Volume 1 Chapter 4

Volume 1 + Chapter 4: Contact And Seduction

The transfer student, who resembled a moon princess, showed no fear of the wolf-like mysterious creature’s dignity as she spoke words of reproach.

She looked so frail that a breeze might knock her over, yet she was surprisingly bold.

However, even her reproachful words were delivered in a soft, weak tone, perfectly matching her impression.

The scolding words that left her mouth transformed into something non-aggressive, as if driven by mere curiosity.

I stared at the transfer student while holding a throat lozenge in my mouth without crunching it, throat lozenges are meant to be sucked slowly.

Chewing them like before was simply wasteful.

[Watanabe-san, aren’t you going home yet?]

Even without receiving an answer, the moon princess continued speaking naturally.

[Endou, what about your older sister?]

Seeing the text box that suddenly appeared with its [Do not ignore] demand, I finally deigned to speak.

[My sister went home ahead of me. I’m waiting here for Watanabe-san.]

[Why wait for me?]

As if she hadn’t expected me to drop my aloofness so quickly, the moon princess looked puzzled and surprised, but she still answered me.

[Because I want to be friends with Watanabe-san.]

The moon princess smiled softly and extended an invitation to the wolf.

My initial impression of the moon princess and the sun princess was “twin flowers.”

White spider lilies and blood-red spider lilies, both symbolize death, and indeed, these sisters exuded an aura of [death].

Neither sister could endure the sunlight, their white and red parasols became their signatures outdoors.

The teacher’s tacit approval and the girls’ consistently pale complexions subconsciously hinted at something the other children understood.

This was the white spider lily’s first seduction. The wolf’s sharp instincts whispered of the danger she posed.

Why me?

Holding this question inwardly, I silently watched the moon princess.

Her smile held no shadow, yet that very smile was dangerous.

Feigned harmlessness differs from genuine innocence.

Wrapping all danger within, that white smile carried malice toward me.

Yet this malice wasn’t meant to harm me, it was a desire to turn me into a kindred spirit.

This feeling inexplicably made me raise my hand and gaze at the tightly worn bracelet, a symbol of [blessing].

Suddenly, I understood.

Ah, so that’s it.

It is both a shackle and a blessing, a blessing and a curse.

What did Rin-nee encounter back then?

For the first time in a long while, I silently spoke her name.

Even knowing her gift wasn’t entirely given with blessings, it didn’t matter to me.

To me, as long as thoughts and harm remain unacted upon, all can be forgiven.

The text box appeared again. This time, its demand was [Become friends].

[Alright then, I’m your friend now.]

The proud wolf king revealed a disdainful smirk.

And so, she accepted the white spider lily’s request to become friends.

——

The next day, I arrived at school.

Seeing the group of little boys happily clustered between the desks, I spoke up with displeasure.

[Hey, how long are you blockheads going to crowd here?!]

[Ah! Boss! Kamimura brought a huge cake! Boss, come quick!]

My underling grabbed my hand and plopped me onto a stool. On the desk before me sat a twelve-inch cake.

For little kids, this was indeed a big cake.

[Kamimura said the first slice should go to the boss. That guy sure knows how to play nice.]

My underling placed his index finger under his nose, probably imitating someone on TV, thinking he looked cool, but he actually looked ridiculous.

Kamimura, usually low-key, blushed as he handed me the cake knife.

At the same time, his gaze brimmed with admiration and reverence, making my brow twitch.

[B-Boss… please cut first.]

Why is he using keigo?

I felt a headache coming on as I sighed and beckoned Kamimura over.

[This cake is a birthday blessing for you. You should share in cutting the first slice.]

With that, I grasped Kamimura’s hand, and together we cut the cake.

As for where Kamimura got squeezed off to after the cake was cut, that was none of my concern.

Kamimura’s family had prepared enough cake plates for the whole class and the teacher, plus a few spares.

After shooing away the little wolves crowding around me, I noticed there was still plenty left. Turning to the friend I’d just made yesterday, I said.

[Princess, would you come here please?]

[Why do you call me princess?]

It seemed she thought that after solidifying our friendship yesterday, I’d obediently call her “Yuna-chan” as she wished.

Sorry, but that nauseating nickname, I really can’t bring myself to say it.

Without a text box forcing me, there’s no way I’d go against my true feelings and force myself to change how I address her.

Though clearly unhappy with my form of address, Endou’s younger sister still came to my side.

Along with her came countless bewildered stares.

[Call the girls in class over one by one to get cake. I don’t remember their names.]

[Ah, okay.]

The moon princess answered obediently, while the sun princess, who’d followed along, listened silently without a word but also came to help.

The sun princess handed me cake plates → I placed cakes on them and passed them to the moon princess → then the moon princess gave them to the little girls.

With this clear division of labor, the cake was soon distributed to everyone.

I placed the teacher’s portion on the podium, stretched, and stepped away.

[Boss! You haven’t eaten any yet!]

Maybe because I celebrated his birthday yesterday, Kamimura had become even more enthusiastic toward me than before.

Staring at the fork with cake thrust in front of my face, I felt my mouth twitch.

Forcing myself to suppress a look of disgust, I reminded myself not to hurt a child’s tender heart. Yet unable to fully hide my disdain, I silently turned my head away.

[Boss! Don’t hold back! Come on, eat up!]

