NNYV7C1P7

Chapter 1

Part 7

Translation: Yamaking

 

“I did not expect that I, of all people, would lose.”

“It’s an epic win for JKs right?”

“Though the JK winning here isn’t a Joushi Kousei (high schooler) but rather a Joushi Kyoushi (female teacher).”

Thinking about it rationally, there’s no way Master would be popular right?— is something we should’ve realized sooner.

“That’s not all though. I thought for sure Master would be swarmed by guys after her money and then she’d go: ‘I don’t need men! Marriage is all but a lie!’ but… it didn’t occur to me that she wouldn’t even stand a chance.”

“So in the end, money is simply not everything in this world, is it… Hahaha…”

“That’s not really funny you know… If you want to cry, then you should go ahead and do that…”

“I don’t plan on being brought to tears by something like this… However, I feel it might be better to give up on it at this point…”

Please do. Do that and put an end to all of this.

Take it slow and focus on the other important bits, okay?

“Well, I guess that’s fine then. I can’t see anything but a bleak future when a person who can barely get along with others gets married just like that, you know?”

“That may be the case. That may be the case but… No, this may have actually become quite a quandary.”

“Q, quandary?”

Hearing Master herself say she’s troubled makes it feel like she seriously is.

“My parents were quite overjoyed when I declared that I was on board with the idea of marriage and that I am currently looking for a partner. I feel that at this rate, they may just end up deciding on a partner for me by themselves.”

“That’s really a quandary then isn’t it!”

“I’ve really done it this time~☆”

“This is no time to be joking around!”

“Is there going to be a real marriage happening?!”

Why do you say that so expectantly Ako?!

“However, even if I do get married with the person my parents decided on, I can’t call that a victory. The fact that I’m able to entrance my partner with my own charms is what makes it a victory, is it not?”

“That’s really not something we have a say in but… I just hope this all doesn’t turn into a big deal.”

“If something happens, tell us alright?”

“Ha Ha Ha. Worry not. There aren’t many problems that I, myself, am not able to resolve!”

“That just worries me even more!”

Though with that said, we shouldn’t really be overstepping our boundaries.

We just watched with a complex expression on our faces as Master puffed out her chest in pride.

“Now then, that’s enough about me. Our problem right now is about Ms. Saitou.”

“That’s right, how did things at the marriage mixer party go?”

It just felt like the standard Nekohime-san, you know?

“Hmm—, from what I saw, it didn’t seem like she was really onboard with the idea of marriage or the marriage mixer.”

“That’s right! She was so popular that it almost got on my nerves… I guess someone who’s the complete opposite of me, a bright, sociable, and athletic person would be the center of attention for something like that right… Fufufufufufu…”

“Calm down Ako!”

This is no time to be building up aggro towards Nekohime-san!

“Then did it feel like she was serious about getting married and quitting?”

“‘I can’t really say it’s impossible’ is how it felt like, I guess?”

There’s the fact that she got popular as a result of following up after Master too after all.

“However, if she were actually serious about her declaration of marriage and quitting, I may have done something quite horrible.”

“Hm? Why would you say that?”

“Think about it. What does Ms Saitou have in her hands right now?”

“‘What’ you say…”

“Did she have anything?”

“Of course she does! It’s those things she received at the party yesterday! Those numerous calling cards that she received!”

Ah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

That’s right! That person, right now, is a Love Master, able to have her fill from a numerous list of potential marriage partners.

“If she’s serious about it, then she can get married anytime!”

“Uwa—, that’s scary isn’t it?”

“I didn’t expect this but…”

My brain couldn’t help but imagine the sight of Nekohime-san gleefully saying ‘I’m getting married to this person!’.

“So she might have a boyfriend and she even has a large list to choose from now, huh?”

So she’s cleared all prereqs for marriage huh… there’s something wrong with saying it like that but… she’s cleared all the prereqs huh…

“If Sensei was serious about marriage… there’s also the possibility of her quitting her job after marriage right…”

Oh that’s right. The thing about her quitting after getting married isn’t limited to only the game.

She might even quit her job as a teacher!

“Eeeeeeh?! That would be a huge problem then!”

“We’re going to lose our adviser if that happens, won’t we?”

Yeah, it’s a real problem.

We pretty much forced her to take up a position that nobody else would in the first place.

If Nekohime-san disappears, our club may very well get disbanded.

“It’s not like Sensei quitting is a given even if she does get married right! We don’t know that yet!”

“But it’s possible if she gets pregnant or something like that right?”

“When that happens, a teacher we could ask to substitute for the role of adviser would be…”

“……”

“………”

There’s no way another teacher like that would exist.

It was supposed to be an auspicious occasion, but a heavy atmosphere hung over the club room.

“…Still, Ms. Saitou has taken care of us greatly. I would like to support her decision if it’s for the sake of her own happiness.”

“That’s right! Getting married is a joyous thing!”

Both Master and Ako seemed to be rooting for Sensei, but held a complex expression on their faces as they voiced their approval.

