Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16817330665542028014/episodes/16818093073609658202
It was right after I left the classroom after performing in the classroom the big stand-up routine that I had spent several days preparing for. I was struck with vertigo from exhaustion due to lack of sleep.
“As expected, I pushed myself a little too hard…….”
I muttered to myself as I put my hand on the wall. I had been working hard all day, sparing no time for sleep, using my youth as a guarantee, and now the payback was coming in droves. But if I hadn’t done this, I wouldn’t have been able to make it in time for the bazaar. In fact, it’s barely there at the moment.
There was no time for whining. I took a deep breath once, got thirsty, and hurried to the parking lot behind the school building where the person who had carried me all the way here was waiting for me.
“Good grief……you started being a busybody as soon as you entered high school. I wonder what you think of me?”
“That, of course, you’re the best mentor I’ve ever had, with perfect aftercare.”
I said to Katsuragi Natsumi, my former teacher, who is somewhat disgruntled while leaning against her car and puffing on a cigarette, my true feelings disguised as light talk.
“Is that so? I’m a beautiful teacher, but for that, you treated me like I was the worst kind of teacher. Isn’t that one of the worst ways to treat a former teacher?”
“If anything, what are you doing now……”
After talking to Kanna on the phone, I immediately called Grandpa. The content of the call was,
[Hello, Grandpa. It’s been a long time. I’m sorry to bother you on such short notice, but I’d like to make some accessories out of deer antlers. I’m on my way home now, and I was wondering if you could help me?]
I packed my bag with the bare necessities and took the night bus home that same day. Then, after three days and three nights of working all night long, cutting, grinding, and drilling antlers, I returned home in Katsuragi sensei’s car just a few minutes ago.
Without the help of Asakura and Sasatsuki, I would not have been able to smoothly return to my hometown. And above all, this forced march was a success because of the help of everyone in the village, including my grandpa and Katsuragi sensei.
“Still, I was surprised. Even though you didn’t come back during Golden Week, you suddenly came back after that, and the first thing he said was, [Sensei, help me process the deer antlers !] I can’t believe it. I thought you were crazy.”
“Hahahaha……well, I’m aware that I asked you to do something reckless. It wasn’t something I would have done in three days.”
“Well, it was nice to be able to work together for the first time in a while, so it was fun. It also gave me a taste of what it was like when I was a student.”
Katsuragi sensei said she was grateful and blew purple smoke. I’ve seen her many times during my three years in junior high school, and I fell in love with her because she looked like the main character in a scene from a Western movie after completing a task. I’m not going to tell her because I’m sure I’d be teased for the rest of my life if I told her.
“Thank you so much, Sensei.”
“I don’t mind. It’s my cute former student’s first request. Well, next time I hope you’ll be a little more gentle.”
“Right. I’ll make my next request a little more gentle.”
Sensei and I both smile. I’d like to spend a little more time chatting with her, but I’m afraid Wada might get mad at me if I don’t get the rest of my stuff and go back to the classroom soon.
“Hey, Itsuki. I have a question I’d like to ask you.”
“What’s the matter?”
I was slightly perplexed by the mysterious look on her face that was uncharacteristic of Katsuragi sensei, who was always easy-going and kept jumping between serious and unserious. As if she could see how flustered I was, she slowly exhaled purple smoke and asked me this after a pause.
“—Do you enjoy your school life here?”
“……Eh?”
My own stupid voice escapes my mouth. I wonder why she would ask me such a question, but at the same time I realize that she must have known for a long time.
When I was separated from Kanna, there was a gaping hole in my heart. And after that day, I couldn’t enjoy school life from the bottom of my heart.
It’s not that I didn’t have any friends, and I even hung out with them. But I spent more time in the mountains with my grandpa than with my classmates.
The reason for this was, among other things, that I was aware of the differences between myself and those around me. It was not until much later that I realized that I was suffering from the same problem as Kanna. It was right around the time he met Katsuragi sensei.
In short. I was the savior of her life, and she was the savior of mine. Perhaps Katsuragi sensei knew that and that’s why she recommended me to enter Amanohashidate Academy. If that was the case—
“What’s wrong, Itsuki?”
Katsuragi sensei stares at my silent face with somewhat worried eyes. I don’t want her to look at me like that.
“It’s nothing. I’m having a great time in school life,……of course ! It’s not only Kanna, but also Asakura, Sasatsuki, Wada and many other great people. If I had gone to school over somewhere, I would have ended up never knowing them.”
“…………”
“So…thank you for introducing me to this school, Katsuragi sensei. I will never forget this favor.”
“Fufu. I see…….I’m glad to hear that.”
Katsuragi sensei said with deep emotion, pressing her cigarette into the portable ashtray and getting into the car with a satisfied look on her face.
“Now, I think it’s time for me to go home. If you don’t unload your stuff as soon as possible, I’ll just take it with me, okay?”
“I’ll unload it right now, so please don’t do that !”
I hurriedly opened the trunk door and began to work. As I inwardly blurted out that she could have helped me finish, Katsuragi sensei said in a compassionate voice,
“If you have any more problems, you can always come to me for advice. And come back from time to time. We are all waiting for you.”
“–Yes !”
A few minutes later.
After confirming that I had finished unloading all the cardboard boxes, Katsuragi sensei started the car. I saw her off with the utmost gratitude in my heart until I could no longer see her shadow, and then I returned to the classroom.
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