Chapter 239: Things Are Escalating
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 239: Things Are Escalating
The Ichijo Academy Beauty Pageant!
Its history dates back a staggering 30 years!
The 1980s!
The pageant began with a powerful proposal from the student council president of the time, back when Japan was enjoying the heyday of its bubble economy.
Its original purpose began with the pure intention(?) of selecting the most talented woman in the academy. However, as the years went by, various provocative elements catering to the male students' selfish desires—like a swimsuit competition and a talent show—were added, leading to the event being thoroughly shunned by the female students.
Thanks to this, despite its long history, the pageant had barely managed to survive, feeling more like a punishment game than anything else. But for this year's school festival, its status was on a whole other level.
The battle that began as a bet between Minato Nao and Alexandra Ivanovna Romanova had, just one day before the event, drawn countless other female students into the fray!
The ripple effect was nothing short of a big bang!
*
"Excuse me, student. Could I ask for directions?"
"Yes? What is it… Eek!"
"Well, well."
That was the fifth time a student had turned around, shrieked in terror, and fled the moment he spoke to them.
Tojo Naoto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and asked his right-hand man, Takeyama.
"Takeyama, do I really look that scary?"
"If we're talking scary or not, I'd say you're on the scary side. You have a scar on your face, after all."
As Takeyama said this, he pointed to the cross-shaped scar that was practically Tojo Naoto's trademark. Naoto clicked his tongue with a "Tch," and turned his head away.
A rare outing.
He had come to the cultural festival with an invitation from his daughter, only to get lost because it was more crowded than he'd expected.
He tucked his arm into the opposite sleeve of his kimono, wondering what to do, when he spotted a familiar face in the distance.
"Boris!"
It was one of the God of Destruction Ivan's elite guards, and a personal drinking buddy of his.
Naoto waved cheerfully at the man's massive frame, which stood out even from afar, and approached him. The two exchanged a warm greeting.
"What brings you here? I thought outsiders weren't allowed in the festival without an invitation."
"Ah, Lady Sasha was kind enough to give me one, so I was able to get in."
"If you're alone, why not join us? I was just on my way to see my daughter."
"I appreciate the kindness, but I'm not here alone."
Boris said, pointing somewhere.
Following his finger, Naoto's eyes widened in surprise.
"I-Ivan?!"
As if sensing his gaze, Ivan, who had been in the middle of buying yakisoba from a student-run stall, turned around.
"Hm? Isn't it the Tojo kid."
"Oh my, it's been a while, Mr. Naoto."
Ivan's wife, who was arm-in-arm with him, greeted him with a gentle smile. Tojo Naoto nodded dazedly and asked.
"I thought you had returned to Russia?"
"It's been quite some time since my wife and I traveled abroad. Since we were already in Japan, we decided to spend some time touring the hot springs all over the country."
Ivan said with a grin.
Even just standing there, the presence he exuded was simply overwhelming.
Looking closely, Naoto could see the students selling yakisoba were in a half-panicked state, their hands trembling.
"H-here you go."
"Mm. Thank you. Keep the change as a tip."
With that, Ivan paid with a 10,000 yen bill and lifted a plastic bag containing ten packs of yakisoba.
"Want one?"
"Ah, I'm fine, thank you."
As Naoto hastily waved his hands, Ivan shrugged. "It's good, though. Your loss."
Glancing at Ivan out of the corner of his eye, Naoto asked.
"Are you perhaps here to see your daughter as well?"
This time, it was not Ivan but his wife who answered.
"She's our only daughter, after all. It seems she's getting along well with her friends, but we were curious about her school life."
"Ah, I see."
Indeed, there probably wasn't a parent in the world who wouldn't worry after sending their only daughter to a foreign country as an exchange student.
In the underworld, he was known as the heartless godfather of the Red Mafia, but Naoto was reminded that he, too, had a human side. He stole another glance at Ivan.
Perhaps bothered by Naoto's gaze, Ivan, who was inhaling yakisoba while walking with his wife, spoke in a warning tone.
"Don't bother looking. I'm not giving you any. I only bought enough for myself."
"Ah, yes."
Naoto learned that Ivan was, surprisingly, a big eater.
*
"Kids these days are all so pretty."
"You're right. The average has gone up quite a bit compared to when I was young."
The couple, Kishimoto Sojiro and Kishimoto Maria, had come to the cultural festival with their daughter's invitation and were now strolling through the school grounds, chatting amiably.
"How long has it been since you graduated high school, Maria?"
"Hmm~ About 20 years, I think? Why the sudden question?"
