Demon Slayer: I was taken home by Shinobu Kocho at the beginning.

In contrast, Tatsuya Kamio was more curious about what Ichinose had stolen and why she had stolen it.

“My family is a single-parent family with only my mother. I have never seen my father since I can remember. I also have a younger sister who is two years younger than me. Although we are not well-off, I do not think it is unfortunate.”

Ichinose began to talk about her own story, while Tatsuya Kamio listened quietly.

But what's wrong with this school?

He himself is an orphan, Katsuragi, whom he met during summer vacation, is also an orphan, and now there is Ichinose, who only has a mother.

"Because there is only my mother in the family, she has to raise two children while working. Even I can feel how hard my mother works."

Because I've been watching all this, I've always thought about going out to work after graduating from middle school, so that my mother can have less hardship and my younger sister can live a happy life.

But when I voiced this idea, my mother immediately objected, because just as she wanted my sister to be happy, she also wanted me to be happy.

Kamio Tatsuya shook his head inwardly.

Putting this life aside, if it were his previous life, if he offered to work, his mother would definitely be very happy and say with a smile: "You've really grown up."

However, his previous life's circumstances meant that he couldn't go out to work before the age of 16, because he would be a child laborer and no one would hire him.

However, Tatsuya Kamio would not deny Ichinose's mother's actions, since she was also a first-time mother.

However, since working part-time was not an option, Ichinose chose another way: to study hard and earn school scholarships to ease her mother's burden.

In fact, Ichinose did just that, achieving the top score in the entire grade not long after enrolling.

Ichinose's younger sister is also very well-behaved and sensible. She never asks for anything and never plays with her friends. She always endures it.

But after all, they are just children, teenagers, and they are curious about the things around them, and for the first time they have something they want.

It's a hair clip worn by her favorite celebrity.

At this point, Tatsuya Kamio finally understood. It was that hairpin, the one he had given to Kamuro, the one he had placed in Ichinose's palm on the day of the sports festival.

No wonder that thing is so expensive.

"My mother added a lot more work to her already full schedule in order to buy this hair clip for my younger sister. As a result, she was exhausted and had to be hospitalized."

Just as Kamio Tatsuya had guessed, for some reason, Ichinose's sister did not receive the hair clip.

Even though Ichinose's mother earned extra money for working overtime, Kamio Tatsuya had once seen a joke.

It's like someone who, after acquiring a lot of wealth, hailed a taxi and asked the driver to take him to the most expensive place in the city, which ended up taking him to a hospital.

This demonstrates the high cost of hospital services.

So it seems like Ichinose's birthday present is going to be a waste.

So the thing Ichinose stole must be this hair clip. It's worth over ten thousand yen, so it's not exactly cheap.

"I still remember the expression on my mother's face as she cried and apologized to my younger sister, and the expression on my younger sister's face as she cursed at her mother... She cried and shouted for the hair clip she had been looking forward to."

Upon hearing this, Tatsuya Kamio fell silent.

It wasn't that he couldn't understand Ichinose's sister's thoughts, because he had done the same thing himself.

In his previous life, his family wasn't well-off, and he was a playful child, unlike the sensible younger sister that Ichinose described.

He didn't have the toys that his peers had.

They didn't even have a TV at home, so they had to go to other people's houses to watch popular TV dramas and cartoons, and they could only watch others play video games.

If they're in a good mood, they'll let you play for a while; otherwise, you'll just have to watch.

That feeling of inferiority is something only those who have experienced it truly understand.

So his biggest wish at the time was to have his own Little Tyrant game console.

Later, for some reason, he snapped, and what he did was almost identical to what Ichinose's sister did.

Although it seems ridiculous now, at the time I was overwhelmed with all sorts of grievances and negative emotions.

How old were I back then?

Kamio Tatsuya couldn't remember anymore, but he felt he had no right to criticize Ichinose's sister.

Ultimately, he's just a child with insufficient psychological resilience.

An adult can break down in an instant, let alone a child.

“I can’t blame my sister for that. That was the only gift she ever asked for…” Ichinose’s voice choked with emotion as she said this.

Then she looked up at Tatsuya Kamio.

"At that time, I thought, 'As the older sister, I must find a way to bring my younger sister back to her smile,' so I went to the department store on my younger sister's birthday."

What happened next is now pretty clear.

"Even now, I still remember how I felt at that time. What does it matter... It was just once. It's not a big deal to do something bad for my sister. After all, there are so many bad people in the world."

We shouldn't be blamed for enduring this long; we'll be forgiven for what we did. I convinced myself of this, and then I stole the hair clip my sister had always wanted…

Sure enough.

"So, were you discovered?"

"No, although it was my first time stealing, I seemed to have a talent for it, and no one noticed." Ichinose shook her head, then gave a self-deprecating smile. "Maybe it would have been better if I had been discovered back then."

Hey, hey, hey, you can't say that! It might turn into a sex story, you know. After all, Ichinose is top-notch in both looks and figure.

If it weren't for her still somewhat youthful face, Tatsuya Kamio wouldn't have thought she was a high school student.

"This was an act that made everyone unhappy, but at the time I just wanted to do something to make my sister happy, and that's all I was thinking about."

But is this really wrong? In the end, a crime is a crime, a sin that can never be erased by any amount of repentance.

This is not an excuse, but Ichinose's true thoughts.

"So I took the hair clip home and gave it to my depressed sister... Because it was stolen, it wasn't wrapped at all and looked very rough, but my sister was still very happy."