“But you know…”

I wonder why? I just can’t seem to honestly feel happy about this.

“You say that so easily but it’s still a huge problem isn’t it!”

Segawa’s twintails swung to and fro as she widely shook her head.

She then suddenly extended her arms as if pointing at the whole club room.

“I mean, it’s all going to disappear! This club! The Net Game Club!”

“…That’s right. I guess we’re going to lose the club room right?”

Everything here would disappear. Both our club room, and our club.

“I mean sure, I was a bit hesitant joining at first, thinking: ‘Why would a blooming high school girl willingly end her career in a Net Game Club?’! But being surrounded by you guys and these monitors while fooling around, being able to talk about the things I usually can’t, and being able to do all the stuff I want to without having to hide it from others… is just so, so much fun isn’t it!”

“Schew…”

“And all that’s going to disappear! Do you understand that?!”

“……”

I turned to glance at Segawa’s face, which has gotten quite red after all that talking.

“What are we going to do when all this disappears?! Where would we all go to meet?! Where would our ‘everyday’ go then?!”

That’s… something I’d hate to happen.

It felt like Segawa’s words stirred up the passion inside of us.

“Are we going to go back to being just classmates like before?! I don’t want that!”

“I, I don’t want that either!”

Ako cried out ‘Schew-chaaaaan!’ as she clung onto Schew.

She patted Ako’s head, which was a bit high for her, and continued her protest.

“Even Nekohime-sensei enjoys all of this despite what she says, right? Even if we can’t stay together forever, we can at least be together while we’re still studying here at school! You guys want to be with her too, don’t you?!”

“…I see, Ms. Saitou IS a member of our club after all.”

Our feelings all matched up with Segawa’s speech.

That’s right. Simply giving up and celebrating is just too sad.

“And what’s more… what’s more, uhm… that’s right! The PC! I wouldn’t be able to use my War Machine anymore if that happens right!”

———Ah, so that’s… the reason huh.

“…Ah—”

“Schew-chan, that’s…”

“For your own personal gain…”

“Eh wait what?”

All of those feelings blew off away somewhere in an instant.

Master’s tear-stained face has returned back to normal and Ako, who had been clinging to her, slowly stepped back.

“Ah! —No wait! You got it wrong!”

It seems Segawa has finally realized that she just said something she shouldn’t have, as she frantically waved both of her hands while looking at all of us.

“That’s not it! You got it wrong! It was just the last thing that came to mind! I was thinking if there were any other reasons to not let Sensei go and said it last because it wasn’t really that important!”

“We get it, we get it but…”

“The timing was just really horrible you see.”

“I feel exhausted.”

We let out a sigh together as we all looked at each other’s faces.

At this point, it feels like it’s just best to let it be.

“In any case, we should at least show our gratitude at the very end.”

“…I guess you’re right, we have to properly say our goodbyes huh?”

“Indeed. Let us show her our respect.”

“Yup, we’ve caused her a lot of trouble after all, right?”

With sullen expressions, we lined up at the club room’s entrance.

After a long wait, the time finally came.

“Alright everyone, are you properly carrying out your club activities?”

Nekohime-san nonchalantly entered the club room, just as she always did.

Turning to face her, we said in unison,

“Sensei! Thank you for everything up until now!”

“…Eh?”

We all took our turns bowing down to Sensei as she stood there, frozen in a daze.

“Thank you for taking so much care of us, Sensei.”

“Nekohime-sensei, thank you for everything up until now…”

“I shall never forget you, Ms. Saitou. You’ll forever be one of us.”

“Thank you very much for everything. Even if you’re not here anymore Sensei, I’ll do my best to go to school everyday!”

“Eh… W, what? What’s happening?”

Nekohime-san seemed to be in a panic while her eyes kept darting about.

I wonder why? She wasn’t like that when she boldly said her marriage declaration in front of me and Ako right?

“Why are meow suddenly making it look like I’m quitting from my job?! Are meow telling me I’m fired?!”

“Ha? No, that’s not it. We simply heard the story that you, Ms. Saitou, declared that you were going to get married and qui—”

“What kind of nonsense are meow sayiiiiiiing?!”

…Eh?

“I, is that not true?”

“Meow bet it isn’t! I only participated in that marriage mixer party to avoid the cat-astrophe of Goshouin-san getting tricked by some shady guy!”

I mean, we know that, but that’s not just it.

“But during that New Year’s Party, didn’t you say you were going to quit, get married, and go back to being just Nekohime-san?! We saw you say that, right?!”

“Nekohime-sensei, who are you getting married to? Is it that guy you were with during that shrine visit?”

“Or are you going to get married to one of the people in those calling cards you have?”

“……”

As we questioned her, Nekohime-san seemed to inhale very deeply.

And then, she opened her mouth wide and said,

“Meow know, That. Was. About. THE GAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

Nekohime-san’s cries echoed inside the club room.

Oh, so that’s what it was about?

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