You Will Regret This Ichinose! [141]

Girls' Dormitory – Horikita Suzune’s Room

Horikita Suzune took out a guest cup from the cupboard. Though she didn’t want to admit it, this cup had practically become Uesugi Gen’s personal cup. She poured hot tea into it and placed it in front of him.

Glancing at Uesugi Gen, she found him lounging on her sofa, leisurely reading her copy of The Brothers Karamazov. Then, she lowered her gaze to her own sprained foot…

The scene reminded her of a novel she had read once—a terminally ill wife dragging her weary body to do housework every day, while her shameless husband ignored her in favor of reading trashy novels.

No, what the hell am I thinking?

Horikita Suzune shook her head, trying to clear her mind. Uesugi Gen was not her husband, she was not his wife, and The Brothers Karamazov was not a trashy novel.

As an independent woman who prided herself on handling everything on her own, marriage had never even been a part of her future plans.

Uesugi Gen, still holding the book in one hand, slowly lifted the cup of tea before him. He blew on it lightly, took a sip, and then lazily glanced at Horikita Suzune, who was still standing beside him.

“…Why are you still here?”

“#%!”

Confirmed—Uesugi Gen was not a husband, but he was definitely shameless.

Suppressing the overwhelming urge to smash the tray in her hands over his head, Horikita Suzune forced out a few words through gritted teeth.

“This is my room.”

“I know. That’s why you don’t have to worry about me. You can go do something else.”

Uesugi Gen’s tone was completely nonchalant.

Infuriating!

Ever since he hugged her earlier today, he had been getting more and more brazen. Horikita Suzune decided it was time to put him in his place and teach him a lesson he wouldn’t forget.

“Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore. Sit down.”

Just as she was about to act, Uesugi Gen suddenly shifted, scooting over to make space before reaching out and pulling her down beside him.

Caught off guard, Horikita Suzune let out a startled yelp.

“What are you—!”

The warm glow of the white overhead lamp cast their overlapping shadows against the wall. The larger shadow dominated the smaller one, pressing it into the corner of the sofa.

Horikita Suzune was furious.

She had been ambushed by this guy twice in a single day. If she had her weapon of choice—her trusty compass—she would have made him regret it with a pain so excruciating it would make him reconsider all his life choices.

Unfortunately, she had just taken a bath, and her compass was still sitting on her desk.

Her only option was to twist his flesh with her fingers.

But Uesugi Gen wasn’t paying attention to that at all.

The faint scent of bamboo and mint lingered in the air around her—likely from her shampoo or body wash. With her hair still slightly damp from the bath, she smelled as if she had been marinated in it for too long.

“…Let’s talk business.”

Uesugi Gen’s shoulder nudged against Horikita Suzune’s.

“You must have figured it out by now, right? The spy in your class.”

“So that’s your real reason for coming here.”

Horikita Suzune turned her sharp gaze toward him. “How did you know that I already identified the spy?”

“The participant list is crucial in a competition like this. Not paying attention to it would’ve been the strange part.”

“Fair point…”

Horikita Suzune narrowed her fox-like eyes slightly.

“But I’m surprised you care about something like this. Considering how lazy you are, you shouldn’t be interested at all. Spill it—what’s your ulterior motive?”

Her slender fingers dug into his side, increasing pressure.

Uesugi Gen turned his head, smirking as he met her gaze. He grabbed the hand she was pinching him with and held it in place.

“What do you think? Is there anything that valuable in your Class D that would actually interest me?”

Whoosh.

Despite having just bathed, Horikita Suzune’s skin quickly turned a faint shade of red.

Slap!

She smacked his hand away.

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Believe it or not, doesn’t really matter.”

Uesugi Gen bumped her shoulder again.

“So? Tell me, Horikita-san.”

“…Fine, fine. I’ll tell you.”

Realizing she had no way of getting rid of him otherwise, Horikita Suzune sighed in resignation.

“It’s probably… Sotomura Hideo from our class. I’ve been watching closely—no one took a picture of the participant list on their phone. He was the only one who stood in front of it for an unusually long time. Given his usual behavior, he likely used a hidden camera to capture it.”

“…So it was him.”

Uesugi Gen stroked his chin, falling into thought.

Originally, he had assumed Ryūen overlooked this supplier of outside assistance, which was why Sotomura hadn’t been beaten up alongside Yamauchi and Ike.

But in reality, the guy had probably already surrendered from the start, which was why he had been left alone.

“Hey.”

Horikita Suzune frowned at his thoughtful expression.

She prodded his shoulder this time.

“You know something, don’t you? Sotomura must have some kind of leverage over Ryūen. Otherwise, when Hirata confronted them last time, the truth should’ve come out then.”

“…Maybe.”

Uesugi Gen dismissed it lightly.

“But this has nothing to do with you. Stay out of it. Just focus on improving your own abilities.”

As he spoke, he reached out and lightly patted Horikita Suzune’s head.

“This’ll be over soon anyway.”

At Ryūen’s current pace, it wouldn’t be long before he figured out that there was a fourth person hidden among the three known spies.

And when that happened—if Ayanokōji Kiyotaka still wanted his peaceful school life, he’d have to deal with Ryūen.

“Cut it out.”

Horikita Suzune swatted his hand away in irritation.

“You think I can’t figure it out myself? You’re talking about Ayanokōji Kiyotaka, aren’t you?”

Uesugi Gen’s eyes flashed with a hint of surprise.

“Not bad, Horikita-san. You actually noticed there was a fourth person involved.”

Her analytical ability and insight had drastically improved.

The girl who had spent the entire first month of school simply sensing that something was off, without piecing together the full picture—was no longer the same person.

“Considering how obsessed Ryūen is, that masked voyeur probably does exist. And whoever it is, they’re connected to those three idiots, or else Ryūen wouldn’t have paid them any mind.”

Horikita Suzune smirked.

“So let’s think about it. Who always hangs around those three the most?”

She answered her own question.

“Ayanokōji Kiyotaka.”

“Besides Kōenji, he’s the only one in our class capable of putting Ryūen in such a pathetic state.”

“…You’ve really improved, Horikita-san.”

Uesugi Gen let out a genuine chuckle.

It seemed Accomplice-san still had a long way to go before she could truly surpass Horikita-san.

“I have been doing my own work.”

Horikita Suzune lowered her gaze, glancing briefly at a notebook tucked away in the corner of her room.

All I did was learn to think like you…

“Now that you know, stay out of it.”

Horikita Suzune shuddered slightly at his hand still resting on her head.

“…Got it. I don’t like meddling in things like this anyway.”

With that, she shot a glare at him—at the intruder still lounging in her room.

“…How long are you planning to stay here?”

“Uh… can I not leave?”

“Get out!”

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This is a fan translation of 人在实教，一之濑你会后悔的 by 作者：白良. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!