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

After finishing my daily run, I went to my room to study with great enthusiasm.

It was as if I had the body of a child, and I could not only exercise, but I could also study.

For the first time in my life, I hated studying more than the existence of G, whose name I must not mention.

Because I couldn’t do it.

I wasn’t strong enough to keep working hard at something I couldn’t do, and by that time, the idea that studying was something I hated was already completely ingrained in my head as common sense.

But now it’s different.

The reason I started studying was to escape from my stressful life.

However, my brain was beginning to feel the pleasure of being able to do things, every time I felt a visible growth in my body.

The more I studied, and the more visible my achievements became, the more I began to dispel the notion that studying was something I didn’t like, and now I even enjoyed studying.

The past student me who hates studying would be astonished to see me now.

That’s how much I’ve changed.

I was humming to myself as I solved the equation.

“Knock, knock.”

I heard a knock on the door of my room.

If the door knocked, it wasn’t my sister.

If it was my sister, she wouldn’t be knocking, she would be kicking the door open with all her might.

So it must be my dad or mom. Or… 

“Sho? Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“We have a few things to do.”

Or both.

My parents came to my room together with mysterious expressions on their faces.

It seems that something is not right.

“Hey… what’s wrong?”

D-Did I do something wrong?

I don’t remember doing anything that would make them angry… 

“Why don’t you and your dad go shopping now?”

“I’ll buy you your favorite transformation belt.”

The mysterious look on their face changed and they said with a smile.

An invitation to go shopping.

It was just a crazy thing.

What the heck is going on here?

Three days ago, my mother had assured me that she wouldn’t buy me any toys except for my birthday, but today, when nothing special was going on, she suddenly said she would buy me something.

Is there something behind it?

But I had no idea what kind of ulterior motive there was.

“What? Why?”

I questioned, as the offer was too unnatural.

“N-N-N-N-Nothing! What are you talking about, Sho! T-That’s right! It’s just that you seem to be studying hard lately, so I thought I’d reward you!”

“Y-Y-Y-Yes! That’s right! It’s just the family once in a while, right?”

Their eyes were swimming with great speed.

From the way they is shaking, it was obvious that they are hiding something.

But I still can’t decipher the intentions.

What kind of reason for asking me out?

“… Well, that’s okay.”

It seems that unless I accept the invitation, I will never know the reason.

It’s hard to believe that my mom and dad are planning to set me up, so there must be a reason for it.

When I shook my head, my parents patted their chest as if they were truly relieved.

“So, let’s get going.”

“Mom and dad are in the car. Please come when you’re ready.”

“Yes.”

That’s all I said, and they left quickly.

The two of them are somewhat distant today.

In the car.

“It’s weird. I can’t believe Sho didn’t bite on the transformation belt.”

“Yeah, he used to jump at the mere mention of the word “transformation belt”.”

There was a strategy meeting being held there by Aiko and Shōta.

“That’s right! Let’s just take him to the hospital!”

“Wait! It’s too early for that, no matter what. Let’s wait and see.”

“… Well, if you say so.”

As a result of the meeting, it was decided to keep an eye on him at this stage.

◆

We arrived at a toy store in a corner of a shopping mall 20 minutes drive from our house.

(My sister had to go play with her friends, so she passed.)

Inside the store, there were children around my age, their eyes sparkling as they looked at the toys.

My eyes, however, were cold in contrast to theirs.

The thought of wasting my time on an obscure toy selection depresses me, as I work hard every day to achieve the important goal of living a solid life.

It’s not worth coming here for any other reason than I want to know what my mom and dad are up to.

I can’t wait to get home and study. And I haven’t even done my daytime run yet.

“Here, Sho. You can buy whatever you want.”

“Ah, yes.”

My father pushed me and I reluctantly looked at the items in the store.

I know that saying this might antagonize adults who like children’s goods and toy manufacturers.

To be honest, I don’t want it at all.

I’m 28 years old, and I can’t show any interest in transformation belts, hero impersonation goods, or anything with a sword.

How the hell am I supposed to feel about buying kids’ stuff?

I’m sure I look like someone who doesn’t know anything about anime who’s been taken to Animate.

To be frank, I’d be a hundred times happier if you bought me a reference book.

“T-That’s weird. Sho usually gets excited just by looking at the toy section. (whisper)”

“Y-Yeah, he’s at me coldly, like someone who doesn’t know anything about anime was taken to Animate. (whisper)”

My parents are whispering something behind my back.

Well, that’s fine. ――I can’t just buy anything, can I?

I should buy something at least in the form of a gift.

At any rate, I went to the transformation belt corner where my mom told me I could buy one.

I don’t remember much about the hero shows I watched as a child, so I don’t feel any nostalgia when I see the products.

I was just indifferent.

I picked up the nearest one, a belt called “Nantara Hero.”

It cost——7,500 yen! That’s expensive! I can buy five copies of that textbook!

I didn’t know that transformation belts were this expensive… That’s why my mom only buys me one for my birthday.

If they had to buy these things every time someone asked for them, my family’s finances would be on fire.

That makes me wonder even more.

Why would they suddenly buy me something so expensive?

Is it really that important for them to take me shopping?

I have no idea.

Well, I guess I’ll hold off on that for now.

No matter how much I think about it here, I don’t think I’ll be able to come up with an answer.

More importantly, the problem is choosing this toy.

We’re not poor, but we’re not rich either.

If we can save money, we want to save money.

But spending almost 10,000 yen on a transformation belt that I don’t even want is something that should not happen.

I can’t let my family’s money go to waste.

Even as a child, I can take care of that.

My childcare expenses are not cheap either.

I’ll be going to junior high school, high school, and then college, which will cost even more money.

Now is the time to save for the future, when education is compulsory and less expensive than high school.

Well, it’s not my money, so I can’t speak highly of it.

Anyway! My family can’t afford to waste money on something like this.

Buying a transformation belt is outrageous.

I’ll buy the cheapest one I can find.

Maybe a key chain or some other small item?

No! 1,000 yen for a single key chain is too expensive!

There must be something cheaper——!　

This is it!

Like a treasure hunter who has found a treasure, I grab the item.

“Dad, Mom. I want this.”

“Hmm? Let me see… What?”

When I held out the item, Dad was stunned.

I presented him with a pile of balloons with funny faces painted on them called “Wakuwaku Balloons,” which had been piled up at a wagon sale as if the clerk had ordered a lot of stuff in error and was getting rid of it.

Aside from the fact that there’s absolutely nothing exciting about this product, it’s certainly very economically friendly.

100 yen including tax. In addition, they were half-price during a bargain sale, and now they were only 50 yen.

I could buy six of these with my meager pocket money.

I’ve never seen a product priced at less than three digits in a toy store except for this one.

The price is so reasonable that they might as well change the name to “cheap balloons” or “bargain balloons”.

“What? Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yeah.”

“You can buy a transformation belt, too.”

“No, I want this one.”

They kept asking me to confirm, but I stubbornly refused to change my mind.

Because this is the best value for money. Take a break.

“W-Well, if Sho says it’s okay.”

He took the 50 yen cheap balloon to the cashier.

The clerk looked surprised and said, “I didn’t think anyone would buy this item!”

I wonder if it was an order error, but I’m excited about the balloon.