I’m Back in the First Grade of Elementary School, so I’m Going to Live Well

Chapter 13

Free Research

Translated by Green Cake
Edited by Green Cake

Previous episode. “I’m in trouble.”

Oh, no! This is really bad! This is the worst second time in my life!

This is because I forgot to do my homework, which was a free research project.

And it wasn’t that I left it at home.

It was that I forgot about the existence of the homework itself.

So naturally, I had nothing in my hands to present as a free research project.

But that’s not the worst of it!

If I’m the only one who forgot to do it, I’ll stand out, but if there’s more than one of us, I’m sure I won’t be the only one who stands out!

No problem! There was still hope――!

“Who would forget their free research?”

“No, of course not! It’s my first free research project!”

“Of course not! You’d have to be an idiot to forget!”

This is the worst situation ever!

Unfortunately, besides me, no one else has forgotten their free research.

In fact, all of them were more than a little excited about this event of free research presentation.

I guess it was a natural thing.

After all, this is the first free research for my classmates.

No one would forget their first free research event where they could fully demonstrate their creativity at the age of elementary school.

If there is such a person, it is someone who is 28 years old and has no creative spirit.

That would be me.

I’m in dire straits!

I’m in a critical situation!

If I didn’t turn in my free research, all my classmates would look at me coldly.

If that happens, my favorability rating among my classmates will go from zero to negative.

If that happens, my plan to have 100 friends is doomed!

I have to avoid that at all costs!

“Then I’ll ask you to stand in front of the podium one by one and make your presentations. This time, in order of seating, Sunagawa Rinta-kun will be first.”

“Yes!”

The student seated in the front right corner of the room was to make the presentation, and Sunagawa-kun stood confidently at the podium and took out his work from a huge bag.

“What I made is a Giant Robot!”

What he pulled out of the bag was a 30cm long craft robot made from empty plastic bottles and toilet paper cores.

The lack of attention to detail, where the part attached with cellophane tape can be seen, also has the flavor of an elementary school student’s work.

It’s a work of art that makes you and your heart smile.

――Wha?! This is not the time to be smiling!

I don’t have time to worry about others right now! I have to solve this situation as soon as possible!

Fortunately, I’m seated near the back left corner, and my turn will probably come at the end of the session.

Considering that each presentation lasts about a minute and a half, so I have about 30 minutes to spare.

But how on earth am I supposed to solve the problem in such a short time?

A free research project usually takes two or three days, or even a week to complete.

However, if I cut corners and make something simple, my classmates will react no better or worse than if you forgot.

There are two conditions for me to get out of this crisis.

First, I have to complete my work within 30 minutes.

Second, I have to make a work that is as good as the others.

But how can you make a work that is as good as the other free studies in just 30 minutes?

And there are other problems as well.

I don’t have the tools or materials to make it!

The only things I have on hand right now are a free book, handouts, and writing utensils.

I don’t have a cutter, scissors, or glue.

All is lost.

I was at a loss.

The only thing I could announce was that the principal had said “Ehh” 87 times during his speech.

If I announced such a thing, I’d be slapped in the face!

It would be more catastrophic than forgetting!

What the hell am I supposed to do…!

Completely baffled, all I could do was hold my head and stare at the surface of my desk.

There’s nothing in this world that can be made without scissors or glue, using printouts or free books, and in less than 30 minutes without people thinking you’re cutting corners. There is no such thing―――

――――…………No, there is.

I recall an old memory and conclude.

It’s origami.

It’s not a simple paper airplane or paper crane.

It’s “dragon” origami, made by combining multiple pieces of paper.

This is the first memory I have of my life.

When I was in the fifth grade, I was thinking about doing a free study for my summer vacation.

It was a simple idea: “Let’s make something amazing for our free research and attract the attention of our classmates.”

My motive was also simple: I simply wanted to catch the attention of my classmates.

So I decided to make a dragon origami, which is what I am thinking about right now.

It was not an easy task, and the beauty of the finished product was only matched by its high level of difficulty.

Even though I had read the instructions in the book, a clumsy person like me couldn’t succeed in such a difficult origami project, so I had to repeat the process of trial and error, making and failing again and again.

As a result, I devoted myself to origami throughout the summer vacation and eventually reached a point where I could fold a dragon without looking at the instructions, even though there were over 100 steps.

――On the first day of school after the summer vacation, I completed the origami of the dragon.

Unfortunately, on my way to school, I tripped and fell over my work, and my dragon origami was crushed to death.

I couldn’t recreate it, so I cried and presented my dragon origami (dead body) as a free research project, and my classmates established me as the person who brought trash to the free research project.

The memory of such sorrow is now about to be put to good use.

I spent more than two months on this project, and I still remember the process of making it perfectly.

In addition to that, I only needed paper for this work, and if I could complete it, it would definitely be a masterpiece that would not be inferior to other works around me.

After all, it’s work on which my entire summer vacation depends.

The problem, however, is time.

It takes about an hour to make one.

Time has passed since then, and the fifth presentation has already started.

I no longer have half the time available for production.

… But I have to do it…!

It’s the only thing I have left to do!

Time is running out even while I’m lost!

I stopped thinking about the risks and probabilities and immediately started working on my dragon.

I neatly cut out a page from my free book with a ruler and begin to make the head.

The thickness and shape of the head are different from origami, so it’s a bit tricky, but I’ll get through it!

I repeatedly wipe the sweat from my palms in frustration and proceed with the process at a rapid pace.

My life was about to begin!

I can’t afford to stumble at this point!

◆

“Then, next… Itosaki Sho-kun.”

“… Yes.”

The teacher asked me to stand up, and I did.

I walked over to the teacher’s table and turned to face all my classmates.

And in my hand…

“My work is a dragon origami.”

There was a completed origami dragon in my hand.

I did it! I really did it!

I was shaking with joy but pretended to be calm so as not to be seen as I made my announcement.

Since I didn’t have enough materials, I could only choose a white color scheme, but let’s just say it’s a white dragon.

Whatever the case, I was able to create this masterpiece in such a short time!

I can’t help but admire myself.

Shaking and shaking with joy, I looked around at my classmates.

What were their reactions――

“Wow! What is that?”

“Dragon is super cool!”

“Itosaki-kun is so handy!”

The response is positive.

No other first grader’s work could have been as good as my dragon.

It was clearly an elaborate piece of work that hid the line between it and the others.

All right! I made a gut pose in my mind.

Unlike when I was in the fifth grade, I had successfully completed a work that attracted the attention of my classmates.

I was in a big pinch, but at the same time, it was a great opportunity.

If I could come up with excellent work here, I would succeed in attracting attention, just as I had hoped in the fifth grade.

A masterpiece that I could admit to myself and others!

When the exhibition period is over, I’ll put it up in a glass case in my room!

My efforts that day were not in vain!

In an excited mood, I gave the details of my work and finished my presentation.

At the end of my presentation, the classroom was filled with applause, and I returned to my seat, feeling a little embarrassed by the applause directed at me.

It was the first time in my life that I had been the center of attention in a good way, and it was quite a pleasant feeling.

Let’s keep this up and make some friends!

… I’m still unaware at this moment.

To the presence of small malice that creeps up on me――.