543 - I Was Genderswapped and Reincarnated as a Villainess, but I’m Making this My Personal Yuri Game

To access the bookmark feature, please log in. Reincarnated as a Villainess, but I'm the Only One Playing the Yuri Game Author: Hirata Asaomi Previous Next 544/1418 Chapter 543: "Inaugural Performance: Middle School and High School" Sakamoto Sudachi, a first-year student who joined the middle school this year, was feeling frustrated. Nothing seemed to go right. She was growing more and more annoyed as she pondered why everything was falling apart. Sudachi was the daughter of the Sakamoto family, part of the Kiuji clan. The Kiuji Sakamoto family was a vassal house under the Ichijou family, which was left behind in the old capital to manage the Ichijou family's lands and estates when many of the aristocrats moved to the new capital. Some noble families stayed behind in the old capital for various reasons, while others, like the Sakamoto family, were ordered by their liege lords to either relocate or remain to manage local affairs. Normally, one would expect to move to the new capital with the majority, yet being told to stay and manage properties would be a hard pill to swallow. Such treatment could erode loyalty and exhaust even the strongest patience. However, few among the nation's people thought that way. Be they nobility, samurai, farmers, or merchants, loyalty towards one's lord or family was unwavering. Many still held the belief that sacrificing their lives to fulfill their duty was a virtue, and they lived by that even today. The Sakamoto family embraced their duty without complaint, determined to excel in their responsibilities for the Ichijou family and earn their way to the new capital. Yet success eluded them. Before enrolling in Fujihana Academy's middle school, Sudachi had thought her plan would be easily realized. Her mission was to dethrone Kujou Sakuya for the sake of the Ichijou family. It seemed a simple task. However, reality hit hard upon entering Fujihana Academy. The reputation of Kujou Sakuya among the regional nobles was dismal. Her behavior was unbecoming of a lady, self-absorbed and whimsical, alienating those around her. She was ignored by men and abhorred by her peers, an isolated and disliked heiress. Such was the gossip among the old capital's regional nobles, making Sudachi’s job seem straightforward. Given her notorious and isolated reputation, it should have been easy to discredit the selfish lady. Adding a few more ill rumors, sneaking lies into the truth, and spreading them would prompt her downfall as if she were rolling downhill. Or so it was believed... But entering Fujihana Academy revealed a starkly different reality. Whenever Kujou Sakuya spoke, internal students would respond at once. Even upperclassmen and underclassmen, with whom she scarcely had contact, cheered for her. Initially, Sudachi tried various schemes to tarnish Kujou Sakuya’s reputation. She spread rumors within her own class, the external students group, claiming Sakuya acted imperiously towards juniors and hid behind the guise of seniority. After first seeing Kujou Sakuya at the entrance on the day of the opening ceremony, Sudachi echoed these sentiments among her classmates. At first, her classmates in the fourth group agreed, but over the past week, their opinions shifted, leaving almost none to support her. Now, only those loyal to the Ichijou faction spoke ill of Kujou Sakuya. Sudachi had believed it would be easy to tarnish Kujou Sakuya's reputation, fulfill her role, and elevate the Sakamoto family's status within the Ichijou faction, thereby gaining recognition in the central capital. Yet nothing progressed as planned. Those who initially agreed quickly changed their opinion, and now speaking ill of Kujou Sakuya resulted in receiving cold stares. "This wasn’t supposed to happen." Sudachi found herself trapped in this mindset repeatedly, her frustration mounting. At times, she even considered taking direct action against Kujou Sakuya. "Sudachi-chan, let's go quickly?" "I know!" A concert by the band led by Kujou Sakuya and her peers, who were causing Sudachi so much distress, was scheduled for this afternoon at the newly opened small hall. Despite her classmates prompting her to hurry along, the knowledge that she must listen to a concert by Kujou Sakuya deepened Sudachi's irritation. Though her classmates had kindly urged her to go, Sudachi's curt response caused them to frown and move away. She was slowly becoming isolated even within the Ichijou faction, and she headed towards the small hall feeling on the verge of tears. ------ "Wow..." "Amazing..." "As expected of Fujihana Academy!" The students of the first-year fourth group were awestruck by the small hall. Despite its name, "small hall," it rivaled famous halls used by well-known artists, potentially surpassing them in terms of facilities and design. While it might lack the vastness of well-known venues, its size was deemed appropriate based on usage frequency and audience size, making it sufficiently practical. Internal students and senior external students who had been at Fujihana Academy for years could guess and comprehend the situation. However, the new external students hadn't grasped whose influence allowed such a splendid academy with advanced facilities to spring into existence. They merely thought Fujihana Academy was remarkable for continuously investing in state-of-the-art amenities for its students. "To think the Kujou family's daughter can perform here just because of her family privileges. I'm envious of the Gohoku family's freedom to do whatever they please." “……” Even when Sudachi voiced this, her classmates in the fourth group didn’t echo her sentiments. Just a week ago, right after entering the academy, they’d have joined in agreement, but none now aligned with her view, leaving Sudachi puzzled. Stuck in a cold, awkward silence, Sudachi bit her lip and lowered her gaze, unable to leave her seat. Eventually, the inauguration celebration and the inaugural performance of the small hall began. There were speeches and congratulatory addresses from dignitaries and superiors, and then an older lady, the Madam of the Konoe household, stepped forward to speak. Sudachi listened absentmindedly as the Konoe Madam’s words were laden with praises for Kujou Sakuya and her entourage. Surely, this was all orchestrated publicity. Anything else would be beyond belief. Despite Sudachi's youth and ignorance of worldly and societal mechanisms, even she understood the absurdity of the Madam Konoe's remarks. There's no way children barely older than themselves could achieve such fantastical feats. Some might believe in such tall tales. Perhaps the thinking is that if even one out of a hundred people falls for the lie, it's a win. But the other ninety-nine would likely see it as madness. By spreading lies to build a reputation, they only end up damaging their own standing. "Let's move right on to the performance! I'm sure those hearing Sakuya-chan and her friends for the first time will fall in love with their music," said the Madam of the Konoe household. "Hmph... 