Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093094471724561/episodes/16818622172701463224
Seeing the crying child, I couldn’t help but rush out. This may stray far from the original story, but I couldn’t hold back.
I knew very well how painful it was for one person.
Besides, the original story may not change yet. What is happening now is before the original story, so it can still be revised.
So for now, I will do my best to make this child feel safe.
“Are you okay?”
I try to smile as much as possible and talk to the child.
If I spoke with a scary face, she’d cry even more. If the me from before the reincarnation had spoken to her, it would have been so scary that someone might have called the authorities.
One thing to be careful about is keeping eye contact at the same level. If you look down at the child, they’ll get scared, as my grandmother said.
My grandmother apparently worked at a nursery school for a short time, so she knows a lot about children.
“Who are you, Onii chan?”
I was still in my pre-reincarnation mindset, so I was happy to be called “Onii chan.” If it were my pre-reincarnation self, I would have definitely been called “uncle.”
“Onii chan is a magician.”
“Magician?”
Ah, she doesn’t even know what magic is yet. Well, maybe that’s more surprising.
“It’s when something disappears or suddenly appears out of nowhere?” It’s like magic.”
I said it’s like magic, but does she even know what magic is?
“Are you maybe Apple-chan’s friend?”
The child asked with sparkling eyes.
“Apple-chan? Oh, yeah! I’m Apple-chan’s friend!”
For a moment, I had no idea what she was talking about, but since I love Tokidoki, I remembered right away. (Apple) Ringo-chan is the name of a magical girl who appears in an anime that the heroine who appears later in the story loves.
I’m glad that my love for Tokidoki came in handy here.
“What kind of magic will you show me?!”
She said it with a smile so bright I couldn’t look at her, and I suddenly felt nervous.
I took out my wallet from my bag and held a 500-yen coin in my hand.
“Look closely at this 500-yen coin.”
“Okay!”
I held the 500-yen coin between my index finger, middle finger, and thumb, then clenched my left hand around it. Suddenly, the 500-yen coin that should have been in my left hand had disappeared.
“What?! It’s gone!”
“Don’t be so surprised yet.”
The way I said that was a little creepy, probably because I was showing off since I don’t usually get to do this.
“Look, the 500-yen coin that was supposed to have disappeared came out from my elbow.”
Pulling on the soft part of his elbow, I made it look like the 500-yen coin suddenly appeared.
“Wow! It came out! How did that happen?!”
The child’s reaction was so good it made me happy.
“This is magic.”
I say my catchphrase to wrap it up. It works with kids, but a middle schooler would probably figure it out in no time.
“Will you listen to me in exchange for this magical 500-yen coin?”
I hand the 500-yen coin I used for the magic trick to the kid and ask her to listen to me in exchange for it.
“What?”
“A pretty lady will come soon, so can you pretend to cry?”
I blurted it out without thinking, but if I do that, it might not go according to the original story, so I have to make sure she cries and someone calls out to her.
“Okay!”
Well, even if she doesn’t cry, she’ll probably call out to me if she’s in trouble.
“Also, keep this a secret.”
“Why?”
I can’t say that if she finds out about me, it won’t go according to the original story.
“I’m not allowed to use magic in public. If she finds out, Onii chan will get in trouble, so it’s a secret between you and me.”
“Okay! Got it!”
“Thanks.”
I wave goodbye to the child.
Well, I guess I’ll hide and watch the first event unfold.
As I tried to return to the place where I had been hiding, I saw a girl with beautiful long black hair walking toward me at the edge of my vision.
She’s cute.
She’s beautiful, but she still has a childlike innocence from being a middle school student not long ago, and the combination of beauty and cuteness directly attacked my eyes. Even though I was attacked, for some reason my eyes healed, creating a contradiction.
I should have hidden quickly, but my eyes were completely captivated by her, and even though my face was facing straight ahead, my eyes were fixed on her.
The girl I had seen countless times on the screen and fallen in love with countless times had appeared in reality. The sudden emotion caused my thoughts to freeze for a moment.
“…Oh no.”
