The Most Beautiful Girl in School Has Become a Mother - Chapter 37: Going to School Together

The next morning, as I was taking Shuri to the daycare as usual, something unusual happened again.

“Isaki-kun, Shuri-chan, good morning.”

To my surprise, Miori had gone out of her way to wait for me on the road I take to school.

Shuri, who didn’t expect to see Miori in the morning, was over the moon and exclaimed, “Mom!”

Shuri clings to her mother with the force of a tackle. Miori gently strokes her head with a kind smile.

What I’ve realized over the past few days is that she probably likes children. Even if she doesn’t know the “right way to be a mother,” that’s not a problem. Rather, it seems more important whether she likes children or not.

“What’s wrong, all of a sudden? You surprised me.”

“Ah, yeah. Yesterday, when she found out I wasn’t going to your house, Shuri-chan was really down, right? So, I thought I’d at least come and see her this morning.”

That’s right. Yesterday, Shuri thought that since her mom came to pick her up, she would just take her home.

However, yesterday was a day when Miori had to cook dinner at home because it didn’t work out for her. When I told her this, Shuri looked so downcast, it was almost comical.

Of course, she wasn’t the type to complain about it. She was just so down that it was almost pitiful to watch.

Even though I made dinner exactly according to Miori’s recipe and personally thought it was incredibly delicious, Shuri ate it with a sad expression and didn’t give any real feedback (I was really depressed).

I thought that if I told Miori, she would feel responsible, so I deliberately kept it to myself, but it seems that Shuri had figured out a lot from her expression at the time of parting.

──She woke up early and took a long detour just to come to the daycare for that? How much does she care about Shuri?

I sighed and started walking when Shuri called out to me, “Dad!”

When I turned around, she extended her left hand towards me. Her right hand was already holding hands with Miori.

Sensing what Shuri wants to do, I take her small hand.

Walking to school hand in hand with “dad” and “mom.” Looking around, there are hardly any children being led to school by both parents. Most of them are being led by either their father or their mother.

Perhaps, Shuri might have had some kind of admiration for the three of us holding hands and going to school together like this.

“Oh, good morning! You’re together with your child this morning!”

As soon as Kijima-sensei spots us, she greets us with a mischievous smile.

It’s needless to say that both Miori and I had red faces from the morning.

“Ah, yes. It seems like she went out of her way to come because Shuri was feeling down yesterday. Thank you for your help today as well.”

“Really? Shuri-chan, you have such a kind mom, that’s great!”

“Yeah! Mom is kind and smells nice!”

I thought the smell didn’t matter, but since it was something a child said, I let it slide.

“Well then, please take care of Shuri again today.”

When I bow my head slightly, Miori follows and bows her head as well. It really feels like we’re a married couple asking for something.

“Okay, then Shuri-chan, you should tell Dad and Mom to do their best at school too.”

Encouraged by Kijima-sensei, Shuri sends us off with “Have a good day! Do your best at school!” and this time, it’s us being sent off.

After leaving the kindergarten under the watchful eyes of Kijima-sensei and Shuri, Miori let out a big sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

“I-I’m so nervous…”

Apparently, she was nervous.

“Why? The pick-up was fine.”

“Because, of course, the people around were all real parents, right? The atmosphere felt different from yesterday, and it felt a bit tense.”

“I see, now that you mention it, it might be.”

Since I send and pick up my sister every day as a matter of course, I didn’t notice, but the parents who drop off their children in the morning have slightly different expressions compared to the parents who stayed and chatted yesterday.

Among the parents who drop off their children at the kindergarten in the morning, there are a few fathers in suits, and perhaps because it’s before work, their expressions are also more serious. On the other hand, the mothers who stayed at the kindergarten yesterday are the ones who still have the time to chat with each other. They are the so-called part-time working mothers.

This daycare allows parents to leave their children even if they work part-time (there seem to be some admission criteria, but I’m not that familiar with them). The part-time working moms seem to have a bit more leeway than those who work full-time, so they often chat with each other a bit.

The reason why Miori wasn’t that nervous during yesterday’s pick-up might be related to that. After all, Miori was so nervous about the pick-up itself being the first time that there might not have been any room left to be nervous about anything else.

By the way, full-time working moms often go straight home like I do. They don’t have the time or energy to chat.

Nevertheless, there are few people who use daycare and have the time or physical energy to spare. Even the moms who were chatting were just taking a brief breather.

“Yeah… I suddenly became anxious, wondering if it’s okay for a high school student like me, who has no blood ties or anything, to be here.”

“Then it’s all good.”

When I immediately deny that anxiety, Miori looks up in surprise and says, “Huh?”

“Blood relations don’t matter. Even the father who is related by blood has never once taken Shuri to school. Compared to him… definitely, Miori is much more reliable.”

“Isaki-kun…”

Miori furrowed her brows tightly and looked at me with a pained expression, but she didn’t say anything more.

Even though it’s understandable that he can’t pick us up because of work, the morning drop-off should originally be Dad’s job. While I’m grateful for him earning money, honestly, it’s hard for me to accept that he leaves everything to Shuri.

Right now, Shuri is still young, so this might be okay. However, once she enters elementary school, children start to gain wisdom. Eventually, the time will definitely come when she will have to confront the existence of her father.

At that time, it is Shuri who gets hurt because she can’t properly recognize who the father is. I feel frustrated, wondering why she, who is supposed to be more mature than me, can’t understand something so simple.

──Damn it!

I clench my fist tightly.

Even though Miori kindly accompanied me to school this morning and we were just about to head to class, my mood plummeted as soon as I remembered my father.

I usually try not to think about my dad. When I start thinking about him, I can’t stop getting irritated like this.

I can’t show Shuri that I’m angry or irritated. I have to think of my father as just an ATM that deposits living expenses, or I won’t be able to handle it.

What are we going to do about Shuri’s elementary school starting next year? What about the parent-teacher conferences? What about my career path and the three-way meetings? As a father, he’s running away from too many things.

──He’s not the only one who’s hurting because Mom died…!

When I clenched my fist so tightly that my nails almost dug into my palm──my hand was suddenly covered by something warm and soft.

When I looked at my hands in surprise, Miori was enveloping my fist with both of hers.

“Don’t stress yourself out so much. I’ll help out if I can, okay?”

When she gently smiles at me, the prickly feelings in my chest are washed away all at once.

When I released my clenched fist, Miori wrapped her hands around mine. The back of my hand was covered by her left hand, and the palm was enveloped by her right hand.

In response to the unexpected action, I find myself frozen in place.

“Are you calm now?”

“Ah… yeah. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Miori said that and then let go of my hands.

I miss that warmth, and somehow it makes me feel lonely.

“Shall we go to school?”

“Ah… I’m sorry. If we take too long, we’ll be late.”

Somehow embarrassed, yet happy. With that indescribable feeling, we headed to school.

I really wanted her to hold my hand more tightly. But, there’s no way I could ask for that.

Right now, we are not “dad” and “mom” anymore… just classmates.