Ojamajo Doremi 16 - Volume 3 - Chapter 6.1

Chapter 6.1

CHAPTER 6 – VALENTINE’S KNIGHT-SAMA

PART 01

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Today, Yada-kun attended school as per usual . He was being his normal aloof self, but something was slightly different .

It was the girls in our class… No, it wasn’t just the girls in our class .

“He’s really popular, and now, everyone’s curious to find out more about him,” Momo-chan managed to put my thoughts into words .

She was right . I wondered if it was because of his nice performance during the recent concert . He was truly very cool, and he even thanked us for our help with a shy, embarrassed look . It was so rare to see him that way .

His after-school activities hadn’t changed as well; he would either head off to his part-time-job, or to GB-san’s place . Hazuki-chan informed us that he would be starting a part-time job at “Five Pennies” from spring vacation on . I hoped he’d managed to get Leon’s approval .

“Oh, I heard that Yada-kun and Kotake are ignoring Leon these days,” Ai-chan remarked .

“Ignoring Leon? Kotake?”

Wow, I can never understand Leon’s actions . I was shocked by his blunt choice of words when handling Yada-kun’s case . In my mind, a teacher should never do bad things, and would always stand by his students .

Leon’s way of doing things was totally different from any teacher I’d met in elementary and junior high school . I always thought people’s actions should be guided by our responsibilities, rules, and our place in society .

“I don’t know much, but I’m really curious . Doremi-chan, why don’t you ask Kotake about it?”

“Huh? Me?”

“I’ll be focusing on training from now on, the track meet’s coming up . And I won’t be able to work at the MAHO-do for the time being . Sorry . ”

With that, Ai-chan picked up her bag and rushed off down the corridor .

“Good luck!” I shouted at Ai-chan’s retreating back, before making preparations to head home .

It was already February . Pop’s entrance exams were over, and she should be receiving the results anytime . She shared that even if she didn’t get accepted, she would attend Misora Junior High School instead, and continue to focus on her usual piano lessons . Judging by her calm demeanor, I guessed she must have done her very best, and was thus satisfied, no matter what the outcome might be .

The days were still cold, but the plum blossoms had already started blooming . The shops had also begun putting up decorations for the upcoming Doll Festival, so it felt like spring was almost upon us .

By the way, I heard from Pop that Seki-sensei had rushed over after the incident and given Yada-kun a stiff reprimanding . Seki-sensei and Leon’s wife were fellow alumni at Karen Girls’ Academy, so she must have heard about it from her .

It felt a little weird . Since my elementary school days, Seki-sensei had always been a kind and sometimes strict motherly figure, but it was slightly different now . Nowadays, seeing her come to the MAHO-do to purchase Momo-chan’s desserts, knowing how she was a Karen Girls’ Academy alumnus, and now, seeing her come to reprimand Yada-kun… I guess I was starting to see her as more of a big sister .

Of course, Seki-sensei was still an adult to us, but I somehow felt closer to her now . I hoped it wasn’t a sign that I was growing old .

I wondered if things would turn out differently if Seki-sensei had been there on the day of the incident . But that would have meant us losing out on the chance to learn more and solve the problem, so I was glad she wasn’t there .

Ah . But if Seki-sensei had been there together with Ms .  Minako, Mrs . Tachibana and GB-san’s wife, they would have made a formidable team . It would be awesome to see that happen someday .

“Doremi-chan, stop standing there and smiling . Get to work!” Momo-chan scolded .

“That’s right, you’d better get Hazuki and Aiko’s work done too, or I won’t pay you,” Majorika threatened with a glare .

“Hazuki-chan must be busy now, with her exams coming up,” Lala mused .

Semestral exams at Karen Girls’ Academy were different from that in usual schools . Aside from the normal theory tests, those in the music faculty, like Hazuki-chan, had to sit for practical tests too . Those who did well would get the chance to perform at a full-fledged concert held in March .

As the curriculum extended all the way up to the university level, the stress to do well must be really high . With secure academics and confidence, Hazuki-chan must be working hard to achieve good results now . The fact that Karen Girls’ Academy had produced professional musicians in the past must be a great inspiration to her as well .

Onpu-chan was busy preparing for her debut in London, and I wondered if Hazuki-chan would get the chance to take part in overseas competitions this year too . With her being in the top class, she must be one of the better players in the country . Despite the stress from that incident with Yada-kun, I was sure Hazuki-chan would be able to manage .

Compared to the piano students, those focusing on the violin had a higher chance of being picked . But it also meant that they would now be competing with the cream crop of chosen piano students . There must be lots of pressure .

Worried, I voiced such thoughts to everyone present in the MAHO-do .

“Don’t worry!” Momo-chan suddenly exclaimed with a thumbs-up .

“Hazuki-chan is much stronger than we think,” Lala added with a smile .

Yes, Hazuki-chan had a strong character . After gathering the truth about Yada-kun’s incident, she had solved the problem in such a calm manner .

“Eh? Momo-chan, what’s with those cakes?” I asked, finally noticing what Momo-chan was working on; three cakes designs which we had sold during the January period . Now that Valentine’s was approaching, we had stopped production on these and were focusing on gateau chocolat cakes instead .

“It’s a request from Seki-sensei . She missed out on them last month, so she put in a special order . ”

I decided to help out and prepared some cake boxes . Momo-chan’s new cake creations were always really popular, and sold out almost immediately once we put them up on display . I’d gotten better at baking these days, but I still couldn’t bake them the way Momo-chan did, even though we followed the same recipe . That was why all of us, including Lala, could only help out with minor tasks like frosting, decorating and packaging . If only we were all as skilled as Momo-chan…

Well, at least I’d been training hard in my own way, and after a while more, I should become a charismatic soccer team manager, just like Kogure Maki-senpai . But…

“That’s a lot of stuff, Doremi . Are you bringing all that home?” Lala asked curiously as she stared at the pile of things before me .

As I was going to say, it was easier said than done . Kogure-senpai had passed me a whole stack of information today . There were notes written in tiny handwriting, rule books, photos, data sheets… It was a long road to become a charismatic soccer team manager .

“By the way, Kogure-senpai made some Valentines chocolates for Leon,” I shared with everyone .

Kogure-senpai had shared that with me when I asked about the pack of chocolates, tied with a shiny ribbon, I’d spotted inside her tote bag . Valentine’s this year would coincide with her final exams, so she wanted to pass the chocolates to Leon early, as a show of her gratitude to his teaching .

“Leon is her world history teacher, right? I wonder if he’s a serious man when teaching her class,” Momo-chan mused .

“Well, senpai shared that he always talks about random things during lectures, and writes useless notes on the blackboard, in messy handwriting, no less . But his printouts and remedial classes helped her lots in preparation for her exams,” I replied .

We would start learning about world history in our sophomore year, and I wondered if Leon would be our teacher . We started calling him Leon because he looked like a chameleon, and I was interested to find out just how much the nickname suited his personality .