What's Wrong With Interfering With My Childhood Friend's Love?

Chapter 23 : An Eye For An Eye, A Tooth For A Tooth

“Whoa, that guy over there looks like he’s with the girls too!”

“For real. So it wasn’t just one guy, huh?”

“But hey, looks like another girl joined too. Guess that evens things out.”

“Uh, I was a bit away, so I don’t really know what’s going on, but… do you need something from us?”

I couldn’t fully grasp their mood, but I stood my ground confidently. They seemed older, but I wasn’t even sure if we could have a proper conversation.

When I glanced at Akito, he sent me a look as if leaving this to me. But honestly, I was at a loss. That said, seeing how he looked like he was on the verge of throwing a punch, I couldn’t exactly back out either.

“It’s not about you—it’s about us. We’ve got business with the girls, so could you take a hint?”

“Sorry, I’m not great at reading between the lines. Could you be more specific?”

“Man, this guy’s annoying. Look, I’m saying—get lost. Got it?”

One of them stepped up, trying to intimidate me. I had asked Amagishi to pick a place where we wouldn’t run into guys like this, but…

At the very least, I was relieved Suisei wasn’t here. From what I saw earlier, she probably had no idea what was happening. I had to thank Kozuka for taking her away. Not to mention, Kozuka herself seemed like the type who would struggle the most in a situation like this, so it was good she wasn’t here either.

Since reasoning with them seemed impossible, I held back from replying. But then, Amagishi, as if he had reached his limit, stood up and stepped between us.

“Could you cut it out already?”

“Hah? You guys can wait your turn—”

“We have absolutely no business with you!”

“Well, we do.”

“If you’re trying to pick up girls, could you do it somewhere else?”

“Hmm, in that case, I guess we don’t need you. The other girls are good enough, and hey, an extra cute one just showed up too.”

“Oh, come on, she’s all feisty, but isn’t she small and adorable?”

But of course, they weren’t listening. Instead, they were sizing up Amagishi.

Losing patience, even her usual calm demeanor cracked, and her voice rose.

“You’re being unpleasant. Leave, or I’ll report you to the staff!”

“Yeah, yeah, none of that matters.”

“I’m serious—”

“You’re still in high school, right? I mean, you’re tiny, but I can tell.”

“…What?”

“I get that you’re naive about the world, but that just means you could have a real nice time, you know?”

“This place is a bit on the fancy side, right? You seem like the type who likes branded stuff—I can tell!”

“…I’m really going to report you.”

Even so, the men remained unshaken.

They weren’t exceptionally handsome like Akito, so I had no idea where their confidence was coming from.

Then, one of them started explaining smugly.

“Listen up. Do you even know who owns this bowling alley?”

“…The Kiryu Group, correct?”

“Ding-ding! And just for you, I’ll let you in on a little secret—I’m the heir to a company under the Kiryu Group. So, you see, any report you make? It’ll just get covered up.”

“…!!”

Amagishi fell silent at his remark.

Not because she understood their logic, but because of one word—”Kiryu.”

This had turned into a completely different problem. Amagishi was also from a company under the Kiryu Group, meaning she held the same status as the guy in front of him. If a conflict broke out here, it would be a mess.

The Kiryu Group had always been a major player in the domestic market, but in recent years, it had been in decline following the death of a major investor.

Causing an issue now could lead to internal division.

Sure, Amagishi’s report would go through, and the adults would handle it. But looking at the bigger picture, she couldn’t afford to act recklessly.

As if to emphasize that, Amagishi looked at me with an expression that clearly said she wanted to avoid trouble.

“I understand that senpais are sons of important people.”

“Yeah, yeah, now don’t beat around the bush.”

“But don’t you think what you’re doing is disgracing the Kiryu name?”

“Like I said, just get lost already.”

No matter how unfavorable, they refused to engage in actual discussion.

How could I handle this?

Then, an idea struck me.

Their confidence came from the power of the Kiryu name. If that was their foundation, there was a way to counter it.

Feeling guilty, I glanced at Chiya, who was standing behind me.

She sighed, but after a moment, she nodded.

“Can I ask you something? You said you’d show us a good time, right?”

“Oh? Looks like one of the girls is finally getting it!”

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

“You know, unlike how kids have fun, we could spoil you a little.”

