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 44

Chapter 44: [Strategy Meeting] The Crybaby Heiress Wants to See Some Real Zamaa!!

Charlotte blurted it out with way too much excitement. Her cheeks were faintly flushed, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t just my imagination.

“H-Huh… it’s beautiful…?”

“Yes!!”

I asked that while leaning back a little, overwhelmed by the self-proclaimed zamaa otaku’s fierce energy, but she nodded vigorously with zero hesitation.

Charlotte kept going, her eyes looking almost feverish as she continued,

“The moment when some cocky idiot gets confronted with their own mistakes and comes crashing down!”

“U-Uh… yeah…”

“The instant someone who thought they were on top loses everything and goes completely pale!!”

“Um… your energy level is kinda scary right now…”

“Come on!! It’s seriously the best!!!”

It seemed like my voice wasn’t reaching her at all. Charlotte declared it with a refreshed, blissful look on her face.

I had no idea which series had pumped her passion up this high, but if she was this deep into it, I could totally understand why the clubroom had been completely remodeled.

On top of that, behind her both Rei-senpai and Azusa were nodding slightly with faces that said “I get it~”. The three of them had clearly awakened for real to the wonders of subculture. That was why these mega-wealthy heiresses had poured all their resources into turning this place into an overwhelmingly otaku room…

“…No no no. This is wrong. No matter how you look at it, doing this much in just two weeks means they’re way too hooked…”

Just as I was starting to adjust to the situation, my rational brain stepped in and somehow forced out a calm observation.

The three of them still tilted their heads with puzzled expressions and each tossed out their own words,

“Ehh~? But it was fun!”

“Yeah yeah. If something’s fun, you can’t help it, right? Actually… Yoichi’s recommendations were way too interesting, so isn’t that the real problem…?”

“That’s right! We’re a little confused about our new selves too! So please… take proper responsibility for turning us into this, okay…?”

“I don’t get how this became my fault, and Charlotte, your wording!!”

All three of them came back with arguments that sounded logical on the surface but were actually total nonsense.

To begin with, only Rei-senpai had actually answered the question properly. The other two were honestly impossible to follow. And for some reason Charlotte was looking at me with a shy expression…

While remembering that rare feeling of every single line of conversation being exhausting, I let out a small sigh.

I took a quick breather and slowly looked around the room again.

The high-class feeling was definitely still there. The sofas, the carpet, the scattered furniture—all of it. The original elegance hadn’t been ruined.

But with all the manga, light novels, and merch piled on top, they had instantly blended into the perfect otaku room scenery.

The result was this bizarre space where dignity and desire had fused together in some miraculous balance—

“…Yeah. It really is weird…”

That was where my thoughts landed once again.

When she heard that, Rei-senpai puffed her cheeks out a little and said,

“Ehh~ why~? It feels really nice now! Yoichi, you’re so stubborn!”

“Where exactly…?”

“Because… it’s way more comfortable than before, right?”

“Well… I can’t deny that. But still, this room is technically borrowed from the school…”

“Ah, don’t worry about that~! I already asked the principal and the board chairman to let us use the clubroom however we want!”

“Fufun,” she said, nose in the air with a triumphant look on her face.

“Asked, huh…”

It was probably less “asked” and more “applied pressure” under the name of a request.

I was making an awkward face at the explanation that still didn’t sit right with me when Azusa, who couldn’t stand watching anymore, spoke up,

“Come on, don’t sweat the small stuff. It’s already done anyway, right?”

“Yeah. Next time I’d appreciate it if you talked to me before you do anything…”

“More importantly… more importantly, okay? There’s something we want to tell you today, Yoichi. Right? Charlotte-chan?”

She completely ignored my tiny request and gave Charlotte a meaningful glance.

The blonde heiress in the direction of her gaze nodded slowly, then stepped closer to me.

“Yes! I have something I want to say to you, Yoichi!!”

She was still carefully hugging the light novel to her chest and looking up at me with sparkling, incredibly pure eyes.

“Something you want to say…?”

I already had a bad feeling at this point, but I answered anyway.

Then Charlotte came rushing toward me with so much momentum it looked like she was about to hug me,

“Yoichi!!”

“Y-Yes!?”

“I have a favor to ask!!”

“A favor…?”

She stopped right before our bodies actually touched.