I couldn’t help but let out a sound, but I managed to suppress it. I hadn’t been discovered yet, so I hurriedly moved away from there.
I didn’t know how meeting her here would affect the original story.
I didn’t know if she had noticed me or not, but I hid anyway.
“Eh, eh~n. Ma, Mama~”
“Are you okay?”
Alright! The child’s voice was a bit wooden, but I managed to get her to speak to the new color.
Now that I knew the story would definitely follow the original, I decided to go to school first. I really wanted to stay a little longer, but…
I felt a bit reluctant, but I headed to school.
Still, she was so cute. Watching her on screen and seeing her in person are completely different in terms of cuteness.
I never understood why celebrities looked cooler in person than they did on TV. I mean, they’re the same, right? It’s just that they’re being filmed on TV, so of course they’re not going to look cooler in person. But today, I’m going to retract that theory.
I walk to school with a spring in my step, feeling dozens of times lighter than when I came here.
I actually wanted to see where Saotome meets her, but that would make me a little late for school, so I decide not to.
My role is to wait in the classroom and say to Saotome when he enters, “Hey, what’s up? I thought you were taking the day off since you’re late today.” In the game, this is where I, Mizuno Shota, the best friend of the protagonist Saotome Ryusei, make my first appearance. This is a very important event for me.
This is also an important event, so I have to make sure to wait in the classroom.
Oh, I also have to make sure to use the restroom.
＊＊＊
The moment I saw the school from afar, I was overwhelmed with emotion again. I’ve seen this school so many times in the game!
I never thought I’d be able to attend the actual high school from my favorite game. If that’s the case, I’ll be able to enjoy going to school every day.
“Ah… ah, ah…”
But as soon as I reached the school gate, that excitement vanished in an instant. I couldn’t breathe properly, my fingers were cold, my legs were shaking and wouldn’t move, and even though my brain was telling them to move, my legs wouldn’t obey.
Memories from before my reincarnation flash back—I was a truant.
It’s not surprising at all. I became a recluse for about ten years after becoming a truant. When I was in elementary and middle school, I experienced mild bullying, but it didn’t bother me much. I even thought it was my fault.
But when I went to high school, no one knew me, so there was no bullying.
One day, I just couldn’t bring myself to go to school, so I took a day off. The next week, I took another day off, and before I knew it, I was skipping one day a week, then two days a week, then three, then four, until I stopped going altogether.
Since then, I’ve lived my life trying not to think about school. Just thinking about it makes me want to scream.
And now, my legs won’t move toward that school where the trauma resurfaces.
Yeah, I should go home first.
I should do that. If I keep this up, people will think I’m weird, and something that isn’t in the original story might happen.
Yeah, I should do that. There’s no helping it. This is unavoidable.
“…That’s not right.”
You’re going to meet her, aren’t you? Your grandmother. Then you should at least make up your mind!
“Sigh… Sigh…”
I take a deep breath to steady myself. I rub my cold hands together to warm them up. If my brain won’t obey my commands, I’ll use my willpower to make my legs stop shaking.
Grandma, please give me a little courage.
One step at a time, I walk steadily and surely. I tell myself that I can do it if I try.
How am I doing? Am I walking properly now? Do the people around me see me walking normally?
What’s the big deal? It’s not that bad. I thought the trauma would be more of a hindrance, but it’s actually pretty minor. I don’t know if I really think that or if I’m just telling myself that.
But once my legs started moving, they kept going until I reached the front of the classroom.
“Yes!”
I whispered to myself, hoping no one heard. I even made a fist pump without thinking.
I told you, I can do it if I try. Grandma would probably praise me if she saw this. She praised me so much just for throwing a can in the trash. I want to see her. I have to keep trying so I can see her.
Oh no! I came all the way to Tokidoki School, but I forgot to visit the sacred sites! I was so focused on getting to the classroom that I completely forgot. Well, there will be an event after this where we’ll walk around the school, so I’ll look forward to that.
When I open the door to this classroom, I have to become Mizuno Shota
“Phew.”
I took a deep breath and opened the classroom door.
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