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Chapter 60 – Elementary School Life

The year Showa 3 (1928) began.
If history follows the same course as in my previous life, aside from the “Zhang Zuolin Bombing Incident,” this year passes relatively peacefully.

The Amsterdam Olympics are scheduled for the summer, and if I remember right, this is also the year that radio calisthenics began.

I think I also read an article about sumo broadcasts starting this year, and how the sumo-loving Emperor Showa was pleased about it.

But due to the various actions I’ve taken, some things have changed.
Most notably, the situation on the continent has drastically shifted. Zhang Zuolin isn’t assassinated—instead, his son Zhang Xueliang is leading a continued advance toward Nanjing.

Meanwhile, the Kuomintang, controlled by the leftists and the communists, is in shambles.

The warlords, forced to take orders from such a crowd, have lost all morale—they aren’t just losing battle after battle; they’re deserting or defecting altogether.
Zhang Zuolin is in full-blown triumph mode.

On top of that, there are no warlords who favor the leftists or communists, which only further tips the scales in Zhang Zuolin’s favor.

Elsewhere, Alexander Fleming was supposed to invent—or rather, discover—penicillin in this very year.

But thanks to Dr. Kouryuu, it’s already been several years since penicillin not only was discovered but has already been developed into a drug.
Fleming himself, after reading Dr. Kouryuu’s papers, has been conducting experiments and clinical trials and has even published several papers of his own.

Thanks to the many new drugs invented by Dr. Kouryuu, more and more people are beginning to survive illnesses that once would have been fatal.
The great-grandfather and grandfather of the Ootori family were among those whose lives were saved, but there are many others as well, including former Prime Minister Katou Takaaki.

In particular, the easily producible and inexpensive oral rehydration solution (and its simplified version) has been explosively spreading across the globe and is apparently being called “magic water.”

In Japan, shrines and small altars dedicated to Dr. Kouryuu has been built, and it seems similar movements are happening worldwide.
It all feels a bit like something out of a fantasy story.

But this also shows just how much common illnesses like various forms of gastroenteritis had tormented humanity up until now.

As for me personally, I’ve been enjoying a peaceful daily life since last spring, and during this time, I’ve been working hard to apply my knowledge from my past life in order to make things as comfortable and enjoyable as possible for myself.
I never thought my otaku knowledge and karaoke training would actually come in handy like this.

While I’ve always preferred eating to cooking, I did live alone, so I could cook decently enough—those skills and experiences have also proven useful.

That said, in this world, I’m mostly just the idea person.

I can’t do everything on my own, and more importantly, there are just too many limitations to what a child can actually do.

When it comes to fashion and style, I compile ideas through drawings and writing and leave the rest to the tailors and clothing shops that come and go from Ootori.

Starting around last year, it seems that even Teijin has gotten involved.
That’s some serious pressure.

But with textile companies, the best I can do is offer a few ideas.

If this were truly one of those cheat-history stories, I’d be handing out the method for producing nylon—but unfortunately, that knowledge isn’t in my past-life memory.
All I can really do is encourage them to adopt synthetic resins or synthetic fibers once someone invents them, but even that is mostly guesswork, so I haven’t pushed it.

Besides, reducing the demand for silk cocoons without offering a viable alternative would be irresponsible—even if I could do it, I probably wouldn’t.

On the other hand, when it comes to food—especially dishes I personally want to eat—the estate’s cooks and their network have been putting in the effort.
Some dishes have already evolved into something slightly different from what I originally presented.

Among all that, we received reports from the U.S. that fast food burger joints already exist over there, so I was able to successfully get my hands on food inspired by those.

Unfortunately, instant ramen is still under development.
Apparently, they’re facing various issues. 

That’s why I asked Tokita for support. 

Father, Grandfather, and even Ryuya-oniisama said they’d like to try it, so I really hope it becomes a reality soon.

Even so, while it’s limited, we’ve managed to make cola and potato chips something we can enjoy at home, so in terms of food, I’d say that’s the area that’s advanced the most quickly.

In a way, the real problem is music.

I liked karaoke just as much as anyone.
Since it speaks to my soul, I mostly sang anime songs, but I also sang J-pop, Western music, and even some Showa-era pop songs. 

I even learned a few famous enka songs in my childhood for the sake of my grandparents in my previous life.
I also had a small repertoire of school songs and children’s songs that don’t yet exist in this era.

It kind of makes me think maybe I really do love singing more than I realized. 

But I suppose this is pretty normal for a typical girl who’s lived an ordinary life for many years.

That said, my musical sense and singing ability were average. 

Even with this cheat-level villainess body, there’s only a slight improvement at best.

What’s truly amazing is how this cheat-level brain more than compensates for my previous life’s memory.

In contrast, Koshiro-kun is undeniably “the real thing.”
If he continues to grow as he is, I’m sure he’ll go down in history even without my presence.

However, it seems he hasn’t quite reached the level where he can create something of his own yet, so almost without fail, after our afternoon study sessions, Koshiro-kun always asks me to teach him music. 

At first, it was every day, and I found it a bit amusing, but now we’ve settled into a routine of once a week.

And today happened to be that one day a week for teaching him.

“Hey, what song are you going to teach me this week?”

