Recap (since it’s been a while): Shiori finally rejected Iori, which made him depressed and trouble other students. Mizuki decided to confront him after some pleading in Ookami’s part.
07.
Shinonome Academy has no society, which is unusual considering it is a school for rich kids.
There is no notion of a rich daughter of a high-class family brandishing her priviledges and selfishly acting as she pleases. It is extremely crude and makes others turn away instead.
For some strange reason though, there exists a salon.
If you think about it carefully, Seventh Heaven’s protagonist, Toujo Rin, will be unable to interact with the capture characters if there was a society. Toujou clan is a leaf clan. It does not belong to the four great clans— god, royal, heaven and earth.
Following the mentality based on the setting, only the members of the four clans can belong to the society. Furthermore, since it’s likely that there will be a condition where only those who attended Shinonome Academy from grade school can join, it’s impossible for Rin no matter how much she paws at the ground.
I guess that is why a society doesn’t exist, I arrived at that conclusion.
Anyone can come to the salon more or less. Called as the Rose Garden, a glass building shaped as a greenhouse is opened to all as a salon. With one look, one will know that the type of furniture placed there are very expensive. External students come to peek out of curiousity but they never come again for fear of sullying the excessively costly furniture. Even for internal students, if their clan’s status is low, the expensive furniture seems to appear frightening so they don’t drop by easily.
Inevitably, only the people accustomed to using them on a daily basis will use them.
Colorful, varied roses are planted, a wooden walkway was built so as not to damage the roots, in addition table sets in the form of small summer houses are scattered around. There is an arch made of roses that bloom all-year round and inside that gate of roses is a place for my exclusive use.
My worry prone older brother Yakumo said it will be a place where I can rest when my wounds hurt without worrying about public attention. An Italian-made couch and sofa set were arranged in a corner enclosed by roses and not easily seen from either the entranceway or from outside. What makes me curious is whether they will remove this set or leave it as it is when I graduate.
I told Ookami to go to the salon and after finishing my business, I headed to the Rose Garden. As always, Hayate is by my side. Ariwara and Tachibana are also waiting at the salon.
When the greenhouse door opened, a fragrant scent wafted in the air. The scent is not too strong, probably a type that was refined from wild roses. I reciprocated with a greeting and went inside.
By chance, Ookami, who looked like he was about to say something, said a greeting instead.
“Oh, Sagara-san.”
“Gokigen’you. Can I join you?”
For the preaching time towards Suwa, ‘rather than calling him out without giving him a chance to explain, it may be better to keep it spontaneous,’ said Ookami. So in accordance to his words, I am performing a farce.
“Yes, please. It’s alright, isn’t it, Iori?”
“……………”
Suwa, resting his chin in his hand and watching the vast distance, doesn’t hear anything. Ookami also sighed at his too listless apperance. Did this continue in the game for a whole year? You’ve done well holding out as his friend, Ookami. While feeling admiration from the bottom of my heart, I decided to drop a bomb.
“Congratulations, Suwa. I heard you were rejected by Shiori-sama.”
At my brief comment, not only Suwa, the complexion of everyone who heard me changed.
“What do you know?!”
Life returned to Suwa’s listless expression. He hit the table with force and shouted at me.
“I don’t.”
“Then—!”
“Why are you not trying to make the best use of the greatest chance Shiori-sama especially gave you?”
“…Huh?”
It’s good that he came out of delirium from extreme shock but this time, he stared blankly, unable to comprehend the meaning of what I said.
Aren’t you unexpectedly still charming even with a stupid expression, you damn ikemen!
“While it might be true that Shiori-sama rejected you, why did it lead to an unrequited love?”
I expressed quite the doubt I had when I was playing the game.
“Shiori said, I’m just like a little brother…”
“Right there. You’re just going to give up since Shiori-sama said so? In reality, you haven’t given up, right? The feelings of loving Shiori-sama is yours in the first place, isn’t it? If that’s the case, don’t waver just because other people said something.”
“I am…”
“No matter what Shiori says, your feelings are yours. You are free to feel whatever you want to.”
“…Is it alright? Even if I like Shiori…”
“Even if it’s Shiori-sama, she has no right to dictate your feelings.”
Hearing me say so, Suwa’s expression brightened as if he just found the light. Ookami frowned as if he wanted to say something. I know what he wanted to say but he should realize that it was his miscalculation the moment he asked for my help. What Ookami asked from me was to restore Suwa’s spirits. It’s not like there were particular instructions on what it should entail.
“I, see… I see!”
Brightness returned to his pupils and blood colored his cheeks. The former Suwa is slowly coming back.
“But there is a problem here.”
“Huh?”
“The problem of whether Shiori-sama will return your feelings or not.”
When I pointed out the matter of concern, Suwa instantly wilted. Somehow, I feel like I had a toy like this from before. My father from the previous life had a moving flower-shaped toy and I remember it alternatively dancing and wilting.
“It’s obviously impossible if things stay the way they are but Shiori-sama herself gave you a hint, didn’t she? That is, she can only think of you as a little brother…”
“…Little brother…”
“What do you think is the meaning of ‘little brother’ generally? A younger man with a blood relationship to you and someone who is always nearby, right?”
When I said so, Suwa glowered at me in mortification. It appears he’s mortified because he can’t retort.
