Chapter 99

Iris’ Past (7)
Today is the day Iris and her family arrive in Japan. A few persistent reporters were lying in wait at the airport, but Iris and her family, accustomed to this from their time in America, skillfully avoided them and made their way to the mansion.

Iris was dressed in a white, floral-print dress with a straw hat—a light outfit suitable for the warm weather. On the other hand, Carls wore a tank top and shorts, looking very much like a tourist. He was busy snapping photos of everything unique to Japan that he couldn’t find in America, and Iris was often crouching down to examine things herself.

As they got out of the car driven by Lim, Takuto's family and his grandfather were waiting in front of the mansion. There were also two unfamiliar young people.

"Who are they?"

Iris was already familiar with Takuto's parents and had been meeting his grandfather, Gensai, every week in the virtual world, so the only strangers were the two new faces.

This marked her first encounter with Kurakiri Kazuhito and Honda Mai.

"This is the guy I mentioned before. I call him Kazu. And this is Mai."

Kazuhito was a boy, but he was already a giant at 169 cm tall. Iris couldn't help but mutter "Gigantes" under her breath, as she had never seen anyone her age this large.

"Who are you calling a giant!?"

Kazuhito snapped, but the reaction from those around him was different.

"Kazu, you know what 'Gigantes' means!?"

"Of course, I do!! ...Tch, whatever. Just give me some normal intelligence."

"So, you're admitting that you have monkey-level intelligence yourself... I'm Mai, nice to meet you."

Iris shook Kazuhito's hand normally, causing Takuto and Carls to raise their eyebrows slightly, but Iris wasn’t on guard because Takuto had introduced him.

The problem, however, was with Mai. She didn’t seem particularly friendly towards Iris. However, Iris wasn’t good at reading people's emotions or communicating, so she didn’t notice and shook Mai's hand as well.

"Alright, let’s study. I brought a lot of materials. And remember, no language other than English in the room. Also, I doubt Japanese English will be understood by me."

"Can’t we start tomorrow? You must be tired, Iris."

"I slept on the plane, so I’m fine. The cleaning crew’s already prepped the room, so we can use it right away."

After exchanging greetings, they headed to Iris’s room. Being a child, Iris had plenty of energy. Once they were in the room, she took out more than ten thick reference books from the luggage she had sent ahead and placed them on the table where Kazuhito was sitting. His face turned pale at the sheer amount.

"This... this is way too much."

"It’s fine. I’ll make sure you’re educated enough to get into any university you want. This is Takuto's request, after all."

Even Takuto had struggled with Kazuhito's intelligence, but Iris quickly assessed his capabilities and designed an optimal education plan within a few hours.

As for Mai, being on par with Takuto in terms of academic ability, she didn’t face much difficulty. The only challenge she had was with Iris's American English, but within a few hours, she could handle everyday conversations without issue.

Takuto, having grown up with English-speaking Iris, had also learned English well. In fact, Iris spoke so much English that Takuto had no choice but to master it. Takuto had also learned several other languages, including Russian and Chinese, making him quite the prodigy, or even a genius. Iris’s mixed use of various languages was a challenge.

"... I can’t do this anymore."

"English."

"Please, give me a break."

By the time the sun began to set, Kazuhito was thoroughly exhausted. Since Iris had arrived early in the morning, he had spent more time studying than a typical school day.

"Alright, that's it for today."

Surprisingly suited for teaching, Iris left Mai with nothing to say. In fact, realizing the gap in ability between herself and Iris, Mai couldn’t even muster a sarcastic remark. The clear difference in every aspect between Iris and her shattered Mai’s confidence.

Like Iris, Mai had never faced much hardship. Or rather, she was the type who could accomplish things with effort. Mai, who had always been praised for her looks and intellect, was meeting someone superior for the first time. However, instead of harboring jealousy towards Iris, Mai understood that it would be futile.

Mai’s issue with Iris wasn’t about Iris herself; it was simply that Takuto talked about Iris all the time, so Mai’s attention was focused on Takuto rather than Iris.

(It's not like I'm losing in looks... Yeah, she's just a smart, rich girl, so I’ll emphasize my homemaking skills. I can’t compete with that.)

She realized that she was no match for Iris intellectually and decided to compete in other areas. This was likely the right decision.

Although Iris was smart, she was relatively indifferent to other matters. For example, she wore clothes chosen by Lim and could only prepare simple meals like cereal with milk. In fact, cereal was the only thing she ate for breakfast.

The cereal Iris ate had been heavily advertised when it was released but received negative feedback for not being satisfying. It was designed to be nutritionally balanced, resulting in a bland taste, but Iris’s parents were swayed by the nutritional benefits and bought it.

There were a few who liked the cereal despite its unpopularity, and Iris was one of them. Her parents tried it themselves, but the taste was so unappealing that they considered buying a different brand. However, Iris refused to eat any other cereal, showing how much she liked it.

Iris's meals were consistent: cereal for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. Dinner varied as she sometimes ate with Carls and others.

"Are you still studying? It's already late. Would you like to have dinner at our place? I've already gotten permission from your family,"

Shizuka offered.

"Really?! I'll definitely stay for dinner.”

"My family is quite strict, so I’ll head home first.”

