Vol 1 Chapter 8 (2/2)
“W-What are you saying…”
“No, seriously.”
“W-Well? I’m in the top ten in the cla.s.s in penmans.h.i.+p grades, you know?”
She struck her chest and puffed it out in pride.
“Eh, you’re doing penmans.h.i.+p?”
“You don’t?”
“As a cla.s.s? Of course not. That’s only until elementary school.”
“No way! It’s a compulsory subject for ‘etiquette’ cla.s.ses, you know?! It’s normal to take courses on pen and brush writing in middle school!”
Normal, huh? …I see, we’re worlds apart in various ways.
“Well, it is good nonetheless. Honestly, just look at it.”
“…”
After fidgeting around with her lips, Aika pushed her memo onto me with her cheeks blus.h.i.+ng a little.
“Sh-Show me how your writing.”
“Me?”
“That’s right. Show me how commoners write.”
After holding the pen in my hand for a while… I wrote ‘Commoner Visiting!’.
“Uwa, this really sucks!!”
“…(#^ω^)”
“Give it back.”
While giggling, she added ‘Commoners are bad with characters’ underneath my ‘Commoner Visiting!’ in her clean writing.
“What the heck?”
“What?”
Aika put the memo pad away, still giggling.
“Commoners usually use cuneiform, so we’re not used to pens.”
“Huh? There’s no way that’s true……… is it?”
“No, I’m serious.”
“Eh?! So you’re still using clay tablets?!”
“You’re seriously buying it?”
I was shocked.
This person, she really believed everything right away. Rather than pure, she was just too pure…
“That’s the wrong way. Over here.”
“Ah, my bad, Tsunpure-san.”
“Who are you calling Tsunpure-san?!”
But still… every last corner of even the campus is refined, just by walking around here, I feel terribly out of place.
Quite frankly, it’s wearing me out. The ojou-samas and me have just a way too different… feel to us. Of the Ojou-sama’s, as well as this sense that everything is way too different from me… I’m really worried whether I’m really fit for all this.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“Since I’m telling you about commoners, how about you tell me about here?”
“Here?”
“Like, the lifestyle of the students around here… a general overview of it all, if you want.”
“The committee chairman Arisugawa Reiko can tell you all about it.”
“I’m fine with you, though.”
“…?!”
Aika suddenly turned bright red.
“What’s the matter?”
“S-Stop saying strange things!”
“Strange things?”
“Shutup!!”
Why would she get mad at me?
“…So? W-Why me instead of Arisugawa Reiko?”
“Because you’re not lady-like at all.”
That’s right.
“I mean, Arisugawa-san, she’s got that aura of elegance and this loveliness virtually bursting out of her, she seems out of this world, right? It makes me nervous. But then again, you’re far from—”
*SMACK*
“THAT HURT?!”
“YOU STUPID COMMONER! GET LOST!”
“N-No, I can see how it must’ve sounded right now, but it’s really easier to talk with you, so I’m begging you, there’s no one else I could ask.”
“…”
With her arms folded, she thought.
“…I-I understand.”
“Thank you.”
“In exchange, make sure you attend the ‘Commoner Club’, okay?!”
“I know.”
Having suddenly been transferred into this Seikain with no idea on how long I’d possibly be here, I’ve decided on my own special goal.
To try and make this person popular in her cla.s.s.
Well, even if I didn’t get that far, if she’d manage to at least fit into it, that’d be fine.
The point is— if she can get a friend, I’d be at peace of mind.
She’s certainly stubborn about getting a good ‘grip’ on commoner culture, but at least she’s pa.s.sionate about it, so we’ll probably manage somehow…
“I think you’re okay too!”
*Swoosh* Aika pointed at me.
“It’s fine for commoners to not pay attention to what others want, so it’s super easy-going, right?! Lowly ma.s.ses, BANZAI!”
Totally not cute.
The dining hall came into sight.
Numerous young ladies were being escorted by their maids and entering the building, which looked like some top-notch hotel, while they were chatting away friendly. It looked like the start of some royal party.
“Kimito-sama!”
A well-projected voice echoed throughout the hall.
Arisugawa-san appeared from the crowd and raised her hand signalling ‘This way’. She had an outstandingly dazzling and beautiful presence even among the ojou-samas.
She closed up on me with many cla.s.smates following suit.
“Good morning, Kimito-sama.”
“Ah, yeah, morning.”
“I’ve been looking for you this whole time. How fortunate to finally meet you.”
When Arisugawa-san smiled, I seemed to experience an optical illusion with numerous stars exploding all across my vision.
“By all means, let us go eat breakfast together.”
“Aah, sure.”
And then Arisugawa-san’s gaze went behind me.
When I followed it—— Aika had stepped back by far. I hadn’t noticed at all.
Aika-san had casted down her eyes and erased her presence, having completely switched into stealth mode.
“Aika-sama.”
Arisugawa-san called out gently. And then, Aika moved her mouth as if being at her wits’ end, shut her eyes tight, and ran for it like before.
Her maid bowed and chased after her.
Translator notes and references
None.
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