CH 78

Volume 5, Chapter 7: I became an elementary schooler, Part 1

The days passed by quickly and I suddenly found myself an elementary school student.

I also had my sixth birthday along the way, but it wasn’t anything particularly interesting.

Every year Father would buy me a stuffed bear from a famous brand, Mother bought me several picture books from overseas, and Kotone-chan and Ooba-onii-chan got me pretty hair decorations and sweets.

Also, from Ouji-kun for my birthday, I got a pig of the American Duroc variety.

The Duroc is a very fine pig with lots of marbling in its flesh.

“[Buuhi?]”

Its round eyes were also unbelievably cute.

“Father, please send it to a meat processing plant.”

“……Yuzu.”

Even if he looks at me with that sort of eyes, there’s no reason for me to keep a pig which is over 300 kilos as a pet.

There were no problems with the elementary school entrance ceremony… huh? I wonder why that came to mind. I felt like there were problems with my entrance ceremony in the past… but maybe I’m just dreaming it.

Kotone-chan also entered high school safely, and Ooba-onii-chan entered senior year in high school. This time around, it’s onii-chan who’s the one that’s got a major exam. He’s taking an external exam.

So it’s Kotone-chan and Misa’s dad…… is that wrong? It’s her onii-chan, well, that’s inconsequential. Her dad is quite a good person.

Since it was a junior high school student who had first told him that they were relatives, the dad didn’t really trust her, but Misa took to Kotone-chan, and as Kotone-chan became a high-school student, she became very beautiful.

……Is she into good-for-nothing men?

They divided us into classes in elementary school, but I was placed in the same class as Ouji-kun and Kouki-kun.

… Was this really a division of classes?

Still, thinking about it properly, this classification was pretty natural.

Because Takamine School has a middle school and high school section, there seem to be many parents who think that paying a high tuition fee for elementary school is better than paying for cram schools and private tutors, and from kindergarten and elementary school, good children from good families commuted to the school, for the sake of their parents who wanted the brand of [Takamine].

That’s why there are only 4 classes per grade in the elementary school that’s attached to Takamine.

And since there was only one class of children who were better educated than the average, they would be with each other for all six years as long as they didn’t cause any problems.

…… I guess it must have failed.

If I had my original abilities, wouldn’t I have been in the remaining three classes?

“Yuzu-chan, what’s wrong?”

“……I feel like I’ve made a mistake in my life choices.”

“Yuzu-chan, you say some very difficult things.”

It was Ouji-kun (provisional) who was talking to me.

As a result of my hard work over the past year, Ouji-kun’s size has been reduced by about 20%. Thanks to that, Ouji-kun is now a [somewhat chubby but still cute little boy].

I even saw some of the girls in the class talking to Ouji-kun, but Ouji-kun still comes to me for some reason.

Because bringing ice boxes was prohibited when we entered elementary school, I wonder if I wouldn’t have to stay by his side…… thinking about it, because I buy things from shops and vending machines every time I stop, we ended up spending time together a lot after all.

During that time, it seems that he I’ve best friends with Ouji-kun, and the head contestant for [Oji-sama], Kouki-kun.

At the same time, Kouki-kun seems to be rather bad at conversation with the young girls in class, as his intelligence is already well past elementary school. As a result, the very un-elementary schooler-like conversations he had with me increased, and the girls in the class got jealous, so I have no girlfriends.

“Life is cruel.”

“Yuzu-chan, you say some very difficult things……”

But the gods have not yet forsaken me… Every time I speak about gods, it feels like there’s a tiny earthquake, but if I spent time thinking about it, I’d lose.

“Yuzu-san. ……There’s something I want to speak to you about.”

There was a girl speaking to me.

Is it this pattern again? And why is this child staring at me? It’s pretty impressive, since she’s such a beautiful girl.

……Ehh? Do you hate me after all, God?