Seeing her smile, I felt my guilt lessen for a moment, but that's not right..."

"Because it's something that can't be brought into the light, I told my sister not to tell Mom. But my sister went to visit Mom with the hair clip."

Wow……

That's really terrible.

The reason Ichinose asked her sister to keep it a secret was probably because she was worried that her mother would ask about the origin of the item and she wouldn't be able to explain it.

However, Ichinose's younger sister believes that since it was a gift from her older sister, she should naturally show it off to others.

As a result, Ichinose's mother immediately guessed the origin of the hair clip.

After all, this is a valuable item that costs more than 10,000 yen, which is a huge sum of money for Ichinose's family.

Ichinose's mother did not allow her children to work, so Ichinose, who had no source of income, had virtually no other way to obtain this item.

Aside from stealing... I'm afraid the only other option is to sell them.

Neither of these is a good thing.

"And a mother can't possibly be unaware of her daughter's bad deeds; that was the first time I saw my mother truly angry."

She slapped me hard, then took the gift from my sister… My sister, who was crying incessantly, probably didn't understand why; she couldn't possibly have imagined that her older sister had stolen it.”

"Then, my mother, who was still in the hospital at the time, took me to the store and knelt down to beg for forgiveness... Seeing my mother kneeling down to apologize, I understood for the first time how heavy the weight of the sins I had committed was."

"In the end, the people in the store didn't hand me over to the police, but the commotion spread quickly. For the last six months of my junior year of high school, I was afraid to see anyone and spent all my time in my room."

"Later, my homeroom teacher told me about the existence of this school. Tuition and living expenses were waived, and I could work anywhere after graduation. Because I wanted to start over, I came to this school."

Kamio Tatsuya was not in a position to comment on this matter.

However, this also helps me understand why Ichinose was assigned to Class B.

The school most likely didn't discover that she stole things; she was placed in Class B because she hadn't attended school for half a year.

But it's a bit unbelievable that his grades are still so good after not going to school for half a year, my friend.

Since joining the student council, Kamio Tatsuya has gained considerable authority, including the right to review things like entrance exam scores.

Ichinose entered the school with the highest score in the written exam.

Incidentally, Horikita Suzune, who studies diligently every day, is third.

A complete defeat, Horikita Suzune.

A silence fell over Ichinose's room, and the atmosphere gradually became awkward.

"What, what are you saying?"

"What should I say..." Tatsuya Kamio thought for a moment, then smiled at Ichinose, "It must be tough carrying all this on your shoulders."

The main reason why Ichinose has been so withdrawn for so long is because of her mother.

Although I have no right to speak from Kamio Tatsuya's perspective, I strongly disagree with this practice of educating children by harming oneself.

If he had done something like that in his past life, his parents definitely wouldn't have knelt down to him; instead, they would have given him a good beating in front of everyone in the store.

It's just that Ichinose herself has a kind personality. If it were someone with a darker side, they would probably be glad that it wasn't them kneeling after seeing their mother kneel down.

Thanks to this extreme educational approach, Ichinose became withdrawn for half a year, and it's quite remarkable that she didn't develop depression.

However, this strong girl now let her tears flow uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.

Eh?

What's going on?

Holy crap, did I say something wrong again?

The reason is that no one has ever said such a thing to Ichinose.

Imagine this: ever since you can remember, your family has always lived a life of poverty, and you studied desperately to help ease your mother's burden.

Ichinose just said that his younger sister is very sensible and has been patient all along, but isn't Ichinose Honami herself the same?

As the eldest daughter, Ichinose not only has to help her mother ease the family's burden, but also help take care of her younger sister, so the pressure on her is considerable.

It's only natural to feel tired.

But her mother only thought she was sensible, and her younger sister only thought her older sister was amazing.

No one has ever said to her: You've worked hard.

Upon hearing these words from Tatsuya Kamio, Ichinose could no longer control her emotions, and tears streamed uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.

At first, she just shed silent tears, then she broke down in tears, crying so hard it was almost heartbreaking.

Seeing Ichinose huddled together and crying, Tatsuya Kamio scratched his head, wondering what to do.

After crying for a while, Ichinose gradually calmed down. Although she would occasionally sob, it was just a side effect of crying so hard.

"I'm sorry, I made you see me lose my composure."

“No, I think it’s quite interesting. It’s a chance to see another side of Ichinose,” Tatsuya Kamio teased Ichinose.

"Really, Kamio is so mean."

Distracted like this, Ichinose seemed to have recovered somewhat.

"So, disillusionment?"

"Disillusionment?" Kamio Tatsuya asked curiously. "What do you mean? I didn't think you were a perfect person at first. In fact, if there really is a perfect person, please introduce them to me."

"Ah ha ha……"

"Alright, I should probably head back now." Kamio Tatsuya stretched his legs, which had become a little numb from sitting for so long.

"But Ichinose, what's past is past. You've been punished, and the shop's staff have forgiven you, so let's just let this matter rest."

"But……"

"No buts." Tatsuya Kamio interrupted her, then took a box out of his pocket. "Oh, right, this is for you."

"Eh?"

Looking at the exquisitely packaged box in Kamio Tatsuya's hand, Ichinose was somewhat puzzled.

"Aren't you going to open it and take a look?"

"May I?"

"of course."

After Ichinose opened the box, she found a silver hair clip lying quietly inside. She had bought it at the shopping mall after deciding to come find Ichinose.