The car stopped at the usual roundabout. I was going to get off, but just one thing was different from usual.
“See you, Sakuya.”
“Take care, Sakuya-sama.”
“Yes. I am off.”
I replied to my brother and Momiji. Normally, my brother would get off here too. But this year onwards was different. I was in Touka Academy’s elementary division, so I got off here. But my brother, who was now in the middle school division, would be heading towards the middle school division’s roundabout, which was a little far away from here. We’d still be commuting to school in the same car, but said car would drive to the middle school division after I got off.
I usually said farewell to my brother at the entrance lobby and we went to our own classrooms. However, from today onwards, I was alone from the rotary and headed not towards the first-grade classrooms, but to the second-grade classrooms.
In Touka Academy, you only changed classes three times in six years. Classes were changed in grades one, three, and five, so you had the same classmates for two years each. My second-grade class this year was the same as last year’s. I was together with everyone and in a different class from Enju and Ibuki, so it was the best.
I didn’t know about next year… I had no information on the classes in elementary school in the game “Love Flowers”. Last year, Lady Sakuya and her group were in the same class and they were in different classes than Ibuki and Enju, but I didn’t know about next year and the year after that.
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Gde vbkp osaze oyp iwkvl pkxkzya vs vbl osaze kd vbl tyxl, cwv vblal olal pvkzz xydu ekqqlaldnlp. Tso pkxkzya oyp vbkp vs vbl tyxl yde obknb ryavp nswze cl ekqqlaldv? R oydvle vbyv kdqsaxyvksd. Jwv vblal oyp vss zkvvzl kdqsaxyvksd kd vbl sqqknkyz plvvkdtp yde alpswanlp, ps hlakqknyvksd oyp kxrsppkczl.
“Xb! Jkt Fkpvla Fyjwuy!”
“Qlb!”
Fsxlsdl vbyv zssjle zkjl y tuyaw cakxxkdt okvb ldvbwpkypx ayd wr vs xl. Tl pxkzle yde nbyatle yv xl, vbld pvsrrle yde rwzzle cynj fwpv kd vkxl…
“Tlal!”
Yu lulp srldle okel yde R esetle Fyjway obs oyp nbyatkdt ekalnvzu yv xl. Fyjway, obs zspv bkp vyatlv, oyp pvkzz awddkdt qsaoyae…
“Jwb!”
Tl naypble kdvs vbl oyzz.
“Olé!”
I changed course and stood gorgeously, shouting while clapping my hands to the side of his face. Well, normally I wouldn’t say that—someone else would—but no one else was here so only I could say it.
Sakura, who crashed into the wall, had fallen to the floor and was swaying, so I left him alone. I didn’t get any joy or interest from hugging guys. No matter how many feminine clothes he wore, he was a guy dressing as a girl, so he was still a guy. If it were Azami-chan or Satsuki-chan, I might actually go up to them and hug them, but I would refuse if it was Sakura, Ibuki, or Enju.
Anyway, Sakura hadn’t come back to life yet yet as I was heading to the grade 2 classrooms, so I made it to the classroom safely.
“Greetings, everyone.”
“Greetings, Sakuya-chan.”
The usual people who arrived early were all here. The other girls who weren’t part of Lady Sakuya’s group replied to me too. As expected, they had opened up quite a lot after the poster. I felt like I realised just how important image was.
I talked a little to Satsuki-chan, then headed to my seat. The seating chart was already posted. At the beginning of the year it was sorted by class number, so it was easy to understand. My class was the same, so my class number would be the same too.
After I headed to my seat and waited, the other students slowly started coming in. I had met Azami-chan and Satsuki-chan at the salon earlier, but it was my first time meeting everyone else after we’d become first-graders. Everyone was having excited conversations here and there.
“Morning!”
“Azami-chan, morning!”
“Azami-sama, good morning.”
“Greetings, Azami-sama.”
The popular Azami-chan came and energetically greeted everyone. A lot of the class also replied to her. As expected, Azami-chan was still popular even as a second-grader.
No… wait?
