Reincarnation of Villainess Noble Lady (Ch. 143-299)

REIKA-SAMA -161

“Is something the matter, Mizusaki-kun?”

I mentally ran through anything I might have done to piss him off. Mn. Probably something to do with the Pivoine again.

While we were standing together in the hallway I noticed him shoot a harsh glance in the direction of the classroom.

Fellow Stalking Horse shifted his position so that he was shielding me from it.

“Are you okay?”

Okay? Huh?

“Whatever do you mean?”

“…Aren’t you being extorted?”

“Hah?”

Extorted? Me? By Umewaka-kun and the others?

“Um, might I ask how you came to that conclusion…?”

“I’ve had reports about them using coupons with the Pivoine’s crest. At first it was something to just keep in mind, but I was patrolling just now when I saw them pester you for something, so I stopped them just in case.”

“Aahh…”

So that was it. It wasn’t just the tickets that set him off, but the coupons with the red peony symbol. After all, given the brown hair and piercings, they didn’t exactly look the part of somebody closely acquainted with a Pivoine member.

“Kisshouin, if they’ve been pestering you for money but you’re finding it hard to refuse, I’ll talk to them.”

“Umm, Mizusaki-kun, it seems that you are misunderstanding, but those people over there are actually my friends.”

“Friends? Yours? Those guys?”

I didn’t know a face could look so doubtful.

Yeah, they were my friends. True, when we first met I thought they were annoying, and loud, and gaudy-looking, but even after I was cold with them they kept trying to befriend me. I considered them real friends now.

“Kisshouin, are you sure you’re not being tricked? A lot of the students here at Zui’ran are sheltered, so they make for easy targets. You might not even have realised.”

“Hold on, Mizusaki-kun.”

Fellow Stalking Horse really didn’t think well of them. Look more carefully, Stalking Horse. Umewaka-kun might be wearing gaudy silver earrings, but those are actually pad pads, you know?
And none of the group are all that uncultured. I think you could say they’re well brought up, relatively speaking. It’s easy to get the wrong idea at a glance though.

“I am grateful for your concern, but not once have they pestered me for anything. We interact a lot at cram school, but never have they asked or expected me to treat them. Actually, they are the sort of people who gathered in the middle of the sweltering summer in order to help me with my exhibit for the Handicrafts Club. And I cannot know how exactly you see them, but let me tell you now that every one of them is a better student than I am, with far better grades.”

And it was true. Even though they knew that I was a rich girl, nobody had ever asked me to shout them. Actually when I gave Umewaka-kun that bag for Beatrice he even treated me to some popular convenience store treats as a thank you.