A hero who wants to help others wants to live a normal life - Chapter 37

Chapter 37   Final Exams

“But shouldn’t we focus on the exams first?”

As we were thinking about summer break, Inori chimed in, interrupting the fun mood. It was a bit of a buzzkill, but she wasn’t wrong.

“Ah, the exams…”

If I remember correctly, there’s a written exam and a practical one. The written part is a standard paper test, but the practical involves fighting illusions of monsters or something like that.

“Oh yeah, that’s coming up… I really don’t want to do it.”

“Nobody wants to take exams.”

I don’t think there’s anyone out there who actually enjoys taking exams. At least, that’s what I thought, but Inori tilted her head and spoke up.

“Really? It’s easier than regular classes. I’m all for it.”

Well, that’s you. For someone like you, there’s no difference between regular classes and exams.

“That’s because you’re a ‘Blessed,’ Inori. You made that mock battle look so easy the other day.”

Kiriya said this while looking at Inori with a hint of envy. He seemed to think Inori’s abilities were all because of her being one of the ‘Blessed,’ which wasn’t entirely wrong—but not the full picture either. Though, it’s true that Inori is exceptional.

“Yeah, that level is easy for me. I definitely won’t lose.”

So far, Inori hasn’t lost any of the mock battles held during class. It’s something to be proud of, but she just nods modestly, without bragging.

Both Kiriya and I could only sigh at her response.

“By the way, you two siblings don’t do badly on the written exams, do you?”

“Yeah, well, I figured Inori would make it into the honors class, so if I didn’t study properly, I wouldn’t be able to stay in the same class.”

That’s what I said, but in reality, because of becoming ‘Blessed,’ the language barrier pretty much disappeared, and I can understand everything. My memory and learning abilities have also been enhanced, so I do better than others by default.

I imagine the other ‘Blessed’ are the same.

“…So, does that mean you studied hard for my sake, big brother?”

“That’s right, so be grateful.”

“Aww, I love you so much! You’re the best!”

“Wow, that was so unconvincing.”

“But if I said I loved you for real, wouldn’t that be weird? Or… is that the kind of thing you’re into, big brother?”

“Of course not, you idiot.”

As we were goofing around, Kiriya, who had been watching, sighed in exasperation.

“You guys are really close, huh.”

“Really? I feel like this is pretty normal for siblings.”

At least, this is how we’ve always been, especially back in elementary school. Maybe it’s a bit unusual to still be like this now, but for me, this is just ‘normal.’

“The siblings I know aren’t exactly at each other’s throats, but they definitely argue a lot. Compared to that, you two are super close.”

“I can understand arguing, but fighting seriously within a ‘family’ just seems stupid.”

For us, who hold strong feelings about what ‘family’ means, the idea of family members fighting each other is completely ridiculous. Disagreements happen, sure. Conflicts are unavoidable sometimes. But fighting to the point where blood is spilled? It’s just foolish. What could you possibly hope to gain from that?

“I get what you’re saying, but when things like inheritance or money get involved, it’s bound to happen.”

“Even so, I think it’s just foolish. After all, isn’t ‘family’ the most important thing in life? No matter what happens, I would always protect my ‘family.'”

I’m not sure if Kiriya fully grasped the meaning behind Inori’s words. Actually, I doubt he understood it at all. But I could tell that she was being completely sincere, no exaggeration or lies.

“Sounds nice. I wonder if I would’ve been that close with a sibling if I had one.”

“Having one can be a hassle sometimes.”

“Wow, that’s harsh! You’re calling such a cute little sister a hassle?”

“Well, you’re kind of an idiot.”

“What? No way. I’m one of the top students in the written exams, you know?”

“That’s not the kind of idiot I meant.”

I mean you’re clueless when it comes to common sense in normal human society, you idiot.

“Maybe that’s just how it is. I do have a cousin, and it’s fun when we hang out occasionally, but if it were every day, I might get tired of it.”

Yeah, that’s what family is like. Nothing particularly special. They’re always there. In fact, their presence can be annoying at times. But when they’re gone, it’s sad and lonely. They’re a symbol of ‘normal’ that you don’t appreciate until you lose it.

“Maybe. Anyway, back to summer break—where are we going?”

“Wait, weren’t we talking about exams?”

“Was that it? Well, the exams will be fine. As long as you study reasonably seriously, you won’t get any weird scores.”

Both Inori and I will do fine on the written exams. Honestly, we could even rank near the top of the class, but I don’t want to stand out, so I’ll aim for just average.

“The written exam might be okay, but the combat test is the real issue, right? There’s team coordination to think about, and, well, it’s a bit rude to call her strange, but if we end up with someone like Kujou, it’s hard to figure out the best way to deal with her.”

“Yeah, I get what you’re saying, but it’ll probably work out somehow.”

As Kiriya mentioned, if I end up on the same team as Kujou, I’ll have to deal with that princess. I know from personal experience that handling her poorly can lead to complications later on. But Kujou probably doesn’t want to cause any more trouble, and besides, that incident wasn’t even something Kujou herself started, so it should be fine.

“Really? Well, if you say so, I hope it goes smoothly… Anyway, about our plans. Oh yeah, instead of just going somewhere, why don’t you come over to my place?”

“Your place? You mean Kiriya’s house?”

“Yeah, exactly. I think I mentioned before that I wanted to show you my house. I’ve also wanted to invite a ‘normal friend’ over for a while.”

“You’ve never invited a friend over before?”

Inori asked with a look of pity, but honestly, I don’t have any real friends besides Kiriya either. Sure, I had friends over when I was in elementary school, but after that, I never really invited anyone to my house.

“I have, but, you know, they weren’t the kind of friends you can just casually chat with like this. Whenever I had friends over, they’d try not to trouble my family, so they all acted a bit formal. It didn’t really feel like we were ‘hanging out.'”

“Hoshiguma said something similar. I guess even the elite have their own set of difficulties.”

Having to consider your parents’ approval and your family’s status just to make friends sounds like a real hassle. I guess if you’re in a class with people who have imperial bloodlines or are royalty from other countries, it’s not something you can just ignore.

“Yeah, most of it is just parents pushing their power struggles onto their kids. It’s pretty ridiculous… Wait, Hoshiguma? You mean that Hoshiguma?”

Kiriya looked surprised, and now that I think about it, I never mentioned Hoshiguma to him. It’s not something I go around bragging about, so I guess it makes sense.

“Yeah, we ended up in the same group in the ‘Travel Club.’ We started talking then.”

“Oh, now that you mention it, I think I’ve seen you two chatting a few times.”

We only exchange greetings for the most part. Occasionally, we talk when there’s an opportunity.

“Anyway, about summer break—how about we settle on coming to my place? We can figure out the rest of our plans from there. I’ll probably still be doing family visits and training, so it’s hard to set anything up before that’s over.”

“Got it. Sounds good.”

I mean, we’re high schoolers now, so planning to hang out at a friend’s house might feel a bit childish, but still, I can’t help but feel a bit excited about it.