The Most Beautiful Girl in School Has Become a Mother - Chapter 36: Kijima-Sensei’s Conjecture

“Mom!”

I opened the entrance door of the daycare, and before I could greet anyone, I heard that voice.

A small creature came running over and clung to Miori’s stomach next to me.

“Shuri-chan, have you been a good girl?”

“Mom! Mom!”

“Hehe, that’s right. It’s Mom.”

Miori patted Shuri’s head with a gentle smile.

I think she is just being her usual charming self, but for some reason, she seems kinder when Shuri is around. And somehow, she also looks more mature, which is quite mysterious.

Is this the smile that appears when Miori’s maternal instincts are kicking in? Watching their interactions like this makes me smile too.

However, contrary to that scene, when Shuri said “Mom,” the other moms who had also come to pick up their children looked at us with startled expressions.

However, upon confirming that Miori was wearing the same uniform as me, she smiled as if she understood something and said, “Ah, so that’s how it is.” I have no idea what “that’s how it is” means, but it seems no strange misunderstandings were created. After all, I don’t want Miori to be thought of as my father’s second wife.

The parents in the neighborhood know that my mother isn’t at home, and they also know that it’s my high school brother who always comes to pick me up. They must have figured out that she’s not my real mother or stepmother, but rather a school friend or something like that.

“Okay, I’m going to greet sensei for a bit, so wait here.”

In response to my words, Miori nodded and added, “Dad, have a good day!”

“…Please, for the love of God, stop calling me ‘dad’ at the daycare.”

I heard giggles from the other moms around me, and I instantly blushed.

Surely, they must have sensed that I was being made to do exaggerated things with my school friends. However, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. It was the same for Miori; she was playing with Shuri, putting on a nonchalant face, but her cheeks were slightly flushed.

“Is that the rumored mom?”

Just as I thought I heard a surprised shout, Shuri’s homeroom teacher, Kijima Natsumi, came out from the back room. She must have wondered what was going on since the entrance was so noisy.

“Ah, Sensei. Thank you for today as well.”

“No, no, it’s the same for me. By the way, Isaki-san, you’re really something!”

Kijima-sensei smirked and elbowed me in the side.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“What are you pretending not to know? It’s not every day you find a technician who can make your girlfriend play the role of your sister’s ‘mom’!”

“Huh?! A, a girlfriend?!”

What the hell is this daycare worker saying?

I hurriedly looked over at Miori, worried she might have heard, but she seemed to be engaged in conversation with the other moms, so I let out a sigh of relief.

“Could this possibly be… a new trend where high schoolers seek a nurturing vibe from their girlfriends? Is this what high schoolers are into these days?!”

“Don’t call me that. Besides, I’m not into that kind of play.”

Even though she’s a teacher and older, I don’t even feel like using honorifics anymore and just give her a hard time.

However, am I going to be accused of having a complex here too? This is completely ridiculous.

“Still, you really did it, huh? Using your little sister to get such a beautiful girlfriend. Is she some kind of celebrity or something?”

“That’s a bit unfair,” Kijima-sensei said with an exasperated expression.

I have no idea what’s unfair. I think it’s cute, though.

“So, that’s not it. She’s not my girlfriend, and she’s not a celebrity either. She’s just a classmate.”

“Eh? Really?”

Kijima-sensei, who doesn’t believe it at all, compares me and Miori with a somewhat skeptical expression.

“Because she came to your house and even made dinner for you, right? And on top of that, you came to pick her up like this… Do you think a mere classmate would do something like that?”

“What!? Why would you do that!?”

“Shuri-chan was just telling everyone, ‘It was fun when Mom came over yesterday and the day before.'”

“Ugh… So the culprit is Shuri after all…”

Damn you, Shuri. What on earth are you saying? And it seems you even told the other moms about it.

I see, so that’s why the moms are gathering at Miori’s place. That makes sense.

