You Will Regret This Ichinose! [118]

Uesugi Gen silently pulled up Ichinose, who was still burying her face in his chest, then reached out and pinched her cheeks, gritting his teeth as he asked,

“How did my Honami learn to lie? She’s never lied to me before.”

Ichinose blinked, her voice slightly distorted as she spoke with her cheeks still held between his fingers.

“Gen-kun taught me~”

For a moment, Uesugi felt both amused and exasperated. He let go, curled a finger, and flicked Ichinose’s smooth forehead.

“You should use that cleverness against rival classes instead of just scheming against me.”

“Uuu~”

Ichinose covered her forehead with both hands. “Gen-kun is bullying me.”

“Alright, let’s call it a day. Next class, we’ll practice properly—huh?”

Uesugi trailed off, suddenly realizing something felt off.

Wait… wasn’t I the one who didn’t want to participate in this event?
Why does it feel like I’m the one begging her to take practice seriously?

“Oh.”

“…Can you not look so genuinely disappointed?”

“Oh.”

Ichinose pouted slightly, clearly unhappy.

Uesugi helped Ichinose up before bending down to untie the band wrapped around their legs.

“Alright, I’ll carry you back. You win.”

With a sigh of resignation, Uesugi crouched down in front of her.

“Ehehe~”

Ichinose instantly returned to her usual energetic self, practically throwing herself onto him, arms wrapping around his neck.

“Alright, back to class we go!”

Knew it. She tricked me into carrying her again.

Feeling the soft weight on his back, Uesugi immediately understood he’d fallen for yet another one of her schemes.

What a terrifying illusion—capable of bending one’s will, making people willingly step into the trap even when they know it’s there.

But constantly getting played without fighting back wasn’t Uesugi’s style.

His hands, which had been supporting Ichinose’s toned yet delicate thighs, subtly slid upward along the fabric of her gym shorts until they reached the soft curves of her rear.

For a brief moment, he silently appreciated the unparalleled sensation in his palms before giving a light squeeze.

“Ah—”

Ichinose’s face immediately turned pink. The arms wrapped around Uesugi’s neck instinctively tightened as she pressed her forehead against his shoulder.

“G-Gen-kun… gentler… gentler…”

“Will you still try to trick me next time?”

Ichinose hesitated for two seconds.

“…Yes.”

“…You’ve got guts. Looks like I’ll have to show you the power of Class B’s President, Uesugi!”

“Gen-kun, I’M the President of Class B!”

...

Returning to Class B’s classroom, Uesugi was met with the various reactions of his classmates. He glanced around at their faces before casually firing back,

“What? Never seen a handsome guy giving someone a piggyback ride?”

“Never!” × N

“…Tch.”

The next period after P.E. was Hoshinomiya-sensei’s math class.

Under her special care, Uesugi gleefully used the excuse of being sick to ditch the lesson. Instead, he made his way to the activity room.

Booting up the computer, logging into his gaming account, and putting on his headset—

As the game’s login screen appeared, Uesugi rubbed his hands together, a wide grin forming on his face.

“I’m gonna use your skull as a soup bowl!!!”

Placing both hands on the keyboard, he prepared to save the world.

Just then—

Bzzzt—

His phone, set to vibrate, suddenly went off.

Who dares…

Who dares interrupt me while I’m in the middle of conquering (crossed out) saving the world?

Uesugi grabbed his phone and checked the caller ID.

[Miss Horikita]

“…Huh?”

Now this was unusual.

Horikita Suzune typically communicated with him through LINE messages. She had only called him directly two or three times before.

Did she get her hand stuck in the kettle again?
Or did Accomplice-chan already come up with a proper duel method and is ready to PK her?

With those thoughts in mind, Uesugi tapped the screen and answered the call.

“Hello, Miss Horikita. What problem do you need my wise counsel on today?”

Silence.

For a few seconds, the voice on the other end of the call remained quiet.

“…Are you free right now?”

Uesugi glanced at his computer screen, hit pause, then replied,

“Go on, what’s the issue this time?”

“How’s your practice for the three-legged race going?”

A low voice came through the receiver.

Uesugi fell silent for two seconds.

Recalling how he and Ichinose face-planted on their very first step, he replied calmly,

“…Invincible.”

“…What do you think is the best strategy for the three-legged race?”

Hearing this, Uesugi immediately figured out what was going on. He sighed and said,

“…Let me guess. You thought that the slower person should match the faster person’s pace, so you told your classmates to keep up with you?”

“……”

The silence on the phone confirmed his guess.

When Horikita Suzune mentioned the three-legged race, Uesugi had already pieced together what was happening.

Aside from the recommended Mixed-Gender Three-Legged Race, the Sports Festival also included a mandatory three-legged race where all students had to participate.

Knowing Horikita’s personality, she had most likely demanded her partner match her pace, expecting them to simply adjust to her speed.

But since she lacked the social finesse to make them willingly comply, she must have ended up frustrating them instead.

“…You know,” Uesugi began.

Horikita didn’t interrupt, listening in silence.

“Miss Horikita, let me ask you something.”

“…What?”

“If you were paired with your brother in a three-legged race, who would adjust their pace—him or you?”

“…Of course, I would adjust to my brother…”

Halfway through her sentence, Horikita’s voice suddenly cut off.

“You realized it, didn’t you? In reality, he would match your pace.”

“……”

“That’s the difference between you and your brother. The way you both choose to live your lives isn’t right or wrong—but when faced with the same problem, your different personalities produce different results.”

“Your brother’s personality allows him to handle these situations effortlessly. Yours doesn’t.”

“Because of that, when you distance yourself from certain social aspects, you naturally have to face the consequences that come with it.”

“When you finally figure out how to overcome that hurdle, you’ll be one step closer to him.”

“That’s all. Think it over.”

“Wait, I—”

Before Horikita could finish, Uesugi hung up.

Horikita Suzune—

On one hand, she believed she could handle everything alone.

On the other hand, she stubbornly chased after her brother’s footsteps.

The problem was that her brother was a natural leader.

Which meant this whole situation boiled down to one thing—

A headstrong girl who thought she didn’t need anyone’s help trying to become a leader.

And so, she kept running into walls.

The moment she broke through this barrier—that would be the moment she truly grew.

---

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!