SCIAW: Chapter 383/384

Chapter 383: The One Who Loves Her Sister Most

Seeing Nagi and her friends walking over, Ren naturally didn't stay seated. He stood up from his chair.

"Ren, these are my friends. Let me introduce them briefly."

Nagi introduced her friends quite formally.

Ren gave a slight nod.

The first person Nagi introduced was Katsura Hinagiku.

"Katsura Hinagiku, Student Council President of Hakuo Academy. She's known as the all-rounder Student Council President there."

"Asakaze Risa is a discipline committee member at Hakuo Academy. Though she holds that position, she's not exactly a model student. She loves gossip."

"Hanabishi Miki is Vice President of the Hakuo Student Council. She may look cold on the outside, but she's actually shy... and she also likes daisies."

"Segawa Izumi, Student Council President of Hakuo. Well, she's an idiot."

Likes gossip.
Likes women.
Is a fool.

Nagi summed up the three with almost mechanical precision. This kind of introduction made it easy for others to understand their personalities—though it wasn't exactly respectful to the people being introduced.

Likes gossip...
Asakaze Risa gave Nagi a sideways glance, a bit speechless.

Likes women...
Hanabishi Miki averted her eyes, clearly shaken that someone knew her secret.

"Who are you calling an idiot?!"

Izumi Segawa glared at Nagi with wide, angry eyes, expressing her displeasure.

Nagi turned around and shot a cold stare at Segawa.

"…?!"

That glare alone made Segawa instinctively retreat behind Katsura Hinagiku, like a frightened kitten.

Then Nagi's expression changed instantly, the cold air vanishing as she reverted to her usual laid-back attitude.

"See? Didn't I say Segawa is an idiot? Just one glare and she shrinks back like a Chihuahua."

"That's why Asakaze and Miki sometimes tease her for fun—because she looks so cute when bullied."

"..."

Izumi Segawa froze for a few seconds. Then a trace of grievance slowly surfaced in her eyes.

"Risa, Miki, say something already!"

At her plea, Asakaze Risa and Hanabishi Miki stepped forward, seemingly indignant.

"Nagi-chan, you're being way too mean to Izumi."

"Yeah. We've never done anything that cruel."

Segawa's eyes shimmered with emotion as she heard her friends defend her.

But what she didn't see were the twisted grins forming on the faces of her two "defenders." No matter how righteous their words sounded, the amusement in their expressions was clear.

Even Ren couldn't help sighing inwardly.

That's some twisted loyalty right there.

As he glanced at the emotional Izumi standing behind him, Ren couldn't help but laugh.

This girl really is a fool.

Of course, he also understood that this wasn't one-sided bullying. It was more like a running joke between close friends. Teasing Segawa Izumi had just become a habit for the other two.

And as for Izumi Segawa, she clearly had her own issues. Not only was she soft-hearted, but she seemed to have... certain masochistic tendencies.

Otherwise, why would she keep getting teased like this without resisting?

"You two are real friends to Segawa," Nagi remarked, her sarcasm barely veiled.

But then her eyes drifted to the touched expression on Izumi's face, and the corners of her mouth twitched. She barely managed to suppress a laugh.

"Next up."

Aizawa Sakuya stepped forward, stifling her laughter, and introduced the next person—Kasumi Aika.

"This is Aika. She's been frail since birth, so she doesn't have much athletic ability. But because her family has a long-standing relationship with mine, we've known each other since childhood. One of the kanji in her name even comes from my family name."

"She's also the Vice President of the Hakuo Academy Student Council. She's held that role longer than even Hinagiku. Aside from her physical ability, she's an all-around talent."

Does Miss Sakuya really need to introduce me like that?

Kasumi Aika, of course, knew that Sakuya's introduction was a bit much.

But then she heard Sakuya quietly whisper in her ear.

"Aika, come with me later. I have something to talk to you about."

Something? Aika wasn't sure what Sakuya meant, but she nodded slightly.

After Sakuya's introduction, Nagi turned to the last person.

"Yukiji Katsura. We usually call her Yukiji. She's a teacher at Hakuo Academy. She loves eating and drinking for free—and also loves drinking alcohol. She often borrows money from students to buy booze. Honestly, she's not a very reliable adult."

"But she's not completely rotten either. She actually has a good relationship with her students. Still, sometimes I really want to punch her."

Her final words carried a hint of gritted teeth.

Yukiji scratched her face awkwardly as she listened.

Ren looked at Yukiji for a moment, then lightly shook his head.

"This teacher isn't as bad as you make her out to be."

"When she was in high school, her parents racked up 80 million yen in debt, then abandoned her and her sister, leaving them to bear the burden."

"Back then, she thought the only way to survive was to borrow from loan sharks. She was prepared to be hounded by debt collectors."

"But she was determined not to let her little sister Hinagiku carry that burden. That's what she resolved back then."

"Still, her younger sister understood what she was doing and stopped her from taking out high-interest loans. It was because of that mutual understanding that the two of them managed to survive—rather than being sold off to debt collectors or worse."

"In her desperation, Yukiji remembered a teacher who once told her he wanted to raise a daughter like her. So she reached out to him for help with the debt."

"That teacher didn't hesitate. He used his personal savings to help repay the entire 80 million yen debt. He became the adoptive parent of both Yukiji and Hinagiku."

"Yukiji swore she'd repay everyone she ever borrowed from—except her sister."

