Ch.319IF Side Story: Seems I’ve Arrived a Bit Early (16)

I thought I would never return to school.

I could attend an academy. It might be better to get separate certifications if I want to work elsewhere.

But no matter how large an academy is, I don’t think attending one can be the same as going to a school appropriate for your age.

Especially if it’s elementary school.

It’s something that can’t easily happen after leaving school—children who don’t know how to calculate relationships becoming lifelong best friends simply because they sat next to each other, in front or behind each other, or because they take the same route home.

Well, someone exceptionally sociable might be able to do it. Joining a hobby club or making friends at work. I did have a few close friends before experiencing such things.

But even for those without exceptional social skills, school is still the only place where you can meet like-minded peers.

I hear sniffling from the seat beside me.

Sitting with desks pushed together next to another child—it’s been a really long time. Well, everything feels nostalgic since returning to school.

I heard that student numbers have decreased a lot these days, so students generally sit apart from each other. But now, since it’s not yet the year 2000, there are many children in the class.

Harumi was swinging her legs back and forth under the desk while humming. Is she that excited about wearing new clothes, carrying a new bag, and making new friends?

In front of us sat the child named “Yuu” whom I saw earlier. And next to her was a child I didn’t know.

Feeling eyes on the back of her head, Yuu kept turning around to glance at us. Her gaze was like that of a herbivore aware of a carnivore sitting behind her, licking its lips, which made me keep looking at her face too.

By the way, no matter how I look at it, that “Yamashita” doesn’t show much resemblance. If asked whether there’s mixed blood, I could say somewhat, but it feels more like her mother must have been incredibly beautiful.

Harumi also seemed like she would become a gorgeous beauty in about ten years, but Yuu’s impression was different. She looked like she would become a classic Japanese beauty.

Among people around me, perhaps similar to Kagami’s impression.

“Hey, hey.”

Unable to just keep looking, Harumi poked Yuu’s back with her finger.

“Eek!?”

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Yuu made that sound and shuddered.

“W-what…”

“Do you like manga, Yuu-chan?”

“Huh?”

Yuu couldn’t find her bearings to answer Harumi’s abrupt question. She seems to be quite introverted too.

The reason I was perceived as particularly introverted was actually because I had no idea how to interact with children, but in Yuu’s case, it seems her personality itself is truly introverted.

This is just my speculation, but it probably has something to do with Yamashita. Being from a family with more enemies than ordinary people. It might be better to be selective about friends for the child’s safety.

…Or perhaps the parents of children around Yuu kept their distance on their own.

“Do you like manga?”

“Y-yes.”

After looking around cautiously, Yuu nodded timidly at Harumi’s question.

“Great!”

Harumi shouted so loudly upon hearing this that even the surrounding children were startled. Yuu was too, of course. The only person sitting nearby who wasn’t surprised was me, already accustomed to Harumi’s resonating voice.

“You know, Kotone doesn’t like manga that much, so there’s nothing to talk about when I try.”

That’s a bit unfair.

I do like manga. I like animation too. It’s just that what I like isn’t in the category of what children watch.

While Kagami has a personality that tries to do everything for me, like all good mothers, she definitely has strict aspects in certain areas.

First, I must sleep at night. Bedtime is after nine in the evening, and I naturally don’t get to watch TV programs after that. Very occasionally, unless I whine to Kagami about wanting to stay up, we lead a very, very healthy lifestyle of early to bed and early to rise.

It’s not that manga is only available at night… but here too, Kagami’s “strictness” is fully reflected, and she quickly changes the TV channel when I try to watch something inappropriate for my age.

For example, Eva○gelion.

I didn’t know exactly when it aired, but one evening during dinner, we happened to see it broadcasting on TV, and as soon as a red giant’s stomach split open with purple blood and entrails spraying out, Kagami changed the channel.

…Well, honestly, regardless of whether the content was cruel or not, it probably wasn’t suitable for mealtime viewing.

Besides, the animations I genuinely like won’t come out for quite some time yet, so I decided to just forget about them until then.

“So, have you seen that too? The one that airs on Saturdays—”

Harumi continued happily, and Yuu, who at first seemed a bit scared, began to sparkle with interest as Harumi’s stories continued.

Strangely enough, Harumi’s stories didn’t flow chronologically from beginning to end but jumped here and there, yet they had a magical quality that made you listen to the end.

She’ll probably make lots of friends at school.

Thinking of Harumi surrounded by children her age made me feel a bit better.

In the end, Harumi’s stories continued until the teacher came in.

By the time the stories ended, not just Yuu and I, but other children were looking our way too.

*

As I started elementary school, my life was slowly changing.

Strictly speaking, from my perspective as a “child,” it wasn’t necessarily a positive change.

When I was young, there was a time when my family suddenly struggled financially and both parents had to work. Children of dual-income parents often had to commute to and from school alone at a young age, and I even had to stop by the daycare to pick up my younger sibling on the way home.

Even after getting home, it would be an hour before my parents returned.

Well, by then I was already close to middle school age.

After I entered elementary school, Kagami became a bit busier. If I had to say, her working hours became similar to those of other office workers.

Until then, she would always come to pick me up when kindergarten ended, and we would go home together, but now she couldn’t do that when elementary school ended.

Is she investing more time for my future? Or was her workplace just being accommodating until now?

…It might not have been a big issue for other children. Elementary school children in lower grades are organized into groups to go home together, so those living nearby could return without major problems.

That is, for normal children without significant safety concerns.

“Kotone, may I ask you for a favor?”

On a day when Kagami had to work late, she sat me down and asked with a serious expression.

“After school, could you wait at another child’s house for a while? I’ll come pick you up as soon as work ends.”

“…Okay.”

That “other child” was Harumi.

I had already spent time at her house several times, Harumi liked me, and Mr. Fukuda was considerate of Kagami in many ways, so it was a decision I could make.

Above all, Harumi’s house was a short walk from school.

If I were in higher grades, I could have walked to our house. It was about a 30-minute walk even with a child’s small steps.

But naturally, it’s concerning for a lower-grade child to walk that far alone.

“I’m really sorry.”

I stared intently at Kagami’s face as she said this.

“If I could be by your side always, I would gladly do so.”

I reached out both hands to Kagami as she said this. She embraced me.

I leaned my upper body back and touched both of Kagami’s cheeks with my still small hands.

Kagami’s face still looks young.

The fact that her skin remains smooth means Kagami was born with blessed genes—but if she keeps struggling like this, that period will obviously be drastically shortened.

I didn’t like that.

It’s not simply that I dislike her losing her beauty. I just want Kagami, who has lost so much time because of me, to be able to spend time for herself later too.

I just wish that “remaining time” would last as long as possible.

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

I know saying this doesn’t mean much.

I know I’m in a body that can only rely on others’ help without being able to help in return.

But even so.

I just wanted to say it.

Just as Kagami is my only family, I am Kagami’s only family.

In the end, family is all we have to take care of each other.

“…Kotone.”

Kagami hugged me tightly.

“I’ve never pushed myself.”

In a slightly nasal voice, Kagami whispered.

“I really… have never pushed myself. How could I call it pushing myself?”

“…”

“When I’m this happy.”

To those words, I couldn’t find any response.