wild’. I guess she’s built up a good amount of stress, raiding her parents and getting rejected by me.

“Still, how do I say this…”

Why are there so many strong girls around me? They can stand up just fine without any help. I guess this is what it means to become an adult. Well, I just pray they don’t turn into my Mom.

“Well…I guess I can’t lose.” I muttered to myself, and walked down the night streets.

That’s right, I have to become the butler for the Suzutsuki Family. For Konoe’s sake, who accepted my feelings; for Suzutsuki’s sake, who accepted me as her butler; for Masamune, who said she’d stay friends with me…I need to do whatever I can.

“…For starters, I guess I should report it to Mom?”

Right now, she’s overseas training and fighting whoever she can, but she still is my parent, so she should know about the future path I decided on.

“Hey, shitty brat.”

There, I heard a husky voice right ahead of me. Standing there was a tall but slender man. Long hair, sharp glasses on his face—wearing a butler’s uniform. I didn’t even need to look twice, it was Konoe Nagare. He’s another butler at the Suzutsuki Family, and now he stood in my path like he was waiting for me.

“……”

This is quite the emergency situation.

“Y-Yo, been a while, old man. What a coincidence.”

For starters, I attempted a simple conversation. However, the timing couldn’t be worse. To think I’d run into him here…

“No, this isn’t a coincidence.”

“Eh?”

“Kanade-ojousama set up the GPS of your phone, allowing her to confirm your location whenever I want to. I am here because of her orders.”

“……”

Go to hell, Suzutsuki Kanade.

“Huh? But, didn’t you smash your phone?”

“Hmpf, don’t underestimate a butler like me. I naturally have two phones.”

“In what world is that common sense…” I said, but I actually was sweating profusely.

It feels like he doesn’t even have any intentions of properly talking with me. It’s like you’d try and have a reasonable conversation with a starving lion. It feels as if my life could be over at any moment. I mean, he’s Konoe Nagare, Konoe Subaru’s old man, and a helicopter parent on top of that. Worse, he knows about the incident of today’s opening ceremony. Considering his previous patterns of action, he might just come straight for my throat.

“Follow me.”

Surprisingly enough, he said those words, and turned his back towards me………Huh? That’s unexpected. Why is he staying so calm? Not to mention telling me to follow him…Where? To hell? To my grave?

“What’s wrong, hurry it up.” He stopped for a second to turn around towards me, and said the following. “I’ll treat you to a meal.”

×

We reached a public park. It was located roughly in the middle between Rouran Academy and my home. Thinking about it, I often came here with Kureha, where she’d torture me with her wrestling moves, and it’s also the place where Nakuru hugged me during last summer break.

“…Alright, three minutes.”

On a small bench in the park, there sat two people—me and the old man. And, we both had instant ramen cups in our hands. For some reason, the old man treated me to cup ramen from the nearby convenience store.

“……”

…I mean, I also think that this makes no sense. First he’s treating me to something, only to make it cup ramen. So this is going to be my final meal, huh?

“What’s wrong, are you not going to eat? Your noodles will stretch.”

“Y-Yeah, also…why cup ramen?”

“You not satisfied?”

“No, I’m fine, but…what about you? You’re the butler of a renowned family, so eating cup ramen at such a place…”

“Heh, I don’t need you to worry. Gonna ruin the dinner.” He said, and started eating the ramen in his hand.

Slurping up some of the noodles, he let out a satisfied ‘…Phew’. Does he…actually like cup ramen? Oh yeah, Konoe did at least. Maybe it’s a shared trait between father and daughter? Or perhaps butlers prefer this kind of commoner food instead. Either way, I’m totally fine, since I love cup ramen.

“By the way.”

Right as I picked up some noodles with my chopsticks—

“Heard you proposed to my daughter.”

“………”

Oh lord, I can’t even taste my beloved ramen noodles. This is the first time I had dinner with such tension filling my body. I’d rather do some more pro wrestling with Kureha.

“…Old man, you saw Suzutsuki’s mail?”

