episode_0251

The content of the classes did not change just because I was in the 6th grade.

As I endure those boring classes, my favorite time of the day comes.

It’s lunch time.

After class ends, children gather in groups of three or four and disperse.

We also got up from our seats and left the classroom.

“Jeff, is it Donkatsu today?”

“Yeah.”

I took a light step as I answered Appleton’s question.

The lunch we ate at school was always the same.

Tonkatsu.

My feelings for you will never change.

I smacked my lips as I recalled the crunchy texture.

After entering the restaurant, we each ordered our favorite menu items and sat down.

Could it be because the weather got colder? There were more students using the restaurant than usual.

I rested my chin on the table and observed the new students who had entered the school this year.

As I watch the little kids running around, a natural smile comes to my face.

“Excuse me.”

While I was observing the freshmen, I heard a girl’s soft voice next to me.

I naturally turned my head to the side at the sound of that voice.

“Are you Jeff, by any chance?”

The first thing that caught my eye was the pitch-black hair.

The soft, shiny hair looked as soft as Shine’s hair.

What came into view then were bright red ruby eyes.

Those sparkling jewel-filled eyes were looking up at me.

“Huh?”

Only then did I open my mouth and ask again.

I was late in replying because I was admiring the girl’s face.

The girl opened her mouth again with a small smile at my foolish question.

It was a really soft voice.

If you listen to it, you will feel like your body is losing strength.

“Are you Jeff?”

Jeff is my name.

I nodded in response to her question.

“Yeah. I’m Jeff.”

Nodding, I looked at the girl again. It was the girl who had come out as the representative of the freshmen this year.

Where did my twin boys go? This time, they were alone.

“If it’s not too much trouble, can I sit next to you?”

At the girl’s sudden question, everyone sitting with me blinked.

I haven’t been going to this school very long, but no one has ever approached me like this girl.

That’s why I was confused.

“Excuse me.”

At that time, it was Shine who answered.

Shine got up from her seat, came over to me, and glared at the girl standing in front of her.

White and red gazes become entangled in the air.

The girl looked at Shine and bowed her head in greeting.

“Hello, Senior Shine.”

“I never told you my name?”

“It makes no sense to go to this school and not know those two.”

“Hmm… Really?”

“Yes.”

Shine began to examine the girl from head to toe, crossing her arms as if examining her.

Even with that gaze that might have felt rude, the girl did not lose her smile.

“I apologize if I was rude. I’m sorry.”

The girl bowed her head and apologized when Shine didn’t say anything.

Shine didn’t even respond to the girl’s humble appearance.

He just stared at the black hair.

“It was nice meeting you. I’ll take my leave now.”

As the girl turned around to leave, Shine opened his mouth and stopped her.

“Wait a minute.”

“Huh?”

“I didn’t tell you to go.”

The girl tilted her head at Shine’s words and turned around again.

She looked like a doll, standing neatly with her hands clasped in front of her.

“Your name.”

“Ah…”

The girl nodded, her eyes wide open, as if she had realized something in response to Shine’s words.

“My name is Prin.”

“Princess?”

“Yes.”

Shine rolled the name Prin over and over again, then grabbed the chair next to me and pulled it out.

And then he gestures for her to sit down?

I opened my eyes wide in surprise at Shine’s appearance.

“Sit down.”

“Thank you.”

The girl sat quietly in the seat Shine had made for her.

I quickly turned around and whispered to Shine in a small voice.

“What are you thinking? You don’t like having other people sit next to me.”

But Shine didn’t answer.

Instead, I tapped the back of my hand twice with my fingers.

A signal that the two of them have decided on.

It was a signal that he had something important to say about work later.

Shine or Frin.

Lane Appleton.

The seating arrangements were decided in this way.

Rain, who couldn’t sit next to me, looked at Prin with envious eyes.

The girl, who was looking at the rain drooping on the table, opened her mouth with a small smile.

“Hello, Senior Rain.”

“Seo, senior?”

“Yes. You’re a senior since you’re in 6th grade.”

It was the first time a young student treated Rain like a senior.

Rain seemed moved, his big eyes sparkling and his mouth agape.

Prin turned his gaze to Appleton.

“Hello, Senior Appleton.”

“Me, I know too?”

“Yes. Of course. It would be a sin not to know the four princesses of this school.”

I was startled by the title coming out of Prince’s mouth and my hands shook.

Four princesses? Us?

Are you saying that you were called by such an embarrassing nickname?

When I looked at Appleton as if to ask if what I said was true, she nodded with an awkward smile.

