Sato blinked as he looked at the little boy standing in front of him.
Challenge me?
Where did this kid come from?
The little boy stared at him with absolute seriousness. His eyes were filled with determination and a hint of excitement, as though he were facing the greatest rival of his life.
Pointing toward Yuuki Asuna in the distance, he declared,
"Whoever wins gets to be that Big Sister's boyfriend!"
Sato looked over at Asuna, who wore a faintly helpless smile.
After thinking it over for a moment, he more or less figured out what had happened.
He teased her,
"So the winner gets to be your boyfriend. Aren't you at least a little nervous?"
Asuna rolled her eyes at him in an adorably exasperated way.
As if you'd believe that.
The children around the table also overheard the conversation, and every pair of eyes grew wide with excitement.
"I've seen this on TV before! It's called a duel, right?"
Resting her cheeks in her hands, Sakurada Nene said dreamily,
"Two warriors dueling over the princess they love. That's so romantic..."
Kazama Toru and the others looked at Nene and suddenly had a terrible feeling.
Don't tell us Nene is...
"Perfect! I'll use this as the script for our next Ultra-Realistic House game. I'm getting tired of the urban family drama storyline anyway."
She enthusiastically pulled out her little notebook and began writing.
Just as we thought...
Kazama Toru and the others looked utterly despairing.
Meanwhile, Daisuke looked at Sato with nervous determination.
"Well?! Do you dare accept?!"
Standing nearby, Isshiki Iroha looked at Sato and said in a rather sour tone,
"Just accept already. If you win, you'll get to be Yuuki-san's boyfriend. Don't tell me you can't even beat a little kid."
Uh...
Sato gave Iroha a strange look.
The first half definitely sounded like jealousy.
But why did the second half feel like she was mocking him?
So... was he supposed to win or lose?
"Challenge me?"
In the end, Sato looked back at the little boy standing before him. Gesturing at Daisuke's short height with his hand, he smiled.
"Feels a little like bullying, doesn't it?"
"D... Don't look down on me!"
Daisuke immediately got worked up, looking as though he were about to jump.
"Haha! Alright then. How do you want to challenge me? If it's a fight, even a hundred of you couldn't beat me."
Sato deliberately put on a fierce expression, finding it surprisingly fun to tease children.
Naturally, Daisuke wasn't going to choose that.
Even as a kindergartener, he knew perfectly well that he couldn't beat a high school student in a fight.
So...
How should he challenge him?!
Daisuke suddenly panicked. He had rushed over in the heat of the moment without thinking anything through.
Then the corner of his eye caught the colored paper on the table.
His eyes lit up.
"Origami! We'll decide the winner with origami! Whoever can fold more different things wins!"
"Not a bad idea."
Smiling, Sato looked at Asuna.
"What if I lose?"
Asuna tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and answered calmly,
"If you lose... then I guess it can't be helped."
There was a smile lingering at the corner of her eyes.
As if I'd ever agreed to something like that.
Of course...
If the winner happened to be the other person, that would be a different matter entirely.
She looked at Sato with a gentle smile.
The duel quickly attracted quite a crowd.
Even Yoshinaga Midori heard about it and walked over.
"Since Yoshinaga-sensei is here, could you please be the referee?"
Daisuke asked earnestly.
"Ah... O-Okay!"
Still not quite processing what was happening, Yoshinaga Midori agreed without thinking.
By the time she realized it, the competition had already begun.
She opened her mouth, looked at the two contestants earnestly competing in front of her, then closed it again with a helpless sigh.
What kind of situation is this...?
Naturally, Sato had no need to take a duel against a kindergartener seriously.
As he casually watched Daisuke's movements, he steadily folded the colored paper in his hands.
To think I'd one day end up competing against a kindergartener...
The thought made him chuckle inwardly.
Still...
This was actually pretty fun.
Isshiki Iroha stood nearby looking a little gloomy.
Her gaze repeatedly drifted toward Yuuki Asuna, though no one knew what she was thinking.
Not far away, another small group hadn't come over.
Nishimiya Shouko stood surrounded by a flock of chattering little girls, like a circle of cheerful little larks.
No one knew what they were talking about, but every now and then Shouko would blush and answer them softly with obvious shyness.
What are they doing?
Sato glanced over curiously.
Daisuke worked quickly.
Although his origami wasn't particularly well made, he made up for it with speed.
Unfortunately, this competition wasn't decided by quantity.
Sato's hands moved much more slowly, but everything he folded was exquisitely crafted.
Each piece looked so beautiful that people wanted to display it as a decoration.
"Wow! Big Brother's is so pretty!"
"Yeah! It really is!"
"Big Brother, can you give this one to me later?"
A crowd of little girls gathered around Sato.
It wasn't that the boys didn't want one too.
They had simply all been squeezed to the outside.
"Sure."
Looking at all the delighted little faces around him, Sato suddenly found himself wondering...
Maybe I should become a kindergarten teacher someday.
Paper cranes.
Paper boats.
Paper airplanes.
Paper lanterns.
Paper frogs.
Paper hearts.
...
Daisuke had long since stopped folding.
He stood there blankly, watching the colored paper dance through Sato's hands, transforming over and over into beautiful works of origami art.
Only five finished pieces sat in front of him.
He didn't know how to make anything else.
"I... I lost..."
Daisuke stood there, utterly dejected.
After taking one last look at Yuuki Asuna, who was smiling warmly at Sato, he lowered his head and quietly walked away.
Another heartbroken soul had just been added to the world.
A while later, Sato looked with satisfaction at the dozen or so finished origami creations in front of him.
Under the eager gazes of the little girls, he handed them out one by one.
"Thank you, Big Brother!"
"Thank you!"
"..."
The children all thanked him together.
A few of the bolder little girls even gave his cheek a quick peck before shyly running off with their origami.
Sato froze.
He gently touched his cheek.
This...
This is amazing!
I really want to have lots of daughters in the future so I can fold origami for them every day!
Gentlemen...
I think I might be a l𝚘licon!