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Chapter 36 – Garden Party

(This feels more like a Meiji era’s “civilization and enlightenment” than a Taisho romance.)

A lucky day in May.
That day was the garden party hosted by the Ootori conglomerate.

They opened the estate’s garden and invited not only family members, but also many other guests.
This garden party is a yearly social gathering—a casual event not meant to be overly formal. 

Rather than calling it a garden party(enyuukai) in the Japanese sense, the term “garden party” in English feels more fitting.

As for the guests, families with higher status than the Ootori family or zaibatsu larger than the Ootori conglomerate usually just send a representative out of obligation—high-ranking people like the heads of those families rarely show up in person.

However, this year is a little different.

Partly because the event had been on a smaller scale in recent years due to the misfortunes caused by the Great Kanto Earthquake, but also because the Ootori family has recently drawn great public attention.

That attention comes from Professor Kouryuu’s development of several new medicines, and though still not widely known, the Ootori family has made a major success in American stocks.
However, blatant fame-seekers or money-chasers are excluded at the invitation stage, and invited guests undergo a sort of “background check,” so no foolish troublemakers are allowed to attend.

One reason for this is that letting the children experience this kind of event is considered one of the goals.

Basically, it’s meant to be a relaxed social gathering.

And since attendance is required for elementary school students and above, you can spot more than ten children from the family alone.
However, most of them are quite a bit older or younger than me, so after a brief greeting together with their parents, that’s usually the end of the interaction.

From our generation of the Ootori family, there’s me, Gentarou-kun, and Ryuichi-kun in attendance.
Unfortunately, poor Koshirou-kun and Youko-chan are stuck at home in their respective houses.

“Reiko, this is the first time I’ve seen you dressed like that.”

“…Yeah.”

“What’s with that? A proper young lady dressed up all fancy—shouldn’t you have something better to say? If that’s all you’ve got, girls are going to hate you!”

I jab a pointed finger—arm and all—at the two boys.
After all the effort Shizu and the other maids put into helping me pick out the perfect dress, they’re giving me no reaction at all. 

Talk about disappointing.

“Doesn’t matter to me.”

“Yeah. For me, it’s either an arranged marriage or being directly chosen.”

Their listless voices and shoulder-shrugging gestures scream resignation.

(You’re six years old and already so jaded? Your big sister here is heartbroken. Well, only one person gets to win the heroine Yamanashi Himeno in the game, so I guess it makes sense.)

“You two are hopeless. So, Ryuichi-kun, what exactly did you mean by ‘it’s fine’?”

Then he grinned like it was nothing and said:

“Hm? I mean, either me or Gentarou will marry Reiko, right? So we don’t need to bother looking or trying to be popular.”

“Wha—wha—wha—! You muscle-brained idiot! What are you suddenly saying?!”

“Muscle-brained? What’s that supposed to mean? Besides, if we want to strengthen the unity of the family, that’s the only option. Even if you’re the eldest child, Reiko, becoming the head of the zaibatsu would be tough for you.”

“Yeah, and women can’t inherit a peerage title either.”

(This level of judgment at their age… Normally I’d be impressed. But still—unforgivable!)

“You two idiots! I won’t marry anyone who says such pathetic things!”

It was right when I shouted that—

“You two—don’t be rude to a lady.”

(Who? And ‘lady’? Why does this feel familiar?)

While the three of us were goofing around, a voice interrupted us from the side.
It sounded vaguely familiar—like the voice of a boy who hasn’t gone through puberty yet, just like Gentarou-kun and Ryuichi-kun.

So with a hunch forming, I turned toward the source of the voice… and there stood a younger elementary school version of someone my previous life knew.

He’s super cute.

His slightly wavy hair and thick eyebrows, which emphasize his confident nature, are his standout features.
And below those brows, his lively, energetic eyes are fixed on us.

“Oh, it’s Katsujirou.”

“Hello, Yamazaki-kun.”

“Would you introduce me?”

I know him, but since this is our first meeting, I make sure not to let that slip and glance at the two boys.
But before they can introduce him, the boy named Yamazaki Katsujirou steps in front of me and offers a polite bow.

