After I Confessed to My Childhood Friend and Got Rejected, I Threw a Game Offline Meetup to Cheer Myself Up, Only to Find Out My Long-Time Gaming Buddy Was Actually the Quiet, Silver-Haired Swedish Beauty Who's the Cutest Girl in School

Chapter 25: Alone with the Rich Young Lady

The limousine door closed, and it started off quietly.

Sitting across from him was a high school girl he had just met a few minutes ago.
No, the extremely wealthy young lady crossed her legs and gazed out the window.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Ayase Ruri, the only daughter of the Ayase conglomerate. My father is the current president, my mother is a former Hollywood actress, my older brother is attending the University of Tokyo’s law department… You must know that, right?”

She had a smug look on her face, but Amamiya, who did not have much interest in worldly affairs, answered honestly.

“…No, this is the first I’ve heard of it.”

Her face, reflected in the window, twisted slightly.
Amamiya knew the name of the conglomerate but did not grasp the finer details.

He was even doubtful if he knew the elderly couple living nearby.

“You put me in the car because you have business with me, right? Sorry, but I need to get home soon…”
“Yes, of course. Once our business is done, I will have you taken all the way to your residence. Now, shall we get to the main point?”

Not worried about the car swaying, Ayase took out a bottle of juice and poured it into a glass.

And with a smile that seemed like she was plotting something, she looked at Amamiya.

“I am in my third year at the number one academy in the prefecture, Seiran Academy, and I serve as the captain of the Game Grand Research Club team ‘Rose Queen.'”

“Game research club…!?”

“Not research club, ‘grand’ research club. Grand. Don’t forget that. Otherwise, I will bite you to death?”

She must have hated being lumped together with them terribly, because she warned him with a truly terrifying intensity.

Even Amamiya, who had mustered the courage to argue back against Tojo just the other day, swallowed his breath.

“It’s a boast, but my ‘Rose Queen’ is a team renowned even in the gaming industry. We advanced to the finals of last year’s national high school Q-sports tournament. We have ten sponsor companies, and our annual profits exceed a hundred million… It was so famous that we drew attention from all quarters because I had bet everything to build the ultimate team.”

Ayase continued boastfully, bending her fingers one by one, but her expression clouded over in an instant.

“But… that puny little girl, Amane Shiori, took everything from me with just one defeat. My pride, my victories, my future… everything!”

She slammed the drained glass onto the table with enough force to shatter it.

Amamiya’s shoulders jerked in surprise and he jumped, but he never imagined that the name of Captain Amane would come up here.

“What I desire is victory alone! As the eldest daughter of the Ayase conglomerate, I cannot allow even the slightest defeat!”

On top of that, she hated her like an enemy of her parents.
He had gotten dragged into something troublesome.

Ayase cleared her throat with a cough to calm herself.
Then she turned back to face Amamiya.

“So, I want to ask you. The internal information of that game research club you belong to. Amane Shiori’s play style, habits, weaknesses, combo timings, tell me all of it.”

Amamiya shook his head immediately.

“I refuse.”

Ayase’s eyebrows twitched upward.

“Oh my, such an immediate answer? What about the reward? I offered a million yen at first… how about two million? Even three million is fine. It’s a huge sum that could easily change your life.”

“I have no intention of selling out my comrades’ information.”

“Comrades?”

Ayase snorted through her nose.

“Comrades? That’s just from reading too many comics. A team is ultimately just consumable goods to get closer to victory. If they become unusable, just prepare replacements. Bonding hearts and such nonsense is pointless.”

It was here that Amamiya realized their ways of thinking were fundamentally incompatible.

He wanted to say something back, but his opponent was the daughter of a conglomerate.
Thinking it would be bad to make an enemy of her, he suppressed his emotions.

“No helping it… One million yen, I will pay you?”

Even so, Ayase kept negotiating without giving up.
She trusted too much in the power of money.

“Sorry, but my answer doesn’t change.”

At Amamiya’s resolute attitude of not nodding, Ayase’s eyes sharpened.
He felt the air inside the car grow heavy.

She must have been furious that her negotiation with such a large sum had not gone well.

The situation had turned bad, Amamiya thought—but—

“Hehe… You are an interesting person, Amamiya Takaaki.”

Her tone was gentle.

The limousine slowed down and pulled over to the shoulder of the road.
The driver hurriedly opened the door.

Before he knew it, they had arrived in front of Amamiya’s home.

“You have the spirit befitting a subordinate of Amane, my eternal rival. Please keep striving as you are.”

Ayase said this while pouring a second glass of juice into the empty one.

“You’re not angry that I refused? Like burying me in concrete and sinking me in Tokyo Bay…”
“Don’t say such violent things. What do you take me for?”

A person who tried to make someone else spy.

But he could sense that Ayase was rather pleased that the negotiation had failed.
Could it be that he had been tested?

If he could get home safely, anything was fine.
Amamiya took his bag in hand and moved to get out.

“Wait.”

Ayase called out to Amamiya as he tried to step down.

“Keep this matter secret from others. And remember this… In the next tournament, I will crush you all and win. I swear on the name of Ayase Ruri!”

Ayase covered her mouth with her hand and laughed loudly like a proper young lady.

However, because the driver closed the door right away, her laughter cut off midway.

The limousine carrying Ayase Ruri started off and left.

Amamiya stood there in a daze and thought about just going into the house, but he took out his smartphone.

《Ayase Ruri tried to negotiate with me to spy on the game research club. Of course I refused, but is it true that you know Senior Amane?》

He contacted Captain Amane to confirm the facts.
She had told him not to tell anyone else, but he could not help worrying and had to check.

《Yeah, she’s Ruri-chan, my super fan friend! (//∇//) She’s been all over me since last year, always inviting me to compete! Well, it’s the usual, so don’t worry about it (´ー｀) By the way, how much did she offer you?????? LOLOLOL》

She seemed to be enjoying herself over there too.

Ayase seemed to resent Captain Amane, but from the content of the email, maybe they had a good relationship…?

(Captain Amane and that rich young lady, both have such strong personalities. Plus, she knew my name… that’s scary.)
The next day, Kumagai called him out.
There was apparently a gathering of the popular group at a restaurant near the school.

For some reason, Amamiya ended up participating too—