I’m Back in the First Grade of Elementary School, so I’m Going to Live Well

Chapter 50

Radio Girl

Translated by Green Cake
Edited by Green Cake

“Hey, let me hear your answer.”

Mizui-san wakes up from her lying position and asks me once again.

She sits next to me and looks straight at me seriously.

“The girl you like――no, I won’t ask again in a roundabout way.”

Shaking her head, she retracts her statement.

Then, after a beat, she opens her mouth.

“Sho-kun, do you like me?”

“……”

“I like you, Sho-kun.”

As if repeating herself, Mizui-san speaks.

She tells me over and over again, her cheeks stained with embarrassment.

“It’s unfair that you don’t answer when I do.”

“… Ah, that’s right.”

I don’t have the option of not telling.

Of course, there is no option to deceive or lie.

It’s not because I’m ordered to.

It’s my choice, my decision, and I’m going to make it.

… Someday, my dad told me.

“It’s not good to be dishonest.”

It’s a perfectly reasonable thing to say. It’s common sense that everyone knows.

But it was the one thing I needed to pay attention to the most.

She’s just a kid, she’s a first grader, it must be a passing fancy.

With all these excuses, I was trying to turn away from her affection. In fact, I was turning away.

“I’m…”

It would be most dishonest of all for me to lie here.

The most sincere thing I can do right now is to tell her exactly how I feel about her.

“Mizui-san――…”

I was about to say something.

――That’s when it happened.

“――I don’t have to ask you that, do I?”

Suddenly, Mizui-san interrupted my words with an out-of-place cheerful tone.

Her expression was surprisingly cheerful as she said this.

… eh? You don’t need to ask? … What does that mean?

Not understanding the meaning of her words at all, I was slightly confused and my thoughts were filled with questions.

I hadn’t given her an answer yet, but she had concluded on her own.

“Because there’s no way Sho-kun doesn’t like me.”

I smiled and squinted my eyes without any cloudiness.

“……………… yes?”

I asked back.

I had no choice but to ask back.

What are you talking about, Mizui-san?

Is she such an overconfident character?

Is this a kind of joke? Or was it just a smart joke to break the somewhat heavy atmosphere?

But that’s not the mood of someone who’s joking.

She said it in a tone as if she was stating an undeniable fact.

“The purpose is for me to tell Sho-kun that I liked him, so I didn’t really need to hear Sho-kun answer.”

Mizui-san, who had achieved her goal, looked very satisfied.

“? ? ?”

Unlike me, who was filled with questions.

“Ah, but I still want Sho-kun to say that he loves me. Even if I know it, it’s nice to hear it from the other person…”

She squirms, her cheeks blushing, and demands in an embarrassed manner.

“? ? ? ? ?”

There are a lot of questions to be answered.

But the root of the question is clear.

Why is Mizui-san assuming that I like her?

Whether it’s a lie or not, why is she assuming, or rather, convinced that she is?

I couldn’t help but tilt my head and wonder what in the world was making her so sure.

Mizui-san is not the kind of person who makes assumptions without evidence.

I had made that assumption on my own.

After all, she has excellent grades, is a good athlete, and by first-grade standards, she’s a good-looking girl.

It may be a heavy burden for Mizui-san to have such an image, but this is not an illusion, it is a fact.

Even though she is a first grader, she looks just like an adult. The perfect girl. An impeccable person.

That is what Mizui Hime is.

Certainly, there have been times when she has said or done things that seemed strange.

However, if it was because she liked me, I could understand why she said and did things.

But this time it was different.

Even if you take into account her fondness for me, it’s still a little hard to accept.

There’s something odd or unnatural or whatever it is…

An inexplicable emotion filled my chest.

It’s the usual Mizui-san, but it didn’t feel like the usual Mizui-san.

“Hey, Sho-kun. You like me, don’t you?”

She was slowly closing the distance between us.

“Eh, umm…”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? It’s impossible that you’re not.”

“No, that’s…”

“Then tell me you like me, Sho-kun. I said it, so you have to say it too.”

As she approached me, my body on the ground slowly turned over, and I almost fell on my back.

It’s Mizui-san as usual.

Her expression was the same as usual, her tone of voice was the same as usual, and her manner of speaking was the same as usual.

And yet, a sense of discomfort remained stuck in my heart.

Something is wrong. Something is definitely wrong.

“Hey, tell me you like me. Please tell me you love me. Because Sho-kun likes me, right? You love me, don’t you? ――Because that day, that time, Sho-kun vowed to me.”

“…? Vo, vow? Wh, what is?”

What do you mean by “vow”? I don’t remember anything about that.

I think I might have done something like that. But I don’t have any sense of having done that.

There is nothing. I don’t remember saying the words of vow, I don’t remember signing the contract, and I don’t remember doing anything that corresponds to the vow.

I’ve searched every nook and cranny of my memory, but there’s no sign that I can even remember.