“Nice to meet you, Countess. My name is Yamazaki Katsujirou. I look forward to your acquaintance.”

“Such a courteous greeting—I’m honored, Katsujirou-sama. I am Reiko of the Ootori Count family.”

I reply with a graceful gesture.
I’ve already been thoroughly trained in etiquette, so even at six years old, something like this is no trouble at all.

Well, that’s probably thanks to having the cheat-level body of a villainess, but if I let that bother me, I’ve already lost.
While thinking that in the back of my mind, I glance to the side and see that the two boys from the Ootori family look a bit displeased.

(Is this some instinctual rivalry sense kicking in from their game character roots? But hold on, you two—your partner isn’t me. They won’t even show up for another ten years.)

As I bask just a little in my feminine superiority, I make small talk with Katsujirou-kun for a while.

During that time, the two Ootori boys keep trying to cut in, but Katsujirou-kun skillfully steers the conversation back to just the two of us.

This Yamazaki Katsujirou is a main character in the otome game Twilight of the Clan, one of the central romanceable characters.
His surname is modeled after Japan’s largest zaibatsu family, but in the actual historical family that inspired it, there was no child of the same age as me. 

In the world of my past life, the person he’s based on never had children—but in this story’s setting, he does.

So just like the Ootori family, he’s a unique character to this world.
In reality, he actually has a different surname, but in my mental transformation, it ends up being the exact same surname as in the game.

As for his character, he’s the archetype of an omnipotent, confident “I’m the best” type.

In a medieval fantasy world, he’d be the prince charming character.
And in the game, when the protagonist ends up with him, the Ootori (Hououin) family faces the most tragic fate.

(This kid’s my arch-nemesis character. Well, if the Ootori zaibatsu hadn’t been on the brink of collapse at the start of the game, he wouldn’t even have a chance to show up.)

Even so, he is an intriguing character.
So, I decided to ask him a little something.

“Katsujirou-sama, who did you come here with today?”

“I came with one of my uncles. Since there are kids my age in the Ootori family, it seemed just right to bring me along. That’s the story, anyway.”

(‘That’s the story’—right. With this level of thinking at this age, he’s definitely a cheat character.)

“So, does that mean you came here of your own will, Katsujirou-sama?”

“That’s right. I heard about you from these two at school and became interested. Then, when our eyes met earlier, I was sure of it. You should marry me in the future. Together, we should unite our two zaibatsu families and lead Japan. What do you think?”

(Oh, he’s coming on strong. As expected of an “I’m the best” character.)

Watching Katsujirou-kun strike his dramatic line with a smug expression from less than a meter away, I couldn’t help but feel impressed.

This arrogance and confidence certainly make him worthy of being the main character.
But my words are already decided.

“I’m afraid I must decline. According to Ootori customs, talks of that nature are forbidden until I reach the coming-of-age ceremony at the age of fifteen. So, unless your feelings change, I ask that you kindly make your request again at that time.”

“Hmm.”

“Yeah.”

The two beside me, who had been a bit fidgety, nodded strongly.
These two are also from the Ootori family, so they’ve been drilled on this sort of thing.

Even the earlier talk about love could happen so casually because of this foundation.

And though I thought Katsujirou-kun might be disappointed when I turned him down, as expected, he’s still the “I’m the best” character.

“Hmph, what a boring custom. But, since it concerns the family of my future wife, I’ll respect it. Then, let’s start by being friends. That should be fine, right?”

And there it is—another smug look.
There’s no reason to reject his extended hand.

Moreover, it’s a step down from his earlier high-level proposal. 

If he did this on purpose, he might actually be quite the negotiator.

Thinking that, I couldn’t help but respond with a smile.

“Yes. Please take care of me, both Gentarou and Ryuichi.”

And after that, the four of us enjoyed the garden party to some extent.

However, even so, as children, there wasn’t much for us to do besides nibbling on light snacks or sweets from the side tables.
Additionally, no matter how hard we tried to ignore it, there was always at least one servant nearby, keeping an eye on us.

