Ch.307IF Side Story: Seems I’ve Arrived a Bit Early (4)

I have some things I’ve been thinking about since coming to this world.

For example, I know that the stock prices of the electronics company with the apple logo and the Korean company with the blue logo will steadily rise over the next 20 years. I also know about cryptocurrency prices that started in the 2010s and peaked in the 2020s.

Even though I’m not an economics expert, I do have some “specific information about things that will definitely increase in value.”

Of course, being a kindergartener now, such information isn’t useful yet.

The 90s were when I spent my childhood, and my family was directly hit by the foreign exchange crisis during that time, so I don’t have memories of “how to make money.” Unfortunately, I don’t have the ability to help Kagami make a fortune.

Ah, but my “knowledge of the future” hasn’t been completely meaningless.

For some reason, my head is filled with Japanese language and kanji skills that I’ll need to use in this world, so I’m perceived as having extraordinary reading comprehension compared to “children my age.”

It might have been better if I didn’t know anything and had to learn from scratch… Well, at least I was able to confirm this and realize that I’m living in a “fantasy.”

In my previous life, I didn’t know Japanese, so having these “memories that didn’t exist before” made me clearly understand that unrealistic rules were being applied.

Moreover, this kind of “common knowledge” I possessed wasn’t limited to just Japanese.

“Kotone, Kotone.”

Kagami said with an excited expression.

My back feels warm. I was in Kagami’s arms.

We were home after kindergarten ended and Kagami returned from work.

Kagami was curious about what I did at kindergarten today, and I naturally took out the worksheet from my bag to show her.

There’s nothing extraordinary about it. As is typical of what’s taught in kindergarten, it was a worksheet with basic knowledge and information that children should know before entering elementary school, written in large letters.

Hiragana, katakana, simple kanji, the alphabet, and basic arithmetic.

…Yes. These are simple problems with a difficulty level that even “kindergarteners” can easily learn.

Naturally, I could solve all these problems without difficulty. Much faster than the other children. Fast enough to surprise the kindergarten teachers.

This was clearly my mistake. How should I put it… The difference between children’s thinking and mine is so great that it’s difficult to gauge “how much time I should spend” or “how crooked I should write.”

No, if I could actually do that, wouldn’t that make me the real genius…?

As a result, I wrote very accurate answers in a reasonably good handwriting in an overwhelmingly shorter time than the other children.

No wonder the teacher was surprised, and Kagami was surprised when she saw this worksheet.

“…Yeah.”

And I looked up at Kagami with a somewhat complicated expression.

Kagami, who still hasn’t lost her youthful appearance, looks even younger when she smiles brightly like this. This is why I can’t comfortably think of her as “mom.” How could I think of Kagami, who is much younger than my mental age, as my mother?

Of course, I call her mom when I need to. It would be too strange for a daughter to call her mother by name.

On the other hand, Kagami very naturally thought of me as her daughter.

That’s why it becomes more complicated.

Of course, the kindergarten teachers haven’t called me a “prodigy” or anything like that yet. Some children naturally develop intellectually faster than others, and such children eventually get caught up to by their peers.

If you show signs of being a prodigy at too young an age, there’s a high chance you’ll just become ordinary when you grow up. Teachers who know this objective fact will praise you but won’t make too much fuss about it.

But parents are different.

“Kotone, you’re amazing!”

Yes. Parents naturally look at their children through rose-colored glasses.

Since they don’t remember what they were like when they were young, they look at their child speaking and think, “Could this child actually be a genius?”

They think that just by watching them talk, walk, and absorb knowledge, but what would they think when they see them far ahead of others?

“…Yeah.”

But if I were to explain here that I’m not a genius, that would make me seem too much like a genius in its own way.

The first emotion I felt seeing Kagami’s reaction was fear.

Kagami is… a child living in a very difficult situation. A child who should still be growing up under the protection of adults is raising a much younger child.

From Kagami’s perspective, this might actually be fortunate. If things had gone wrong, both Kagami and I might have ended up in an orphanage, and then we wouldn’t have been able to live together as “mother and daughter” like this.

But even if that’s fortunate.

People who are struggling often stake their lives on small hopes.

I didn’t want Kagami to have too high expectations for me. Because I’m too ordinary for that.

