Light Novel Chapter 35

サプライズ・スプラッシュ・スプリット (Sapuraizu, Supurasshu, Supuritto, lit: Surprise, Splash, Split) is the thirty-fifth chapter of the light novel series of The "Hentai" Prince and the Stony Cat.
==Plot==
Winter break is over and the next school term starts. Azuki Azusa invites Youto to help plan a surprise party for Tsukiko, involving the Children's Welfare Club which she is a part of.
When Youto follows Azusa to the club room, all the girls in the room panic upon spotting him, fearing that Youto, known as the Hentai Prince, is here with malicious motives. Azusa tries to explain that Youto is simply misunderstood, which does little to calm them until she eventually explodes, commanding the girls to stop their panic with a fierce tone.
Burning in an uncharacteristic rage, Azusa forces ear mufflers onto Youto's ears before questioning the girls what kinds of rumors they have heard about Youto. After they recite the rumors, Azusa switches to a kind yet resolute tone, telling them that they should not judge a person they haven't met based purely on hearsay. The girls, though reluctant, eventually lower their heads and apologize.
The girls had planned to surprise Tsukiko at their next rehearsal, but are unsure what she would like. As they brainstorm ideas, Youto learns all kinds of new things about Tsukiko that he had rarely seen. They reveal that while Tsukiko herself doesn't realize it, she is quite popular with the kindergarten kids. She fits in so well to the point where it's hard to tell them apart. Though they are still unable to come up with any concrete plans for the celebration, Youto has found the conversation quite enjoyable.
It eventually comes time for Azusa to leave for her part time job, being the most popular maid at the animal cafe. Fearing that things will get awkward without his mediator around, Youto stands to leave as well. This prompts the girls to curiously question their relationship, suspecting that they are dating. Azusa denies it and skillfully dodges further conversation, deciding on a time to meet up again. Just as they turn to leave though, Tsukiko appears. When questioned, they struggle to explain their presence, but manage to keep the secret safe.
Since the start of the new term, Youto has been banned from participating in club activities as the club advisor was unimpressed upon hearing about the field trip incident. Instead, Youto now spends this time doing voluntary cleaning work. He is approached by the vice president Mai as he mops the floor, who teases him about behaving well to get reinstated in the club. She reminds him that if things go at their current pace, she will be the one to end up as the next president, but offers to speak on his behalf if he cast away his pride and licked her socks.
She then switchs to a more serious tone and questions Youto about the priorities. She critiques him for living his life for others instead of focusing on his own goals and happiness, emphasizing that he should be frustrated about losing his place in the track-and-field club and challenging him to reflect on whether he's satisfied with his current choices.
Youto defends that he is indeed living for his own sake, and will do whatever he can, even if he has to throw away the club. He reflects on Tsukasa's words from 3 years ago, acknowledging that there will always come a time where he has to choose between things, and the choice he has made for himself is to make those around him happy.
Calling him a moron, Mai gives up on lecturing Youto and leaves to take care of her business. However, she comes back to him some time after, silently watching as he continues to clean. As Youto breaks the silence, Mai accuses him of choosing his girlfriend, Azuki Azusa, over the club, prompting him to clarify that she is not his girlfriend. This only leads Mai to further question the nature of their relationship, urging him to make it clear what he considers them to be. However, it is hard for him to do so as their relationship and boundaries are complicated.
To illustrate his point, Youto asks Mai if she thinks they could ever be a couple. Mai vehemently rejects the idea, stating she would rather die or kill him than date him. Going a step further, he hugs Mai tightly and rubs his cheek against hers, arguing that these actions can feel platonic or romantic depending on the person. Mai freezes in shock and then shrieks in a mix of embarrassment and anger, afraid that they may be seen by someone else.
Evidently, her concern was justified, as Cozy-sama shows up in front of them, having witnessed the interaction. She accuses Mai of being lovey-dovey with Youto and hurting her feelings, before dragging her away to "punish" her. When Cozy-sama returns, she tells him to not overthink her relationship with Mai, sharing her philosophy of treating people like they're important no matter what and stating that she will continue to like and go out with Mai even if she gets married or hates her. She tells Youto to take care of Mai and hands him a ribbon, acknowledging that she looks happy when she's with Youto.
The next day, Youto heads to the Children's Welfare Club as usual to continue planning for the surprise, joined by Azusa on his way. When they arrive at the clubroom however, it is not the seven other club members who greet them, but instead Tsukiko by herself. Tsukiko casually deduces that they are planning her birthday party, expressing her preference for a planned celebration over a surprise one.
Taking Azusa's hand, she places it back into Youto's palm as she walks away, sulking. An invisible tug-of-war occurs, as Azusa tries to make Tsukiko hold Youto's hand instead. Tsukiko then proposes practicing a puppet theater performance for the club's event, bringing out two puppets — a pig and a sheep. She instructs Azusa, the sheep, to simply respond with "Baa" as she, the pig, narrates a story:
The pig and the sheep lived in a certain place. They had a mutual interest in being eaten, so they fed themselves lots and became fatter and fatter. However, the pig thought it was more delicious, and in its evil nature, itdtried to outwit the sheep with all kinds of unfair acts, while the sheep danced through the sky without a care.
But one day, when the pig went to a hot spring with the sheep, it was utterly defeated with no means of retaliation. On top of that, the kind wolf that wanted to help the pig was actually shot down by a hunter. Reflecting on this, the pig started to hate itself, and decided to become an adult. The pig read lots of books, and was moved by a sonnet collection that described love as a lighthouse in the storm. But no matter how hard it tried, it cannot copy the book because of its own selfishness.
At this point, the immersion starts to break as Tsukiko begins using "I" instead of "the pig," confessing to a strong desire for control and her unfair treatments towards the "sheep." Embarrassed by its own pathetic nature, the pig could no longer face the sheep, but the sheep wouldn't get angry no matter what, acting like a true adult. The sheep's effortless perfection only fueled the pig's jealousy and self-hatred further.
Eventually, Tsukiko plainly admits to being a pig. Fully breaking the fourth wall, she adds that despite all this, the pig would force the sheep to hold hands with the wolf, and wanted them to get along with a smile, which she struggles to understand.
An uncomfortable silence ensues. Youto suggests that they leave off the play for now, but Azusa remains frozen in place. A few moments later, Azusa proceeds to put the ear mufflers back on Youto's ears as she continues the play, declaring that contrary to the pig's beliefs, the sheep isn't lying about anything. Mixing "oink" sounds into her sentences, Tsukiko questions whether Azusa is truly sincere, or if she simply gave up from the start. Azusa defends that she's not giving up anything, but Tsukiko continues to challenge her on whether she's accepting the idea of being second.
The pig pushes the sheep to the corner of the stage. Azusa confesses to having her own flaws, like skipping PE class or selfish thoughts while spending Christmas with Youto, and confesses that she only tries to hide her bad sides. The sheep and pig both forcefully bump into each other, neither of them backing down. Tsukiko argues that Azusa's facade in itself is cunning and unfair, which leads to an incoherent series of back and forth arguments about who is actually the cunning one.
Youto notice the rest of the club members who have arrived some time ago but dared not interrupt. He tries to explain the situation away, but Tsukiko and Azusa simply continue fighting. They speak their own feelings, not listening to the other party in the slightest, continuing on and on.
==Characters==
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