Shizu was also keeping watch a few meters away from me.

“Still, even though there are more than twenty kids, the only thing that stands out is the family background.”

“Are you picking a fight with me?”

Katsujirou-kun muttered with a look of exasperation as he scanned the surroundings, and Ryuichi-kun immediately snapped back at him.
Gentarou-kun, on the other hand, kept his distance, perhaps because he believed in his own excellence.

As for me, I honestly thought this kind of conversation was a hassle, so I just enjoyed the tea Shizu had poured for me, which was loaded with sugar.

“Us four are exceptions, no, special cases. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be talking like this. I had high hopes for the school, considering it’s the prestigious Gakushuin, but at least our class didn’t live up to expectations. How about you?”

“We had some kids drilled in education, but they weren’t sharp.”

“Just a bunch of weaklings.”

(Ugh, I’ve never heard a kid say ‘weaklings(uranari)’ before. But since Natsume Sōseki was a literary figure from the Meiji era, I guess that kind of language would be normal for this time period. Actually, it’s probably weirder that a 6-year-old knows the word ‘uranari’… Huh?)

While I was observing the three future handsome boys, who were currently angelic children, and feeling a sense of generation gap, my highly sensitive body detected something unusual in the corner of my vision.

“?!” 

There it was again.
From beneath the buffet table, covered with a white tablecloth, a hand reached out, grabbed something, and quickly disappeared.

It was a little far, but it was definitely a human hand. 

Probably a child.

Once I confirmed it was the second time, I gave a subtle glance to the three boys.

Immediately, the cheat-like children reacted, each looking in the direction I pointed to with a small gesture, silently acknowledging what I’d indicated.
They then checked for adults, but fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—due to the increase in people, the adults were busy dealing with things. 

Shizu wasn’t nearby either; she had been called over to handle something.

At that moment, it was up to the children to act.
The first one to move was Ryuichi-kun.

“What should we do? Should we inform the adults?”

“That would be the safe option.”

“No, let’s handle it ourselves. They seem like children, and it would be pitiful to scold them over such a small prank.”

In contrast to Gentarou-kun’s safe and neutral words, Katsujiro-kun was surprisingly mature.
However, both I and the other two agreed with expressions that confirmed it.

“Sounds good. So, what’s the plan?”

“Let’s see. One person will keep watch. The three of us will surround them from three directions, making it impossible for them to escape, and one of us will chase them down. The other two will hold them down. How does that sound?”

“Not bad. Let’s go with that. Who does what?”

“Reiko will keep watch, Gentarou will be the hound, and Katsujiro and I will be the hunters.”

“That’s the best plan.”

Within moments, the plan and roles were decided among the three of them.
As expected, the intellectual Gentarou played the role of strategist.

All four of us nodded in agreement and immediately began to act.

The culprit’s activity area was in a secluded spot at the edge of the garden, partially hidden by trees, making it difficult to see from surrounding eyes.
Moreover, the table only had simple food, so there were no chefs or servants nearby.

It was the perfect spot for a little mischievous act of secretly taking food.

The four of us pretended to go get more food, moving separately at first, but each of us skillfully made our way to the location where we could carry out our roles.

(Though it’s a bit awkward to say it myself, everything’s going perfectly. Everyone’s a cheat character, and I completely understand what I need to do.)

After I briefly surveyed the surroundings and nodded slightly, the three of them began to move.

Under the large, long tablecloth, a conversation was taking place:

“Shh! We didn’t come to catch you.”

“Who’s this?”

“Looks like they’re not a participant.”

“Well, whatever. Just follow us. We won’t hurt you.”

“…Alright.”

The last voice sounded like a mischievous child, but there was a sense of déjà vu.

When I showed myself, hidden from view by the three, the reason became clear.

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Yamazaki Family (Zaibatsu)
This story is set in pre-war Japan, and since no living individuals are involved, the names are written as they are.
However, since it is a fan creation in this world, some names have been changed. (So far, the only change outside the protagonist’s family.)

The model for the Yamazaki family is the Iwasaki family of the Mitsubishi Zaibatsu.