If I had also come to school at a later time like she did when everyone was in the classroom, would everyone greet me too? Should I… test it out?
…let’s stop. If fewer people replied to me, then I wouldn’t be able to make any excuses. The excuse that I arrived early when no one was there, so I’d get less replies, was…
My popularity with the class was vastly different from Azami-chan’s. I knew that. That was why it was safer to stop comparing myself to Azami-chan.
“Good morning, Sakuya-sama!”
“Greetings, Azami-chan.”
Nothing had changed even though we had become second-graders. This was the usual morning scene. The only difference was that everyone was a little excited today. The class hadn’t even changed, so maybe this was how second grade would be.
～～～～～～～
We listened to a long talk at the commencement ceremony, and normal lessons started after that. We were at the cafeteria like usual during lunch.
“Oh! Big Sister Sakuya!”
“Sakura…”
Why was I meeting this guy everywhere I went…was he lying in wait to ambush me?
“Big Sister Sakuya, are you going to the cafeteria as well? May I come with you?”
As expected, he didn’t charge at me this time, but instead ran up to me, circled the people surrounding me, and asked that. Since we were all walking that way, there was nowhere else we’d be going but the cafeteria…
“Sakura… make friends in your own grade and invite them instead. Right now, you are of another grade level, nor are you someone who I would trust to be involved in my personal life.”
Well, even though I mentioned my personal life, we were second cousins, but I hadn’t remembered meeting or playing with him. But he still came to me, so maybe he was alone?
Sakura was that type of person, so he may have been getting bullied. But that didn’t mean he could rely on and hide behind me because I was his relative. If he didn’t open up by himself and make friends, then…
“Oh! Sakura-chan!”
“Let’s have lunch together?”
“Aww! I wanted to invite you too, though~!”
Huh? Huh? What was this?
“Everyone, calm down! Let’s all eat together? I am sorry, Big Sister Sakuya! I am afraid that I will inconvenience you with the large number of people, so I will invite you again later!”
Sakura said that and was then surrounded by first grade girls and taken away. It was quite the large number…
That was… no matter how you looked at it, he had more friends that me… and they were all girls…
Why? Why was this…? That guy was popular? He was a cross-dressing guy, you know? But then, why was he still so popular with the girls? And only cute girls were waiting on him! I couldn’t forgive this! I was getting more and more annoyed!
“Sakuya-chan… what was that now~?”
I could understand Yuzuriha-chan’s feelings… That weird cross-dresser came suddenly like a storm, then brought along a storm and left… I could understand Yuzuriha-chan’s confusion well…
“Oh… that was Nijou Sakura… my “second cousin”… by the way, he is cross-dressing, so he is actually a guy. Please be careful not to misunderstand…”
There were those who probably already met him at a party, but I gave a quick introduction and supplementary information. If their eyes deceived them and they thought he was a girl, that’d be a problem. I had to protect everyone’s chastity!
“Huh! He’s a guy? That’s surprising!”
Yeah… that was how someone would normally react. It looked like Yuzuriha-chan hadn’t met Sakura yet. It was a good thing I said it.
“Everyone, please be careful and ensure he is not peeking at you changing or in the bathtub…”
Putting changing aside, I thought being watched in the bathtub was pretty rare, but… I had to say that to warn everyone to be careful. If he saw everyone changing and in the n*de, that’d be a problem.
We ended up having lunch in the cafeteria in the end and talking about Sakura. I only felt a little, no, very uncomfortable that we were just talking about Sakura, but… I made sure to alert everyone and answer properly.
～～～～～～～
After school, the three of us headed to the salon as usual.
“Greetings.”
I greeted everyone as usual and entered, then sat in my usual reserved seat. But the person who usually sat in front of me didn’t come. I was a little lonely, but I probably couldn’t rely on Kaya-san forever. I was already in second grade. People would be graduating every year, and new people would enter.
Meetings and farewells were an indispensable part of life, so I couldn’t just be sad about the farewells. New first graders would be coming here today. I had to be the older one to the first graders and welcome the new kids. As I was thinking that…
Bang!
