Sometimes I feel the strength of ignorance.
If you don't know anything, you can act naturally. There are situations where this works to your advantage and things go well.
For example, the same goes for how Hime and I met.
I somehow knew that this girl was amazing, but without knowing the details, I saw Hime not as a "genius girl with authority" but as a "cute young girl." Thanks to that, I was able to become friends with Hime.
If they had known about Hime beforehand, they might have been even more hesitant. They would have hesitated to even talk to her. In fact, the teachers and staff at the school are overly hesitant towards Hime. They are always trying to please her. It shows respect, so it's not necessarily a bad thing... but it's hard to call this an "equal footing."
If the relationship is businesslike and impersonal, that might be fine.
However, the condition for being "friends" is that we should be on equal footing. That's why I, who had a small circle of friends, was poor at gossip, didn't pay much attention to the people around me, and lived a meager life in the corner of the classroom, was able to become friends with Hime. It was all thanks to my ignorance.
And just like me, it seemed that Shinyo would be able to build a good relationship with Hime for similar reasons.
"Hi-chan, isn't it delicious?"
"Yes. It's delicious... It's an addictive taste. I can't stop."
"Yup. I'm addicted!"
In a good way, Shinyo doesn't know anything.
They probably don't even understand the meaning of the word "addictive," but they're having a conversation based on the atmosphere.
Hime seems to find this somehow comfortable.
Because Shinyo is still young, she doesn't really understand Hime. She doesn't even know what it means to skip a grade. However, to Shinyo, she only sees Hime as a girl of her own age.
So it seemed like they were able to interact well with each other.
It doesn't matter if he's two years older than me. It's probably the same situation as when you meet a kid at the sandbox in the park and become friends with him.
"Hi-chan, I want some cookies."
"Yes, of course. Go ahead."
"Thanks! Shall I feed Koharu some too?"
"...Is that okay? Well then, here you go, open your eyes."
This time, Shinyo is being fed cookies by Hime.
Hime also holds out a cookie to Shinyo's mouth as if to return the favor from earlier.
The bite-sized cookies are easy for even small girls to eat.
I think it was Mei's consideration for Hime. She's a very efficient maid, as you'd expect.
"Mmmm. Delicious ♪ This is amazing, Me-san made it, right?"
"Yes. Mei-san is a good cook."
"Yes, thanks! Eat some too, Hi-chan."
"Yes. Shall we eat together?"
Hime seems happy that Mei was praised.
Her mouth was slightly grinning. So cute.
Also, Shinyo is kind to Hime... She's precocious and a little selfish in front of me, but isn't she a pretty good girl when I'm not around?
After finding out that she wasn't a love rival, Shinyo became very friendly towards Hime.
At this point, it's safe to say that their relationship can be described as that of "friends."
(I'm glad you both had fun today.)
I'm sure today will not be a bad memory for either Hime or Shinyo.
That was the only thing that worried me. As the older man, and the one who had caused the two of them to run into each other, I felt embarrassed.
That's why I was so relieved that the two of them became good friends.