“Yeah. Once I came home, Subaru also told me directly. That’s why I came here to talk to you.” He said, and slurped up some more noodles.

I was a bit surprised at his attitude. He just said ‘Talk to you’. I figured he’d go for my throat first.

“……”

Maybe I was having the wrong image of this old fart? He looks like a helicopter parent, but he might be quite docile…

“…Don’t worry.”

However, as if to interrupt my own thoughts, he said the following.

“All the way while coming here, I killed you 120 times in my head.”

“……”

“Thanks to that, I managed to stay calm. At the very least, you should be fine for another 30 minutes, so let’s get this talk done.”

“……”

…Scary. What’s scary? The fact that he can say that with a calm face. It seems like he’s raring to beat up the guy who stole his daughter from him. What’s even more terrifying is that this guy might become my father-in-law. Once that happens, I really don’t know if I can stay alive.

“Heh, no need to be so terrified. In fact, my opinion of you has improved because of this incident.”

“Eh…?” I froze up.

Improved…? Why? Wasn’t I the guy who stole his daughter…?

“I did read Kanade-ojousama’s mail.”

“Mail? The one she sent you with details about today’s opening ceremony?”

“Yeah. I was surprised, you know. To think you’d propose to Subaru in front of the entire school.”

“Well, I sure went all out.”

“On top of that, you beat up all of the teachers who tried to stop you, right? Declaring ‘Subaru is my wife!’ in front of all of them.”

“……”

Damn that Devil Suzutuski. She tried to make it sound more epic than it was. Or…maybe this was her way of trying to be considerate? After all, the old man’s attitude changed towards me thanks to that.

“Well, doesn’t mean I suddenly don’t hate you anymore. You got a k-kiss on the cheek by Subaru as well…”

“S-Shut up! I didn’t want that either!”

We both threw complaints at each other. Ever since we first met, there was just something that stopped us from getting along. Then again, he beat me up on our first meeting. Though I feel like his hate is a bit exaggerated…

“……”

Oh yeah, during the first shrine visit, Suzutsuki told me.

‘But, he clearly hates you far too much. After all…he ignored my orders.’

According to that, during the leisure land incident, she supposedly ordered him to hold back. But, he fully ignored that, and beat me up to the point of near death. As a butler, a master’s orders should be absolute, and yet…

“…Hey.” I found myself asking. “Why do you hate me so much?”

“……” His chopsticks stopped abruptly.

And then, like he was biting on an insect with his back teeth, he let out a sigh.

“—We resemble each other.”

“…What?”

“You and I. I really hate to say this, but you’re the exact same as I was back when I was younger. That’s why I get so angry when I look at you.”

“Wha……”

What’s that supposed to mean? I didn’t know what to say in the face of that revelation. Is it that? Feeling hate for people similar to him? But, I sure don’t see that.

“Don’t tell me…is it because you also proposed to a girl?” I said it as a joke, but I immediately heard a snapping sound.

He snapped his chopsticks in half. Okay hold on, what kind of reaction is that? Did he actually?

“Stop fooling around. I never proposed to somebody when I was a student.”

“Ah, I see, I guess that…”

“Well, we did run away together.”

“Isn’t that an even bigger deal!?”

Oh yeah, I heard from Konoe and this old man and her Mom ran away together.

“But…running away together, that’s a bit…”

“Shut up. I don’t want to hear that from the guy who proposed in front of the entire damn school.”

“Urk…”

I-I can’t argue back…But yeah, we might be pretty similar. A proposal and elopement. They are somewhat similar in a way.

“So that means…your family also used you as a punching bag for wrestling moves?”

“Huh? What do you mean by that, stupid brat. My family wasn’t made out of monsters like that. Also, is your family doing that to you?”

“Yeah, that’s how I was raised in the Sakamachi Family.” I shrugged my shoulders.

