Chapter 34: I Have a Strong Sense of Boundaries, You Know

Chapter 34: I Have a Strong Sense of Boundaries, You Know

“Eh? She’s calling Yatsuno? Why not me? I want to be called to Teacher Sakuraba’s office alone too!”

“What are you thinking? He’s top three in the year and our class’s academic ace. Who are you? Why would she call you?”

“Exactly. It’s perfectly normal for a new homeroom teacher to understand the best student in the class on her first day, right?”

“But don’t you think Yatsuno is a little too handsome? Is there a chance Teacher Sakuraba might fall for him?”

“Screw you. Don’t you dare insult Teacher Sakuraba like that. Do you think she’s the kind of girl like you who only looks at faces?”

“Nonsense! If you don’t look at faces, what do you look at? The soul? It’s not like we have supernatural powers.”

As Yatsuno Gen took his schoolbag and followed that young, beautiful teacher, who also possessed a mature and intellectual air, out of the classroom, there was still a bit of discussion in the class.

However, because Yatsuno Gen’s daily groundwork was too solid and his stats were too high, no one had any strange associations.

After all, life was not a light novel. Fantasies like having an ambiguous connection with a newly arrived teacher were still uncommon.

Even Kazama Sakura merely packed her schoolbag, feeling a little regretful that it seemed she could not leave school together with that young man today.

Although it was not a long walk, and they were not exactly going the same way, it was still a rare and precious enjoyment.

In the corridor.

Many students had already left. It seemed there was no experience more wonderful during school than the road home, as though it were the clearest understanding children of this age had of freedom.

The footsteps, one in front and one behind, sounded very crisp.

The gloomy weather let no sunlight spill into the corridor, and the limited daylight plated the whole world with a gray filter.

When they arrived at this familiar office, many teachers were already packing up and preparing to leave.

When it came to getting off work and getting out of school, it was truly hard to say who had more enthusiasm.

It seemed Sakuraba Yuki had only been here for one day, yet she had already handled interpersonal relationships quite well. Every teacher who left smiled and greeted her before going, and of course, they also greeted Yatsuno Gen.

After all, this young man was famous throughout the school, among students and among teachers alike.

After most people had left, Sakuraba Yuki had nearly finished tidying the things on her desk. During that time, Yatsuno Gen stood quietly at the side the whole while, neither urging her nor appearing uneasy.

Finally, Sakuraba Yuki raised her head and looked at him.

Her smile remained gentle and beautiful. Even with glasses resting on her face, they could not conceal her measured charm. In fact, they added an intellectual beauty to her.

“Yatsuno, long time no see.”

This sentence felt like a belated greeting.

Words that should have been said the first time they saw each other today.

But Yatsuno Gen understood her intention, and he did not feel there was anything worth fussing over or feeling wronged about. He had never been someone who liked sentimentality to begin with. Besides... perhaps the one who had first forgotten that memory would have been him.

“Long time no see, Teacher Sakuraba.”

The young man replied softly.

Sakuraba Yuki’s smile grew even brighter, clearly different from the smile she had worn in the classroom.

In the classroom, it had been more of a courtesy for her image as a teacher, and a way to draw closer to the students.

Now, she looked more like her original self. At this moment, like the sun parting dark clouds, she revealed her true feelings.

“Did you not expect me to come to this school?”

she asked.

Yatsuno Gen smiled.

“From long ago, I already felt Teacher Sakuraba’s professional ability was completely sufficient. Now, this is nothing more than a reasonable progression. It isn’t anything unbelievable. Of course you’re worthy of this school.”

Sakuraba Yuki lazily leaned against the back of her chair and stretched comfortably, perhaps because there were no other teachers staying behind now.

It was unclear whether she truly still treated this young man as that child from the orphanage back then.

She did not notice at all that this movement perfectly displayed the curves of her figure.

The curve of her chest stood out with exaggerated impact, as if it might burst the buttons of her shirt.

Fortunately, Yatsuno Gen was an upright gentleman, and his gaze was not there... at least, not there the entire time.

“Yatsuno, you’ve become even more mature when you speak. It seems I really can’t treat you as a little child anymore. And you’ve become much more handsome too.”

She smiled as she looked at his face. Her gaze slid down from his face all the way to his figure... then suddenly, as she looked, Sakuraba Yuki herself instead somewhat unnaturally shifted her eyes away.

Who knew what she had suddenly remembered.

Or perhaps she felt that looking at a student with such a gaze inside school was a little too unrestrained.

However, Yatsuno Gen seemed not to sense any of this.

“People grow up, after all. Teacher Sakuraba, on the other hand, hasn’t changed much. You’re still young and still beautiful.”

Sakuraba Yuki looked at the young man with some dissatisfaction.

“How have I not changed? When I met you, I was still studying at university. Now every birthday reminds me that the years are slipping away. Sigh.”

“Then just don’t have birthdays.”

Sakuraba Yuki blinked, then burst into laughter.

A bewitching flush appeared on that fair, delicate face.

“You still speak so amusingly. All right, talking here is boring. Why don’t we walk together?”

she said.

Yatsuno Gen thought for a moment, then asked softly,

“If someone sees us... won’t it cause trouble for you, Teacher?”

Snap.

Sakuraba Yuki stood up and reached out to lightly flick Yatsuno Gen’s forehead with one finger. It was the action she had loved doing to him most in his memory.

