In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 117

Chapter 117: ◇ SNS◇ Guilty!

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Saki: …Aah. My little sister beat me to it. I’ll just go ahead and apologize in advance. Mika, I’m sorry.

Mika: Sorry? For what? Did something happen with Sanae-chan?

Saki: Yeah. Actually, Sanae went to a home party. At the prince’s house.

Mika: The prince’s house? Why? Oh, wait. Was it Yui-chan? Because of her connection with the prince’s little sister?

Yuuko: Hold it right there! Did you just say the prince’s house? Or was that my imagination? Or maybe a hallucination in text form?!

Kyoko: A home party? I didn’t hear anything about that. Yuuko, did you?

Yuuko: Nope nope nope, absolutely not.

Kyoko: Thought so. But if her little sister invited her, I guess they wouldn’t bother informing us.

Yuuko: Nobody told me _|￣|○ I’m dying to know what it was like.

Saki: Apparently, Yui-chan suddenly invited her this morning, asking, “We’re having a takoyaki party at our house, want to come?”

Hinano: A takoyaki party! That sounds like a blast.

Ran: Lucky. I want to sneak weird stuff in and have a mystery filling contest.

Saki: She heard the prince would be home too, so she went happily with one of her friends… and then Yuuki-kun also showed up out of the blue. UGYAAAH! The hell?!

Hinano: Oh no, we’ve got another one breaking down.

Ran: Can’t be helped. Everyone’s totally stressed out from summer cram classes.

Mika: Why was Yuuki-kun at the prince’s house? Did he just show up out of the blue? Just like that?

Chika: Yeah, the reason Yuuki-kun was there… That’s the part I’m most curious about.

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Mika: Real Cross Game, huh? Running into each other at the park. But does stuff like that actually happen?

Shizu: It’s true there was a pretty big park on the way from the station, but I didn’t expect there to be a Link Point there.

Chika: Shizu, long time no see. You sure know your stuff. Are you playing the game too?

Shizu: No way. I’ve just been keeping up with current trends for interviews and essays. Unlike full-dive VR where your consciousness enters the game world, Real Cross Game requires actual walking, so they’re becoming popular for being a healthy game.

Ran: So, if you’re here now, does that mean you’ve got a bit of free time?

Shizu: Yeah, just a little. But I can’t let my guard down yet. I’ve just been lurking because I’d get burned out if I didn’t take breaks. When the Takeda family got mentioned, I decided to jump in.

Chika: A takoyaki party. Two boys and three girls. Sounds like so much fun around the table.

Ran: One of them is in the little sister position, so it’s basically a 2-on-2. So luxurious.

Chika: Whoa. That’s like the perfect guy-girl ratio from urban legend-level mixers. Can’t even let your guard down around younger girls. Oh, sorry—one of them was Sanae-chan after all….

Saki: It’s fine, it’s fine. I felt the same! That cheeky little Sanae!

Yuuko: A mixer?! That instant spark when you meet each other… Could it be… Love at first sight? Nooo, I can’t take it!!!! Sob sob. So younger girls are better after all?

Kyoko: Yuuko, I don’t think Yuusei-kun chooses people based on age.

Shizu: Yeah, you have to believe in that. Still, a takoyaki party… I wish I could’ve gone too (distant stare).

Saki: Sulking. Whatever. I’ll be patient for now. I’ll graduate from a good college, make tons of money, and build a house with a game room so awesome that Yuuki-kun will never want to leave! That’s my dream!

Mika: Oh no, I was thinking the exact same thing. Want to just build one together?

Saki: Hmm. That’s worth considering!

Yuuko: This is all the entrance exams’ fault. Yuusei-kun’s so kind, I’m sure he didn’t invite us because he didn’t want to distract us from studying.

Kyoko: Probably. And even if he had invited us, today we had that mock exam that was just like the real thing—no make-ups or online version—so we couldn’t have gone anyway.

Shizu: Just six more months left, girls! Let’s hang in there! If we don’t push through now, we’ll be stuck like this for another whole year.

Yuuko: I don’t want an extension of this hellish year! I’ll do my best! I’m getting accepted on my first try and living a rosy campus life with Yuusei-kun!

Ran: Wait, does that mean the prince already decided on his future path?

Kyoko: Yeah, he passed the school’s internal selection. But I’m sorry, I can’t say where yet.

Ran: Nah, it’s fine. I wasn’t trying to pry. Just figured, oh, the boys are starting to decide on their university too, huh?

Chika: Uesugi-kun hasn’t said a word about it, so I was kind of surprised to know the prince already decided on his university.

Hinano: Given Uesugi-kun’s personality, I bet he’ll only say something after he’s holding the acceptance letter.

Ran: I think so too. It’s too bad we can’t use his path as a reference. Going to the same campus would be great. But Yuuko, weren’t you originally aiming for a law specialty university?

Yuuko: That was back when I was still debating whether to pursue a career in law. I changed to a general university so I could take the civil servant exams. But the past exams are crazy hard. I underestimated general universities. I’ve really got to step up.

Kyoko: You say that, but you’re in the best class for general humanities at cram school, right? Your cram school is that elite one, right? And the number of students is pretty small compared to other cram schools too.

Yuuko: That’s what I thought too, but I’ve been on alert again.

Kyoko: Why?

Yuuko: Someone transferred into the class recently, and she’s insanely smart.

Shizu: A transfer student at this time of year? That’s rare.

Yuuko: Yeah. She’s from St. Catherine’s. Said she suddenly decided to apply to outside schools.

Shizu: Ah, you can’t underestimate girls from Catherine’s. They may seem like carefree rich girls, but some of them are absolute geniuses.

Yuuko: She’s not just smart. She’s a stunning beauty with a perfect figure. Graceful, refined, and with an aura of high upbringing and on top of that, she’s apparently aiming for the same school as Yuusei-kun.

Kyoko: Wow. You’d think someone like that would just go to St. Catherine’s University. What made her want to apply outside? A rich girl whim?

Shizu: Of course it’s the typical obvious reason? She wants to go co-ed.

Kyoko: Trying to escape girls’ school, huh. That I can understand. But if someone like that ends up at the same university as the prince… That’s a serious threat. Please reconsider and go to St. Catherine’s instead.

Yuuko: This is bad! I’ve got a bad bad feeling! Is this girl dangerous after all? What do I do?

Hinano: Looks like everyone’s already burning out. Studying is important, but you need a break too. How about we all get together and have our own takoyaki party one day?

Ran: Girls’ night! I’m in!

Yuuko: Yes! I’ll cook takoyaki with imaginary Yuusei-kun.

Mika: Full circle—back to takoyaki again. But please tell Sanae-chan not to worry about it. That takoyaki party was out of her control after all. 

Saki: Got it. I’ll pass along your kind words to Sanae. But Mika… Actually, the reason I apologized earlier wasn’t about that.

Mika: Huh? There’s something else?

Saki: Yeah… When Sanae brought home the takoyaki Yuuki-kun made, I got so mad I ate the whole thing myself. Sorry. Ehe~

Mika: Excuse me?! Apology not accepted! Guilty!! You’re 100% guilty!!

Saki: And there’s one more crime, but I’ll confess that next time.

Mika: What?! No way, I need to know! Spit it out now!

Saki: And once again, I’ll apologize in advance. Mika, I’m sorry.

Mika: We’re back to the beginning! What is it?!

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