Still, Kouki-kun was beautiful like that, but as a first-grader in elementary school I felt that words like ‘cute’ were more appropriate than the word “beautiful” for an impression. Indeed, the bloodlines of high society are amazing.

“Could I hear your reply?”

“……ah, it’s okay.”

By the way, I’m in the girls’ toilet. Not even Ouji-kun could stick with me this far. As this girl called out, I was surrounded by several girls… or that’s what I thought would happen, but this girl was alone.

“Is it not okay to speak here?”

“It’s a bit… in a place like this……”

Well, that’s right. It’s a pretty restroom, but I don’t know if anyone will come.

That girl and I…… Shijiyuuin Kako-san will meet in the rearing shed nearby after school.

By the way, it’s not read Hanako, but Kako-chan. (Note: these two are written the same in Japanese.) It’s misleading.

I was wondering what the rearing shed was, and Kako was one of the keepers. …… something unexpected?

For now, I have a children’s use mobile phone, so I let the driver-san know. I don’t know what she wants to say, but I only have Misa as a girlfriend around my age, so even in such a situation, I’m rather excited.

“……………”

I arrived at the rearing shed, which was a concrete building with cages like in a zoo.

I guess it’s because this is a rich school that they can spend money on such a place.

Well, it doesn’t matter. What I was concerned about was the “brazier” which was located just a little way away from the rabbits and the cages containing pheasants and chickens.

Yeah…… Someone clearly forgot to put it back in storage after using and left it here. That’s must be it.

“Ah, Yuzu-san, you’ve come.”

“……Kako-san?”

Since she called me by name, I called her by name as well, but she had a slightly surprised look on her face that told me that she wasn’t used to being called that by her friends.

Did I come too soon?

For a moment, I gave her space, since she was carrying a bucket full of bait while wearing a jersey. A diligent one, her.

“Are you feeding them? Should I wait?”

“Would you mind waiting a little?”

After looking at her troubled face, Kako broke off after that one line and began feeding the rabbits.

I was free while waiting, so I helped out with the bait, and the rabbits and chickens ate greedily.

“The students of this school don’t take animals seriously……”

“Heeh……”

At one point, as part of the school’s cultivation of our aesthetic sensibility, they had the students take care of animals. The students of this school, because there were many boys and girls with great egos, even if they kept pets, would only pet them, and it seems that they wouldn’t even feed them properly.

“In addition, recently, there have been cases where animals disappear…… about one every few weeks.”

“……Is that so?”

For some reason I glanced towards that charcoal brazier. ……It can’t be.

This school is scary.

“Thank you for your help. ……now, as to what I wanted to say”

“Yes?”

“What kind of relationship do you have with Kuon Kouki-san?”

Kako’s eyes, which had been calm until then, were suddenly glaring at me.

Come to think of it, Kouki-kun was the son of the Kuon family. This place spawned a great number of politicians, and I wonder if we know it. My father told me too I shouldn’t be rude to Kouki-kun.

His grandfather had been a member of the Diet, but resigned after it emerged in a weekly magazine that he had been given bribes a few years ago.

For that reason, she seems to be in a bad mood now, so it seems better to not get involved.

Still, he’s a person of some status, so I can’t ignore it.

Surely the Shijiyuuin family, should be of approximately the same pedigree as the Kuon family. This flow is possibly…

“Kako-san, are you engaged to Kouki-kun……?”

“!!”

When I asked if there was such an “engagement,” Kako’s face turned red as if it had been boiled in a flash.

Did I hit the mark? Moreover, it seems to be more than just that the house decided, but also that she herself was in love with him.

“Wh-what do you mean! I don’t look at him that way”

Looking at her with warm eyes, Kako’s face became redder and redder and she hid her face with her hands.

Whoops, I accidentally let my expression out. I’m quite the middle-aged man, if I do say so myself.

“I only know Kouki-kun from kindergarten. Hmm… because he’s Handsome-kun’s friend and so am I, we’ve had many chances to talk.”