Of course, Yatsuno Gen did not enjoy it. He was not a masochist. It was just that there was a strange sense of familiarity.

“What nonsense are you saying? What trouble could there be? Don’t think that just because you’ve grown up, you’ve become an adult like me. I will always be your big sister.”

Big sister?

That address felt somewhat unfamiliar.

But it seemed he had indeed liked calling her that in the past.

Back then, Sakuraba Yuki, who was still studying at university, had come to the orphanage as part of a practical training project. Perhaps it was because Yatsuno Gen was different from the other children, or perhaps it was because most of that sort of practical training content was very boring, more like enduring time.

So she ended up developing a very close relationship with this special young man. At the time, Director Chishima had even joked that they were more like an older sister and younger brother.

Yatsuno Gen had not really wanted to establish such a relationship back then. He felt it was an unnecessary burden.

Moreover, at the time, he had not yet fully integrated into this world or adapted to everything here.

But he could not withstand this woman repeatedly saying, “I’m not a teacher yet, so just call me big sister.”

After she kept emphasizing it like that, it was as though he could only call her Big Sister Sakuraba.

“All right then.”

Yatsuno Gen nodded.

The young man carrying his schoolbag and the woman carrying her handbag walked out of the office together. Nearly everyone in the school had already left.

They did not encounter any strange gazes along the way either.

Beside him, Sakuraba Yuki looked at the facilities in this high school and said with a smile,

“As expected, a place like this suits you better. Someone like you growing up in an orphanage, Yatsuno, really is against all reason.”

This also seemed to be one of the laments Sakuraba Yuki had liked expressing in the past. Compared to an ordinary proper teacher, she had a little more childishness. He wondered whether the years had erased it.

“You’ve already said these things many times before, Teacher Sakuraba, haven’t you? As if saying it a few more times could change anything. Besides, I don’t think there was anything bad about it.”

“Nothing bad? Look, you’re still calling me Teacher.”

Sakuraba Yuki suddenly turned her head, furrowing her brows slightly, like a little girl complaining about him.

Yatsuno Gen blinked.

“What connection does that have?”

“Of course it has a connection!”

Sakuraba Yuki said seriously, “It’s precisely because you grew up in an orphanage, and because you look more mature than most people your age, that you’re very avoidant about forming certain relationships. On the surface, you seem gentle, but in reality, you’re never overly close to anyone. Because you feel that emotions are something that will become a burden to you.”

Yatsuno Gen had not expected her to say something like this the moment they reunited.

He could not help smiling wryly.

“You’re saying something this heavy the moment we meet again after so long?”

Sakuraba Yuki looked at him curiously.

“Are you very good at joking with people now, Yatsuno?”

“Not exactly.”

Sakuraba Yuki somewhat unhappily bumped the young man’s arm with her shoulder, then said quietly,

“Stop pretending. Do you think that because we haven’t seen each other for so long, you can become distant with me? I’m your homeroom teacher now. I won’t allow it.”

“What does you being my homeroom teacher have to do with that... And precisely because you’re my homeroom teacher and we’re at the same school, shouldn’t we maintain some distance?”

Yatsuno Gen was not deliberately avoiding contact with her. He was simply thinking of the previous Yamazaki Jihei, and the school might take this kind of matter into consideration. After all, it probably would not be difficult for them to discover what kind of person Yamazaki Jihei had been in private.

And as the newly appointed homeroom teacher, Sakuraba Yuki was an extremely charming young woman. When it came to private contact with students, she should be even more careful.

The two of them had already walked out of the school together. Once they reached the street, this combination seemed much more normal.

Sakuraba Yuki tilted her head and looked at Yatsuno Gen strangely.

“Why should we maintain distance?”

“Hm?”

Yatsuno Gen seemed stumped by the question. What kind of strange counterquestion was that? Was she naturally airheaded?

Although even in the past, he had felt that her personality contained some degree of foolishness.

Sakuraba Yuki thought for a moment and said,

“Could it be because my appearance back then was simply too stunning for you, causing the grown-up you now to start having fantasies about me that you shouldn’t have?”

“Ah?”

What kind of thought process was that?

No, was this something a teacher should say?

Or was this just a special characteristic of this country?

Sakuraba Yuki looked at Yatsuno Gen seriously.

“I’m sorry, Yatsuno. I admit that you are indeed very handsome now and possess the qualifications to move women of any age. But the age gap between us is too large. You shouldn’t consider these things.”

“If that’s the case, could you please not consider them in such detail?”

Yatsuno Gen helplessly rolled his eyes.

Sakuraba Yuki could not help laughing aloud.

“It was just a joke. Why are you so serious?”

“Isn’t it because you started saying nonsense first?”

Only then did Sakuraba Yuki restrain that somewhat candid and unrestrained smile of hers, becoming a little more serious.

“I am a teacher, and also your big sister. I don’t need you to help me consider these things. Don’t worry, I’m not a teacher without a sense of boundaries.”

“All right.”

Yatsuno Gen nodded.

Sakuraba Yuki suddenly turned her face and smiled at Yatsuno Gen.

“By the way, to celebrate our reunion, shall we go eat grilled meat together?”

The heart that had just settled became covered with a layer of suspicion again.

Do you really understand what a sense of boundaries is?