It’s a bit awkward.
It wasn’t that far from the place where I fell to my house. My leg hurt a bit, but I wasn’t sure if Sota needed to help me this much.
Besides, even though we were going in the same direction, I hadn’t even realized we had been walking the same way for about a week.
Sota’s height was about a head taller than mine. Logically, this probably meant his legs were a bit longer too.
Still, it looked like Sota was walking slower than me.
“…”
That said, I didn’t think Sota was suspiciously following me. I could sort of understand that feeling.
When you bump into a close friend on the street, you greet them happily, but it feels a bit awkward if it’s someone you only vaguely know. Even so, it feels a bit off not to go together when you’re headed in the same direction.
So, I figured it was better to just not say anything and slow down a bit to create space. I had never done this with a friend, but I had done it when I saw a teacher’s back at school.
Then I fell, so he must have rushed over.
“…”
“…”
Um.
It takes about five minutes to get from here to my house.
Not having any conversation feels a bit awkward, especially since he helped me out.
“If you live nearby, I guess you must have seen me walk this way a few times.”
“Uh? Ah, yeah. Sorry…”
“…Why?”
“Uh?”
“You don’t have to apologize.”
I tilted my head as I said that.
“I don’t think there’s a need to forcefully make conversation.”
“Uh, yeah.”
Sota nodded at my words. He seemed to be frowning slightly, as if he thought the conversation was a bit strange.
“…”
“…”
“The handkerchief, I’ll wash and return it.”
“Uh, no. It’s okay. I have plenty.”
Is he just going to give it to me?
I wasn’t sure if that was normal or not, but it didn’t seem strange if he was a kind, timid type.
“…Did you transfer here too?”
“Uh?”
Sota blinked at my question.
“I just had a hunch.”
After saying that, I fumbled a bit. I felt a bit bad saying something that seemed off.
“Uh… around the middle of the first semester.”
Maybe it was because of the times or there were just a lot of kids like him.
Well, I wasn’t in a position to talk. I had transferred several times myself.
“I see.”
The conversation fell silent again.
It was only a five-minute walk, but the awkward silences kept happening, making me think he was really shy.
It seemed like trying to talk more would make things more uncomfortable, so I decided to just stay quiet and let him help me.
*
The look on Kagami’s face when she saw me was… how can I put it…
If I had to put it into one word, it would be ‘question mark.’
If that scene had been a comic, there would probably have been “??????” in a speech bubble above her head.
Now that I think about it, this was the first time I brought a boy to my house. It wasn’t that there were no boys in my class; there were a few who fit in fine.
To be precise, it wasn’t that I got along with them, but rather that my friends’ friends would hang around with them.
Regardless, I had never paid much attention to boys who were still in elementary school since they didn’t come to my house.
In any case, this was the first time Kagami had seen me bring a boy home.
“…Um.”
I felt just as confused about the situation.
Okay, falling down, that was one thing. I had fallen a few times before. When running around with elementary kids, it’s easy to trip over a rock.
I didn’t really cry about it, and there were always friends around to help me back up. There was never a boy who would butt in.
But now…
I pondered what to say and ultimately decided to introduce Sota and send him off. Sota seemed to be getting uncomfortable.
“This is Sasaki Sota.”
“Ah, hello.”
As if he had been waiting for me to say his name, Sota quickly bowed his head towards Kagami.
“Ah… hello.”
Kagami also bowed her head towards Sota.
Now that I think about it, Kagami is also very attractive. When I was young, she was just a cute girl; now she’s outright beautiful. To be honest, it seems like at some point, she stopped aging.
Besides, it’s not just her face that’s pretty. She has a great figure too. When we went to the beach in swimsuits, everyone stared at her, regardless of gender.
Isn’t that a bit too provocative for an elementary school kid? I used to be a boy in elementary school too, and at that age, any girl that was somewhat attractive looked beautiful.
However, even though Sota’s face was turning red, it was hard to tell if it was just shyness or because of Kagami.
No, it might not even be distinguishable in the first place. It’s natural to feel shy talking to a beautiful woman you’ve just met.
And for some reason, I found that feeling a bit unpleasant.
Why was that?
“…I fell while coming over.”
When Kagami looked at me again, I said that while slightly extending my leg.
There was still Sota’s handkerchief tied around my knee.
It seemed like the wound was a bit worse than I thought, as it was starting to show a slight pink color. Was blood seeping out slowly when it hadn’t at first?
“Oh my!?”
Kagami quickly came over, startled, when she realized.
Then she knelt down and looked at my leg.
I didn’t think it was something to be that flustered about, but that thought flew away as I looked at Kagami’s worried face.
Her expression genuinely worried about me.
Just seeing that made my pain feel like it was fading away.
“Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?”
“I’m fine.”
I shook my head in response to Kagami’s words.
Kagami looked like she was truly upset, then realized that it was Sota who tied the handkerchief.
She quickly stood up and slightly bowed to Sota.
“Thank you so much, Sasaki-kun.”
“Ah, no problem.”
Sota was clearly blushing.
I could feel my own cheeks heating up as well.
For some reason, I was startled when I grabbed the hem of Kagami’s clothes.
What am I even doing?
Sota had a pretty nice face. Of course, he was still very young, so it would take a few more years to see how he would grow, but at least compared to his peers, he was reasonably good-looking.
Did my perception change now that I’m in this child’s body? Thinking that way about an elementary school kid seems a bit ridiculous.
…
But why do I feel this anxious?
“Want to come in for a snack or something?”
“Ah, no!”
At Kagami’s words, Sota immediately shouted.
“I-I’m really sorry for intruding!”
Then he bent over and shouted that, and before Kagami could respond,
“Oh my.”
Sota quickly turned around and fled at full speed.
His slightly longer hair swaying wildly.
“…”
Kagami looked at his retreating figure with a dazed expression and asked,
“…Hey, Koto Ne. Did I do something wrong?”
Not that she did anything wrong.
Kagami’s outfit was definitely not revealing at all.
The issue was the silhouette that could still be seen through that baggy outfit.
When I shook my head, Kagami patted my head and gently took my hand.
“Shall we go in and put some medicine on it?”
“Yeah.”
When Kagami said that, I felt my mood completely lift.
It felt strange. At least I wasn’t ordinary like the other kids. I had the ability to survive and recover from injuries without a trace, even when I bled out a lot in a dangerous situation.
This wound would likely disappear without a trace today.
But Kagami wouldn’t let it go like that; she treated me like her precious daughter, taking care of me as much as she could and treating me like a normal kid.
I liked that about Kagami.
I had seen for years how genuinely caring she was.
Holding Kagami’s hand gently, I went into the house.
I put some medicine on my knee wound and covered it with a bandage. It had characters printed on it, the kind you’d expect elementary kids to use.
Then I ate the snacks Kagami had prepared and waited for “Dad” to come home for dinner.
At night—
“…Hehe.”
I crawled into Kagami’s room while hugging my pillow.
Since I had been doing this every night, it seemed Kagami had given up on trying to make me sleep separately.
However, she didn’t seem to hate me or anything. She merely smiled gently as if she were looking at her adorable daughter.
“What are you going to do if our daughter turns out dark?”
Kagami, holding me as if she were cradling the most lovable being in the world, asked.
“I’ll live with you forever.”
When I acted cute, something I hadn’t done since childhood, Kagami burst into laughter.
It was an act of cuteness, but it was also sincere.
As long as Kagami didn’t dislike it, I wanted to live like this for a long time.
Happily.
Normally.
Those were the things I had resolved to protect in this world.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.