Although She's a Beautiful Student Council President Who Maintains Her Coolness Towards Everyone, She Wants to Act Spoiled and Lovesick Around Him, Who is Misunderstood by Everyone as a Delinquent - Chapter 52: Contact...

That night.

Riku’s smartphone vibrated several times, and the ringing of a phone call could be heard. When he looked at the screen, he saw that the call was from Rinka, who had been waiting to get in touch with him.

“Riku-san, it’s been a while. I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you until now.”

“It’s been a while, Rinka. Don’t worry about it.”

The two of them exchanged somewhat stiff greetings, but this was just a preamble. They both had a lot they wanted to talk about.

“You’ve been absent from school, haven’t you?”

“Riku-san, You already know about our situation, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I had Moe tell me. I had no idea there was such a tradition.”

“It’s ridiculous, isn’t it? This kind of tradition… But there’s no use complaining.”

Rinka sighed over the phone. It seemed like she was letting out all the hardships and sadness she had experienced up until now.

“Could you tell me how Shizuku is doing right now?”

“She’s been holed up in her room… She doesn’t seem to be eating much, and everyone is worried.”

“I see.”

“It’s not surprising. Shizuku-neesan has an arranged marriage meeting scheduled. They’re using her personality to make it impossible for her to refuse.”

“What!?”

“You know as well as I do, Riku-san. If things continue like this, Shizuku-neesan will have to accept the marriage meeting and break up with you.”

Rinka shared these new details for the first time. The punishment for breaking the tradition was already underway.

This reality hurt Riku’s heart in an instant, and it must have been even more painful for Shizuku, who had been abandoned by her father.

“I can’t stand to see Shizuku-neesan or you go through this. Riku-san, please lend me your strength.”

“Of course. I’ll do anything I can to help. You knew I’d say that and took action, right?”

“It’s because you’re the boyfriend Shizuku-neesan chose. It would be a failure if you didn’t say that.”

Rinka’s voice was heavy, but there was a hint of happiness in it as well.

“Have you told Shizuku about this?”

“I want to, but I can’t give her false hope.”

“What do you mean?”

“As you said, I took a leave from school to resolve this issue. As a result, my grandfather, who is my father’s father, wants to meet you.”

Rinka added, “I couldn’t think of any other way…” Her apologetic feelings came through clearly.

“So he wants to evaluate me.”

“Yes, I think that’s the case.”

Rinka agreed with Riku in a downtrodden voice. However, it was only natural for Rinka’s grandfather to create an opportunity to evaluate Riku. By intervening in this matter, the grandfather would try to persuade others to forgive Shizuku for breaking the tradition, and to accept their relationship. Because it was such an important matter, it was necessary to evaluate Riku’s “value.”

“When’s the meeting?”

“Tomorrow at 6 pm, please come to a cafe called Le Vin. It’s closed for the day, but you can still enter. My grandfather will be waiting there.”

Rinka casually mentioned this, but it was not common for someone to be able to open a closed cafe so easily. That alone showed how powerful her grandfather was.

“Understood. Thank you for going through all this trouble, Rinka.”

“I should be the one thanking you. Riku-san, thank you so much.”

“You’ve done a great job, Rinka. From now on, please leave it to me.”

The grandfather of the Kujo family was the real backbone who had developed and led the companies he owns.

There’s no doubt that such a person leads a busy life. However, Rinka managed to arrange a meeting between him and Riku. It’s impossible to measure how much effort she put into making this happen.

“Riku-san, please take care of Shizuku-neesan.”

“Yeah, Rinka, you can take a break.”

“Yes.”

And so, the 10-minute phone call ended. Although it was brief, the conversation was dense with information, and a path to help Shizuku became visible. Riku turned off his smartphone and lay down on his bed. What crossed his mind were his interactions with Shizuku so far and their date promises. Although they haven’t been dating for long, it’s because of Shizuku that he has been able to experience such happiness.

(I’ll definitely save her…)

Unconsciously clenching both hands, Riku muttered to himself over and over in his heart.

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And the next day came—the appointed time arrived.

After school, Riku, with determination in his eyes, arrived at the cafe called Le Vin.

(Is this it…?)

When he glanced at his wristwatch, it read 5:57 pm. There were less than three minutes left until the promised time. His expression naturally became serious, and Riku slowly opened the entrance door.

Clatter clatter.

The glass doorbell rang as Riku entered the store. There was no noise inside, just a single person sitting at the counter. A person exuding an indescribable aura of dignity and elegance from his back. Unconsciously, Riku’s gaze was drawn to him, and he could understand who the person was without saying a word.

After a few seconds of silence, Riku took a step forward.

“Are you the young man named Riku?”

With his back still turned, the man who was likely Rinka’s grandfather spoke in a dignified tone.