Chapter 39

The weather at the start of the week was gloomy.  

Under a sky blanketed by heavy, oppressive clouds, I once again pushed my bike alone.  

Students heading to school walked across the campus grounds, some carrying umbrellas. It seemed it was going to rain today.  

I couldn’t care less about the weather.  

Maybe because it was the end of the long weekend, my body felt ridiculously sluggish. Last night, I’d stayed up unusually late reading a book, and now I was sleep-deprived.  

I hadn’t prepared any rain gear. I hated wearing things like raincoats, so whenever it rained, I’d just sprint home while getting wet. That method has worked out fine so far.  

“Oh? Oh my?”  

A voice came from nearby.  

I turned to look and found a botched two-block haircut peering at me.  

“Oh, it’s you. You’re such a pain this early in the morning.”  

“Wow, harsh. Your best friend is the one who called out to you, you know?”  

Sumahiko pulled a face. It was rare to run into this guy first thing in the morning.  

Ignoring him, I kept pushing my bike when he waved his phone at me.  

“I was gonna show you this amazing video, but now I’m reconsidering. Wanna see it?”  

“Not really.”  

“What’s with the bad mood first thing in the morning? Fine, here, take a look.”  

Sumahiko showed me a video.  

It wasn’t anything polished like what you’d find on a video-sharing site—just footage someone had casually shot on their phone.  

The video showed two people wearing boxing gloves, slugging it out in what looked like some kind of ring.  

“What’s this?”  

“Princess Battle Royale. Or, Hime-Roy for short.”  

“…Huh?”  

“The winner gets to go around next month’s school festival with the princess.”  

“…What?”  

The school festival is going to happen at the start of next month. As usual, I’d been pretty much left out of the planning and didn’t have any real responsibilities. My class had decided on a ring toss game for our booth, which sounded unbearably dull—what were they even thinking?  

Anyway, the festival buzz had already started to put the whole school in a slightly restless mood.  

“The princess community is really heating up right now. Apparently, some guy tried confessing to the princess, and things got messy with her entourage. Somehow, this whole thing sprang from that.”  

“How does it escalate to this? That’s such a leap.”  

“Beats me. I’m just repeating what I heard.”  

The story was all over the place and made no sense. Sumahiko didn’t know the details either—it was all hearsay. I doubted he even understood what a battle royale actually meant.  

“Where is this even happening?”  

“Up on the second floor of the gym.”  

“Huh? Our school?”  

I tilted my head, trying to remember if such a place existed. Then I recalled hearing there was a shabby old boxing ring on the gym’s second floor.  

Apparently, we’d once had some pretty skilled players, but without a proper coach, the club was on the verge of shutting down. These days, it supposedly had nothing but ghost members and had become a hangout for a certain crowd.  

“What are the rules for this? Kickboxing? MMA?”  

“Huh? Rules? Don’t know. It’s like those street fight videos on YouTube. That kind of vibe.”  

He made it sound simple, but it was ridiculously dangerous.  

Looking closer at the video, it was just one person beating on the other while the crowd cheered. It wasn’t even a proper fight. The punches thrown by the aggressor were amateurish, weak and sloppy, but for some reason, the bystanders were going wild with excitement, shouting and jeering.  

“Pretty messed up in all sorts of ways… Did you take this?”  

“No way, not me. There’s this private account, you know? Someone uploaded it there, and I got it from someone who has access to it.”  

“So, this is just a bunch of dumb idiots doing whatever they want, right? Lame.”  

“No, it’s officially approved by the princess.”  

“What?”  

If Miki herself was involved, that was a whole different story. I hadn’t heard a word about this from her.  

“When did this happen?”  

“Not sure, maybe last week? But look at you—you’re clearly interested. They’re taking sign-ups for participants now, by the way. I was even asked if I knew anyone.”  

“And that’s why you’re showing me this, huh?”  

“Man, you’re sharp. Didn’t you used to do some martial arts or something? You’d totally crush it.”  

“Pathetic. I seriously couldn’t care less.”  

“Come on, didn’t you go on and on about the princess before?”  

