Ch.321October’s End, and Breaking the Seal (1)

BANG-!!

The Stunt Master blew his head off with a pistol in a spectacular fashion and promptly retired.

“Well, we cleared it anyway. This is essentially your victory, Sasix.”

I patted Sasix on the shoulder.

“Nooo!! This isn’t what I wanted!! I didn’t get a chance to shine!!”

Sasix shouted.

“Sasix. Too much modesty becomes poison. You’re the one who won the race.”

I said while casually rubbing my nose.

“No!! That’s true, but!! The sight of me performing amazing racing!!!! That just got casually skipped!!”

Sasix exclaimed.

“No… if we described that in detail, readers would drop the story.”

I replied.

“What nonsense!! Then let me make this clear!!! I did some truly incredible racing and secured first place!! Got it?! Readers?!!”

Sasix shouted while staring into empty space.

“Sasix… has changed from before.”

Umi said with a forlorn expression.

“Yeah. There’s not even a trace of his former cool-but-actually-lame self.”

How did a once-normal guy become like this…

“No. It’s because of you, Shota.”

Taiga immediately objected.

Anyway. We cleared the October dungeon.

———

With final exams and the cultural festival over, everyone was just waiting for the winter break starting December 1st. Unlike other schools where vacations come later, Emoshita had both summer and winter breaks early.

Amid this unsettled atmosphere, I achieved something.

I won the Popular Award in a contest. Yes, I won an award in a competition and got a regular serialization deal. Due to various circumstances, my web novel would follow an unusual path. For starters, every chapter would include illustrations. Yes, Ray Lifeng became my exclusive illustrator as promised. Odd-numbered chapters would be drawn by Ray Lifeng, and even-numbered ones by Umi. Umi had reached a professional level of skill. It’s reassuring but… honestly, it feels like more than I deserve.

‘Well… it’s my job to work hard so people don’t say the novel is only popular because of the illustrations.’

That thought increased my motivation.

“Hehehehe. The Popular Award, huh.”

I smiled while looking at the site banner.

“What’s the Popular Award?”

Umi asked at that moment.

“Oh. It’s an award given to works that didn’t make the top three but had good metrics. In other words, it’s the fourth-place award.”

Mika explained.

“Mika!! You don’t need to explain it so kindly!!”

I immediately stretched Mika’s cheeks.

“Ow! Ow! Shota!”

Mika tapped my hands repeatedly in surrender.

“Ah… Shota’s arms… so cozy.”

But that seemed to flip Mika’s switch. Ah. Our eyes met. When our eyes met, Mika and I immediately caught the mood.

“No, I can’t. Madoka is here.”

I tried to regain my senses.

“It’s fine. She can listen as early education.”

Madoka calmly said while sipping her ice cream.

“Early education…”

Eri immediately covered Madoka’s eyes. Yes. Well done, Eri.

Anyway, having cleared the October dungeon, I didn’t have much to do besides going to kendo practice after school and writing my web novel. Well, there is something. I need to practice proper contraception with my girlfriends while making babies.

“Well then… Ms. Aiko. You’ve been waiting patiently since your turn got pushed back. Come here.”

I gestured toward Aiko.

“I feel bad for cutting in line ahead of you young folks…”

Despite saying that, Aiko steadily closed the distance between us.

I skillfully removed Aiko’s clothes.

“Really… Shota-kun is something else.”

Aiko murmured shyly.

“Ahem. The title.”

I immediately corrected her form of address.

“Ugh… M-Master.”

Aiko said, bowing her head deeply. Hehehe. I like that.

I immediately pressed down on top of Aiko.

“I’m next…”

Aki awkwardly suggested a mother-daughter quota system.

“Come here, Aki. Master’s back is free. Embrace Master from behind.”

Aiko said with a chuckle.

“Okay…”

And so I began to enjoy my mother-daughter sandwich.

Ding dong-!

Just then, the doorbell rang.

“Who could it be at this hour?”

Taiga asked while secretly stealing Madoka’s ice cream as Eri covered her eyes.

“Probably just a door-to-door salesman.”

I said casually. The key point was that I continued what I was doing while moving my hips.

Ding dong-! Ding dong-!

“They’re persistent…”

Taiga clicked his tongue and got up to head to the entrance.

“Excuse me… is this Shota’s house?”

“According to the teacher it is… but will this person be helpful? He seemed quite unhinged when I saw him before.”

“But I heard he has a good reputation. He even solved the Science Club’s problem. Maybe he can help with anything.”

I could hear two women talking. Their voices sounded somewhat familiar.

“Open the door.”

I told Taiga.

“No… continuing to move your hips while saying that is a bit problematic, don’t you think?”

Taiga made an extremely sensible point.

“Is there a problem with me having fun with my women in my own house?”

I replied.

“You… your mindset is just barbaric.”

Taiga looked at me with cold eyes. Nevertheless, he opened the door.

Standing there were… seniors from our school.

Sayaka from the Kendo Club and Fiora from the Fencing Club.

