General 110

Test

Chapter 110. Skipping Grades From Elementary School? It’s All Possible Now

"Kawaii~~!"

"Eh~~, who's this kid? So tiny!"

Classroom 1A was buzzing with excitement early in the morning.

"Okay, everyone quiet down, no making a fuss over the transfer student. Introduce yourself."

"My name is Heisaku Misuzu. Nice to meet you."

The tiny Misuzu bowed her head politely.

Her mannerisms and big, round eyes reminded everyone of a small animal, and many of her classmates seemed to have their hearts stolen.

"Misuzu-chan, how old are you?"

"I’m juuhachi... nine years old."

"Eh~? So you're skipping grades!? Misuzu-chan, that's amazing!"

"She passed the entrance exam fair and square."

"There was already talk about a kid who skipped grades from middle school into Class C, but this time it's an elementary schooler. That's incredible— a genius girl!"

The moment the first class ended, her classmates immediately gathered around Misuzu’s seat, showering her with praise.

Usually, this school has strong rivalries and factionalism when it comes to refining combat abilities, but with someone so small, all that seemed to fade away.

Wait a second... Misuzu's clearly being accepted by the class more than I am, right?

What does that make me, the guy who's more of an outcast than Misuzu on her first day of transferring?

I felt a little hurt.

"That uniform, it's from a famous private elementary school, right?"

"I asked to have the academy uniform tailored, but they didn’t have my size, so until the custom order's done, I have to wear this."

"Attending a prestigious elementary school means you must be smart, and your family must be wealthy too."

"My parents are my parents; I’m just me."

"Wow, such grown-up speech. You don’t seem like you’re nine."

Well, that’s because Misuzu’s actually 18 and has been in the military for a long time. Obviously.

When Misuzu enrolled in the academy, there was no way we could reveal the truth that she was a soldier who defected from an enemy nation. So, we made up a fake backstory.

In creating that lie, we adjusted her age to match her appearance to avoid unnecessary speculation.

If we made her background too complex, it might have raised more questions.

If Kotomi’s maid café uniform from her prestigious elementary school could be useful in this way, then the guys in her class who bought that uniform in an online auction would surely be pleased.

"Hey, Misuzu-chan, how about we have lunch at the student cafeteria?"

"Sorry, I already have plans."

Plans?

Did she already make friends?

"I’m having lunch with Yuusuke."

The noisy class suddenly fell silent, as if water had been poured on the fire.

"Eh... Misuzu-chan, you know Kamiya-kun?"

A girl from the class timidly asked.

"Hmm... I can't say too much, but Yuusuke and I are inseparable."

Misu—MISUZU-SAN!?

I mean, technically, she's right that I can’t leave her side since I have to keep an eye on her, but the way she said it!

Misuzu learned Japanese in the Eastern Federation, so her pronunciation is good, but sometimes she messes up expressions.

That’s another reason we decided on the nine-year-old setting.

"Wait... so you're close with Kamiya-kun...?"

"Yeah. Yuusuke is kind."

Whoa, she’s praising me!

Just when I thought my popularity in the class was in the gutter, Misuzu’s boosted it for me. What a good kid.

"When we first met, he showed me his crotch, face-first."

...I’m dead.

Whatever popularity I had just got completely killed off.

By the way, this entire conversation between Misuzu and the classmates? I was pretending to nap at my desk while eavesdropping.

I wanted to correct Misuzu’s awkward phrasing, but I could feel the icy stares of contempt from the girls in the class piercing me, even as I lay face-down at my desk. I was too scared to lift my head.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

"Misuzu... do you still resent me?"

"...? I don’t resent you at all. Thanks to you protecting me, I can walk through this academy now. I’m only grateful to you."

Misuzu's face looked puzzled, as if wondering why I’d even ask that. She didn’t seem like she was acting or joking around.

So, her earlier comment that totally wrecked my reputation? That was unintentional.

"Alright then... could you work on your Japanese a bit more and clear up the misunderstandings with the classmates one day?"

"I don’t really get it, but I’ll remember. More importantly, if I don’t eat soon, I might collapse."

For Misuzu, who has terrible fuel efficiency, even class time is a matter of survival.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Here, this is the Soul Gear Research Club room. I always eat my lunch here."

"Why don’t you eat in the classroom? Are you a loner, Yuusuke?"

"Misuzu, do you actually understand Japanese perfectly?"

I muttered to myself as Misuzu, who seemed to know exactly what to say to hurt me, walked into the Soul Gear Research Club room.

"Hey! Yuu, Misuzu-chan!"

Inside, Kotomi was already there.

"Hello."

"Huh? Where’s Marin-chan? She’s in the same class as you, right?"

Seeing Kotomi sitting alone at the low table with her bento laid out, I asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, Marin-chan said she was eating with her brother, so she took her lunch to Suo-senpai’s classroom."

"Ah, I see."

"Looks like she still has some feelings about Misuzu-chan."

"Well, this time I pushed my selfishness quite a bit... maybe she’s mad at me."

I did use my position and authority to force my way through this time, even though everyone was against it.

Guess it’s no surprise if she’s upset.

"Ah..."

While I was thinking about how to patch things up with the Suou siblings, Misuzu mumbled something while staring at the ceiling of the club room.

"What’s up, Misuzu? Is there a cockroach up there?"

"Don’t say that before eating, Yuu! What’s wrong, Misuzu-chan?"

Kotomi frowned at me for the roach comment, but Misuzu continued gazing upward with a look of deep contemplation, so I grew concerned.

"It’s nothing serious. One of my decoys left in my home country has just been destroyed."

With that, Misuzu casually began unwrapping her bento as if nothing had happened.

"...Wait, does that mean they’ve figured out you defected from the Eastern Federation?"

"Yes, it does."

Without care, Misuzu confirmed while biting into an onigiri the size of a small soccer ball.

"This is my first time eating a Japanese onigiri, and it’s surprisingly efficient. It even has salmon, tamagoyaki, and fried chicken inside."

Well, that's because I made that oversized onigiri with all those fillings to suit Misuzu’s monstrous appetite.

I’m not like Mina, who can make a proper bento.

But the onigiri doesn’t matter right now!

"So, does that mean the Eastern Federation is..."

"They’ve probably realized they can no longer manufacture batteries and lost their last chance to turn things around. They must be in shock."

Misuzu casually stated this while chomping down on her giant onigiri, leaving Kotomi and me speechless.