In short, it seems that Kako became jealous because her fiancée is talking to girls other than herself.

“……But, he doesn’t talk to other girls, only Yuzu-san.”

“It seems like he doesn’t talk to the others because they’re too immature. I, personally, am not a very childlike person either. But, if Kako-san can speak so properly, won’t Kouki-kun talk to you normally as well?”

“Bu-but, the saying goes that a woman should walk three steps behind a man, I, as a lady, have always stayed 30 steps behind Kouki-san……”

“………………”

This girl, she seems so intelligent, but she’s such an idiot!

＊

“Th-that’s right……?”

“That’s right.”

After that, I asked Kako to be my friend, and explained how to interact with Kouki-kun to her.  It was rough trying to explain how to get along with him, and when I looked up, the sky had turned red.

…… my mind had gotten fatigued after so long. But it was good that she understood.

“…… then I’ll accompany you to the school gate.”

“Yes…… Yuzu-san, is it alright if I continue to consult with you in the future?”

“Yeah, it’s alright.”

Oh? Isn’t this the sign that we’re friends now? With this, Ouji-kun and Kouki-kun should no longer be waiting for me outside of the girls’ toilet.

“In the first place, Yuzu-san was good friends with Nikuno-kun, so you’d never look at other men.”

“……eh?”

Unless… are we being looked upon that way……?

I walked with Kako to the school gate, holding some feelings that I didn’t understand. To be emotionally attached to Ouji-kun… I hadn’t calculated that there would be such a rumor.

As I was internally about 20 years old, I felt as if I was pampering and fawning over him like a dandy uncle……

Because of the time, there were no other students on our way from the rearing shed to the school gate.

Although it feels a little dangerous, both Kako and I are calling up our cars to the school gate so we won’t be in any danger.

…… For some reason, I feel like I’m raising a flag for myself.

“[UHYAHYAHYAHYAHAHYAHYAHYAH!]”

“Look out! Here it comes!”

A rapid reaction, kami-sama!

That strange sound that came from a little distance away from us was a young man that was wearing the pants of what looked like what high schoolers wore nowadays.

Oh, my eyes got drawn to it.

“…… wh-what is it?”

It was the first time Kako had seen such a person, and she was scared stiff.

While whirling about an iron pipe, he was saying various things like [This school], or [This me], etc.

“……It’s a Takamine dropout, isn’t it”

*tremble*…… He turned his bloodshot eyes towards me as I casually leaked out those words.

“I’m NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTT!”

What a bother.

If you came here for such a reason, please go to the high school division, and not the elementary school one.

Ah, but that’s no good. Kotone-chan and Ooba-onii-chan are there.

The high school student approached us while brandishing the iron pipe.

He’s faster than I thought. As his muscles screamed, the blood vessels on his face popped out.

Nevertheless… I wasn’t afraid.

The [Power] that I hadn’t felt since the park a year ago came from my deep…… “dark” part.

Protecting the terrified Kako behind me, I gazed into his eyes.

“Heeeee…!?”

The movement of the high school student stopped for a moment. In that time,

“Urrryaaaaaaa!!!”

Someone called out at the same time and struck the back of the high school student.

When I looked in the direction of the striker, there was a male senior who had thrown it, a used brazier which I remembered.

When the high school student collapsed, the teachers and security who finally noticed the noise rushed in and detained the high schooler.

…… I didn’t get my turn.

Protected by the teacher, we waited on the sofa in the school infirmary until our drivers came to pick us up. Kako, who was still in shock and fright, held my hands tightly.

“…… Thank you…… for protecting me. U-uhm, may I call you Yuzu-sama……?”

With her flushed cheeks…… and wet eyes, Kako thanked me as she looked directly at me……

Ehh? Did I accidentally raise a strange flag?

Author’s Notes:

Please prepare for the serious, demonic parts. It might become more gruesome.

Next time, the secret of the cooking brazier!