CH 26

(Arika POV)

“Then, Amachi san, do you think you can solve this problem?”

“Yes.”

Sixth period math class.

Three other classmates in a row are asked to guess a problem they can’t solve.

The first reason why Number III is considered difficult is that it is the last subject studied in high school mathematics.

For example, if there is a problem you do not understand in Number I, you can understand it by reading the explanation of that problem. But in the case of Number III, knowledge of Number IA and Number IIB is necessary, so even if you cannot do a Number III problem and read the explanation, you will not be able to understand it because the explanation of the content starts from the Number II field. Also, the calculations are complicated and you may make mistakes along the way.

I am sitting in the middle seat in the back of the class, holding the notebook with the answers, and walk over to the blackboard.

I take a glance at the notebook I have prepared in advance and check it just to make sure.

Notes are left on the teaching table, and slightly more complex problems on the blackboard are solved on the spot.

The chalk scrapes against the chalkboard, making a lively sound in the quiet classroom, and mathematical formulas are written on the blackboard at a brisk tempo.

……For the time being, here’s what I think.

“Amazing.”

“Arika san, that’s great!”

Behind me, there was a steady stream of such compliments from my classmates.

I check with the female math teacher who was standing next to the blackboard looking at the equations.

“How is it, Sensei?”

“As expected, Amachi san. Your handwriting is perfect.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

I smile and thank the teacher for the praise with a satisfied look on my face, and return to my seat in the fifth row from the teaching table, at the end of the row.

“I knew you were smart, Amachi san!”

“As expected of the student council president. She’s smart and beautiful, too perfect.”

The student in front of me is conversing discreetly while the teacher begins to explain. They seem to be talking secretly while glancing at me, but I can hear them all.

This is my normal self.

When I’m not with Towa, I’m the honor student that everyone longs for.

The student council president naturally has an image of being an honor student. So I act accordingly.

But no one knows.

That I am a terrible sister.

That I have romantic feelings for my brother.

I can’t do anything at home.

Yes, even that time–

“Ouch”

That night I found a letter left by Towa saying he was staying at Runa’s house for a while, I was standing in the kitchen, cooking.

I cut my hand and had to pause.

“Knives are hard……”

I Wash the cut with water, wipe it with a towel, and wrap it with a bandage.

Returning to the kitchen again, I found a spread of vegetables with irregular shapes. They were cut too finely, and their original shapes were no longer recognizable. I’m not sure I’ll be able to make the dish I’m after.

Cooking is difficult.

Thin slices, fine slices, slits, …… I’m not sure which cut is best suited for the dishes I make.

“If I want to see how to make one of these……”

I was about to take out my phone when Sumika walked into the living room.

“One chan? What are you making?”

“Oh, Sumika. I-I was going to make curry. ……”

“C-Curry…..”

Sumika is puzzled by the scattered pieces of vegetables.

The housework is left almost entirely to Towa. That is why neither Sumika nor I have ever cooked.

“Sorry, I’ll get you a new one right away……”

“No no, it’s okay. Sumi going to go buy some prepared foods. It’s cheaper at this time of the day.

“Oh, wait, it’s not safe for you to go alone. I’ll go with you.”

The time is 8:30. It is dark outside, and it is dangerous for a girl like Sumika to wander around alone.

“Thanks. I wonder if something would have been different if I could have talked to onii chan honestly like this.”

“Y-Yeah…I guess so”

I am not an honor student. A real honor student would be something like Runa I guess—–