“Could it be that you’ve forgotten?”

Mizui-san looks at me sadly.

Gosh! If she looks at me like that, I’ll feel really guilty…!

“I-I’m sorry. I really don’t know.”

Holding back the pain in my chest, I confessed honestly.

I could have pretended to be a know-it-all and tried to lie, but it would have come out wrong.

I’m too clumsy to do that.

“A kiss on the back of the hand.”

That’s all she said.

Of course, I remember.

The act I did to her in the library.

It’s the most awkward thing I’ve ever done. It’s my black history…

I never thought that I would have to have my old wounds gouged out at this time.

If it were possible, I wanted to forget it. It was a memory that I wanted to throw away into oblivion and forget forever.

Being forced to delve into it was nothing but pain for me.

This time, my heart ached for a different reason.

“Have you forgotten that too?”

“No, I do remember that one.”

Regrettably.

“I see, then you know what it means.”

“eh?”

Meaning?

You mean the meaning of a kiss on the back of the hand?

I think it means respect or loyalty or something like that? I’ve also heard that in the West, people kiss the back of their hands as a greeting.

I can’t say this is the one.

The meaning can change depending on the situation or scene, and if it is fiction, it may have a completely different meaning.

… Yes, fiction.

There are many different kinds of fictional movies, dramas, novels, and manga.

Others are――picture books.

“A prince’s confession of love to a princess.”

“That’s…”

A prince and a princess. The words “prince” and “princess” reminded her of a picture book.

A picture book that she loved. She said that the love story between the prince and the princess was her favorite.

“Yes, it’s me and Sho-kun.”

…… Hmm?

“I’m the princess and you’re the prince.”

…… Hmmmm?

No, wait a minute, please wait a minute.

Indeed, I had listened to her wish to be a prince in the library.

I accepted her wish and even kissed the back of her hand.

I remember it well.

But that was just a play for that day and that moment.

It was just me pretending to be a prince and Mizui-san pretending to be a princess.

Even if you bring it up now――

… No, wait.

Was it really just a play?

I thought so for sure, but what about her?

Did Mizui-san say it was a play back then?

… Perhaps I had assumed that on my own.

When I was asked to play the unrealistic role of a prince and a princess, I may have taken the liberty of interpreting it as a play.

But the fact that I had misunderstood is a minor issue.

What I should be more concerned about is Mizui-san.

If, hypothetically, it were true, I don’t think it would be possible for someone like Mizui-san to do that.

Even now, Mizui-san is still playing the role of a prince and a princess, but for her, it’s not a play, it’s a reality.

I think she may have developed a relationship with me as the prince and Mizui-san as the princess.

That’s why she believes that I made a vow, that is, I confessed my love.

So she thinks it’s only natural that I like Mizui-san.

After all, in her mind, it was a fact that I had confessed my love to her.

Not with words, but with actions.

Even if I can’t get a word in from her, she’s already decided that I like her.

――If that’s the case, that means…

“Sho-kun and I are tied together by the red thread of fate. We’re compatible with each other. We like each other, no, we love each other, so it’s only natural that we get together. ―――Besides, Sho-kun and I are a prince and a princess. It’s only natural that we are destined to be united. We’re going to live happily ever after together, right? Maybe we’re not ready to be lovers now, but when we’re older, we’ll be girlfriends and boyfriends instead of friends, and when we’re older, we’ll be engaged, or maybe we’ll live together before that… And when we both grow up, we will get married, move into a house, have children, and then live with our children, and when they are grown and independent, Sho-kun and I will retire to the countryside and live together until we are both grandparents. Even if we become grandparents, we’ll live together forever and ever, until we die. ――Isn’t that wonderful?”

I was stunned by the succession of announcements about my and Mizui-san life plans.

… There’s no longer a doubt.

Mizui-san is neither a perfect girl nor a model child.

That’s just the surface of who she is, but the essence of who she is is different.

She, Mizui Hime, is a radio girl.

“Hey, Sho-kun. Tell me you like me. This is something we need to do for our future. The first step is to admit that we like each other. So please. Just like that time, tell me. Tell me that you like me, that you love me, that you love me². Tell me that you love me more than anyone else, hey, say it… Because it’s an undeniable fact.”

She closes the distance, which seemed to be as close as it could get, and finally, I fall on my back on the ground and Mizui-san gets on top of me.

Her hot gaze never lets go of me, her cheeks flushed with exhilaration.

Sca, scary.

I’m terrified by her abnormal behavior and words.

“I…… like you…… too……”

I was forced to say this, half-heartedly.

I am aware that this is a last-minute statement due to fear.

But I knew that if I gave any other answer, she’d probably kill herself.

I have to tell her that I “like” her, no matter what.

“I’m so happy, Sho-kun.”

She hugged me as I lay on my back and refused to move away.

Normally I would have been more flustered, but maybe it’s because there was something more surprising going on right now.