It’s all her—Sakamachi Akemi’s fault. She’s my Mom, and the one who raised me and Kureha in that spartan environment. Compared to my little monster Kureha, she’s a real one. Though of course, I’m a bit thankful. I ended up with a tough body thanks to that. Still, I wonder where she is right now, maybe fighting a bear somewhere in the north?

“—Wait a second, shitty brat.”

There, the old man spoke with a serious tone. Sheesh, what’s he want now? And what’s that serious gaze for? Did he awaken to some secret interest or whatever? Glasses and glasses together in a public park.

“W-What is it, old man. You want something?”

“…Well, this might just be me thinking too deeply into things, but…” The old man put one hand on his jaw, thinking. “Your family name’s Sakamachi?”

“Why are you asking me that now!?”

We met back in April. You didn’t know about my full name?

“What am I supposed to do? Subaru and Kanade-ojousama only called you ‘Jirou’ all the time.”

“Fine, then let me tell you here. My name is Sakamachi Kinjirou. My little sister is called Sakamachi Kureha, and my Mom’s Sakamachi Akemi.”

On a whim, I told him the names of my other family members. Since Konoe and I will get married, he’ll learn about them one way or another. Though, will this be okay? Both Mom and him are dangerous individuals.

“…Sakamachi Akemi?” However, that old man simply muttered my Mom’s name with a pale face.”Your mother is…Sakamachi Akemi?”

“? Yeah, that’s right. You know her? She’s overseas right now, but she’s on TV from time to time.”

Yeah, Mom’s a famous martial artist often on TV, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew.

“Well…I know a lot.”

“…A lot?”

“……” The old man just stayed quiet.

…Hold on, why does it feel like I stepped on a landmine? Please, say something. Now I’m feeling nervous.

“H-Hey, do you and Mom know each other?”

“……” After staying quiet for a moment, he responded. “…Yeah.”

I have a bad feeling about this. I don’t like that reaction one bit. But, I’m curious about their relationship…

“……”

Bad premonition versus curiosity, these two were battling inside of my head, but the winner was the curiosity in the end.

“By the way…what kind of relationship did you and Mom have?”

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“……!”

Immediately upon hearing my question, the old man started sweating profusely, and looked up at the sky. Silence followed. And then, after he put down the empty cup of ramen next to him on the bench—

“—My ex.” He threw a bombshell at me.

“…What?”

Because of this sudden revelation, my head stopped working. E-Ex? So basically, those two…!

“Yeah, you’re right.” Like he had guessed what I was thinking, the old man continued with a resentful tone. “Back in high school, we were dating. She’s my ex-girlfriend.”

×

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?” I couldn’t hold back a scream in the face of this terrifying reveal.

Eh? What is this about? I mean, I know exactly what this means.

“C-Calm down, shitty brat! We’re sitting in a public park at night, remember!? The neighbours will call the police on us if you scream like that!”

“Urk…Y-You’re not wrong, but…”

“Not to mention…her…Chia and us dating happened ages ago.”

“Who’s Chia!?”

“Huh? It’s her nickname, of course. Since she’s Sakamachi Akemi, she became Chia. Everyone called her that way during her student days…”

“Stop! I don’t want to hear about my Mom’s passionate youth!”

Gaaaaaaaaaaah I feel weird! Chia!? Mom…the real monster of my family…had such a cute nickname…!? And she dated this old fart before…!?

“Don’t be so shocked. Even I was young once. Everybody wants to enjoy their youth.”

“Y-You’re not wrong, but…I’m shocked you could date her.”

“Hm, that’s awfully cold despite being her son, you know?”

“I can say this with full confidence because I am her son!”

“Well, she was somewhat of a delinquent back then…” he said, and let out a sigh.

It seems like my Mom was a troublesome one back then. Ahaha, I can actually sympathize with this guy now. After all, she put me through a lot of trouble in my life so far, and I’m still young.

“What’s wrong, you’re so pale. You look like a dead guy.”

“Well…listening to you just hit deep…I mean, it’s Mom, you know? I can’t see that pro wrestling fanatic ever dating you…”

“Pro wrestling, huh? Yeah, she did say some weird stuff from time to time.”

