Ch.209Storm Observation Class (3)

Anyway, the class proceeded as usual.

“Everyone… you know the final exams are coming up soon, right? Though we still have some time left, you need to start preparing diligently now to avoid struggling later. You all understand that, right?”

The homeroom teacher spoke in a languid tone.

“Aw, teacher!! That’s no fun!!”

The students immediately jeered at the mention of exams.

“Field trip!!! Cultural festival!!”

The students quickly brought up youthful keywords. Though the obstacle of final exams stood in the middle, that had long ceased to be their concern.

“Ah… those events too, I suppose.”

The homeroom teacher replied with a strangely moist tone.

“When I was in school… there were only two major events. Midterms and finals, just those two.”

The homeroom teacher said.

“Huh? Weren’t there field trips or cultural festivals in your era?”

One student asked.

“Ah… there were, but I don’t remember them.”

The teacher responded with a distant gaze.

Oh, ohhh… Teacher!!!

“Alright, let’s start the lesson. Open your textbooks.”

The homeroom teacher began the class.

“It’s still quite hot. Autumn seems to be getting shorter every year.”

The teacher remarked while slightly removing his suit jacket.

But… the T-shirt he was wearing underneath was rather unusual. It featured an anime-style cute girl character.

The homeroom teacher… seemed to have awakened to something new.

———

Anyway, after school.

Eri and I decided to go straight to the kindergarten. We’d already gotten permission from our other girlfriends.

“Make sure you come show me that new technique!! I’ll definitely break it down!”

Kana approached me and fired those words at me.

“Oh! Of course!!!”

I answered casually. But… I hadn’t thought about any new technique at all. What was I going to do? I’d figure something out somehow.

Something about… Kana’s eyes were sparkling with anticipation. Her face was flushed red from too much excitement. I couldn’t bear to shatter those expectations.

———-

“Ehehe.”

After school, Eri clung to me, nuzzling against my body.

A date after school in our uniforms… not bad at all. That was what I thought. There was a certain freshness that could only be shared in moments like these.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been alone with Shota like this.”

Eri said.

“Yeah. It’s nice.”

I replied. Ah… just being next to Eri gave me a healing feeling.

“We need to go straight that way.”

Eri pointed with her slender finger.

There was a small public elementary school in that direction. The kindergarten the three sisters attended was attached to that elementary school, she said.

I realized that Emoshita City was smaller than I thought. It was near Madoka’s elementary school where we had that crazy duel competition before.

‘There’s definitely… a difference.’

Madoka’s elementary school was a private institution sponsored by a famous corporation, while this one was public. The difference was evident just from the exterior.

The gap in society was something that struck deeply even in childhood.

Still… the children were playing happily.

“The attached kindergarten over there is where I used to go. After that, I enrolled in this elementary school.”

Eri said.

“Eri’s school days… makes me jealous.”

I replied.

“What’s with the sudden jealousy?”

Eri smiled brightly.

“Just… you must have been super popular in kindergarten and elementary school.”

I said.

“I’m jealous that I couldn’t share those memories with you.”

I said as I hugged Eri.

“I wasn’t that popular.”

Eri replied with a somewhat bitter tone.

“No way!!!! That’s impossible!!!”

I immediately shouted at that absurd statement. Eri was beautiful enough to make anyone fall for her in just three seconds.

“Hahaha! Shota!! You’re too loud!”

Eri gave me a light punch.

“Umi and I… went to the same elementary school. We’ve been childhood friends since we were little.”

Eri said.

“Ah…”

She mentioned being called “musuri” before, didn’t she?

“I guess I was always compared to Umi. So…”

Eri shrugged her shoulders. Well, the general male preference was for fair-skinned beauties. Dark-skinned gyaru were mainstream too, but they were the most niche pick among the mainstream.

“To my eyes, Eri is the most beautiful.”

I hugged her.

“Yeah… it’s thanks to you affirming me.”

Eri chuckled.

“Thanks to Shota… I feel like I’ve become prettier. Both outside and inside.”

Eri said.

True, they say women become more beautiful when they’re in love. Eri’s stock had suddenly risen. She was already quite popular, but now I could occasionally hear guys saying, “Isn’t Eri pretty nice?”

Perhaps it was because she had overcome the deep inferiority complex she held toward Umi. That might have given her inner confidence that radiated outward.

“Well… enough of the embarrassing talk, let’s go!”

Eri, with a slightly reddened face, led me to the kindergarten.

——-

‘Star Rising Kindergarten’

What an impressive name.

“It used to be called Star Kindergarten… but the principal is someone who’s a bit obsessed with taking the road less traveled… so the name changed. Something about nurturing future stars. Ahaha.”