'Fall in love,' they say," Sudachi scoffed at the words. It was common for daughters of nobility to learn to play instruments. Being slightly proficient at an instrument was a standard part of their education, not something to be fawned over. Sudachi herself had learned piano and koto and considered taking violin lessons at one point. Playing an instrument at a basic level was unremarkable among noble families, who also regularly attended concerts as part of their cultural education. For those accustomed to fine music, the playing of amateur children would be dismissed as mere noise. Sudachi assumed that the so-called brilliance of the performance by Kujou Sakuya and her entourage was exaggerated by an audience fearful of crossing the Kujou family. That is, until the performance began... "What!? What...is this..." "Astounding..." "This can't be... how is this even possible..." The moment the performance started, the new first-year students from external schools were struck by sheer astonishment. Some had heard Sakuya and her group's performance during the street vision hijack incident, yet they were the minority, and the recordings were swiftly removed, making it difficult to find any except on the deepest underground platforms. "――!" A teardrop fell from Sudachi's cheek, dampening her Fujihana Academy uniform. She couldn't even comprehend why she was crying. All she knew was that her tears wouldn't stop. The brief murmurs of surprise quickly faded as every student and parent present became absorbed in the music. When the band finished a piece, the performers shifted, and the next piece would begin, with people moving on and replacing each other, maintaining an unbroken sequence of melodies. There were solos for each instrument, as well as pieces where all members joined in movements resembling dance. To Sudachi, whose ear wasn't well-trained, every piece, every instrument, every member's performance seemed extraordinary. Yet amidst it all, the piano stood out. Though there were dual piano pieces, Kujou Sakuya’s playing was head and shoulders above the rest of the band. Sudachi, who had no deep knowledge of music or piano, couldn’t grasp the technicalities. But the sound of Kujou Sakuya's piano was pleasant to the ear. It was, at times, intense, at others gentle, and its complex finger work bordered on the divine. Even without understanding the specifics, Sudachi could clearly see that the performance was beyond impressive. Immersed in the music, by the time she realized it, the concert had drawn to a close. Calls for an encore erupted throughout the venue, and when the band members returned to answer those calls, they were met with a thunderous ovation. "What on earth... What WAS that..." Sudachi's mind was a jumbled mess after all the performances were over. Her chest constricted, and her thoughts were disjointed and scattered, leaving her unable to think clearly. But this wasn't a simple absence of thought; instead, her scrambled thoughts couldn't settle into any logical sequence. "Noooo~~!" "Sob... sob..." All around, students—and even parents—were leaving the small hall, tears in their eyes. Deeply moved and emotionally stirred, they wept without clearly understanding why. The middle school students, still immature, couldn't fathom what had caused their tears. With no way to process their emotions, they simply cried. Adults might rationalize their tears as a response to being moved, but children, unable to reconcile their feelings so neatly, were left bewildered, and that bewilderment only brought more tears. "Kujou Sakuya..." Sudachi swallowed the words "big sister" before they could escape. She intended to bring down Kujou Sakuya and win acknowledgment from the Ichijou family to have the Sakamoto family invited to the central capital. And yet... Sudachi returned to her classroom, struggling with the baffling emotions swirling within her heart. --- The following day, Sakuya and her group had another final concert at the high school's small hall. Similar phenomena unfolded as in the middle school and elementary school performances, but something different transpired here. "Imaoji-san! That was amazing!" "An-chan, I had no idea you were so talented at playing instruments!" "Oh no... I was just being pulled along by the other members." The day after the concert, Imaoji An found herself surrounded by high school students. Not just her fellow first-years, but upperclassmen too gathered around her. Until now, An had been regarded as an odd character by her peers. People viewed her as someone who always carried a camera around her neck, snapping photos here and there, indulging in quirky antics during school broadcasts. Beyond that, she'd mostly been seen pinning sample photos relating to school events on bulletin boards, as provided by the school. But yesterday’s concert completely changed how people saw An. Being part of such a distinguished ensemble, performing spectacularly and moving audiences, altered perceptions across the board. Individuals who had watched her from a distance, thinking her strange, even high-ranking nobles who once frowned upon her activities, all now adjusted their attitudes and gathered to hear her speak. "How did you become close with Kujou-sama and the others?" Previously, high-ranking nobles viewed the Imaoji family merely as a vassal house. Now they were eager to learn how she integrated into the Kujou faction. But An hadn’t done anything in particular to endear herself to Sakuya. "Well... It's not that I did anything special to get close to Sakuya-tan, I mean, Kujou-sama. It just happened as I followed around Oogimachisanjo-sama..." "Ah, right... I forgot that Imaoji-san and Oogimachisanjo-sama are part of the Konoe faction." Hoping for some noble-like tip on winning Kujou Sakuya’s favor—perhaps gifting something she loved or engaging her in conversations about shared interests—the high-ranking nobles clearly appeared disappointed by An’s response. But An hadn’t engaged in such activities, leaving her with nothing more to say. Unused to being the center of attention, An spent the following days feeling slightly embarrassed, managing the situation with mixed and indescribable emotions. 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