“…Weird stuff?”

“Something like ‘If I ever make children, I’ll teach them wrestling’!”

“Why did you not stop her!?”

You were her boyfriend back then, right!? Shouldn’t you take up the role as a boyfriend to tell her off!

“Don’t be ridiculous. If I went against her, I’d be in danger for my life.”

“I mean, I fully understand how you feel, but…”

“That’s why I just said ‘That’s right, go do it!’, you know.”

“Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu damn chicken bastard!!”

“W-Why are you getting angry at me now? She was happy, and I lived to see another day. Nobody suffered.”

“Because of your lackluster lifestyle, my life was messed up beyond belief!”

S-So cruel…This isn’t right. What an awful butterfly effect this is. To think I’d find out here…It’s all because this bastard didn’t stop her…!

“W-What? You’re looking at me like I was the one who killed your parents…”

“Shut up. My life turned to shit because of you.”

“Heh, selfish as always. I had plenty of trouble myself.”

“Trouble…Were you attending the same school as Mom?”

“Yeah. Rouran Academy, in fact. Chia and I were attending it as well. I was working as a butler of the Suzutsuki family back then. By the way, we were in the same class all three years.”

“You’re both my seniors…”

I mean, thinking about it, it makes sense. Suzutsuki’s dad is the board chairman of Rouran Academy, so naturally a butler for the family would be attending it. However, to think they were classmates…

“Well, a lot happened, and I broke up with Chia.”

“…You alright back then? I feel like Mom can be quite emotional, so weren’t you having a fight during that breakup?”

“No problem. Took me three ribs though.”

“Sounds like a damn serious problem to me!”

“Heh, that’s an easy price to pay. She wasn’t called ‘Bipedal Hurricane’ for nothing.”

“Sure sounds like a violent nickname to have!”

Well, it sounds like Mom, alright. Her strength feels inhumane at times. Even inside the house, I sometimes saw this hurricane attitude. Thanks to that, not even my own home felt safe at times.

“Well, it’s a pretty long story, but…After Chia and I broke up, I started dating Subaru’s mother. Several years later, we ran away together, and got married. Then, Subaru was born.” The old man said, pushing up his silver-rimmed glasses.

Hmmm, he’s been through quite the dramatic life, huh. Well, he was already a lost cause when he started dating Mom. It’s like you’re dancing hand-in-hand with a bloodthirsty lion. If I was her, I’d definitely reject her.

“But, now I feel relieved.” There, the old man suddenly changed his tone.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“It’s simple. If you’re her son…then you won’t break from just a hit, right? She’s been training you over the years, yeah?”

“………”

Weird. He’s suddenly sounding like the enemy of a battle manga. Well, he’s not exactly wrong, but I’m scared as to why that would matter right now.

“Listen up, shitty brat. Let me get to the main problem.”

“……”

I swallowed my breath. Main problem, he said. He probably invited me out here in order to talk about that. And if I had to guess…

“Your wish is to marry Subaru and become the butler of the Suzutsuki Family. However, I won’t accept that. Neither as her father, nor as a butler of the Suzutsuki Family myself.”

“……”

Well, that’s about what I expected. I understand his feelings. If I was in his position, I’d probably say the same thing. Marrying Konoe, and becoming a butler for the Suzutsuki Family—I know it sounds weird coming from me, but it sure is a crazy plan to make.

“……”

But even so—

“That being the case, I’m giving you some homework.”

“…Excuse me?” I was bewildered.

Homework? Basically, if I clear that, I’ll be able to become a butler at the Suzutsuki Family?

“What’s wrong? Why do you look so confused?”

“I mean…I was surprised. You hate me, right?”

“Of course I do, I can’t stand your face. But what bothers me the most…is that my daughter is different.”

“…Konoe is?”

“Yeah. Today, when I came home today, she approached me, begging me to give you permission to become a butler for the Suzutsuki Family. Honestly speaking, even as a parent…I’ve never seen her that serious before.”