But it was the first time I heard this story.

Rain also seemed surprised and wiggled his butt.

I quickly looked around.

Even though we pretended not to notice, everyone was looking at us.

It was a gaze I was now used to, but it seemed like a strange rumor was going around without me knowing.

My face feels hot.

I’m not a kid anymore, but I’m in the 6th grade.

The nickname ‘princess’ was so embarrassing.

On a day when Amy knew, she would be laughing all day long.

“Where did that nickname, the Four Princesses, come from…?”

When I asked Prin, covering my burning face, she smiled brightly and began to answer.

“I knew you’d ask. I knew you’d ask, so I studied!”

“Oh, studying…?”

Prince began to recite a short story about us, the four princesses.

It was packaged in a grand way, but it was a past where I just went out and played and told my grandfather to change a little something that I thought was unreasonable.

The shame of my hands and feet curling up hit me all over.

I wanted to shut Prince’s small lips, so I closed my eyes tightly and laid my head on the table.

Still, Prince’s voice continued to be heard.

“I was really impressed. When Jeff said he would change the strange structure where teachers were not able to exert their power while focusing on students.”

“You weren’t even in school, and yet you know so much about that?”

When Shine asked about Prin’s words, Prin smiled brightly and answered.

“I know a girl who is in the same grade as the 4 princess seniors.”

“Really?”

Shine didn’t even blink an eye, as if she didn’t care about being called one of the four princesses.

Rain’s face was already bright red and on the verge of bursting.

How embarrassing it would be to be called a princess at the same age as Amy.

Rain covered his sobbing eyes with both hands and bit his lips hard.

As I was listening to Prince’s embarrassing story, the food I had ordered was brought to the table.

As always, Shine and I had the tonkatsu set meal, and Rain had the hamburger steak.

Appleton was an omelet rice.

I could have ordered all the fancy food I wanted, but because of my personality, I tend not to order food that takes a long time to prepare.

Since Rain also had a childish palate, his main dishes were meatballs, spaghetti, and hamburger steak.

That’s why Appleton’s lunch has become similar to ours.

I shifted my gaze and looked in front of Prin.

Two hands, raised slightly, were holding a knife and fork.

Her lunch menu is the same as mine: a tonkatsu set meal.

This guy.

He was a guy who knew how to eat.

I felt my affection for Prince rising in my heart, so I held my knife and took a deep breath.

Eating tonkatsu was a ritual.

Today, I wave my hand and pray for the soul of the cute pig that was eaten by me.

The moment I picked up the knife, I was an inspector.

A silver trail dances down the sky.

Even I am amazed by his swordsmanship, which is close to perfection.

“Shoot-”

“Jeff’s saying weird things again.”

“It’s always like that when you eat tonkatsu.”

Leaving Shine and Rain’s words behind, I begin to focus more.

It tastes better when cut into pretty shapes.

The blade cuts through the crispy batter, revealing the tender meat underneath.

The moment I felt the hot steam rising, Prin, who was sitting next to me, spoke with shining eyes.

“Senior Jeff!”

“Huh, huh?”

“Please teach me how to cut tonkatsu nicely!”

You want me to teach you how to cut tonkatsu?

I looked down at my hands at Prin’s words.

“I want to learn how to use a knife so cool!”

Cool… Cool knife usage?

Was I that cool?

I felt a little proud for no reason.

Shine, Lane, and Appleton have never once complimented me like this.

I nodded, biting my lip.

“Okay…”

“Really? Wow-!”

Prin had a childlike appearance, and he clapped his hands in delight.

That bright smile was clearly a dangerous weapon that Prin had.

When I see that smile, I feel like I want to do something for her.

“Okay. Watch carefully and learn. I’m not telling this to just anyone.”

I raised my hand again.

The point was the strength that went into the fingers alone.

“This, like this?”

Prin followed me and took a stance.

It wasn’t bad for a first time, but I didn’t like it.

“That’s not it.”

I put down the knife and took hold of Prin’s hand to correct his posture.

Hold the knife firmly, relaxing your wrist and focusing only on your fingers.

When you put strength into your wrist, you swing the knife blade.

“This, like this?”

“Yeah.”

At first, Prince’s movements were awkward, but as time passed, they became more similar to mine.

Yeah, it’s like he had the same intense training as me.

The moment I realized that, it felt like I was chewing on a stone.

Prince cuts pork cutlet into pieces and smiles brightly.

As I was looking at her like that, I slowly turned my head and met Shine’s gaze.

She nodded silently.

This girl named Prin was no ordinary child.