Chapter 26: The War Between Girls

After returning to the classroom, Quillan was still feeling a bit dazed.

He never would have imagined that the reason he could attend St. Sakura Girls’ High School was simply because Board Chairman Rumiko Hosokawa knew Gavin’s aunt, and hoped that once Quillan enrolled at St. Sakura Girls’ High School, he could help change Ruri Hosokawa’s willful, spoiled-young-lady temper!

To that end, Rumiko Hosokawa even told Quillan that she wouldn’t mind if he won Ruri Hosokawa’s affections in the future—on the contrary, she’d be happy to marry Ruri Hosokawa off to him!

In Japan, as long as a girl turned sixteen and had her parents’ consent, she could get married. So when Rumiko Hosokawa said this, Quillan didn’t think she was joking!

The funny thing was, Quillan and Ruri Hosokawa simply didn’t get along at all. The moment he returned to the classroom, he saw Ruri Hosokawa glaring viciously at him, looking like she’d just run into her mortal enemy—absolutely seeing red!

The last class of the morning was Norika Harada’s. By the time Quillan got back to the classroom, the lesson was already more than halfway through. But Quillan wasn’t worried about missing the earlier part of Norika Harada’s lecture, because he... was a genuine academic ace!

Quillan had long since stopped needing to study first-year high school material. This was one of the reasons he’d dared to leave America to study in Japan—he wasn’t worried about grades. All he wanted was a quiet environment!

As for studying, well... a genius could absolutely teach themselves.

After greeting Norika Harada and being allowed into the classroom, Quillan returned to his seat and slumped onto his desk.

Right now, he couldn’t take anything in, and didn’t want to take anything in—especially Ruri Hosokawa’s murderous glare, which Quillan simply chose to ignore.

Beside him, Miyuki Sakurai carefully asked: "Quillan... you’re sleeping again. Did you not rest well last night?"

"Yeah!" Quillan answered perfunctorily: "I got up early to look for a place to live, so I’m pretty tired. Sakurai-san, just focus on class—don’t worry about me!"

"Oh..." Miyuki Sakurai replied with a hint of disappointment. Actually, she had a lot she wanted to say to Quillan, especially about her parents misunderstanding that she and Quillan were dating. Although Miyuki Sakurai admitted it was a misunderstanding, as a girl, bringing it up with Quillan herself would be terribly embarrassing, but...

If she didn’t say it, Miyuki Sakurai felt there would always be an itch in her heart.

Speaking up felt shameful, but staying silent felt awful. This left Miyuki Sakurai—the girl who blushed so easily—incredibly torn. It wasn’t until the class-ending bell rang that she was startled out of her tangled thoughts.

"Ah woo..."

Looking tragically at the blackboard, she realized she hadn’t absorbed a single word of what the teacher had said afterward. Miyuki Sakurai covered her face in utter shame, feeling like she was just the worst!

"Miyuki-chan, class is over! Time to go to the cafeteria!" ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

While Miyuki Sakurai was agonizing, the last student besides her and Quillan to leave the classroom kindly reminded her. Hearing this, Miyuki Sakurai glanced at Quillan beside her. Just as she was about to seize the moment—with the classroom empty—and summon the courage to talk to him, her sharp ears caught a voice: "Master, may I ask if you’re still in the classroom?"

"That voice..."

Miyuki Sakurai was struck by how adorable it was—cough, no, she was actually thunderstruck by the word "Master." And since the voice sounded somehow familiar, she couldn’t help but look curiously toward the classroom door.

"I-It’s actually Himuro-san?" Miyuki Sakurai was surprised, because not long ago she’d seen Quillan and Ruri Hosokawa arguing about what had happened to Haruka Himuro’s family!

At the time, Miyuki Sakurai had naively assumed something must have happened to Haruka Himuro. But now Haruka Himuro had shown up at school, lively as could be, carrying a bento box in her hands...

What surprised Miyuki Sakurai even more was that Haruka Himuro walked boldly toward her, smiling as she said: "Master, I’m glad you’re still in the classroom. I’ve brought your bento! Please enjoy it while it’s hot, Master!"

Miyuki Sakurai was dumbfounded. She covered her mouth in shock. A moment later, seeing Quillan wake up, she couldn’t help but ask in confusion: "Q-Quillan, why is Himuro-san calling you ’Master’?"

"Hm?"

Quillan groggily woke up. He was still a bit unclear about the current situation, so he looked at Miyuki Sakurai and Haruka Himuro in confusion.

"Because Master is Master!" Haruka Himuro noticed Miyuki Sakurai’s tense expression, and it reminded her that on the first day of school, Miyuki Sakurai had come to school together with Quillan, and he had even kissed Miyuki Sakurai’s forehead in front of everyone!

But Haruka Himuro knew that Miyuki Sakurai couldn’t have started dating Quillan on the very first day they met—even if Miyuki Sakurai clearly seemed to have very good feelings toward Quillan!

A handsome, sunny boy—it wasn’t just Miyuki Sakurai. Haruka Himuro also had good feelings toward her "savior." Otherwise, why would she so willingly—even without Quillan’s permission—call him "Master" and style herself as his "personal maid"?

When two girls both have feelings for the same boy, then... the war between girls begins.

Haruka Himuro said to Miyuki Sakurai in a smug tone with a provocative look: "Sakurai-san probably doesn’t know yet, does she? Because of my family situation, I’ve already moved into Master’s home and become Master’s personal maid. May I ask, Sakurai-san—is there anything wrong with me addressing the master whom a personal maid has acknowledged?"

"P-Personal maid?"

Miyuki Sakurai was once again stunned speechless by Haruka Himuro’s words. Especially when Haruka Himuro, after saying this, proudly puffed out her chest toward Miyuki Sakurai. This made Miyuki Sakurai—whose figure was vastly different from Haruka Himuro’s—feel an inexplicable sense of inferiority in her heart!

But even Miyuki Sakurai herself never imagined that she could have such strong feelings for a boy she’d only known for two days!

The normally timid, easily-blushing her actually clenched her fist and slammed it on the desk, then stood up and challenged Haruka Himuro: "Even so, Himuro-san, you don’t need to call Quillan ’Master’ in front of outsiders, do you? And in a school classroom, no less! Does Himuro-san not even know what shame is?"