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

A Series of Defeats

Translated by AmaLynne
Edited by AmaLynne

―――People are not always what they seem.

A yankee who is actually kind, a fighter who is actually strong despite his thin appearance, or a 28-year-old man who looks like a first grader but is actually an old man.

That’s why I often hear the following words.

“Don’t judge people by their looks,” or so.

Therefore, I had high expectations.

I was secretly hoping for the best.

Maybe it was just wishful thinking.

But there was a part of me that wanted to believe that this possibility could not be discarded.

But then, ―――

“Fueee! I-I can’t do it~!”

It was only a faint fantasy of mine that this extremely negative Tajima-kun was actually a kid who could do it if he tried.

About 20 minutes had passed since the fun party started.

I managed to get Tajima-kun to participate in the event.

But even if I succeeded, it didn’t change the fact that it was hopeless to win. Because of this pair of Tajima-kun and me? It was obvious from the strength chart alone that we were doomed.

As a matter of fact, the pair of me and Tajima-kun had failed miserably at the first task of the fun party, a game in which we had to grab beans with chopsticks and transfer them from the right plate to the left plate, and the pair that finished transferring all the beans first out of five pairs would get the points.

I had no problem using chopsticks because I’ve been doing it for 28 years, but Tajima-kun, who had a problem, was clumsy and panicked during the game.

Even I, as expected, don’t have the dexterity to beat the other pair by myself in a state with the scattered Tajima-kun.

Well, this is the reality.

No, I knew that. I knew that things wouldn’t turn out so well.

In fact, I knew that Tajima-kun was not so good at using chopsticks, but he was not so good at everything else.

It was obvious that he was in a difficult situation.

However, it is still a shock to be confronted with this reality. Or rather, despair.

The problem is our strength, but we can’t increase it.

Tajima-kun and I are on the same side, and if we die, we die together! No, we’re not going to die.

―――But even if we can’t increase our strength, I’d at least like to increase our capability.

I don’t have the magical ability to deal with Tajima-kun’s incompetence and nervousness at this moment.

If that’s the case, I’d like to at least make him a little more positive about this fun party.

I managed to get him to cooperate by threatening him and asking him to do so, but the only reason he is participating in the party is out of a sense of duty, not motivation or hunger.

It would be nice if we could make him look forward, even if only a little―――

“Ugh, I can’t do ittt…”

“…… (*getting irritated*)”

AAHHHH! This is killing me!

I can’t help but get angry when I see this guy!

―――……Hey. Why am I so angry?

Tajima-kun is indeed the complete opposite of me who wants to win the fun party, and he also dragged me down a lot in the “chopstick grabbing game” earlier.

Well, that’s a good enough reason for me not to like him…

I think I’m upset again for a different reason.

Thanks to my sister, or rather because of her, I have developed a certain level of tolerance for unreasonableness, so I have never been unnecessarily angry or upset in my life. Except for my sister’s case.

However, I was irresistibly angry at Tajima-kun.

I can’t stop thinking about it.

―――But that’s not important right now. Let’s switch our thoughts!

Despite my frustration, I turn my attention to the current situation as if to blow it off.

It’s a waste of time to keep thinking about this one loss.

In this situation, let’s just play a few games and get some points!

Even a bad shot will hit the target! Let’s go with the spirit of trial and error!

“Here we go! Tajima-san, let’s go next!”

“Eh, ehhh…”

I force Tajima-kun’s depressed hand and head for the place where the next task is.

◆◇◆◇◆

Now that we had decided to tackle them with a “hit and run” mentality. We went through the challenges in order of proximity to our current location.

We played karuta, push-ups, rock-paper-scissors, and so on.

We spent the entire two hours without a break challenging each other to these tasks.

―――And then,

“This is no use!!”

We lost all of these.

We had lost so many games that we had to go back to the first-floor multipurpose hall. There, I was on my hands and knees, lamenting.

We were shattered.

All we could do was make errors because we were too bad with our guns.

We were inferior in physical acuity, arm strength, and even luck.

We were a pair that had been forsaken by the gods of competition. In fact, we’re in such a situation that I’m afraid the gods are even looking at us as enemies.

This is going to cause a serious depression…

“H-Hey.”

“……? What is it?”

Unusually, Tajima-kun called me. He looked a little bummed out.

“Y-You knows, let’s just give up.”

He said this as if he was trying to be kind.

“W-We’ve done all this and haven’t gotten a single point, then there’s no point in trying anymore.”

“……”

“I-Itosaki-kun said that his goal was to win the party. It doesn’t matter how hard you try from now on, you’ll never make it.”

“……”

It’s an endlessly negative statement.

―――But it’s not wrong.

To be honest, there is no chance of winning anymore.

Even if I tried now, it was obvious that I would end up wasting my time.

I was only dimly aware of this.

That’s why I felt as if Tajima’s words were a good reason to quit now.

There was a part of me that was about to be misled by those sweet words, and there was another part of me that thought it was okay to give up.

―――But,

“No.”

“B-But you―――”

“No, you can’t just run away like that.”

There’s no need to try now. It’s useless anyway. There’s no point in trying.

This is how I used to feel about my studies, exercise, and friendships.

I have a “dream” right now, so I can’t focus on anything else. What an excuse to turn a blind eye.

Making convenient excuses, deciding it’s useless, selfishly dismissing it, and giving up.

That’s the kind of thinking I abhor the most.

Because that’s the way I used to think before I went back to grade one.

Because that’s the way I was thinking, stupid, dreaming all the time.

I decided that I would never walk the same path again.

Never again will I walk that shabby road with only an empty endpoint.

I will definitely walk a different path, a path of living a steady life without dreaming.

To do that, I have to change.

I need to rethink my fundamentally rotten nature.

That’s why I have to beat up the old me who was misled by Tajima-kun’s sweet words.

Even if I lose again and again, even if I don’t win. I have to,

“I don’t want to be defeated by my weak self at any cost, and I don’t want to admit that I am.”

“……!”

Tajima didn’t say anything more in response to the words that contained my passion.

“Never run away” “Never falter” “Never give up”

I’m all for guts! I’m not afraid to die for the sake of a good life! I’m going to walk the opposite path of the First Life!

It’s a crazy idea, but this is the way I want to live my Second Life.

As a small step in this direction, I will never give up on this fun party.

If it were me in the past, I would have definitely given up on this event, but I’m going to give it my all and try my best to win until the end!

That’s the greatest revenge for the old me!

“It’s a waste of time. Anyway, let’s think of a new strategy!”

“Uh, uh, yeah.”

Tajima-kun nodded reflexively, carried away by my momentum.