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 66, 67 & 68

Chapter 66

Side: Ayaka

“Waaah! It’s so beautiful!”

“It really is. So peaceful and lovely, isn’t it?”

Right now, my two classmates and I were gazing at the Shiraito Falls in Karuizawa.

The brochure said the waterfall had a drop of three meters and stretched seventy meters wide.

It was called a waterfall, yet the sound of the flowing water was soft and gentle. Simply watching it made my heart feel at ease.

“And besides…♡”

“We’re so lucky to have Ayaka-sama all to ourselves like this♡”

My classmates beamed as they said that.

At times, it felt as though they were teasing me a little. Still, that only meant they trusted me enough to joke so freely.

That alone was an honor.

“I’m going to take a picture and show Mother.”

“Ahh, me too!”

Watching the two of them hold up their phones and giggle excitedly made me smile.

These two, especially, were terribly afraid of men. Earlier, just seeing those two from “Academy SP” had made their bodies stiffen.

Honestly… of all people, they thought they needed to protect me?

How insulting.

I turned around to glance behind us.

Hm. No one there.

I had been certain those “Academy SP” boys would follow us, so I kept checking again and again with my 2.0 eyesight.

But there was not even the faintest shadow.

It seemed this peaceful moment would continue a little longer.

“More importantly… Ayaka-sama, are you truly alright?”

One of my classmates looked at me with unmistakable concern in her eyes.

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“Um… please forgive me if it’s only a rumor, but… I heard there may be some dangerous people targeting the Kirishima Conglomerate lately…”

For a moment, I did not know how to respond.

As expected of a prestigious academy for the wealthy.

It seemed the upper class had their own private channels of information.

She was likely referring to the Satsuroukai—the yakuza.

The Kirishima Conglomerate had once maintained certain… unsavory ties with them. But it had recently been decided that those connections would be completely severed. Since then, there had been whispers of possible retaliation.

Personally, I had always felt repulsed by the thought of the Kirishima Conglomerate having such dark associations. I supported the decision to cut them off.

Even so… I could not entirely dismiss the possibility that they might act recklessly.

But most likely, there was no need to worry.

“It’s fine. There’s no way anyone from the Kirishima Conglomerate would be attacked over something like that.”

I gave them a gentle smile as I said it.

In truth, I had heard the details from Father and my older brothers.

The newly appointed chairman of the Satsuroukai, Ashioka-san, was still young, yet he held firm control over the entire organization. He had personally assured them that they would never cause trouble for the Kirishima Conglomerate.

I rather liked Ashioka-san.

I had heard he was knowledgeable in economics and earned money through proper, legitimate means.

Under his leadership, the Satsuroukai would surely remain stable…

And quietly distance themselves from the conglomerate without incident.

“I see. Since there aren’t any of the Kirishima Conglomerate’s private guards with us today, I was feeling a little anxious.”

My classmate smiled, clearly reassured by my answer.

But she likely did not notice.

Her words had pricked my heart ever so slightly, like a tiny thorn.

“That’s right. They wouldn’t target me anyway.”

“Eh? What do you mean by that?”

“No… it’s nothing.”

There was no need to say more. It would only make them uncomfortable, so I ended the conversation there.

It was not that there were no private guards.

There were.

However… priorities existed.

Right now, the Kirishima Conglomerate was focusing all its efforts on protecting certain blood relatives—those whose lives absolutely had to be preserved above all else.

There were four of them.

First, the head of the Kirishima Conglomerate—Father.

Second, the current Minister of National Defense—my uncle.

Third, the eldest son, who would inherit Father’s will.

Fourth, the second son, destined to become the next Minister of National Defense.

My life—

And Mother’s—

Ranked below theirs.

“Ayaka-sama?”

“Ah, forgive me. I was simply lost in thought. It’s nothing.”

I steadied myself and composed my expression.

“If anything were to happen, I would protect you.”

The moment I said that, they shrieked, “Kyaa!”

At this point, it was almost playful exaggeration. Well, I suppose that was part of the charm.

In any case, there should be no danger.