Kamimura kept waving that fork with a small piece of cake, pressing closer, crumbs at the corner of his mouth blatantly showing off.

And the half-eaten remnants stuck to the fork challenged my sanity.

Unable to endure it any longer, I opened my mouth to take a deep breath and compose myself, when a bite of cake was fed directly into my mouth.

The feeder was the beaming moon princess.

Deciding that a girl’s saliva was acceptable, I silently chewed the sweet cake.

[Kamimura-kun, you’re not a girl.

You can’t feed Watanabe-kun, or she’ll get angry.]

The moon princess, wagging her finger as she scolded Kamimura, seemed unaware of the uproar she’d caused.

Perhaps she was aware, and had done it deliberately.

This was a claim of sovereignty.

I read that much from the moon princess’s actions.

Claim sovereignty? Whatever. Indifferent, I walked to my seat and opened my mouth to eat my own slice of cake.

But my underling, utterly incapable of reading the room, came bouncing up to me with an envious tone.

[Boss! You actually got fed cake by the princess! So lucky!]

At that, I smiled.

[You wanna eat dirt?]

Seeing me put down my cake and prepare for action, my underling’s face instantly contorted in panic. He scrambled away, practically rolling out of my attack range.

[Tch.]

Watching him flee, I clicked my tongue in irritation.

With my underling as a cautionary tale, no one else was tactless enough to disturb my enjoyment of the delicious cake.

Finally able to eat in peace, I picked up my cake again, chewing slowly, savoring each bite.

Mm, so good.

Having regressed to a child’s palate, I genuinely loved this sweetness.

Unlike after growing up, when sweetness became something I simply couldn’t appreciate.

The little morning episode was just a small embellishment to ordinary days. Life, returning to its routine, continued its steady, gradual progress.

But today, something out of the ordinary happened again.

[Watanabe-kun, won’t you read in the shade of the trees?]

The girl holding her beautiful little white parasol came to the wolf’s territory and spoke thus to the king commanding the wolf pack.

The herbivorous girls huddled together, watching the girl with fear and concern.

The girl’s sister stood silently behind her, holding her parasol.

[Isn’t it uncomfortable crouching here reading?]

Without even wanting to shift my gaze from my book, I once again saw the text box demanding [Do not ignore].

Sighing, I closed the book, stood up, and asked the girl, “Why do you say that?”

[Because reading in the shade under the trees is much more comfortable.]

The girl spoke in a tone that seemed considerate of me, but in truth, her honeyed words aimed to turn me into a kindred spirit.

Under the tree shade was the girls’ territory, a zone the little boys had demarcated for the little girls.

And the little boys monopolized the toys, swings, and various play equipment. This was an unspoken rule.

I looked at the frail girls beneath the tree shade, then at Endou’s younger sister smiling sweetly at me.

Sighing, I placed my book on the head of a ride-on toy horse, turned, and clapped my hands at the little boys watching me.

Once again, I was about to change the rules.

[Hey, gather up.]

At my command, the little boys instantly complied.

In the blink of an eye, they dropped their toys and crouched before me, awaiting orders.

Oh, it seems they haven’t forgotten the games we used to play.

Recalling my days as the kid boss, I appraised the boys crouched before me.

Noticing my gaze, they straightened their backs, putting on solemn, serious expressions.

[The girls are too weak, they need exercise. I want you to take the girls with you and use the playground equipment here to train their bodies. Got it?!]

[Got it!]

[Louder!]

[GOT IT!!!!!!!]

[Good! Now, train them, but don’t make them cry!

Whoever makes a girl cry will get beaten by me until they cry too!]

[Understood?!]

[UNDERSTOOD!!!!!!]

[Good! Now, start moving!]

I clapped my hands with a sharp smack, and the little boys immediately set into action.

No questions, no disobedience. This was what we’d forged during my reign as kid boss.

Some girls stood dumbfounded, while I laughed freely, locking eyes with the moon princess.

[Didn’t you say we’d read under the tree shade? Let’s go.]

Resting the book spine on my shoulder, I smiled as I passed the two girls holding white and red parasols.

A girl who led a pack of boys, I was an anomaly in this class.

And this girl wanted to assimilate someone like me, to make me her kind. Amused, I decided to play her game.

As the leader, I wasn’t so simple. How far can you take this? I look forward to seeing it.

I turned back, waiting for the girl to follow. As if accepting my challenge, she raised her parasol and came to my side.

[Little Yuu is such a cute girl, why do you keep your hair short?]

The girl murmured, using the friendly address we’d established just yesterday.

Even though those words might have provoked my anger, she still spoke them.

[Because I haven’t yet found a reason to grow it long.]

I answered with a good-natured smile. Seeing my smile, the girl grew even more dissatisfied. She pouted and quickened her pace, sulking.

Having irritated her, I was in high spirits, until the next moment, when the text box demanded [Grow your hair long]. The smile that had barely lifted my lips froze instantly.

Well, I found it.

Helpless against this text box that constantly sabotaged me, my contest with the girl was destined for her victory.

[Sigh… just muddle through~ muddle through~]

Uttering a sentiment worthy of an old person, I caught up with the girl and walked together toward the tree shade.

This was the beginning of change, the start of a gradual transformation.

Watanabe Yuu is a girl. She should also possess a girl’s appearance.

This is a necessary requirement, and also an inevitable truth.

[https://ko-fi.com/golden_dragon]