Volume 2 - CH 7

“Hmmm. Have I met Himiyama-san in the past, after all?”

Himiyama-san, the hyperinflationary sister of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is a very likable person, but it seems certain that I have met her in the past.

She fled for her life from the Peach State, but nearly ascended to heaven.

It’s acceptable to call a complete stranger ‘mom’ only if you are their elementary school teacher or you’re engaging in a ‘mommy activity’.”

What is a fake mom-like existence? It may remind one of Gnosticism like the Yaldabaoth, but Himiyama-san may have a little too much motherhood in her.

Please take care of yourself. I can’t take it anymore.

She asked me about the past, but I couldn’t bear to look at her because she seemed so bitter.

I wondered if it was okay to remain oblivious and unaware.

All the things I can’t remember keep piling up. I am confident in my memory, but on the other hand, I don’t remember much of the past.

It was routine for me to immediately delete memories that were not good enough.

I started to unravel the past by searching for the answers in the forgotten past.

“…… not much.”

I went home and flipped through the albums in my room. Although photographs have been digitized, leaving them in an album like this is still very important.

After all, what will remain for posterity is not electronic data but a stone tablet. Information resides on the ground, not in the cloud.

My mom was beautiful when she was young. …… Oh, that’s a picture of my sister when she was born!

Birth of Yuuri Kokonoe! Divine! A halo of light shines out of her.

I retrace my family’s steps from the very beginning. They must have taken a lot of pictures back then, because there are many. After I was born, the number of photos gradually decreased. I guess I was not interested at all.

“….That is me?”

A zero year old who looked like me was crying. A one-year-old who looks like me is laughing.

A two-year-old who looks like me is angry. A three-year-old who looks like me is—

“Wait a minute. Come to think of it, this time of year, I’m sure I—“.

Before I knew it, there I was, with a blank expression on my face. The number of photos is almost nonexistent by this time, and rather than a family photo, there are just a bunch of photos of me alone. I know, I know. I don’t want to be in the frame with them. I was left alone in the album.

I desperately look back at the past, scratching up bits and pieces of memories I had forgotten.

Remember! How did this happen, when did I go wrong?

There was no place for me, no one had abandoned me, no, that’s not it.

There must have been someone who reached out to me, someone who saved me.

“Do you have a minute?”

Mom enters the room with a knock at the door. She was dressed more formally than usual, as if she had been out. She was dressed more formally than usual, like an adult woman.

“What’s wrong? Looking at the album. Is there something on your mind?”

“Nothing. More importantly, what is it?”

Mom’s face looked downcast for a moment, and then she quietly opened her mouth.

“……I’m sorry. I don’t doubt you. I just complained to the school. I will fight them tooth and nail if I have to. But if you don’t like the school, you can quit. You can transfer to another school.”

“Seriously?”

“I was going to tell you after I made it official, but down the road I’m thinking of going independent. I would be happy if you could help me anytime I’m in need of help with my work. So Yukito, you can do whatever you want”

Mom sits down next to me and gently places her hand on my knee.

“What do you want to do in the future?”

“I want to grow honey mandarins on a remote island…”

“Honey mandarins?”

It’s a delightful choice. I should have answered without hesitation, but I’m confused.

In any case, I was thinking of dropping out of school. It would be reassuring if she could support me.

Even Hinagi and the others wouldn’t really follow me to the point of dropping out of school. Their parents wouldn’t allow it. I’m different from them in every way. But…

“I wish we could live together as a family a little longer…”

I feel a little disappointed. After all, my mother’s words and actions don’t match.

My room is getting more and more of my mother’s and sister’s personal belongings. It’s going to gradually turn it into a storage space. I’m under ground pressure to get the hell out of here.

I guess I’ll have to live alone if I change schools. Well, that’s a no-brainer. In any case, the fact that she is urging me to do so suggests that she is dissatisfied with the situation we are living together. It can’t be helped.

She says she needs me, but her actions are denying it.

Little by little, I am losing my place at home, and I am about to be kicked out of school.

I should have seen that day coming all along. No shock.

Haha, I see. So it’s my last supper, huh?

Well, that explains why Mom has been acting so strange lately!

She’s having mercy on me by being nice to me one last time in anticipation of me being gone.

Motherhood, in other words, has a divinity like Sophia’s in Ione.

“Ho? What’s wrong?”

Tears in the Holy Mother’s eyes as well. I hurriedly wiped them with a nearby handkerchief.

“Because I can’t believe you said what you wanted to ……”

“Huh? Is it that strange?”

Little by little, something was leaking out. I didn’t even notice it myself.

“I’ll do my best to be recognized as a mother, so please. Don’t go anywhere! Not to the islands, not to her. Because you are my precious–“

Gently, she holds my head. Is it really that rare for me to express my hopes out loud?

I couldn’t hide my confusion, like a natural disaster had occurred, but her warmth and thoughts taught me that everything I had been thinking until now was nothing but fiction.

A distorted cognition of my thoughts. It’s about time I learned the answer to that paradox.

A large crowd of students, both boys and girls of all grades, had gathered in front of the broadcast room.

“Thanks for your help, Sakki!”

It’s okay, Shiori. ……, This time, do it right this time.”

