“First of all, I would like to talk about the result of the recent exam... Well, I actually don’t have much to say. Your son managed not only to get to the top of the class, but also the top of the grade. If he keeps this up, he should be able to get into the university of his choice.”
“Oh my, that’s amazing. Good job, Maki, I’m proud of you.”
“Well... I didn’t join any club, so I have to focus on studying to make up for it...”
Although my words implied that I didn’t think it was a big deal, inside, I was extremely happy. I managed to get the first rank in my class and even got to the top ten of the grade.
Everything was thanks to Umi, who had been keeping a watch on my studies. Yes, I spent most of my time teaching Amami-san and the others, but I didn’t neglect my studies at all. I asked Umi and other people who had better grades than me like Nakamura-san to help me study. And now, all those efforts bore fruit, the kindness of those people didn’t go to waste.
“Also, personally, I see no problem with the career path form that he submitted. While his first choice, K University, is a national university and an overall difficult one to get into, he still has one whole year to prepare himself... It’s just, I believe the university is a little too far to commute from home, isn’t it? Can I have your opinion regarding this, Maehara-san?”
“Seeing that he has a strong desire to go there, I can only respect his wishes... I’ve put this child into a lot of hardships in the past, and I believe that he’s free to use his money for whatever he likes.”
My father left me enough money to pay for the university tuition, but I still needed to work to get by. Tuition wasn’t the only thing I should be concerned about, there were other necessities too, like textbooks and living expenses in general.
Also, my mom said that she had put me into a lot of hardships, but that wasn’t true at all. It was because of her that I was able to live without any inconveniences like this. That was why I had been thinking of lightening her burden in the future.
I had thought about getting a part-time job, but at this point, it was a little difficult to do that. That was why I decided to raise my grades as much as possible instead.
“By the way, can I ask you what kind of job you want to do in the future, Maehara-kun? Your answer on the form was a vague one.”
“Well... I don’t have any clear thoughts about it yet, but I figured that I should think about it after I go to the university. I heard that K University graduates have good track records to land decent and stable jobs, and that’s due to the university’s strenuous efforts to help their students in that regard...”
“Oh my, you’re more talkative than usual, Maki. Have you thought of that answer in advance?”
“...Mom, please.”
In preparation for the interview itself, I’ve written down some safe answers. The only thing that mattered on that form was my first choice of university, since I planned to go there with Umi.
Aside from that, I really had no job or university that I wanted to go to.Updated from novelbIn.(c)om
As long as I could get some money and spend my days happily with Umi, I really couldn’t care less about what kind of job I’d get.
When you think about it, you’d come to think that being a civil servant would suit me. But, from what I’ve seen with Hayato-san, Amami-san’s father, who was a civil servant, it seemed like the job was busier than you’d imagine... Well, I hadn’t asked Amami-san about the details of his father’s job, I probably should do it when I got the chance.
Amami-san.
“Jeez, that girl, suddenly yelling like that... Sorry, Sora-san, it’s almost time for Umi-chan’s interview, yet you had to help me look for her...”
“No, it’s fine, I’m worried about Yuu-chan too... Umi, how long is it until your interview starts?”
“If we follow the schedule, around five minutes... Maki, sorry for asking you this out of sudden, but can you help look for Yuu? She was talking with Eri-Obaa-san, but she suddenly ran off somewhere.”
Her bag was still here, so she most likely hadn’t left school yet.
While I didn’t know the details of what happened, I couldn’t just leave her on her own, I guess.
At that moment, the Homeroom Teacher of class 11 came out of the class and called out to Umi. It was time for Umi’s interview to start.
“Let’s go mom. We’ll leave everything to Maki and Nina for the time being. Please don’t make any complaints during the interview so that it’ll end quicker.”
“Okay, okay. Eri-san, I’m sorry, it’s time... Maki-kun, we’ll join you as soon as we’re done.”
“Understood.”
Since Nitta-san should be free by now, if we were to ask her help, it shouldn’t take long for us to find Amami-san.
“...Everyone is depending on you, huh, Maki?”
“Well, I’m the only one who can move in our group and I can’t just not help Eri-san, can I? You also have to go back to work after this, Mom. So, don’t worry about this and do your best at work.”
“Okay. But, Maki, don’t push yourself.”
“I know... See you, Mom.”
After parting ways with my mom, who had to go back to her work, I went to look for Amami-san. I told Eri-san to wait in front of the classroom and promised her that Nitta-san and I would bring Amami-san back after calming her down a little.
...Well, I hadn’t told Nitta-san about this, but I doubt that she’d refuse to help in this kind of situation.
Anyway, time to look for Amami-san.