Eri explained with a troubled expression.

“I see…”

I was surprised that nobody opposed it.

“Anyway! Everyone should be in class! Let’s go!”

Eri pulled my hand.

“But… they’re all different ages. Are they in the same class?”

I belatedly noticed something odd.

“Ah… our Emoshita City has a serious low birth rate problem. The number of children is already small, and if we divided them into separate classes, there would only be two or three kids per class…”

Eri explained.

Low birth rate. Right. Japan was suffering from it too. In fact, Japan was the pioneer in the low birth rate field before Korea. While cities might be different, in rural towns like this, the population was simply flowing out. With decreasing population, infrastructure couldn’t develop, and without infrastructure, even the remaining people left for big cities—a vicious cycle.

But… now Korea had surpassed Japan in terms of low birth rates. Breaking through the 0.7 mark. The fact that Japan maintained rates above 1.0 despite all their issues was impressive. The title of “founding titan” had been reclaimed by ‘Korea’!!

Anyway.

We headed inside the kindergarten. Surprisingly, it was packed with parents. We were the only high school students there.

Since the observation class hadn’t started yet, the children were playing freely. Quite liberal.

Among the children playing happily, I immediately spotted Eri’s little sisters.

In order of height: Hana, Mizu, and Konoha.

Three cute girls with glossy black hair and tanned skin were playing with blocks. The boys around them kept glancing at the three. Well, all three were transcendentally cute.

“Hey… we’re short on people for tag… want to play together?”

One of the boys approached Hana.

“Hmph. Are you asking me on a date under the pretext of playing tag? Be brave and say it directly. Try again next time, kiddo. Sorry, but we prefer mature men.”

The youngest, Konoha, said with a smirk.

The boy retreated with a dejected expression after hearing that.

Kids these days… are so grown-up. That’s what I thought.

Just then, the three sisters stopped playing.

“I feel it… a presence…!”

Hana exclaimed.

“This scent…”

“He’s here…!”

Mizu and Konoha immediately looked around.

And the three spotted me right away.

“Big brother!!”

“Big brother is here!!”

“Hug me!! Big brother!!!”

The three ran toward me.

“Come here!! Come on!!”

I lowered my stance and braced myself like a goalkeeper facing strikers.

“Kyaaaaa!!”

The children screamed as they began climbing up my body.

“Big brother!!! Why are you so late!!”

“Big brother!!! Big brother!!”

“It’s big brother!! It’s really big brother!!!”

The children were already half-crazed. Honestly, their tension was a bit scary.

Eri, who came with me, didn’t care at all.

“Hey!! You should greet me too!”

Eri immediately got angry.

“Oh. Big sis. Jealous? With such a narrow mind, can you really keep such a good man?”

Konoha chuckled.

“You little brat!”

Eri was about to get angry.

“My, all three seem happy that their family has come.”

As the surroundings became noisy, the kindergarten teacher came to intervene.

“Yes!! He’s our future brother-in-law!!”

“Our eldest sister’s boyfriend!!”

The children said with sparkling eyes.

“Oh my… I see?”

The kindergarten teacher seemed to finally understand the relationship.

“And he’s also our future husband!!”

Mizu dropped a bombshell statement.

“…Huh?”

The expressions of the kindergarten teacher and the people around froze at the confusing words.

“N-no, it’s a misunderstanding…”

I immediately tried to shed the lolicon accusation.

“Ahahaha! You really love your big brother, don’t you?”

The kindergarten teacher skillfully diffused the atmosphere. Wow. Being a kindergarten teacher isn’t something just anyone can do.

That’s when it happened.

“This is why public kindergarten kids are… so noisy.”

“They lack class. Class.”

Some children wearing fancy clothes entered.

Huh? They clearly looked like kids from another kindergarten…

“Oh my!! These are friends from Goldbringer Kindergarten who have come to participate in the joint observation class today!”

The kindergarten teacher immediately clarified. Their kindergarten name is quite dizzying too. They appeared to be from the attached private kindergarten of Madoka’s school.

But… a joint observation class? That’s a bit unusual.

“…….”

Parents who were clearly dressed differently entered. The original parents seemed intimidated by this.

“W-well then!! Let’s start the observation class!!”

The kindergarten teacher shouted loudly.

Something about… the atmosphere feels strange. That’s what I thought.

That’s when it happened.

A child approached me. A very refined-looking boy with pomade in his hair.

“You must be Arigiri Shota. I’ve heard a lot about you. But… seeing you in person is disappointing.”

Suddenly this kid I’d never met was being rude.

“I don’t like you.”

And the child stated flatly.

“Yeah. I don’t like you either.”

I replied with a sweet smile.

But who is this kid, really?