MAINTAINING the facade of a prim and proper lady at the academy on weekdays, practicing hard for the kibasen at home on weekends—this routine continued for several weeks until the early days of summer arrived in all its humid and oppressive glory.
Because I had to feign disinterest in Sports Day at school, our kibasen team hadn’t yet practiced with the full squad. However, I wasn’t too concerned. Rikka was quite the athlete, and the school had a full practice day scheduled before the actual event where we could iron out any minor issues.
If you were wondering how I knew about Rikka’s athletic tendencies, it was all thanks to the handy little app on my phone, courtesy of Lady Shizuki and the Sakurazaka Group. It was a treasure trove of information, a toolkit for any self-respecting villainess, and I referred to it frequently to learn more about my fellow students. The data in those student dossiers was vetted and reliable, provided by the Sakurazaka Group’s very own intelligence division.
According to the app, the competition at Sosei Academy was fierce, with plenty of students on athletic scholarships and those naturally gifted in sports. Our class, however, was the main stage where a video game took place, so it naturally brimmed with main-character types and ensured we were no underdogs. At the same time, we weren’t leagues ahead of everyone else either, making the outcome of the day hinge on a single, pivotal event like the kibasen.
In other words, if my team and I performed well, we stood a chance to clinch the overall victory. It honestly seemed like a straight shot, unlike my last mission. But I still didn’t let down my guard.
And so, Sports Day finally dawned upon us. We changed into our gym clothes first thing in the morning, gathered for a team huddle where Ruki gave a rousing speech, and then we were off. As a minor character, my role was limited. I swiftly won my first event, the short-distance sprint, and then had nothing until the kibasen, the grand finale of the day.
I was cooling off in the spectator stands, fanning myself with a folding fan in one hand, when Sayaka approached, looking visibly shaken.
“Ms. Sayaka, you seem rather upset,” I noticed.
“Ms. Mio, it’s a little…” she trailed off.
Private? I wondered. Taking this as a hint she’d like to speak to me somewhere that wasn’t teeming with classmates, I said, “The heat is getting to me; I think I’d like a drink.”
She blinked. “Oh. Of course. What would you like?”
“No, no,” I corrected, “perhaps I’d like to see what options are available myself.”
Realization finally dawned in her eyes. “Ah. Then allow me to join you.”
We left the stands and grounds behind and wandered into a deserted hallway. There, I asked her again to share what was wrong.
“It’s Asuka,” she admitted. “We need to find a substitute for her. She…won’t be able to make it to school day.”
“Now that you mention it, where has that girl been today?”
Was she feeling unwell? I thought briefly before Sayaka’s grim expression dispelled that innocent notion.
“Sayaka?” I demanded, concerned. “Tell me what’s happening.”
“I… I can’t,” she said, dropping her face away from me.
Ugh, we are getting nowhere. I didn’t want to play hardball, but I had no choice.
I brushed away a lock of hair. “I wasn’t asking, Sayaka.”
“Asuka explicitly told me not to trouble you,” she replied.
“Because she believes herself so wise as to know what will trouble me and what won’t? Tell me, or else I’ll have to look into it myself. And believe me when I say that will be trouble.”
I was afraid I might be scaring Sayaka to subject her to the same version of me as the one that cornered her a few weeks ago, but to my surprise, actually smiled. “Thank you, Ms. Mio. I knew you would say that.”
It all clicked. Asuka herself didn’t want me to know, but Sayaka thought differently—she purposefully goaded me into threatening her so she’d have an excuse to break her promise. In that case, I need only play along. “Out with it, girl. And don’t you even think of omitting even a single detail.”
“You’re relentless,” she said in mock distress. “Fine, but only because I have no choice.” Then, she turned serious. “The truth is, Asuka has gone to meet a potential suitor.”
“A potential suitor? Is she getting engaged?”
