Chapter 13

"Hmm~"

I opened the box in front of me and smiled slyly.

In my room, where no one else was, I sometimes pulled out this locked box from the back of my closet at night and checked its contents.

"It's really piling up nicely, isn't it?"

Inside the box were stacks of bills.

I am currently saving money in a drawer.

In the Kishouin household, they give me an allowance that is unimaginable by my standards.

Every month, though the amount is not fixed, it is usually several tens of thousands of yen at a time.

That's not the kind of allowance you give to an elementary school student, is it?

I think giving such large sums of money to children will not make them into decent adults in the future.

They say it's for socializing with friends and for when I need something, but I never go out to play with school friends after class, so I have no use for it.

The school buys anything I need, and if I want something outside, the chauffeur and caretaker provide it.

Thanks to this, the money just keeps piling up.

I'm saving this money for the future, just in case the family falls into decline. I want to use it for tuition.

However, I do have things I want to buy secretly (mainly snacks), so I decided on a monthly allowance for myself. It's 500 yen a month.

I think that's a reasonable amount for an elementary school student's allowance.

The rest of the money goes into this larger, locked jewelry box.

Since it would be suspicious for a child to want a safe, I was looking for something that could be locked when I found it in a jewelry shop.

It was the right size for a child to carry with both arms and perfect for storing bills.

I immediately begged my mother to buy it for me.

While everyone around me thought I was captivated by the glittery, pretty design of the jewelry box, I chose it for its practicality.

As a bonus, she even bought me a pink sapphire necklace to go with the jewelry box, which was unexpected.

That night, I hesitantly but firmly tore out the soft velvet ring holders and dividers from the jewelry box, turning it back into a simple square box.

Then, I transferred the money I had been hiding between the pages of a dictionary into the former jewelry box, now a cash safe.

As expected, the bills fit comfortably, and it seemed to serve as a good safe.

I found a good item.

To make sure I don't lose the key, I taped it to the back of a drawer.

Now, I sometimes check the pot of gold coins hidden under the floor at night and smirk like a corrupt official.

"One, two..."

Hehehehehe... I can't stop laughing.

At the academy, as the grade level increases, the internal caste system becomes more apparent, though roughly.

The upper class, of course, consists of the Petit Pivoine members. There are only about 10 of them in each grade, so their position is unshakable.

Even being able to enter the Shuian Elementary School means they are already from a certain upper-class background, so they are subtly divided into middle and lower classes based on their personal qualities rather than their family's influence.

The top students in the middle class become the followers of the upper class and exert their influence.

The quiet students in the lower class live quietly.

And I am the top member of the largest group among the girls.

Thanks to this, I don't get bullied, but it's sad that the quiet students are afraid of me. I would rather chat leisurely with those kids.

The group I belong to is already quite snobbish, even though we are children.

None of them would ever eat convenience store snacks.

Since there are a few Petit Pivoine members in the group, it values tradition and prestige. The followers flaunt this, which is quite tiring.

I'm always on edge, wondering when the mask of a fake lady will fall off.

I can't afford to ruin the Kishouin family's reputation, so I laugh and go along with the group's conversations.

Even as a child, the interpersonal relationships are already complicated.

One day, while walking down the hallway with the usual group of girls, I saw Aizawa-kun coming from the opposite direction.

Aizawa-kun noticed me and smiled, about to wave, but he seemed intimidated by the girls around me and passed by with a slightly scared look.

...Ugh, as expected.

Groups of girls are scary. Especially our group.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Aizawa-kun.

We've become quite close recently, always sitting next to each other at cram school, and I thought I had finally made a male friend. It would be sad if he got scared and started avoiding me at cram school.

I'll apologize to him today.

"No, I don't mind. I ignored you too, so it's even, right?"

When I got to the cram school, I immediately apologized, saying, "I'm sorry for making it hard to talk to me. I ignored you, too," and Aizawa-kun laughed and forgave me. He's a good kid.

"Talking to a group of girls takes courage, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, especially Kishouin-san's group."

That's true.

Aizawa-kun is in the middle class of the internal caste system among boys. He doesn't act as a follower of the upper class, nor is he quiet like the lower class. He's a typical middle-class kid.

To me, that position seems the most free and comfortable, so I envy him.

"Do your friends know that you and I go to the same cram school?"

"No, I haven't even told them that I go to a cram school."

"Oh, really? Should I not have mentioned it? I've already told a few friends."

"I wasn't really hiding it... but I didn't have a reason to mention it either."

That's a lie. I've been hiding it completely.

Because if it got out, other kids might try to join me, and I wouldn't be able to buy snacks at the convenience store anymore.

"Hmm. Then maybe it's better not to talk to you at the academy. I'd have to explain how I know you."

"No, you don't have to worry about it. It's fine."

That would make me feel like I'm being treated like a shadow, which is unfair.

Besides, Aizawa-kun is already at the cram school, and I've given up on going to the convenience store, so it's not a big deal if the cram school gets out.

"Yeah, but still, it's better this way. Kishouin-san is different at the academy and at the cram school, right?"

"Really? Different?"

"Yeah. I was the one who started talking to you, but I didn't expect you to be so easy to talk to. I thought you'd be more like, 'Don't talk to me, you're not worthy.'"

"Whaaat!"

"Ahaha"

So that's how I'm seen...

I had a vague idea, but it's still a shock.

"Do I come across as that unpleasant?"

"Ah, sorry, did I hurt your feelings? Well, it's not in a bad way. It's just that, you know, Pivoine people are in a different world from us. And you're called Reika-sama by your friends."

"Ah..."

The honorific "sama" is, I think, a remnant of the old traditions of Shuian.

Pivoine members are especially likely to be called "sama."

"Should I call you Kishouin-sama or Reika-sama?"

"Absolutely not."

Aizawa-kun laughed, "Ahaha," without considering my feelings.