「Muhu~」
I made a big smile while opening the box in front of my eyes.
I occasionally take out a locked box that I’m keeping deep in the wardrobe during the night in my room where there’s nobody and verify the content.
「It’s been accumulating quite well」
A bundle of bills inside the box.
I am now saving money.
In the Kishouin house, they give me an unthinkable amount of money in my common sense as pocket money.
It’s not a fixed amount but the sum is usually several tens of thousand yen at once every month.
That’s not an amount of money that should be given to an elementary schooler as pocket money though.
I think that a child won’t become a proper adult in the future if you give this much at a young age.
They give me this money as for when I’ll go out with friends or have things to buy, but since I can’t go out with other children after school as I have to go to the cram school, I have no opportunities to spend it.
The school materials I need are bought by the house and when there’s things I want outside, the butler who is also our driver buys in my stead.
Thanks to that, the money keeps accumulating.
I want to save this and use it to make up the tuition fee for the case when our family will possibly be ruined in the future.
But since there’s things that I also want to buy secretly (mostly snacks), I decided an amount for my own for the months. 500 yen a month.
I think this much is reasonable for a elementary schooler’s pocket money.
And the rest of the money, I decided to keep it in this big jewel box with a locker.
Because it’d look suspicious if a child asked for a safe box, when I was wondering and looking for anything that could be used instead of a safe with key locker, I found it in a jewelry shop.
Also the size is what a child could handle with both arms and it’s perfect for keeping bills in.
The very moment I saw it, I asked my mother and bought it.
People seem to think that I bought this sparkling and pretty jewelry box because it pleases me, but I’ve chosen it only based on practicality.
Although it was a miscalculation that she bought me a necklace of pink sapphire to put in this jewelry box.
That night, I’ve naked the ring tray made of soft silk and that was already in the jewelry box and turned it into a simple box.
And I’ve put the money that I have been hiding between the dictionaries till now put in the ex-jewelry box, the actual safe.
As I expected, the bills could be stored easily in and it looked like that it’d work fine as a safe.
What a good stuff I’ve found.
As for not to lose the key, I’ve taped it on the back of the desk’s drawer.
And now, I sometimes laugh at night like a corrupt official that would be laughing while checking his jar full of money hidden beneath the floor.
「One, two…」
Ufufufufu…I can’t stop laughing.
In school, every time you grade up, the caste between the school starts to appear more clear.
The ones belonging to the upper is of course the Petit Pivoine’s members. As there’s only about 10 with male and female together in the first grade, they are unshakable.
At the time you enroll into Suiran Elementary school, since the students are all more or less from the upper class families so the middle and the lower class are subtly divided based on the person’s quality rather than by his house’s power.
And the ones that are upper among the middle class become the top class’ entourage.
The docile children in the lower class live quietly.
And I’m the top member of the most powerful girl faction.
Thanks to that, I’m not bullied but it saddens me to see the docile childs looking me with fear. I’d rather spend time talking leisurely with them though.
The children in the group I belong to, they are still only kids but are already too prideful.
They are only children that have never tasted even once the cheap snacks sold in convenience stores.
Since there’s a few Petit Pivoine’s members in it, the group respects tradition and formalities. And as the entourage do more care about it than me, it’s pretty tiring me.
And I watch quietly, worrying about when this fake lady mask will be exposed.
As I can’t afford to soil the dignity of the Kishouin family, I get along with them and smile.
Although we are only elementary schooler, human relationship are already so hard.
When I was walking on the hallway with them, Akizawa-kun came from the other side.
Akizawa-kun wanted to wave hand at me while smiling but as if he was intimated by the girls’ force, he passed through by me, averting his eyes and a little terrified.
…Ugh, so it was real.
It’s scary when there’s a bunch of girls gathered. And especially our group.
I’m sorry, I’m sorry Akizawa-kun.
Recently, we got accustomed pretty well together as we are always next to each other in the cram school, and I was thinking “the awaited first boyfriend GET?!”, but to think that he might be avoiding me from now on like this even at the cram school, it makes me sad.
Let’s apologise to him later today at the cram school.
「No, you don’t have to worry about it that much. I’ve also ignored you so isn’t it even?」
When I apologised to him right after I arrived at the cram school 「It was a difficult time to speak to you so I’m sorry. And also about having ignored you」, Akizawa-kun forgave me while smiling. He’s a good boy.
「I think you need courage to speak to when there’s girls in group」
「Indeed. Even more when it’s Kishouin-san’s faction」
It would be so.
About Akizawa-kun, if we were to talk about him, he’s right within the boys’ middle faction that is not an entourage of the top faction nor in silencious lower class.
For me, that position seems to be the most free and comfortable so I envy him.
「Does the others know that I go to the same cram school with Kishouin-san?」
「No. In the first place, I haven’t talked to anyone that I was attending a cram school」
「Ah, is that so. Was it better if I haven’t said that? I’ve already told some of my friends」
「It’s not like I was hiding it but…. I didn’t have to tell either so」
It’s a lie. I was trying to hid it at all cost.
Because there would be people who would want to go together as well.
And then I won’t be able to go to the convenience store that was my original purpose.
「Hmm. Then I wonder if it’s best to avoid talking to Kishouin-san at school. Since we’d have to tell why we know each other so」
「That is, well, you don’t have to worry that much」
I feel sorry as it’s like I’m asking him to lie.
Besides, as there’s already Akizawa-kun at the cram school I’ve given up about the convenience store, so it’s now not a problem anymore even if the others at school find out.
「Yeah, but I really think it’s better in this way. Cuz Kishouin-san at school and the Kishouin-san at the cram school are different」
「Is that so? Do I look different?」
「Yeah. It was originally me who talked to you first but, I didn’t knew that Kishouin-san was somebody this easy to talk to. I should say, I thought you were going to tell me “Someone like you don’t have the right to talk to me”」
「Eh──!」
「Ahaha」
So, I had that kind of image, huh…
No, I had vaguely noticed it already.
But that’s still a shock.
「Hey, do I really look that bad?」
「Oh, I’m sorry. Did I hurt you? I mean, it’s not in a bad way, how should I put it, kind of, the world that Pivoine members live are different from our world? Like Kishouin-san is being called Reika-sama by friends」
「Ah─…」
I think the honorific -sama is like saying 「How do you do」, a remnant of Suiran’s tradition.
Especially, the Pivoine members tend to name others with -sama.
「Ah, then would you like me to call you Kishouin-sama or Reika-sama?」
「Absolutely not」
Akizawa-kun laughs hahaha, not even knowing peoples feeling.
Translator’s note
Ew…I should improve my english…too much repetitions at the beginning of sentences…
Anyway, thank you for reading and supporting Reika-sama and sorry for being late.