In the original story, Asuka was not late or absent for the kibasen, nor was she supposed to be meeting potential suitors—she was one of the villainess’s underlings for crying out loud. No doubt this meant that I had somehow caused the plot to veer off course once again. Then a more pertinent question struck me:
“Did she want this?”
Sayaka’s smile turned strained. “No. It’s her parents who are behind this—and the Akizuki’s. As you know, her family’s company desperately needs help.”
“It’s an arranged marriage, then.”
Arranged marriages were not an uncommon practice—at least, for the elite. The zaibatsus required a way to consolidate and maintain control, so in their current undissolved incarnation, they kept the practice alive. It wouldn’t have surprised me if Asuka were to be married off sooner or later, but…
“The Akizuki’s are behind this?” I echoed.
“Apparently, yes,” Sayaka confirmed.
“I see.”
I’d met the brother-sister pair just the other day and now this happened? It seemed a little too timely to be pure coincidence. Our meeting might have been brief and cordial on the surface, but who was to say it didn’t nudge things just a tiny bit off course? There was a high likelihood this was my fault—my fault that Asuka might be trapped in an unwanted marriage for the rest of her life.
My face hardened with resolve. “Sayaka, excuse me for a moment.”
Hers brightened with the slightest hint of hope. “Of course.”
I left for the locker room, took my phone from my bag, and immediately dialed Shizuki. A few rings later, she picked up.
“I have a favor to ask,” I said.
Shizuki didn’t miss a beat. “Go on,” she replied simply.
I explained everything—about Asuka’s arranged marriage, my unplanned encounter with the Akizukis, and the potential link between the two happenings.
“I see,” came her voice. “You were right to inform me. This is all quite unexpected. So? What’s the favor?”
“I would like you to stop this engagement from going ahead.”
Silence on the other end.
“Shizuki?”
Another moment of silence. “Mio, I won’t be stopping this—you are.”
I blanked. “Me? Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m not even in the same country as Asuka at the moment.”
“I…I know that, but…” Shizuki was taking the opportunity before her term abroad started to do a little bit of globe-trotting.
“Mio, listen to me carefully. A matchmaking meeting must be stopped in person, preferably by someone with sufficient status. I’m out of the country, we can’t trouble father and mother over such matters, which leaves…”
“Me? But I don’t understand. It’s not like they’re getting engaged today and married tomorrow, we still have plenty of time before—”
“Mio.” The firmness in her voice stopped me in my tracks. “You’re not listening. I said meeting, not marriage nor engagement.”
“I… Right, you did. Okay, but my point still stands: it’s not like we have to do something today.”
“We don’t have to do something today,” she replied in a bit of a mocking tone. “That’s why you called me in a dither asking me for a favor? Because there’s no immediate need to do anything?”
“That is, um…”
Shizuki was completely right. A typical arranged marriage might be able to be canceled without much fuss, but there were considerable financial stakes and political maneuvers at play here. The marriage was merely a conspicuous emblem of the dealings beneath the surface. If the Azumajis, who stood to gain the most from this alliance, were to call it off without a solid justification, they would lose far more than mere social standing.
“Okay. Sorry, I understand what’s at stake now, but I still can’t step away.”
“Indeed, you have a team to lead to victory. But remember that the meeting is in the early afternoon, and it takes just under two hours to get there from the academy. You’ll make it if you hurry.”
“I… Right.” Even factoring in the two-hour return journey, I should return in time for the kibasen, the final event of the day. “Okay, understood. Then I’m heading out now. Fill me in on the plan through the app.”
“Will do. The car’s already been dispatched as well.”
I thanked her and was about to end the call when Shizuki’s voice halted me. Quickly, I raised the phone back to my ear.
“This is your mission, Mio. See it through.”
I paused, then smiled. “I will.”
This time, I ended the call and sprinted out of the locker room still in my gym clothes.
Well, so much for being a background character, I thought wryly. It’s time to thwart this arranged marriage and put a stop to the Akizuki’s disruptive schemes.
Now then, let’s get to villainessin’.