Chapter 88: The Rich and the Poor
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 88: The Rich and the Poor
"Wait, the Vice President and Minami were ninjas?"
The topic had come up so naturally that I almost missed it.
The President, the one who had let it slip, shot me a guilty look. But knowing she couldn't take back what she'd said, she eventually admitted to the charge.
"That's right. Both of them are ninjas who serve our family. They have for quite some time."
I never imagined someone connected to the underworld would be this close.
No, wait. Is this actually normal?
It would be stranger for the heiress of the Saionji family, Japan's largest conglomerate, to be wandering around without any bodyguards.
And when you think of ninjas, the image of specialists in VIP protection certainly comes to mind.
In any case, after exposing the Akagi siblings' identities, Fuma-senpai brought the President and me some instant coffee and asked.
"So, have you had a change of heart? Kim Yoo-Sung. If you don't help, a martial art that's been passed down for hundreds of years will be lost forever. Don't you think that's a shame? And don't you want to become stronger? Right now, the martial art of the Black Yaksha, one of the legendary Seven Fist Masters, can be yours, along with a beautiful bride."
"Please don't try to sell your clan's secret arts like some home shopping bundle deal…"
Honestly, at this point, I was starting to feel sorry for her.
What on earth drove her to this?
Anyway, between last time and today, I had heard enough of the story.
"I am willing to learn the martial art called Hayate. However, I must refuse to marry you, senpai."
At that, Fuma-senpai's expression darkened with a thud.
"Am I that unattractive?"
"No, it's not about whether you're attractive or not. As I said last time, I believe marriage should be between people who love each other. If you do something so important solely for another purpose, the rest of the couple's married life will surely be miserable. That's what I'm worried about."
"I am more than willing to live for my husband alone. And even if we don't love each other, as you say, I don't think it would be so bad to slowly get to know one another."
In the end, the conversation between Fuma-senpai and me failed to find common ground and continued on parallel tracks.
Finally, perhaps having gained some insight from our earlier, cryptic conversation, she decided to stop pestering me to marry her outright.
"Hah… Fine. As you suggested, Kim Yoo-Sung, I'll first ask if it's possible for you to learn the martial art without marrying me."
"Yes. I'd appreciate that."
"The village elders will probably be furious. This is a proposal to preserve a direct lineage's secret art by teaching it to an outsider for nothing in return. I can't guarantee it will succeed."
"If that's the case, then I suppose it just wasn't meant to be."
Once we had settled things to some extent, Fuma-senpai breathed a sigh of relief and swept a hand over her chest.
It seemed she thought I would reject her flat out again.
Her face, much brighter than before, she asked, "What are your plans for dinner? I can cook for you if you'd like. I just received a check from Saionji-san, so I'm financially comfortable at the moment."
Her tone subtly hinted that she wanted me to stay and eat.
She must be that confident in her cooking skills.
It seemed she still hadn't given up on making me her adopted son-in-law.
I glanced at the President next to me.
She seemed to find it difficult to make a quick decision. After pursing her lips for a moment, she looked at me and asked, "Even if I were to leave, you would stay and eat, wouldn't you, Yoo-Sung-kun?"
"Uh… I think so?"
"Then I'll join you."
"It's decided. I shall prepare the ultimate home-cooked meal with the wisdom I've gained from three years of living on my own."
Fuma-senpai declared with a confident smile.
*
"You're going to eat here?"
"Will that be alright?"
Perhaps deciding there was no longer a need to hide, the Akagi siblings, who had been nowhere in sight just moments ago, suddenly appeared.
They weren't just simple attendants but ninjas, so they must have been hiding nearby.
But pointing that out now would just make things awkward, so I kept my mouth shut.
"You rookies over there, you can eat too. It's my treat today."
"Rookies? That's a bit harsh."
"We're not even that far apart in age."
Fuma-senpai just chuckled, "Hmph," and gave them a reality check.
"I am the acting head of the Fuma-shu and a Jōnin. I was a promising successor who had already mastered all our techniques by the age of fourteen. On the other hand, what do you two have to boast about?"
