The Former Swordmaster Who Pretends to Be the Worst, and the School’s Top-Ranked Chairman’s Daughter Who’s Way Too Sweet in Public, It’s a Real Problem
“—Rika’s bodyguard, is that right?”
“Yeah, that’s exactly right.”
Ryotaro bowed deeply to me and said that.
When I asked him about it, he looked up and answered. Then, taking a slow breath, he began to speak as if confirming the events that had transpired so far.
“The attack that occurred at the coffee shop yesterday. I heard the details from the police, but it seems they were targeting my daughter from the very beginning, didn’t they?”
“That’s certainly true.”
I nodded in response to the Chairman’s words.
The moment those attackers entered the shop, they were shouting the name of my childhood friend. However, since they didn’t know her face, they must have been brainwashed by someone.
And it seems that speculation was spot on.
“According to the interrogation, it appears those men were acting on a commission from someone. They were told to capture Rika by any means necessary in exchange for a large sum of money…”
“They agreed to do it even though they didn’t know what she looked like.”
“Ah, but that’s not the only problem.”
“…That’s not the only problem?”
But it seems there’s something else going on.
Seeing me tilt my head in confusion, Ryotaro continued.
“That’s all they’ll say. We couldn’t get any more information out of them.”
“Couldn’t get any more…? Surely not—”
—I have a bad feeling about this.
The chairman furrowed his brow deeply, hesitating for a moment before speaking. Finally, as if he’d made up his mind, he said in a subdued voice:
“They were killed by someone while in custody. …Most likely, to silence them.”
Faced with a turn of events far worse than I’d imagined, I couldn’t help but gasp.
Since I’d assumed it was just some kind of ransom scheme at worst, a chill ran down my spine. It seemed this situation was a complete bolt from the blue for Ryotaro as well; he’d been letting out sighs repeatedly since a moment ago.
“As you know, Saito, Rika has been targeted by that sort of crowd for a long time. But in every case, they were motivated by my position.”
“But this time, it’s clear that Rika herself is the target.”
“…That might be the case.”
It was still just speculation.
Even so, killing to silence the perpetrators marked a clear departure from previous incidents. Moreover, if they were capable of murdering the suspects while they were in custody, the identity of those behind the scenes was even more unknown.
“Of course, I believe prevention is the top priority. And if it came down to it, if their goal was my wealth or status, I was prepared to sacrifice it all. I figured that if Rika’s life could be saved for that price, it would be a small price to pay. But—”
—If the goal was to harm my beloved daughter herself, that changes everything.
Ryotaro spoke up to that point, then took another deep breath. He must have felt as if he were barely alive ever since he first heard about this situation.
It seemed he was finally able to lift a small weight off his shoulders and was feeling relieved.
But I still had questions about this matter.
“…But why did you tell me?”
Yes, this wasn’t something a mere student should know.
When I asked about it, the chairman nodded and his expression grew serious again. Then,
“Because I thought it was the ‘best course of action.’”
“You mean, for me to ‘protect Rika’?”
His words finally connected to the request made at the beginning.
To protect Rika from an unknown enemy, he wanted me to serve as her bodyguard. That certainly seemed like the right move to make.
And I, too, wanted to ensure the safety of my childhood friend.
But the question that remained was—
“—If that’s the case, then all the more reason. Why me?”
Was I really the one he could entrust with facing such an enemy?
I’m not bragging, but I’ve always acted in a way that earned me the label of “underachiever” from those around me. Things have gone exactly as planned, and as a matter of fact, my grades hover near the bottom of the class.
It would be natural to think I’m not the kind of person you’d ask to be a bodyguard.
But Ryotaro took a quiet breath, and then—
“…There are two reasons.”
Lowering his voice again, he began to speak.
“The first is that you, Saito-kun, are someone who hasn’t been corrupted by any power. Especially in this case, there might even be enemies within the police organization itself.”
I could understand that.
The fact that it was possible to kill those men meant that someone within the police had acted as a guide—that was the natural conclusion.
But a bolt of lightning struck my mind the moment I heard the next reason.
Ryotaro looked me straight in the eye and said,
“The other reason is—”
With a strangely calm expression on his face.
“You yourself know it best, don’t you?” he said.
◆
“—Oh, welcome back! Saito-kun, what were you two talking about?”
“Hmm… well, just a little something.”
As I stepped out of the principal’s office, Rika—who must have been waiting there the whole time—looked at me with sparkling eyes.
Her mood seemed to have completely improved, and she linked her arm through mine.
Then she asked me what I’d been doing there…
“Ah… well, if anything, I’m the one who’ll be relying on you.”
“…Huh? What do you mean by that?”
I looked back at my dear childhood friend as she tilted her head and peered into my face.
Then, shrugging my shoulders in my usual manner, I told her:
“My parents are going on a business trip for a while, so I’m going to stay at your place, Rika.”
“…………Huh?”
Rika froze, looking completely dumbfounded, as if her brain had shut down.
After a few seconds, she finally seemed to grasp the situation. Her face turned bright red in an instant, and without a care for who might be watching—
“Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!???”
――That was what she shouted
◆
“Phew… I guess I’ve played all my cards now.”
After Saito left, Ryotaro muttered this to himself in the chairman’s office.
He stood by the window and looked at his reflection in the glass.
There was a stern expression on his face—one that didn’t quite suit him.
“Still, he seems to be a bigger fish than I imagined.”
But that feeling was fleeting.
He suddenly smiled as he recalled the words of the boy who had just left. It was the response he’d received when, after explaining everything, he’d asked what he intended to do.
Saito stood up from the sofa, turned his back to Ryotaro, and said:
[I don’t know what the Chairman knows, or what he’s talking about.]
As if playing dumb about the content itself.
Yet, in a strong, resolute tone, the boy—his daughter’s childhood friend—had said:
[But I’ll protect my own precious peace in my own way.]
There was an extraordinary sense of resolve and determination in those words.
Ryotaro could say nothing in the face of his intensity; all he could do was watch him walk away.
“……Yeah, I’m counting on you, Saito-kun.”
So, in the room after the boy had left.
Only after he was alone did he finally reply.
“Let’s protect our most precious peace together, no matter what.”
Maiban