Koshiro-kun beamed at me with that angelic, innocent smile.

Just that alone makes my heart feel like it’s melting.
And as always, I end up giving in to that smile.

“I’ve already run out of ideas, you know.”

“Liar, Reiko-chan. You’ve got tons more, don’t you?”

There are times I wonder if he’s realized the truth—that I have the memories of a previous life, memories of the future.
But he’s just naturally like this.

On the other hand, it might be his natural intuition or something like that, but from my words and reactions, he seems to know that there’s still plenty left if he pushes me a little.
And I also end up compromising, thinking, “Well, if it’s just for Koshiro-kun, it should be fine.”

But I learned how dangerous that could be at last year’s garden party.

To make matters worse, Koshiro-kun’s singing ability was so highly praised that he’s now taking formal lessons from professionals in music and vocal training.

So I really have no choice but to say this:

“It’s our little secret, okay?”

“Yeah! I love you, Reiko-chan!”

Then he flashed me the brightest smile and even hugged me, rubbing up against me affectionately.

(It feels like I’m about to ascend to heaven from this divine reward!)

Still, the audience isn’t just Koshiro-kun—some of the other Ootori children are present too, so this has basically turned into a weekly mini-event during the study group.

Naturally, I’ve ordered everyone to keep it a secret.

I want to believe that letting one or two songs out wouldn’t do much harm, and since this era doesn’t have electronic instruments or the like, it doesn’t seem to be a problem.

But the song sung at the garden party is already beyond hiding.
Apparently, his vocal coach sometimes asks to hear that song again or even suggests he try composing a new one.

However, Koshiro-kun, genius and innocent as he is, isn’t the type to break a promise.

He never sings the songs I taught him in public, not even hums them.

That’s why, after I get his usual reply, I ask him this:

“What kind of song would you like today?”

“In the lower class, it sounds like Koshiro-sama is singing again.”

In the second-year classroom, after lunch had ended, my close aide “Micchan”—Shizumi Mitsuko—perked up her ears slightly as she spoke.

The ponytail I requested for her had grown out quite a bit and was finally starting to look like a proper ponytail.

Also, at my request, Micchan drinks twice the amount of school milk as everyone else.
I make sure any kid destined to become a retainer gets proper nutrition—but this, too, is for the sake of replicating the game.

Micchan needs to become a tall, handsome high school girl (JK). 

Her personality is rather serious and shy, with a few clumsy flaws here and there, but those are part of her charm and not something I should change.

And then, that same Micchan is casually addressed by a beautiful, aloof albino girl in sunglasses, who always watches her with a sideways glance.

“Mitsu, what’s Tiger-sama singing? I can’t tell with all this noise.”

“Umm, it goes something like this: 〜〜♪”

“…Ave Maria, huh.”

“Hmm, maybe I’ll go listen. Teruo-kun, wanna come?”

“If the young lady is going, then I shall as well.”

“Hey, Ojou, am I just being ignored here?”

“You’re not interested, right?”

“Nope.”

This is always how it goes with Oyo-chan—Sumeragi Yoshiko.
Same with Teruo-kun: always quiet unless he has something necessary to say.

In cases like this, there’s no need to ask Micchan. 

She’s more than ready to protect me, at least within the school grounds.

“Well then, let’s go listen. After that, I’ll go back to the mansion with the two of you.”

With those words, I start moving, waving lightly to Oyo-chan who sees us off, then I take the two of them to the first-grade classroom.

There, we all get enchanted by Koshiro-kun’s beautiful voice, then together with Koshiro-kun and Yoko-chan, we head to the waiting room inside the elementary school, where we meet the car sent from the mansion.

In my case, my maid Shizu comes to pick me up, and each of the other two has one servant coming as well.
After studying at the Ootori main residence, we each return to our respective homes, so two cars are used. 

My retainer candidates’ role ends at this waiting room.

Since the two Ootori kids are first graders, they don’t have retainer candidates like me.
Also, only the eldest child of the main family starts choosing retainers at this age, so this will be the routine during elementary school.

Communication with Teruo-kun, who is one of my potential suitors, isn’t going very well yet, but it’s not something to worry about right now.
Besides, since I’ve already picked him up and have him by my side at this point, no bad flags should be raised unless I mess something up.

(Besides, Teruo-kun’s destined love interest is the game’s protagonist, after all…)

“?”

As I was thinking that and glancing over at Teruo-kun, who was on standby near the door, he keenly noticed my gaze.

That sharp awareness must have been honed in the slums.
Curious, I gave him a little beckoning gesture with my hand.

“What is it, Reiko-ojou-sama?”

He responded with a flat tone, and while that may seem mature for a seven-year-old, it felt more like a lack of emotion than maturity.

Well, that’s also how his character was in the game.

I’d like to do something about it, but I’m still unsure if I should.

“You must be bored waiting, right? Let’s have a little chat. Micchan, you too.”

“Y-yes.”

Right now, this kind of distance between me and Teruo-kun is probably just right.

The Ootori children and Katsujirou-kun are way too close.

Fast food restaurant

A&W was founded in 1919.
In Japan, its chain stores exist only in Okinawa, it seems.

However, their main drink is root beer, not cola.