A Late Bloomer's Powerful Restart ~My Second Life Starts at a Prestigious School Where the Gender Ratio Is Totally Off, and for Some Reason, All These Talented Girls Get Attached to Me...!?~ - 05

Chapter 5: The Truth About the Elopement

The condition I gave to Grandpa was simple.

“Heh, that’s interesting. Wanting to open a securities account at your age. Fine… I don’t mind that condition.”

The negotiation with the chairman went smoothly.

I gratefully accepted the tuition waiver, but since I had the lottery winnings for the entrance fee, I turned that part down.

I asked him to put the amount I declined into my securities account instead.

This was the only way to manage funds without troubling my parents. The lottery win alone had turned into a family meeting… It was better to handle this secretly.

For an idea that came to me on the spot, it was pretty sharp.

After the deal was settled, I wondered if I could just go home, but Grandpa brewed tea for us himself. What was this sudden change?

I stared at him as he sat down on the sofa across from me.

“…Taiki. Have you heard why things turned so cold between me and Mitsu, your mother?”

“That she turned down an arranged marriage and eloped with my dad.”

It was a topic I hadn’t expected. But maybe that faint sense of expectation toward Mom was real after all.

No, if that were the case, he would talk to Mom directly instead of me.

Grandpa looked serious, but what did he want to tell me?

“I wasn’t weak enough to disown my daughter over just that. Even if the man was an unknown novelist… If Mitsu, who wasn’t going to inherit the family business, fell in love and became happy, that was fine with me.”

“Then… why…?”

“Because when Mitsu came to report to me, a new life was already growing in her belly.”

Because I was born…?

No, if she was pregnant right when she came to report—

“I flew into a rage. I thought it was a shotgun wedding, so I was determined to get rid of your father no matter what. As a result, Mitsu left the house.”

“My parents said it was a love marriage.”

“Mitsu said the same, but at the time, I couldn’t believe it.”

It was understandable. Even I was just now considering that possibility.

Besides, plenty of men would approach the daughter of a powerful man.

From Grandpa’s view, it was natural to be wary.

“But when I saw your face, I became convinced it was my misunderstanding. If you hadn’t been raised with good parents, you probably would have chosen the recommendation spot.”

…So it doubled as a test too.

The skill that let the chairman rapidly grow Yashima Electronics in one generation wasn’t just talk.

This country’s path to becoming a super-science powerhouse definitely started with Kasumi Yashima.

“Then, what about your relationship with Mom?”

“That’s up to Mitsu. She’s a Yashima too, after all. But seeing her son’s growth… She’ll come to me in the not-too-distant future.”

He was a smooth-talking old man. He was telling me not to be satisfied with the status quo and to keep improving.

As someone who knew the future, I felt it strongly. Yashima Electronics shouldn’t be destroyed by that incident.

I would have to think of a way to ensure its survival somehow.

“By the way, Taiki, how’s school life?”

“Uh… I’m pretty busy with exam studying.”

It was a sudden question. It might have been natural conversation between a real grandfather and grandson.

But Grandpa looked unusually serious.

“Then you probably don’t have many friends, right?”

“…Yeah, I don’t have a wide circle of friends.”

Ouch, that hit a sore spot.

Not just not wide— it was completely zero.

I didn’t want to disappoint him over this, but when I looked at Grandpa’s face, contrary to my worries, he had an expression like something had clicked.

“This is a good opportunity. Keep the first Sunday in October open.”

“Uh, oh… yes.”

“I’ll take you somewhere interesting.”

Why October, not right away?

There was one thing that came to mind, but I quickly dismissed it as impossible.

***

After the mock exam results, my position at middle school changed a lot.

That said, my classmates were still as childish as ever.

What changed was how the teachers treated me.

The homeroom teacher who used to spread word about how useless I was called me to the career guidance room multiple times.

Guiding a student’s future path counted as the teacher’s achievement.

Since the mock exam venue was my enrolled middle school, rumors spread from somewhere.

It was an information leak.

But it annoyed me to let a teacher who hadn’t guided my efforts take the credit, so I turned down all the teacher’s suggestions. As long as I got the principal’s approval for the application procedurally, there was no need to go through the homeroom teacher.

While dealing with that back-and-forth with the teacher, October arrived.

The chairman was apparently taking me somewhere, but I was more excited about getting the securities account.

“Why are you here, Taiki?”

Running into Uncle Chuya at the mansion hurt with his hostility.

Since the recommendation spot being open was a secret, he probably thought I had stolen his son’s right.

I could understand the resentment, but if he wanted to inherit Yashima Electronics, I wished he’d act a bit more mature.

“Grandpa called me.”

“Tch… Why does Dad bother with Mitsu’s son…”

Even though Mom had already stepped away from the Yashima family, how deep was his complex?

I sighed inwardly at the trouble when the chairman appeared.

“Taiki. We’re leaving now, so come along.”

He instructed a servant to bring the car and headed to the entrance.

He was taking me somewhere interesting, but the securities account talk would come later, I supposed.

That mattered more to me.

But then Uncle Chuya spoke up.

“Dad. Tonight is supposed to be the October gathering. Are you perhaps planning to take Taiki?”

“So what if I am?”

“A-Are you serious!? Then take Kuya instead!”

“Silence!! Do you intend to question my decision!!”

This surprised me. No, it was unbelievable. Taking me to the October gathering.

I could understand why Uncle was panicking like this.

—The October gathering.

It was a social event for the upper class, and bringing a child there implied they were a heir candidate. Even in my first life, I never got the chance to attend.

To such a place, me…?

It made sense why he asked about my friendships.

I wasn’t inheriting the Yashima name, so I couldn’t be a heir candidate… In other words, he was telling me to make friends.

Considering entering Teimon Academy, going could have big advantages. Grandpa was probably giving me a chance to build connections with current students or fellow new entrants.

“Taiki, let’s go.”

“Yes.”

I wished he wouldn’t use me to provoke Uncle too much, but this time I would go along with it.

I had no intention of turning down attending the October gathering.

In this era… I might even meet “Shika.”

That speculation made my heart race.