The “Academy SP” boys were nowhere to be seen, and this forest camp would surely turn out wonderful.

—At least, that was what I believed.

“Heh!? Aren’t those JKs over there?”

“Whoa, they’re cute. Let’s invite them to hang out!”

The moment we stepped onto a quiet path with barely anyone around, a group of six men approached.

They were holding what looked like cans of alcohol.

Laughing loudly, they stomped forward and casually tossed the empty cans onto the peaceful, tree-lined ground.

Clang!

At the sharp sound, one of my classmates let out a small, frightened squeak.

“Oh, sorryyy. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“C’mon, it’s boring with just us guys.”

“We’ve got a car. Let’s go for a drive!”

…What are these monkeys?

Do they have no intention of speaking properly?

And why are they spreading out—blocking our path like that?

Can they not see my friends are trembling?

“Hey, we’ve been drinking though. Isn’t drunk driving kinda bad?”

“It’s fine, right? And if not, we can just grab a hotel nearby and have some fun.”

“Pfft! Sho-chan, you’re moving way too fast. Bringing minors in would be worse, wouldn’t it?”

…Their words were so vulgar they made my ears feel dirty.

“Alright then, how about we just hold hands with your big brothers here?”

The drunken men—likely university students—reached out to grab my classmates’ hands.

“Enough!!”

I moved without thinking.

Using Aikido, I twisted the wrist of the man who had reached out.

“Owowowowow!?”

But that only enraged the pack.

“Huh? What’s your problem?”

“You can’t just go twisting someone’s arm like that!”

“Don’t mess with us!”

There was nothing more shameless than this kind of self-righteous outrage.

Fine.

If that was how they wanted it, then I would fight.

But—

There were too many of them.

If it were only me, that would be one thing.

But could I protect both of my classmates as well…?

“What’s with that look, hah? Don’t look down on us!!”

Whether it was the alcohol or sheer stupidity, one of the men raised his fist high and swung it straight at me.

—And then it happened.

“Gyaaaah!?”

Right before my eyes, the man was sent flying.

For a second, I could only stare in disbelief.

…What just happened?

That man—he suddenly crashed into another and went flying?

No… that wasn’t it.

Looking closer, the second man was also sprawled out on the ground.

Which meant—

Someone had thrown the first man so hard that he slammed into the other and knocked them both down.

There was only one kind of person capable of something like that—

“What a fucking pain. Stop hitting on girls, you dumbasses.”

The one who had blown them away—and was now standing in front of me—shielding us—

Was… the other one from earlier.

The one without glasses.

“Huh!? Who the hell are you!?”

One of the drunk men shouted angrily.

The boy simply shrugged and gave a lazy grin.

“I’m their—SP.”

Chapter 67

Side: Yuuji

“SP, huhhh!? What are you trying to act cool for, bastard!?”

Yeah, alright.

Even I have to admit that was a pretty flashy entrance.

But I am technically their SP, so I wasn’t lying.

Anyway, the drunk idiots’ expressions changed instantly.

Not surprising.

I had just flattened two of them in a single move.

They didn’t exactly have the confidence to laugh at my “cool guy” entrance anymore.

“W-What…!? Y-You! Why are you here!?”

Ayaka shot me a sharp glare.

“D-Don’t tell me… you were secretly following us!? Impossible… I checked behind us several times and sensed nothing…”

Ah, right.

She had been glancing back over and over.

How cautious were you?

Well, she had good instincts and sharp observation skills—

But at the end of the day, she was still an amateur.

Back when I was in the French Foreign Legion, I handled night reconnaissance missions.

And during my time as a mercenary, I took part in urban operations and covert assignments.

Because of that, I’m pretty good at erasing my presence.

There was no way she would notice me tailing her.

“It’s not like I interfered, so what’s the problem? And besides… looks like we ‘Academy SP’ might actually be useful after all.”

After saying that to Ayaka, I turned my glare toward the guys who had been hitting on them.

“Hey. You’ve already been rejected. If you’re men, back off cleanly.”

I gave them a clear warning.

