CVS 04

Chapter 4

“Since we have a new young lady today, let’s have a light review of what an Awakened is.”

I was a little nervous, but the class was fun.

We weren’t given any time to introduce ourselves, but it seemed like everyone already knew who I was.

I have to do well.

Because I had to become vice class president.

I tried to sit up straight with my tiny body.

But it wasn’t easy because I was sitting on a soft cushion instead of a hard chair.

“Who can explain why Awakened are important?”

The teacher here wore a round monocle. Her gray hair was tied back and draped over one shoulder.

She also had very dark circles under her eyes and looked extremely tired.

I want to give her Syu’s special carrot soup.

That would make her full of energy!

While I was thinking that, a boy suddenly raised his hand.

A plump Jerusalem artichoke…….

The boy had potato-colored hair and blue eyes. He confidently opened his mouth toward the teacher.

“They are an important means of attack and defense when fighting territorial wars. Without Awakened, we can’t protect our territory!”

“That is correct. To add one more thing, quality is more important than quantity. Not long ago, the territories surrounding Bellarion of the Eclipse formed an alliance and attacked, but they were all massacred. They had as many as seventeen Awakened among them, yet they couldn’t defeat Bellarion’s Awakened.”

Swish.

A huge map unfolded across the blackboard.

Beside it was a drawing shaped like a person, surrounded by sparkling geometric shapes.

“Bijou are proof that someone is an Awakened. Those of you here should already have a Bijou, or at the very least, a place where one will emerge.”

I knew what that was, too. The Carrot Class teacher had been surprised when she saw my left shoulder blade.

But I had never seen it with my own eyes.

“Territorial wars can happen at any time, and your duty is to protect Pasayen. There are many forms of protection. Who can explain?”

Huh? Wait a minute.

Then why wasn’t she telling us what a Bijou was?

Curious, I quickly raised my hand.

The teacher stared at me for a moment.

“Your name?”

“Chuuperty.”

“You must be Lady Syu. Go ahead.”

I’m Chuu, so why does everyone call me Syu?

I didn’t really understand, but for now, I waddled to my feet.

“I have a question.”

“Is it a question?”

“What is Bijou?”

“Pfft.”

The moment I asked, laughter burst out from behind me.

Then the Jerusalem artichoke from earlier started snickering the loudest.

“You came crawling in here without even knowing that?”

There had been a friend like that at daycare, too. I was usually the one who calmly taught such friends better.

So I put my hands on my hips and said,

“You can not know. If you don’t know, you should teach me.”

“Oh, really? For a commoner orphan, you sure have a sharp tongue.”

Heeheehee.

Several children laughed along with the Jerusalem artichoke.

They were all twice my age and much bigger than me.

They weren’t scary or anything… but it still hurt my feelings.

“As for what a Bijou is… find out before the next class.”

“Yes.”

I’ll ask Rina.

They never taught us that at daycare.

“Anyway, the administrative side of the territory is the responsibility of the Family Head and the heir. The military side is governed by the Admiral. Then what role does a Spirit Resonant have?”

I became a honey-fed bear.

Because I didn’t know.

“You don’t know that either. Then, Ricardo, why don’t you explain?”

The teacher turned her gaze toward the Jerusalem artichoke.

I plopped back down onto my cushion, feeling a little dejected.

If someone asked me how many grams of flour and sugar were needed for ten chocolate chip cookies, I could tell them everything!

It felt unfair to be looked down on just because I hadn’t learned something yet. My nose even started to sting.

But I held it in once again so I wouldn’t cry.

“A Spirit Resonant is a religious figure who conveys the words of the Ancestral Whale. During battle, if the Spirit Resonant sings a song of blessing, the Awakened can display greater strength, and their wounds can also heal!”

“That’s correct. The person with the highest resonance rate with the Ancestral Whale becomes the Spirit Resonant. You know this very well.”

When he was praised, the Jerusalem artichoke named Ricardo glanced at me and smirked.

Seeing his smug expression, I… I……

Got angry.

