I Promised to Make the Class Honor Student My 'Little Sister'. It Seems She Wants to Be Spoiled a Lot - Volume 1 Chapter 2.3

Me, Not Returning Home, Yearning for a “Family”

A proud voice, different from Kakogawa’s, echoed throughout the room.

Kakogawa and I looked at each other before turning towards the living room, from where the voice had come.

There, seemingly having woken up at some point, stood Kakogawa Yukari-sensei in a tank top.

“Ah, Yukanee. You’re up early today!”

“I can do it when I try. You could praise me more, you know?”

How can she look so smug? It’s already past ten-thirty, you know?

Thinking such, bewildered… the teacher approached the dining table and slammed her hand down on the “Family Contract.”

“And I was the one who created this ‘Family Contract.’ I didn’t want you to feel obliged just because I’m your ‘cousin.’ Think of me as your real ‘sister,’ and don’t hesitate to rely on me anytime──that was the message I wanted to convey. What do you think? Isn’t this contract well-made?”

“Is that really the question here…? Like, do Kakogawa and her sister really need to write it down since they’re actual siblings? Or, why is the font size here bigger, is it a mistake? If I start pointing things out, there’s no end──”

“You’re so nitpicky!”

Apparently unsatisfied with my response, Kakogawa-sensei interrupted me mid-sentence.

Hardly what you’d expect from an educator.

“Ahaha! But, you know, Takato-kun? The truth is, this ‘Family Contract’ really did save me and Kizuna. It’s true.”

Watching the exchange between me and the teacher, Kakogawa said,

“With the loss of our real family leaving us at a loss, Yukane welcomed us as ‘family.’ The blood connection didn’t matter; we were connected by our feelings, as ‘family.’ Thanks to Yukane’s kindness… I can be here, cheerful and well!”

────Regardless of blood connection.

────A “family” connected by feelings… huh.

The words uttered by Kakogawa sounded,

To me, who had run away from home due to discord with my blood-related family,

To me, who had lost understanding of what a heartfelt connection was,

──Uncommonly sweet.

“…If only I had such a connection…”

Not a cursed bond,

But a “family” tied with warm threads──If only I had that.

“Ah, that reminds me, Takato-kun.”

Whether she knew my feelings or not,

Kakogawa-sensei placed her hand lightly on my shoulder and said,

“The permission from your father to stay here was only for last night. Can you properly return home today?”

“…What if I said I won’t go back?”

“Then I’d have no choice but to hand you over directly to your family. I am a teacher, after all. Can’t just leave a runaway boy be.”

“…I see. So, I should be with my ‘family,’ huh?”

I knew it myself.

It’s a stupid idea. A nuisance to others, normally.

But… having decided not to return home,

Having come to know such a bizarre and outlandish idea as a “Family Contract,”

────I couldn’t think of any other answer.

“Please, Kakogawa-sensei. Make a ‘Family Contract’ with me too… become ‘family’ with me.”