Parameter Supremacy: The Man Who Seizes a Harem Through Sheer Effort. - Chapter 63.

Episode 63: Sensei?

Sagara Ryuuji’s POV.

We were enjoying the summer festival to the fullest.

We wandered from stall to stall, sampling delicious snacks as we went, and occasionally playing the games on offer. While strolling along the long approach to the shrine and letting our eyes drift across the colorful row of stalls, a large white event tent came into view in the distance.

Inside the tent, despite it being a summer festival, several older men and women in formal attire were seated. They were fanning themselves with a desktop fan while picking at yakitori and Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki that someone must have bought. A few of them even held cans of beer or glasses of shochu in their hands. It looked more like a small banquet than a festival gathering.

Among them, I spotted two familiar figures. I turned to the three girls beside me.

“Sorry. My guardian and Wakako-san are here, so I’m just going to say a quick hello.”

“Eh?”

Without waiting for Matsuri-chan’s reaction, I headed toward the tent alone. As I drew closer, I noticed a signboard that read “For Guests of Honor.”

“Sensei! Wakako-san!”

At my call, the two of them turned around with mildly surprised expressions.

“My, if it isn’t Ryuuji-san.”

“Oh, Ryuuji. You came too, huh?”

Sensei smiled warmly, and Wakako-san offered me a gentle smile as well.

“Yes, I’m here with some friends.”

When I answered, Wakako-san peered past me into the festival grounds. Because it was already night, she narrowed her eyes, trying to see through the darkness.

“My, it’s Isshiki-san’s daughter… and the girl from the hospital…”

Hearing those words, Sensei also looked over and confirmed the three girls. After giving them a polite nod, he beckoned with his hand. “Come on over.”

“Hello, Ichirou-san.”

“Hellooo~”

Noticing they had been called, Shiina and Moe stepped forward and greeted Sensei and Wakako-san. Sensei welcomed the two with a kind smile, and Wakako-san began chatting with them cheerfully.

—Huh? Where’s Matsuri-chan?

When I glanced back, Matsuri-chan was standing a little ways away with a complicated expression on her face. I waved her over, but she gave a strained smile and shook her head.

—What’s wrong with her?

Feeling concerned, I walked over to her side.

“Matsuri-chan? What’s the matter?”

“Um… that person… do you know him?”

Matsuri-chan pointed toward Sensei. From where we stood, the lights inside the tent clearly illuminated his face.

“Yeah, that’s Sagara Ichirou-san. He’s my guardian.”

“Your… guardian…?”

“Yeah. Why? Is something wrong?”

She frantically waved her hands in front of her face, looking flustered.

“It’s nothing! Really, nothing at all! I’ll go buy us some drinks! I’ll be over there, okay? By that ginkgo tree!”

With that, she pointed to a ginkgo tree a short distance away and dashed off toward another stall.

“Huh? Okay… but are you sure you’re alright?”

“Y-yeah! I’m fine! My throat just got really dry all of a sudden! Ehehe~”

Matsuri-chan hurried away without looking back.

“…What was that about?”

Still puzzled, I heard Shiina calling me from behind and returned to the tent.

***

Tsukishiro Matsuri’s POV.

“Sorry. My guardian and Wakako-san are here, so I’m just going to say a quick hello.”

Sagara-cchi said that and jogged toward the large tent. My eyes followed his back. Inside the brightly lit tent was a face I knew all too well.

“Eh?”

Moe-cchi noticed my shock and spoke up.

“Matsuri-chan, what’s wrong?”

I forced myself to look calm and shook my head.

Sagara-cchi had called that man “Sensei.”

Of course, since he was a member of the Diet, it made sense that some people would call him that. But that was in the adult world. Would a boy the same age as me really call him “Sensei”? If he did, then that could only mean—

One possibility flashed through my mind, and I shook my confused head. Could such a coincidence really exist?

At Sensei’s beckoning, Shiina-cchi and Moe-cchi went over to Sagara-cchi. I, however, couldn’t move my feet. I was too preoccupied with the relationship between Sagara-cchi and that man.

When Sagara-cchi turned around, our eyes met. He looked worried as he hurried over to me.

“Matsuri-chan? What’s the matter?”

Unable to hold it in, I asked the question that had been burning in my chest.

“Um… do you know that person?”

“Yeah, that’s Sagara Ichirou-san. He’s my guardian.”

“Your guardian…?”

The word caught my attention. Not grandfather? Not father?

Sagara Ryuuji. He has the Sagara surname. But the man called “Sensei” already has two daughters. They’re both old enough to have left home by now. I know that much. So… guardian? Huh?

—Wait… eh? Eh? Eh? The name… Ryuuji?

A single possibility rose in my mind. But could something so fated, so coincidental, actually happen?

Not wanting to worry Sagara-cchi any further, I forced a smile and slipped away. I quickly pulled out my smartphone and made a call.

After a few rings, the line connected.

“Hello, Matsuri-sama. Is something the matter?”

The person on the other end was Kashiwagi Satoshi-san—my grandfather’s close aide and a reliable uncle figure who had looked after me since I was little.

My serious tone must have come through, because the atmosphere on the phone grew slightly tense.

“What is it?”

“Could you look into a boy in my class named Sagara Ryuuji-kun for me?”

“Sagara Ryuuji… Understood. May I take a little time?”

“Yes, that’s fine. Please do.”

After the brief exchange, I ended the call. With this, I might finally learn who he really was. No—with Kashiwagi-san’s skill, the answer would probably come very quickly.

I hurriedly bought some drinks at a nearby stall and headed toward the ginkgo tree I had pointed out earlier.

