Chapter 01: The arrow’s direction is from Sakurasaki to Daikichi

Early October—when the lingering late-summer heat had finally faded and the cicadas’ cries from the school courtyard trees had fallen silent.

Daikichi set off for the staff room immediately after school to attend to the errands requested by the school.

“You’re here, huh~”

Eleanor, who had been reviewing documents at her desk by the window, noticed Daikichi and beckoned him with a beaming smile.

Daikichi nodded to the surrounding staff as he approached her side.

“Today’s request is… is it the one regarding the equipment inspection for cleaning, given the season?”

“That’s exactly right. Please handle this.”

On the screen of the tablet Eleanor handed him, it read: 『List of inspection points within the school to be sent to the equipment company』.

Although Daikichi typically takes care of such errands that the school should be handling, this isn’t a volunteer service—he is properly compensated.

However, his compensation isn’t monetary; it comes in the form of a particular request to the school.

“Now then…”

Daikichi checked to make sure the stylus was responding properly as he went around the school inspecting the equipment at various locations for any issues.

The school Daikichi attends is quite a unique place, with a lineage dating back to the Meiji era. It is a private, integrated middle and high school attended by the children of renowned company founders, former aristocrats, high-ranking bureaucrats, and executives of major companies and organizations—a school for the so-called upper class.

Those from ordinary families are admitted only as scholarship students, provided they possess exceptional talent or achievements in academics or the arts.

In terms of proportions, about 80% are upper-class children, and the remaining 20% are scholarship students from ordinary families.

Incidentally, a distinctive feature lies not only in their backgrounds but also in the students’ uniforms.

Both the middle and high schools continue to wear uniforms designed in the Meiji era; the girls’ uniforms evoke the wave of modernization of that time by blending Japanese and Western styles, while the boys have worn the same collared design for over a hundred years.

The colors are white for the middle school and black for the high school. The color of the girls’ ribbons and the boys’ collar stripes—used to indicate the grade—is shared: first year is sky blue, second year is iris blue, and third year is scarlet.

For example, since Daikichi is in the second year of high school, his uniform is black with iris blue collar stripes, while Tsubaki, in the third year of middle school, wears a white uniform with a scarlet ribbon.

“Now then, as for places that seem to need inspection… there doesn’t appear to be any this time… Last time I reported that the hot water supply in the large communal bath for the sports club was poor, but that has been fixed…”

After visually inspecting most of the equipment and noting “No particular areas requiring inspection,” Daikichi turned back toward the staff room.

Then, as the last piece of equipment he had checked was near a second-year classroom, he passed by a mixed group of male and female classmates.

As they passed each other, one of them noticed Daikichi and brought him up in conversation.

――Ah, that’s Sako-kun just now. From the same class.

――Sako? Ah… You’re right. He’s so inconspicuous I almost didn’t notice him…

――Sako-kun may be hard to notice, but I have seen him eagerly helping the teachers when they’re in trouble, and it makes me think he’s a kind boy. Also, his cry mole has a slight charm.

――A cry mole? You really notice stuff like that… But still, is there some reason why he helps the teachers?

――Could it be that Sako-kun is one of Sako-kun’s? Even though you hardly hear his name these days, his family is still from the former aristocracy—and they rank above you guys, the children of executives from major companies, aren’t they? You can’t buy pedigree with money.

――I mean, since they’re not even friends, isn’t it unnecessary to worry about that?

The hallway echoed with voices, and Daikichi could clearly catch his classmates’ conversation.

(Tsubaki too—maybe it’s become trendy to call me “Sako”? Everyone says whatever they please… but I really don’t care how they refer to me…)

Though his mood wasn’t the best, Daikichi was well aware of how inconspicuous he was, so he didn’t pay much mind.

He was simply that kind of person.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Daikichi returned to the staff room, handed the tablet back to Eleanor, and concluded his errand. When he asked about whether Sachiko would pick him up today, she replied that since he was about to be free, it was fine.

Today, he was free.

In that case, Daikichi considered checking on Sakurazaki, but hesitated, worried that she had recently become especially likely to notice him.

Daikichi had no particular desire to become close to Sakurazaki; he was merely keeping an eye on her due to various circumstances.

“Maybe I’ll just go home today…”

Having decided so, Daikichi returned to the classroom while scratching the back of his head (pori pori). However, along the way, he heard a voice from a female student that sounded familiar, and he involuntarily turned around.

What came into his view was Sakurazaki, walking and chatting with her friends.

“Damn, it seems impossible to run away now.”

Since there was a considerable distance to the next corner or staircase—and running there would inevitably draw attention—Daikichi chose not to flee but instead slipped into a nearby depressed space, sitting in a crouched position as he hid.

(That was close.)

Daikichi’s relief was short-lived. Sakurazaki and her friends, engrossed in their conversation, had apparently paused—and, unbelievably, right near the depression where he was hiding.

(Please don’t get so absorbed in your conversation that you stop walking… I mean, you’re free to stop wherever you like, but at least choose a spot a little farther away…)

――Hey, Sakurazaki, what do you think of that senpai who keeps checking on you? You even call him “【chan】”, so I guess you don’t dislike him.

――He is a fine gentleman, isn’t he?

――They tease him in front of everyone… I think Daichan senpai is a good person. It feels like he’s being given pure, kind affection—not driven by ulterior motives.

――That senpai doesn’t look like a scholarship student at all. I heard from another second-year senpai that he’s from a former aristocratic family, even though he’s fallen from grace. He might not stand out at our school, but being from an old noble family means his pedigree is impressive rather than nouveau riche, and his cool, composed gaze makes him somewhat attractive, don’t you think?

――He’s not attractive at all! That’s just an optical illusion! No girl would see him as handsome. So you shouldn’t even look at him. And his pedigree isn’t anything remarkable anyway.

――Oh, it seems like you’re trying to downplay him—to lower his standing among others… like hiding a treasure? The fact that you naturally show possessiveness means that Sakurazaki is really fond of that senpai… Well, even though Sakurazaki is a scholarship student from an ordinary family, she’s cute, and, you know, her boobs are impressively large, so maybe she could lure a richer match, don’t you think…?

――I don’t want that.

――Yeah, yeah, so you prefer that kind of guy who gently watches over you, right? Sachiko’s taste is pretty narrow. It was great to have that perfect senpai, wasn’t it?

Like Daikichi’s other classmates, those around Sakurazaki were spewing off their own wild speculations. Summing up, in their eyes, Daikichi appeared to be a second-year male student from a former aristocratic family who had set his sights on a female student from a lower grade.

But Daikichi thought that it was inevitable. The fact that he had occasionally kept an eye on Sakurazaki was true, and he wondered how that behavior appeared to those unaware of the circumstances.