Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

Episode 24: Sachiyo’s Request

A bright and tidy office.

No scattered papers or supplies—the simple, clean arrangement was pleasing to the eye. It was also evidence of her unfitness as a teacher.

Nogami Sachiyo was indeed a certified educator, but she didn’t hold any specific teaching position within Yuihara High School. Although her office door bore a “Mental Health Counseling” sign, in the novelist’s experience, she was rarely even present at school.

Sachiyo was a former student of Yuihara High School and had graduated from the prestigious Tokyo University of Arts and Sciences three years ago. She was also a member of the private Yuihara High School’s board of directors. Her teaching position here carried the meaning of “board supervisor,” giving her a special status within the school.

Her ability to become a board member at such a young age was related to her family background. It was said that Sachiyo’s father was a high-ranking bureaucrat in the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Among her active family members in society were politicians, renowned cultural scholars, and television directors, maintaining close ties with various political parties and financial groups.

Sachiyo’s family were descendants of a Warring States daimyo, currently owning vast tracts of land near Chiba Prefecture and commanding considerable respect in the area. As the only young person and heir within the family, she received much attention and expectation.

…All of this was information she had revealed to the novelist during their past conversations. In simple terms, it was at the level of “doesn’t matter if you know.”

“Can I leave now?”

“Of course not. I mean, your personality is really troublesome. If a boy is too tsundere, he won’t be popular with women when he grows up.”

“…Are you serious? That’s rich coming from an adult who’s always causing trouble for others.”

Sitting in the chair opposite Sachiyo, looking half-asleep with dark circles under his eyes, the novelist was chewing mint candy in large bites, trying to wake himself up.

“Liang-kun, is this how you treat your teachers?”

“I believe people earn respect by doing respectable things.”

“What an annoying sharp-tongued brat.”

Though their dialogue sounded harsh, their teacher-student relationship wasn’t bad.

On one hand, the novelist needed to rely on Nogami Sachiyo’s “privileges” within the school to correct his precarious attendance record; on the other hand, Sachiyo occasionally asked him to handle certain issues that were too sensitive for her “teacher” status.

Although their relationship was built on an exchange of benefits, it didn’t involve truly personal secrets. They maintained a lively relationship this way.

“Let’s get to the point.”

She cleared her throat softly and passed a photograph across the desk.

“Why are you acting like a client handing over a target to a hitman…”

The novelist took the photo.

It showed a girl with straight black hair who, just from her portrait, gave off an ice-cold aura that seemed to keep people at a thousand paces… Surprisingly, it was someone he knew.

Ogiwara Yayoi.

Consistently ranked first in her year academically, intelligent, beautiful, yet unapproachable—the classic ice princess, supposedly from a distinguished family.

He had only realized they were classmates three weeks after the term started.

“To think someone so similar to a romance comedy protagonist actually exists in the world—”

Long black hair.

Ice beauty.

Elegant appearance, excellent grades.

Few friends, always alone.

Young lady from a good family.

Just in terms of how these attributes stacked up, it was terrifyingly perfect. If gyaru-type girls like Miyagi-san were level 1, then Ogiwara Yayoi was a level 99 protagonist who naturally stood at the pinnacle.

…Of course, he only expressed such thoughts silently in his heart. If he said them out loud, he’d definitely get beaten up.

Moreover, where there’s a “female protagonist,” doesn’t that imply there should be a corresponding “male protagonist”? Was some cringe-worthy school romance about to unfold in their class?

Ah, regarding that point, those secretly in love with Ogiwara-san might be heartbroken, but the novelist didn’t particularly care. Honestly. It didn’t matter who it was, as long as he wasn’t dragged into it.

“Ogiwara Yayoi… she’s in your class, right?”

“That’s correct.”

He nodded.

Though they had never interacted, he and Ogiwara had something in common. Her classmates probably had even fewer chances to communicate with her than with the shut-in like himself.

“Although Ogiwara doesn’t have many friends, she’s quite well-known in school.”

Indeed.

Private Yuihara High School’s undisputed No. 1 talented beauty—in terms of fame, probably only the legendary “beautiful counselor teacher” could compare.

“But recently, some troubling rumors have been circulating around school. Probably because Ogiwara is the subject, they spread quickly among the students.”

Sachiyo pressed her fingers against her smooth, fair forehead, showing an rare expression of concern.

“Apparently, the Ogiwara family has actually been in decline for a long time. She’s actually an unwanted fallen young lady, yet she still dares to put on such airs… that sort of thing.”

“That’s not just a rumor, is it?”

Though he hadn’t heard anything about this before… the novelist thought while answering casually.

“How do you know?”

…If he asked Miyagi-san, he’d probably get the answer. Of course, he wouldn’t trouble her over something like this.

“If it were just a ‘rumor,’ you wouldn’t be so troubled, Sachiyo. It’s precisely because it’s true that it can’t be easily corrected.”

“You should call me ‘Nogami-sensei,’ you impolite idiot student. Come to think of it, you’ve never used honorifics, have you?”

Sachiyo rolled up the file in her hand and lightly tapped his head with it.

“But you’re right. Because it’s true, it’s a bit troublesome. I might need your help.”

“Hah…”

He sighed wearily.

Here it comes, here it comes, this is it.

When Sachiyo evaluated something’s level of trouble as “a bit,” it was equivalent to “very.”

Moreover, the reason she called him here meant she intended to drag him into it.

“Can I refuse?”

“…Don’t you want to hear the details first?”

“Sorry, not interested.”

“In this school…”

Sachiyo stood up from her chair.

“What I need is someone whose brain isn’t too bad but whose interpersonal relationships are terrible, someone whose unpopularity wouldn’t be much of a loss, someone who won’t cause excessive complications.”

“Looking at it that way, there aren’t many suitable candidates. Come to think of it, if Ogiwara weren’t so sensitive about her status and too conspicuous, she’d be quite suitable too… Anyway, do you understand what I mean?”