The reason why this genius little girl who doesn't get along with anyone, wants to be only spoiled by me

Episode 13: The Ideal Big Brother

Despite bowing and scraping with respect to Hime just moments ago, the principal immediately switched to an arrogant tone as soon as she was out of sight.

“She is the jewel of our school. By pure coincidence—no, through an almost miraculous turn of events—she was made to attend here. Do you understand the significance of this? No, you wouldn’t, would you?”

“…Well, no, not really,”

“—Every great accomplishment she achieves from now on will list this school as her alma mater. Our school’s name will be immortalized in history. In the future, our institution will be recognized as one of the most prestigious schools that produced her. If she graduates from here without any incidents, the benefits to our school will be immeasurable.”

Even though I had no desire to listen, the principal launched into a long-winded monologue.

I really wanted him to hurry up and finish. I didn’t want to keep Hime waiting for lunch.

That said, interrupting him would probably only drag things out further. It wasn’t an enjoyable conversation to hear, but I decided to just stay quiet and listen.

“She is leagues apart from ordinary students like you. Therefore, if you truly are her friend… you must protect that status difference by all means. Be careful not to upset her. If you manage that, I wouldn’t be opposed to offering some preferential treatment for your grades or academic record.”

“Uh, I’m not really interested in that sort of thing,”

“…You don’t get it now, do you? Let me put it another way. If she were to leave our school on a whim—and if you were even remotely involved—I can even manipulate stuff and dispose you off just like that. That’s what I’m saying.”

Wow. So that’s where this was going.

If he had the power to improve my grades and academic record that easily, he could just as easily lower them.

In other words, this was practically something close to a threat.

“So consider this your warning: don’t do anything to upset her—understood?”

That’s dirty. Maybe this is the kind of behavior normal for adults, but it only made me feel even more certain, from the depths of my heart: I would never want to become an adult like him.

And the point of view where Hime had to deal with adults like this all the time and was getting sick of it… Now I could see why she is fond of the friendship with me to this level.

I had no intention of using Hime or flattering her for personal gain. Of course, I understood she was special and extraordinary, but I still treated her as my fellow classmate and also as a younger kid in age than me.

Maybe that is what made her appreciated it more than anything.

If that were the case, then no matter what the principal said, I had no intention of changing how I treated her.

“Haa, alright, I get it… Can I go now already? I don’t want to keep her waiting,”.

“Ah, that’s a good attitude right there. Go on, then. Just make sure everything goes smoothly.”

While pretending not to hear his words of praise or rather disdain, I turned my back on him without hesitation.

I just wanted to get away from this corrupt adult as soon as possible.

I opened the door to the principal’s office and found Hime sitting quietly on the corner of the sofa, waiting for me.

“Sorry about that. The conversation ran a bit long,”

“…I’m sorry. Did he perhaps made you have a strange conversation because of me?”

Hime looked somehow apologetic.

As she was a smart girl, she probably had a good idea on what the principal had said to her.

Thus, to reassure her, I patted her on the head, gently.