Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

It's perfectly normal for a child's mood to change so quickly.

Therefore, in the days that followed, the matter was put aside in Ilya's mind, and she no longer paid attention to Ivia, returning to her usual life.

In other words, it's just going to class, leaving get out of class, chatting with friends, going to class, having lunch with friends, going to class again, waiting for school to end in the afternoon, going home to watch the newly bought Musashi DVD, doing homework, eating dinner, taking a bath, and going to bed. It's just a very ordinary daily routine.

However, the third semester went by very quickly, because it only lasted three months, and after a one- or two-week spring break, the new grade would start in April.

Because the final exams will begin in mid-January to early February, the academic year summary will be in mid-February, and a small sports meet will be held from mid to late March.

Well, Ilya actually thought it was pretty good. Although there weren't many ups and downs, it was quite fulfilling. Until one day at lunchtime, the dragon prince, who was eating with her, suddenly brought up a topic—

"Ivia, have you joined some kind of cult?"

"Don't talk nonsense, Dragon Prince. This is not a light topic."

"But isn't it strange for someone to directly call themselves Maitreya?"

Looking at Kurihara Suzume, Yuejianze Longzi continued seriously, "I looked it up online, and a lot of strange religions in Japan are related to Buddhism, like the Truth Church, Shinnyoen, Heiwakyo, and so on. Maybe this guy has been called to the infirmary by Karen-sensei every day for psychological counseling or something."

"Even so, it shouldn't concern us, right? We're just elementary school students..."

"That's true, but I'm only slightly interested."

"Huh? Ryuko is interested? Could it be a secret crush?"

"No, it's just that I feel Ivia has some very interesting secrets."

Yue Jianze Longzi generously denied it, "Besides, according to the security guard, he never comes to or leaves school with Ms. Karen. Isn't that strange? They're clearly siblings, and they always leave school very late. What does that mean? It means their family life isn't so harmonious!"

This did awaken Ilya's memory of bumping into Ivia on that day in the third semester.

Could it be... that he actually ran away from home that day?

Spending the whole night in the park in winter is so cold... so after I accidentally stumbled upon this, I went somewhere else?

“What the dragon prince said makes some sense…”

Among the four, Nana Kame Moriyama nodded slightly. "So how about we observe things today? We don't have much to do lately anyway."

"absolutely okay."

"Alright, the manuscript has already been submitted, so my sister's pressure has been reduced a lot, and my time won't be squeezed out anymore."

Kurihara Suzuka adjusted her glasses and looked at Illya, who was silently eating without saying a word. "Illya, would you like to come with us?"

"I do think it's not good to investigate others without permission..."

"Illya, who sits next to Ivia and was caught up in this drama, should have become good friends with Ivia by now. It's developing a bit too slowly."

"How many times do I have to tell you, Sparrow, don't overthink it. It was just a small accident."

With a hot fried meat patty in her mouth, Ilya said, "But if you all think that way, then include me too."

Thus, the four began to observe Ivia.

On the first day, just as the security guard had said, the four people outside the school noticed that Ivia left the school very late and they didn't know what she was doing at the school. Unfortunately, they also lost her.

So the next day, the four of them decided to stay inside the school to see what Ivia was doing when she left late.

So when school was over, the four of them stared at each other in the girls' restroom in the hallway.

"I said, isn't it a bit strange to hide in the toilet for so long right after school..."

Ilya raised one hand, looking at her three friends with a somewhat speechless expression.

"This is for the sake of secrecy; when a detective is investigating intelligence, he can't let anyone know."

Kurihara Suzume smiled confidently and put camouflage sunglasses on the group. "I'm a professional!"

After taking the sunglasses and putting them on, Ilya could only mutter, "These are way too conspicuous..."

"Impossible! I've seen TV shows where people wearing glasses can't be recognized even when they're face-to-face with their moms!"

"That's just part of the plot..."

