A Late Bloomer's Powerful Restart ~My Second Life Starts at a Prestigious School Where the Gender Ratio Is Totally Off, and for Some Reason, All These Talented Girls Get Attached to Me...!?~ - Chapter 31: Her Hidden Past

Chapter 31: Her Hidden Past

◇◆◇<Third-person perspective>◇◆◇

There was hardly any young man from a good family who didn’t know about Sasa Kanaka.

The birth of the granddaughter of the family that led a major group enterprise… even if she was from a distant branch of the bloodline, it was treated as an important event that could not be overlooked in high society.

Back then, arranged political marriages were still very common, and many adults paid close attention to her existence because they wanted to form ties with the Kokonoe Group.

Of course, all the marriage proposals were completely rejected by her father, Kohei Kokonoe… but as a result, her name and face alone became widely known.

Her outstanding appearance, clear even from photos, and her amber eyes that strongly carried the blood of the Kokonoe family… even without any arranged meetings set up by parents, she was extremely popular among the sons of good families.

However, the number of people who knew about her life before she first appeared in high society… was extremely small.

Mitsu Mishina had to be protected from the treatment she was receiving from Riko Morozumi.

That was not a sense of duty coming from Sasa’s own position, but her own pure sense of justice.

Of course, it was something she could only do because she possessed that kind of power.

“They’ve moved again. To that empty classroom, I suppose…”

Sasa caught sight of Riko Morozumi leaving the girls’ dormitory with her two followers, heading not toward the cafeteria but somewhere else.

Especially after meals, very few students left the dormitory grounds, so the place became deserted.

Ever since she entered the school, Sasa had already figured out that Riko and the others were taking Amane to a certain room in the school building.

In that case… Sasa went ahead to their destination and hid herself in the locker room.

(It feels almost like I’m a detective.)

The camera she carried could take pictures in complete silence. If she captured evidence of Amane Mishina being attacked, the academy would have no choice but to act, no matter how much the victim tried to deny it.

Eventually, the sound of several pairs of footsteps—tap tap—reached the classroom.

Sasa held her breath and stayed perfectly still, but—

“…Kyaa!!”

Suddenly, the locker door was flung open.

“I thought some sneaky little rat was sniffing around… and it turns out to be you… Sasa Kanaka.”

“…!?”

Right in front of her stood Riko Morozumi and her two followers.

Noticing that Amane Mishina, who should have been with them, was not there, Sasa finally realized this had been a trap all along.

She tried to head straight for the classroom door to escape, but one of Riko’s followers immediately grabbed her arm and restrained her.

“Let—let go of me!”

“You’re not getting away. We have so many things we need to talk about with this girl.”

“…How did you figure it out?”

“Did you really think I was some idiot who never takes precautions? If you always pay attention to your surroundings, there’s no way you wouldn’t notice at least one hostile stare.”

Riko Morozumi… she was a dangerous girl.

Sasa, who had sensed that from the start, forcibly calmed her racing heart.

If her previous actions had already been noticed, then Riko had come prepared and set this trap accordingly.

“Even setting that aside, not noticing that your ribbon was sticking out… you’re… no, you’re an idiot too, aren’t you?”

Without even trying to hide her aggressive true nature, Riko sneered with contempt.

Just as she said, Sasa had been too focused on the camera… the long red ribbon she used in her hair had stuck out in the narrow space of the locker, and she hadn’t noticed at all.

“I almost burst out laughing when I realized it really was Kanaka-san.”

“There’s no way anyone could hide from Riko-chan.”

Following Riko’s lead, the two followers also snickered.

The difference between dealing with one person and being surrounded by three was huge.

And yet, they were taking this kind of action even though they knew she was the daughter of the Kokonoe Group.

—It was more than enough to plant a small seed of fear.

“Wh-what are you planning to do to me? Anyway, I already have evidence of what you’ve done. Do you really think the academy will stay quiet if you restrain me too?”

“You’re such an idiot. That’s exactly why we’re going to shut you up now! If you don’t want to feel pain… hmm, let’s see… I’ve got a great idea! Take off your clothes right here, right now.”

“There’s no way I’d obey! If you attack me, my Dad won’t stay quiet!”

If she used the power of the Kokonoe Group, she could wipe out not just Riko and her followers’ families, but even their relatives.

Even though Sasa never wanted to wield her parents’ authority like that, in this life-threatening situation she steeled herself to do it—but—

“Hey… why do you think we aren’t afraid of you at all?”

“Huh…?”

“Fufu, kyahahahaha! What a stupid face! Did something just click for you?”

In other words, she was subtly threatening: We have something on you.

Normally, anyone would think it was just a bluff.

During her school life, Sasa had always been completely open about herself.

Even her relationship with Taiki—she had never tried to hide it herself.

But she truly did have something that hit home.

A weakness she absolutely never wanted anyone else to know about.

“Ahaha, hahaha… I thought a gloomy place like a locker suited you perfectly. Because—”

With Riko’s loud laughter, Sasa’s ears seemed to grow distant.

—Riko Morozumi.

She was a girl who was practically a lump of desire for power.

Because she had encountered her. The heroine of this world—the one she felt should always be by her side.

To her, ‘Shika Nanamiya’ was that special.

A doll-like adorable appearance, with the grace of a princess. Though her personality had a timid side, to Riko Morozumi it was love at first sight.

The position closest to Shika Nanamiya… she felt it was her mission from birth.

That’s why she couldn’t ignore the talk that the Kokonoe Group had one daughter. Even though Kohei, Sasa’s father, had stepped down from the successor position and no longer showed himself, it didn’t matter.

All the adults put the name of Sasa Kanaka on the same level as Shika Nanamiya.

Daughters of two major group enterprises, the same age.

Just that was enough for some people to dream and talk about the Kokonoe and Nanamiya families joining hands.

To Riko Morozumi, that was something she could not overlook.

If that happened… then the person standing beside Shika Nanamiya wouldn’t be her.

Panicked that she had to nip it in the bud, she started going around high-society events to make direct contact.

However… until she graduated from elementary school, Sasa Kanaka never once appeared at those events.

Even though her father Kohei, who had stepped down as successor, and his son—Sasa’s younger brother—showed up at some places, Sasa alone never appeared.

Eventually, even the young girl began to sense that the adults were hiding something.

And after successfully making contact with the few people who knew the situation… she uncovered the truth.

“You were a shut-in during elementary school, weren’t you?”

“Eh…”

Sasa’s mind went completely blank.

That was her past, something the world was not supposed to know about.

The way her face drained of color showed just how effective that weakness was.

Riko gave a twisted smile.

Yes—that was why, from the very beginning, Sasa Kanaka had never been an enemy to Riko Morozumi.