But they had zero intention of listening.

If anything, being lectured by a younger high school kid in front of girls only bruised their fragile egos even more.

“Haa!? Shut up, brat!”

“Don’t butt in, you little punk!”

One of them reached out to grab my collar—

So I casually slipped aside using MCMAP techniques and gently laid him flat on the ground.

“Wha—!?”

The guy blinked in confusion, like his brain couldn’t process what had just happened.

Ayaka, standing nearby, looked just as stunned.

“W-What was that technique…!?”

Hmm.

Maybe her opinion of me went up a little.

Maybe.

Anyway—

“Let’s not turn this into a full-blown fight. We’re in the middle of a fun forest camp. No need to ruin it over something this stupid.”

I gave them a proper warning.

That should’ve been enough—

…Or so I thought.

“Shut the hell up! Don’t look down on us, you little shit!”

…This is exactly why drunk guys are such a pain.

They clearly didn’t understand the situation at all.

With their cheap tough-guy attitude and fake swagger, they looked like low-level street punks.

Fine.

Guess I’ll just rough them up a bit and—

“—Ojou-sama!!”

A deep, booming voice suddenly cut through the air.

When I turned around, three massive men came running toward us.

Their black suits stretched tightly over their muscular frames.

That presence—

They were the real deal.

Professional SP.

“I-Imamura!?”

Ayaka shouted in surprise.

“Ojou-sama! So this is where you were…!”

The man called Imamura—apparently their leader—looked visibly relieved when he saw her.

So they knew each other.

Then Imamura turned a sharp glare toward the guys who had been harassing them.

“Do you fools have any idea who this young lady is? Were you trying to harm her!?”

That alone made a few of the guys stumble backward.

But the drunkest idiot among them showed no sign of backing down.

“What the hell did you say!? You wanna go!?”

And then—

SMACK!!

“Gahhh!?”

Imamura slapped him—hard.

The sound echoed sharply.

That single slap was enough.

The guy collapsed flat onto the ground like a sack of rice.

“…Still want to continue?”

“N-No more! We’re done!!”

Looks like he finally sobered up.

The group of pick-up idiots scattered and ran off at full speed.

Still… that was one merciless slap.

“Ojou-sama! Are you injured!?”

Imamura hurried over to check on Ayaka.

“I’m fine. More importantly, why are you here? Weren’t you assigned to guard my brothers?”

“Yes, that is correct. However, I was concerned about Ayaka Ojou-sama as well. I personally requested permission and rushed here. Though we are few in number, we will now take charge of your protection.”

“…Why now?”

Despite his formal explanation, Ayaka looked more irritated than grateful.

“They never intended to assign SPs to a mere woman like me in the first place.”

“O-Ojou-sama…”

“Whatever. …Imamura, please go buy some water. I want these girls to drink something.”

Ayaka turned toward her friends, who were still sitting weakly on the ground, their legs having given out.

She crouched beside them and gently pulled them into her arms.

“I’m sorry. Even though you’re afraid of men, I let you experience something frightening.”

“N-No… it’s okay…”

They said that, but tears continued slipping down their cheeks.

Well… after being surrounded like that, anyone would be shaken.

“—What’s your name?”

Ayaka suddenly asked, looking straight at me.

“Yuuji Takahashi.”

“Takahashi… I see. I’m sorry, but could you leave the rest to us? …I don’t want to frighten them any further.”

“—Understood.”

Yeah.

No more secretly tailing her.

Especially now that the real professional SPs were here.

The fake “Academy SP” should probably make his exit.

〇

Night

And just like that, the first day in Karuizawa came to an end.

I checked in with Wakita and Isoyama, and it seemed Sara and Ririko’s protection duty went smoothly.

Well… “smoothly” might not be the right word. Apparently it was troublesome in a different way.

“Man, you’re some kind of playboy, huh, Takahashi?”

Isoyama suddenly threw that at me while we were in our room, playing Old Maid with a deck of cards.

“Hah. What do you mean, playboy?”

“Don’t play dumb. What exactly did you do to make two conglomerate heiresses act like that?”

