a special person

... Bang! !

　I collapse.

　I ran through it, dashing off, and finally reached the goal... I also ran through it.

　But behind me, no, behind me, no sound.

　Normally, in this situation, it wouldn't be strange to hear an onomatopoeic sound like "Tattatat".

　However, I never heard such a sound.

　That's right...I was a bitch.

"Ahahahahahaha! Kai is slower than me~"

　Irene's loud laughter echoes through her ears.

　...Shit, I wasn't supposed to lose.

　I should have been able to win with the main character correcting that.

"What... in... Haa, haa... Irene... is... faster than me..."

　I couldn't even pronounce her name correctly because of the choppy words, and my whistling sound rang out.

　Words didn't come out right away, maybe partly because of my frustration.

　After all, Irene must have received the same civilian education as me.

　In addition, I was also trained in physical arts, so I had more confidence in my physical strength than Irene.

　So it looks like this. Question marks and self-doubts echo in your head.

"Hehehe, that's not true. After Kai and Haiku came back from school and helped around the house, they seemed to be training for some kind of battle, so I decided to run by myself in the evening to build up my strength. I got it."

　eh! ? When did you know

　It seems that Irene knew that we were training to fight each other with imitation bamboo swords.

　But why didn't you ask me to train with you?　

　If Irene knew we were training, I thought she'd say she wanted to join us.

　…And why do I need to run?

"I hate battles. Since I was born in the Empire, I think it's inevitable that I'll be involved in battles in some way. However, my true feelings are that I don't want to be directly involved in battles. I just don't want to fight. That doesn't mean they don't put any effort into it.That's why I studied hard.I somehow knew that Kai and Haiku were training hard in Taijutsu outside of school.They were always together, so I could tell by their atmosphere. Wow...That's why I thought I had to work hard too, so I decided to work hard at running as well.Even if I didn't learn Taijutsu, I continued to work hard at running so that I could keep up with Kai on the hike. "

　I wonder if Irene has telepathy!　

　How do you know what I'm thinking?　

　My feelings are so intense that I don't feel relieved but feel anxious...

"Hahaha, I can tell by your face. You know it without me even asking. How many years do you think we've been together? Even I don't know what you're thinking. I know you're there. When you're thinking about difficult things, I don't know what you're thinking about, but when you're thinking emotionally, you're simple. Kai."

　Saying that, Haiku smiled with a bright smile.

　By the way, it seems that Hiku arrived quite a bit before me.

"Ahaha… ahahahaha!"

　I couldn't help but laugh.

　He kept laughing. She continues to laugh as she falls onto her back.

"Oh? I thought you were disappointed that you lost to me, but it seems that's not the case."

"Ah, ha, ha! No, no, I'm sure it's frustrating. I'm so frustrated that I've lost my confidence. I thought I was trying my best. But, you know, I felt more funny than frustrated. After all, it's funny, right? .Even though we're not family, I think we know each other better than family. Just because our homes are close doesn't mean we get this close."

　I let out a sigh.

"... It's strange. I spend more time with Haiku and Irene than I spend with my family. The three of us go to school early in the morning and come home together. Even on school holidays together. Play...because you know, I spend more time with my family than when I go home and spend a few hours with them.Of course, I think about sleeping time with my family separately.Sleep early at night, early in the morning. I'll leave the house as soon as I wake up."

"Certainly. I will move my body at school, and when I come home, I will help and move my body, and when I get home, I will just eat and sleep. Haha, it's definitely not family, but it's more than family."

　Haiku said something nice like that. "Not family, but more than family."

　...That sounds nice.

　I want to use it when an important scene comes somewhere in my life.

"That's right. Unlike Kai and Haiku, I go home and help with the weaving work, but it doesn't feel like this. When my father comes home from the field after work and starts cooking with my mother, the atmosphere changes again and I feel like I'm spending time with my family. I wonder if

　Ah, I know what you mean.

　Even though we are family, when we are working, we are co-workers.

　The relationship is more like a boss and a subordinate than a work colleague.

　I also work in the fields with my father, but unlike when I'm at home, I don't have as many words to say.

　They talk to some extent, but they prioritize their work, and if they don't prioritize it, they run the risk of being informed and sent to prison, so it tends to be an atmosphere where they have to do their work all the more.

"Yeah, that's what I'm trying to say. When I'm working, it's not like spending time with my family. Also, I have one day off a week, but I spend half the day at home." With the help of the other children, it seems that the other children are studying and training alone, but the three of us are spending the rest of the day playing. We've spent so much time together, so I think we get to know each other better than anyone else, and we get along well. I think that's why they try to play so much together.

"Kai says that a lot, but is it really that weird? It's true that there aren't any people who are as close as we are."

"Yeah. It's more unusual than strange. After all, Haiku and Irene are on good terms with the other girls to some extent, but compared to us, are there any scenes where you feel like there's a distance between them? "

"Yes. We're on good terms to some extent, but not as close as Kai and Haiku. I think there's a sense of rivalry somewhere in our hearts so that we don't lose each other's grades. Your future will be determined by your own good grades. , I want to get better grades than the other girls if possible. Kai is different. I don't feel like I'm a rival.''

"Right. I don't think Irene is a rival either. Haiku is aiming to be an officer, so he's not a competitor, but Irene and I studied the same class, aiming to be a similar civil officer, and ranked first. And I think it's strange to have a more nasty relationship, or a relationship where you can't talk to each other. I don't have that kind of feeling at all, and sometimes I wonder if Fouche has that kind of feeling towards us... Rather, I've grown up working hard together with Irene and Haiku. I think we're good friends.I think everyone else is friends too, but these two are special to me.''

　I wanted to say ``not family, but more than family,'' but I was embarrassed and ended up saying ``special existence.''

　I envy people like Haiku who can express their feelings frankly. Shame outweighs honest feelings.

　It's embarrassing, isn't it? I think Haiku can often say such words out of his mouth.

　I was convinced that I still couldn't do it.

　...Let's keep these words in our hearts just a little longer... for the more important moments in our lives.