Chapter 41: Consultation

Today after school, Azami-chan and Satsuki-chan took me to the Five Norths Association salon. I was used to lounging around with that group now, and the people who’d secretly whispered at first hadn’t said anything recently.

Well, maybe they just didn’t say anything where I could hear. Or maybe they hadn’t changed their minds but couldn’t repeat the same drama over and over again, so they stopped mentioning the subject. If you said the same things to the same person at the same time you met them every day, they’d think you were someone who could only talk about one thing.

Conversation would start up again if anything new happened, but the three of us heading to the salon weren’t new at all. People were curious at first, and some had speculated that I’d threatened the both of them, but the topic had passed the 10-day period and they’d grown tired of it.

“The rumours about you have calmed down quite a lot, Sakuya-chan.”

“Hmm… that’s true.”

Azami-chan agreed. It was true that the rumours had died down compared to before. But they weren’t completely dispelled, and they’d start up again when something else happened. I guess the message wouldn’t really get across if we weren’t friendly or in direct contact with each other…

But it was unrealistic to know and become friends with every first- to sixth-grader in Touka Academy… As I thought about that, I opened the salon door.

“Greetings, everyone.”

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“Qallvkdtp.”

“Tlzzs.”

R ldvlale vbl pyzsd yde Ggyxk-nbyd yde Fyvpwjk-nbyd qszzsole yqvla. Mblu olal oyzjkdt vs xu zlqv yde aktbv, fwpv pzktbvzu clbkde xl. …R fwpv vbswtbv sq vbkp, cwv obu oyp R yzoyup vbl sdl srldkdt vbl essa yde ldvlakdt qkapv? R eked’v alxlxcla Ggyxk-nbyd sa Fyvpwjk-nbyd eskdt vbyv.

Yyucl vblu vbswtbv sq xl yp psxl alvkall obs dllele vos yvvldeydvp? Elzz, R eked’v alyzzu xkde, cwv… Gzps, xyucl vblu vbswtbv vbyv R oyp kxrsavydv ldswtb vs cl yvvldele cu vos rlsrzl? R eked’v vbkdj vbyv oyp tsse, cwv…

“Qallvkdtp, Fyjwuy-nbyd.”

“Iyuy-pyd, tallvkdtp.”

El ldvlale vbl pyzsd kd y zkvvzl taswr yde Iyuy-pyd oldv vs tallv wp. Mbl Wkhl Lsavbp Gppsnkyvksd xlxclap bye srldle wr vs xl iwkvl y ckv, cwv R oyp qakldezklpv okvb Iyuy-pyd. R xyel vly yde pyv kd xu elpktdyvle plyv, cwv Iyuy-pyd pyv kd vbl plyv kd qasdv sq xl. El eked’v alyzzu byhl ydu cwpkdlpp okvb lynb svbla, cwv pbl jlrv sd pkvvkdt okvb xl zyvlzu qsa psxl alypsd.

Ggyxk-nbyd yde Fyvpwjk-nbyd olal pwaaswdele cu vblka qynvksdp yde xsdauww sdnl vblu’e ldvlale vbl pyzsd. Ohld kq vblu olal vs nsxl vs xl, vblu’e byhl vs oykv wdvkz vbl nasoe nyzxle esod. Ggyxk-nbyd bye xldvksdle bla ekppyvkpqynvksd, cwv pbl nswzed’v ktdsal bla qynvksd yde xsdauww. El olal yzoyup vstlvbla kd vbl nzyppassx yde yv zwdnb, ps sdnl R’e rlapwyele bla vbyv kv oyp sjyu qsa wp vs cl plryayvle qsa y obkzl yv vbl pyzsd, pbl alzwnvydvzu tyhl kd.

“Oh… speaking of. Kaya-san.”

“Hm? What is it?”

Since Azami-chan and Satsuki-chan weren’t here but Kaya-san was, this was a good chance. Let’s try asking her about my previous doubts.

“Actually… I want you to keep this a secret, but…”

“Mhm.”

