Chapter 35 – Entering Elementary School

In April, I skipped a grade and entered elementary school a year early.

In this world’s prewar Japan, a grade-skipping system exists.
In my previous life’s prewar Japan as well, it was possible to skip one year of elementary school, and this seems to be a counterpart to that.

This, too, is a result of the game design.
Apparently, the intent was to make the genius aspect a bit easier to understand. 

But in truth, they probably just wanted me to go through all six years of elementary school properly.

As for this world, while grade-skipping admissions are relatively rare, all the children of the Ootori family in my generation are exceptions.

(That said, if it’s just about academic ability, I really don’t need elementary school.)

Thinking that, I look up at the elementary school gate.

By the way, the gate I’m looking up at is labeled Ootori Academy Elementary Division.
Ootori Academy is a unified institution encompassing elementary, middle, and high school, as well as a nursing school and a teacher training school, making it quite a large educational establishment.

Adjacent to it is Ootori University, a comprehensive university.
That university, too, has numerous departments such as medicine and engineering.

At first glance, it may seem like the zaibatsu is simply enthusiastic about education, but the true intent is to secure talent for its own conglomerate.

The prime example of this is their scholarship system—top-performing students attend free of charge, but for others, the fees are waived if they join the Ootori Group, or discounted if they join an affiliated company.
Since this is an in-house scholarship provided by a single zaibatsu, the government has no reason to complain.

Moreover, that’s not all—they also run an orphanage under the guise of charity work, providing support for abandoned children and orphans.
But in reality, it’s nothing more than a system designed to create a “retinue” or “vassal corps.”

Shizu, the maid who serves me, is one of them.
Shizu also attends this school, up to the middle school level.

That said, do members of the Ootori family actually attend Ootori Academy or Ootori University?
In most cases, the answer is no.

It’s typical for peers (kazoku) to attend Gakushuin.
If they’re pursuing a career in the army, they usually enter the military preparatory school from around middle school. 

Navy men don’t go to university—they go straight into the naval academy.
No member of the Ootori family has ever joined the navy, but both Grandfather Kiichirou and my onii-san Uncle Ryuuya followed the course from Gakushuin to the military preparatory school.

Kouryuu-sensei also entered Teidai at the top of her class from Gakushuin, and came to deeply resent Teidai while he was still enrolled there.

Also, since Gakushuin to Teidai is the standard education route for peers, most of the Ootori men follow that path too.

On the other hand, about half of the girls attend Ootori schools.
For girls, Gakushuin is mainly about learning social etiquette and forming connections for adulthood. 

Since Japan’s upper class isn’t that large, building connections from elementary school is important.
Also, this is an era when women almost never go to university, so there’s no record of any Ootori woman attending Teidai.

Also, while I’m at it, in prewar Japan, all education above elementary school was gender-segregated.

That’s precisely why in otome games set in prewar Japan, you can’t use a school as the main setting.
On the other hand, boys’ games are easier to make into games since there were various all-boys schools. 

If it’s military-related, it usually comes with dormitories, which makes it even more in demand.

Anyway, Gakushuin separates boys and girls not only from elementary school but even from kindergarten. 

On top of that, the educational system itself is different between genders.
For girls (i.e., Gakushuin Girls’ School), the system is kindergarten (3 years), regular course (11 years), and advanced course (2 years), which is quite unique even compared to typical girls’ schools.

Since I didn’t go to kindergarten, if I were to enter Gakushuin, I would have to start from the regular course, which combines elementary and middle school.

But I didn’t choose Gakushuin—I chose Ootori Academy.
One reason is that I wouldn’t be able to study with the Ootori boys anyway, but the real reason is more practical.

From a practical standpoint, I didn’t feel the need to study social etiquette at Gakushuin.
Since I’m aiming to become the head of the zaibatsu, even if I build connections with other girls, I probably won’t be attending social gatherings for ladies once I become an adult.

In that case, I should prioritize building a strong retinue or vassal corps above all else.

Of course, the group I’m forming will be a retinue of girls—in other words, maids or at best, secretaries—but if I intend to shoulder the zaibatsu, building a solid circle around me is extremely important.

Also, if I attend an Ootori school, it’s easier to protect myself in case something happens.

On the other hand, I’ve taken exams and been granted exemption from regular classes.

I only attend school from morning until lunch.
In the afternoons, I study at the mansion under a private tutor. 

This is the same for the other Ootori children.

School lunch could’ve been canceled too, but I chose to eat with my classmates, thinking of the saying “sharing the same pot of rice.”
Another big reason is that, honestly, school lunch is the only real chance I have to eat something close to a normal, everyday meal.

Being rich can be unexpectedly inconvenient.
I mean, I’d love to visit a candy shop or grab a bite to eat on the way home like kids of this era, but since that’s not allowed, school lunch is pretty much the only way I can taste what common people eat.

By the way, Ootori Academy and Ootori University are located past the Tama River, outside of Tokyo proper.
So technically, attending Gakushuin in the heart of the imperial capital from the Ootori estate would be way easier.

But since I go by car anyway, it doesn’t really bother me.
Besides, starting next year, I’ll be commuting with Youko-chan, so it’ll actually be a treat.