“Huh?”

“They were complaining about us the whole time. ‘Hey! Why isn’t Yuuji here!?’ and ‘…It’s boring without Yuuji-kun.’ Both Sara-sama and Ririko-sama were seriously annoyed. That level of selfishness? Total rich-girl behavior.”

—Oi, oi.

Chapter 68

“Yeah… guess I messed up.”

I muttered that while pulling a card from Isoyama’s hand.

Tch… that jerk was holding the Old Maid.

“So, seriously. What’s the deal?”

Isoyama leaned forward with a smug grin.

“What deal?” I shot back.

He didn’t hesitate.

“Between Sara-sama and Ririko-sama, which one are you gonna date??”

The whole room exploded with a loud “Ooooooh!”

“Yeah, I wanna know too.”

“As part of the ‘Aketo Conglomerate faction,’ I’m obviously rooting for Ririko-sama, but…”

“Still, Sara-sama’s hard to ignore!”

Ootani and Saeki were practically climbing over the table.

Didn’t expect them to be such shameless gossip lovers.

“Heh heh heh… You’re all too naive.”

Wakita adjusted his glasses dramatically, like some scheming mastermind.

“Yuuji is going for—both of them!”

The room erupted again.

“Oooooooh!!”

Oi, idiot!

“Two-timing? Bold move.”

“And with conglomerate heiresses, no less!?”

“This could spark a war that splits Japan in half!”

The hype in the room was completely out of control.

This seriously felt like one of those classic high school love talks.

…Well.

We are high schoolers.

“So? What’s the truth, Yuuji?”

While everyone else was making a racket, Wakita leaned in and whispered directly to me.

“…No. I’m just… not there yet.”

“Eh? Why so tense, Yuuji~? Don’t tell me Sara-san and Ririko-san aren’t your type? You don’t find them attractive or something?”

“That’s not it.”

I answered immediately.

In terms of looks and figure, both of them had their own charm. There was no way to rank one above the other.

As for personality—Sara was cheerful and kind, always thinking about others. Ririko might seem quiet at first glance, but she had a firm core inside, like steel hidden beneath silk.

To be honest… they were still high school girls, so part of me couldn’t fully see them that way yet.

But that didn’t mean I wasn’t attracted to them.

More importantly—

They had clearly told me.

That they liked me.

And yet, my answer was still on hold.

I kept postponing it.

It wasn’t because I disliked them.

If anything, I was happy.

Being pursued by girls that incredible—girls completely out of my league—anyone should be happy about that.

So the reason I hesitated wasn’t about them.

It was something deeper.

Did someone like me… really deserve to be happy?

Was it okay for a guy like me… to be the only one smiling like that?

That conflict had been getting stronger lately.

No—maybe it had always been there.

It had simply become clearer.

—○○!!

At that moment, it flashed through my mind again.

A memory from my previous life.

The image of a girl calling my name—

“—Alright, Yuuji! You lose!!”

Wakita’s irritating voice yanked me back to reality.

Ah, crap.

Don’t tell me… I’m the only one left holding the Old Maid!?

“Wheeeey! Last place! Yuuji’s dead last! Wheeeey!”

“You stupid four eyes—!”

“Well, you always crush me at the arcade, so this feels amazing! Serves you right!”

Isoyama and the others were grinning like hyenas.

“Okaaay, time for the punishment game! What should we make him do?”

Crap.

I’d completely forgotten.

Last place had to obey any command.

“Given the flow of things… how about a confession!?”

“…Huh!?”

“Yeah! Call Sara-san and Ririko-san and tell them, ‘I have something important to tell you’!”

“Oi!!”

Even Ootani and Saeki had jumped on the chaos train.

“H-Hey. Seriously. Anything but that.”

“It’s fine, Yuuji.”

“Huh? What do you mean it’s fine, Wakita?”

“I already sent the message to both of them!!!!”

He proudly held up—

My phone.

At some point, he had opened our group chat.

And there it was.

A message to Sara and Ririko:

「I have something important to talk about. Can we meet in front of the girls’ hotel?」

I see.