I lowered my voice and moved closer to her. Kaya-san then leaned forward slightly and lowered her voice too. She was pretty good at following along… She felt more like a normal older sister than a lady coming from a good family. Well, reality was like that. A rich maiden wouldn’t be going “O~hohohoho!” all the time, no matter how good of a place she grew up in.

Moving that aside, let’s ask her what I wanted to ask. Kaya-san must be able to give some good advice.

“Actually… my friends are coming over to my house to play, however… What games do first-graders coming from good families play?”

“…”

“…”

Kaya-san made a weird face and stopped, so I returned Kaya-san’s stare. What on earth had happened?

“*sigh*~… Oh, I see… You’re that type of kid, Sakuya-chan… the past me was so stupid to think that this natural¹ The specific word used here is 天然 (tennen). The dictionary definition is ‘natural’, but it can also be short for ‘natural airhead’ (天然ボケ (tennen boke)). Kaya-san’s using it to mean natural airhead, while Sakuya interprets it as just ‘natural’. would be planning anything…”

“Um…?”

Kaya-san placed her hand on her forehead, let out a huge sigh, and shook her head. What did she mean, “natural” and “planning”?

“I have not played with friends, so I do not know how to receive them, nor what to play. I am asking you seriously, yes?”

“Hmm… I get it, so… I get that you’re a natural, Sakuya-chan, so…”

What did she mean… I knew that she was saying something rude, but how was I a natural?

Well… I didn’t get any plastic surgery, so she must be talking about natural things. I wasn’t cultivated, so… wait! But since I was genderswapped and reincarnated, wasn’t I technically a cultivated good? Well, I guess… That was true. I wasn’t natural, but instead a cultivated good? What was Kaya-san thinking when she said I was natural?

Anyhow, I’d keep the fact that I was a cultivated good a secret. No one knew, so it couldn’t be helped that Kaya-san made that misunderstanding. I wouldn’t say “I am a cultivated good” out loud after all.

“If you’re thinking about what to play… perhaps you could play as you usually do?”

Oh? She gave me a serious answer. I was wondering what I’d do if she wouldn’t give me an answer, but she did put some thought behind it.

“Even though you say that… I normally play… actually, I do not normally…”

Yes, I normally didn’t play at all. I didn’t have any time to. Even if I had played something, it wouldn’t be helpful. I wanted to know what first-graders from good families would want to play, not what a genderswapped reincarnated formerly male adult would play. That wouldn’t be any help.

“You’ve never done that? What about appreciating a movie, going to the theatre, or listening to music? There must be something, yes?”

“Hmm…”

Did that really count as play? I was imagining things like playing house or playing with dolls, but…

“It’ll be fine if it’s your hobbies or interests, Sakuya-chan. It’s okay as long as you can share something with your friends. You don’t have to think too hard.”

I did understand what Kaya-san was saying. No, it was plenty strange though, you know? I thought that the stuff she was mentioning weren’t things first-graders would play, but I did understand what she was saying.

It was definitely good to do your hobbies and interests with the other person in a relationship between adults. It was enough to go to a movie you wanted to watch, see a play, or listen to music.

But would first-grade ladies really be okay with that? I thought of those activities as adult things. Kids would normally head to the park together and play tag… or not… Touka Academy kids were so mature that you couldn’t think of them as kids…

But even though I was saying that, I didn’t have any hobbies or interests. I went to school every day, stopped by the Five Norths Association after school, and went to my lessons. At night, I studied and slept. During rest days like Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, I just went to lessons. I didn’t use my time for anything else.

Thinking about it, that was a lifestyle unthinkable for an elementary schooler… in my past life, I would’ve gone outside in lower elementary and played with my friends. That time would lessen when I grew older and the time I spent in cram school or at home tutoring would increase, but…

“Hmm…”

It was pointless… I couldn’t think of anything. What should I do?

“What would you do, Kaya-san?”

“Me? I would invite my friends to watch something, then go out to eat with them or go shopping…”

That was relatively normal. There was a possibility that she didn’t mean watching just a movie, but… girls definitely liked food and going shopping. I had the image that most girls, regardless of age and family, liked those things.

But would a first-grader find that fun? I couldn’t get rid of that question. I’d seen some mature highschool girls going shopping, but would first-graders really find shopping fun?