The princess, huh? To be honest, she was just a slightly mentally fragile girl who had good looks and decent manners.  

Yuki would describe her as an otaku, a social recluse, and closet pervert. Either way, I had no intention of getting involved in such a messed-up game. If the teachers caught wind of this, suspension wouldn’t even cover it.  

I walked past the entrance area and headed for the bike racks.  

Sumahiko, walking as usual, could’ve just gone straight to the classroom, but instead, he tagged along.  

He cheerily greeted one of the teachers we passed by with an exaggerated “Good morning, sir!”  

I doubted that teacher had any idea what kind of shady stuff we were talking about.  

“So, guess what? I’ve been invited too.”  

“What? To participate?”  

“No, no. Some senpai told me to come watch because it’s super fun. You should come too next time.”  

“You think this is fun?”  

“Well, apparently, even Princess Miki herself is going to show up.”  

“Seriously?”  

Anything Sumahiko said was usually secondhand gossip. It might be faster to ask Miki herself—assuming she doesn’t answer with a completely unrelated response.  

If something like this was going on, she’d have had plenty of chances to mention it when I visited her place. Or even during our previous phone call. Yet it hadn’t come up at all.  

It was probably just a rumor. Or, if she saw it as something irrelevant to me, then it wasn’t my business to meddle in.  

“You don’t have to participate. Just come check it out. Let’s go together.”  

“Are you scared to go alone? I’m not getting involved in this mess.”  

Battle royale or whatever—I didn’t want to get dragged into it.  

Maybe it was time to cut ties with this guy entirely. I’d have no one to talk to in class, but I could probably get along with the nerdy guys in the corner if I tried.  

Parking my bike, I headed to the school entrance. I swapped out my shoes at the lockers, and even during that, Sumahiko never stopped yammering.  

As I reached the stairs leading up to the classroom, I suddenly turned and veered down the hallway.  

“Hey, where are you going?”  

“The restroom.”  

I waved him off with a small gesture that clearly said, “Just go to class already,” but he didn’t seem to get the message and followed me again.  

Annoyed from the get-go, I pushed open the restroom door, only to be greeted by:  

“AAAAAHH, I WANNA B@NG TACHIBANA MIKI SO BAD!!!”  

“BWAAHAHAHAHAHA!”  

The obnoxious shouting hit my ears. Apparently, I’d wandered into a zoo rather than a restroom.  

One gorilla and a handful of monkeys were horsing around at the back.  

The moment we entered, one of the monkeys raised a hand toward Sumahiko.  

“Yo, it’s Katsura!”  

“Ah, um, g-good morning.”  

What? He knew these guys? I felt a strong wave of secondhand embarrassment. What the heck was he getting involved in?  

“So, you’re coming to watch next time, right?”  

“Uh, y-yes! I’ll definitely be there!”  

Sumahiko’s voice shot up, and he reeked of desperation.  

The gorilla lumbered closer and slapped him on the shoulder, letting out a deep laugh.  

“But hey, man, it’s gonna be sweet hanging out with Miki, right? How’s that for a win, little freshman?”  

“Uh, wasn’t it just, like, going around the festival together?”  

“Hah? Nah, that’s basically code, you idiot.”  

“Wait, what? Are you planning to attack her during the festival? Hahaha!”  

The monkeys immediately broke into ear-piercing laughter.  

With a smug grin, the gorilla added:  

“I’m telling ya, she’s gotta be a masochist. A little force and she’s mine for sure.”  

“You talk big, but can you really pull it off in person?”  

“No doubt, dude. As long as you’re assertive, you’ll nail it.”  

“Bro, those eyes of yours are crazy scary! You’re gonna get arrested someday.”  

The screeching laughter didn’t stop.  

Ignoring the ruckus, I quietly went about my business, washed my hands, and left without saying a word.  

I abandoned Sumahiko—aka Katsura, just a classmate—to fend for himself.  

Watching creatures like them from outside the cage might be mildly entertaining, but sharing your daily life with them? No thanks. I couldn’t comprehend the mindset of someone who willingly jumped into that cage.