***

Sagara Ryuuji POV.

“Sorry about that, Matsuri-chan.”

Shiina, Moe, and I found Matsuri-chan waiting under the ginkgo tree and apologized again. I felt bad for leaving them on my own for a while.

“Matsuri, is everything okay?”

Shiina must have noticed the slight awkwardness in Matsuri-chan’s earlier behavior. She spoke with clear concern.

“Nope, I’m totally fine! Ahaha, my throat just got super dry all of a sudden!”

Matsuri-chan held up the plastic bottle of orange juice in her hand and gave a strained laugh. It still felt like something was off, but if she didn’t want to talk about it, I couldn’t force her.

“Look! It’s a festival, so let’s keep enjoying ourselves!”

Saying that, Matsuri-chan flashed her usual bright, energetic smile. Maybe I had just imagined it. Or maybe she really had only been thirsty. After all, it wasn’t every day a high school girl wanted to chat with some random older man she didn’t know.

With that conclusion, I started walking again with the three girls, once more immersing ourselves in the lively atmosphere of the festival.

***

Satou Minato’s POV.

Ever since summer vacation started, I had spent most of my days either sleeping or playing games. Thanks to that, I had been feeling pretty good lately. After learning about Shiina’s feelings and Moe stopping making bentos for me, I had been under a lot of stress recently, but since vacation began, I felt like my mood was slowly improving.

Today as well, I had stayed up all night gaming and only noticed the morning had arrived when I looked out the window. The sun was already high in the sky. It was a refreshing morning. I was absentmindedly thinking about that when—

Click.

The door of the Isshiki house across the street opened. Shortly after, Moe stepped out carrying a large bag.

“She’s up this early even during vacation?”

Before I could finish wondering whether she was going on a trip—why was she in her school uniform?

“Huh…???”

The moment I saw Sagara Ryuuji walk out of the Isshiki house right behind her, I lost the ability to speak. I hurriedly closed the curtain, leaving only a small gap to watch the two of them. For a split second, it looked like Sagara had glanced in my direction, but he quickly turned his face away and walked off toward school side by side with Moe.

“W-why… is Sagara… coming out of Moe’s house…?”

“N-no way… But Shiina…”

My body began trembling violently from the shock. I dropped to the floor, crouching.

“Ugh… blegh…”

A terrible wave of nausea surged up. Ugly imaginations raced through my head, making me feel sick to my stomach.

“My Moe…”

I collapsed onto my bed, hugged my knees, and closed my eyes. Before I knew it, the sleepiness from staying up all night overtook me, and I lost consciousness.

***

Several days had passed since that day.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Moe. Why had Sagara come out of her house? The fact that it was at that hour made it very likely he had stayed the night.

But would Masaya-san and Midori-san really let a male high school student sleep over so easily in a house where Moe lived? Day after day, I sat alone, clutching my head in distress.

At that moment, my smartphone vibrated with an incoming message. It was from Kazuho, a middle school classmate.

Kazuho: Some of the guys from middle school are going to the festival. You in?

—Oh right. Today was the festival day.

Lately I had been so preoccupied with thoughts of Sagara and Moe that I had completely forgotten. Staying home would only make me feel worse, and I needed a change of pace.

MINATO: I’ll go. Tell me the meeting place and time!

After replying, I started getting ready.

***

“Long time no see, Minato!”

A classmate I hadn’t seen since middle school graduation came over laughing and threw an arm around my shoulder. We had been gaming buddies, but it had been a while since we met in person. A wave of nostalgia washed over me.

“Yeah, it’s been a while. You been doing okay?”

“Great, great! How about you?”

“Eh, can’t complain.”

In truth, I had been feeling down a lot lately, but I put on a brave face. I didn’t want to burden my old friends with unnecessary worry.

“I see~ Hey, I got myself a girlfriend! Look!”

My friend happily showed me a photo on his phone.

—She’s… honestly kinda plain.

“Oh, she’s cute! Good for you.”

Having spent so much time around Shiina, Moe, and Matsuri, my standards for girls had clearly become warped. At this level, I couldn’t honestly call her cute.

“What about you, Minato? C’mon, your harem! Kayano, Isshiki, and Tsukishiro were all super cute, right? Must be tough being so popular in high school, huh?”

That was the one topic I least wanted to touch right now. Shiina had said she liked Sagara. Moe had walked out of her house with that same Sagara. And Matsuri… lately I had been feeling some distance from her too.

“Ah… well, it’s going alright. We’ve been childhood friends forever, so they can get pretty clingy sometimes. It’s actually kinda annoying.”

“Whoa, I’m so jealous~!”

“No fair, share one with us!”

“But they’re cold to everyone except you, huh~”

My classmates laughed nostalgically as they reminisced about middle school.

All I could do was keep up the act. Going alright? I wasn’t managing anything at all. A dark stain spread deeper inside my chest. Even the lively festival no longer felt fun.

“Hey, hey… look over there…?”

Kazuho tapped my shoulder and pointed in a certain direction.

“……”

There they were—my three childhood friends, happily playing a shooting game together. Shiina and Moe were pressed snugly against the boy in the middle. Matsuri was also laughing and bouncing with excitement.

They had traded their usual clothes for beautiful yukata that made them look radiant, almost glowing. Those yukata… who exactly were they wearing them for…?

“Sagara…”

I clenched my fists tightly.

“Hey, um…”

Kazuho looked at me awkwardly.

“Sorry, I’m heading home.”

Black emotions swallowed my heart whole.

“Damn it… why…?”

While the festival bustled with noise and laughter all around me, my heart quietly sank into darkness.