Academy SP 〜An Ex-Mercenary Reincarnated as a Mob in a Gal Game. I Ditched My Bodyguard Job to Enjoy High School Life, but When the Ultra-Rich Heroines Were About to Get Killed, I Stepped In… and Somehow Built a Harem Powerful Enough to Control Japan〜 - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

After school.

“Alright, time to head out. Hey, Wakita—”

I glanced over at the seat next to me, but he was already gone.

What the…? Did he head out into the hallway already?

We were supposed to hit the arcade together, too…

That jerk—did he run away because he was scared of losing the bet?

“Guess I’ll just go mess around somewhere on my own—”

That was when a low murmur rippled through the guys nearby.

“W-Why is she here…?”

“This is the old school building, right…?”

“No girls ever come here… so why now…!?”

What’s with this peak-teen panic…?

Thinking that, I turned my gaze in the same direction everyone else was staring.

And then I saw her.

In a space filled with nothing but the stifling presence of guys, there was someone who completely changed the air just by standing there—like a single flower blooming in the wrong place.

She wore a short skirt that immediately drew attention, short enough to show off thighs that were far too dazzling for a high school boy’s eyes, and her top hung open enough to be downright tempting, making you wonder if her underwear might show at any moment.

Her outfit and makeup were unmistakably gyaru-style.

Her long, beautifully dyed blonde hair was tied off to one side, and she stood outside the classroom, looking confident… or maybe just a little nervous.

Either way, she was completely out of place here—

And that alone was enough to make the whole hallway buzz.

“Is she here to meet someone!?”

“Someone from Academy SP!?”

“But didn’t almost everyone from the ‘Hagoromo faction’ already leave!?”

“Then why did she come here!? Don’t tell me she’s meeting someone!? Damn it—did someone call Sara-sama here just to rub it in our faces!? Who is it!? Who’s picking a fight with us like this!?”

The guys clenched their fists, barely holding themselves back.

Just the appearance of a single girl had filled the place with strange tension.

I mean… why was Sara here in the first place?

And more importantly—

Was she staring straight at me?

It almost looked like she was waiting for me…

“N-no, no… There’s no way I’m meeting Sara or anything… yeah, definitely not me—”

I kept muttering that to myself as I left the classroom, trying to casually walk past Sara.

But then—

Grip.

She grabbed my sleeve.

Why did this feel so familiar…?

“Where are you going?”

Puffing her cheeks slightly, Sara used just a bit of strength to stop me from moving any farther.

“Uh, well… I was planning to go to the arcade.”

“Hah!? Don’t tell me you’re going by yourself and leaving Sara behind!?”

“Eh, no, I mean—”

“Yuuji, you’re Sara’s exclusive Academy SP, right!?”

“…Huh?”

Exclusive…?

What do you mean exclusive!?

How did we even get there!?

“Hey.”

She clapped her hands twice—pan pan.

The very next moment, a black shadow slipped up beside her.

“Did you call for me, Sara-sama?”

What the—some kind of ninja!?

…Or so I thought, but when I looked closer, it was Wakita.

What the hell are you doing?

“Wakita! This isn’t what you told me! You said Yuuji was totally ready to protect Sara, so—so—Sara came all the way here for him! But now he’s trying to ditch her and go play by himself!?”

“Hahaha. That’s not it at all, Sara-sama. Yuuji Takahashi was simply planning to take you to the arcade.”

“R-Really…?”

“Yes. But seeing how beautiful Sara-sama is, he probably got nervous. Trying to go alone was just his way of hiding his embarrassment.”

“H-Hmm. So Yuuji has a cute side too. Hmm… I see. So you really wanted to hang out with Sara that badly… hmm…”

Sara suddenly started smiling to herself, clearly pleased.

Wakita smiled smugly right along with her.

I walked straight up to Wakita—

And grabbed him by the collar.

“Hey, what’s going on here? What did you do?”

“Easy, easy. Calm down~ Yuuji.”

“Don’t mess with me! Why is Sara Hagoromo here!?”

“I didn’t do anything special. I just told Sara-san, ‘Yuuji-kun said he wants to walk home with you.’ That’s all.”

“What is this, some elementary-school teasing-a-couple nonsense!?”

“Relax, relax. Normally, just hearing something like that wouldn’t make a young lady come all the way to an old school building filled with nothing but guys. Which means—since she did come… Sara Hagoromo definitely has a crush on you!”

“Wha—!?”

I snuck a quick glance at Sara.

She quickly looked away, fiddled with her bangs, and started shifting around restlessly.

She really did look nervous.

No way…

That couldn’t be right…

I mean, I was just Yuuji Takahashi—the ultimate mob character.

The main heroine who was supposed to fall for the protagonist, Amagaya…

There was no way she’d—right?

“Fufufu… you should be thanking me, Yuuji. If things keep going like this, you might just be chosen by the young lady of the Hagoromo Conglomerate—the group that practically rules Kanto. And who knows? You could even end up as a reverse-Cinderella husband. I went out of my way to set all of that up for you, you know?”

“Who the hell asked you to do that!? I told you, I just want to live a peaceful, normal life! Getting involved with a conglomerate heiress is nothing but trouble!”

“What are you saying, Yuuji? Now that we’ve come this far… you’re seeing this through to the end.”

Wakita said that with a suspicious grin.

“Just like I thought—you really are something special. Making a Hagoromo Conglomerate heiress fall for you that quickly… When you two get married, be sure to nominate me as your best man.”

