I Got Dumped by My Childhood Friend Fiancée Who I Didn’t Even Like, I Thought I Could Finally Have a Peaceful School Life… But Then I Got Targeted by SS-Class Beautiful Young Ladies

Chapter 24: [Family Dinner] The Whole Family Gathered in a Luxurious Solitary Cell

After getting dragged along by my sister, we rode in the car for about forty minutes.

The place we arrived at was a grand Western-style mansion standing proudly in one of the most exclusive areas of the city. The Kirishima family’s main residence.

Stepping onto the familiar floor for the first time in half a year, I headed toward the venue where the “family dinner” was being held.

Maybe because it had been so long since I came back, the hallway that should feel totally familiar stretched out endlessly.

Small chandeliers hung from the ceiling at regular intervals, their light reflecting off the polished floor in an eerie way. The sound of my shoes hitting the marble echoed way too loudly.

This space felt suffocating, like even breathing without permission might be forbidden.

When I took shallow breaths of the air in this house—so far removed from anything comforting—it hit me all over again, no matter how much I tried to avoid it: I was back at the family home.

“……Still the same. Just a fancy, oversized prison cell, huh.”

The small, bitter jab I muttered along with a sigh got swallowed up by the lifeless walls without reaching anyone.

After walking down that oppressive hallway for a while, the dining hall where the dinner was presumably taking place finally came into view.

A pair of heavy double doors stood in front of me—clearly on a different level from every other door in the house.

The ebony doors carried a sinister vibe. That deep, almost absorbing black was engraved with the long-established Kirishima family crest.

It felt exactly like a checkpoint judging whether the person trying to pass was qualified.

I’d lost count of how many times I’d opened these doors, but every single time, tension took over my whole body. So far I hadn’t gotten even a little used to it. Oh, and just for the record, I had zero happy memories of ever stepping through them.

My throat, already dry, now stung with a sharp, burning ache.

……I wanna go home.

It felt ridiculous to think that after coming all this way, but just for a split second—the honest feeling buried deep in my heart flashed through my mind.

Of course I knew there was no such option. If that were even possible, Yuzuka wouldn’t have bothered coming all the way to my place just to drag me back.

“…………—Suu…… haa”

I slowly closed my eyes and steadied my shallow breathing.

Maybe because it had been so long, a clear memory overlapped in my mind: little kid me, trembling right in front of these doors back in the day.

The only real difference between then and now was my height. No matter how hard I tried to act strong, wounds people carry don’t just heal that easily—that’s just how the world works.

……Ah man, this is bad. My whole body’s shaking. I can’t move right.

Even though we’re blood-related family, I absolutely could not let the Kirishima people see me looking this weak in front of them. Showing any opening like that would just invite them to dig in.

But that didn’t mean the deep scars inside me were going to conveniently back off either. The freezing dread clung stubbornly to my skin and refused to let go.

“Still…… I can’t keep them waiting any longer……”

While I muttered that, staring helplessly at my right hand that refused to cooperate, something familiar suddenly streaked across the edge of my vision.

Trying to look away from reality, I chased after what it was—and remembered standing frozen in front of another heavy door not too long ago.

—Oh yeah. The first day I joined the Polishing Research Society…… it felt pretty much exactly like this.

Back then I thought the clubroom was empty, but when I went in, Azusa was there in just her underwear.

It really hadn’t been that long since then, but because every session there was so packed with intense stuff, it already felt like ancient history.

—Well obviously nobody’s gonna be standing there in their underwear when I open these doors.

Even though I knew it was impossible, just picturing it made a laugh bubble up. If there was even the tiniest chance someone in my family would do that, I’d probably get along with them way better.

—……Haa. Of all things to remember right now, it’s that club.

Super unfortunate—but, okay, maybe I can be just a tiny bit grateful. Thanks to that little memory, the tension and fear gripping me right up until now had eased off some. Enough that I could at least pull a decent face.

Before I realized it, my right hand moved smoothly, reaching out to the doorknob on one side of the double doors and gripping it firmly.

I closed my eyes and took one deep breath.

Before opening them again, I projected the ideal version of myself into the darkness behind my eyelids,

“……Here we go.”

Then I slowly pushed the door open with a low creak.

＊

A luxurious hall spread out to fill my entire field of vision.

A massive chandelier—way bigger than the ones in the hallway—lit up the whole space. Western paintings that instantly screamed “specific taste” hung everywhere.

The thick red carpet underfoot swallowed every inappropriate footstep.

And right in the center stood the star of this oversized room: one long table that could easily seat twenty.

Which was exactly why the scene felt so wrong.

Only four people sat at that enormous table. And all four turned their eyes toward me at once.

In the nearer seat was my sister, Kirishima Yuzuka. Across from her sat the eldest son, Kirishima Hyuga.

Farther back was our mother, Kirishima Nanako.

And presiding over all of us—like it was the most natural thing in the world—at the head of the table sat the current head of the Kirishima family, our father: Kirishima Sozen.

Father, Mother, and everyone carrying legitimate Kirishima blood were all gathered here.

It looked like the dinner had already started; everyone’s hands froze mid-motion.

In that solemn silence, Father quietly set his knife down once, then spoke in an expressionless voice I couldn’t read.

“……You’re late.”

“……I’m very sorry, Father.”

“……Never mind. Sit down. Your food’s getting cold.”

While saying that, he pointed to my seat with his eyes.

I walked over to the exact spot he meant, sat down as carefully as possible to avoid making any extra noise.

After confirming everyone was properly seated, Father picked up his knife again and

“……Then let’s resume. A pleasant family dinner.”

Nobody answered out loud. We all just moved our heads like puppets in silent agreement.

I did the same, signaling yes, and started on the meal laid out in front of me.