So this was the situation.

They’d cornered me into carrying out the punishment no matter what.

…Am I allowed to spear-hand strike this idiot in the throat?

“You bastard, Wakita!!”

“C’mon! Stuff like this is the best part of a forest camp!”

“He’s right, Takahashi. Go show them you’re a man. A real man.”

“I-Isoyamaaa…!”

Seriously though… I let my guard down way too much.

How did he even manage to take my phone without me noticing?

Wait.

Did I… actually relax around these guys?

In my previous life, that never happened.

Not even once.

“Hey, hurry up! They replied! Sara-san said, ‘What is it~? (*´艸｀)’ and Ririko-san said, ‘I’ll come!’ They sound super excited!”

That Wakita… acting like this has nothing to do with him!

“First of all, give me back my phone!”

“Okay, okay, here you go!”

“You sent such a suspicious message… One day, I swear—”

“Huh? What are you gonna do, Yuuji!? Don’t tell me you’re gonna hit this cute little me?”

“For now? I’m smashing your phone.”

“That’s such a low blow!? —Too bad! I have two phones! One’s just for games!”

“You rich brat! I’m breaking both someday!”

After our ridiculous back-and-forth, Isoyama just shrugged like he was watching idiots quarrel.

“Just go help those frustrated conglomerate heiresses blow off some steam. You barely talked to them today, right?”

Isoyama said it so casually, like it was simple, practical advice.

…Frustrated, huh.

With that, I didn’t really have an excuse anymore.

So, reluctantly, I headed toward the girls’ hotel.

…Though I’m almost certain those guys are going to tail me.

Whatever.

Still…

This whole situation—

It kind of feels like youth.

Like one of those classic high school moments.

“Haah…”

I let out a long sigh.

Technically, this was sneaking out without permission, so the school would probably scold me later.

But they had a hands-off policy when it came to us “Academy SP” guys.

So… I’d probably be fine.

The June night breeze in Karuizawa—just before summer—was cool and pleasant.

The girls’ hotel wasn’t some cheap place either.

It was a proper resort hotel, easily at least one-star class.

Well, it is a prestigious girls’ academy.

Honestly, choosing such an expensive hotel was probably partly for security reasons.

Daughters of conglomerates would naturally attract trouble.

Actually… now that I think about it, letting conglomerate heiresses wander outside at night isn’t exactly wise.

Whatever.

I’ll keep it short, talk a bit, and send them back quickly.

Though… what am I even supposed to say?

What’s this “important talk” supposed to be?

Those idiots really went too far with that joke.

Thinking that, I arrived at the meeting spot a little earlier than planned—

And saw someone I absolutely didn’t expect.

Long, straight black hair swayed gently in the night breeze.

She usually wore it tied up in a sharp, dignified ponytail—like the very image of a Yamato Nadeshiko.

But tonight, her hair was down.

It made her look softer.

More vulnerable.

For a moment, I couldn’t help staring.

So this girl… had such a feminine side too.

“You’re… Takahashi?”

Ayaka Kirishima noticed me and looked slightly surprised.

And behind her—

Imamura and the other SPs stood on guard.

Thank you very much for reading this far!

As mentioned before, the schedule for the special interlude, “Forest Camp Curry Showdown Arc,” has now been decided, so here’s the announcement!

-February 19 – Part 1

-February 20 – Part 2

-February 21 – Final Part

That’s the release plan, so please look forward to it!

Also, as of today, a supporter-exclusive short story featuring Ririko Aketo has been released!

The title is—

“Ririko Aketo’s Naughty Secret Scent ~An Empty Gym, a Forgotten P.E. Uniform (It Says ‘Takahashi’ on It). She Knew It Was Wrong, But Her Hand Reached Out Anyway…~”

-February 14 – Part 1
-February 15 – Part 2

Yes… the title alone makes you think, “This conglomerate heiress is hopeless…” but please take it as Ririko’s Valentine’s gift! (What does that even mean?)

Please continue enjoying “Academy SP”!