“You stay too often beside Shiori-sama, Suwa. Didn’t I tell you not to wait upon her too much during the graduation ceremony?”
“—?! So this is what you meant by that!?”
“It ended up futile but yes, it exactly is. You could have used it as a leverage.”
Suwa had his eyes wide open before but he’s grimacing this time. It seems like he’s reflecting on his worthless self for not noticing the meaning of my words. It’s useless now though.
“Suwa, you don’t intend intend to give up on your feelings, do you?”
“Of course.”
“Then will you do as I say?”
“If I do, can I stand next to Shiori?”
“I can’t guarantee it. Your love may not reach her and it’s also possible your feelings itself will wither. But I can tell you that your chances will surely increase rather than not doing anything and letting things stay the way they are.”
“I will do as you say, Sagara.”
“Alright. First of all, you must perfectly control information about you so it will not be handed down to Shiori-sama. You must completely erase Suwa Iori’s existence from Shiori-sama temporarily.”
“I… must disappear… from Shiori!?”
“The past Suwa Iori had blind devotion for no one but Shiori-sama. That is why you need to be an adult male who holds a broad outlook and who can connect with everyone equally. Don’t you have a good role model in the form of your father? You should learn a lot from how he behaves as the head of Suwa clan. Of course, you must also learn how to handle women.”
“But I am…”
“By coming in contact with other women, you will see Shiori-sama‘s magnificence in a new light.”
“…I’ll do it!”
He answered promptly with an expression full of determination.
Suwa is so easy to manipulate, he surprisingly has the traits of a dog. He’s an ore-sama character in the game so I never expected him to be so dog-like.
“Sagara!”
Suddenly grasping both my hands tightly, Suwa calls my name.
“Please let me call you Master from now on.”
“You’re going to call me that even if I say no, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. Everyone told me to just give up. Only you acknowledged my feelings. You really are an amazing person. All your advice are necessary to me. Please tell me anything. I will follow you so I can grow.”
I never said that…
He was so fickle in the game and even now he’s the same so I want to refute him but if I do, his depression will be doubled.
Is this what they mean by ‘there’s no use crying over spilt milk!?
“…Then one more thing. The time limit is two years. At 20 years old, Shiori-sama‘s engagement should be around the same time as her graduation from university. There is no point if you won’t be able to grow until you can stand next to her by then.”
“I understand. I think I will observe my father on what exactly I should do. I will excuse myself today with this but, please let me consult with you again. Bye.”
On top of that, Suwa, who had been holding my hand tightly, hurriedly left the salon.
An awkward silence dominated the place.
It seems like no one could keep up with Suwa’s sudden change in condition, but I saw Suwa off while feeling refreshed. It’s absolutely isn’t because the gloomy presence disappeared in the salon.
“…Sagara-san…”
Just then, I heard a voice full of accusation.
“I satisfied the terms but do you have any problems about it?”
“Isn’t it full of problems!? I wanted to pull Iori from that person but why…”
“Didn’t I pull him apart?”
“By not telling him to give up, aren’t you acknowledging his feelings?”
“If I do not ackowledge it, Suwa will break sooner or later. I think that is an outcome no one hopes for.”
Ookami finds himself at loss for words at what I pointed out.
“But other methods are… if he gave up on her…”
“One of these days, Suwa will come to his senses. Like a glass that has a crack, if his heart is left to shock and ends up shattering, his mind will break. But if you kill that shock temporarily by wrapping it up in a silk floss, his mind won’t break even if the fragments spill over and fall. Suwa chose to accept other people besides Shiori-sama. If he gradually accepts other people to his world where no one but Shiori-sama existed, coping will follow and he will never notice the broken fragments. When he realizes it, they will just become good memories.”
“…So you thought that far,” Ookami mutters, looking dumbfounded.
I just thought of it now but the truth is I didn’t particularly plan that far. However, it’s convenient so I will stay silent.
“The part I agreed to play has ended. The rest is yours.”
I stand up, leaving everything to Ookami’s hands.
Standing up is unexpectedly hard. When I deliberately move slowly, the skin stretches and I feel pain. It’s a little hard to walk after standing up. Knowing that, Hayate drew near me just like usual and presented his arm. It’s a substitute for a cane used to take the first step.
“Shizuki, Homare, sorry for making you wait. I’m done with my business here so let’s go home.”
I moved a step and called out to them.
“Right, let’s go back.” Ariwara nodded.
Standing opposite Hayate, Tachibana took my arm.
“This is a rare chance so allow me to escort you until we reach the entrance.”
He lent me a hand while saying it like a joke.
Laughing in reply, I began to walk with them.
Notes:
1. Gokigen’you – a very formal and old-fashioned greeting which is not restricted to any specific time, used both as a hello and farewell.
2. Ore-sama character – an arrogant character who uses ore-sama to refer to himself. Since this is the most arrogant masculine reference of oneself, characters who use “ore-sama” tend to be aggressively overconfident and pompous males. Characters who utilise “ore-sama” are also known to be boastful, forward, hasty and having a "my way or the highway" attitude.
2. When Suwa calls Mizuki ‘master’ (師匠, shishou) he means a master-apprentice relationship.
3. Ookami may sound rude but he’s still using polite speech, it just doesn’t translate well to English.
I feel like my tenses were all over the place. Ugh.