Mai came from a wealthy and strict family, so she found it difficult to impose on Iris’s family, whom she had just met. On the other hand, Kazuhito’s family life was so uncertain that a dinner invitation was a welcome opportunity. Takuto… well, since his parents and grandfather were already at Iris’s mansion, he naturally joined in.

Apparently, Iris’s parents were discussing future plans and events in America with Takuto’s family. This led to Gensai getting furious, but since the mansion was well soundproofed, none of his shouting could be heard outside the study.

Dinner was hamburg steaks. Shizuka and Takuto's mother, Yumiko, who was a childhood friend of Carls, prepared the meal together, rekindling old memories while Gensai continued to scold Carls.

"Yum!!"

"Calm down, Kazu."

"But still..."

"Don’t worry, there’s plenty. I don't eat much, so take your time."

Despite the abundance of hamburg steaks, Kazuhito, whose diet was close to collapsing, was visibly excited. Children love meat.

Both Carls and Shizuka were surprised by Kazuhito's voracious appetite, but they were also happy. Carls, who had experienced times when he couldn’t eat enough, was moved to tears as he kept putting more hamburg steaks on Kazuhito’s plate, telling him, "Keep eating. You can have as much as you want." And Kazuhito did indeed ate it all.

"It's late, but would you like to stay over tonight? If you need to go home, Lim can drive you, so don't worry. Takuto’s already staying over, so head to Carls' room later. We’ve prepared a bed for you."

"... Well, if Takuto's staying, I'll take you up on that."

Kazuhito's parents had nearly abandoned their responsibilities, so it wasn't uncommon for Kazuhito to stay out late. He often ventured into nearby mountains in search of food and was known to hunt wild boars. His survival instincts were finely honed.

Takuto and Kazuhito took a bath in the mansion's overly spacious bathroom, changed into kimonos prepared by Takuto’s parents, and then headed to Carls' room. Iris, meanwhile, was busy on her computer after dinner and was left alone. Interrupting Iris when she was focused would earn a glare.

"So, why did you invite me? It’s not like I’m struggling with school.”

Kazuhito asked Takuto directly as he sat on the bed. He wasn't particularly worried about his studies, having already resigned himself to his situation.

"You should be more concerned. Do you really want to be the first student ever to repeat a grade in elementary school?

Besides... I thought it would be good for Iris to have someone else to talk to. I've never heard her mention any other friends, and she even struggles to remember the faces and names of her classmates. It seems like she has very little connection with other people. And, to be honest, I’ve reached my limit in teaching you. Iris was way more efficient at it."

"I can’t deny that. Her teaching was relentless, constantly pushing me to my limits. I did my best, didn’t I? Next time, it’s your turn."

Iris’s teaching could be described as Spartan, pushing Kazuhito to his mental limits for hours without a break.

"I’m not struggling with school, so I’ll pass. Besides, aiming to be someone like Iris is impossible."

Takuto had only told Kazuhito and the others that Iris was an acquaintance. He didn’t mention that she had already graduated from university or that she had enough income from patents to live comfortably without ever needing to work again.

Mai, on the other hand, had figured it out. Iris had appeared on TV a few times, and Mai had likely seen one of those features. But Kazuhito didn’t watch TV. He wasn’t interested in kids’ shows, and he didn’t have the cultural knowledge to follow the news.

So, Takuto decided to tell Kazuhito the truth about Iris. He wanted Kazuhito to see Iris for who she truly was, not just the genius girl everyone talked about.

"It’s a small world. I can hardly believe she’s already graduated from university, but you don’t lie. So why is such a brilliant scholar in Japan? Normally, she’d have a job by now."

Takuto hesitated. He didn’t know what kind of work Iris did.

"I’ll explain that!"

With a loud bang, Carls burst into the room.

"Well, too many people wanted Iris, so we fled to Japan. Japan still has a reluctance to let children work, so right now, Iris is a NEET. We won’t force her to do any work she doesn’t want to do. Her future is entirely up to her. Whether she stays in this mansion as a NEET or becomes a teacher like she did with you, it’s her choice."

Takuto burst out laughing at the thought of Iris as a teacher, while Kazuhito felt sorry for the students who would have her.

In Takuto's imagination, Iris wore an oversized suit, using a pointer to teach children bigger than herself.

In Kazuhito’s case, he envisioned Iris as a demon teacher, pushing students to the brink like in a prep school.

"That sounds interesting. But doesn’t Iris have any dreams or goals?"

"She doesn’t."

Carls' response was immediate. His previously cheerful demeanor turned serious.

"That’s why we came to Japan. We want her to see the world’s wonders for herself. We want her to discover what she truly wants to pursue, not be driven by our distorted dreams or obsessions. We’re here to support her, to ensure she doesn’t stumble."

"Hmm."

Takuto and Kazuhito didn’t fully understand, but they could tell it was something important.

"However, as her father, it does bother me a bit that her first and second friends are both boys. Since Shizuka is staying in the other room, how about we have some guy talk?"

Shizuka was sharing a room with Takuto’s mother, while Gensai and Takuto’s father were in another. Even though the rooms had been cleaned, there wasn’t enough space for everyone, so they grouped them together. Lim would sleep in the same bed as Iris... if Iris decided to sleep.

And so, the guys began their conversation. While Carls' overwhelming and absolute love for Iris left Takuto and Kazuhito somewhat bewildered, they found common ground and grew closer despite the age difference.