They were definitely different from the sixth-grade Kaya-san. I would consider her opinion, but I couldn’t imitate her actions. I wasn’t interested in movies or plays in the first place. It’d be strange for me to invite people when I didn’t even understand what I’d seen and watched. If I was the person to suggest it but didn’t understand a word, I’d be embarrassed when we discussed the movie or play after watching and listening. 

“Sakuya-sama! I’ll join the conversation too.”

“Azami-chan.”

Azami-chan came over; maybe she’d finished talking with the people of her monryuu. I nodded as Kaya-san glanced at me. She was probably asking if she should keep the contents of our previous conversation secret. So I nodded to say not to tell Azami-chan.

Kaya-san was a sixth-grader, so I knew she was good at reading the room. If Azami-chan was unrelated, she knew I’d talk to her and Satsuki-chan first. I was friendly with Azami-chan and Satsuki-chan and we were all in the same year, so I’d tell them first if I had something to ask Kaya-san.

The fact that I hadn’t asked Azami-chan or Satsuki-chan meant that they were related to the matter. I had asked her to keep it a secret, so Kaya-sam kept silent. Afterwards, like what I’d planned or hoped for, Kaya-san didn’t touch on the previous matter and talked to Azami-chan.

　　～～～～～～～

When I got out of school on that day, I stopped by the Hundred Earth style dojo and lowered my head towards Master.

“Master! Please give me a break on the Thursday the week after next!”

“Hmph… your reason why?”

I lowered my head, asking him, and Master asked me for my reason. Of course he would. If Master were to give permission, he’d have to hear why first. Well, I was coming here to learn, so if I asked for a break since the class inconvenienced me, a teacher would normally stay silent and just give it to me, but… anyway, if I didn’t explain, Master wouldn’t agree.

“Yes… actually, my friends are paying a visit to my house on that day.”

“I see… I will allow it.”

“What!?”

Seriously!? I didn’t think that Master would agree so easily. I was his student, so I did think that he would give me a break if I told him that taking the lesson would inconvenience me since people were paying a visit to my house, but… I didn’t think that Master would agree so readily.

“Why’re you so surprised… Did you think that I wouldn’t permit it?”

“Uh… no… I wouldn’t…”

I did… but I wouldn’t say that. If I did, the aftermath would be scary.

“Hmph… it is alright. I’m aware that the upper-class have unavoidable responsibilities. More importantly…”

It was here! It was definitely another condition, right? Or maybe he’d run me into the ground during practice the day before?

“Who is being invited? Why are they paying a visit? What are they doing when they come?”

“Uh… well, that’s…”

Did I have to say something so private? I didn’t really have to hide it, but maybe he’d get mad if I told him I was skipping practice just to play… Well, I had to be honest!

And so, I’d explained to him that Azami-chan’s group was coming. As for when he asked why, I told him that they were coming to play, but I couldn’t answer when he asked what we were going to do. But I myself didn’t know what to do, so… I was honest about that, and Master shut his eyes and listened. 

“Hmm… then, what about holding a tea ceremony to entertain those kids? You’ll have enough time once school ends, right? A tea ceremony should be quite good.”

“Huh!?”

Holding a tea ceremony with first-graders…? That was pointless, right…

Of course I couldn’t entertain first-graders with a tea ceremony or flower arranging. In the first place, could they drink tea? Maybe it wasn’t suited to kids’ palettes, but…

“It is good to conduct activities outside. It is also good to invite others to a tearoom. It is also good to arrange flowers. What do you think? It is quite good, correct?”

“Umm… I cannot decide that on my own, so I shall ask the others for their opinions and then decide…”

If I said something too bad, Master would push me away. He’d probably make me go with what he said if I was alone. But, if I brought up the others, then even Master couldn’t say anything. Anyhow, he said that it was important to think about entertaining the others even during the tea ceremony. If I pushed forward with the tea ceremony and ignored the others, it couldn’t be called “entertaining” anymore.

And so Master somehow happily gave his opinions on this and that. The whole time I was training, he kept asking me different questions, but I had somehow managed to avoid all of them.