“W-what… what are you doing…”

Sayaka and Fiora’s faces turned incredibly red.

“Ah. Hello, seniors.”

I greeted them politely. I’m a courteous young man with good manners, after all.

“Don’t greet us while moving your hips!!!”

Fiora immediately shouted.

“Ah… I’m almost done… let me just…”

I immediately increased my pace.

“I want to leave! What were we thinking asking such people for help!!”

Fiora tried to storm out.

“No… we need to rely on him, at least.”

Senior Sayaka held Fiora back with a troubled expression.

——–

Anyway, after finishing up, I put on some clothes and sat down.

“Here’s some tea.”

Eri immediately went to the kitchen and brought tea.

“Women everywhere…”

Sayaka said with bewilderment.

“Ah. These are my future wives whom I cherish so much it wouldn’t hurt to put them in my eye… actually, that might hurt a bit.”

I smiled broadly.

“Even though polygamy has been legalized… this many is beyond common sense.”

Sayaka said.

“Hahaha! Thanks for the compliment!”

I laughed.

“That wasn’t a compliment!! Clearly!”

Fiora got angry. Her face was still red. She must not be immune to these situations. The same seemed true for Ms. Aiko and Aki, who were blushing in the corner.

“Anyway, what brings you all the way here?”

I asked her.

“Well… I wanted to talk about Fiora’s situation. The poor girl is going through some emotional distress.”

Sayaka stared at Fiora.

“I heard you’re exceptionally good at listening to people’s troubles. So I’m trusting you with this consultation.”

Fiora looked at me with a serious expression.

“I… am being forced to marry someone I’ve never even seen. It’s a noble family matter. The engagement ceremony is in a week. I want you to help me stop it.”

Fiora said.

“………”

Suddenly, the conversation took a large-scale turn.

Ding-!

Umi immediately opened the front door. Probably meaning she wanted the guests to leave.

“Umi. What are you doing?”

I asked Umi.

“We want to cuddle with Shota a lot. This is obviously a troublesome proposal. Let’s just refuse.”

Umi said.

“Umi… you’re too honest.”

Honestly, I had similar thoughts.

“How about… at least hearing their story?”

Eri suggested.

“Hmph. A noble, huh… In the end, you’re someone burdened with obligations. And you’re trying to pass those obligations to a commoner? I don’t like it.”

Kana sighed with contempt.

“But Kana, you also threw everything away after being captivated by Shota, a commoner…”

Mika objected.

“Who threw everything away?!!”

Kana got angry. Heh. The moment you get angry, you’ve lost the argument, Kana.

“Actually… I came here to achieve results.”

Suddenly Fiora started talking. I hadn’t even agreed to listen yet… okay, whatever.

“My Fleur family is a prestigious Western fencing lineage. We’ve served as fencing instructors to the royal family for generations.”

Fiora continued.

In other words… they’re the official royal fencing family. Think of Japan’s Yagyu clan for an easy comparison.

“But as the age of swords ended, our family has lost its former prestige. There aren’t many ways for such a family to raise its status…”

I immediately understood what Fiora meant.

“A political marriage…”

It’s about marrying into a family about 1.5 tiers higher than your own. By maintaining the position as in-laws to a powerful family, they gradually raise their family’s status over time.

“Yes. But… I didn’t want to marry someone I’ve never even seen. So… I desperately tried to gain recognition as a fencer, not just as a woman. To make the marriage talk disappear.”

Fiora said.

“Hohoho. Fiora loves Japanese shoujo manga. She yearns for destined love.”

Sayaka chuckled.

“D-don’t say unnecessary things!!”

Fiora shouted with a red face.

“My reason for coming to Japan was… to study in Japan, the land of strong swordsmanship, and to escape the marriage pressure from my family.”

Fiora explained.

“But… I was pathetically defeated by you in a mere high school kendo tournament. That seems to have become known to everyone in my family.”

Fiora continued with a sigh.

“‘You might as well get married then’… that pressure intensified until I was finally forced to return to my home country.”

Fiora said.

“If you just refuse…”

“I receive an allowance from my family back home. It would be troublesome if they cut off my funds…”

Fiora said shamefully.

“…Well, you’re a teenager. It’s natural to rely on your parents.”

I tried to say encouragingly.

Money is where power comes from. Fiora probably can’t do anything about it.

“The fiancé has already been decided… it’s impossible.”

Fiora said with a tearful expression.

“Political marriages aren’t so bad! They happen in shoujo manga!! The relationship arranged by families, but then they genuinely fall in love with each other – that kind of development!!”

I said with a smile.

“Well… about the photo.”

Sayaka said.

“Photo?”

Fiora silently showed me her phone. There was a photo of her arranged marriage partner.

An incredibly ugly man was in the photo. While we shouldn’t judge everything by appearance, he had such a cursed face that it seemed like he’d never had a woman anywhere near him.

“Well… a man isn’t just his appearance, right? The photo might not do him justice!”

I immediately gave a thumbs up.

“Don’t give up!! Please help me!!”

Fiora grabbed me and burst into tears. What a troublesome woman…