The Villainess Reika-sama

[101]

A little while after the school festival, Sakura-chan contacted me.

"I heard that Maihama Ema came to Zui'ran."

"Mmn. Do you know her? She goes to your school, right?"

"We go to the same school. We are not close. Take care around Maihama Ema. That girl doesn't hold back against girls that she doesn't like. There are plenty of her victims in Yurinomiya."

"Oh okay. Wait, don't tell me that she's bullied you too?"

"Hah? Who?"

Thouught soo~ Even I couldn't pick a fight with Sakura-chan and win...

"I saw Maihara Ema sticking around that famous Emperor so I was wondering if she was causing you problems, Reika. She's been going around Yurinomiya boasting about how close she is with your Emperor."

"Huuh~"

She did get invited to the tea party, and Yurie-sama seemed to know her well too, so maybe she was relatively close with him, but the guy himself seemed to have no desire to deal with her.
Ah, well. As long as it didn't harm me.

So anyhow, the school festival ended on a nice note. I chatted with friends as usual. Sometimes I would go to the Handicrafts Club, and sometimes I'd drink tea in the salon. It was a peaceful autumn.
After a whole month like that, the term-end exams began. I studied desperately hard with Marin-sensei and on my own as well, and took the test with incredible vigour. It was the hardest I had ever studied since entering high school here. Maybe I could even reach the top 30!

A few days later the results were announced, and the school was hit with a bombshell.

1. Takamichi Wakaba
2. Enjou Shuusuke
3. Mizusaki Arima

Kaburagi's name wasn't there.
Why, Emperor!? You've fallen more than thirty places in one go!? Did you forget to write your name or something!? Did you shift all your multiple choice answers down a box!?

Far from just the first years, even the upperclassmen were speculating about what happened to the perfect His Majesty the Emperor.
And the Emperor himself hadn't come to school.
I joined in on the discussion too, while giving the leader-board another once over. My name wasn't there.
When I got my report card back it said I was rank 31.
...I was really too unlucky.

Emperor didn't come to school in the next few days either.
At first people whispered about him falling ill, but nothing was ever made clear. As for his best friend Enjou, the guy wouldn't say anything either. Thanks to that it seemed like everybody had their own explanation.
He never appeared at the salon either. I could see our members growing worried.

Really though, what on earth was up with him. Was the shock from falling in rankings so bad that he changed schools or something!? Ah-! Was he skipping school because he didn't want to do remedials!?
Hmmmmmm... Huh? Speaking of which, when was the last time I even saw those two? Before the exams the salon was basically closed, and before that was...
...Well whatever.

More importantly, for some reason Kaburagi's fall from grace and absence was directly a lot of criticism towards Wakaba-chan.

'Not only did she steal first place while the Emperor was sick, she even went and took Enjou-sama's place!'

But how was that even her fault?

And I guess it was a pretty bad idea of hers to be happily shouting "First place!" while half the girls were in shock about Emperor not being up there. Kaburagi and Enjou fans began talking about how she did something or other to take 1st place from them. Complete nonsense.
Worse yet, the new president of the Pivoine was a Pivoine supremacist. Losing face to a commoner like Wakaba-chan was something incredibly unamusing to them.
Wakaba-chan, your position went to hell in an instant! Are you going to be okay!?