While I tilted my head in total confusion, Charlotte declared with an innocent, childlike expression,

“I! Want to see real zamaa!!!”

“………………Huh?”

—Real zamaa… she wants to see it?

No, that’s definitely what I heard. It was so clear there was no way I misheard.

But if that’s the case, it made even less sense. What the heck did “real zamaa” even mean…?

Her single sentence instantly froze my brain.

Inside my oxygen-starved head, I somehow managed to find words to say.

“Um… by real zamaa, you mean…?”

“Zamaa that actually happens in real life!”

“Yeah… I figured, but you’re asking me for that?”

“Yes!!”

Charlotte answered my awkward, half-smiling follow-up question with a completely carefree smile.

No more words would come out of my throat. I could only stare silently at the girl who had just made this insane request.

—…Yeah. This person is seriously dangerous.

Lately I thought I’d started to understand at least a little about how these mega-wealthy heiresses worked, but apparently that was just my own arrogance talking.

How on earth does someone have the kind of thought process that lets them say “show me real zamaa” with such a serious, straightforward face? I was starting to feel an insurmountable wall between us as living beings.

All I could do was force a stiff smile. I tried to start a normal conversation anyway and said,

“Well, but… that stuff only happens conveniently inside stories… it doesn’t just pop up like a spectacle in real life…”

“But………… I want to see it. I really do.”

Charlotte pouted her lips a little and drooped her shoulders, but she still wouldn’t back down on that point.

I don’t know why. Logically I was probably right ninety-nine percent of the time, but when the girl who had been talking with such pure eyes earlier clouded them over and looked sad like this… it made this weird guilt well up inside me.

As if she could see right through what I was feeling, Charlotte continued with an expression that looked like she was about to cry,

“Is there… any way…?”

“No, ‘any way’ is…”

“Uuu… if there’s really nothing you can do, I’ll give up…”

“Ugh…”

It should’ve been fine. Letting her give up right there would’ve been the cleanest way to end it—but for some reason I found myself already thinking about solutions. I really didn’t like it, but it looked like I was about to willingly step into more trouble.

To be honest, it might not be exactly zamaa, but I figured I could create something similar.

Two weeks ago I’d heard about Ryuki’s plan from Nakamiya… I had originally planned to crush it quietly and for sure, but making the presentation flashy was actually pretty easy.

The only things holding me back were whether there was any real benefit to making it flashy and, more importantly, the fact that there was no need to drag these three into it—

—Wait… but, well. I’ve already been warned by the main family, and my relationship with these girls is public now… maybe dragging them in would actually be better…?

I stacked up all kinds of excuses inside my head and let out a small sigh.

It felt a little wrong to use the three of them for my own personal reasons, but in exchange I could show them something interesting and call it even.

I looked over at Charlotte, who was still standing there with slumped shoulders, and hesitantly opened my mouth.

“…I’m not sure if it can really be called zamaa, but…”

“Eh!”

Her golden hair gave a little twitch.

The highlights instantly came back to her eyes, which had clearly been downcast just a moment ago.

Seeing such an easy-to-read reaction made me smile wryly. I continued toward her,

“If it’s something similar… I might… be able to show you… maybe?”

“R-Really!?”

“Whoa! Too close, too close!!”

Charlotte leaned forward with the same high-pitched energy as a tiny excited puppy.

I held her back with my palm while scratching my head at how unlike me this was.

While all this was happening, Rei-senpai and Azusa, who had been quietly listening, jumped into the topic too,

“Eh, what what!? You’ve got something!?”

“For real? Yoichi, you thought of something?”

The three heiresses turned toward me with eyes that sparkled so brightly it was like glitter was leaking out.

I thought to myself that the conversation had gone completely in the wrong direction, but it was already too late to regret it now, so I put on a slightly serious face and said,

“…In return. I’ll need the three of you to help me out just a little. Is that okay?”

“Help?”

“Yeah. Just a small, easy bit of help.”

The girls glanced at each other for a moment when they heard me.

But they quickly nodded, and Charlotte spoke for all of them,

“It depends on what it is, but if it’s something simple, we’d love to help!”

After confirming their agreement, I gestured for the scattered heiresses to come closer and said,

“Alright, I’ll explain. The help I need is tomorrow after school… in the library on the old school building side—”