The door opened with that loud sound. As I thought that this year’s first graders were quite enthusiastic, I checked who was there and…
“I am sorry! I am late!”
“Kaya-san?”
Kaya-san, out of breath, noisily entered the salon and sat in front of me. She made the usual drinks as normal.
Huh? Hadn’t Kaya-san already graduated~?
“Um… Kaya-san?”
“Greetings, Sakuya-chan! Look? How is it? This uniform?”
When I called her name, Kaya-san, who just sat down, stood up again, held the hem of her skirt upwards and spun. It was a different uniform than the ones we were wearing. It was the middle school division’s uniform.
“It is very quite. I would like to hurry and wear it as well.”
The design was quite cute. It still had the old-fashioned good points typical of Touka Academy, but had a new design implemented, which made a cure uniform. Azami-chan and Satsuki-chan would definitely look good wearing it. The design was completely different from the high school uniform designs in the game, so the elementary, middle, and high school divisions each had their own distinct uniform.
“Thanks! I think it will suit you, Sakuya-chan! No! It will definitely suit you, so! Won’t you enter the middle school division now? Okay? Please be in the same class as your big sister!”
“No… um…”
I was troubled with the optimistic as usual Kaya-san. I wouldn’t be able to go through elementary school studies now, but because there was no way to skip grades or transfer to another school, I couldn’t do that. I could take the university entrance exam and high school equivalent exam to skip straight to university, but there was no system to skip middle school and high school, so I couldn’t do anything about that.
“It’s okay… It’s okay… Big sis is saying something impossible… She’ll just have to content herself with going to the salon every day!”
“Huh!? Are you perhaps planning to come every day!?”
I spoke loudly due to my surprise. In no time at all, Azami-chan and Satsuki-chan came over here.
“Oogimachisanjou Kaya-sama… perhaps you should go to a place that is suited for one at your grade level?”
“Precisely. Despite entering the middle school division, you are planning to come to the elementary school division’s salon everyday… do you not have friends in your own grade level?”
The both of them said that, but it was a complete waste of effort. No matter how hard they pushed, it was ineffective.
“There is no rule that states that graduated students cannot go to the elemtary division’s salon. I do not have friends in the first place. I have manservants, but I do not have friends.”
Woah… she called her own classmates manservants… Kaya-san was a scary person like I thought, right…?
We—no, Kaya-san, Azami-chan, and Satsuki-chan—had those sparks flying between them as the salon door opened once again.
“E-Excuse m… agh!”
“Aah?”
Small children l hesitantly entered the salon. Then the three of them glared at them and they backed off fearfully. What were those three doing…
“You all, there is no need to worry. Enter and welcome.”
“Y-Yes! Excuse me!”
I called out to them and the seriously nervous kids entered, walking in the exact same way. They were completely tense. It was so cute… Were we being thought of like that when we first entered the salon? Everyone was nervous. All the upperclassmen must’ve thought that way when they saw those kids.
“Sorry! I’m late! I couldn’t get away from the girls! Sorry!”
“Sakura…”
After them, Sakura loudly came in with the same expression as usual. This guy wasn’t nervous at all. From when I first met him at the entrance ceremony, he was too unreserved. He was insensitive, shameless, and not the slightest bit cute.
I absolutely… I absolutely wasn’t annoyed that he was being pampered by the girls and said he was late because of that, you know? I wasn’t lying, you know?
“Sakura… you are too ill-mannered and insensitive. It does not matter if you are a guy, girl, or cross-dressing; you must keep yourself in check.”
“Yes! Big Sister Sakuya.”
He raised his hand and enthusiastically replied, but… did this guy really understand? He may have just obediently said that, but wouldn’t fix anything…
Too many men and women here had outlandish personalities, and too many people wouldn’t listen to what others were saying. If I, the only person with common sense, didn’t pull myself together, the Five Norths Association might just become a gathering of p*rverts…
Well she’s also included in the people who don’t have common sense.
Thanks for the awesome translation Mochiii!!