"Alright, alright, quiet down. Ivia has already come out of the classroom. Hurry up and catch up. She actually stayed for a whole class period. She really can stay."

Thus, the four of them followed Ivia 'cautiously' and successfully arrived at the first floor.

Wait a minute, isn't this obviously leaving school? Could it be that he's changed his mind today?

No further words were needed; the same meaning was clear in their eyes. However, what happened next left them stunned—

Ivia opened the shoe cabinet, and instantly it was overflowing with letters... love letters.

"Wow, that's amazing... So many love letters! None of us have ever received one..."

"Hehe, it doesn't matter... But why is this guy so popular? It's completely illogical. Why don't I see students from other classes surrounding our class?"

“Apart from class time, Yi has been called to Ms. Karen’s infirmary. If anyone should be besieged, it should be the infirmary.”

"So, the reason you left school so late was just to deal with these love letters?"

"That's not right. Burning it or throwing it down the drain wouldn't take that long."

While the group was discussing in hushed tones, they soon saw Ivia's approach.

The love letters scattered on the ground were neither burned by Ivia nor thrown directly into the sewer. Instead, they were placed in the desk drawers inside the classrooms on the first and second floors.

"This is simply superhuman! To be able to know who the sender is without even opening the letter, and to know the sender's seat, is this memory too superhuman?! Why did they condescend to attend Suiqunhara Elementary School? Why didn't they just go straight to the university's genius class?"

"Could it be that believing in Buddhism really has the ability to develop the brain? Wouldn't Jesus have lost 100% of the time?"

"Maybe it's just a simple prank, they might just be sending it randomly..."

"But this is clearly purposeful, right? It shouldn't be just randomly sending it back?"

"Believe that possibility instead of believing that I am the Buddha. After all, I will lend you my homework to copy, and call me Buddha a couple of times."

However, having learned why Ivia left school so late, the four chose not to follow him, but instead went to the rooftop.

"It's amazing..."

Ilya and the others went up to the rooftop, where Ilya leaned against the railing to rest for the time being.

So, let's sort out what's going on right now.

First of all, Ivia leaves school so late every day to deal with these love letters...

"Um……"

Ilya came up with a hypothesis.

Actually, there was no family conflict at all. The reason he didn't come to and leave school with Ms. Karen was simply to prevent Ms. Karen from being disturbed because of him. In that sense, he really is a good younger brother.

"Hmm, is that really the case?"

It seems not. I remember they were nominally siblings, so... they're not blood-related siblings.

Ilya considered another hypothesis.

In order to get closer to his sister, with whom he has no blood relation, Ivia, the younger brother, transferred schools without permission, which led to an irreconcilable conflict with his sister, who had a different faith. What a good younger brother!

"Isn't this the same?"

That didn't seem right, which made Ilya consider another hypothesis.

"Ilya, do you have some kind of fantasy about your older sister? Why is every guess you make about this kind of sibling story?"

"Heh heh, this is a reasonable deduction based on existing information, Sparrow Flower."

Adjusting her sunglasses, Ilya smiled confidently.

"Alright, alright, it's time to end the guessing game."

Nana, who was also leaning against the railing, spotted a figure on the first floor. "Ivia is about to leave school. Let's see if she's going back to Karen-sensei's house."

Without further ado, the four of them, who had already discussed it, ran downstairs together. The security guard at the school gate kept his promise and even tried to keep Ivia from leaving for a moment. He cheerfully asked her things like, "Why are you so late today, classmate?" and "Want something to eat?" to get her attention.

So when the four of them walked out of the first floor, Ivia was just leaving the school gate.

"Thank you, grandpa."

As the four of them talked, they crossed the pedestrian crossing and ran across the road with great enthusiasm, waving to the security guard.

"Be careful on your journey, and don't stay out too late and worry your families."

The security guard at the school greeted the group with a smile, and when he returned to the guard booth, the smile on his face just wouldn't leave his lips.

He looked back and saw the winterwood bathed in the setting sun.