"Oh, I was just thinking you'd still look good in a sailor uniform."
"Oh, you."
Maria, nestled in his arms, blushed and playfully tapped his chest. Sojiro laughed heartily and patted her on the shoulder.
Rika, who had been watching this real-time display of affection from the side, wedged herself between them and forced them apart.
"Seriously! Stop it! People are watching!"
"Oh, dear. Is it so strange for a married couple to be affectionate?"
"It's embarrassing for me! For me!"
Anyone who knew her would have been shocked to see her so angry, but to Maria, her daughter's defiance was just adorable. She feigned surprise, covering her mouth and saying, "Oh, my, my."
Sojiro, who had been quietly watching the mother and daughter bicker, finally spoke up.
"By the way, Rika, what's this I hear about you entering a beauty pageant? What got into you?"
"Huh? Me?"
Caught off guard by the sudden change of topic, Rika looked flustered. But she soon began twirling her long hair around her finger as she answered.
"Uh, it's nothing. I just decided to enter with my friends. They say these things become good memories of your school days, right?"
"Hmph."
"What! What's with that reaction!"
"Nothing. It's just, for my daughter, you're a terrible liar."
"I-It's not a lie!"
"Did you know, Rika? You have a habit of twirling your hair whenever you're in trouble or telling a lie."
"What?!"
Startled by Maria's observation, Rika quickly pulled her finger away from her hair. "Looks like I hit a nerve?" Maria teased, and Rika pouted in frustration.
Then she yelled.
"I hate you, Mama!"
"And Mama loves even that side of you."
But such rebellion was futile against Maria's overwhelming capacity for affection.
As Maria pulled a pouting Rika into a hug and cooed over her, passing male students glanced their way, but Sojiro, accustomed to such scenes, simply stood by with a gentle smile.
After all, with such a beautiful wife and a cute daughter, he was truly a winner in life.
*
"…Just staying still would be the most helpful thing you can do for me, Father."
"Hmph."
Fuma Kotaro was currently sitting in seiza in the Ichijo Academy kendo dojo with his daughter, Yukika.
Possessed by a wanderlust, Fuma Kotaro had left his village ten years ago and had been traveling all over the country, honing his skills. But now, he was staying in Tokyo because of his only daughter's insistence.
Yukika wanted only one thing from him.
To restore the Fuma clan, which had fallen into disarray in his absence.
Completely unaware of the circumstances surrounding her mother, Yukika had been raised as a human weapon to become the head of the clan since childhood. She had 'resented' her biological father, the 17th Fuma Kotaro.
The reason that was in the past tense was because her upright and kind heart had eventually led her to forgive this damn father of hers.
"Father, all you have to do is kindly greet the people who come to experience the kendo club. You're famous in your own right, so it should be great for publicity."
Listening to his daughter's explanation, Fuma Kotaro scratched his chin and asked.
"I don't mind that, but how long do I have to stay like this?"
"Until my juniors are satisfied?"
"…Can I run away?"
"No, you can't!"
As Yukika said that, her eyes blazing, Fuma Kotaro wilted, a sight unbecoming of his large frame.
The current captain of the kendo club, Tojo Karen, who was watching from the side, expressed her gratitude.
"Thank you so much, senior. Thanks to you, we have more people trying out for the kendo club than ever before."
"Don't mention it. He's a useless father most of the time, so I have to make use of him when I can. You can use him until tomorrow if you want."
"No, that would be an imposition on your father, senior. Just for today is more than enough."
As Karen smiled awkwardly, Fuma Yukika smiled back proudly and asked her.
"By the way, Karen, I heard you're also participating in the beauty pageant this afternoon?"
At her words, Karen's face turned red.
"Y-you heard?"
Yukika nodded and said.
"Yeah, I'm participating too."
"You too, senior?!"
When Karen asked back in surprise, Yukika tilted her head.
"Is it strange for me to participate?"
"N-no, it's just that you've never been interested in that sort of thing before, senior!"
"The prize money was appealing. And the bonus prize, too."
For Yukika, who was always struggling with poverty, the unprecedented grand prize of 50,000 yen offered by the student council was tempting.
And, of course, so was the bonus prize of being able to ask Kim Yoo-Sung for any wish.
Faced with the appearance of a powerful dark horse, Karen hesitated for a moment before clenching her fists.
"I won't lose."
"Hehe, I won't lose either."
The two senior and junior members of the kendo club locked eyes, their fighting spirits quietly igniting.
For at this moment, they were love rivals, fighting over the same person.