Lunchtime broadcasts in the school. It was the day that Hasumura of the Broadcasting Club was in charge of the broadcast, but Kamishiro had asked her to take charge of the broadcast. The student council was going to have a slot for the announcement anyway, but the fact that it went so smoothly was a relief to Hinagi Suzurikawa.

“Are you sure about this, Suzurikawa? And Sato. I know this will be a painful confession for you guys.””

“I don’t care. I’m not the one suffering or going through the pain.”

“It’s all right. I’m the one who made a fool of myself.”

“But are you okay with that?”

Yuri sternly asks Kedou a question.

It wasn’t something to hide from the start,” he said. This is a warning. I would like to kill myself if I were to be so cowardly as to expose my own shame at this stage.

“Mutsuki-chan …… sorry.

“It’s not because of Yuumi. And look at me. Unlike me, you are not a fake student body president. This is what real popularity and virtue are all about.”

In just a few short months, Kedou was amazed at how many people had come into contact with Yukito. And all of them are here to help him.

Some are acquainted, some are not. None of them are friends with each other.

And yet, all of them had one thing in common.

“Stop belittling yourself. You will make that child sad.”

“I’m sorry, Yuuri.”

Kedou bowed his head at Yuuri’s reprimand. Yes, that’s the kind of person she is.

“It was Yukito-kun who saved me from that hell. My father was so angry that he was about to go and beat me to a pulp. Well, I won’t stop him.”

Seido Mikuriya gives a troubled smile. The reason why he is able to smile like this now is because of Yukito. That’s why he can’t forgive this unreasonableness.

“Renji, I’ll definitely help you. Okay?”

“You’ve given me plenty to worry about with Reika. This time it’s my turn, right?”

The desperate Suo was no longer there. The two of them are connected by way of chain of command.

“I’ve always owed Yukito a lot of favors. Besides, the basketball team is now in a state of limbo without him.”

“Toshiro, aren’t you too pathetic?”

What is Yukito doing now, anyway? I’ve been trying to reach him, but no luck. I guess he’s doing whatever he wants to do.

“You don’t have to worry about Yuki. Because it’s Yuki.”

The broadcast room was overflowing with people, too many to fit in. This was all because of Yukito.

This made Kamishiro proud. She was glad that he was the one she was going to fall in love with, and with that thought in mind, she renewed her resolve.

“Um… May I join you? You see, as a goddess, I can’t overlook the fact that my adorable, adorable believer is in trouble——hahahaha …..ha?”

The unexpected person causes a bustle of noise.

She is famous among the second-year students.

The atmosphere has recently softened to a different level.

“Moooooooouuu! After all, it’s not funny at all!”

“Thank you very much!”

While Soma was holding her head in her hands, Suzurikawa bowed her head. Suzurikawa was surprised.

She thought she knew everything about Yukito. But that was only a haughty treat.

A myriad of connections that she is unaware of. It is a great force that is trying to save him.

Have a broad perspective. Suzurikawa realized the true meaning of these words.

She had been looking only at Yukito. She had been living in such a small world, just the two of them.

But that was not enough. That is why she made a mistake. So the only person who could help her was Yukito.

From now on, the real high school life will begin, Suzurikawa thought.

The daily life he gave her. Such a gentle world full of possibilities that she taught her.

Now, let’s begin. And let’s end it.

To be able to spend time together again with the man who came back to her.

“Is this okay with you, …… Yukito?”

“Make them stop now!”

The staff room was in an uproar. The truth, revealed one after another over the school broadcast, permeates the school with an undeniable reality.

One first-year student is told by the mouths of various students in turn.

He has been suspended and does not come to school anymore.

Why was he slandered, and why was he forced to do so? Suzurikawa, the victim, and Seidou, the perpetrator. What they both say is that they are grateful.

Why did they get good grades in Class B? Why and how did the basketball club, which is now one of the most enthusiastic sports clubs, devote itself to club activities, why and how? The background revealed nakedly is as painful to listen to as if solving a mystery.

The fact that Kedou, the student council president, almost caused a false accusation of molestation and arranged for those who misunderstood his actions to be expelled from the school is also exposed.

Sanjoji stopped her colleague, who was rushing to stop Kedou at the principal’s request.

“There is no need for that.”

“What are you talking about, Sanjoji-sensei! If you continue like this–“

“What are you saying, Principal? The students are not violating any school rules. It’s just a school announcement. What in the world could stop them? We don’t follow the rules, but the students do. Do you think that’s acceptable?”

“Now is not the time to be talking about such beautiful things!”

The teachers, who had been secretly rejoicing at the pressure from Tojo, were now exhausted from dealing with the daily complaints from parents and the vehement opposition from the students. Then came this revelation.

It was now difficult for them to even speak out against Yukito Kokonoe .

“It seems the rotten apples were us. And if we force them to stop, they might send the next message outside the school.”

The method has already been shown by Yukito Kokonoe. All that remains is to follow suit. Next time it might become a big problem. If that happens, the damage to the school will be enormous.

It has already gone beyond the stage where it can be done peacefully. Control is impossible.

Fujishiro regretted that she had allowed her students to do such a thing.

It was the role of adults to contain the situation before it reached this point of decisive collapse. Nevertheless, they put the blame on the students and even try to suppress it.

This is the opposite of the kind of teacher Fujishiro should be aiming for, and it is unacceptable.

(……point of no return)

No one knows what will happen next. Fujishiro just went with the flow, chuckling inwardly.