You Will Regret This Ichinose! [123]

Even on weekends—

Uesugi Gen, a man of ambition, never let his guard down. He continued working diligently toward his ultimate goal: becoming the class president.

Everyone knew that the Uesugi Group was his most important weapon in achieving that dream.

But due to a moment of carelessness, Uesugi Gen’s headquarters—the Uesugi Group—had been infiltrated by none other than enemy boss Ichinose Honami.

In other words, there was a rat in the organization!

Thus, Uesugi Gen’s objective shifted to—

Find the mole! Find the mole! Find the mole!

Important things must be said three times!

To that end, Uesugi Gen devised a meticulous battle plan:

Lure out the enemy boss (invite our dear vice class rep) Ichinose Honami, engage in combat (take her out on a date), wear her down in battle (wait until she gets tired and falls asleep), steal classified intel (grab her phone), expose the traitor, and execute them!

Perfect.

At this thought, a wicked grin spread across Uesugi Gen’s face.

I can already see your downfall!

Kana…

Trai—

“Hey! Wait up, Honami! Don’t run so fast!”

Before Uesugi Gen could finish his sinister internal monologue, Ichinose abruptly pulled him back to reality.

Clutching her purse chain in one hand, she grabbed Uesugi Gen with the other, tugging him toward a giant stuffed mascot. Her long pink hair swayed in the air, the faint scent of citrus shampoo drifting into Uesugi Gen’s nose…

“This one looks just like you, Gen-kun!”

Letting go of her bag, Ichinose pointed excitedly at the plushie.

Uesugi Gen studied the toy carefully.

It was a penguin plush.

Classic black-and-white color contrast, a round and chubby head, big round eyes, and a plump oval-shaped body. Its short limbs stuck out from its rotund form, giving it a waddling appearance when it moved.

Uesugi Gen: “……”

Without a word, he placed his hands on Ichinose’s shoulders, bringing her closer so her bright blue eyes could reflect his face more clearly.

“…Where exactly does that fat penguin resemble me?”

“And besides—”

He pointed toward a mighty-looking lion plush nearby.

“If anything, I resemble that more, don’t I?”

Ichinose tilted her head, then pointed at the penguin’s goofy grin.

“Because this one’s smile looks just like the one you made earlier.”

“……”

Uesugi Gen felt a pang in his heart.

So… this is what my evil smirk looks like to Ichinose?

Seeing her eyes sparkling with anticipation, Uesugi Gen knew—this battle (date) was far from over.

Still, he refused to give up without a fight. His dignity was on the line.

“Honami, how about I win you that lion or maybe even the dragon? This… thing came out of nowhere and doesn’t match the grandeur of the Uesugi family.”

“Nope!”

As expected, Ichinose flatly rejected the offer.

“……”

Uesugi Gen turned to glare at the fat penguin plush.

I don’t know where you came from, but you’ve tarnished my image, and for that, I will make sure the Uesugi family buys you out and turns you into a dragon!

At this point, Ichinose wouldn’t back down unless she got that penguin.

Accepting his fate, Uesugi Gen held her hand and walked into the store, approaching the counter.

“The fat penguin outside—how much?”

“Apologies,” the clerk replied smoothly, “that particular penguin is a limited-edition item and is only available as a prize in our claw machine over there.”

Uesugi Gen’s eye twitched.

“…What kind of company makes this thing a limited edition?”

“That plush was produced by ‘Dreamweave Workshop,’ a subsidiary of the Uesugi Financial Group. It enjoys widespread popularity worldwide.”

Silence.

…Oh.

It’s one of ours.

Never mind, then.

“Alright. Let’s go get that fat penguin.”

Ignoring the store clerk’s professional smile, Uesugi Gen grabbed Ichinose’s hand and led her toward the claw machine.

“Let me see…”

Peering through the glass, he analyzed the setup. The box containing the penguin plush’s winning ticket was placed toward the back.

But there was a problem—

Uesugi Gen… had never played a claw machine before!

Glancing at Ichinose, who was still giggling to herself, he quickly dismissed the thought of letting her play instead.

A man must never admit defeat!

And more importantly—

That disgraceful penguin must be judged by my hands!

It’s just a claw machine. I’ve never eaten dragon meat, but I’ve seen dragons fly.

Besides, isn’t this basically just an arcade joystick?

With my years of gaming experience—if I can speedrun Advanced Nurturing High School, what’s a simple claw machine to me?

I’ll end this in one move!

Uesugi Gen swiftly exchanged coins, smoothly inserted one, and confidently maneuvered the joystick.

The claw descended, grabbed the box, moved, released—

Success!

“Gen-kun, that’s… the dragon plush.”

Ichinose giggled again.

Uesugi Gen: “……”

Without hesitation, he took both of Ichinose’s hands in his own.

“Honami, I really think this dragon suits me better. Why don’t we just take this one instead?”

“Nope! The dragon looks way too fierce—it’s nothing like you.”

“…Fine. One more time.”

Unfortunately, Uesugi Gen’s beginner’s luck had run out.

For the next several tries, he failed spectacularly.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

His fingers tapped impatiently against the machine, his frustration mounting.

In other words—

He was getting desperate.

“Gen-kun, maybe I should try? It’s been a while since I’ve played one of these too.”

Ichinose nudged closer, pressing against him as she reached for the joystick—offering him a way out.

“…One last attempt.”

Uesugi Gen’s voice carried the weight of a man pushed to his limit.

A direct descendant of the Uesugi family, humiliated by a mere claw machine?

A white dragon that doesn’t unleash its wrath is nothing more than a garden snake!

Closing his eyes, Uesugi Gen activated every neuron in his brain. His body entered its highest state of precision.

Environment: Standard Earth gravity field, G = 9.8 m/s².

Hypothesis: All prize boxes are uniformly distributed on a 2D plane.

Material parameters: Claw mechanism consists of three metal prongs forming a triangular shape; each prong’s tip has an equal surface area…

Distance from claw’s current position to target coordinate: X_T, optimal trajectory calculated!

Clamping force applied by claw: Fz, must exceed the sum of friction and gravitational force Mg!

Claw grip stability: Secured!

All variables aligned. Victory was now a matter of execution.

Claw Machine—Activate!

The claw descended, clamped onto the box, lifted, moved, released—

Thud!

The box dropped… just ten centimeters short of the prize chute.

“……”

Uesugi Gen slowly turned to look at the store’s sign.

“This place is obviously a scam. They rigged the claw’s grip strength. Just wait—I’ll use my vice president privileges to get this place shut down.”

Ichinose turned around in his arms, gently pinching his cheeks.

“The box just hit something on the way up. And you did get it once, remember?”

Uesugi Gen, his face squished, replied in a muffled voice.

“It’s the world’s fault. This store’s fault. Definitely not mine.”

“Let me do it, Gen-kun. Just watch me.”

Nestled against him, Ichinose took hold of his hands and guided them over the buttons…

...

One minute later.

Holding the fat penguin plush, Uesugi Gen stared ahead in silent contemplation.

Meanwhile, Ichinose Honami skipped happily in front of him.

---

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!