If she has such high expectations this early, and those expectations are shattered later—

“Kotone.”

While I was lost in thought, Kagami called me.

Her hand was gently stroking my head.

“Do you perhaps dislike studying?”

“……”

Did she think that because I wasn’t saying anything?

Kagami’s voice wasn’t scolding or demanding. It was just gentle, as if she was genuinely curious.

But I couldn’t bring myself to answer that question.

I don’t even know what I should want yet. After all, I’m not really a little child. The innocence that children this age should have was worn away long ago. When was the last time I had dreams?

They say children can become anything, but I know that in reality, only a few actually do.

So, I really don’t know.

However—

Kagami hugged me tightly and lay down sideways.

I naturally turned my body to face Kagami. When we were alone, Kagami liked this position the most.

Kagami stroked my head carefully and said:

“If you don’t like studying, you don’t need to try too hard.”

“……”

“Kotone still has many things you can do, so you can take your time finding what you want to do.”

…What about you?

Could Kagami find possibilities at the same age as “Kotone Kurosawa”? Could she dream of doing what she wanted to do?

No, she absolutely couldn’t have.

Kagami tried not to talk about difficult things in front of me, but I’m perceptive enough. Besides, I’m not really a little child.

Kagami never had any opportunities.

Yet, is she trying to give me opportunities?

I’ve heard that adults sometimes project their unfortunate past onto their children and make their lives miserable, but Kagami didn’t seem like that at all.

No, perhaps.

Perhaps because Kagami had nothing.

That’s why she might want to give me everything.

Doing her best as much as she can.

At least for these past few years.

……

I’m not a genius. That will all be exposed eventually.

But still.

Yes, there’s still time, isn’t there? Besides, if I study hard and connect what I learned in my previous life with what I’m learning now, I might somehow become a “child who’s good at studying.”

Let’s work hard.

At least so that Kagami’s devotion to me doesn’t end up being one-sided.

I already felt in my previous life how empty one-sided devotion can be.

*

Though it feels awkward for me, who considers myself an “adult,” to say this, but I made a friend.

To be more precise, it wasn’t a friend I actively made. Even after entering this kindergarten, I basically maintained an attitude of staying alone in a corner.

The teachers worried about me, but it would be troublesome in its own way if I played with the kids and made them cry.

But were the children in this kindergarten too young to read such atmospheres?

“Ko-chan! Over here!”

There was a child grabbing and pulling my hand.

Maybe because I haven’t been born in this world for long, or because I’m not used to childish ways of addressing people, I still wasn’t accustomed to that way of naming.

In the end, the way I called people was just by their “name.”

“Harumi.”

Even though I say I just call them by name, I still wasn’t used to calling people by name.

I don’t think the way it’s done in animations is necessarily the standard way, but somehow the common sense that “in foreign countries, you call people by their last name unless you’re close” dominates my mind.

Is it right to call a child I’ve met barely a week ago by their first name?

But it seems right to call young children by their first names.

“Yes, yes, come on, this way, this way.”

Her black hair swayed. Not as long as mine, but she was also growing her hair long past her shoulders.

Her skin color was a bit darker than the other children’s, but I’m not sure if that’s because she likes playing outside or if she’s naturally like that. But she looked healthy like children of that age, which was nice to see.

Seemingly not caring at all how I addressed her, Harumi sat me down on the floor.

There were a few boys nearby. There were many more girls.

I obediently sat down as Harumi guided me.

Some of the children looked a bit tense when they saw me. Especially the boys. Do I look that scary? I think I’m just ordinarily pretty.

“So Harumi, what are we going to play?” one of the boys asked nervously.

“House!”

Ah.

Indeed, very standard.

An already awkward situation is about to become even more awkward.

I quickly took a deep breath while the other kids weren’t looking at me.

So… I see. “Childhood friends.”

This also seems pretty standard.

…Though becoming friends with boys would be awkward in its own way. Well, how long could kindergarten connections last anyway?

For now, I decided to get along well enough not to worry Kagami.

It became awkward beyond measure when I found out that my assigned role in the house play was “baby daughter,” and most of my lines were just “waaah”—but well, what does it matter?

Surely no one will remember this beyond kindergarten.