I’m Back in the First Grade of Elementary School, so I’m Going to Live Well

TN: Some little notice, for some reason (I’m looking at you, my Java assignment) I translate the teacher name completely wrong. The correct name (実里) is “Misato”, not “Sanri”. I’ll edit the previous and next chapters ASAP.

Sunagawa Rinta.

He is a classmate of mine, and is a kind of mood maker in the class. He doesn’t have many friends, and he is not a person who is liked by all his classmates.

This is because he often caused problems in class and annoyed the teachers and classmates.

In my memories of the past, Sunagawa-kun was firmly established as a problem child.

A few minutes had passed since he came into the reception room.

The teacher spoke for him and we sat side by side on the sofa across from my seat, and an awkward silence fell over the reception room.

Sunagawa-kun shrank back and occasionally looked at me, as if he wanted to say something.

When Sunagawa-kun was acting in such a frustrated manner, Misato-sensei acted as if to urge him to do something, “Here, Sunagawa-kun.

I’m sure she told him to apologize to me beforehand.

No matter how much he is a first grader, he has to apologize for what he has done. Children need to be able to say things like this on their own, rather than leaving everything to others just because they are children.

Children need to be taught to prevent them from becoming bigoted adults who cannot apologize.

That’s why I didn’t intervene and waited for him to tell me.

However, it would not be easy for him to say sorry himself.

He had done what he did because he had some bad feelings for me.

His motives are unknown, but they are definitely so.

And yet, he had to bow to such a person.

For a child who can’t easily make up his mind or say something superficial, bowing to such a person would be a great blow to his self-esteem.

But it would be wrong for me to forgive him without hearing his apology.

This isn’t just my problem, you know. If it were just a matter of me forgiving him, we wouldn’t even need to have this meeting.

You can say that this place is for you, Sunagawa-kun.

“…………”

But the problem is that Sunagawa-kun is not talking.

At this rate, time will just pass.

I don’t want to interfere too much, but I guess I have no choice.

“Why don’t you tell me why you broke it or something?”

I asked in a gentle tone of voice to convey that I was not accusing him.

“…… So, that’s………….”

He looked frightened and choked on his words.

“Please tell us. If you don’t tell us why you did what you did, neither the teacher nor Itosaki-kun will know.”

The teacher, who seemed unaware of his motives, also encouraged him to speak.

After a short pause, Sunagawa-kun began to speak.

“………………That’s, me, I was so… bummed.”

The first thing he said was.

“I tried my best to get the best… in my free research.”

His voice gradually becomes tearful.

I could feel his eyes welling up, even though he was lying face down and I couldn’t see him.

“So, I broke the………………”

“……”

It was not a straightforward story.

It wasn’t exactly to the point, but his feelings were clear to me.

The reason why he destroyed my free study was――jealousy.

That’s never a good motive for destruction.

If that motive were allowed, all crimes would be tolerated.

So.

“That’s why you destroyed…!?”

The teacher said accusingly in a sharp tone.

“You know, Sunagawa-kun, no matter how frustrating it is, you can’t break someone’s things! Just as Sunagawa-kun did his best, Itosaki-kun also did his best!”

The teacher strongly scolded him for his tears.

It may seem like overkill.

But this is the right thing to do.

If a child does something wrong, it is the teacher’s role to correct it. And even more so if it’s something that would be considered a criminal act if done after they become adults.

Even if it hurts Sunagawa-kun now, making him reflect on what he did is the best thing for him.

In this day and age when the term “monster parents” is whispered about, teachers who can firmly scold for the sake of the children like this are rare in a good way.

“Everyone has feelings of frustration, you know! There’s no reason why Sunagawa-kun should be the only one to break it.”

“Sensei.”

“―――! ……What’s that, Itosaki-kun? Now, sensei――”

“Can you please stop?”

As a teacher, it was the right thing to do.

But I couldn’t help but stop.

“But you know what, Itosaki-kun? This is not only your problem, but also Sunagawa-kun.”

“I understand. I know that, and that’s why I’m asking.”

I know very well that this is a punishment for Sunagawa-kun.

But still, I thought, I should stop him.

I didn’t think he needed to be scolded.

“… Sunagawa-kun is fully remorseful. I’m sure sensei is well aware of that.”

Why is he here?

It must have been because when the teacher instructed him to raise his hand, he came forward to say that he was the culprit.

In that situation, he could have lied and they wouldn’t have known.

If I hid it, the case would go cold, and I would never be scolded by the teacher or blamed by the victim.

Even a first grader should know that much.

And yet, he raised his hand.

He raised his hand, knowing he risked being scolded by the teacher and blamed by me.

The reason for this was obvious.

“He confessed what he had done because he wanted to apologize to me, I think.”

That’s because he felt sorry for me and regretted what he had done in no small part.

He was aware that he had done something he should have regretted, so he came forward.

“Even if sensei didn’t scold him, he knew he had done something wrong.”

I assured him that there was no need to scold him.

Scolding is something that should be done to those who are unrepentant or lacking in remorse and is unnecessary if they are aware of their mistakes.

Besides, I had my reasons for stopping the reprimand.

To be honest, I couldn’t stand to hear what he had to say.

He must have worked hard over the summer to win the top prize for his free research.

I could tell from Sunagawa-kun work that he had made that effort.

Yet, I had twisted his efforts with the power of my experience and snatched the prize he wanted to win.

I’m not so thick-skinned that I don’t feel guilty about that.

I know the pain of not being rewarded for my efforts.

I should have been more aware of the fact that I was not the only one to experience this. I should have been more mindful of that.

I also regretted that I had acted in an immature manner.

That’s why I couldn’t stand to see Sunagawa-kun being scolded unilaterally.

“He’s sorry, and I don’t mind. If that’s the case, there’s no reason for the teacher to scold Sunagawa-kun, right?”

“…… That is.”

To be honest, it pains me to blame the teacher for doing the right thing.

I’m sure the teacher doesn’t feel comfortable scolding a crying child, but she pushes that feeling away and scolds him.

There is no absolute evil here.

Rather, everyone acted for their own righteousness.

If everyone understood that, then this place would no longer be necessary.

“So let’s end this conversation.”

Sunagawa-kun stopped crying and rubbed his reddened eyes, and the teacher lost the will to scold.

Sensing that it was time to end the conversation, I tried to act cheerful to break the heavy atmosphere.

But since I’m the one with the mildest mood swings in this group, the person who takes care of me has to be me.

“Well, I would like to, but…… the incident has already spread throughout the school, and the teachers are working to bring it under control.”

“…… But we can’t let the truth spread to the whole school. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes.”

If the culprit is known to be Sunagawa-kun, his reputation will be damaged and at worst, it will lead to bullying.

That was the only thing we had to avoid.

The rumors will fade away as time goes by, but the teachers don’t seem to like the fact that the children are being pushed around to find out the truth about the incident.

They want the case to end as soon as possible.

But this is not a big problem.

“Then I have a plan.”

A way to put this case to rest.

A way to end this incident without anyone getting hurt and without any loose ends.

I can never do it alone, but with the teachers on my side, I can do it.

I will betray the expectations of the children at every turn.