Upon Returning Home As A Military Major General, I Was Told To Attend School, Even Though It’s Quite Late Now - Chapter 131

Chapter 131. Dining with the Major General is Forbidden!

“Major General Kamiya! I’ve brought you some tea!”

“Oh, thanks…”

“Sir, I brought today’s daily special from the cafeteria!”

“Th-Thanks, but from now on, I can just go get it myself…”

“No, we can’t have that! Please allow us to handle it for you!”

“Major General, should I use sesame or Japanese dressing on the side cabbage?”

“Sesame, I guess…”

“Understood!”

I can’t relax at all with all this…

After the secret meeting with Prime Minister Kariya, I returned to campus just as lunch break was starting.

I wanted to go back and get my lunch from my bag in the classroom, but given this morning’s groveling from my classmates, I figured the scene might just repeat itself.

So I thought I’d just go to the cafeteria, but it turned into a hassle over here too.

“All the lunchtime shows are buzzing about you, Major General!”

“The Prime Minister will give a statement about this in the evening.”

“Oh, okay.”

Not that I’m interested—I just start eating the daily special a random student brought over.

I think they introduced themselves, but with so many people talking at once, I have no idea who’s who.

“Um, it’s hard to eat with everyone standing around me…”

“No! We only have the rank of private; it would be improper for us to dine with a major general!”

Well, yeah, maybe, but still…

Since I’m the only one eating, all the other students in the cafeteria are just standing at attention. It’s bad for business here.

“Well, thanks for the meal.”

Feeling bad for the cafeteria staff, I hurriedly finished my meal and tried to take the tray to the return counter—

“We’ll take that for you!”

In one step, my tray was snatched away.

Thinking how awkward this is, I head quickly back to the classroom.

On the way, students I pass salute and clear the path, making my return very smooth.

Ah… what should I do with the lunch I didn’t eat? Maybe I’ll give it to Misuzu?

Distracting myself with random thoughts, I open the door to my classroom, trying to stay as calm as possible.

“Major General Kamiya, with this… please forgive us.”

“Your hair…”

What I see as I open the door are several shaved heads looking at me with pitiful expressions.

“We cut it ourselves.”

“Thought so…”

It’s obvious they did it themselves with clippers.

There probably weren’t enough clippers to go around, so they rushed through, leaving uneven patches that make them look even more miserable.

“The girls went with really short cuts…”

“…! Sorry, we realize we didn’t go far enough. We’ll also use clippers—”

“No, that’s not what I mean! Please, stop doing things like this!”

Tearing up, a girl is gripping a clipper with trembling hands, which I quickly take away.

With all the girls sporting super short cuts, it’s impossible to tell who’s who.

“Misuzu, help me out here…”

“I tried to stop them, but… Oh, if you’re not going to eat that lunch, can I have it, Yuusuke?”

“… Go ahead.”

Misuzu’s calm demeanor stands out in the classroom’s oppressive atmosphere.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“It’s over… my school life is crumbling before my eyes.”

I can’t even imagine a future where I get along with my classmates anymore.

“It was already half in ruins, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t even have the energy to blame Suo-senpai for being the root of all this…”

After school, as I sulked in the student council room, my close friends naturally gathered around.

“But I know Suo-senpai must’ve come here out of concern for me, right?”

“No, I just came here to escape everyone who kept pestering me about you.”

“… Sorry for the trouble.”

Sorry for dragging you into this.

“It’s fine, Yuu. Besides, you’re basically only close with the people here who already know your situation.”

“Gah!”

“Kohou-senpai, you just hit Yuu’s weak spot with that truth.”

“Oh no! I just wanted to say that I’m also a bit of a loner here…”

Mina and Kotomi’s kindness stings a bit at the moment.

“Kotomi, are you okay?”

“I think so, for now. Nase has been scouring the internet for anything about me.”

“Ah, so when he says she has family stuff, she’s just checking up on you.”

I look over at President Nase, who’s furiously typing on her PC, but decide not to disturb her while she’s busy.

“My onii-chan’s terrifying… If my identity gets out, will I have to stop living with him like Kamiya-senpai?”

“Don’t worry, Marin. I’ll never leave your side.”

With misty eyes, Marin trembles, and Suo-senpai pulls her close.

“I’m so happy! Me too, onii-chan. Honestly, maybe we should just move to some rural place where no one knows us, live as husband and wife…”

“Marin, could you not take advantage of my bad luck to fulfill your weird desires?”

I grumble at the two as they slip into their own world again, just a little annoyed.

“We’d act like a couple when people are watching, but at night, we’d go back to being brother and sister… it’d be perfect…”

Marin seems to be lost in her own little daydream.

“So, the news—is it really true, Yuu?”

“There’ll probably be some exaggerations later, but the initial report is mostly true.”

“I knew you were forced onto the battlefield young, but I didn’t know you fought in such major battles.”

Mina, who knew I’d been conscripted, seems genuinely shocked, as access to real information about my battles was limited.

“Looking at it all like this, I was pretty much overworked, traveling everywhere…”

The evening news lists the battles I fought in, laid out in a timeline.

“They said it was strange that North America and Europe suddenly backed Japan, but it was because you were there, huh?”

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration, though.”

Beside the news anchor, a bearded ex-mercenary and an international politics expert discuss how my presence supposedly gave Japan the upper hand in global diplomacy during the war.

“It makes sense for the commentators to get so excited, Yuu. Since your involvement was never disclosed, now they’re connecting the dots and can’t contain themselves.”

Kotomi, who already knew my background, gives me a sympathetic look.

Yeah, Kotomi had been giddy when she got special clearance to handle classified information, too.

“But it’s not like the achievements were just mine. Getting all this praise alone doesn’t feel right.”

“You’re not happy about this, Yuu?”

“With all this attention on me, I feel bad for the fallen soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country.”

I sigh, watching my life being dissected on the student council room’s TV with a detached expression.

Who leaked this information?

What are they after?

I question the invisible source of this chaos, knowing, of course, that no answer will come back.