341 Elementary School Homework!? (1/2)
This handsome man with an eyepatch was reading a book on his own. He exuded a bookish beauty that would not be out of place in an anime.
But… the book's cover was actually a beautiful girl in bikini-armor, and the novel had such a name!
It wasn't that Seiji objected to this person reading such a light novel. In fact, Seiji was more than happy to see others reading light novels. It was just that the impression he gave Seiji seemed totally unlike the type that would read such a novel.
Well, at the very least, there was a male supporting character with an eyepatch in this novel as well...
'Eh, why does it feel like I'm getting off track with my comments? Well, forget it. The boy's free to read whatever he likes.'
Seiji walked into the pagoda and sat down opposite the gray-haired boy.
He took out his cell phone and was about to contact the president when his phone started ringing; she had beat him to it.
”What's the matter, Natsuya?”
”Nothing. There's no need to worry. I just wanted to talk to you.”
”A person named Shunsuke Furukawa told me that there's going to be a game of some sort later, but he didn't go into the specifics.”
”I heard about this as well. Let's adapt to the situation. I'll try my best to avoid dueling, but...”
”I understand. I'll be prepared, so there's no need to worry about me,” Seiji said with a chuckle. ”After all, I'm your Spirit-branded Retainer.”
”Yeah...” Natsuya felt a warm feeling in her heart when she heard this.
Their conversation ended on that note.
Seiji looked towards the gray-haired boy seated across from him. He noticed that the boy's brows were furrowed. The boy had a confused expression of ”What the hell is this?” as he continued reading.
”Did you encounter some part that you weren't able to understand?” Seiji asked reflexively.
The gray-haired boy looked in his direction.
”Sorry to distract you. I've read that novel before, so I spoke up when I saw your expression,” Seiji explained. ”If there's any part of this novel that you don't understand, you can ask me.”
The gray-haired boy blinked. ”...Who might you be?”
”Shiroya,” Seiji said.
A moment of silence fell between them.
”Shiroya-san... My name is Ryuuno Izawa. I would like to request your assistance regarding the contents of this page.” The gray-haired boy turned the light novel in his hand to show Seiji the page that he was currently reading.
Seiji felt rather awkward explaining the fantastical events of a light novel to a boy with a serious personality.
According to Izawa, he wasn't reading the book of his own volition—his master had ordered him to do so. As well as reading it, his lady also told him to write a book report of at least five hundred words about it.
A book report on a light novel... As a light novel enthusiast, it was quite a simple task for him. However, it would certainly be a difficult job for a non-enthusiast. It was akin to asking Seiji to write a book report on some great classic.
How could he possibly write a good book report on a book that was so difficult to understand and boring enough to put him to sleep!?
The same could be said when it came to understanding the book. Who would want to understand a book when they didn't even want to read it the first place? Since they gained enjoyment from reading it, how could they be passionate about understanding it?
And this was excluding all the questions about an author's intention. Even the authors themselves were unable to answer some of those questions--the college examinations in his previous life were a great example of this...
Seiji coughed in his mind. 'I'm getting sidetracked.'
”Thank you for your explanation, Shiroya-san,” the boy said solemnly.
”No need to be polite. It was a simple matter.”
'It also helped me pass the time,' Seiji thought to himself.
Suddenly, he saw a figure darting around in the trees outside the pagoda. It was the Spirit-branded Retainer that had been standing on the fake mountain.
He was an energetic little boy with short fiery red hair and a handsome little face. He was wearing a hoodie and sweatpants, and his lips were parted in an innocent grin.
He jumped from tree to tree like a graceful acrobat. While he was in midair, he somersaulted, flipped, and spun. It seemed like he was giving a performance and enjoying it.
Seiji watched the red-haired boy dance through the air, then backflip and land on the ground when he reached the final tree.
The moment the boy landed on the ground, he did a handstand and flew up into the pagoda, landing steadily like a well-trained gymnast.
”Hello, strange onii-chan,” the little red-haired boy called out.
”Hello, strange little boy,” Seiji replied.
”Don't call me little boy—my name is Yuuki Oyokumo!”
”Alright then, Oyokumo-san.”
”Don't call me Oyokumo-san either—that sounds so old!”