Let's Try Going to School

The morning after the entrance ceremony, I was wrestling with a dilemma after finishing breakfast.

It was whether or not to go to school. As a boy, I only needed to attend certain classes, but there was no rule against me being there during regular classes either, and I wanted to see Arisa too.

Come to think of it, I felt like I'd heard that actively attending on days without my required classes would add bonus points to my Boys-and-Girls Exchange grade, up to a cap.

Alright, let's try going to school today.

I went back to my room, put on the uniform hanging from its hanger, and got ready. The dress shirt had been ironed crisp, with a sharp finish.

Today, instead of tying my tie myself, I'd ask one of the maids. With that in mind, I put on the dress shirt and headed to the living area carrying my jacket rather than wearing it. Just then, Miki-san's black ponytail came swaying into view. Her hair was so glossy and smooth that I couldn't help thinking I'd love to touch it someday.

"Miki-san, could you tie my tie for me?"

"Y-yes! Of course!"

Cheeks reddening, Miki-san came up close beside me and tied my tie. We were close enough that I could hear every small breath she took, and she smelled nice too. Miki-san was taller than me, so I'd thought tying it might be awkward for her, but she did it deftly.

"There… all done… ah."

"Th-thank you very much…"

My eyes met Miki-san's. From having my tie tied a moment ago, we were close enough to almost kiss, and both of us went red in the face. As we froze staring at each other, Moka-san's voice reached us.

"Oh my～! Miki-chan, I'm so jealous ♡ Getting to tie Shouya-sama's tie for him ♡ Yui-chan would be jealous too if she heard ♡ But Shouya-sama, isn't school off for you today?"

"Ah, now that you mention it…"

It looked like Miki-san hadn't realized I was heading to school on a non-attendance day. I'd assumed she'd been helping me get ready knowing full well.

"My, my, Miki-chan, were you so happy to be relied on by Shouya-sama that you forgot? ♡"

"Th-that's! That's not it…!"

With me right in front of her, Miki-san couldn't deny it strongly, and instead she turned bright red. Which was basically the same as agreeing.

Miki-san really wears whatever she's thinking on her face. Or rather, she's shy. Her face goes red so quickly. It's adorable.

"Huh? Shouya, why are you in uniform? There's no school today, right?"

"My, my, Shouya, are you half-asleep?"

Kaede and Masami-onee-chan, finished getting ready, had also come into the living area and were looking at me in uniform curiously.

"I thought I'd go to school today… I want to see Arisa, and I heard it's good for my grade too…"

"But it's still only April, you don't have to worry about grades yet, right? And even if your Boys-and-Girls Exchange grade is bad, I've never heard of a boy going to school on a day with no boys-only classes."

"Come on, Onee-chan! I'll be right beside him, so if Shouya looks tired I'll let him rest right away, and I think Arisa would be happy too!"

"Hmm… all right… Shouya, no overdoing it, okay? Can you promise?"

"Yeah, I promise."

Onee-chan held out her left pinky to me, so I hooked mine into it. A pinky promise.

"Mm-hmm, Mom is worried about Taku-chan overdoing it too, but I'll trust Taku-chan."

Before I'd noticed, Mom had also changed into a suit and come into the living area. She laid her hand over the top of our pinky promise.

"Taku-chan wanting to see Arisa-chan is wonderful ♡ Just like that, keep making the girls around you happy ♡ But like Mii-chan said, you don't need to worry about grades."

"Mm, got it."

When I nodded, Mom nodded back, looking satisfied.

"All right, Shouya, let's head to school!"

Pulled along by Kaede's hand, I said my 'we're heading out' to everyone and climbed into the car. Today's driver was Mei-san, and she also found it strange that I was going to school, but once I explained the situation, she praised me the same way Mom had.

 

*

 

side: Protagonist

"G-good morning…"

I slid the classroom door open and gave my greeting. Honestly, I'd wanted to slip in quietly behind Kaede, but she said 'I think everyone would be happy if Shouya said good morning to them!' so I opened the door myself and called out my good morning.

"Good morning, Izumi-kun."

"Mornin'."

"Good morning."

"Good morning!"

Although everyone was a little surprised that I was there, they returned my greeting, and it made me happy.

"Good morning, Izumi-kun, and Kaede-chan too."

"Good morning, Yuika-chan."

"Good morning, Miyamoto-san."

As I set my bag on my desk, Miyamoto-san came over. She had to be wondering why I'd come to school.

"Izumi-kun, there's no boys' class today, what brings you here?"

"Um…"

What should I do… saying 'because I wanted to see Arisa' in front of Miyamoto-san was too embarrassing. But saying it was for my grade felt a little unnatural too…

"It's because, Yuika-chan… ah, speak of the devil…"

Just as Kaede was about to speak, the sound of the door opening cut her off, and when I turned to look, Arisa had just arrived in the classroom.

"Huh? Why is Shouya here?"

The moment she spotted me, Arisa rushed over in surprise, her opening line a question about why I was there.

"Um, it's because… I-I wanted to see you, Arisa…"

It was already an embarrassing line to begin with, and saying it in front of Miyamoto-san was so embarrassing I thought my face might catch fire. And Arisa wasn't saying anything back, just frozen in place.

"A-Arisa…?"

"Shouya! I'm so happy!"