“Hmm. Are you saying that with Kiryu’s power, you could provide a better experience than the Sahara Group?”

“Hah? What are you suddenly… Wait, did you just say ‘Sahara’?”

The guy’s face immediately stiffened.

Not because of the name—because he recognized Chiya.

“I feel like I’ve seen your face somewhere before… No way, you’re from the Sahara family—”

“Oh, so you really are some company heir. That’s right, I’m Sahara Chiya. And just so you know, as a favor to a friend, I’ve been supporting Kiryu too.”

It was obvious—they hadn’t expected the daughter of the Sahara Group’s president to be here.

The so-called heir’s face turned pale.

“No, wait, there’s no way you’re the real Sahara Chiya.”

“I am, though.”

“Isn’t she the one who kicked out her own mother? She’s the last person we should be messing with!”

“Oh? You know quite a bit.”

“Why the hell is someone like you just hanging around a bowling alley?!”

“Why not? It’s just entertainment.”

Brushing off their panic, Chiyo kept up the pressure.

They were genuinely terrified of her—that much was clear.

And it wasn’t just because of that one infamous incident.

“By the way, I hate it when people bring up that topic.”

“W-What are you scared of, Tetsu? Sahara’s just from a different group, right? No need to back down.”

“Y-Yeah, but still—”

“Actually, isn’t this a chance? No guards around, we could totally take advantage of this.”

“Ryu! You idiot, she’s not that easy to mess with!”

“Whatever, I’ll just take her down myself—huh?”

Now I understand.

The so-called heir was bad enough, but the real problem was the guy called Ryu.

He didn’t just refuse to listen—he was actually willing to get violent.

I had left this to Chiya, but there was no way I could stand by any longer.

Even though I was terrified, I stepped in front of her.

“Tch, know your place, you—ARGH!!”

He actually threw a punch.

I instinctively raised my hand to block—while still wearing a bowling ball on my fingers.

Of course, his fist crashed against it.

He yelped in pain, clutching his hand.

And yeah… my fingers hurt too. Probably because of a sprain as my grip on the ball was not that good.

“Argh!!”

“Crap, we gotta run!”

“You’re not getting away—”

“Riku, stop!”

“But—!”

He tried to use violence against Chiya… He tried to lay his hands on my childhood friend.

That alone was unforgivable, but Chiya grabbed my arm and shook her head.

“Please… Hey, Kaori, this bowling alley is reservation-only, right?”

“Uh, yes. That’s correct.”

“Then we can just check the booking history later to find out his name. Chasing after him now would only be dangerous.”

“…I see.”

“Don’t worry about that for now. First, focus on your fingers! I’ll go get some ice.”

With that, the crisis had passed, but our bowling game had to be put on hold.

I pressed the ice Chiya brought against my fingers to cool them down.

Miumi explained the situation to Kozuka-san and Suisei when they returned later.

“What a mess… I deeply apologize, everyone.”

“Kaori, you don’t have to apologize. I couldn’t say a word back there… Chiya, thank you.”

“It’s not a big deal. More importantly, Riku, with those fingers…”

“I’ll be fine. I just need a little rest.”

Just as Chiya said, with my dominant hand like this, bowling would be nearly impossible.

More than that, would I even be able to hold a pen properly? Not being able to use my dominant hand for a while was going to be a real problem in daily life.

But well, humans have two arms… I could just bowl with my other hand.

“Chiya, you really helped me back there. And Riku, this time you really stood your ground! Well, you look fine, so you’ll probably heal up quickly.”

Akito seemed relieved now that the trouble had passed and was finally regaining his usual composure.

In any case, it was a relief that things had settled before it escalated into actual violence. My fingers were still a bit numb, but it was just a minor injury that would heal with time.

“Um, Chiya-san… I know I probably shouldn’t ask this, but…”

“What is it?”

“I just can’t stop thinking about it. That guy earlier… he said you exiled your own mother.”

Now that things had calmed down and we were about to resume bowling, Miumi suddenly spoke to Chiya.

Why bring up such a sensitive topic out of nowhere?

I looked over at Chiya with a shiver, and the glimpse of her serious expression was terrifying.

Miumi was stepping right onto a landmine named Chiya… No, she had already set it off.

I screamed internally for her to stop, but it was already too late.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

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