As she took an unexpectedly direct approach, the Vice President and Minami fell silent, their faces filled with frustration.
It seemed they were outranked.
While the two of them sulked, the rest of us followed Fuma-senpai's lead to a nearby supermarket to do some shopping.
"Wow, I've never been to a supermarket like this before."
"Haven't you been to a convenience store a few times?"
"A convenience store and a supermarket are two different things. This is a rare and golden opportunity for me to experience commoner life."
The President stated firmly, cutting me off before grabbing a shopping basket and humming a cheerful tune.
Fuma-senpai, who had come with us, also picked up a basket.
I was personally very excited to see what kind of dishes she would whip up today.
It was just as we stepped into the supermarket's food section.
[Ah, ah, for the next ten minutes only, we will be holding a 100-yen sale on bean sprouts. A 100-yen sale on bean sprouts.]
The moment she heard the common promotional announcement, Fuma-senpai vanished completely from my sight.
Hey, don't use your ninja skills for something like this!
*
"We're in luck."
That was what Fuma-senpai said as she returned, looking as triumphant as a victorious general.
And her basket was filled to the brim with the time-sale-exclusive, 100-yen bean sprouts.
"With this, today's main menu is decided. It will be a bean sprout party, centered around bean sprout dishes."
"Wow…"
The dinner members began to murmur at the unsettling amount of bean sprouts.
But Fuma-senpai, looking as if she owned the world, urged us to hurry along.
As she headed for the meat section, she began to preach the greatness of bean sprouts.
"Bean sprouts are cheap, delicious, and you get a lot of them. They're truly the perfect vegetable for someone living alone. Their crunchy texture is delicious whether they're seasoned as a side dish, made into a soup, or stir-fried. My personal favorite way to eat them is to lightly blanch them, sprinkle on some soy sauce for a savory flavor, and then eat them over a bowl of white rice…"
"Oh my, the meat is on sale."
But her praise for bean sprouts was drowned out by the President's cheerful voice.
"What's your favorite meat, Yoo-Sung-kun? I personally love A++ grade Wagyu the most. Steak is nice, but there's nothing better than swishing paper-thin slices of beef in a clear broth, shabu-shabu style."
Unlike Fuma-senpai, whose frugal habits were ingrained in her, the President's basket was quickly filling up with all sorts of ingredients, with no thought given to cost-effectiveness.
The President, deciding to make shabu-shabu herself, even bought a hot pot and bonito flakes.
The plan was originally to have Fuma-senpai cook for us, but I had no idea how things ended up like this.
Fuma-senpai stared at the back of the President's head for a moment, then let out a short laugh. "Hmph!"
"In the end, the taste of a dish is decided by the skill of the person who makes it. If you just slather it with expensive ingredients like that, even a child could make it taste good."
The President, as if she'd heard something she couldn't ignore, opened her fan to cover her mouth and smiled.
"Ohoho, what an amusing thing to say. Ultimately, the way to make the best food is to use the best ingredients. Why do you deny reality? Fuma-san, it seems you need to be a little more generous with your spending."
"Grk!"
As the President delivered a breathless verbal assault, as if to pay her back for earlier, Fuma-senpai bit her lip in frustration.
"Fine! Then I'll show you! I'll prove that you can make cheap ingredients taste just as good as expensive ones!"
Arriving at the meat section, Fuma-senpai declared this and immediately grabbed a pack of pork shoulder.
It felt a bit like a step down from the more commonly sold pork belly, pork neck, or beef, but the quality itself looked good.
As a natural rivalry formed between them over the dinner menu, the President feigned composure, her tense face betraying her nervousness.
"Even so, it's still just pork. It can't beat the taste of beef."
"Is that so? I'll show you that there's such a thing as food chemistry."
I had a fleeting thought about what would happen if a third party, lamb, suddenly entered the fray, but that would be taking the joke too far, so I held back.
But it seemed I wasn't the only one with that idea. The lips of the Vice President, who was following the President like a shadow, twitched.
Our eyes met in the process, and we awkwardly looked away.
Could it be that the person I'm closest to in the student council is the Vice President?