Arisa dropped her bag where she stood and pounced on me as I sat. Her busty chest hit me right in the face, and the softness and lovely scent crashed over me. It was hard to breathe, but I was glad she was happy. Of course, I was happy to see her too.

Because Arisa was showing her happiness at full force, my embarrassment got blown clean away.

"Hold on, Arisa-chan, Izumi-kun can't breathe…"

"Ah, sorry Shouya, I got carried away…"

Miyamoto-san peeled Arisa off me, and fresh classroom air found its way back into my lungs.

"I'm fine…"

"Still, you two really are close."

Miyamoto-san watched our exchange and spoke with what sounded like admiration.

"For a guy to say he wants to see a girl… I've never heard of that."

It was true, the men of this world had no interest in women whatsoever… in that sense, I really was a strange man. But strange or not, the Arisa in front of me was this happy about it.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't mean strange in a bad way, I mean, um… I think it's wonderful… and I'm jealous…"

I couldn't quite catch what came after 'I think it's wonderful,' but at least it was good that she didn't think I was weird.

"That's right! Shouya is a super wonderful boy! So have confidence!"

Kaede piled on after Miyamoto-san to encourage me. It was hard to be confident about being different from other people, but if it meant Kaede and Arisa would be happy, I felt I could stay like this.

"Oh. Shouya's here."

I turned toward where I'd heard my name, and this time Nana had arrived in the classroom. With sleepy-looking eyes, she walked over to us.

"Good morning. Shouya. Thanks for yesterday."

"Good morning, Nana."

"Thanks? Shouya, did something happen?"

"We were just chatting last night until I fell asleep."

She must have been really happy to have exchanged contact info yesterday, because she'd kept sending me chats nonstop. The moment I replied, her read receipt would pop up instantly, and she'd send another reply. That kept going right up until bedtime.

"Yeah. I got carried away yesterday and chatted too much. I really am sorry. Sorry."

"No, I had fun too, so it's fine."

"Fufu ♪ Shouya really is kind ♡ But I'll keep it in moderation from now on."

When I said that, Nana smiled brightly. As I'd thought, I loved her smiling face. At first I'd pegged her as the pushy, self-centered type, but unexpectedly she seemed to be a girl who was thoughtful about others.

"Izumi-kun's contact info… I'm jealous."

"Miyamoto-san, would you like to exchange contact info too?"

I caught Miyamoto-san's mutter and the words slipped out before I could stop them. If it was Miyamoto-san, Kaede wouldn't try to stop me from handing my contact info over. Just to be sure, I glanced over to Kaede, and she nodded.

"R-really?! K-Kaede-chan, is it okay?!"

"Of course! If it's Yuika-chan, I trust her too!"

After Miyamoto-san got Kaede's confirmation too, she pulled out her phone in a panic. Once we'd exchanged contacts, her face broke into a delighted smile.

I'd heard she and I had been in the same class through all three years of middle school, and if she'd been choosing my class the whole time up to now, then I wanted to repay that feeling, even a little. For a moment I worried that might be vain on my part, but seeing how startled Miyamoto-san was, that thought disappeared.

"Yes… Izumi-kun's contact info…!"

Miyamoto-san cradled her phone with both hands like it was precious, looking truly happy. That a single exchange of contact info could make her this happy made me realize all over again just how lopsided this 1:200-ratio world was.

"Yuika. I really get how you feel."

Nana, watching Miyamoto-san's delight, seemed to be deeply sympathizing, the corners of her mouth turning up a touch again. She didn't show much emotion on the surface, but inside her heart she seemed to be getting excited, and she'd let it show through tiny shifts in her expression, which made it impossible to look away.

"All right～, time to start morning homeroom～… wait, Izumi-kun, you're here?! I'll go ahead and add bonus points to your grade～."

While we were all chatting away, the teacher came into the classroom and morning homeroom began. She added points to my Boys-and-Girls Exchange grade without asking anything. It was lucky she'd misunderstood in a convenient direction.

After homeroom, I took classes alongside everyone else. Since it was a combined middle-high school, regular classes started the day after the entrance ceremony.

The high-school material was something we'd studied ahead during middle school, so apparently the high-school-entrance group was working desperately on their spring-break homework to catch up. I'd learned this in last night's chat: Nana was a high-school-entrance student too, so she was one of them.

That said, I wasn't called on during class and didn't have to turn in assignments, so I really was just sitting there listening.

I tried taking notes to pass the time, but the lectures were fast enough that I was barely keeping up. Even with my past-life memories, I was at this level. It made me wonder just how brilliant everyone else was. Co-ed schools required winning out over high competition rates to get in, so I guess it made sense…

For second period, science class was held in the science room, so I moved classrooms with Kaede and Arisa. Since we'd be doing experiments there too, four people sat at each table, so I settled at an empty table toward the back, away from those two.

Today wasn't an experiment, just a regular lecture, but someday I might get to watch them experimenting too. I had no personal memories from my past life, but the very concept of "school" itself felt nostalgic during that period.

After morning classes ended, I decided to eat lunch with Kaede and Arisa. Since I'd announced I was going to school out of nowhere today, naturally I didn't have a bento.

The maids had looked apologetic, but it was completely my fault, so I'd told them not to worry about it. So today I was going to eat at the school cafeteria for the first time.