Still, this year, I’m on my own.
I stand at the school gate, legs firmly planted like a guardian statue.

“Hey, Shizu, you used to attend this school until recently, right?”

“Yes. I studied the basics of education here.”

“What about everything else?”

“Yes. For everything else, I was taught at a different place. Those who will be serving you, Lady Reiko, will most likely follow a similar learning path to mine.”

She’s speaking unusually long-winded today, but when explaining things, she tends to be like this—surprisingly talkative.
Well, I wouldn’t exactly call this a conversation though.

“Anyway, you know a lot about this school. Can you show me around later?”

“Certainly.”

With those words, she bows gracefully.
Her posture is so beautiful that I almost find myself admiring it, but I’ve seen it so many times by now that I’m used to it.

“You’re so stiff today. Shizu is filling in for my mother today, you know. Right, Father?”

“That’s right. But Shizu isn’t an adult yet, is she? Not sure if it’s appropriate to say she’s standing in for your mother. Well, I’m just an old man with the title of father, after all.”

Saying this, my father, my grandfather Kiichirou, who had come with me, laughs.
Officially, he became my legal guardian, and although he’s not my biological father, in terms of paperwork, he is my father.
That’s why he came all the way to my entrance ceremony today, to support me.

I can only smile in response.

“That’s true. So, today, Shizu is like my older sister, right?”

Shizu’s face turns into one of surprise, perhaps she would have preferred being the replacement for my mother instead.
It’s an expression that’s rare for the usually cool Shizu, so I decided to etch it into my memory.

“Hehe. Well then, Father, Sister, let’s go inside the school.”

“Right!”

“Yes, yes, I’ll follow you.”

Unlike the 21st century, the cherry blossoms by the gate are not quite in full bloom yet, but they blend well with the brick school gate, and people who will be attending the school from now on are taking commemorative photos.
In this era, cameras are not yet widely available, and while there are many children without relatives, it’s clear that the school is attended by wealthy families as well.

However, in the case of wealthy people, the escalator-style advancement through school is often valued, meaning that the overall quality of students isn’t particularly high.

If you’re wealthy and can afford private school, there are other options even in this era.

That said, private schools starting from elementary school are still relatively rare, so the students who attend during elementary school tend to be somewhat outstanding.

The reason it’s popular is that, in order to maintain the prestige of the zaibatsu, they’ve gathered excellent teachers, and the facilities are top-notch as well.
Furthermore, the Western-style architecture is thoroughly implemented, giving the place an atmosphere that almost feels like an easygoing magic school from fantasy worlds.

Aside from that, the other notable features of the school are the extracurricular activities and club activities, which are active from elementary school onwards.
These are subjects and after-school activities that are not purely academic.

Another point that might still be rare is the fact that everyone gets school lunch.
Moreover, one of the characteristics since the school’s founding is that milk is served with lunch, which has become a distinctive feature of Ootori Academy.

Speaking of which, the Ootori family has a tradition of making sure children drink milk.
No wonder the whole family grows so tall. 

Perhaps the first generation, Genichirou, had a complex about his height.

I idly think about various things, and as I gaze at the various buildings, I enter the auditorium.
Like in my previous life’s Japan, the entrance ceremony is held in the auditorium. 

It’s the same as before, with both parents attending.

However, the principal from the Kou branch, who is from the Ootori family, tried to treat me (and my grand-father) as special guests, but I glared at him to reject it outright.
My grandfather also politely declined with words.

Well, for me, since I’m already a special advanced student with exemption from classes, I thought that if I were treated as even more special, I wouldn’t be able to make even one friend, let alone servants or subordinates.

At this point, my only purpose in attending elementary school is to make friends, so I wasn’t willing to make any more compromises.

(That said, the fact that I’m the Countess’s daughter of the Ootori family will probably be heard by everyone in the school. Still, I hope there’s some oddball who would still want to be friends with me.)

While thinking this, I scanned the new students gathered in the auditorium as much as I could.

Naturally, half of them are boys.
This may be the biggest difference from Gakushuin. 

And for me, this elementary school period will likely be the only time I can interact with boys of my age who aren’t from my family.

After that, in the social gatherings of the upper class as I grow older, I’ll become either a target for men seeking to marry up or something to be manipulated for their own gain.
I’ll be like a walking stack of bills in a dress.

Since I’m going to be an extraordinary beauty, it’ll probably be a relief to be seen as an object of desire, rather than just a source of lust.

That’s why, at elementary school, I hope to find friends who will treat me as an equal.
However, at the entrance ceremony, I didn’t meet any boys or girls who seemed like they would become friends.

(In games and manga, don’t you usually have at least one encounter at the entrance ceremony?)

So, for me, the entrance ceremony was somewhat unsatisfying.
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Gakushuin

A school where many members of the imperial family, including the emperor, spend their time from kindergarten to university.
Before the war, the children of the aristocracy and some of the zaibatsu (conglomerates) attended.
Even now, it’s somewhat similar.

Since boys and girls are in separate schools, I had to give up on making a school-based story here.
Before the war, all schools from middle school onwards were gender-segregated in Japan, so it was impossible elsewhere as well.