“I won’t let this go.”

I quietly muttered it and clenched my little fists.

It seemed like I was going to have to show them how good I was at punching bread dough.

I studied hard for the rest of the classes.

Whenever there was something I didn’t really understand, I made sure to remember it separately.

I had never learned how to read, but I could read anyway, so it wasn’t too difficult to keep up with the lessons.

“Phew.”

But sitting for so long was a little tiring.

I grabbed the chocolate chip cookie they gave us for a snack with both hands and took a huge bite.

While I was crunching away, a shadow fell over me.

It was the Jerusalem artichoke and his group.

“Hey, you came with His Excellency the Admiral earlier, didn’t you?”

Thump.

A boy with purple sweet-potato-colored hair, one of the Jerusalem artichoke’s friends, pushed my shoulder.

The cookie slipped from my hand, fell to the floor, and shattered with a crack.

“……”

We both froze at the sudden incident.

“My cookie.”

It was mine. I hadn’t even eaten half of it yet.

But first, I took a deep breath and held it for three seconds. Then I put my hands on my hips and spoke clearly.

“Apologize.”

“What?”

“You must not hit or push your friends. You have to say, ‘I’m sorry,’ and give them a hug.”

“What is she talking about? Is this commoner crazy?”

But the purple sweet potato actually started talking back to me.

And he poked my shoulder again! Again! He kept poking me!

‘If someone hits you, bite them.’

The uncle’s words flashed through my mind.

I’ll endure it just one more time. Just once more.

Because the Carrot Class teacher had told me so.

‘Chuu, when you get angry, you have to endure it three times, and hold it for three seconds. Understand? Promise your teacher that you’ll do that.’

This was the second time. And three seconds.

Now there was only one time left.

At that moment, the Jerusalem artichoke suddenly snatched the name tag hanging from my chest.

It happened so quickly that I couldn’t do anything.

“Give it back!”

I couldn’t let this happen.

I really couldn’t let him take that.

It’s precious.

For the first time, tears welled up in my eyes.

But none of the children around me helped. They only stood there watching.

It’s break time, so the teacher isn’t here.

What should I do?

What should I do? What should I do? What should I do?

Someone, please help me.

“Hey, they say you’re an Awakened, too. You have a Bijou, don’t you?”

Even then, the bad guy who had stolen my name tag continued to sneer viciously.

I jumped up and down, trying to get my name tag back, but I was too short to do anything.

“Then take it back. How dare some snot-nosed brat become Lord Diegon’s daughter? I won’t accept it. That was the position I… I wanted to have!”

Poke, poke.

Ricardo kept poking me in the chest with his finger before finally shoving me hard.

I stumbled backward and fell onto my bottom with a thud.

Then—

“What’s so special about this little thing? Class president? You seem to think you’re somebody important, but you’re just a commoner. A filthy commoner!”

Riiip—!

A very ominous sound rang out, and the name tag in front of my eyes was torn in half.

My pride, which I had treasured so much—my precious, precious pride!

I can’t take it anymore.

Snap.

My patience broke.

At the same time, everything in front of my eyes turned white.

“What is this?”

“Water droplets?”

“Wait, this power is… Urgh!”

Water droplets began bubbling up around my tiny body.

At first, they were no bigger than soap bubbles, but before long, my pink hair began fluttering in the air.

Ricardo felt a chill from my two eyes, whose pupils had disappeared, and stumbled backward.

At that moment, an eerily powerful force exploded.

“Aaaaaah!”

“P-Please save me!”

“We’re sorry! We’re sorry… Waaahhh!”

What is this?

There’s no strength left in my whole body.

I think I heard screams from far away, but I couldn’t really tell.

The last thing I heard was the uncle’s voice.

“It’s all right. Calm down and get some sleep. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Somehow, his voice was so warm…

I felt like it really was okay to fall asleep just like this.

So I hugged the uncle tightly.

“Sniff, hic… Chuu’s name ta… I’m not cla… class president anymore. Waaahhh!”

All the sadness inside me finally exploded.