CH 128

Picnic 3

Translated by NotBlueYet

Edited by Schwarzel

I’ve finished my sandwich and it’s time for our lunch break to end.

I got up, and the others started moving as well.

After making sure everyone was up and packed on the leisure sheet, I folded the sheet up.

Then I put it away in my own bag.

“Now, let’s go home!”

Now that we’ve done our business, we can go home, right?

That’s…… a joke.

It’s time for the real investigation to begin now.

“Don’t be silly.”

Natalie told me in a slightly stronger tone.

“No, well, I’m just kidding.”

I responded with a haha laugh.

It wasn’t the kind of joke to tell Natalie right now.

Because I was a little excited, I made a comment that upset Natalie.

“Just kidding…, you can leave if you want, we’re fine without you.”

Not liking my response, Natalie added one more word.

I was feeling clear and sunny just now, but …… I took a dive.

I wrinkled my brow and tried to talk back.

But before I could, Shallot opened her mouth.

“Why is the student council president in such a bad mood?”

“Are you in a bad mood, ……or does it look that way?”

‘Yes, to be frank, it’s annoying to be treated that way.”

Shallot lashed out in a toothless way.

This zipping and biting is both a strength and a weakness of Shallot.

“I’m sorry if that’s how you see me, I’m sorry.”

Natalie felt bad and said she’s sorry.

“I’m not asking you to apologize, I’m asking you why you’re in a bad mood.”

From the point of view of Shallot, who is asking why, it seems that the words “I’m sorry” are unnecessary.

“Well, …… well, ……Shallot and Natalie, don’t look so scary.”

Emilia intervened between the two.

Natalie gently turned her head away and Shallot let out a deliberate sigh as she glared at Natalie.

“Let’s split up now, it’ll be more …efficient.”

Natalie blurted out, as if she wanted to be alone.

“We don’t have to be so efficient. It’s a picnic.”

“I don’t like to slack off, I don’t want to mix work and play as a student council member.”

“If that’s the case, why did you agree to go on a picnic and suppress the idea of saying so?”

“I’ll be fine on my own; I’ll go explore the north.”

As soon as Natalie said that, she turned to leave immediately.

I’m going to call Natalie off —-

“Well, Owen and Shallot, you go and see what’s north of you, and I’ll go and work with Natalie.”

Emilia went after Natalie.

I looked behind me and decided to leave it to Emilia.

Probably, Emilia can be closer to Natalie than me or Shallot.

“Student Body President, you’re a selfish woman.”

Shallot said, frustration showing on her face.

I know she’s busy being the chief.

If I had to pick a fault with her, it would be that she does a lot of things on her own.

She’s definitely excellent as an individual.

But if you’re the head of an organization, it’s going to be important to let others do the work.

Natalie understands this and leaves it up to others.

But Natalie is putting so much of the burden on herself that she’s making it harder for herself.

The problem is that she doesn’t realize that.

And the reaction to that is that you’ve got too many things on your plate and you’re frustrated, ……I think.

“You can see that, but it is a picnic that the seniors went to the trouble of proposing to deepen friendship, and destroying it ……is not very nice.”

I think Shallot’s right.

If she behaved like that on a picnic that I was looking forward to, ……I wouldn’t be happy either.

“We’ll act on our own.”

I’ll try not to think about it too much right now.

You can’t force yourself to fit in once and for all if you don’t mesh.

That’s what I decided to think.

Well, I have no problem with that.

Follow the river to the southeast towards the royal capital.

We walk in silence for a while, staring at the river.

In the middle of walking on the gravel, Shallot opened her mouth, as if she couldn’t stand the harshness.

“Speaking of the forest, I heard that ……senpai defeated a high orc in the first year of elementary school, is that true?”

Shallot, who is much smaller than me, asked me to look into it from below.

I shifted my gaze to Shallot.

“I didn’t beat it, it was Chris-senpai who did, why do you ask?”

“No, I was just wondering if there was anything to talk about…”

“I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. ……”

“No,…… that’s not what I meant,…… but senior is awesome.”

“Awesome?”

“Yes, you have a talent for magic, of course, but you also have courage, and barbarism, and……”

“Barbarism isn’t …… a compliment at all.”

“No, it’s not, it’s just a wrong choice of words ……”

“I see. …… Well, I know what you mean.”

I’m aware that I have a talent that is beyond that of others.

This perception does not come from delicacy.

It’s a natural recognition that comes from the fact that we’ve won two of the four major festivals.

Besides, ……admitting that I am a mediocre talent is disrespectful to the people who lost to me.

I’m sure you’ve heard of it.

I’m talking about as much as humanly possible, by Sanzar Academy standards.

The students of the academy possess magical power that is incomparable to that of ordinary people.

“I was just lucky, I’m from the dropout generation.”

I know that the generation below us is ridiculed for being one of the fallen generations.

Compared to our generation, the people one year below us look hazy.

“Still, being number one is great, because there’s a big difference between number one and number two, and when it comes to accounting, you know more than most adults.”

“It’s a good thing I’m helping my father.”

“Oh, you’re a moneylender?”

“Yes, it’s a hated moneylender.”

“In all societies, moneylenders tend to be hated and despised, because when you lend money, you get interest, which you don’t usually want to pay back, and you want to borrow money but you don’t want to pay it back, and that’s what normal people think, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with lending money.”

It’s easy to get the impression that moneylenders are bad people in dramas and such.

For example, a yakuza lends money at an interest rate that is so high that it can never be paid back, and in the end, the salaryman hangs himself because he can no longer repay the debt.

These perceptions have created a structure in which people who lend money are the bad guys.

However, the lending and borrowing of money has an important role to play in the circulation of the economy.

Sure, moneylenders have a bad side, but they also have a good side.

I believe that we should not judge good or bad by bringing up only extreme stories.

“And in my opinion, I’d rather marry someone who can manage money well than someone who doesn’t know anything about money, because that way I won’t be in trouble in the future, right?”

Of course a wife who can manage the household budget is better than a wife who is wasteful.

Being able to account for it means it’s worth it.

Well, I don’t know if anyone in this world would let their wife manage the money in the house.

“Ke-…… marriage! Does this mean that senior Owen likes people who are good with money and numbers?”

Shallot asked quickly, closing the distance between us.

I’m confused by that sudden change in her.

“No, I’m talking about ……for example, well, it’s better for someone to have knowledge ……” 

I said, and Shallot clenched her fist tightly and gave me a grin.

What? What?

I’m going to misunderstand that question and her response ……?

No, I’m not mistaken.

Because it’s not ……possible that Shallot has a thing for me.