Hime sprained her ankle, so I'll carry her on my back and take her to the classroom.
Thinking that, I turned my back to her and urged her to get on.
"Um... is that okay?"
She is very hesitant.
Is she being reserved, embarrassed, or shy? Or is it all of the above?
Of course, I never considered the possibility that he might dislike being carried on my back.
With such a friendly attitude, there was no need to worry about that. Even though I had low self-esteem, I wasn't twisted enough to doubt Hime's feelings.
"It's okay. Don't be shy."
He said, turning to face her again.
I thought it looked like he wouldn't be carrying his baby on his back for a while yet.
"Um, well... Ugh, Yohei-kun can get really tough sometimes, so it's not fair."
Her cheeks, which had just started to lose their redness, were starting to turn crimson again.
He looked confused, maybe even more confused than when I'd taken his socks off earlier.
Hime seems to be worried about something.
"It might be heavy, you know?"
"I don't think so."
She's 120cm tall and her shoe size is 19cm. I've never heard her weight, but I imagine if you did, you'd be surprised at how light she is.
"But it weighs 26 kilos."
"26 kilos?!"
As expected, I was surprised.
She was much lighter than I had imagined. Oh, so she weighs less than 30kg...! I weigh 61kg, so she's less than half that. Thinking about it objectively, it's only natural for an eight-year-old girl, but I still couldn't hide my surprise.
"It's light, so don't worry."
"Is that so?... If my sister carries me on her back, she gets tired quickly and puts me down."
"I think that's a matter of Hijiri's physical strength."
I don't think Hime is to blame.
Of course, even I think it would be hard to carry a baby on my back for a long time, but I think it would be manageable for a short while.
"Well, I wouldn't mind if my big sister put me down, but if Youhei-kun put me down, I think I'd probably be so shocked I'd end up bedridden."
I see. That's what I was worried about.
Although she's only eight years old, Hime is still a girl. It's not that she doesn't care about her weight. She seems to be afraid that I'll think she's heavy.
"Don't worry. No matter what, I have the strength."
At least I'm more confident than Hijiri.
...Well, perhaps it's because Hijiri's core is surprisingly strong. He loves to eat, so he has a sense of stability. Of course, I don't mean that he's fat, I want to say that he's healthy, but I don't think he'd understand if I said that to him, so I'll keep quiet.
Well, I'm not confident in my strength, but I'm confident that I'm definitely better than Hijiri in terms of endurance. I'm sure he won't put Hime down.
However, if she doesn't want to, I can't force her.
"Are you resistant to piggyback rides?"
"...Just a little bit."
"So, what should we do? Hmm... should I hold you?"
Let me try to come up with an alternative.
By the way, there is no plan to let Hime walk. That was not even considered in the first place.
"Holding her might be even more embarrassing. I might end up looking like a koala."
"So, how about a princess carry?"
"If you do that, you'll probably get a fever."
That's not good. They're trying to carry him on their backs out of concern for his injury. Making him even worse would be counterproductive.
"...It's not that I'm not interested."
This is what makes Hime so adorable: her little additions.
I can't take offense to that. If the opportunity ever arises, I'll give it a go. I'm curious to see what it looks like... though I don't know when that opportunity will come.
"Sorry. But can I ask you to carry me on your back?"
After much deliberation, I ended up going back to my original proposal.
I also find it easier to carry someone on my back, so there's no reason for me to refuse.
"Okay then, get on."
He crouched down next to Hime, his back to her.
I couldn't see Hime's face anymore, so I didn't know what expression she was making. I wanted to see her reaction, but she seemed very embarrassed, so I decided to be considerate.
"...Let's go."
Hime said, gently leaning on me.
First, I made sure that he had put his arms around my shoulders, then I put my hands behind my back and put my arms inside my knees. After crossing them, I lifted them up lightly.
At that moment, Hime's body lifted up.
"Wow."
She was surprised, and so was I.
"Oh, isn't it heavy?"
"Not at all. It's light... so light it's surprising."
It was heavier than I expected, and of course, it exceeded my expectations in a good way.
As expected, Hime was small and cute.