Chapter 07: Tsubaki arrives. Splash 💓

“Who would have thought it would end up making him be seen as a ‘boy who loves boobs’… Honestly, Sachiko is quite a handful. I was even considering buying her the compilation of past stories of ‘Go, Go, Machi-chan’ if it ever went on sale—but that’s a no-go.”

As Daikichi murmured that he shouldn’t pamper Sachiko while checking the number of items, time flew by, and even before the lunch break ended, the finish was in sight. Daikichi, who had been thinking it might take a little longer, let out a sigh of relief.

In the beginning, when Daikichi first started handling these miscellaneous tasks, he wasn’t used to it and would sometimes carry the work over until after school—in a fluster, it would take him past 7 PM.

He also recalled the bitter memory when, worried about not receiving a completion report, Eleanor and several other teachers had come by to check on him and lend a hand.

Now, however, he can complete everything by himself during the short lunch break—he’s learned how to be efficient.

“Well then, that should be it…”

After finishing the numbers, Daikichi pressed save, powered down the tablet, and briskly headed to the staff room to return it.

When he arrived at the staff room, since Eleanor was away from her desk, he handed the tablet over to a nearby male teacher.

Daikichi soon noticed that this teacher was also the homeroom teacher for Sakurazaki’s class. With his black hair tied in a ponytail and a few bangs casually hanging over, he had a very butler-like presence—making him a memorable character.

“Excuse me, could you please take care of this?”

“Yes, I’ve received it. … You’ve become quite fast, haven’t you?”

“Oh, not at all…”

“No, I really do think you’ve gotten faster. Our school is quite large, so it should be a tough task. … You must be really efficient, Sako-kun.”

Being a large school that gathers the children of influential figures nationwide and talented kids as special scholarship students, the miscellaneous tasks Daikichi is involved with are varied.

That’s exactly why Daikichi understood that the teacher’s praise was not just mere courtesy, but genuinely heartfelt.

“Sako-kun is truly admirable. Even though he lost his parents and his grandparents have already passed away, the fact that he can live by always thinking of others is wonderful. It’s fortunate that Teacher Eleanor took him in instead of him ending up in an institution—”

After saying that much, the teacher seemed to realize he had overstepped by intruding into a student’s family situation, and he sheepishly averted his eyes from Daikichi.

“I’m sorry, I may have reminded you of various things. I didn’t mean any harm…”

One can tell from his demeanor that he has a good nature, but he tends to be a bit loose-lipped—a trait not uncommon among people of all ages.

In this teacher’s case, being the homeroom teacher of Sakurazaki’s class did give Daikichi a slight unease… but even so, it was true that Sakurazaki hadn’t found out yet.

He figured that the teacher was only a bit relaxed because he was in front of him, and that he was probably strict otherwise, so Daikichi decided not to worry too much.

“Really, there’s no need for you to apologize, Teacher. I don’t mind at all. … However, if I may correct one thing: it’s not entirely accurate to say I’m completely alone in the world. I do have relatives. After all, the Tsubaki in the middle school is my cousin.”

“Middle school Tsubaki… Ah, you mean the daughter of the Sazanka family. So you’re related to Sako‑kun. Now that I think about it, I’ve seen you occasionally coming over to the high school wing and pestering Sako‑kun. Is it that you feel free to come play because you’re kin?”

“Tsubaki is such a handful. She treats me like a toy… and every time she finds me, she runs off.”

“I see… I can kind of understand how you feel, but since you’ve taken the trouble to come see me, why not try sticking around instead of always running off? It might even help clear your head.”

That it was a considerate suggestion was clear to Daikichi. However, knowing Tsubaki well, he doubted that engaging with her would actually serve as a change of pace.

“Yeah, I suppose.”

He shrugged and brushed it off.

――What are we doing today?
――Nothing at all.
――We don’t even do club activities, you know. We’re free.
――That stuff is for special scholarship students.
――There’s basically nothing to do in this school. School trips come only once every three years—middle school goes on their own trip, and high school has a joint trip for all three grades. I’ve heard some of our relatives attend normal schools, but apparently, every grade is different there.

――Well, that’s because this school’s policy is that each family should arrange their own educational trips. Every household is assumed to have enough money and a plan for that.

――Everything’s pretty hit-or-miss, you know? But at least we have the school festival every year—to develop a sense of what the world is like.

――But does that really build any sense at all? I doubt it.

Suddenly, Daikichi caught sight of his classmates laughing and chatting in the classroom. Though he mused that such carefree banter with friends must be what youth is all about, he felt it had nothing to do with him, and he left the room.

It was already after school, but Daikichi had nothing in particular to do today. The school’s requests had been wrapped up during lunch, and Eleanor hadn’t asked him to pick up Sachiko either.
Well, sometimes unexpected requests pop up, but he handled those as they came.

Now, when he had some free time, Daikichi felt the urge to sneak a peek at Sakurazaki’s condition… but he decided to hold back and turned away.

Lately, Daikichi had been inclined to make such decisions. He did feel guilty for once saying during an outing, “This won’t be the last time,” but even so, he intended to keep a little distance.

However, by doing so, as Daikichi began to fade into the background, Sakurazaki started to worry and, in turn, began sneaking peeks at him more often.

Just then, as Daikichi sensed someone watching and turned around, he saw Sakurazaki and several of her friends hastily hide behind a nearby barrier.

――Found you! Hide, hide!
――Sakurazaki, did you mess up when you left that senpai alone with you? That senpai stopped checking on you altogether—and now he’s the one coming over.
――I didn’t do anything! We enjoyed the frappe together, our conversation flowed, and he even told me a little secret. He said, “This won’t be the last time,” but then he suddenly stopped coming… Do you think he hates me? I’d hate that if he did.
――Sakurazaki’s idea that it’s normal for someone like Daichan‑senpai to be by her side is a problem, too. You only mustered the courage to approach him and go out once, didn’t you?
――Yeah.
――Then you have to take the initiative and get closer. It might be impossible today, so start steadily tomorrow, at least.
――Y‑yeah, right. I’ll do my best! Next time, I’ll also get his contact info!
――Huh⁉ Even though you went out together, you didn’t exchange SNS DMs or swap chat IDs!?
――Saki might be beyond help now. That senpai is definitely thinking, “That girl doesn’t give me any attention,” and that’s why he stopped coming.
――No! No! I want a chance! I’ll do my best!
――Oh, such an adorable maiden’s heart… Please do your best, Sakurazaki‑san!

Daikichi didn’t have the courage to barge in on the group of girls confidently whispering away in hiding; though he could catch their words, he chose to ignore them.

(Sakurazaki should just not worry about me and focus solely on her own happiness.)

Believing that everything would eventually settle smoothly—and that this was the right course of action—Daikichi thought little of himself. So lost in his own self-doubt that he failed to notice Tsubaki running toward him with her friends.

Just after passing through the school gate, a sudden thump struck his back, startling Daikichi.

“????”
“I got you~! Scrub ♥”

He immediately recognized Tsubaki’s voice. When Daikichi turned around with a grimace of “damn it,” he saw Tsubaki grinning as she clung to his back.