Chapter 39

In Nara, the main attraction is still the shrines and temples.

To be honest, I was starting to get a bit tired of it all when I came across a child reciting the Manyoshu.

The other children around him looked at him with admiration.

A primary school student reciting the Manyoshu. Is this what culture is? Is this what culture is!

I really want to learn from him!

The Manyoshu poem I remember is the one about "akanesasu" that I learned in my previous life.

My friends and I used to play a game called "Okada no Ou" and often waved our hands at each other, saying, "If you wave so much, the wild guards will see you!"

Suddenly, if I start reciting an unrelated poem by Okada no Ou here, it would be strange, and if I'm seen as having a competitive spirit, it would be troublesome, so I decide to wait and see before showing off my cultural knowledge.

It seems many other children were thinking along similar lines, as I could hear "Kaki wo kuu to..." being recited from various spots at Horyu-ji. It wasn't just cultural; it was rather silly.

Of course, I didn't do it.

When I went in front of the Yumedono, I somehow muttered, "Nissho no tennō..." and the tour guide praised me, saying it was wonderful. The other children also said, "As expected of Rika-sama!"

I was just saying the title of a shoujo manga...

But I decided not to correct the misunderstanding.

An incident occurred at Nara Park.

While elegantly strolling through the park with deer crackers, I was surrounded by a herd of deer.

The other children quickly ran away, but I was left behind!

They're big! The deer are big!

Scary! The antlers are scary!

Painful! I was hit on the back! Ah! The deer took my crackers!

"Rika-sama, run away!"

"Ah! Rika-sama is being attacked by deer!"

"Rika-sama, throw the deer crackers far away!"

When I tried to throw the deer crackers far away, they fluttered and fell at my feet.

Ah!

The deer kicked and rammed me, and once they realized I no longer had any crackers, they moved on to their next target and left.

"Rika-sama, are you okay?"

"Ah! Rika-sama is in such a state!"

"...I'm fine, everyone. Thank you."

What was that? A gang? A deer gang? A deer mafia?

They were too aggressive...

When I came on a school trip in my previous life, it was a much more peaceful experience. What happened, deer?

The other children helped clean the dirt from my uniform, and I managed to compose myself and calm down. When I finally did, I met the gaze of Chikage, who was smirking.

That guy is laughing...

I'm so frustrated! I want to scatter deer crackers around him!

But I have a more pressing issue right now.

No one has noticed.

I stepped in deer droppings.

"Let's head back soon. Rika-sama, that was really tough."

"Hey, deer are so scary. The ones I fed were cute, though."

"Are you hurt anywhere? Ugh! No boys helped at all! How disappointing!"

While walking with everyone, I subtly scraped the droppings off the bottom of my loafers without anyone noticing.

I convinced myself that I was limping because I was injured from the deer attack.

After that, at the Kasuga Taisha, I made sure to pray to the gods to teach the deer some manners.

There were cute deer omikuji, which I would have grabbed in a heartbeat before today, but the mental scars from the deer attack haven't healed yet, so even the cute wooden deer looked menacing to me.

However, since everyone was excitedly buying them, I decided to join in.

The omikuji I drew was "good." Again, it's a bit ambiguous...

The only good thing that came out of the deer attack is that I feel the distance between me and the other children has shortened.

I hope we can gradually become friends, not just acquaintances.

I tried a subtle friend appeal.

"Thank you so much earlier. After all, it's good to have friends."

Everyone smiled happily.

Maybe we were already friends?

But since the deer attack, every time I pass Chikage, his shoulders are shaking.

Aaaaahh!!

I'm definitely going to tell Yurie-sama about this.

He can laugh all he wants now, but when we get back to Tokyo, he'll be the one crying.

I bought soap from a Kyoto ryokan and cute candy as souvenirs for Aoi and Fukuhara-san.

Choosing something other than yatsuhashi or aburatori paper shows my fashion sense.

Fukuhara-san apparently asked Aizawa-kun to buy matching love charms from a shrine for her and Aizawa-kun.

It was also a way to assert her position among the girls at Suiran.

Impressive, Fukuhara-san.

I bought a traffic safety charm for my brother, but he didn't hang it on his car's mirror, which made me a bit disappointed.

"Why not?" I don't understand.

Chikage was apparently scolded for not paying more attention to the other children to avoid causing trouble for Yurie-sama.

Serves him right. Hehehehe.

Later, a photo was passed to me via Yurie-sama and Aira-sama.

It was a photo of me being beaten up by a herd of deer.

Aira-sama sympathized, saying, "That must have been tough. Yurie was surprised too when she saw this."

Aaaaaahh!!

I won't forgive this!!