Vol. 2 Chapter 43 – Draw

Like a carnivorous beast making a threat display, Hikaru raised her fighting spirit.

Me, Hikari-chan’s mother, the staff member – we all froze as if time had stopped, dumbfounded.

“I-It’s me…!” (Hikaru)

Hikaru declared again, her voice trembling.

She seemed to realize what she’d done, but looked like she couldn’t back down now.

“H-Hikaru… She’s just a child… Calm down, calm down…” (Reiya)

Pretending for a moment that I hadn’t heard her previous words, I somehow managed to admonish her.

“W-Well, I know that, but…” (Hikaru)

“I’m so sorry, so sorry… Really, I apologize… This child, she’s incredibly precocious… Whenever she finds a boy she likes, it’s always like this…” (Mother)

Hikari’s mother bowed her head repeatedly to the pouting Hikaru.

“Hikari, you mustn’t, okay? Big brother already has someone important, so he can’t marry you. Besides, didn’t you say just the other day you were going to marry Shoya from the Sunflower class?” (Mother)

“Mmm… But, that was ’cause Reika-chan liked Sho-ya-kun, so I thought he was cool… But Reika-chan said she doesn’t like Sho-ya-kun anymore, so he doesn’t look as cool now.” (Little Hikari)

Scary…! Kindergarteners these days are scary…!

I shuddered at her femme fatale-like words and actions, which went far beyond mere precociousness.

Perhaps this was usual for her; her mother also looked exasperated, thinking, ‘This child, really…’

“Hikari-chan, did you find her~?”

As I endured the continuous ordeal with only wry smiles, another woman, also around thirty, approached.

“Yes, thankfully… These people apparently found her…” (Mother)

“Oh, I see, that’s wonderful. Look, Taiki. They found Hikari-chan.” (Taiki’s Mother)

“Ah, Takkun!” (Little Hikari)

Seeing the boy of similar age next to the relieved woman, Hikari-chan dashed off.

“Hi-chan, were you okay?” (Takumi)

“Yeah, I’m okay!” (Little Hikari)

“You didn’t cheat on me while I was gone, right?” (Takumi)

“Nope, didn’t cheat. I love Takkun lots.” (Little Hikari)

Putting her hands together, Hikari-chan uttered words of love as if nothing had happened.

Scary scary scary… Women are scary…

Faced with the muddy love affairs of today’s kindergarteners, all I could do was shudder.

“Then, that’s good. I love you too.” (Takumi)

Takkun smiled back, completely unaware of his fickle lover’s true nature.

I sent him the biggest cheer in my heart as he proceeded towards hell.

And so, my encounter with the kindergartener who had shocked me from various angles came to an end.

“Re-ya-kun, bye-bye~! See ya~!” (Little Hikari)

Waving back, I watched Hikari-chan’s group walk away, holding hands affectionately.

However, this wasn’t the end of everything.

Alright, how should I get Hikaru back in a good mood now…?

“Man… That was shocking in so many ways—” (Reiya)

Just as I thought that and turned around—

“Just now, I… I got jealous of a kindergartener…!?” (Hikaru)

Hikaru, having returned to her senses, raised her voice, her face bright red.

“Uwaaah… So embarrassing~… The most embarrassing thing ever~…!” (Hikaru)

Then she crouched down on the spot and began writhing in shame.

She kept making incoherent groans like “Ugh~” or “Ah~.”

“W-Well, well… Hika… That kid really was something else…” (Reiya)

I’m sure that’s what they call a femme fatale.

I could easily imagine her manipulating countless men in the future.

“Yeah… Are all kindergarteners these days like that…?” (Hikaru)

“Surely not all of them…” (Reiya)

“But, if that girl had been born ten years earlier, it might have been really dangerous…” (Hikaru)

“Haha…” (Reiya)

As Hikaru looked up at me with genuine worry, I replied with what felt like the umpteenth wry laugh.

“Because, you really did look a little smitten back there…” (Hikaru)

“No, it wasn’t like that… I was just thinking, ‘If I have kids in the future, would it be like this…?’ That’s all.” (Reiya)

“Reallyyy…?” (Hikaru)

“Really, really. If I looked smitten, it was probably because I was imagining ‘someone who seems likely to get jealous of her own daughter someday.'” (Reiya)

After saying it, I realized it sounded like a response to her earlier words.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, we both averted our gazes to look off in different directions, when Hikaru muttered softly.

“But, you might have to revise that vision of the future a little…” (Hikaru)

“Revise? Why?” (Reiya)

“If it’s a son instead of a daughter, I won’t have to be jealous, right?” (Hikaru)

Her tone sounded so serious, not like a joke, that I could only manage another wry laugh.

“By the way, the staff gave me these… What should we do?” (Reiya)

Changing the subject, I held up the quest reward I had received earlier in front of Hikaru.

“Petting zoo tickets?” (Hikaru)

“Yeah, as thanks for finding the lost child. Will this cheer you up?” (Reiya)

“Geez, I guess you leave me no choice…” (Hikaru)

Though it was a modest reward for that high-difficulty quest, it seemed to be super effective on Hikaru.

And so, we tried to resume our interrupted date—

“Ah, wait just a sec!” (Hikaru)

On the way to our destination, Hikaru said that and ran off towards a nearby souvenir shop.

Waiting as told, she emerged from the shop less than a minute later.

Wearing, for some reason, an elephant hat on her head.

“Why…?” (Reiya)

“To avoid being recognized! Now fans won’t approach me, right!” (Hikaru)

“You seemed totally welcoming to anyone just a moment ago, why the sudden change?” (Reiya)

I was bewildered by her sudden change of heart.

Moreover, even wearing that, her aura was still leaking out all over the place, making it questionable if it was even an effective countermeasure.

“Because, um… I realized how painful it is to have your lover taken by someone else during a date…” (Hikaru)

Hikaru said awkwardly, tightly gripping both dangling ear flaps of the hat.

She looked so endearing, so unbearably cute.

Finally, it wasn’t a wry laugh, but genuine laughter that escaped my lips.