“You idiot—!”

“Just give it up already. I’ve already told everyone that from now on, the two of us are Sara-san’s exclusive protectors.”

“That was your decision—!”

“But if you break that promise… I’m sure a lot of people would start criticizing you.”

“What!?”

“For example, the students at Academy SP. The people here would definitely start calling you a coward. And no one wants to stick around someone they can’t trust. In other words—you’d be completely isolated in this class.”

“Damn it…”

“And on top of that, you’d disappoint Sara-san the most. The girls at the academy would all start criticizing you too. ‘That guy is awful—playing with Sara-san’s feelings!’ …something like that.”

“You bastard…!”

“Aaah, yeah… grudges like that tend to follow you for the rest of your life, you know? ‘The troublesome guy who angered the Hagoromo Conglomerate’—that kind of reputation.”

Kufufufu, Wakita let out a soft, smug chuckle.

Damn it…

So this was his plan from the start…!?

“I won’t let you back out now, Yuuji.”

He said that and lightly patted my shoulder.

“If we keep going like this, our futures are basically guaranteed. Life after graduation is way longer than our student days, after all. We just need to endure a little now and properly set up our connections for the future.”

“You seriously—!”

“Well, looking forward to working with you from here on out, my dear best buddy♡”

With a dark, satisfied smile, Wakita threw an arm around my shoulders.

It seemed this guy was far more ambitious—and far more troublesome—than I’d ever imagined.

Part of me felt like, with Amagaya gone, he was finally showing his true colors…

Or maybe that was just my imagination.

Good grief.

Still… looks like I didn’t have much of a choice but to go along with this.

With a resigned sigh,

I started walking toward Sara.

“…!”

The closer I got, the more Sara’s eyes darted around nervously.

“U-Um…”

“Y-Yeah…?”

Seeing how tense she was, I spoke up again.

“W-Want to go to the arcade together? I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“Eh…?”

Say no.

Say no.

Say no.

Say no…

I wanted to mess around and play games while making bets with Wakita.

Having a girl around would totally ruin the fun!

I tried desperately wishing for it—but…

“U-Um… s-sure. I-I guess I don’t mind. It can’t be helped…!”

And with that—

Sara casually hooked her arm around mine.

Squish.

Her chest pressed right up against my arm.

At that exact moment, the killing intent in the classroom shot through the roof.

“That bastard!!!!”

“When did he get that close to a conglomerate heiress!?”

“And he’s rubbing it in like that—unforgivable!!”

…Yeah.

No matter how I looked at it, wasn’t my isolation in the Academy SP class basically guaranteed now?

Why were these guys exploding with rage just from seeing Sara’s chest pressed against me?

I mean, sure—

It was pretty impressive for a fifteen-year-old, but still…

“This turned into a mess… haah…”

I let out a heavy sigh.

“Muu… usually boys are happy when this happens…”

Sara looked a little dissatisfied.

“If we sync up with Hagoromo Bank’s systems, our company’s profits would skyrocket… mufufufu…”

Wakita, meanwhile, was already lost in thoughts of money.

And so—

My turbulent second youth had only just begun…

〇

Act 02.

Several weeks later—May.

As I climbed the musty-smelling stairs, the place I was heading for was… the rooftop of the old school building.

The season had slowly grown warmer.

But the reason I was going up there wasn’t to enjoy the refreshing breeze rustling through the fresh greenery.

I had been called here by someone.

I pulled the letter from my pocket and looked at it again.

Its edges were trimmed in gold, with a butterfly embroidered in golden thread—clearly far more luxurious than any envelope you’d buy at a post office.

Inside, written in elegant handwriting that looked like it had been done with a fountain pen, was a short message:

“Would you be willing to meet me once during lunch break? I will be waiting on the rooftop of the old school building.”

At the end was the sender’s name.

—Ririko Aketo.

Cree…

The rusty door let out a dull creak as I pushed it open.

Warm sunlight and a gentle breeze instantly swept away the damp, moldy air.

And beyond that breeze—

There stood a female student, her medium-length black hair swaying softly, her posture neat and graceful.

She noticed my presence and slowly turned around.

Brushing her hair back behind her ear, she looked straight at me with calm, clear eyes.

—Ririko Aketo.

Her legs were so long they made even a model standing beside her look pitiful.

Her face was so small it made an idol next to her seem unfairly oversized.

With her slender, perfectly balanced figure, she looked like a pure, refined actress who had stepped straight out of a TV drama—and her calm, composed atmosphere matched that image perfectly.

“Sorry—kept you waiting.”

“…No, it’s fine. I just got here myself.”

Her voice was calm and soothing, like it gave off negative ions.

…And yet, it was Kansai dialect!

From what I’d heard, the Aketo family was a conglomerate with strong influence in the west, their main house based in Osaka.

Ririko had come all the way to Tokyo to enroll in Yushu Girls’ Academy, which meant she was a born-and-raised Osaka native.

A refined Kansai accent…

That gap was nice.

Come to think of it, Ririko Aketo had a lot of fans back in my previous life too.

Remembering that, I got straight to the point.

“So, why did you call me out here?”

“…Well, actually…”

Ririko hesitated for a brief moment.

Then, as if she’d made up her mind, she spoke.

“…Takahashi-kun. Could you help me out?”

For just that instant, her perfectly composed expression looked dark—

As if it were being crushed by anxiety.

Next time — “Ririko Aketo Route”