Vol 1 Chapter 25: Troubles Always Pile Up (Vol 1: The Delinquent High School Girl’s Servant Survived and Advanced to the Second Year)

“Ah… what a hassle… I wonder how it came to this?”

The day after the duel with 『NEO-Rei』 was set, I flopped onto my desk and started grumbling lazily.

“It can’t be helped, can it? After all, it was Miyayuri‑chan’s decision.”
Katsuko, sitting beside my desk, said this in a resigned tone.

“Katsuko, you’re not exactly thrilled either, are you? Isn’t there some other way?”

Judging by her expression, Katsuko didn’t seem to have a favorable impression of 【Rurei】—who bears a striking resemblance to Miyayuri—so she wasn’t exactly eager about this decision.

“To be honest… that kid Kamiko—whom we have absolutely no connection with—is set to face Miyayuri‑chan’s relative’s child and Hineno‑senpai’s little sister. But we’re just Miyayuri‑chan’s pawns.”

“I do want to fight, though. I’d like to take on that Kamiko‑san, and even though I lost to Hineno‑senpai in sparring before, I’m curious about what her little brother, Hozumi‑san, is like—and I want to win.”

While Katsuko and I were reluctant about the battle, Kei alone was enthusiastic about the whole matter.

“You… you just barely made it into A‑Class, yet you’re so full of energy. If you’ve got that much energy, shouldn’t you start studying from today?”

The four of us—me, Miyayuri, Katsuko, and Kei—advanced into A‑Class, the advanced course.

Katsuko, who had ranked second in our year during the first year, entered A‑Class without a hitch, while Kei and I barely scraped through with our grades.
In our 45-student advanced class, I ended up around 37th, and Kei was almost at the bottom.
Kei’s grades through the second semester had made her admission to A‑Class seem hopeless, but she crammed for the final exam at the end of the year and managed to finish 11th in our grade—just barely making it in.

Incidentally, Miyayuri—who had been 10th in our year during the first year—was forced to take the blame on the very first day of our second year by being sent on a wild dash to the gym, earning her a two‑week suspension. Clearly, good grades and good behavior don’t always go hand in hand.

“By the way, before heading to the gym after school, I’m planning to stop by Miyayuri’s house. What about you two?”

“I’d love to go to Miyayuri‑chan’s place, but since I’m planning on making my comeback in the boxing world this year, I’ll be heading to the boxing club after school.”

“Oh! That’s great!”

I had heard that from Katsuko, but seeing her take action from the second day of classes really showed how serious she was.
I thought it would be a waste for Katsuko—the champion of the All Japan Under‑Junior tournament—to be buried in Storyt, so this was great news.

“What? Why are you so happy?”

“I hate to spoil the mood, but I’ve heard a rumor that the boxing club doesn’t have enough members and is about to be disbanded, right?”

“Huh? What do you mean? I haven’t heard anything about the boxing club being disbanded!”

Katsuko stormed over to Kei with a fierce glare.

“W-well… it’s kind of awkward for you to say that to me… If you go check out the boxing club, you can see for yourself if the rumor is true, don’t you think?”

“Yeah… I suppose there’s no point in asking someone like you.”

“…And casually calling me Shuso-san is pretty rude, don’t you think?”

While we were in the middle of our conversation, a pretty girl—or rather, someone who looked like a pretty girl in a women’s uniform—entered the classroom.