I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

It was now autumn.
The season of cheong-go-ma-bi—“high skies and fattened horses.”

And for Japanese high school students, it was also one of the most important times of the year.
Because one of the greatest highlights of school life—the school trip—was waiting for them.
“On that note, this year’s school trip destination has been decided as Kyoto.”

“Eeeeh~!”
The moment homeroom teacher Matsuda said that, jeers erupted from all directions.
“Sensei! Why aren’t we going abroad this year?!”

“We want to go to Hawaii too!”
“Sexy foreign ladies! Bikini swimsuits! Blossoming love on the beach!”
“Ugh, guys are gross.”
“What’s wrong with them?”

“Still, Kyoto? If I go this time too, it’ll be elementary, middle, and high school—all Kyoto.”
“Wait, you too?”
“At that point, you’re basically a native. You could walk around tourist spots with your eyes closed.”

As complaints poured in from all sides, Matsuda let out a deep sigh and explained himself as if to justify it.
“It’s not like I want to go to Kyoto either. But last year, the third-years who went to Hawaii snuck out of the hotel at night and got caught by local police. Because of that incident, the principal banned overseas trips for now.”
It was a very realistic reason, so it was understandable.

Honestly, I had no complaints since I’d never been to Kyoto before.
Anyway, Matsuda pushed through the students’ protests and continued with his duties.
“Then, we need to make groups for the trip—who you’ll share rooms with. Did you guys decide beforehand?”

“Yes~!”
“Good, quick is good. Then call out your groups in order, and I’ll write them on the board.”
Starting from the front, students began saying the names of their group members one by one.

“So, Group 3 for the boys is Momochi Satoru, Sakamoto Ryuji, and Kim Yu-seong. That’s right?”
“Yes.”
As for me, just as we’d agreed beforehand, I ended up in the same group as those two.

‘Good. Now I can relax.’
If I’d been stuck sharing a room with other guys, I would’ve been incredibly uncomfortable.
Once the school trip groups were decided almost instantly, Matsuda brought up another topic.

“Now, about the cultural festival. What should our class do this year?”
One of the Bald Trio—the same guys who had been talking about bikinis earlier—blurted out his desire without hesitation.
“A maid café!”
Matsuda looked at him with a disgusted expression and muttered.

“Ryohei, you’re not even trying to hide you’re a pervert, huh.”
“What’s wrong with a guy being a pervert?!”
“Not that it’s wrong, but at least think about your reputation.”

Matsuda glanced at the girls, seeking agreement, but surprisingly, their reactions weren’t bad.
“A maid café? Not a bad idea.”
“It’s cute. I kinda wanna try on a maid outfit at least once~”

Matsuda’s face froze in shock at the unexpectedly positive response. Then, he quickly sought reinforcements.
“Class rep! What do you think?!”

The class rep, Ayase Satsuki, pushed up her round glasses—the very picture of an intellectual—and replied.

“Honestly, a maid café isn’t bad. Other ideas don’t make much money, but with a maid café, as long as we’re average, we can make a solid profit.”
“Brutus, you too?!”
The teacher looked betrayed, but knowing Ayase’s stingy tendencies, I thought it was a perfectly rational choice.

A maid café makes money.
I’d already experienced that firsthand in Akihabara.
“No other opinions?! What about a haunted house or a play?!”

But for hormonal teenage boys, there was no other option besides a maid café.
“How about having the guys wear butler uniforms too?!”
“Nice! And we could make cookies and cakes to sell!”
Rather than objecting, they actively pushed for it, doing everything to get the proposal approved.

And those efforts showed in the vote.
“Damn it, the maid café won with 20 votes.”
Matsuda set the chalk down with a frustrated face, but the atmosphere had already been half-decided from the start of the voting. The boys cheered in excitement.

“Alright then, class rep, organize any other ideas or proposals and let me know later. I have another class, so I’m leaving.”
Matsuda left the classroom almost like he was fleeing.
As always, the class meeting ended with Ayase wrapping things up.

***
“So yeah, it was chaos.”
Wednesday club activities.

As usual, I was at the student council room, chatting about what had happened during the class meeting.
“Fufu, Yu-seong-kun’s class never seems to have a dull moment.”
The President, Saionji Kumiko, sipped her tea elegantly as she responded, but her smile seemed weaker than usual.