"She knows just how awful adults can be, which is why she refuses to become one herself."

"She even said that she was inspired by that teacher and wanted to become a teacher like him."

"But still, people pick up some bad habits as they grow."

"Right, Yukiji-sensei, the one who loves her sister the most."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 384: A Normal Introduction: Amamiya Ren

"..."

Yukiji Katsura, whose inner thoughts had just been exposed, opened her mouth wide but couldn't utter a word for a while.

Her past experiences were laid bare—along with the thoughts she had tried to suppress—including the fact that she loved her sister more than anything.

"Wait, wait... No, that's not right!"

Even someone as thick-skinned as Yukiji wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground after her private thoughts were made public.

Especially under the curious gazes of the surrounding students… and her beloved younger sister's surprised, awkward, yet slightly shy eyes.

Yukiji broke down on the spot.

Her face turned red as she raised her voice in exaggerated protest, trying to cover her embarrassment. She pointed directly at Ren.

"How do you know about June 20th?! That was forever ago!"

"That wasn't that long ago."

Ren smiled calmly at Yukiji, who was now completely flustered. The resurfacing of such raw emotions was clearly a powerful blow.

"Wasn't your original intention good? Aside from money, there are plenty of important things in this world."

"Though I agree with that sentiment... it only holds true if your basic needs are covered. If you can't even ensure a stable life, then yes, money becomes very important."

Yukiji's values weren't wrong. But they weren't values most people could afford to live by.

Some with a strong moral compass might understand, but even the most virtuous person still needs to eat.

When daily survival is in question, no matter how noble one's ideals are, reality takes precedence.

Of course I know that... Yukiji rolled her eyes.

"That was high school. Of course I had idealistic fantasies back then. I just said those things to comfort Hinagiku. I already learned my lesson when I had to sleep on the streets in winter because of that 80 million yen debt."

It's hard for high schoolers to grasp such painful truths. As she said, teenagers are often in a stage of chasing ideals, where they dream of a beautiful future.

But once a young student is crushed by the full weight of societal and familial pressure, even the most naive will be forced to wake up to the cruel reality of the world.

Back then, so-called relatives avoided them like the plague. Yukiji quickly realized she couldn't rely on them.

In the end, only one person helped—the teacher who took the two sisters in.

From that day forward, she swore she'd carry the name Katsura for the rest of her life.

"It was a powerful realization. One you'd remember forever. But still, Yukiji's decline since then isn't good. At the very least, she should work on her drinking habit. Excessive alcohol consumption severely impacts liver function."

Ren admired both Hinagiku and Yukiji for different reasons. In fact, he respected Yukiji even more—for her sense of responsibility.

"This kind of thing…"

Bang!

Just as Yukiji tried to retort, someone grabbed her shoulder.

She turned and saw her sister, Katsura Hinagiku, looking completely serious.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"Nee-san, alcohol seriously damages liver function. It can cause irreversible damage to your nervous system and even lead to Alzheimer's over time."

"Eh? Wait, Hinagiku, we're at a birthday party, aren't we? Why are we suddenly talking about me quitting drinking?"

Hinagiku wasn't swayed. She kept her hands firmly on her sister's shoulders.

"A birthday party and quitting drinking are unrelated. But now is the perfect time to help you kick this bad habit."

Oh no... Yukiji felt the sky was falling.

She had come to this party just to eat and drink for free. How did it end up with her needing to quit alcohol?

Turning around, she glared at the culprit responsible for all this—Ren—who was still smiling as if he were watching a comedy.

"Hey! This is all your fault! Hinagiku's only forcing me to quit drinking because of you!"

Ren responded with a shrug, as if watching a show.

"That's your own issue, isn't it?"

"Alcohol is a Class 1 carcinogen. No matter how you spin it, it harms your body. And it does cause nerve damage. If you rely on anesthetics later, your tolerance will mess up treatment. That's going to be a serious problem."

"Exactly."

At this moment, Hinagiku's eyes sharpened.

In the past, she had been lenient toward her sister's drinking habits. But now, for Yukiji's health, she had to take it seriously.

"Everyone knows excessive drinking is bad. I know drinking is your hobby, and I'm not asking you to stop completely. But drinking too much is unacceptable."

Drinking and alcoholism were two very different things. Hinagiku understood that.

"Ha…"

Yukiji looked at her sister helplessly. But when she met those pleading eyes, she couldn't bring herself to say no.

If her sister had been yelling at her, she could've brushed it off with a joke. But with that soft, earnest look...

She just couldn't turn her down.

After all, she wasn't someone who didn't care. She was just thick-skinned.

Hinagiku was her only blood relative left in the world. As an older sister, she couldn't ignore her little sister's plea.

Yukiji remembered the last time Hinagiku had looked like that. It was the day their parents abandoned them.

"Fine, fine. As long as I don't overdo it, that's enough, right?"

Quitting drinking entirely wasn't realistic. But drinking less? That much she could accept.

Still... it probably meant Hinagiku would have to keep an eye on her every time she picked up a bottle.

Yukiji felt her future suddenly dim.

She glared again at the one responsible, who was still smiling like a fox.

"It's your turn now. We've all introduced ourselves. Time for you to do the same."

"Well, pardon me."

Ren smiled politely and nodded.

"Amamiya Ren. Just a completely normal high school student from Teitan High."

(To be continued.)