NOVEL NEXT chapter 13
13: Kindergarten, A New Dark Shadow Approaches Stealthily
As the street trees scattered pale pink petals, I made my way to the kindergarten.
The new faces of my companions were not much different from those in the nursery. Naturally so. Both the nursery and kindergarten are facilities within the same large campus, and it’s typical for the nursery’s group to move to the kindergarten, and the kindergarten’s group to move to the elementary school.
Although I didn’t play much with my peers and only looked after the younger ones, I felt like I could blend in with my peers just like any other preschooler, without standing out or being left behind.
If I did this, the “enemies” would surely let their guard down—yes, if I wanted to survive, it was essential to appear weak and lull the opponent into complacency. Even if they thought, “It’s not worth crushing,” it would increase our chances of survival.
Just as I did at the nursery, in the kindergarten, I intended to live a life that was inconspicuous, obedient to the kindergarten teacher moderately, made friends moderately, and engaged in moderate mischief.
However, just when the routine kindergarten life seemed to begin, a single unsettling shadow was cast over it.
A transfer student.
Strictly speaking, not a “transfer student”—someone who has entered the kindergarten from a different nursery or home care, and since they joined during the entrance ceremony, it would be slightly different to say “transfer.”
In any case, I naturally remained cautious towards someone I didn’t share the same milk pot with at the nursery.
If I was cautious, what would I do?
Naturally, it was to “know.”
There are so many things in the world to be cautious about, and it’s impossible to maintain maximum caution for all of them. The mind will fatigue, the body will weaken, and one will be unable to deal with it when needed.
So, by knowing, one can judge whether to continue being cautious or to stop.
During my free time, I led the escalator group from the nursery and surrounded the external entrants. Let’s go, you guys! Oh! By moderately not standing out, moderately being obedient, and moderately misbehaving, I had become like the leader of the nursery group. Moderation is amazing.
The external entrants seemed somewhat timid, and I stared at them intently.
“W-what?”
Among the external entrants, there was a girl who walked towards me.
Oh? I tilted my head.
We were still four years old. It’s certainly not a problem to walk on two legs, and it’s possible to run around normally, climb trees, and even handle the complex technique of “origami” with our hands.
Even in terms of language, we were becoming clearer. There were still some uncertain words, but we were proficient enough in language to handle everyday conversations.
However, even for me, her statement of “W-what?” felt somewhat mature.
Not inarticulate or uncertain. I was impressed by her clear and mature pronunciation.
And I formed a hypothesis.
This one—she was born in April!
Just as two-thirds of the world I was reincarnated into followed this, this world also adopted a twelve-month system.
Naturally, a year starts from January, but strangely, events like entering the kindergarten are held in April.
As a result of this system, “those born in April celebrate their birthdays earlier than anyone else in the class.”
Well, that’s it—only those with low awareness would think so. But we are four-year-olds. Four-year-old children are creatures that grow rapidly.
—
Four years and ten months versus four years and two months, the former is more developed in body and mind—thus, stronger.
In a world where there was no such thing as “babies being magically the strongest creatures,” being “born earlier than other classmates” could be considered an advantageous adjustment.
I scrutinized the girls from the external group with even greater caution—she, who was taller than me when the words were clear, was indeed a threat. I must not make an enemy of her.
I pondered while biting my finger. Born in April. A tall girl. What should I do? She’s a little scary. Her eyes seem sharp, and she might be someone I shouldn’t provoke…
Perhaps the external group members feel uneasy seeing the solidarity among the nursery group, but even we in the nursery group harbor fear towards the unknown entity called the external group.
In an attempt not to be underestimated at first impression, we surrounded her with a large group, but there was no specific plan for what to do after surrounding her. The girl is tall and intimidating. What should I do? I feel like crying.
But I am already a four-year-old big brother. Big brothers don’t cry. So, what should I do?
Yes, big brothers—should be kind.
I recalled the lessons I learned in the nursery. “Because you’re a big brother, be kind to younger children.” The nursery taught me various things that are useful in life. One could say my life was intertwined with the nursery.
Nursery. Nursery teacher. What I learned there certainly resided within me when I came to preschool.
I reached out my hand to the girl who seemed like an April-born.
I’m Rex. Nice to meet you.
The girl, after a moment of surprise, tucked her hand into her tousled red hair and then reached out her hand to me.
“I’m Sheila!”
We shook hands vigorously.
After that, we played with origami together.
The teacher watched us with a smile…