“President? Are you feeling unwell?”
When I suddenly asked that, the President widened her eyes in surprise.
“Eh? Me?”

“Yes. You don’t seem as focused on the conversation as usual.”
“Ah… I just have a lot on my mind.”
She smiled faintly, bitterly.

The Vice President, Akagi Shinjiro, who had been watching from the side, pushed up his glasses and spoke.
“The President’s health is monitored day and night by the family’s personal physicians. You don’t need to worry, Kim Yu-seong.”
“That’s a relief, then.”

I scratched the back of my head, then realized something.
“Speaking of which, where’s Minami?”
“Minami went to meet someone at the train station. They should be back soon.”

“Ah…”
Step, step, step, step!
Speak of the devil—just as the President finished answering, hurried footsteps echoed from the hallway outside.

“Looks like she’s back.”
The President set her teacup down.
The tightly closed student council room door finally opened.

“Ojou-sama, I’ve just returned.”
The one who entered with a curt voice was the Treasurer, Akagi Minami.

And behind her stood a woman I didn’t recognize.

“Hello, Kumiko Ojou-sama. It’s been a while.”
The woman who walked in with Minami looked to be in her mid-thirties.
She was probably the person Minami had gone to pick up.

She had a beauty mark near her mouth, and with her neatly tied-up hair, she gave off the impression of a young hostess at a snack bar.
The moment she greeted them, both the President and Vice President stood up.
“Izumo-san.”

“Master!”
Apparently, they both knew her.
I was the only one who didn’t. Feeling awkward sitting alone while everyone stood, I got up halfway.

The woman, called Izumo, smiled slightly and said,
“So, you’re the famous Kim Yu-seong? You’re as reliable as they say.”
“Eh? Ah, yes.”

She already knew about me?
When did I become so famous?
I kept quiet and watched the others converse.

“What brings you here all of a sudden? You didn’t contact us beforehand.”
“Fufu, I wanted to surprise you.”
Unlike her usual sharp attitude toward everyone, the Vice President acted like a meek lamb around this woman.

He had called her “Master,” so she must be some sort of teacher. But their relationship didn’t seem like a normal mentor-student dynamic.
As if to confirm my suspicion, Minami explained from the back.
“This is Kōga Izumo, the 11th head of the Kōga—an alliance of 53 ninja families. She’s also my and my brother’s master. In the underworld, she’s known as ‘The Heroine.’”

“Nice to meet you, Kim Yu-seong-kun. Please, just call me Izumo.”
She extended her hand warmly.
I shook it, still surprised that the woman in front of me was the Akagi siblings’ master.

‘There are way too many ninjas around me.’
At this point, it was like a shounen battle manga where every other character was a secret martial arts master.
Guess the original author really was running out of ideas.

Even though it was our first meeting, I asked bluntly,
“How do you know about me?”
Izumo smiled as if amused.

“It would be stranger if I didn’t. You’re the guy who defeated one of the legendary Seven Fists. And recently, you made contact with the Fuma clan, didn’t you?”
“…”
Well, she was a ninja, so it wasn’t surprising she’d know that much.

But still, the fact she knew about my encounter with the Fuma clan was unexpected.
“Fufu, no need to look so tense. I’m only here to see Ojou-sama today.”
She released my hand and turned to the President.

“As mentioned in the letter, I’ve come to personally escort Ojou-sama. The °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Chairman has high expectations for this engagement meeting.”
Engagement meeting? What?
“…I figured. Otherwise, my grandfather’s secretary wouldn’t have come personally.”

“Then shall we go? If we don’t prepare now, we’ll be late for the dinner appointment.”
“Alright.”
The President replied shortly, then looked at me.

“Yu-seong-kun, I’ll be leaving first today. Sorry, I have evening plans.”
Her unusually cold tone left me feeling strangely disappointed.
But since we weren’t anything to each other, I couldn’t say anything.

While I hesitated, the President, Vice President, and Minami left with Izumo, leaving the student council room empty.
I stayed until dismissal, then locked up and went home.