The children at school are leisurely enjoying their youth today; it's true that being young is wonderful.

……

"There's no one at Ms. Karen's house."

"That's strange. I clearly came this way, how did I disappear in the blink of an eye? Could it be that they discovered me and then gave me a false alarm?"

"Let's put this topic aside for now. It's getting late, we need to go home."

The group, who had been walking slowly because they had seen Ivia heading in the direction of Karen's house, only realized at the end that none of the lights were on in Karen's house, meaning that no one was home.

"That's true, it's getting dark, and it wouldn't be good if the family got worried. Let's leave it at that for today."

"Oh, right, these sunglasses..."

Upon hearing this, Ilya, who was about to leave, touched the sunglasses she was still wearing, intending to take them off and return them to Kurihara Suzume.

"It's alright, it's alright, consider it a gift from me."

After saying that, Kurihara Suzume ran home, as did the other two. Ilya herself also felt it was better to get home quickly, so she chose a shortcut she hadn't taken in a long time, the same route where she had bumped into Ivia.

However, on the somewhat desolate road illuminated only by streetlights, Ilya made a surprising discovery—

Karen, the teacher in the infirmary and Ivia's older sister.

Kallen was seen cautiously pressed against the wall, just like Ilya had been before, as if she wanted to spy on the small park. This gave Ilya the feeling that Kallen might be imitating her from that day... Feeling very strange, Ilya looked at the small park, and just like she remembered, there was no one around.

"Ms. Karen, you are—"

"Shhh."

Kallen remained completely calm upon hearing Ilya's voice. She simply turned her head and put a finger to her lips, as if to tell Ilya to be quiet.

Realizing this, Ilya naturally shut her mouth. Then, when she looked at the park again in confusion, she saw an unbelievable scene: the park, which had nothing but amusement facilities, now had a tent.

"this--"

"Illyasviel of the Einzbern family, do you know what 'curiosity killed the cat' means?"

"W-what do you mean!?"

"If we delve too deeply into this matter..."

Karen's expression was so indifferent, as if she were some kind of demon, "But I'll turn you into skewers, with scallions and chili peppers."

"Wha, what..."

"Nana Kame Moriyama, Ryuko Takemazawa, Suzuka Kurihara, and you, Illyasviel, I've been watching everything you four have done these past two days. How dare you act like this at such a young age? Perhaps you haven't been given enough homework? It seems I should ask Taiga-sensei to give you so much homework that you'll have trouble finishing it from school to bedtime."

From a certain perspective, Kallen's words were more terrifying than life and death for elementary school students; at the very least, Ilya already showed an expression that said, "I really don't want this to happen."

"Alright, now that you know, don't bother me again tomorrow—"

“I understand… But, Ms. Karen and Ivia are siblings, right? Why would it be like this?”

Kids are such a nuisance. If you weren't from the Einzbern family, I would have given you a hint long ago to avoid trouble from your family.

However, Karen had already prepared her explanation. Upon hearing Ilya's question, she immediately showed an expression as if she was about to cry. She bit her lip, squatted down on the ground, and placed her hands on her knees, just like an abandoned animal.

"Actually, Ivia and I are half-siblings, but we are related by blood."

Sure enough... wait, half-siblings? Related by blood?

"Because the Lord entrusted me to be his guardian angel, Ivia's family background was terrible, and the women around him oppressed him. This caused him to experience excessive psychological pressure whenever he saw or became too close to any woman other than me, resulting in him becoming completely unresponsive. This is especially severe for children like you. The reason I call him to the infirmary every day is for his mental health..."

"Really? Then why are you living in a tent...?"

"Well, that's all. Please don't worry about anything else; this is our family matter."

Kallen looked up with a smile, but Ilya's mind was still filled with a question mark.

After a while, her brilliant mind finally understood what Karen had said.

Is this Ivia's hidden past?

Everything makes sense now. No wonder I was going so fast and didn't crash; it was just human instinct.