The Most Beautiful Girl in School Has Become a Mother - Chapter 34: If I Want to Be Called Mom

Going to school together, coming home together—if I look from the outside, doesn’t this just look like we’re already dating?

Thinking about such things, I look at Imiya Miori walking next to me.

The reason this happened is that just after homeroom ended, Miori suddenly said, “Can I go pick up Shuri-chan too?” I was surprised because it was so sudden, but of course, I had no reason to refuse. Shuri would be happy too, and just having her with me lifts my spirits.

In the corner of my vision, Shinya was about to say, “Huh?! If that’s the case, then I’ll join too──,” when Sumomo elbowed him in the solar plexus.

To Shinya, who was crouching and groaning, Sumomo gave me a thumbs-up. So, even though I wondered what she was thinking, I was grateful that she was helping me.

I didn’t quite understand why Miori was willing to accompany me to pick up, so I wanted to talk about that too.

“Why are you going out of your way to deal with me? It’s a hassle, isn’t it?”

I asked her around the time we left the school gate.

I still notice the gazes of the other students around me, but I’m starting to get used to it. After all, I’ve been under these kinds of stares since this morning. It doesn’t matter if I worry about it now; if it were another boy sitting next to Miori, I would have been curious too.

“Because that would make Shuri-chan happy, right? Besides, I don’t think it’s a hassle at all.”

“Huh, why?”

“Isaki-kun has been doing it all alone for so long… There’s no way you could think it’s a hassle.”

I can’t help but feel happy with those words. To have someone who understands the difficulties I thought no one would understand—just that alone makes my heart feel much lighter.

However, that aside, I just couldn’t understand the point of being a “mom” on weekdays. I thought it might just increase her burden.

“I’m glad to hear you say that, but are you pushing yourself too hard?”

“Oh, that’s okay. I just made that decision based on my own thoughts.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“Yeah. Sure, I don’t really understand what it means to be a good mother or anything like that… but I don’t think it’s right to just play and eat together, taking all the good parts, without doing any of the hard work.”

Taking the best parts──She says that playing together and eating meals together are the ‘fun parts’ of parenting.

However, actual parenting is not just about those enjoyable parts. Even if you are irritated or it’s right before a test, the child will cry without holding back. There are many times when you can’t understand the reason for their crying, you end up sleep-deprived, and there is hardly any time to follow your own pace.

Of course, Shuri is a well-behaved child and doesn’t often throw tantrums, but when she cries when I’m tired, it does make me a bit irritated. She often spills things or breaks things, and no matter how cute I think my little sister is, there are times when “cute” just isn’t enough.

“If I want to be Shuri-chan’s mom… I don’t think it’s right to make Dad bear all that difficulty alone.”

When Miori turned to face me and chuckled softly, she tilted her head slightly.

I want to be Shuri-chan’s mom──I felt an overwhelming joy at her casual words.

Miori had come to think of Shuri’s selfish requests not just as requests, but as something she wanted to do because she wanted to be a “mom.”

“Of course, I can’t help with everything… but still, I want to do at least what I can. If I’m being called ‘Mom,’ then I feel like I should do at least that much. Am I being a bother?”

“There’s no way it’s a bother.”

Is it her sense of responsibility that makes her act that way? Or is it her maternal instinct? I can’t tell.

But having someone close by who comes to pick me up like this, trying to lighten my burden even a little—just thinking about it makes me feel so much lighter. It felt like someone was gently placing their hand on the things I had been carrying alone until now, supporting me.

“Shuri-chan, I wonder what kind of face she’ll make if I go with you.”

“Won’t she end up crying from being overwhelmed with emotion?”

“That’s an exaggeration.”

While having such exchanges, we head to the nursery together.

Until now, I had always felt a sense of reluctance about the journey from school to the daycare after school. Picking her up, buying dinner on the way home, cooking, giving her a bath, doing housework, and then doing homework and preparing for the next day… When I think about the day’s schedule, I can imagine myself being busy until bedtime, and it makes me feel frustrated.

However, just the thought of having someone by my side who understands the difficulty and tries to be there for me made the burdens I had been feeling disappear.

Rather, I was even looking forward to how Shuri would react if I took her along. Just thinking about it changed the scenery I saw, and the roads in this residential area suddenly started to shine, which was quite mysterious.

With the right mindset, my mood and circumstances can change infinitely. I felt that this girl named Imiya Miori was teaching me that.