“……”

“Not to mention…it feels like Subaru changed a bit. Or rather, she managed to change. For a while, it seemed like she was pondering about something…but today, it felt like she finally overcame that. You’re the reason for that, right, you shitty brat. You saved Subaru. So, as her parent, I need to thank you.”

“…No, it’s fine. I didn’t do anything big.”

That’s right, Konoe herself managed to change. Because she didn’t stay down, because she didn’t give up, and worked hard.

“That being said, simply because my daughter asked for it, I can’t just accept you. That’s why I’m giving you some homework—a trial so to speak.”

“What trial are you talking about?”

It probably is about a butler, right?

“Ain’t that obvious?” The old man spoke with a light tone like he was talking during breakfast. “—A fight.”

“…Huh?”

“It’s simple. If you win against me, I’ll let you marry my daughter, and become a butler. That’s why, fight with me.”

“You fine with that kind of trial!?”

That doesn’t have anything to do with a butler, right!? I mean, since I’d technically be Suzutsuki’s butler, I guess I need to be strong in a fight, but this is just…

“What? You don’t like that? I’m being considerate of you, alright?”

“Huh? Considerate? What do you mean.”

“Hmpf, if you don’t get it, then let me explain it to you. You’re just some amateur in the end. If I gave you an actual trial worthy of a butler, you wouldn’t ever pass.”

“Urk…!”

T-This damn helicopter parent…! Now all of a sudden he’s bringing up a logical point!? I mean, it’s true that I probably can’t be a perfect butler right away. I probably have better chances in a fight with him. I’m the oldest son of the Sakamachi Family, and I’ve been trained for years. I’m a bit confident when it comes to my fighting skill. So in a sense, I guess he’s trying to be considerate of me.

“Not to mention.”

However…the old man suddenly grinned.

“With this, I’m allowed to beat you up as much as I want.”

“………”

Ahh, I see. This trial is just that convenient for him. Now he can legally beat the man who tried to steal his daughter to a pulp. Ahaha, am I going to be okay?

“Damn it…Your personality really is nasty…”

“Don’t be ridiculous. This is a natural thought process for a man who has a daughter. On top of that, you’re a good fighter, right? You’re Sakamachi Akemi’s son. Not to mention…”

“Not to mention…what?”

“……” He went silent for a moment. “No, it’s nothing. I’m getting the creeps just thinking about it.” He suddenly was all angry at me. “Anyway, you have to win against me. Simple is best, right? Naturally, if you lose, you won’t get permission to marry Subaru, and you won’t become the new butler of the Suzutsuki Family.”

“……” I bit my lip.

Damn it…He really is one nasty old man. He’s calling it a fight, but he’s clearly superior in strength compared to me. Remember what happened at the leisure land back in April. I couldn’t even hit him once. It’s been roughly a year since then, and I’ve been training on the side, but I have no idea if that helped narrow the gap…

“…Anyway, this is all I’m going to tell you. The day of the trial…will be this weekend, at the Suzutsuki Family’s garden. And then, I will test if you are worthy of being a butler…and worthy of marrying Subaru.” He said, and stood up.

Seems like he’s done talking. He stuffed the empty cup of ramen into the public trash bin, and was about to walk away—

“Ah, right.”

Right as he reached the exit of the park, he turned around.

“Hey, shitty brat.”

“What do you want, old man.”

“I mean, not like I have any reason to tell you, but…” He cleared his throat. “If there’s something you want, you gotta obtain it with your own hands.” He said, and walked out of the park for good.

“……” I was confused.

That just now…was he trying to give me advice?

“Damn it…”

Underestimating me again. To think he’d tell that to his enemy. He sure seems confident.

“…Stop joking around.” I grumbled, and looked at the palm of my right hand.

…Fine then. I’ll win against Konoe Nagare. If that allows me to become the butler of the Suzutsuki Family, and to be together with Konoe…

“…I’ll do it.”

While forming a fist beneath the winter sky, I muttered as if to affirm my determination.

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