However, even when they said that a classmate wouldn’t go that far, since they really were going that far, I could only say that.

“No, really, it’s not like that… She’s just being kind and helping out to fulfill Shuri’s request.”

“Huh? No way, Isaki-san… Do you really think a high school girl would go out of her way to join such an elaborate meal just for that reason?”

Kijima-sensei said with a face that almost seemed to convey exasperation.

“Huh? Is there something else?”

“Haah… no, it’s nothing. It seems like you’re going through a lot too, that ‘mom’ of yours.”

The young nursery teacher let out a big sigh and looked at Miori, who was at the entrance.

“By the way… Is it just me, or does Isaki-san look much healthier this week compared to last week? Is it the ‘mom’ effect?”

“Huh?”

“Oh, I can’t. I still have work to do, so I’ll be going now.”

“Hoh hoh hoh,” she laughed exaggeratedly, and then Kijima-sensei ran off to the back staff room.

Somehow, today Kijima-sensei is saying nothing but things that are hard to understand. Usually, she only uses words that are easier to understand.

“Oh, I’m sorry to keep you waiting. Well then, shall we go?”

When I returned to Miori and Shuri, for some reason, she nodded with a blush on her face, looking embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Shuri pointed at me with an innocent look on her face and said,

“Dad, Mom’s boyfriend!”

“Wait──!?”

In a hurry, Miori tried to cover Shuri’s mouth, but it was already too late. The height difference also worked against her, and she couldn’t stop Shuri from finishing all her words.

“Huh? What do you mean──”

Dad’s girlfriend? No, Dad is Dad, so I can’t be her boyfriend, right? Rather, Dad would come after boyfriend, which is also strange. In other words, if I replace Dad and Mom with myself and Miori respectively—once I think that far, I finally understand the meaning, and my face suddenly heats up.

Dad being Mom’s boyfriend, in other words, me being Miori’s boyfriend, is what it means.

“Hahaha, huh?! Why?! Since when did that become a thing?!”

“It’s not, it’s not!”

Miori also denies it, her face turning bright red.

Apparently, because she came to pick up Shuri together with me, she misunderstood that we were dating, and that’s why Shuri has become attached to her.

Hearing such exchanges, Shuri probably picked up some unnecessary words.

──What a heart-stopping thing to do.

However, that explains why the moms gathered around Miori earlier and why she looked so embarrassed.

──It’s such a bother, isn’t it? I hope I didn’t make her feel bad.

Cautiously, I steal a glance at her face.

“What is it?”

Still blushing, she asks with a slightly sulky face.

“Well, if I made you feel bad, I thought maybe I should apologize…”

“Not really… I don’t feel bad or anything, though.”

“Huh?”

“N-Nothing! Nothing at all!”

I couldn’t quite catch what was said because the voice was so low, but I was denied with such force.

In the end, we went to the supermarket together in that strange atmosphere, and I bought the ingredients just as she told me to.

This “Mom” decides the recommended menu based on the prices of meat and vegetables. It was truly something to be grateful for.

“Hey, if it’s too difficult, I can’t make it.”

Because she even put in vegetables I’ve never used before, I can’t help but feel uneasy.

“I’ll send you the recipe later, so it’s okay. If you don’t understand something, feel free to call me.”

“Got it, that helps.”

While we were shopping, the strange atmosphere from earlier had settled down, and we had returned to our usual selves.

──I wonder what “usual” really means.

I get caught up in words I thought casually.

Always and forever, we’ve only been properly talking for a few days. Yet, there are times that make it feel like we’ve been doing this forever.

Is it because we spent all day together yesterday and the day before? And how long will this “always” last?

──Making memories together with the three of us, huh…

Remembering Miori’s words from earlier, I suddenly see her holding hands with Shuri.

──What kind of memories are we going to create, I wonder?

It looks so friendly, but it’s only the third day of living with my “mom”. It’s been less than a week since I started properly talking with Miori.

The memories we could create together seemed infinite.