You Will Regret This Ichinose! [208]

The ramen shop was quiet and spacious. The girls ate their ramen with remarkable elegance, taking small, delicate bites and making hardly any noise. The only sounds were the occasional soft murmurs of conversation.

The old master remained silent as well, casually sitting on a chair behind the counter, watching them with a contented smile.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, he suddenly spoke.

"By now, Gen should have realized you’re all missing and is probably searching everywhere for you."

The moment his words fell, all five of their phones vibrated at once.

Uesugi Gen: [Wife, where did you all run off to without me!!!]

Remove the "all"!!!

Their faces instantly flushed red.

Setting their chopsticks down, they hurriedly reached for their phones, preparing to reply—

But before they could, the old master unexpectedly stopped them.

"If possible, I’d like you to hold off on telling him where you are. Also, please don’t mention that you’ve met me here."

The girls froze mid-motion, confusion flashing across their faces as they looked at the old master.

"First, let me thank you," he said. "For liking my reckless son."

The sudden shift in topic caught them off guard. But before they knew it, gentle smiles crept onto their faces.

Ichinose quickly responded, "There’s nothing to thank us for. Meeting him at Advanced Nurturing High was the luckiest thing that ever happened to me."

Kamuro Masumi turned her head slightly to the side, her cheeks tinged pink. "That guy... has helped me out a lot too."

Sakayanagi Arisu covered her mouth with her hand, laughing softly. "With him around, life at this school is never dull."

Horikita Suzune remained poised in her seat, her expression calm and direct.

"I like him," she said simply.

Kushida Kikyo shot Horikita a glare before flashing a radiant smile of her own.

"And I’m his closest battle companion!"

The old master chuckled.

"Then... none of you are willing to let go, are you?"

At that moment, silence filled the ramen shop.

The only sound left was the bubbling of broth from the pot.

They hadn’t expected this elderly man to be so blunt—to lay everything out so clearly.

"With Gen’s personality, he’ll probably think, I want them all."

He scratched his head, looking a little sheepish.

"Well... I did teach him that, after all."

So it was you!!!

They all cursed him in their hearts.

Instantly, their goodwill toward the old master took a nosedive.

"When I was still with the Uesugi family, I had many wives. Unfortunately, there was no real love between us. So, to be honest, I wasn’t exactly the best role model when it came to giving him advice on relationships."

That’s not just bad advice—that’s terrible advice!

"Because of that, I had no hesitation when I finally left the Uesugi family."

Hearing this, an uneasy feeling stirred within them.

"You are all individuals. Love is inherently selfish—it’s only natural to not want to share."

Their impression of the old master recovered slightly.

His gaze swept across the girls—each one liked by his son—before he continued.

"One of you, some of you, or perhaps all of you… will win Gen’s love and walk the rest of your lives with him. I have no doubts about that."

"So before that happens—before victory is decided—I ask you to do one thing."

"Please, fill the emptiness in that boy’s heart."

"Otherwise—"

His clouded yet piercing eyes locked onto them.

"He will drop out of school."

At that moment, their minds went completely blank.

"...What do you mean by that?"

Even the ever-composed Horikita Suzune lost her cool, abruptly rising from her seat, her sharp gaze demanding an explanation.

The old master turned to Sakayanagi.

"Young lady, you just said that with Gen here, school isn’t boring for you, correct?"

Sakayanagi nodded.

"That boy likely feels the same. It’s because of you all that he doesn’t feel lonely."

"You are the people who understand him best in this school. You must have noticed—he treats this place like a game."

A shiver ran through them.

As they thought back on all of Gen’s actions at school, they realized—

The old man is right.

Ichinose clenched her fists under the table, her lips pressed tightly together. Out of all of them, she had spent the most time with Gen. She had felt it the most.

"When he finds a game boring… and when there’s nothing left to keep him attached to it…"

"He quits."

"That’s not true!"

Ichinose shot to her feet, completely disregarding any pretense of maintaining a polite impression in front of a parent.

"Gen-kun isn’t like that! We go to class together, eat meals with our classmates, work hard for the future of our class—!"

"The Gen I know doesn’t see this school as just a game!"

"...My apologies."

Sakayanagi, leaning on her cane, also stood up and bowed deeply.

"I don’t believe my feelings for him that night were false, either."

"Neither do I," Horikita added firmly.

Even Kushida, who had been playing the role of an observer, dropped all pretense.

"If even she doesn’t think it’s fake, then my bond with him, which is deeper than hers, definitely isn’t fake."

Kamuro Masumi also stood up.

"I game with that guy all the time. I know for a fact—his attitude at school is nothing like when he plays a game."

The old master smiled in satisfaction.

"That’s good to hear."

Then, he struck with a final, devastating blow.

"But this isn’t Gen’s choice to make."

"You’re all talking about the things that tie him to this school."

Standing up, the old master slowly walked toward the door.

Outside, the sun hung high in the sky, not a single cloud in sight.

But the air remained frigid.

"Our family has a hereditary mental condition."

"You could also call it a genius disease."

"I told you before—the Uesugi name is a curse. Every generation born into this family is exceptional."

"But because they’re too exceptional, they struggle to connect with others. They constantly remind themselves that they are different. The only time they don’t feel isolated… is when they’re with their own kind."

"It’s genetic."

"If you cannot erase his loneliness…"

"If he loses all attachments to this school…"

"Then he will return to the Uesugi family—to the underworld that awaits him."

A chill ran down their spines.

Even if one of them won his heart—

If the loneliness in Uesugi Gen’s soul remained unhealed—

Then he would still leave.

And no one here wanted the person they cared about to be swallowed by the underworld.

"So…"

The old master turned back to them.

The same man who had, with sheer presence alone, once left them completely paralyzed.

Now, standing against the light, he bowed deeply.

"As a father—"

"I beg you."

"No matter what—"

"Don’t let him lose faith in this school."

"Please… take care of my son."

---

T/N: damn... i'd still like the disease though...

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!